I see this question thrown around a lot now that people are asking more questions about NPCs in light of 1.0 news. I can't answer for others, but I will answer for myself. I always assumed there would be more systems in place by the time the game comes out to mitigate some of the "gamer tendencies" people have. A lot of this stuff didn't get talked about (or if it did, it was only briefly), but I know that doesn't mean it's not coming. Things like blowing up your character's heart if you sprint full-bore for too long. Death of a Spaceman to make people think twice before being knobheads for no reason. Something to keep players from sprinting and jumping around LZs like chickens with their heads cut off in full gear and armor. Control surfaces, MM, and ship mass to force people to fly like human beings instead of gamer idiots (this stuff will definitely still be in but I'm using it as an example). "Oh let me point my ship straight up at this top down hangar and fly straight out before the doors open fully! NEXT THING NOW!" You know how cool it looks in CIG content for other players to take off and land? Yeah, most people don't do that. They slam it on the ground, they slam the thruster to get into the air in half a second, etc. It looks like arse, it feels like arse. Players don't play like people, they play like gamers. Always looking for some little gotcha thing to exploit against other people no matter what. "Oh I found out if I do this specific button combo I can slide cancel and move faster!" (or whatever it may be). I freakin' hate that. "How can I exploit this?" How can I do this .1% faster by playing like a knobhead?" Just the other day I had someone trying to get the security NPCs to shoot me by constantly standing behind me (they had a CS and security was shooting them). I was sitting on the floor in an idle position so they thought I was AFK. The only reason they can do this is because the performance sucks. They know that, so they do it. Funny part is that I out-maneuvered them anyway and they got shot up. Any little crack is found and filled in by these cockroaches. Players take any opportunity to be obnoxious and self-serving. It's never about being cunning, it's just about being a knob. "Let's annoy people on voice chat! So funny!" "Let's see if I can glitch through this guy's base walls! LOLS!" Farkin' knobs. I hate players. I would like them a lot more if systems were in place to mitigate the "gamer factor". Having rep is a step in the right direction, but if you're sprinting around my ship like an idiot for no reason, I don't care how good you are at your task. I'd prefer having an NPC. I've seen other people say they like the narrative people create in player-driven games and economies. What narrative? Being dicks? Org leaders stroking their own egos? The guy who found the next big exploit? Oh yeah, what a compelling narrative. Players are the worst part of this game, and it will feel much more proper and alive if we get proper NPCs. Fark players. Rant over. EDIT: Please excuse the terrible syntax and general butchery of the English language there. I wrote it in haste at 4am. I just wanted to get it out of me. I feel much better now. :)