Recently, I have noticed an increase in activity for the Hub Star Catalogue. I took this as a sign of increased interest in the ETARC Hub. It was decided that a census of the Hub area could be useful going forward, particularly with the promise of expanded multiplayer activities. I have put together (with much help) 3 polls, one for each platform.
Please read the polls carefully and answer honestly. You are free to vote in any and all polls that apply to you. Keep in mind the polls will allow you to provide more than one answer per poll, so you can provide a “mixed” answer if you choose.
For PS4
I have a base in or near the ETARC Hub (Normal Mode)
I have a base in or near the ETARC Hub (Survival/Permadeath Mode)
I have a base in or near the ETARC Hub (Creative Mode)
I am making my way to the ETARC Hub now
I want to wait and see what happens with NEXT
I have no interest in the ETARC Hub
0voters
For PC
I have a base in or near the ETARC Hub (Normal Mode)
I have a base in or near the ETARC Hub (Survival/Permadeath Mode)
I have a base in or near the ETARC Hub (Creative mode)
Unrelated question, why are we calling this the ETARC Hub, rather than the CSD Hub? Has that name been taken? It shouldn’t have been…the hub of the official forums feels like it should be called the CSD Hub.
I’m playing on PS4 and my real game is currently in Eisentaam, I’m currently near the Galactic Hub but am considdering switching to the ETARC Hub. But I don’t know how I will feel about the upcoming multiplayer yet and I don’t know whether I’ll want to play/build with a crew much. So I’m mainly waiting for NEXT really. Any estimates for how many are in the Eissentam ETARC Hub? If I end up really liking the multiplayer I’ll definitely want to be in the ETARC Hub in Eissentam long term.
I’m aware this site was originally called ETARC and was part of the ARG…I actually joined before it transitioned to Atlas-65(I was around here from the very early days though I didn’t join until near the launch of 1.3 when it became clear this would become an official NMS forum). I’m just wondering why we’re still calling the Hub that.
Basically as a tribute to how it all started, to give it some history with fond memories (Emily). Most of the early participants are having a hard time using the new name as well when referencing this forum. ETARC just got stuck with many.
I am not part of the hub myself, so I am probably not the right person to try explain. I am considering joining though, depending on what NEXT will be like. Although likely somewhat confusing to new players, I do appreciate the history it entails. So I am perfectly fine with the name myself.
We still call our islands “Britain”, although the name hasn’t been official for many years - not since around 1800, if memory serves. West Bromwich Football Club call themselves “Albion”, but these islands haven’t been Albion for more than 2000 years. People like their names to reflect the past.
When the ETARC hub was first discussed, CSD was a new thing, and people were more familiar with ETARC. We did, however, decide that the naming convention for member’s planets and systems should include “ECSD”, i.e ETARC Citizen Science Division.
The initial discussions of the hub were open to all. Anybody was free to join in organising and building the thing, but very few people were prepared to make the effort. Those of us who did make the effort, ended up being the ones who made the decisions. We liked ETARC - so that’s what it is.
It might hinder growth…I don’t know…it just seems like for a smaller less-well-known hub to not have a recognizeable name is less good. Especially for galaxies other than Euclid…I hope this gets enough population to be viable after NEXT launches.
It was never supposed to be a power bloc. At the moment, it doesn’t even have an official government. Those of us involved agreed that it wouldn’t.
It’s not supposed to be an organisation - it’s a place, where people can meet, socialise, arrange gatherings, visit bases, and such.
It may be that in the future the members decide to have a greater degree of organisation, form a ruling council, or something similar. That wasn’t part of the original vision, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen.
Similarly with growth - if it grows, all well and good. If it doesn’t, it’s still a nice place to meet people. We’re not looking to build an empire.
To be fair all the claims of government and people calling themselves leaders and whatever are pointless and are likely to remain exactly that. Organization will also not likely work outside of small groups like a team of four…you might get a vague understanding of naming protocols and sharing coordinates for where the good stuff is at but that’s about it. Stuff like “ruling council” and whatever are literally meaningless and unless it’s forced open PvP or no Multiplayer then it still won’t matter for anything at all other than the egoes of the people calling themselves whatever…but open season PvP or no Multiplayer would only make things worse and drastically reduce the population of all hubs.
