The Main Story in Star Citizen 1.0: Its Importance, Challenges and Solution

[@jch1386]

Honestly, early missions to reclaim artifacts like the ones they've teased in old Pyro clips is a really good Indiana Jones style starter mission, some kind of treasure hunting thing.

[@boxofcannons600]

That’s a great idea. It opens up a bunch of different missions types and opportunities for exploration. It might open up a new mission type where you would be chased after having retrieved an artifact like Indiana Jones was always chased after he retrieved whatever artifact it was. The objective wouldn’t be to fight all the bad guys. It would simply be to escape.

[@erickruller4266]

Taking part in an Indiana Jones style story/quest line would be fun. Looking forward to seeing what we ultimately get.

[@Kurisu2019]

Absolutely agree that there needs to be variation. One way I think it could have it is the quest-givers viewpoints will effect the players viewpoint. Player A get a Terra sympathizer mission-giver, and the player needs to thwart a blackmailing by a Sol politician. Player B gets a Sol/Earth sympathizer mission-giver who talks about how a Terra military officer chose to respond slowly to a Sol-system distress call as they used the lives of the Earthlings as a bargaining chip (or something along those lines). Player A will be more likely to hate Sol and Player B will likely hate Terra. Each player has a different viewpoint based on their individual experience. It isn't like Indiana Jones though, where there is clearly a good side and an evil side: this is more like House of Dragon.

[@Sumgui119]

Ngl, having an Indiana Jones esque storyline would epic

[@Lokdin-nh6gw]

This idea of the main story has so many different facets that it is almost mind boggling, like how in Indiana Jones one man could take on and outsmart everyone. If you remember back to the character creator videos they talk about the different backgrounds that the players come from and what they are wanting to do in-game. It wouldn't make much sense for a player who wants do do mining like all of his previous generations to have the necessity of hopping in a fighter and doing a series of space combat and ground combat missions as that is not going to be their primary play style. In that same token doing something like a claim jumper mission would make sense for that profession line, as long as it is not the primary task for that story arc. The idea behind the main story as long as they can keep things moving and get players to explore the different aspects of the game to get an appreciation for each and see that they are all necessary then it will be a win. Another twist if they need variety would be to change it up depending on what system you have your primary residence in.

[@markcritic2409]

Nicest part of the "find the artifact" angle is, yeah, you can mine for it - fight on the ground for it, salvage it from a derelict, intense ship combat for it... and if you keep failing in one method, you could probably go BACK to the initial option tree and choose the storyline to *mine* for it instead of the ground combat that proved too difficult.

[@Ryecrash617]

I've intentionally refrained from thinking about the story because I don't like spoilers but I really like your idea of modeling it after Indian Jones. It's a clever solution to a potentially problematic questline.

[@3dVisualist]

I’m always amazed at how deeply you think about these issues! Indiana Jones is, indeed, a great solution. You get to complete your task, yet the Earth vs Terra is never fully resolved.

[@deathheart7076]

Agree 100% with the Indiana Jones view of a storyline. Would love to see random Gen of items on planets so your org can't just force feed the new guy and such.

[@rensolsen4400]

Applying the Indiana Jones treatment is a great idea.

[@markcritic2409]

with lots of different routes to choose... treasure hunt in abandoned wrecks, scout far away, sneak behind enemy lines, fight on the ground, intense firefights in space, even master that Prospector to mine a treasure beyond description! [accidentally dumps it in the refinery along with some worthless ores]

[@declinox]

I only played maybe 10 hours of Starfield, but it seemed to me to also have an Indiana Jones sort of plot... you come across an artifact and are recruited into a secret group of explorers and artifact hunters.

[@markcritic2409]

too bad it started to become so dull I lost all interest in bothering to find any more of them. Let that be important NOT to do!

[@robertvohs1699]

the missions being like an indiana jones movie would be cool. always wanted to be the adventurer he is when i was younger. thank you danny. i think the opportunities for 1.0 could be amazing if they carry them out right.

[@sotoa1]

Either Indiana Jones or Hans Solo, you made a good point.

[@pxkqd]

Since they have dynamic quests, they should use them for the main story. The end goal is to explore all systems, professions and gain citizenship. They just have to create different hooks and plots to interconnect it using different npc, different artifact lost, different materials needed for different crafting thing needed for a different whatever. For example, if you need to do a favor for the NPC that will introduce you to someone else, the favor can change every time a new player does it. Allow the criminal or legal guilds to achieve a similar abstract goal. Maybe you end up gaining citizenship by bribing or black mailing some official, instead of the paragon way.

