Pilots! The “Return of the Precursors” adventure has concluded, and we hope that it managed to please you in one way or another, whether with its challenging assignments, new activities in the open world, or plot development. As promised earlier, we invite you to read a unique retrospective: an interview with one of the designers of the adventure! We hope that many of the decisions made in the course of creating this event will become clearer to you, and you will be able to look at your personal experience of completing the adventure from a different perspective.
Why did the adventure end, and why did it end so suddenly?
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.
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.
Were the goals of the adventure achieved, and what did you want to accomplish?
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.
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.
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.
A fairly simple cycle was created:
complete assignments;
receive resources (dissonant ammunition);
use the resources to obtain valuables in the Inverter by fighting the Precursors.
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.
What could pilots obtain during the adventure:
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
In addition to the somewhat unconventional adventure rewards distribution, we tried to cover a variety of needs.
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.
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.
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?”
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.
Did the developers’ expectations match the players’ experience?
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.
Here are a few specific examples:
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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...
Unfortunately, we have to admit that not all players fully explore the capabilities of new items, whether they are ships or equipment. Or perhaps we did not communicate the key features well enough, which, in our opinion, should have been immediately obvious. For example, few people were interested in the “Exorcist” with its guided torpedo: “Oh well, it’s low-tier, let’s just put it in the collection and forget about it”. However, this torpedo has increased maneuverability and is capable of revealing both players and AI enemies, at a distance comparable to the effects of “Dawn” and “Aurora”. We really hoped that these features would suggest a certain way of playing to pilots, but judging by the feedback, it didn’t quite turn out as expected.
Or the “Snoop” scanner, a CPU modifier that is only installed on low-tier ships, is essentially a version of the “Spatial scanner”. It helps to detect invisible (and only invisible, without cluttering the UI) enemies at a distance of 7.5 km in both the open world and any other mode, including PvP Arena. And in open world sectors it can help you find mysterious “blue” containers with Mk.5 blueprints. This scanner becomes available to players after completing the stage “Unlawful son and mother of all stars”, that is, in the middle of the adventure storyline. Perhaps for the sake of this one item alone (not counting the harder to obtain “Th’ak’Len”, the “Aurora” scanner, and the “Exorcist” ship), it was worth taking your time to complete at least half of the adventure, and the scanner itself was tied to the optimal completion of a number of further stages.
We also would like to talk about the adventure guides made by the players themselves. Our entire team would like to express our respect to TheDerpNukem, DarkWind56, and all the other players who actively helped other pilots progress through the assignments. Initially, we were skeptical about such initiatives, believing that they deprived players of the opportunity to solve puzzles on their own. However, over time, we realized that those who want to play on their own will not rely heavily on guides and walkthroughs. The fact is that initially, a hint system was planned to help players complete a particular assignment in case they got “stuck”, but for a number of technical reasons, it had to be abandoned. As it turned out, all the pilots who helped their comrades unwittingly became our “freelance assistants”, increasing the level of player communication, which was one of the goals of the adventure. Even if the walkthroughs shared by the players turned out to be different from what we had in mind, they still worked and helped to progress through the chain of assignments.
Once again, we would like to express our gratitude and respect to all authors of guides and walkthroughs, as well as those who offered a helping hand in completing difficult stages directly in the game!
What were the challenges in the development of the adventure?
All the difficulties stemmed from the fact that the game’s engine is already quite old, and a number of necessary mechanics were simply not included during development. We couldn’t implement some simple (by today’s standards) things or ideas simply because they weren’t there in the first place, and reworking that would require major changes to the code. A simplified and exaggerated example: let’s say you built a house and you need to remove/add/change just a few bricks near the floor. To maintain the integrity and reliability of the structure, you would have to dismantle the house almost down to its foundations and rebuild it again, which sometimes makes it more optimal to build a new house and solve the issue of “replacing bricks” in a roundabout way or postpone it.
Some things simply could not be taken into account from the start. For example, the problem with the “Kim was here” stage and the pursuit of the courier at “Naberia-392 complex”. We simply exceeded the once-set (and long-forgotten) limit on the number of stages in the adventure, which turned out to be critical at the moment when the courier was lost and reset, and this error could not be detected during testing. Yes, the problem was eventually solved, and the players were returned to the correct stage, but of course this spoiled the overall experience somewhat.
The same applies to pirate destroyers. Yes, the fact that they “leave” after a while has been a long-standing mechanic, and within the scenarios where it was applied, everything looked relatively normal and logical. But in the stages of the adventure, such an “exodus” looked a bit strange, we agree. However, it was decided not to rework this, in order to leave the possibility of completing the stage for those who, for some reason, could not enlist the help of other pilots. As a result, the stage turned out to be logically inaccurate.
It is also worth talking about the seed-chips. They introduce a fairly large imbalance, greatly simplifying the game in open world. AI enemies are no longer any competition, and assignments such as “collect valuables” and “find/destroy” become practically monotonous: in the first case, you need to fly close to an object and press the interaction button, and in the second, fly within shooting range and press the fire button. Under such conditions, any challenge completely disappears. We understand that there are players who are satisfied with this gameplay, but as practice has shown, disabling the seed-chips does not critically affect the ability to complete assignments. Yes, it becomes more difficult in some systems, especially in the Jericho sectors, but the opportunity to complete any contract still remains. As mentioned earlier, there were even skilled players who were able to destroy new enemies in the Inverter without dissonant ammunition! However, there is another aspect of the open world that is much more affected by disabling the seed-chips: PvP. In this case, the conditions for players are equivalent to those in the PvP Arena or any other PvP mode, which significantly reduces the “gap” between owners of chips of different quality and increases the risk of return fire, which must now be taken into account.
Naturally, during activities related to the open world (in particular, this adventure), a huge gap in capabilities is created if the chips are not disabled, whereas our goal was for players to start out on relatively equal footing and achieve results based on their current skills and quick thinking rather than because they once got a rare BFG. Seed-chips were introduced into the game quite a long time ago, and over that time our attitude towards them has become rather the opposite, but we are not ready to completely remove them either: many players have spent a significant amount of resources and time on them, and it would be unfair to just get rid of them. So if you value your seed-chips, don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use them!
What are the future plans for utilizing the experience gained during the adventure?
Significant work needs to be done to communicate certain aspects and descriptions to players in a more understandable way, so that people can quickly and correctly understand what the developers are offering them.
Regarding seed-chips, it is possible (we cannot promise when, returning to the example with the bricks) that chips will be disabled in the current static PvP sectors of the open world, but will still work in PvE sectors. The task is not easy, but we are considering ways to implement it.
Moving slightly away from the topic to the 18+ rank ships, discussions are ongoing. In general, we have no desire to create more ranks. Of course, the introduction of new ranks will generate increased interest in them, but this is more of a “race to nowhere.” The game already has a huge number of both old and not-so-old ships with interesting and sometimes unique mechanics, but they have been undeservedly forgotten. Some may have noticed that many activities are now focused on trying to “rehabilitate” low-rank (mostly “silver”) ships with minimal participation of “purple” and R16-17 ships. In particular, this adventure could be completed quite efficiently with standard ships, which we checked repeatedly, and for some difficult cases, ships and modules were issued free of charge, allowing players to complete a whole chain of stages.
Either way, we value the opinions of players, and if we notice a demand for them, then based on the results of surveys, we may consider introducing ships of 18+ ranks... And “insurance” against anomalies!