Why did the adventure end, and why did it end so suddenly?
[p]One of the volleys of the dreadnought “Defiant” (after the “Conquistador” had been weakened by a barrage of dissonant missiles) managed to pierce the hull of the Precursors’ flagship, causing a short circuit (one of the main power lines ran through the walls of the main deck) — this is the official version of events based on a lengthy analysis of the ship’s structure. One can only guess how many valuable items might have been among the wreckage of the destroyed ship! This can only be estimated by looking at the findings in the wreckages of turrets, destroyed after the “Defiant’s” volley! But it is now almost impossible to reach these treasures: everything has been swallowed up by the supermassive black hole of the Anomaly that remains in the place of the “Conquistador”... According to UMC reports, some mercenaries have already gone missing in attempts to reach the wreckage.[/p][p]Although the end of the adventure may seem sudden, there were enough signs of its imminent conclusion during the battle with the Precursors. First, there were significantly fewer Guardians, then the “Defiant’s” main weapon was activated and began to fire devastating shots. Dissonant ammunitions were developed and began to be used (with varying degrees of success)... We hope that many pilots quickly figured out which way events were actually going.[/p][p][/p]Were the goals of the adventure achieved, and what did you want to accomplish?
[p]We believe that the goals have been achieved. Of course, there were some deviations from expectations in a number of areas, but that’s normal; after all, we are dealing with a living community of sometimes completely different people.[/p][p]This adventure was designed to give players something new, to introduce a certain “challenge,” to force them to mobilize their reserves of knowledge and skills, to introduce some cool (or at least “unfamiliar”) mechanics into the game, to incentivize communication by trying to unite and encourage pilots to share information and interact, while not directly forcing them into teams. We understand that many play “solo”, and those who want more communication have long since taken their place in corporations. However, let’s take it one step at a time.[/p][p]The first thing to be said is that the “raid” format itself is unconventional. There is no “straightforward race” with a prize at the finish line. Practically the entire prize fund was not concentrated in one reward for the final task (“fly through the stages and get your handful of crystals and a box of currency”), but was distributed over the open world and was available to receive depending on player activity.[/p][p]A fairly simple cycle was created:[/p][olist][*][p]complete assignments;[/p][/*][*][p]receive resources (dissonant ammunition);[/p][/*][*][p]use the resources to obtain valuables in the Inverter by fighting the Precursors.[/p][/*][/olist][p]There were two ways to obtain resources (“dissonant ammo”): by completing a chain of story assignments and by completing a series of side quests. Thus, players with different levels of activity (ability to devote time to the game) have a more than realistic chance of getting most of the prizes, even if they did not manage to progress far along the storyline.[/p][p]What could pilots obtain during the adventure:[/p][olist][*][p]By destroying Precursor spies (the easiest enemies in Inverter), you could obtain parts for the “Spiral” (R10) and “Endeavour” (R10) ships, as well as unique weapons for them (“Overheating laser” and “Compression railgun”).Total: 2 ships + 2 weapons[/p][/*][*][p]By destroying Precursor guardians (the more difficult enemies in the Inverter), active players received parts for the “Gargoyle” (R11), “Dart” (R11), “Raven” (R16), “Dyrnwyn” (R17), as well as parts for the “Th’ak’Len” R5-9 weapon (a unique weapon for the “Waz’Got”).
Total: 4 ships + 1 weapon[/p][/*][*][p]By destroying the “Conquistador’s” turrets (using dissonant ammo or volleys from the “Defiant’s” main weapon), it was possible to assemble “Gungnir” (R16), “Granite” (R16), as well as get parts for the “Th’ak’Len” weapon R8-12 and R11-15, not counting the resources for building ships (xeno- and monocrystals, screened batteries, processing blocks, composite panels, iridium, etc.).
It is worth noting that the loot from the destroyed “Conquistador” turrets was available to almost everyone: 24 out of 32 turrets were destroyed in one volley (even if the volley was fired by one player without “target preparation”). Considering that a standard frigate cargo hold without “extenders” can hold 6 slots, this would be enough for 4 frigates; that is, it was quite possible to collect “leftovers from someone else’s table” (by prior agreement, many would not refuse).
Total: 2 ships + 2 weapons[/p][/*][*][p]Completing the adventure storyline, players received, in addition to ammunition, a unique “Exorcist” (R3) ship, a unique “Aurora” modifier for “Hercules”, a “Snoop” scanner, unique “Thi'Lith” weapons, “Coil Mortar”, and “Tai’thaq”, as well as the “Salamander” (R16) ship. Moreover, everything except the “Salamander” and “Tai’thaq” could be obtained no later than the “Old meetings at the favorite spot” assignment, that is, barely passing ⅔ of the storyline. And although active players received the “Salamander” closer to the finish, it was still at least a week or two before the end of the adventure.
