Will the BBS come back in XR?

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 11:36

Even tho it was basic in x2 the BBS it had promise. I had hoped in x3 it would be very much expanded but it was dropped instead.

Will XR see the return of a good very indepth BBS for hiring crews, local and global news, jobs, general info?

SIMON POPPLEWELL · Post by **SIMON POPPLEWELL** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 11:54

Unlikely, XR is gone in a completely new direction from the other X games.

Post by **Geek** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 11:55

Unlikely.

Docking will not be mandatory for trading, so an old style BBS, which required docking, will not fit well the next game.

Also i can see what looks like mission/offer symbols in some of the screenshots

Overall, remote control seems pretty much the main point of XR.

SIMON POPPLEWELL · Post by **SIMON POPPLEWELL** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 12:00

Geek wrote: Also i can see what looks like mission/offer symbols in some of the
Overall, remote control seems pretty much the main point of XR.

I don't think they are mission symbols, they may be a location where you can add items/new modules to stations etc.

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 12:23

Never said it had to be on a station. Since the ship has alot of functionality why not just use it onboard your ship instead of the stations from x2.

Scoob · Post by **Scoob** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 12:38

Hi,

You know, I'd not be surprised if something similar (though likely implemented differently) made a comeback in XR.

The classic jobs board of random missions available in a central place (station social area for example) might be fun - especially for starting players.

Being offered stuff while in-space (as in TC) doesn't have to be excluded as more ways to get missions isn't a bad thing.

It might be something like you com a station as ask "what have you got for me" and you get presented with some missions. Maybe trade/resource type based on the stations needs, or expanded to 3rd party missions such as assasination.

Yes, I think some form of "BBS" might work quite well - as long as it's nicely presented and easy to access.

Scoob.

X2-Eliah · Post by **X2-Eliah** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 12:53

I certainly hope some kind of newspaper/bbs system is present.. It adds a lot to the immersion & universe, and is a nice way to present lore for those interested in extra details..

The question is, whether they have a writer to create all the new texts required for that.

Post by **Geek** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 13:25

Skeeter wrote:Never said it had to be on a station. Since the ship has alot of functionality why not just use it onboard your ship instead of the stations from x2.

First you talked about X2 BBS.
Then, if it is not station (or npc) based, how would it work ? Not every place is the same. You can not just broadcast everything to the player ship.

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 13:46

Well the ships computer could fetch the local info from the sector like a rss feed of sorts for the sector?

Post by **Geek** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 15:14

I see, but i doubt such a feature will be in the next game, especially when it comes to missions or npc hiring. The interface needs to be more streamlined than a lot of options packaged into a single ship system.

Bill67 · Post by **Bill67** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 16:04

Geek wrote:Docking will not be mandatory for trading, so an old style BBS, which required docking, will not fit well the next game.

I see a few have stated this in different threads and trying to see where I missed it but when/where did they mention the no need to dock anymore? And what did they say was the alternative to docking?

We may not get the BBS system back but but since they are adding a personal touch, maybe we will have something in between.

Post by **Geek** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 16:23

Read Bernd interview in the X newsletter 43, especially the latter part.
http://www.egosoft.com/x/xnews/201105_1_44News.html

How trade is done is even different. There's no landing to pick up wares and take them elsewhere. You now overfly the station and see what's on offer.

Virtualaughing · Post by **Virtualaughing** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 17:13

In the freelancer BBS news system you got additional infirmation about the whole game. In x2, x3R the BBS is low on articles but that was one of the best features of the game. The real question is. Why cant we read articles without ldocking on a base???

I believe the BBS is not just about to pick missions. It was always fun to read some stories within.

Scoob · Post by **Scoob** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 19:50

There's no reason really why there shouldn't be a variety of systems in place. If you do chose to dock at a station (say some sort of trading hub) then why not a Bar to visit like Freelancer? It worked quite well.

Also, something like the Galactic news system, keeping players informed of certain random events occuring at the moment - not missions as such, but certainly potentially leading to opportunities...

The more variety the better really, but introducing things to the player gradually might be an idea. I.e. you first get given a mission (plot) directly, next you're asked to "visit the bar at such and such station", next you might be asked to hail a ship in space...etc. etc. I think this sort of thing adds depth, and introduces the different methods available to the player...

Scoob.

Bill67 · Post by **Bill67** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 20:35

Geek wrote:Read Bernd interview in the X newsletter 43, especially the latter part.
http://www.egosoft.com/x/xnews/201105_1_44News.html
How trade is done is even different. There's no landing to pick up wares and take them elsewhere. You now overfly the station and see what's on offer.

Ok I did see that , but I think I glossed over it, but all I took from it is we have a new way to get cargo from station but hoping that doesnt mean that docking is out altogether. Altho re-reading that I kind of wonder what trade will be like. Will be using our ship to fly over factories stalls instead of just seeing a market list?

Since teleporting was in last iteration and this is the future, I dont see why it wouldnt be here. But I am still hoping for some interaction points or else why goto trouble with the exiting ship. I know they wont have full interiors but yeah like someone said a watering hole.

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 21:20

I would bet anyone that docking is still in, maybe not in the old sense but you almost certainly can dock to stations.

Post by **Geek** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 21:28

I read that there will be some sort of landing pad, but not sure about internal docking.

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 21:43

Internal docking would be great if like xbtf-x2 but a landing pad is infinitely better than the utter crap of what was introduced in x3 and tc "the docking arm" imo.

Personally I would have to wonder if i want to get XR if it doesnt go back to internal docking (xbtf or x2) style. Sure i skip it alot when i got a docking computer but its still awesome at the start of the game and on occasion when you want that docking music and have to fly carefully into the hatch to dock, experience.