Last night I posted a feature suggestion for derelicts to be implemented in the game using a modified hacking minigame in conjunction with some other game mechanics that are already in game.
Tonight I would like to propose feature content, in story form, for when CCP develop their first person experience.
One night while you and your group of friends, (Ape, Monkey, Kitten, and PooMcPooFace,) were bsing in discord, your group decides to do the new Rogue Drone Derelict Graveyard content CCP has just released.
The encounter exists in a Relic Exploration site. While you could all fly out there together, there’s not much reason to, so you all draw straws and someone is chosen to be the ferry. You all spin up a dust / nova clone (which we will hereafter call an assault clone) of your capsuleer characters, each geared up with the different available kits, and trade the item to the person who is going to be flying out to the site.
Once your friend arrives at the site and approaches the derelict, she runs an analyzer on the object in space. Being successful, her analyzer screen changes to a three dimensional map of the internal structure of the derelict, (that just so happens to have been developed by your fellow players through the other feature suggestion I suggested last night.)
The screen now in front of her has UI for inserting the assault clones, which reside in her cargo hold, into the derelict. After she does, the EVE client prompts all of you with a notification of your assault clone activation. You select yes.
The client unloads the station docking environment and loads the derelict interior.
Upon loading into the assault clone, you hear it’s breath lightly flowing in and out. There is a slight glow coming from your suit running lights, but it is not enough to see your surroundings effectively. The dead ship has no functional internal lights.
One of your group members turns on his helmet flood light, illuminating the environment. The rest of you follow suit, and you finally see the mess of an environment.
While you are secured to the deck plating of the docking hanger due to your magnetic boots, dust and debris float in front of you, glimmering in the light of your making. Heavier objects like tables, chairs, and other random equipment are strewn about the place, floating in eternal stillness.
As you turn in a circle to take in the sight, a giant gash in the hull greets you. You see millions of tiny stars twinkling in the obsidian sky. Standing there, its almost like you’re standing in the maw of some dead giant.
“What do you suppose we’ll find in here?” One of your companions queries.
"Clowns. " Another responds.
“Ugh, I hate clowns.”
Your team’s exploration frigate outside, is still running it’s analyzer on the derelict, which allows you all to bring up the internal map of the derelict of the behemoth you’re in. With this map, the frigates pilot is also able to monitor your progress and aid you while you’re inside.
Other than the gash in the hull, the room only has one exit through a door.
Bemused, you chime in, “This isn’t going to be like captain’s quarters is it? Perpetually wondering what’s behind the door?”
Poo laughs and then responds, “That would kind of suck, all this hype, and stuck behind a freaking door again.”
Your team moves toward the door which appears to be shut, but there’s a keypad next to it, so you attempt to activate it. Nothing.
“Hmm, I’ve got some explosive in my kit, I wonder if that would blow the door?” Ape asks.
“Hold onto that thought, let me try something,” You say before breaking open the key pad and jaming a slicer module into the socket. “Poo, can I get hack?”
“Sure thing,” she answers sweetly.
A notification on her map blinks, which she clicks. The hacking module turns on, prompting her to move through the hacking minigame. (There are all sorts of puzzles CCP could design for this, but I’ll keep it simple for the post.)
The door clicks, giving proof to her success.
“It looks like there’s a computer core down the hall, if you plug your portable generator into it, we might be able to get some vision up in these rooms to see what we’re looking at,” Poo tells us. "I should also be able to operate the doors remotely from here when you plug me in, so we don’t have to hack each door every time.
Ape opens the door and moves through it, weapon up in case there’s something amiss.
An empty hallway greets us: 3 doors on each side, and a door at the end.
Your team moves down the hallway checking each of the doors, but not bothering to stay and hack them when they prove to be shut tight.
“I’m gonna blow this door,” Ape says.
The rest of the team, cringe a bit, but don’t say anything.
“What? We’ve got to see how it works don’t we?”
After some fiddling he figures it out and you all move to a safe distance. A few seconds later, a muted pressure wave causes a low “pop” sound to waft over you, smoke a debris filling the space.
“Hmm, well that’s pretty messy aint it?” Ape drolls.
“Wait, why did we hear that?” Monkey asks. “There’s no atmosphere in here.”
Kitten shrugs, “We all know CCP loves sound in space.”
