Vanguards for people not in squadrons
- Thread starter Jaffz
- Start date
For the record I only play in open
The Groucho Club. I'm in. If you'll have me.
accepted
Uh... i thought that's 98% of the community here. You have to fill out a 15 page questionaire and deliver it with four carbon copies, to merely be checked if you can leave...
Unfortunately it has not been possible to process your application because, well... nobody could be bothered to.
Why would you not want to join a squadron (particularly given that the Vanguards update is ostensibly going to make it easier than ever)?
It's extra content. Extra stuff to do and to achieve. Extra interactions with other players (just like what you are doing here in this forum.) So why not at a minimum give it a try? What exactly do you have to lose? Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking it and sticking around in the squadron.
It's extra content. Extra stuff to do and to achieve. Extra interactions with other players (just like what you are doing here in this forum.) So why not at a minimum give it a try? What exactly do you have to lose? Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking it and sticking around in the squadron.
I was a gamer well before I discovered ED. I even operated a PMF for most of my game time here. Guilds are nothing new in the gaming world. I know my relationship to permanent group systems like this. If it is possible, I will explore one of my own. If not, I will play without one. I can, however, see the benefits and potential enjoyment for others.
It is a general worry that membership in a Squadron will be too beneficial to avoid, especially for new-ish players. I can see the videos: "Getting the best start in 3312." 1st step: Join a Squadron. 2nd Step get a free end-game ship. 3rd Step: Prosper.
We have always had a solo option, and I generally encourage/expect new systems and mechanics to respect that.
It is a general worry that membership in a Squadron will be too beneficial to avoid, especially for new-ish players. I can see the videos: "Getting the best start in 3312." 1st step: Join a Squadron. 2nd Step get a free end-game ship. 3rd Step: Prosper.
We have always had a solo option, and I generally encourage/expect new systems and mechanics to respect that.
What I don't understand is why anyone would want to be in a large, faceless squadron when the leader gets to set or determine the traits.
Really, most people will use Squadrons as a way to get a small increase to their current activity. Could just give this bonus across the board to everyone, it makes being in a squadron a mandatory participation system if you don't want to lose out on a small percentage gain.
Really, most people will use Squadrons as a way to get a small increase to their current activity. Could just give this bonus across the board to everyone, it makes being in a squadron a mandatory participation system if you don't want to lose out on a small percentage gain.
I tried this a while ago. I suggested we should be able to be in a no-power power so us non-joiners could reduce those tumorous masses in the galmap without helping them grow. I think the funny idea that players might completely wipe out something they spent a year developing was scary or something. Might have reflected badly on their ideas of gameplay.
Just going to make my own Squadron to the get the perks & buy my own Carrier. Idk why you wouldn't too, tbh.
Perhaps a new FSD upgrade could be introduced: the Infinite Irony Drive. It would of course not be powered by hydrogen or tritium, but rather a strong Brownian Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea).
It's important to make the distinction between personal preference and objective opinion (if an opinion can be objective).
Objectively, I've got nothing against the idea of Vanguards and I'm sure a lot of people will get their jollies from getting together to do stuff.
Based on what FDev have shown us, most of it seems fairly decent (apart from the thing about engineered ships) but I'd be more impressed if they came up with some new, proper, co-op play.
In terms of personal preference, though, I know it's not for me.
If I feel like I'm compelled to do something it becomes a chore and that makes me even less enthusiastic about it.
I've joked about it but if there was a Vanguard for people who weren't interested in Vanguard stuff, that'd be the one for me.
Even then, there'd be upkeep costs and that's going to irk me after a while... or it's going to irk other members that I'm not making my regular contributions.
Bottom line is, there's other stuff in ED that I enjoy doing so I don't need something else to do.
And, if I did, I've yet to sign up for PP2 or do anything related to Odyssey so joining a Vanguard is already quite a way down the list.
I don't really like other people. I have enough engaging work and life obligations in real life to be bothered by some random person on the internet. I don't think it'll be that bad though, and I'll still be able to just switch off in-game, not bothered by other human beings.
You'd have a bunch of disadvantages as a non-territorial underminer, but I don't see why you shouldn't be allowed to if you put up with that.
- you'd have a Beyond Frontline Penalty of "very high" for every system in the game (so you'd be undermining at ~50% effectiveness) because the distance to your nearest friendly system would be infinite.
- you couldn't use any method which requires transporting things to or from a friendly system Power contact (because you don't have one) which would rule out all the Odyssey settlement actions, obviously the power commodity transport actions, and also salvage/search and rescue
- you'd have no ethos bonus so all your actions would be at base rate rather than at +50%
I imagine the reason Frontier haven't implemented it is that mechanically this would be strictly less effective than pledging to the worst possible choice of existing enemy power for your current undermining target/action combination, doing the undermining, and immediately unpledging afterwards, and the number of people who:
- care at all about Powerplay territory,
- care about it in such a way that they want to see it universally reduced, rather than at least one Power increased
- are unwilling for RP and effectiveness reasons to use any Power as a temporary flag of convenience against the others
is probably fairly clearly "about five forum posters"
The last three or four player groups I joined all had their (completely different!) core gameplay loops made completely obsolete by later changes to the game.
It'd be really unfair to bring that curse to any other squadron.
Yet, here you are, interacting with other people.
How is doing the same thing in-game different?
The amount of time spent doing this activity.