A starmade universe storyline

[wanzer]

hi

I like starmade's sandbox like approach.
It offers everyone a way of expressing their own story of how they explore, conquer, industrialize, etc.

Now at some post I read someone having critics about where starmade is going.
I disagree with many points but i did agree with one point.

A story line, one for starmade it self!

One that can be implemented (as a option) to a server and have its effects on factions, its structures, abandoned stations etc etc.

For those that know eve online
its a bit like how factions became friends and others became enemies , the sleeper drones and the jovians.

and those that like starwars
im referring to where things like the "star forge" came from and how such a artifact / structure effects civilizations that are formed long after the creators have ceased to exist.

Also
how is the universe of starmade created?
be it a big bang theory, or like "world of warcraft", having something totally different?

Would such an story be desired?

And if so
.would the community be able to help shape such a story ?
.when does a story become cannon?
.do we vote on a story describing a certain event?
.will we have starmade cannon pages?

And if we create such a story that might contain non human races like aliens and robots, can those be implemented as selectable models?

hope to see feedback on this
best regards,
wanzer.

 

[Alphajim]

I voted no, but I think in the future this can be nice if we can have some basic parts of the stories of the factions. All of this being on some random tablets we can find (I don't remember their name), and being editable via a .txt file on any faction folder ^^

 

[Deserea]

Just a little note though, i voted the third option...
But the star forge in star wars isnt cannon despite how much i wish it was. Great game and a decent example for your purpose though! :3

 

[Jake_Lancia]

So, something like what I've been writing on the Trident Wiki, turning in-game events into established SM 'history' but written/shown ingame? I don't see why not.

 

[Dr. Whammy]

I wouldn't be against a story line. However, I personally wouldn't really put much focus on it since I have my own story line/faction lore that I incorporate into the game.

 

[ZombieMouse]

I think that stories bring life to a game and are important, but this is something that server admins, faction leaders and players in the StarMade community should make rather than anything Shine needs to focus on.

 

[MacThule]

I voted third - we make our own stories. That said, I'm not opposed to the idea. It has appeal as long as it doesn't restrict servers creating their own stories.

 

[wanzer]

wait the star forge wasn't cannon ?
bleh!!

 

[Gasboy]

I don't think that the devs need to put in a background story. It's something that we players can do ourselves. Servers will have their own background and history.

 

[Crimson-Artist]

im not sure why ppl seem to oppose a centralized story in the game. I mean technically speaking the game has already canonized the idea of a multiverse.

In the tutorial sector I believe that one of the NPCs actually admits to their being other universes as a way to explain multiplayer. The way i see it as long as the game acknowledges the existence of a multiverse then i think we can metaphorically have our cake and eat it too.

 

[Valck]

im not sure why ppl seem to oppose a centralized story in the game. I mean technically speaking the game has already canonized the idea of a multiverse.

I'm not opposed to a general game lore or storyline for the game; what I'm not convinced of is a storyline in the game.
The distinction being a background story presented on the web site, forums, etc., which you can choose to embrace or disregard, versus one within the game which you couldn't evade.

If the game has a prefabricated lore, it has to show up in mission descriptions, loot (log books etc.), and other places, to be found by the players. One might argue that as long as every bit is moddable, it wouldn't hurt; it might even serve as a sort of tutorial.
The question is, how many people want to have their universes' back stories written for them versus how many want their own original lore, or (possibly more likely) re-create a popular TV or literary universe which Schine could never offer anyway, if only for copyright reasons.

I guess you can't completely avoid some in-game lore if the game is to have any stuff that sets it apart from other games, but it takes a lot of effort to create a fully fleshed-out, convincing, consistent background story, and I wonder whether it's worth putting in the resources it would take.
In my opinion it would be best to keep any inevitable lore as light and unobtrusive as possible and let each individual server's operators and/or population flesh out the rest the way they like it, but in the end it all hinges on the question whether Schine want Starmade to be a sandbox or a "franchise", for lack of a better word.

 

[Jake_Lancia]

There's already lore elements in-game via the logbooks that could be found at old-style 'prate' stations (the ones with the tentacle shit all over). I see no real reason not to expand them into a full-fledged story that can be enabled/disabled at a server level, and could be found in newer structures too.
Also there was a little lore surrounding the old names of some blocks like 'Plex Door' and 'BOBBY AI' etc.

