When NPCs used to be dangerous

[Laura C.]

I just want to give reason for transport to have escorts, etc.

Think of people who play outside peak. First, it means that NPC interrupt like every second (sometimes even more) lane you take. And also, when there is 20-30 people on the server, it is almost impossible to obtain escort, even if you would want it.

We had period of strong NPCs, especially in Gallia after it was introduced. What was result? People were not willing to play there, because NPCs were constantly ruining interactions between players and especially unlawfuls were almost unable to stay alive near lanes, gates and stations. Having any fight there was impossible as unlawful because sooner or later, some gunboat or even battleship spawned on your back and killed you. And that´s really not fun.

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On a ragebreak. Or ragequit. Time will tell.

[SnakeLancerHaven]

Make level 1 - 10 NPCs around certain areas maybe. So warzones or capital planets etc. While on other areas there would be NPCs that arent dealing that much of a dmg.

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[JohnyWalker]

Its true, the NPCs in some areas are too weak... being a bit more dangerous will enfort players to hire escorts, yes... but also can make players avoid those routes, maybe runining economy in some areas because the NPCs around there are too strongs and you have too much valuable cargo you dont want to lose.

But, maybe... what about just adding another ship to the NPCs patrols with more power but less fire range?, so... the player should identify that ship for attack first trying to keep the distances... ?

There are things interesting in the idea, but there are other things that would affect the interaction negatively.... i bet there are ways for improving a bit NPCs without runining gameplay.

I like the part about main systems must be more protected, it also have sense.

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(Thanks Suis)

[Venkman]

The NPC should not be strong except in deep Omicrons such as O99, Iota and O90. As someone said, players should fill the server not NPC.

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[Reid]

Please for the love of god no. It took years for us to get non deadly NPCs, please don't send us back to the dark ages. Gallia was downright unplayable because of how incredibly powerful the NPCs were with their inifinite core SNAC bombers, and you couldn't ever get anywhere because every NPC had a CD.

Please, keep them as they are. It's way better than it was.

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[aerelm]

Back in 4.85, people used to do their RP on the map then fly 200k off plane to have decent pews, solely to avoid the continuous spawn of "dangerous" (the way you put it) NPCs ruining the fun for both sides (and let's not even get into what a major pain flying around Gallia was back then). You would even see players shooting NPCs of their own faction during pews, simply because they were just that annoying. I wouldn't mind seeing a high difficulty NPC option for single-player, but most certainly not for the online server (Though, considering what a huge mess setting up NPCs is, I'd be surprised if such an option is ever implemented).

i.e. Having challenging NPCs might sound good on paper, but in practice, literally the only thing it does is ruin player interaction - which happens to be the whole point of this server.

P.S: Threads like this always share the same pattern - People in favor of stronger NPCs usually mention things like "hiring escorts", implying a trader view-point, while those against it come from a more combat oriented point of view, who know having even 1 spawn of strong NPCs can completely throw off the balance of a fight. What's funny about that is back when NPCs actually packed a punch, majority of the complaints about NPCs came from traders and even some trade groups who always flew with escorts were in favor of toning them down back in the day. If you're just trading for the thrill and find yourself bored during your runs, maybe consider changing your route or your usual trading hours, cause that's a much better solution than buffing NPCs.

[nOmnomnOm]

Keep npcs weak. They also make the game lag :|

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[sasapinjic]

I am against idea of having strong NPC all over game , but maybe , some stronger ones around critical points can be discussed .
Like yesterday we had case of 2 Rheinland Cruisers going all the way to Manhattan and casually playing there , even killed couple of players until we take one down , and other one nice and safe landed on Rochester( how about no-dock options for Indies already ? ) . Similar case can be little harder to archive if , for example Cruiser patrol always (cruiser and two VHF) roam near JG in Capitol system , hostile ships will be forced to use JH or to fight their way in .

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[JohnyWalker]

I am against idea of having strong NPC all over game , but maybe , some stronger ones around critical points can be discussed .
Like yesterday we had case of 2 Rheinland Cruisers going all the way to Manhattan and casually playing there , even killed couple of players until we take one down , and other one nice and safe landed on Rochester( how about no-dock options for Indies already ? ) . Similar case can be little harder to archive if , for example Cruiser patrol always (cruiser and two VHF) roam near JG in Capitol system , hostile ships will be forced to use JH or to fight their way in .

The WAR with Rheinland is stopped right now.. what was doing around there those Rheinland cruisers? i hope hunting smugglers or pirates, not officers hehe

About NPCs... maybe it is possible to make the NPC spawning based in system amount of players instead the whole server? i mean... if 8 or 10 players in a system, there are no NPCs, but if you move next system where there are no players you will see NPCs spawning there... NPCs will appear only if you are alone in that system. In this way... NPCs would be improved all you want without touching player interaction.

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(Thanks Suis)