Re: Topic of progressing the storyline in a big jerk for every expansion then dropping it dead
While I agree it can be unsavory, there are two things that I see being big factors. 'Main' story progression happens as needed by the development team to explain the new shinies they're developing. FacWar as a lowsec boost? Empires go to war \o/, etcetra. Living world style progression, the kind we would prefer, I think doesn't receive any great attention because there is little resource allocation to it. That may change, as the idea is still under the shadow of Aurora I think.
The bigger of the two factors is that living world style progression wouldn't reach all the players in the game. If I hadn't participated in roleplay, and kept to the Nullsec lifestyle instead of leaving it, the entire story arc behind Incursions would've been a mystery. It wouldn't have registered on any of my radar, and frankly I would have seen the sudden return of the Sansha as being a big 'story jerk' anyway.
When you think of plot advancement, you have to decide who you are advancing the plot for. To the Nullsec players, the plot may not appear to advance at all because all the progression happens outside their play area. Consequentially what little value they may have for the storyline is degraded even further, since they are never involved in it, etcetra. The flipside happens for Empire dwellers if the story progresses in Nullsec.
The idea of a whole war in a single down time (Empyrean Age Expansion) can be distasteful, but it is the most suitable way of delivering the story to every player in the game.
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Topic: Is Crucible the first Eve expansion with no new PF or 'plot' advancement? (Read 5275 times)