The 2.1 PU - A Game on the Verge of Extinction
The 2.0 and 2.1 PU are their own special little game within a game that will soon be wiped out with the release of persistence.
There is an air of kindness and teamwork that permeates Crusader at the moment. If you want to try out the new ship, someone will happily spawn one for you. If you want to get in a dog fight, there are plenty who would be happy to at the Security Post. Want to steal someone's ship? No big deal, they can just spawn another. Want to be a turret gunner? Just climb into someone's turret, start firing and then laugh about how awesome it looks when the ship you're in explodes.
Once you can no longer spawn infinite ships, and you have to spend money to get your ship fixed, the game will change so dramatically that it will almost be a new game. The world will be much more hostile. Griefers will be much more annoying. There will be no more friendly dog fights. Someone climbing into your ship to try it out will likely be shot instead of encouraged.
Now obviously this change is a necessary step in creating the game that we all want to play. But we should be aware that we are playing something special here, something unique. This half formed game has spawned some interesting social structures and gameplay that are a lot of fun, but they won't be around for much longer.
Although perhaps, with a little effort on our part, we can keep some of the altruism that has made the PU such a fun place to fly around.
Perhaps.