About 10 seconds, the smoke and dust clear, leaving a gaping dark expanse into the next room, until a moment later a red light flicks on. And then another.
“Wha… crap it looks like we’ve got company,” Kitten says.
As your team readies itself, ten more lights come alive, and the first of the creatures slip through the broken door.
Your battle was quick and hard fought, two of your number nearly died, but kitten kept everyone up with his logi kit. The wreckage of 5 rogue drones float around you.
“Can we salvage this?” You wonder out loud.
“Hmm, good question,” Monkey responds.
While Monkey pokes at the dead drone, you turn your attention to the open door. “Ape, you want to make sure we’re clear? I’ll follow behind you.”
“Sure,” he responds and proceeds to methodically sweep the internals of the next chamber. After a few seconds he shouts, “Clear!”
The room appears to have been some sort of computer bank, as Poo claimed, but it certainly looks like it had seen better days. Two of the 9 consoles look like they had exploded and 6 more look like the drones were going to work on them.
“Looks like we’ve got a power socket over here,” Ape says.
You nod, and then move toward the console that appears to look functional in his direction.
The construction is a simple plate with a touchscreen, a socket for power and data nearby. Cables from nearby consoles and other damaged equipment strange the space around it, but you make your way through.
After a moment to set up the portable generator, you plug in your data stick, and wait for Poo to do her magic.
Back in space, Poo’s screen lights up as a plethora of alerts come alive on the map.
“Wow, this looks… complicated,” You hear her say. “Okay, looks like I have door access, lights, some minor surveillance, no cameras. The rooms back in the hallway look empty, but I am getting a strange reading from the middle room on the left, when you’re facing back the way you came.”
“More rats?” You ask.
She makes a non-verbal sound indicating she doesn’t know. “Could be, but there’s really only one way to find out. I can open the door but you might want to get ready for another fight.”
You and Ape move back out into the hallway, where Kitten is watching Monkey dismantle the last of the dead drones.
“Anything good?” Ape asks.
Monkey looks up at our approach and says, "a few drone cores and some circuitry. There’s also some stuff here… I’m not sure what it is, but we wont be able to even get a price for any of it until we get it out to Poo. We can’t even link anything to her, to have her check the market. "
“Hmm, weird” Poo says.
“Its not that strange,” Monkey says. “I mean sure, its an EVE feature without #spreadsheetsinspace. But that’s a good thing.”
“No, not that,” Poo says." some newbie dropped into our site in an ibis. Only 2 days old. Its coming this way."
“Can the derelict be destroyed?” you ask.
“Exploration objects are usually indestructible,” Kitten points out.
“True,” Monkey says. “Honestly, even if it pops and we lose these clones, they’re all basic kit so we wont be out much. Maybe you should try to blow the derelict when we leave regardless? Just to see what happens.”
“So, ignore it and keep going then?”
“Yeah, lets scope out this room,” Monkey says, now finished with his salvage operation, the parts safely stowed away in his pack.
“Ready?” Poo asks.
After a couple seconds, your team assents, and the door slides open.
An empty room with an open hole in the middle of the room presents itself before your group.
“Well, that looks fun,” Monkey cheerfully said.
“Poo, there’s a hole in the floor of this room, do you have any reading on where it goes?” you ask.
“Nope, like I said the reading is weird,” she began. “That room is flickering on the map. I’m getting notifications pop up and then glitch out before I can read them.”
Ape smiles, “I guess we go in dark.”
“Uh, guys?” Poo says.
"Yeah? I ask.
“I’ve lost connection with everything and I can’t reconnect. That ibis just got here a moment ago and has been sitting still since.”
“You think it’s an alt for someone with an Omega account?”
“Could be. They might be jamming me from inside.”
The next moment you see a bright flash and your screen goes dark before your client reloads your station environment.
“Whaaa…”
“Drat.”
“Crap, I think we just got ganked by a newbie.”
Hearing your team’s exclamations, you offer, “Poo, flush that turd.”
She snickers, then says mournfully, “its no good, the derelict is indestructible.”
“Curse you CCP! Why can’t you make your features convenient for my purposes, dependent on my varying circumstances!” Monkey said in a mock tone.
“Well,” Kitten offers, “you guys want to go again? I’ll fly a recon out to lowsec and run operator if Poo wants to trade places with me.”
Well that was fun.
Tldr; drop marines into derelict (modified hackable object) spawning cod style campaign mission.