 

[Dr. Whammy]

I wish they'd let you craft log books pr purchase them at advanced shops. I had plans to make my own player-created quests on multi-player. Everything from seek and destroy to 'rescue missions' at LV426...

I think StarMade should be a multi-verse theory game. Every server has different factions and rivalries. It makes sense that these same factions and players should be making the story that is best suited to their hosting server.

 

[Crimson-Artist]

I'm not opposed to a general game lore or storyline for the game; what I'm not convinced of is a storyline in the game.
The distinction being a background story presented on the web site, forums, etc., which you can choose to embrace or disregard, versus one within the game which you couldn't evade.

If the game has a prefabricated lore, it has to show up in mission descriptions, loot (log books etc.), and other places, to be found by the players. One might argue that as long as every bit is moddable, it wouldn't hurt; it might even serve as a sort of tutorial.
The question is, how many people want to have their universes' back stories written for them versus how many want their own original lore, or (possibly more likely) re-create a popular TV or literary universe which Schine could never offer anyway, if only for copyright reasons.

I guess you can't completely avoid some in-game lore if the game is to have any stuff that sets it apart from other games, but it takes a lot of effort to create a fully fleshed-out, convincing, consistent background story, and I wonder whether it's worth putting in the resources it would take.
In my opinion it would be best to keep any inevitable lore as light and unobtrusive as possible and let each individual server's operators and/or population flesh out the rest the way they like it, but in the end it all hinges on the question whether Schine want Starmade to be a sandbox or a "franchise", for lack of a better word.

schine does appear to be moving in the direction of allowing players to customize ever bit when it comes to servers. which is fine players should be able to craft the experience that they want. What I was getting at is a centralized lore should mostly be reserved for single player while multiplayer can be whatever the server owners want it to be.

The default assets that schine is currently building all indicate that there is in fact "Some" kind of lore. At least one that is active in single player. I've said this multiple times now that if the game is to have some lore it should follow the Dark Souls style of world building. A fragmented background lore that at the most basic is meant to give context to the players actions but vague enough to allow players to make up their own stories. This would allow schine to work on implementing features without having to worry about breaking continuity since the established continuity is so vague.

I've been working on a lore based item description pack for some time now so I understand why schine is holding off on adding more lore to the game. Writing interesting backstories for the hundreds of unique blocks is both tiring and rewarding.

 

[sayerulz]

There's already lore elements in-game via the logbooks that could be found at old-style 'prate' stations (the ones with the tentacle shit all over). I see no real reason not to expand them into a full-fledged story that can be enabled/disabled at a server level, and could be found in newer structures too.
Also there was a little lore surrounding the old names of some blocks like 'Plex Door' and 'BOBBY AI' etc.

Last I checked, those logbooks were from old star trek episodes. At least, that's my memory of them.

 

[Valck]

For me, Starmade's strength and appeal lies with it being a sandbox that allows players to do whatever they like, and create their own stories and experiences. An elaborate background lore and storyline seems better suited for a more linear type of game where a story can properly be told and allowed to unfold. In my opinion it doesn't make sense to try to shoehorn one into the other.

 

[DevajC]

It should have its own story. Making up your own roleplay back story in your head/display blocks is not the same and no where near as fun as a real story. And there is no open world game out there that lets you create your own story while still letting it have some ingame depth(being more than readable text.) How will they let players make their own story? By being able to change item descriptions? Thats cool but its still roleplay. They should add backstory with an optional "campaign" where players can substitute enemies with their own blueprints, while still letting us change item descriptions so the players who want something cohesive can be happy and the roleplayers can be happy.

 

[josemik]

I would like to see little story lines in the universe, like for example, you step into a faction main base, and you find a console or something, that tells you the past of that faction and what they think about the other factions and maybe some guiance to secret faction space stations with story line to explore, also, there can be some abandoned bases with mini-stories inside of them that tells you the history of someone who used to live in that station, and reveals interesting info about the starmade universe for example

 

[wanzer]

guys don't forget this part

A story line, one for starmade it self!

One that can be implemented (as a option) to a server and have its effects on factions, its structures, abandoned stations etc etc.

to act like a plugin