How does RP work in this game?

[Fezzes are Cool]

I've heard the in-game lore is templated copy-pasta which is unavoidable I'm sure...

What about out-of-game lore? I don't just mean the ancient past but also how life works today.

What do you sink your teeth into as an RPer?

I guess ultimately my question is, can you describe a day in the life of an RPer in E:D?

Thanks!

[Crimson Echo]

Much of the background of the elite universe comes from previous games, but not everything in the old games is still cannon.

Out of game there are a set of books and novellas. 'The Dark Wheel' was a novella shipped with some (possibly all?) copies of Elite 1984 (the first game). On of the creators (ian bell) of elite has the text online at: http://www.elitehomepage.org/dkwheel.htm

More recently books like Elite Legacy and Elite Reclamation were written (among others) for the launch of the current Elite game. (most, but not all of the info/lore in the books is still considered cannon)

From a RP perspective it is helpful to get the lay of the land. There are 3 super powers: The Federation (the oldest power, and controllers of the Sol system. They on paper still democratic , but are basically run by the corporations, and most people are essentially wage slaves. ) the Empire (who thinks human slavery is totally great, and tends to avoid the level of automation/mechanization present in the federation.) , and the Alliance of independent systems (closest to actually democracy, but less powerful than the other 2 powers.) Choosing who you align with and how your character approaches the world of elite is a good place to start.

Personally I aligned with the Alliance, am very much against slavery and the empire, and am willing to tolerate the federation so long as there credits are good. I am mostly a bounty hunter and explorer, but am not afraid to get my hands a little dirty if the pay is right.

The story and RP side of the game is basically on ice, but there may be more story lore stuff added next year.

The day in an RPer can be very varied based on the player. It basically just informs what me as a character is willing to do in game. On any given day i do whatever i feel like on a given day within.

The game has a lot of lore and background to draw on to build a living galaxy for RP's to enjoy, but in the last few years this aspect of the game has been effectively abandoned from FDev's side. Now it is basically just a sandbox with social elements/options, and a near static universe.

[Planewalker]

If you open the "External Panel" (right side menu(4)), you can go to Codex -> Factors, and have a lot of the stuff there read aloud to you while doing other things; quite immersive imo.

[Mu77ley]

For additional background stuff, there are a whole bunch of novels set in the Elite galaxy: https://www.frontierstore.net/books.html

[Mu77ley]

Oh, and if you also enjoy tabletop RP, there's the official Elite: Dangerous RPG:
https://www.modiphius.net/collections/elite-dangerous

[AISTHESIS]

Stations will talk to you when you come and go and you can hear police chat. Your NPC co pilot will talk to you as needed. You will get comms messages from passengers in your ship "lets stop here" and messages from pirates "what do you carry". All of that feels good but repeats. When taking missions, selling things, etc to an NPC you get a still picture of them and text. You feel life as you come and go but it feels lifeless when you turn in missions and such like you did what was asked, here is your pay, go away. The role play part NPCs do could have more life.

You can do jobs to help any minor faction in game and see changes from your efforts. You can deliver medicine for a week and cure an outbreak. You can help a minor faction expand into another system by stealing data, combat missions, etc and see actual changes. This is done well. When you work for A you may become a target for B. Go explore for a week and on return your faction may be in famine so you deliver food.

You have plenty of freedom in this game. If you want your actions to matter they can. If you want to feel very involved in something the player groups are really good with that and community events like 13,000 players on a journey that took months. If you want to feel independent and alone that is no problem. Players even made a group called Fuel Rats and did rescue missions. This became so popular Frontier added their image in game.

I started as independent, learned and earned, bought everything I want, modified my ships, and retired. Retired meaning I travel, look, and visit. I don't do missions, I don't do combat, I just hang out, fly crazy, tease the pirates, even fly through conflict zones and watch the battles, and practice my no assist flight.

If you are debating getting the game note that you are always in the cockpit except when you are driving the buggy. You don't get out of your ship at stations or walk. You will never see an actual NPC talk or move, you will only see a picture of them. The game excels in other areas like ship flight and ship building and the massive galaxy.

