I don’t believe that CR’s dream—that the Verse will be one big united community—will work out. But that’s because the gaming community has changed drastically over the past 10–15 years. Sadly, not for the better. Back around 2006, I started playing a game called Dark Age of Camelot. Some of the veterans among you might still remember it. It was a game where RvR (Realm vs Realm) was a big deal. Even back then, I was mostly solo (as a Nightshade), but I still participated in keep raids. Sure, there was some cheating and ganking even then—but it was a minority. The majority of players wanted fair gameplay. It was a community. When griefers showed up, people came together and gave them a proper beating they wouldn’t forget... The tone in chat was also completely different... People actually wanted to help each other. Nowadays, you’re just a noob, and people tell you to f*** off if you don’t “get it.” WoW is a perfect example of that. And this kind of toxic player is becoming more and more common. Not just in PvP—no, everywhere. Hackers, exploiters—call them what you want. But their goal is to ruin the fun for others… and take the easiest route possible. They don’t care if they drag the other players — or even the entire game — down with them. On top of that, most players today are only focused on efficiency. Rarely do you see roleplayers anymore, or people who just want to enjoy the game without chasing big money. Everything’s just a speedrun now. You see this clearly in Star Citizen too. Physicalized hauling is here. And what happens? “Better use the Hull C—it’s faster.” Want to go home? “Just backspace, it’s quicker.” Want to make fast money? “Better do it solo, don’t want to split profits.” Which gameloop earns the most? “Fine, I’ll do that one, even if it’s boring—it pays best.” CZ? “Let’s lock them down so only we get the good loot.” And so on... That’s exactly why I don’t believe gameplay like engineering, medical gameplay, refueling, etc., will work out as intended. People just don’t have the time or patience to wait around to be rescued. They’d rather have NPCs handle it. NPCs are reliable—and there immediately. CIG has changed direction more than once in the last 13 years... The dream they created back then hasn’t evolved with the times. And I think that’s why SC is slowly turning into more of an extraction shooter... That seems to be what people want now. All that matters is non-stop action... The original vision of a sim is fading more and more into the background. Why? Because people have forgotten how to slow down. Because people have forgotten how to care about others. I truly hope that SC stays true to itself… and that the dream doesn’t just vanish into nothing someday.