The announcement of Player-versus-Player (PvP) for version 0.19 of Gangs of Space has probably be quite a surprise for many of you. To be honest, that has also been a surprise for us too

We have always thought of Gangs of Space as a collaborative-competitive game. "I'm not your friend, but let's work together to be more efficient." That was our intent. But since a few versions, we have been feeling that the conquest aspect of the game wasn't "enough" in the current state to provide the long-term fun you'd expect from a subscription MMO.

Since the question of PvP has been a recurring question we've got from the community, after many discussions between ourselves, we've concluded that it MIGHT be the solution to our current problem of "long-term fun".

So... let's test it!

So, this week-end, version 0.19 of Gangs of Space will be our first PvP-enabled version!

Since PvP is a VERY complex feature (for technical reasons of course, but even more so for the game design), we need to give a big disclaimer: this will be a test, just a test!

Nothing that you will try in version 0.19 will be definitive. There will be bugs, there will be balance issues, there will be some items that won't work as we'd expect. DON'T PANIC. Everything is under control

We might test a few different approaches in the next few versions. We might even scrap PvP altogether if it is not satisfactory. But in any case, you will be the witnesses of a very historical event of the life of this game!

In the wild wild space...

In version 0.19, the rules will be simple:

• All conquest systems will be PvP-enabled during the conquest. This means that the Motherbase, the fight systems, and the already-conquered systems (safe OR under enemy attack) will be always SAFE.
• In PvP-enabled systems, your hits will hit everyone. Even yourself! Bahmut or Aurora pilots will want to be careful with that rule! This also means that you need to be careful not to shoot your fellow Gang members!

We know that this full-friendly-fire rule will be controversial. But before swearing that we are completely crazy, think a bit about it: this means that big Gangs will actually have to be more careful than small ones. This means that a single player can completely break a big group, if this group is not well organised. This makes PvP a matter of organization, synergies between ship classes, and not only of brute force!

Also: since you need to be careful with your allies, this means you CAN be careful with strangers too. PvP-enabled doesn't mean you HAVE to kill everyone on sight. Making friends will be even more useful than before, and think twice when you plan to attack a lone player: another Gang might decide that this attitude makes you too dangerous to let you live!

Balance

None of the existing ships have been designed by taking PvP into account. Some of them might be overpowered, or useless in PvP context.

But there are so many possibilities that we prefer to see how this will turn out before nerfing-out everything.

Just remember the lesson you learned in EVE Online: Never fly a ship you can't afford to loose! (in PvP areas, at least!)

Space politics

Since no Gang can be guaranteed to dominate all the others, all the time, diplomacy will be even more necessary than before. This gives a place and a role for everyone, even smaller Gangs.

By the game of alliances, protection and contracts, any small fight can degenerate into a declaration of war than can light the Galaxy in fire!

And once the war is over, once the ships have been torn into pieces and their crews into small DNA molecules, then the time will come to rebuild, trade, reconquest and prepare for the next fight!

What about the buildings?

For version 0.19, the buildings (bases, extractors, laboratories...) cannot be destroyed by other players.

But in the future, they will have structure and shield points, like player ships. In PvP-enabled systems, they could be destroyed by hostile players.

But this also opens a path to new buildings that could have PvP uses: attack turrets, shields, barriers, automatic buffs or debuffs.... What can you imagine?

Ho my PK!

What about Player Killers (PK) that will eventually appear in PvP-enabled systems? Let's consider them as a necessary evil.

The danger of bad encounters, the frustration of getting killed in a place you thought was empty (did you really check your minimap carefully enough?), the thrill of running away successfully or destroying your aggressor when he doesn't expect it... THAT's life!

Your voice

Don't hesitate to write us your thoughts or questions in the comments. It is a very real opportunity to help us shape the future of Gangs of Space!

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