Congratulations on Successfully Completing the Astrophage Campaign!

[NQ-Nyota]

From: Dr. Akina Eldon, Commanding Officer of the ASV Perseus, Flagship of the Janus Gate Taskforce
And: Admiral Magnus, Commanding Officer, ACV Orion (2-CVT-65)

Announcement: The Astrophage Campaign

To All Novean Mercenary Forces,

We stand today united as the guardians of Helios and the protectors of humanity. The struggle against the Astrophage is not behind us, but thanks to your unyielding bravery, the immediate threat has been contained. We've shown the enemy that we will not go quietly into the dark, we are here to stay, to grow, and to reclaim our place amongst the stars.

Rewards & Recognition

In acknowledgment of your efforts in defending the Arkship Novark and the entire Helios system, Aphelia and Command have authorized a package of rewards for the most effective combat crews. You fought not just for yourselves but for the future of all Noveans. Therefore, a substantial Quanta bonus and high-tier shield elements will be deposited directly into the inventories of deserving combat crews.

However, valor isn't only measured in victories. We saw that many of you gave your all on the battlefield, time and again, but did not achieve the same combat success as your comrades. For your sacrifices, your efforts, Command will honor you as well with a special title to recognize your role in this pivotal moment in our history. We will forward details on the new titles to be awarded in a special communication.

The Journey Ahead

Make no mistake, Noveans, this fight is far from over. But take this moment to celebrate your achievements and your survival. It's a testament to our resilience, and proof that united, we can face whatever the cosmos throws our way.

Remember, the key to our future lies in understanding the past—be it the secrets of the Janus Gate or the messages left by the Gate Builders. Our struggle is not just against the Astrophage, but also for the wisdom to navigate the perils and opportunities of Helios. Our scientists continue to delve into xenoarchaeological sites, and every bit of understanding we gain strengthens us.

Prepare for the challenges ahead, but for now, enjoy your well-deserved rewards. You've earned them. Keep your shields up and your spirits higher.

In Unity, There is Strength.
In Courage, There is Hope.
In Victory, There is Survival.

Onward, Noveans!

[Omukuumi]

Thank you for the message, here is my feedback on the experience.

Positive Aspects of the Event:

• In a PVP zone, potentially transitioning from PVE to PVEVP, but much more interesting and risky than an AlienCore event.
• Randomly massive damage dealt by the boss, capable of destroying an L core in 3 or 4 hit. (that was our real challenge here...)
• A sufficiently powerful shield that requires a lot of time and ammunition, increasing the chances of player interactions.
• The server held up well with the entire Legion fleet present.

Negative Aspects of the Event:

• Not announced by NQ or in-game through a message in the general chat or notifications in the middle of the screen.
• Timing too focused on Europe. (but it's hard to accommodate everyone)
• Randomly massive damage dealt by the boss, capable of destroying an L core in 3 or 4 hit. (... but Legion pilots are experienced and ship optimized and still died really fast, can be an issue for other players if involved)
• No damage on voxels, just CCS.
• Only a static core, random appearances of alien ships similar to PVE missions that follow a ship could have added excitement to the battle.
• A known coordinate in advance and therefore stations already in place, making surveillance and combat easier.
• No traces of the battle afterward, an Aphelia Core from the Boss in its final state could have added some interest. (instant despawn was a bit frustrating)

I remain very disappointed not to have had the chance to encounter opponents or even curious players coming to challenge us. With the boss's damage, our capital ships often had very low shields, forcing us to flee the combat to regenerate them... a perfect situation for the type of operations our adversaries like to conduct. Events like this should simply not be missed in terms of communication; that's the fundamental aspect. The more people are aware and prepared, the more there will be at stake, stories to tell, salt to sprinkle, and good moments to share among allies and enemies.

About the rewards; I maintain my opinion, even when some of my allies/mates will receive these rewards, that rewarding players with craftable items and resources/quantas is a real mistake; the economy is at a critical stage, and we really don't need that.

On the other side, offering a title is a good idea and a step in the right direction. Our only concern, I believe, is that you may not be able to reward all participants in the missions or the boss due to a lack of tools; many players have played in groups, some only as pilot, or performed other roles, and from what I see and think, they won't be traceable (no point awarded/no shoot fired...). We've been discussing this issue for a while now, not giving points/quantas to all players instead of just the one who takes the mission; please consider the game as an MMO.

In short, the missions and the boss event have had many shortcomings, but the improvements are easy to see and aim for in order to make such features interesting and fun.

Everything is and has always been in your hands, NQ; it's up to you to decide what you want to do with it.

[VarietyMMOs]

Pve BOSS feedback (event)

1) Announcement. Every player should know an event is happening. Notified Monday while event is on Saturday is minimal notice we should get. In game notices + social + discord

2) Boss needs to do voxel damage, event loses all the difficulty without it. Can be discussed. At min all ships MUST take element damage to encourage repair/loss.

3) Time zones : Lock down mechanics or multiple spawns (Sat/Sun) in different time zones to get all involved. More info at bottom of post

4) Rewards. I believe a community discussion should be involved as to exactly how/why but each person should feel rewarded. Not only time but for assets used

5) If rewards are quanta/physical objects an x amount of damage should be involved to get rewards to prevent people cycling through alts on a ship

6) Mega laser should swap between it ALL ammo types. This prevents people from pushing resists against the aliens main weapon.

7) PVE vs pvepvp. If the boss is spawned in pve area the difficulty needs to be higher (higher damage/health) to make it challenging. Pvp = more rewards (not exclusive rewards)

8 ) Boss shield resist should auto adjust to damage its taking to prevent the community from bringing highest dps weapon to overwhelm it 
9) If Pve enemies (like ones in instance fights) were spawned around the boss attacking ppl the battle would be A LOT more fun

Time zones are always a pain in global games, du being a very global game it's important to strike a balance. I have 2 main suggestions

1) Lock down. Example being boss spawns EU timezone Sat, this will encourage EU time zone players to go lock the core down (damage = reward so it's saved)
The next day in middle of NA time zone the lock down ends which allows NA players to come finish the boss. Both phases should offer same rewards (same mechanic as alien cores so not hard to develop?)

 

2) Multiple spawns. 1 on sat, 1 on sun, in different time zones to encourage participation without the lock down mechanic.

 

Even if the event boss was a one time thing for the event I do believe any type of pve boss enemy can easily be translated to a game loop without many steps from what we recently saw.