Total: 2 ships + 2 unique modifiers + 3 unique weapons[/p][/*][/olist][p]In total, active players were able to collect 10 ships, 8 unique weapons, as well as the “Aurora” and “Snoop” modifiers that are not just “collectibles”, but are also extremely useful in open world and in the PvP arena. We hope that this was a generous enough reward for those who devoted their time to the adventure.[/p][p]We monitored your feedback and saw many comments that the adventure was too long, but it was not just a chain of assignments during which it was impossible to use seed-chips in the open world. The adventure was more of an open world state, during which players had the opportunity to obtain valuable loot. In order for each player to have the opportunity to try out the gameplay of this open world state at their own pace, we decided to make the delay between assignments so “generous”. We repeatedly reduced this delay for older assignments so that everyone would have the opportunity to catch up with the “leaders” as quickly as possible. The total duration was about 4 months; by our standards, it seemed as enough time to engage in an interesting activity during the adventure, as well as to get rich. However, we will try to take your feedback into account and think about a pace that would not seem too fast or too slow.[/p][p]In addition to the somewhat unconventional adventure rewards distribution, we tried to cover a variety of needs.[/p][p]First and foremost, of course, is the “fair challenge”: it is not the number of seed-chips that matters, but the personal skill and ingenuity of the pilots. According to our assessment, the majority of adventure’s stages could be completed on “silver” ships. It was not even necessary to have an “impressive fleet”, and many stages could be completed on low-level “Hercules”, “Lynx-M”, and “Exorcist” ships. And it could be done solo, without gathering a support group, although we did not prevent players from doing so.[/p][p]We tried to make the challenges interesting: players could show off their general knowledge of stars and space, as well as their knowledge of the game lore and the Star Conflict universe. For example, there was a riddle about the “heart of the scorpion”: Arab astronomers called the star Antares “Kalb al-Akrab”, or “Heart of the Scorpion”, the brightest star in that constellation. Or the riddle about the “planet named after a demon” Naberius, etc.[/p][p]New game mechanics: “catch-up” with the Courier, searching and destroying spies, bringing an enemy (which is almost impossible to kill on your own) under turret fire, various ways to find and destroy invisible enemies, and even dissonant ammunition — all of this required not much firepower, but a significant weakening of enemies or an increase in the survivability of your own ship. Most importantly, players were presented with a puzzle: “How can you do it?”[/p][p]Increased player communication: some stages were indeed easier to complete in a group, but it was not necessary to join any corporations or groups; most often it was enough to simply find “friends for 5 minutes”, or ask for a hint on the community’s social pages. We believe that every player had the opportunity to at least join those who were already in the process of completing an assignment.[/p][p][/p]
Did the developers’ expectations match the players’ experience?
[p]Partly, yes. But there were also many situations where we planned something one way, but the players behaved completely differently. However, we don’t see this as a bad thing; in fact, it sometimes sparked a lively interest in how else the pilots could complete the planned (and repeatedly tested) scenario of a stage.[/p][p]Here are a few specific examples:[/p]- [p]At the very beginning of the adventure, we couldn’t imagine that anyone could destroy even one of the Precursors’ ships in the Inverter without dissonant ammunition. We made them quite tough, but forgot to remove the loot set up for testing, namely, the dissonant ammunition, which was supposed to be obtained only by destroying the spies or through interaction with agents. However, there were some skilled players who defeated the Precursors without any seed-chips or special ammunition, obtained the “dissonant ammo” and began to fight the Guardians. One fine morning, we got a message: “Look, they haven’t killed a single spy yet, but they are already destroying Precursors in the Inverter...” The development team collectively facepalmed and had to make an unscheduled patch.[/p][/*]
- [p]No one could have imagined that players would search for Enigma agent in Fort Muerto on destroyers, sweeping away all pirate turrets in their path. We assumed: “Well, they’ll use ships with invisibility... well, they’ll fly past the turrets on high-speed ships, dodging missiles... they’ll hack the turrets... or use guided torpedoes of the Jericho long-range frigates to survey the area from a safe distance...” However, players choose destroyers and violence![/p][/*]
- [p]The “Waterworks championship” assignment provided a hint: “a wildcat at dawn will help you”. This referred to the “Lynx-M” with the “Dawn” module... Yes, this setup does not have much firepower, but it is possible to go into invisibility, wait out groups of enemies among the ruins, and with the help of the “Dawn” and the “Snoop” scanner issued the day before, first study the Courier’s route, and then lie in wait for him in places where he circles around buildings or makes long straight flights. However, players went with more direct approach.[/p][/*]
- [p]At the Ice Reef (“Step out of the gloom!”), it would seem that you should take the “Exorcist” frigate (with a unique torpedo that sees all invisible enemies and brings them out of invisibility within its range), equip it with the “Snoop” scanner (which shows all invisible enemies at a distance of 7500m (and only invisible ones, even in PvP)), and calmly find the enemy from a safe distance, send a torpedo at them (two or three will be enough to destroy them), and look for the next one. This stage is about methodical and careful extermination. But we left one “loophole”. More precisely, we decided not to make enemies too strong, so that players could escape them in an emergency. And players jumped at this “mercy backdoor”, crowding and beating up the poor spies.[/p][/*]
- [p]In one of the stages, it would have been logical to build turrets one by one, securing yourself in a sector safe from local enemies, and then find at least one spy with a torpedo and make him an enemy, inflicting minimal damage. Then you could activate the “Snoop” and use a torpedo to bring the enemy out of invisibility into the turrets’ area of effect from a safe distance. We are not sure if anyone used this strategy.[/p][/*]
- [p]Dissonant ammo. Some took them too literally, as “some kind of unguided missile that deals massive damage to Aliens.” As we noticed, few people used the cloud that the torpedo leaves after detonation: it reduces the resistance of enemy ships by 2 times and reduces incoming damage to the torpedo owner’s ship by 75%. Only 1-2 players could create “clouds of dissonance” around distant anti-aircraft guns (which cannot be destroyed with a normal shot, “solo”) befor firing the main weapon of the “Defiant”. Such a simple coordinated action would leave the Precursor ship completely without anti-aircraft guns after the salvo. And if a group of Guardians were lured into the blast wave from the main weapon’s shot...[/p][/*]
