Where does your group come from originally?
What is the genesis of your group?
GalCop's logistical history is almost as interesting as the lore-based history we've written. It centres around the very earliest days of PowerPlay: two groups that had historically been enemies (and who had pledged to opposing Imperial powers), the Diamond Frogs and EIC, were set against each other by a third party. Realizing that any continued enmity was going to be exhausting for everyone involved, we instead opted for a negotiated peace agreement which centred around Jotunheim, the ancestral home of the Diamond Frogs playerbase. Over time an uneasy peace developed which eventually transitioned to a true alliance between the two groups.
In the meantime, another group had been working to defend Kremainn and the rest of newbie space, the Paladin Consortium. The Diamond Frogs had done some mercenary work for them previously, helping them set up their corner of space from which to launch their outfit to protect new players from harm. Paladin Consortium had also been working with two other groups, Da Vinci Corp and Dark Echo, who had also had a substantial in-game presence for a very long time.
So when we were approached about a nugget of lore in Jotunheim about GalCop, its history from the old games, and the opportunity it presented for meaningful story going forward, all of these groups naturally agreed to a mutual alliance which became very early basis for GalCop. These were the original five groups.
Much later, when the Dangerous Games were announced, the five founding member groups spoke to some of their newer friends and other like-minded groups, rounding out the remainder of our original ten founding organizations: EXO, Pixel Bandits Security Force, The Forgotten, Sirius Inc. and the Light Horse Brigade.
Later still, as things were progressing in the early days of the competition, we were able to sign on The Imperial Inquisition, The Atlas Corporation, The Order of the Burning Serpent, The Knights of Karma and many other supporters as news of the Cooperative spread.
What is your group all about? What are your fundamental goals?
Being a cooperative of independent worlds and factions, the answer naturally varies from person to person.
Speaking for myself, I think the thing that unites the groups and players of GalCop the way it does is a certain philosophy and a kinship of spirit.
We all love this game and we want to see its potential fully realised. Likewise we love the community of this game and want to draw together as many positive elements of it as we can.
I think a major part of what drives GalCop members is the notion of collaboration and group achievement. That may seem an obvious thing to say in light of a competition that requires collaboration to qualify and win, but GalCop existed well before this competition was on anyone’s radar and will continue to exist regardless of the outcome because of that.
Our goal in this game is to leave a mark; we want to tell a story and have our thread of GalCop become a part of the larger tapestry of lore for this game. We're big proponents of emergent gameplay and story, and we believe that player groups and content are the lifeblood of this game and that player created content is a potential goldmine in the scope of this game. We're really excited to see FDEV getting behind it!
Do you have a narrative around your group? Is it part of the in-game lore?
We sure do! We have a huge story that we've already started telling through our archival reels but also through the Galnet history of our constituent groups. Being the first two groups to start working on this endeavour, EIC and Diamond Frogs' lore-based history has formed the foundation for the early part of our overall story.
We have a really awesome story about GalCop that ties in with all sorts of threads from the Elite universe; unfortunately I can't spoil it here because it'd be like spoiling the next season of Game of Thrones. You'll just have to take my word for it that we're going for something that we're sure people will love and invest in.
Why should you win the Dangerous Games? Why should people help you in the games?
There are some amazing competitors going into this final group stage and they're all offering different things. I believe GalCop's strength lies in its unique approach to story, lore and player involvement. We have groups that pioneered community events, twitch streams, charity events and giveaways in this game; we have groups that have consistently generated player-driven storylines and content, all recognised by FDEV and published in Galnet.
These groups have continually raised the bar of what is possible in this game and in this community. If people have enjoyed our GalCop videos or appreciated the rich history of groups like EIC or TIIQ's charity events, twitch streaming and community engagement, then they should consider throwing in behind GalCop because what all we want to do is more of the same but even bigger and better.
What would it mean to you and your group if you did win?
It'd be a huge honour for us; I don't know how else to put it. We have put a huge amount of time into this idea and to see it pay off would be immensely satisfying for everyone involved.
For us, it's not simply about winning some competition and beating other groups and getting to be a power. That's just a means to an end, in some respects.
What we want is to engage with the community and have that same community support us in turn, if they like what we're doing. That is, after all, the nature of groups, clubs, associations, political parties, etc.
Not to get overly philosophical, but what victory in this competition means for us is that our constituent groups, those groups’ members, and all the independent supporters who put in the work and effort during this competition truly believe in what we're doing and want to see us do more with it.
The prize, should we win it, is a platform from which we can launch this story we want to tell and advertise an idea about what is possible in this game and community.
If you were to become a Power, what sort of power would you be?
We want to be an inclusive power that offers a diverse range of gameplay styles where every member, regardless of playstyle, feels that they can contribute positively in some way. We aren't a specialty group that's focussed on one specific thing like combat or exploration, we leave that to the other groups.
Now, we're certainly not looking to be a warmongering conquering type of power but nor are we looking to be toothless pacifists. As a group that seeks community engagement first and foremost, we'll be looking for interactions with other groups. Some of the coolest experiences in this game for me personally have been diplomatic in nature: holding summits where friends and enemies come together to talk collaboratively, peace talks where conflict is sometimes avoided through discussion and compromise; I love that stuff! That's what makes it all more human... real personal interaction.
If we do have cause to fight with someone, we hope to do so in a manner which is positive and fun. We'll be looking to stage conflicts and competitions that will be broadcasted on Twitch and generally involve a charity or giveaway component. The feeling should always be that even if we're fighting in the game, we're friends out of the game.
GalCop, in both lore and logistics, looks to work with the other major factions whilst retaining its own unique identity and looking after the interests of its members.