Why Factionless Robots?

I think it's a nice RP feature. Roleplay might as well be one of the only values you'll get in fear of introducing a pay 2 win problem.

I'm not picky with gear or fights, so I'll probably try this system out

what will happen is the underpop faction will get mostly skilled players i.e dbg baiting them to subscribe for 'elite skins' since lower skill players won't be able to use NSX weapons effectively instead of making them where anyone can play them effectively if they subscribe without limiting them to NS weapons.

no matter how skilled a player is they can only subscribe once, a feature that lets any level of skill player have a 'membership skin' combined with an effective RNG 'which faction am i today' mechanic when they login would encourage more people to subscribe that are sitting on the fence waiting for just a little nudge.

it's clear on the basis of the default weapons the robots are assigned they intend only high skill players to use them, otherwise the carbine, assault rifle and lmgs defaults would be the NS-15 series of weapons.

I understand the inherent flaw (4th Fac) in the structure of the game. Might as we'll incorporate something you can't curtail without taking draconian measures. No need to stifle the product.

I would like it to succeed, I just hope DBG thinks it through.

o7

Speaking strictly for myself. I like all the factions and play them based on population on the servers they are on and if I feel like that style of play. Never go for over pop unless I have no choice which has never happened.

Seeing that I'm a member with one character on one faction.
I just hope DBG doesn't try to force me to play as a robot for the enemy faction. I'm a Loyalist, they better make those faction hopping slurpies have to switch. They got us into this mess to begin with.

I don't see there being any way of DBG forcing anyone particular to pay for a membership and then use the robot when necessary. They are already thinking of this as a way to get people to pay more money for the game and also limit its use through that. So they aren't looking to make this obligatory in any way.

Someone will come up with a way to exploit them.

The devs decided to add something new, I hate it. <insert grumpy cat meme>

Im guessing they are probably going to draw in players who want to have fun and enjoy good/balanced fights.
The robots may not solve population imbalances but they will improve things. Its literally impossible for the robot system to make things worse.

As long as there is no advantage those bots have either now or down the road. Maybe their gear is over powered or under powered and it becomes just one more thing for players to complain about. Don't get me wrong. I'm optimistic about them and I think they are cool. We'll see how they are soon.

Not sure it's that clear cut: My 2nd character was created because of wanting access to that ESF, which turned into wanting an alternative to being underpop for months, which turned into appreciating the ES flavor/challenge and refreshing change that comes from playing the game from a totally different perspective (as much as possible, anyways).

I've always liked the NSO faction ever since hearing about it from PS1, and actually 'gameplay' it in my own way.

Do I switch to winning faction? Rarely, but sometimes. Do I stay loyal to a given faction? Yes, but I also fight against that faction too, for the other faction, based on my agendas and logical analysis of the situation at any given time frame along with apparent trends.

Maybe that makes one an NS loyalist long before these robots came along, and after when they are released if we can't play them at all without membership.

So think of it in this way. In those moments you deem it worth to switch to the winning faction then you are the first player and in those moments you are too lazy and continue to fight in the same faction then you are the second player. And if there is ever the time that you are playing the winning faction to begin with but switch to the losing faction (without any underpop xp bonus) then you would be this third type of robot player. So you can see why this robot player doesn't really make sense as a choice when it comes to POPULATION and STATISTICS. When 99% of the people fit themselves into the 2 first types of players then why would factionless robots solve population imbalances if there were any? But we've been through this already and seen that if there were enough robots deployed before there ever was a population imbalance then that would automatically buffer the populations by that percentage to remain in balance longer.

If 5-10% of the population were already all robots then you could have up to a 5-10% imbalance in population of regular faction players before you see any imbalance at all. So that is why they are doing the robots and we will see how this plays out. Hopefully it works that way.

why factionless robot´s? not everyone likes spandex freaks, blind followers of dictatorship or fraudulent "freedomloving" capitalists ...
a robot has a simple programm ... search and destroy .. and those who may lack in manpower to support their trivial cause may make use of these robots who just follow their programm and don´t care about these petty ideals ...

That's simple enough then. Would be awesome to participate to help population balance, even for a one time fee, but monthly is too much, followed by losing access if monthly is ever cut.

The robots from what I heard are remote operated by NS corp, so they aren't A.I.

I think if all the certs and iso gained during play was put into a pool that could be distributed between all your characters then that would be one major incentive to play as a robot long term. One size fits all.

... no ...
every player gets certs based on his performance .. to have players drop their certs into a common pool would just lead to unfair distribution for the more performant players ...

shhh let me dream to be a killingmachine ....

You uh, you misunderstood what I was referring to. I was referring to a single player's certs and iso that they earned during their session of play as a robot could be put into a pool that could be distributed amongst your other characters, offering more flexibility to the robot's purpose. It's a factionless robot. It might as well be playing for all your characters.

ok yea .. that is a good idea ...

Honestly that seams ignorant fear mongering than a real point. If people want to do that they would just need to log in an alt from the faction they want to spy and sabotage one or log in from another account.(I have seen it happen.) A robot that joins the faction with the lowest pop would be a poor choice for intelligence gathering and sabotage as you do not choose your target. **In other words the robot represents no special threat in this regard.

The biggest draw back would be the lack of ability to join an outfit. Tactics from an out fit can make a big difference in an alert, but as these robots are factionless it would mean they would be unlikely to be chosen as leaders for outfit based platoons. Basically it might throw bodies in to a meat grinder but would not move what is most needed tactical platoons to swing the balance. Sure if your plan is just zerg you just need bodies but if you are lacking bodies why you trying to win with a zerg.