Some Questions and Answers
Why do we need this?
Four reasons.
Elite has become fragmented. It gives everybody the same chance to be part of the same community and puts everybody into the same space so it becomes better populated.
Elite has become unbalanced. Peaceful traders, miners, tourists etc are defenceless against rogue pilots in heavily engineered ships who delight in spoiling the game for other people.
It prevents PvE groups and charities being assaulted by rogue pilots.
Once you start selling Elite as a game, rather than a funded project, you then have customers. Customers do not pay to be target practice for experienced players with unassailable ships or shunted off into compromise corners away from the main game.
​
How does it work?
Does it provide full protection?
No. It does not provide protection against ramming or NPC's.
If the victim has sys on 4 pips then that should provide adequate protection against ramming. If it proves to be a weakness then we could add 'shield bounce' which throws the two ships a long distance apart, giving the victim a chance to escape and/or bring in local security ships.
For the pacifists and those interested in Elite solely as a space trading game then you could add the same protection against NPC's with an 'advanced' module called Berwyn Plus.
It locks the weapons of any human player targetting another. A warning that the Berwyn Protocol has been invoked will appear in the ship scan and, if no scan, then when an attempt is made by the attacker to fire his weapons.
Shouldn't this be in the forums?
Yes, but it's too long for a forum post. So I thought I'd lay out the detailed suggestion here and anybody who wishes can discuss it in the forum. I've made all my points here so there's nothing I could usefully add.
That said I'm not sure that the forums are fully representative of the community. I would guess the meek and the mild, who this would most benefit, are not as well represented as the 'professional' players who expect everybody to grid through the combat ranks before they can safely do a bit of trading etc.
Won't this annoy a lot of established players?
Probably. At least initially.
But all the good honest folk who play in open will, in reality, see little difference - except that space is better populated than previously.
I know a lot of credit for the fact that this games exists at all must go to the initial funders. But if you sell it as a game you cannot ignore the needs of the customers who buy it. Newbies are not cannon fodder, they expect a full game experience. If the established order want the game to succeed and develop they need the money from the noobs, so compromise is a necessity.
Why the over-elaborate website instead of a forum suggestion?
Good question.
I live half way up a Welsh mountain and we've been snowed in for 3 days - and the pub's run out of beer because the lorries can't get through. In the past I've hand designed websites in Notepad and used RAD's such as Dreamweaver - so I thought I'd play with Wix and have a little rant at the same time. Hopefully some people will enjoy it and maybe - just maybe - it'll help make Elite a better place to be.
What happens next?
I don't know.
If you like the idea please feel free to mention it. If you wish you can copy the signature image below and use it in the forum .
If you have a better idea let's hear about it. If Frontier have plans let us know.
If you absolutely hate the idea that's fine too.
Have fun and stay safe.
