The 3.18 was arguably one of the hardest to arrive in recent years. For both devs and playtesters alike. As any core change would probably always be. And I think most of us who participated* would agree - the effort on this 6 month run was really something. While it would be spectacular to imagine DiscoLando shouting our names "from top of the mountain" in his new helmet - the intent to mark this effort, not just with words - is definitely a big step in the right direction. BUT Awarding small "tokens of appreciation" to all volunteers for this incredible run (i.e. like funding levels or events) - would be a much better choice VS awarding everything to the non-transparently elected few over a team effort of 1000s. The $10k ingame items to commemorate that crucial step are much better as 3000 multitools than 30 ships. * Before someone goes there - yes, I was there too, fighting for 3.18 alongside others. I "answered the call" from the very first days in a spirit of all-hands-on-deck due to the revolutionary nature of this patch. My list is rather humble compared to others (only ~130 contributions with 6 own reports and 1 jackpot on gasclouds). But I did my part with good findings. EDIT1. TLDR of points below. The proposal led to a discussion that may be helpful for the future incentive program (which the comm-link mentioned is being considered). Doing it the way it was done - You incentivize “report racers” You do not incentivize research Competition? Bring it on! - Establish a transparent framework (stats, leaderboards, voting, maybe with devs involved, etc). Define community coop challenges for everyone. Define master challenges for the champions. Set the reward system accordingly. Proportional for #2 (i.e. memorable items) and jackpots for #3 (i.e. ships). But until then - please avoid grand gestures. Make it something small like for milestones or don’t do anything. Endeavors that require serious cooperative effort cannot be rewarded disregarding 99% of the participants. This is not a screenshot contest and should not be handled as such. EDIT2. Personal note. (for the ones missing the point) Look at my badge. Do you know what it is? Do you remember that event? Because I do. And I value it more than most of the stuff in my hangar or badges that were either “bought” or earned by doing something trivial. It was the 1st wave of the covid disaster. And SC managed to do its magic, which I was to witness for the 1st time. The one where it really shines - it brought people together. But it also brought the first patches that were developed in a firestorm of that new reality. Do you remember how it was? I certainly do, as I was quite active in 'Guide' back then. I don’t remember exactly the contest itself, wherever it was established before or after the fact. But everyone participated with meaningful contributions by helping others during those times was roughly graded and rewarded (with badges and skins for the best, if I recall right). I accidentally discovered mine while scrolling through acc a few months later, unaware because no meaningless champion shoutouts existed. Just that silent gratitude. The best kind, if you ask me. During those extreme times, “I was there and I helped”. And I never changed it afterwards. For me it means a lot, and reflects what I do in this game. Knowing firsthand how 3.18 was like, I sincerely believed we needed a small victory and something to remember. For everyone. I’m very grateful to you guys for this discussion.