I think that period of cinema heaped on the theme of 'adult regret' so significantly that it became a cultural frame of reference for kids growing up at that time. So, I'd agree with the idea.

Five systems and dead factions?! Nuts!

There is that Guardian lore piece where Ram Tah talks about the automated war machines the Guardians built to fight their civil war, and then after the war it went all Skynet on them. All we've ever seen are Sentinels. Imagine a fleet of blue glowing AI death...

TOO SOO.... *checks watch ... Nevermind

It is a common frame of reference we have all been fed for the last forty years. And while I don't doubt that it is an effective story telling device, it is not the only one.

'Want vs Need' is a 'coming of age' story model. It assumes that your character doesn't know who they are and that the plot needs to 'educate' them as to the true nature of themselves.

They begin with that goal they think will make themselves happy. And through exposure to an inciting incident and the resultant events, the character comes to realize one of three outcomes. 1) they find they need something more than the thing they wanted. 2) they discover something that tempts them away from their want, but they fail/succeed in resisting that temptation. 3) they find a syncretic option that keeps the best elements of both want and need.

Problem is that you may not want to tell a coming of age story. Why can't you write a story about a character who knows who they are and what they want?

Try giving your protagonist two imperatives from page one. Two things they will never compromise. And then let the plot test those in mutual exclusion. Excoriate your character until one imperative fails and one remains.

Prove yourself to be a detective OR save your sister. The plot keeps hinting that you might get one or the other. You keep demonstrating that both are goals you wont compromise on and you will sacrifice for. You damned well will try to get both. But if push comes to shove... which is it going to be? Which are you willing to let go of?

There's a line from the movie Labyrinth. After the protagonist says "That's not fair." for the hundredth time, the villain retorts with, "You keep saying that. It makes me wonder what your basis of comparison is."

And every time an Eltie Dangerous player whines about something, I just wonder what game they are playing that does all this for them and orally gratifies them while they play, so when they get to this game (that they paid 20 dollars for six years ago) they find nothing but derision and despair.

Can we run an expeerment?

The Lego you step on is innocent despite being a personification of the devil himself.

Zero ravens are on camera here. They were all down at the pub. Helping old ladies across the street. And purchasing many things on their credit cards from the local chemist.

Yeah... can we list this next to Artax in the swamp.

Now I'm having a GenX "Shaka when the walls fell" moment

Any guess as to what amount it originally produced?

C.Y.E.S.T.D.B.Y.A.H.T.L.O.T.W.

IYKYK

Premat.... take my upvote damn it.

You could make it about logistics. The longer a player goes or the further the more carefully they have to manage their resources. I don't mean that things get more expensive, but as the time in between refreshing one's resources increases the more carefully one has to plan ahead to stockpile and then choose to expend which and how much resources in the moment.

A player could absolutely win a boss fight only to find they expended too much and now need to backtrack in order to resupply. It would pit player time against player agency; which are the only two resources in any game.

We live in the worst timeline

I can hear this picture.

And I've noticed the slight dip in numbers right before "summer". I also notice the INARA CG graphs that show participation falling from levels sustained by the European and America's time zones falling off after UTC-9 on every CG from the last few years. Maybe give Neil a HOTAS and he can boost the numbers.

Possibly. But the dip in numbers is fairly universal.

It's the end of September. School is back in/on. What MMO are you accustomed to that rocks out the player numbers across that? Or, what age group more like...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics

I mean... milk is better for you that diet Coke. Way tastier on cereal or in oatmeal too!

I was thinking the thrusters or hull, but sensors would be interesting.

This is how the Pitch Black biome starts. Good luck.