For a first post @SilverblackEagle I think you’ve come up with some very creative ideas! You’ve stirred up some interesting possibilities and it’s been fun to read all the contributions everyone has made so far on the topic. Each one with some excellent points of view.
The first time I read the words ‘creating our own fleet in No Man’s Sky’ I thought … here we go… Here’s someone brave enough to grasp the nettle! I like the idea.
I’ve been really enjoying the new fleet management thing in the game. It’s not too involving as I love going out exploring in the HUGE galaxies and doing other stuff, so it’s a nice complimentary addition. Some of the descriptions are really well written too and I’m sometimes left thinking the NPCs might be having even more fun than me LOL.
There’s the rub. It would be fun to take part in larger mission perhaps, even though playing solo, yet maybe take on a given role or chosen role temporarily, perhaps in someone else’s game. Like wise it should be fun to choose not to but yet keep a sense of ‘something else is going on in the universe’ and not feel I am losing out if I do not take part. So maybe Hello Games have also thought this. I’d like to think they have and maybe they have plans already to expand the fleet missions.
When I walk about the bridges of the fleet ships you can imagine VR players or NPCs seated at consoles all doing their various roles. Some of the descriptions could be expanded into multi-play situations which would be cool. VR is just icing on the cake. Missions should function well first.
I’m hoping that might happen. Maybe mini-fleets could be made up of 8 players joining a ranked slot system. Perhaps teams of eight each with a different role, similarly named like your Star Fleet ranks you’ve listed above. Let those groups decide at the time how they are to get through a multi_play mission to win their reward. Let a newbie play as an Admiral for fun or not, that depends on the group members and what the goal should be. That would tie-in with your proposal.
Anyone could maybe join a random pug match competing against another team but if say ECSD had a pool of players with role-play ranks then those ranks might be worth while organising. It could be a separate area of the forum, just keeping notes on the experience of the player. Whether someone is a newbie or not. Are they available to play at weekends etc.
All my thoughts above of course are just thoughts assuming multi-play might be expanded that way.
Then you have a good reason for your ‘fleet’ and people can come and go as they please. A team might be proposed to rescue a fleet team from Reddit or the Galactic Hub for example. Perhaps the goal is simply to get any number or team players out alive. Kudos or a cool reward if any team is successful. Collaborative goals in preference to competitive goals.
If someone drops out then anyone should be able to fill a slot of whatever rank. Win or lose there should be no pressure on anyone to do anything.
If a team wanted to achieve a goal or beat another team then they can organise each other at the time. It would do no harm to establish an ECSD rank system for fun, perhaps create an avatar for each rank forum users may or may not adopt, if they want to feel part of something bigger with opportunities to play together perhaps. Keep multi-play expansion possibilities in the background as any fleet proposals realised for fun forum role-play may be actually end up being useful someday.
It might turn out to be a hoot and have little fleet of interested people. Of course it could also turn out to be a disaster. If it is fun people will want to take part eventually. Start simple. Any fleet ought to be fun. That is what playing a game should be… as long as I don’t have to cosplay. At least not yet! …
If people don’t already know, here’s the ECSD front page to the ‘universe’ on the No Man’s Sky Galactic Atlas. It stands out well with all the other Hubs which are listed in the drop down list to the left.
There’s a few tehnical errors in some of the detail but hopefully when HG have more time we can suggest any changes, should anyone wish to do that for the sake of historical clarity.
Here’s the link to the Galactic Atlas for a look.