But multiplayer in a small hub can be difficult…because there’s less people to get together with at any given time and time zones and work schedules complicate things too. That’s why I say I hope this can get enough population to be viable.
I think I understand where you’re coming from. The ETARC hub wasn’t designed around full (even 4 character) multiplayer. It was designed around sharable bases, visible orbs, and voice chat.
The viability of any government, even in the real world, only exists as far as the goodwill of the members allows it to. If the members decide strongly enough that they don’t want to be governed, then they can’t be - as Tsar Nicholas discovered.
If, however, the membership agrees on a set of democratic rules, on a voting procedure, and on representatives, and if they all agree to those principles, then it can work. That’s how the other hubs function. It’s not perfect, but it can be functional.
Whether that can survive multiplayer depends on the kind of multiplayer we’re given, and how much the members want the hub to exist. If the members really want it, then it will survive. If they don’t, then it may decline. But that was always the risk in setting the thing up. We couldn’t know it would succeed if we created it. The only certainty was that it would fail if we didn’t.
It’s not even all that…the talk of people allowing things and all that just does not apply to this game full stop…it’s not about the rules that the so called leaders make but about what they can do about said rules being broken…right now the answer is nothing…unless someone manages to name something bad enough to warrant legitimate reporting they’re as free as anyone else to be wherever they want and do whatever they please. Right now there is no possibility for any sort of friction at all…because all you CAN do is share or not share things so people will go to where they can benefit from the discoveries of others. There is literally no possibility for negative interaction…if you don’t like someone in your hub or don’t like what they’re doing then too bad so sad…“ruling councils” and self proclaimed “emperors” just look like fools. There are no rules or laws of any consequence that can be implemented.
Presumably people become members of a community because they want to. Because they find the social interaction, and the shared goals and values, attractive. Otherwise, why bother?
And, as I said earlier, “leaders”, or “councils” within the game only have power because the community chooses to give it to them.
It works just the same as real life. If you build relationships, try to help people, try to be pleasant and understanding, and if you genuinely like other people, then most communities will respond in kind.
If, on the other hand, you are destructive, negative, insulting, and rude, you will find that the community rejects you. People won’t talk to you. And if you’re going to invite that reaction, then why join a community in the first place?
So yes, you’re right. Leaders and councils within the game have no real power. They can’t physically crush those they don’t like. But that’s not the point, is it?
To some extent yes, people will naturally distance themselves from rude and destructive behavior…but that’s more on the network rules…people that are obviously OTT with that will usually get themselves banned by the major networks(PSN, Steam, XBL) or the games. But those aren’t so much rules implemented by the so called ruling council as much as rules they can get behind overall. Personal power here in terms of relationships and so on could in theory be used in terms of someone telling others not to interact with another player but these hubs don’t quite work like that…everyone just goes there to share and harvest benefits…for the most part people aren’t even aware of most others and to say that even 20% of a major hub would even hear of much less snap at the commands of a ruler is a stretch. For the most part there are so many people doing things at any given time that the more likely scenario is there will be lots of people breaking naming protocols and all sorts of other shenanigans to where trying to exercise any power would mostly be futile outside of enforcing the rules of the major networks(PSN, XBL, Steam).
This game is just not EVE and never will be EVE and if it ever became too much like EVE then it would probably need to find itself an entirely different audience to be honest.
Well, as I also said earlier, it’s not perfect. We do what we can, within the constraints of the system.
With the hubs, people have tried to build something. With the ETARC hub, we have tried to build something. It may work (I hope it does), it may fail. But we built something positive. It’s for others to judge whether what we built was worthwhile. It’s got to be better to build things, than to destroy them, or even worse, not build at all.
And, you know, if it doesn’t work, then there are those of us who are dumb enough to go off and build something else. Until we find something that does work.
And we are monopolising this thread. And we’re not quite off-topic, but we’re getting close.
@Polyphemus I finally made it to the Hub in normal mode today. I haven’t found a final roost, but I have a beginning base just outside of the star chain. It took me long enough to get this save to the HUB!
For the most part things work quite well in the current system…I’m just saying that the titles and impressions of power aren’t a feature the game works with. In terms of PvE and coop the hubs will work quite well I think…as sort of communal meeting areas to get with others and go out doing stuff together.