[Fezzes are Cool]

Thanks for the responses so far, keep 'em coming if anyone has any more to say!

[Frank K]

Commander Frank K is the Elite:Dangerous character who've I've extensively role played for the past 4 years.

The CMDR is a Federation patriot and loyalist of President Hudson. He is also known to be an anti-slavery zealot, a fierce champion of freedom and democracy and a stalwart opponent of despots and slavers.

After a stint as head of recruiting for the Hudson Power he retired from Power politics and now works behind the scenes. The CMDR is a member of the Omega Corps [OHMS], an elite Federation team based on the fringes of the human Bubble. Their area of operations is close by several Imperial factions, but far from any Federal support.

The CMDR also chairs the Citizens' Committee to Combat Piracy (CCCP) a public advocacy group with ties to people alleged to be terrorists in Imperial circles. Such rumors are dismissed by Federal authorities as Empire slander on civic minded patriots. The Commander himself refuses comment on the allegations.

OOC
This is a brief outline of what determines how my character operates in the game. I rationalize all my game activities based on fanatical loyalty to the Fed President and hatred of the Empire. I have an extensive backstory created, which is TL;DR for the forum. Elite is a great place for role play!

There are lots of RP logs on INARA, an Elite fan website with a large following, and lots of information about the game as well as the logs I mentioned.

https://inara.cz/news/

[Thermal Lance]

RP works this way. You start looking for the honk on your joystick before calling "That guy who hits you out the mailslot" an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

[Planewalker]

One of the better stories i heard of, was when Maya became a thing; a CMDR would be out there, telling people to sing before they were allowed to move on.

He claimed it was for a show called "The galaxy's got talent". =D

[Naryoril]

It's not like the whole empire is in favor of slavery, there are also factions inside the empire who are against it. Most notably Aisling Duval prohibits slavery in the systems she controls.

[ZenZone1]

Slavery isn't even a pale shadow, it's a text in your cargo list like all other items. I work for all three sides as long as the pay is good. You gonna miss out on the Imperial ships if you're too picky. After all it's not even real.

[Naryoril]

Originally posted by ZenZone1:

Slavery isn't even a pale shadow, it's a text in your cargo list like all other items. I work for all three sides as long as the pay is good. You gonna miss out on the Imperial ships if you're too picky. After all it's not even real.

I think you miss the point of RP... It's about behaving like someone who lives in that universe, assuming a role and act according to it, even if it means having some disadvantages due to that. Of course you don't have to do it and it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but i can be the source of a lot of fun and enjoyment. So maybe you could assume the role of someone being a staunch enemy of slavery, then it becomes more than just some text in your cargo. Aisling Duval's stance on slavery could lead to interesting opportunities for such an RP player.

[ZenZone1]

Originally posted by Naryoril:

... So maybe you could assume the role of someone being a staunch enemy of slavery, ...

I can be the good guy, i like being the good guy but after i got all the good stuff. I'm doing as many Imperial missions as i can and there aren't many missions that i like to do. Doesn't matter which faction or superpower because i'm chasing after the Cutter.

Recently was working on a mission for Imperials and was offered a better offer to change sides but i stayed on the original mission because it's so hard to rise up to Duke rank; it's a slow crawl.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1932651004

[ZenZone1]

BTW i'm not in Imperial space, i'm with Li-Yong so Imperial missions are a bit scarce here.

[Frank K]

Originally posted by ZenZone1:

Slavery isn't even a pale shadow, it's a text in your cargo list like all other items. I work for all three sides as long as the pay is good. You gonna miss out on the Imperial ships if you're too picky. After all it's not even real.

Imperial ships? Shiny baubles designed to inflate the egos of autocrats and their sycophants. You can keep them, I'll stick with the Core Dynamics combat platforms preferred by Federation combat pilots. Honest iron over fur and fluff!

PS
Do you even know what RP is?