[@FredFenster]

Indiana Jones type fetch quests sound good, as long as CIG can keep the bugs away!

[@koruzarius8071]

I love the idea of Indiana Jones style artifact hunting! Would be fun!

[@jessebrinson4582]

Hadn't thought about the Indiana Jones asset recovery path as a main story line. Always assumed it would primarily be militaristic, but I like the alternative or addition.

[@Kuhesgewehr]

The game should crew up people in NPC owned ships for some missions, allowing news to try multicrew and gating out expertise advantage. We really need a crew contracts option.

[@stormwolf3255]

I hope they can do something like this because exploration and lore are really something I enjoy err... exploring. Chasing after artefacts (human or otherwise) would be a pretty cool thing to do (and it wouldn't necessarily have to be the same gizmo for everyone either). Let's just hope any such Indiana Jones missions are more 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' than 'Crystal Skull' eh? ;)

[@markcritic2409]

...and anyone remember that 25-30 year old space game where you were sent to "recover stolen artwork" and it turns out to be... "Stolen art?? That's the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel! Who the heck steals the roof off the Sistene Chapel?!? ...but I gotta' admit - that's pretty impressive!"

[@Observer_Custos]

I think an Indiana Jones meets Hans Solo would be interesting, but also look how games like Elite Dangerous have had campaigns where the player community as a collective can make an ongoing impactful choice in the ongoing storyline, but that only works for one time events..but you could set it as a repeating event if it was say determine an election on whether Terra or Earth gets control and they replay the event every year at the same time with the result lasting until the next play of that campaign event.

[@RaysGuide]

True but this isn't the one time event. New players would be starting constantly.

[@vicsid9606]

LEROY JENKINS! is a great way to approach the main story line. Way better than Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider or Romancing the Stone or Monuments Men. Also, Fouzal can never die enough.

[@GeneralDodanna]

Indiana Jones on an Arrastra would be epic... just don't but legendary valuables on the external cargo grid ;)

[@justsomewhitewolf]

An Indiana Jones style main quest sounds fun.

[@enigmus998]

I think the Indiana Jones style is clever and interesting. I hope there i s enough ways to make it unique on every play through to keep it away for the original issue.

[@sbdyson]

I think Indiana Jones is a great template for the story. I'm also surprised so few people are talking about the story.

[@cmdr_thrudd]

An Indiana Jones like space treasure hunt treasure hunt would be loads of fun 🤣🚀

[@3769Chris]

For a proper heist CIG will need to create an animation to swap the loot with a bag of sand a la Indiana Jones.

[@morgandyoung]

Interesting idea with an Indiana Jones arc (ha!).

[@andrewfanner2245]

They could do a lot worse than looking at something like ESOL or LOTRO whixch get story telling right. They make the journey not the detinsation balance right. SC needs to get this balance. You can fail, but failure is usually defined as "died in the attempt". Some of the story may require grouping for completion, but an NPC can be made available. The story is not the only available activity and initially designed to assist in learning how the mechanics work.

[@NomadicHavoc]

My biggest fear in SC is falling into a cave full of snakes. Wonder if CIG will allow for some much needed whip action so I can swing myself outa danger…Indiana Jones style? Maybe that can be incorporated into the main story line.

[@JustforgamesHiro]

Main story is huge and if they would be well served to use the Indiana Jones style. Cheers!

[@circuitguy9750]

There's no way the story will move the needle. I think the point is to show that it's a big inevitable juggernaut that the most powerful forces can't change. Indiana Jones on the other hand, did a great job with moving the needle and saving the babe.

[@kobeathris4552]

Indiana Jones? We're in space! It should be Han Solo. I can see how you get them confused though, they do look remarkably similar.

