In the space simulation Elite: Dangerous, players can now kill the Thargoids. But is that the right way to deal with the warlike insectoids?
Elite: Dangerous is a space simulation with MMO elements. The game is huge, but pilots have long complained: “There is too little to do; the universe is empty.” Endless expanses – endless boredom.
Thargoids – insectoid arch-enemy in the Elite games
The Elite series is over 30 years old. The first game was released in 1984. Further installments came out in 1993 and 1995.
In Elite, the aliens “Thargoids” have long been a hostile insectoid race. Thargoids are believed to thrive on war, seeking not peaceful contact but the annihilation of humanity.
For months it has been announced in Elite: Dangerous that there would be contact between humanity and the Thargoids.
Players found artifacts, then aliens appeared and scanned human ships – ultimately, players could even fight the aliens. The first battles were pretty frustrating, as the alien ships were invincible and took no damage. Shooting conventional weapons at the ships was like punching a rock with bare hands.
Now it’s time to take on the aliens
After an event last week, players have gained access to “Anti-Xeno Missile Systems.” Only with these can they now shoot down the aliens.
The first kill was attributed to the infamous space pirate Harry Potter, about whom we have already reported. Since then, some players of Elite: Dangerous have destroyed alien ships.
However, a discussion has erupted in the game’s forums about whether that should really be done. Should we just shoot the aliens in Elite: Dangerous like aliens in Space Invaders, or is a different approach more appropriate in a space simulation? Is there really no other way?
After all, the ships only fired when we approached them. They are not hostile by nature or seeking conflict themselves.
Leave them alone, feed them, or kill them?
- Some believe that the aliens we are experiencing now are peaceful and only fleeing from other, evil aliens – and we should prepare when they arrive.
- Others think that a kind of “peace” can be made with the current aliens by bringing them offerings – like human NPCs in escape pods…
- Others do not care for such nonsense and say: Aliens are here, and the only possible interaction with them is to eradicate them. Those who refuse to do so do not utilize the content that developer Frontier offers us.
Behind this conflict lies a question that has always concerned science fiction and is a fundamental question: If there really is intelligent life out there – how should we deal with it? Is conflict really unavoidable?
What do you think: Should we shoot the aliens like sprites in Space Invaders, or is there more to it?
Some players wanted to make first contact peacefully:
