Will we be able to capture notorious NPC bounties planetside, or will we have to attack them in space?asked by TheHound
TL;DRNotorious NPC bounties can be captured planetside, on stations or in space depending on encounter scenarios, within a universe planned as mostly AI, with missions chaining modular encounters dynamically.
This kind of fits into what I was saying about NPC levels and persistence, no you will not have to attack them in space, there will be opportunities to capture them on planetside, spacestations and space itself. It'll depend on what encounter scenarios we set up for them and where you find them at any time. To be clear with everyone, we're looking at setting up the universe with about 90% AI and 10% players, which we think will allow players to have an impact in areas, but not to completely destabilise it. So you'll mostly see/encounter NPCs. There will be certain areas that'll attract more players and PvP etc, but as you're flying around you'll see cargo traders, cruise liners, pirate etc as NPCs. We're trying to make it so that it's not just about space, it's also the results of these people going about their daily lives, or missions or trading etc. In the event of going after a big bounty NPC for example, there may be a case where you go after him in space, then he goes down to a planet where you have to land and chase him on foot, down to a certain area and maybe have a gunfight down a shady alley. All of these things will be part of the mission system we're building, where different encounter scenarios can be strung together depending on the outcome of the previous one. It'll allow for a very dynamic experience, it won't feel like it's been scripted, as each one of these mission modules are fairly basic, but these mount onto one another and so feel very different once all built. So yes, on space or on the ground.