[@Storm-Cleaver]

Borrowing from a variety of world capitals could make for some very amusing potentials. The Rome/Constantinople parallel between Earth and Terra is already interesting. But would one of them also be London? With the London Museum? Or will that be another? Maybe CIG's London stand-in will be the Banu. So, maybe there will be a Banu museum dedicated to human culture, made entirely of stolen/scavenged human artifacts. Taken completely out of context. I would _absolutely_ be the Banu's Indiana Jones. I'll supply them with all manner of ritual items from ancient humans fertility rituals. 🤣

[@marcjensen9080]

To lean into Indiana Jones you'd be opening up tunnel exploration and a risk of falling into a snake pit... I don't see that happening. This is a space game. 🤣 To be honest, I don't see player choices necessarily being quite so impactful either. From what little they've said I can imagine that the 'story' will be a sequence of missions that just expose us to the lore of a bit of political tension between Sol and Terra. I saw this way back in MechWarrior 2 and MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries where player actions were very peripheral in the grand scheme of things, but gave us an impression that we were a very small cog in a very large machine and in some way had us contributing to a wider effort. It's more like we're not the hero of this story, we're the Wedge Antilles "who was there" and who pitched in on the side objectives.

[@RaysGuide]

I think some are taking my Indiana Jones reference too literally. It was more the spirit of finding and recovering rarities for the museums. I thought about making the cultural reference be Warehouse 13 but I judged that too obscure.

[@marcjensen9080]

@@RaysGuide Yeah, I got that part (the Indiana Jones reference). It's the "spirit of finding and recovering rarities" that is the far off theorising that probably won't play out. It's too specific. Per my second paragraph there, I don't think we'll be the Indiana Jones of the story, we'll be the Wedge Antilles. Indy might recover the thing, while we might intercept the transmission that leads to us disrupting the hit squad sent to stop Indy saving the day.

[@Tschenggo]

If the main story is about becoming a citizen and if we have imersive train rides on every mayor planet, I fear we will have imersive Bureaucracy to become a citizen. "Did you bring your signed copy of a biometcric picture of your imprint? No....next appointment will be in three weeks" xD

[@Aero_Yuki]

Indiana Jones... would he find these space treasures for his own glory, or would he want to see them in a dusty, old museum?

[@Bob-jy6hm]

Indiana Jones style could work but lets not get ahead of ourselves. CIG have struggled for years to consistently track even the most basic progress of a player in their handful of handcrafted short duration server events. Imagine the new player reaction when a "main story" mission progress fails to record!

[@cyspeth39]

And now we can make Indiana Jones in space with the character creator. Competition for best Harrison Ford?

[@FuzeeSC]

Have you tried Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ?

[@gergenskits3940]

2 things irritate me about what I have heard about the main story line: 1) it sounds mandatory. I thought we would get Citizenship from SQ42. now it sounds like we have to do the main story in SC. MY PLAN was to buy a few hundred K of UEC, and start Day 1 with my MSR and Run cargo and Data and make my fortune and pride myself that I never once took a mission from the mission board. but now it sounds like there are too many perks behind the storyline, not the least of which is citizenship. 2) it sounds like it will require you to try out every career in the game. does that mean I'm going to have to buy a Prospector somewhere along the way? or maybe I can just rent one. I HATE the Mining mini-game. So, Indiana Jones or not, might be very fun, but it sounds like a waste of my time that I could be making my fortune and earning the ONE ship I won't buy with cash: the 890 Jump.

[@maestrom7531]

I do hope their story as as in-depth as you have lay out here...

[@marinosbitter]

And Indiana Jones approach could work. But it shouldn't have to be object focused. If we take inspiration from movies, a taken approach where you need to solve the kidnapping of a person could also work.

[@RaysGuide]

True but remember that the focus of the Main Story is the rivalry between Earth and Terra, so one would have figure out how to make the rescue the princess archetype fit into thatl.

[@Merciful_Angel]

I wonder if they'd let us be a little more professional than Indiana Jones; I hear he makes real archaeologists nervous.

[@odcon]

Artifacts and Indiana Jones type gameplay is really a missed opportunity. I have a character in mind I'm specifically hoping to do some collecting with and sell in a BMM. Sigh. Soon (tm).

[@Adam-vo6yl]

Indiana Jones would be a cool format as long as the stuff you're recovering isn't too special. Otherwise it's just that wizard thing again

[@Davie1072]

You were great at the here and now, go back to that, you are looking to far forward my man.

[@markcritic2409]

naw... CIG needs to know what their future plans are so the stuff they put in the game NOW is compatible with that!

[@williamlewis1805]

The only downside of artifacts is it sounds like star field

[@darkfae2002]

Indiana Jones

[@seotenin]

Woohoo

[@machoalright]

Main story in SC 1.0 has no importance at all. Its not an single player game after all. Its about doing your own thing and not be attached by story or anything like that. Its has lore you can go on, wich lets be frank, noone cares about. its only for the few people who are role playing.