Elite: Dangerous (continued)

[SteveMill]

I don't get what 'time consuming' is as a complaint. Things take time. This isn't an arcade game. Things in the X games are 'time consuming' also.

My complaint is what exactly this time is spent for. They don't call ED a docking simulator for nothing I really hate this new "in station" mechanics they added. It is cool first 10 times after that it gets extremely annoying. Add to it the supercruise mechanics where you basically have to watch little blue dot and make sure it is in the center of the compas for several minutes and yeah, it is a time waster.

I doubt we'll see huge changes - they seem wedded to the Old School gameplay and in the end this is what will doom ED to being a cult/niche game, particularly as the social aspects of an MMO are entirely missing.

And here is the funniest part - they screwed people asking for the old Elite by making it "always online" and they failed to implement any multiplayer features worth mentioning Not that I miss them but I want to ask what they have been thinking Althought I am having a blast messing with people by the use of my firewall, so there is some fun in that.

See - those aren't 'time consuming' for me - they are 'immersive'. The whole MMO thing seems to come down to needing people online for the galaxy implementation and that's not good enough.

If you call yourself an MMO then you need to be an MMO. Easy grouping, in game reasons for grouping, social facilities - the whole 9 yards of guilds, chat etc.

The only role other people play so far is as targets. That does not make an MMO to any one but a 13 year old pedant. Imagine playing LOTRO, Elder Scrolls Online, etc etc if the only MMO options were being able to attack and rob other players?

I am severely disappointed with ED in this.

But on the other hand I'm an Old School Make Your Own Fun type of player. I am really enjoying immersing myself in the game world and playing my own story.

It's just that this is 2014 not 1984 and I fear that's just not good enough in the long term. I fear ED has pretty much all the players it's ever going to have. If they want to be an MMO then they need to do a massive amount of work, however I suspect the network implementation won't allow it.

My guess is that over the next two years we'll see less new content than people expect and it'll slip into maintenance mode with a small hard core like me still playing. While i'm enjoying the game it's just a shadow of what I originally expected.

It's what a 1987 version of Elite might have looked like but with modern graphics unfortunately. I'll be surprised if that's going to be good enough.

[SteveMill]

So is there a consensus that it may be best to wait a while for the game to improve before purchasing it? Bearing in mind that I do believe the 25+ year gap from Elite 2 to present day means I'd require much more gameplay than just Elite 2 in new graphics.

Or has it come on in leaps and bounds since release?

It's some distance from having Elite 2 gameplay. No planet landings, none of the fun missions like assassination that had us tracking a ship from take off across the galaxy. No ground attack missions.

[Avis]

So is there a consensus that it may be best to wait a while for the game to improve before purchasing it? Bearing in mind that I do believe the 25+ year gap from Elite 2 to present day means I'd require much more gameplay than just Elite 2 in new graphics.

Or has it come on in leaps and bounds since release?

It's some distance from having Elite 2 gameplay. No planet landings, none of the fun missions like assassination that had us tracking a ship from take off across the galaxy. No ground attack missions.

On the flip side it doesn't have the flight engine of Elite 2 which to be brutally honest was about as much fun to play as eye surgery with a rusty nail and a salt tablet.

Tho it's not quite been 25+ years since Elite 2 :) 22-ish but that's being pedantic,, aaaand the thought it's 25+ years old made me feel REAL old suddenly ;)

[SteveMill]

Yea. It was a wise commercial move to have a non-newtonian flight model. I just found the Frontier and Frontier FE gameplay had more going for it.

But in the end I'm a big fan of Elite and it's great to have it back.

[matthewfarmery]

I hated frontiers flight model as well, especially in combat, where it was near impossible to really kill anything, (one way around it, was to get a really large ship, buy lots of shield generators and use auto pilot to ram stuff with!!

but then, with really large ships, you had trouble with docking and doing timed missions.

but anyway, the flight model was just horrible, you just couldn't go any way without auto pilot installed.

[kurush]

See - those aren't 'time consuming' for me - they are 'immersive'. The whole MMO thing seems to come down to needing people online for the galaxy implementation and that's not good enough.

I already want to hit people saying "immersion" in relation to ED with something heavy. Thanks to them I have to sit through those stupid cutscenes 1000th time. I feel pity if watching exactly the same thing again and again gives you "immersion".

It's just that this is 2014 not 1984 and I fear that's just not good enough in the long term. I fear ED has pretty much all the players it's ever going to have. If they want to be an MMO then they need to do a massive amount of work, however I suspect the network implementation won't allow it.

Agree, for me they have proven that they have no clue what a modern game should look like. If it blows up like this, it will be sad but spectacular. Or, may be they will find a way to exist as a niche game and that would be actually the best. There are enough people who just want an old elite remake without any MMO s**t, myself included.

[kurush]

but anyway, the flight model was just horrible, you just couldn't go any way without auto pilot installed.

Flight model was actually pretty neat and you could go without autopilot, if only to the system where you can buy one. The targoid ship you had to land without autopilot or docking computer Dogfighting was a bit special, althought very easy if you abused turrets + pause button.

[Nyax]

See - those aren't 'time consuming' for me - they are 'immersive'. The whole MMO thing seems to come down to needing people online for the galaxy implementation and that's not good enough.

I already want to hit people saying "immersion" in relation to ED with something heavy. Thanks to them I have to sit through those stupid cutscenes 1000th time. I feel pity if watching exactly the same thing again and again gives you "immersion".

But it's Immersive. (Ducks)

Seriously as has already been pointed out (by me amongst others)-

1) The launch sequence lasts only a handful of seconds if you stayed on the pad.
2) There is no need to enter the hanger for 99% of station business.
3) If you do choose to enter/ exit the hanger you don't have to sit there like a rabbit in headlights watching it. Go into the station menu, read the news, shop for goods, resupply, plan your next jump on the navigation menu check your ship status and cargo, repair your craft. You can do all that while the docking animation is running.

Seriously there is zero need to get ticked off by this because all you need to do is make a tiny change to the way you play and it becomes all but invisible and unnoticeable. Yes the sequence is unskippable, but it doesn't stop you doing anything while it's running, so DO something.

[ATTACK_HAMSTER]

I have been reading a few threads on ED's forums today about the whole five billion credits debacle. To cut a long story short, around 50 players were credited five billion credits due to a mistake Frontier made when refunding accounts and on the face of it Frontier don’t want to reclaim the credits.

I’m not really arsed either way if they should or shouldn’t change this obvious error, it just makes me think they have no desire for credits to be used for anything other than buying & outfitting ships, otherwise they would surely claw back the credits immediately. I know there was never really going to be an economy like eve in ED, but i was hoping that players at some point in the future could pool their resources together and work towards something like a base or some form of manufacturing.

On the positive side, i got myself an ASP, woohoo! Spent about 10 million on fittings to discover i didn’t like it, so went back to my turbo cobra as it suits my filthy play style I just hope some more content arrives shortly.

[Wana]

Hell yes, i tried the ASP. re-sold it in less than a day, to fit a nice Cobra.

Thanks for pointing your opinion here. i'm afraid this is a tiny niche game.

for ships differences:
- Hey, we have differents cockpits in X:R too.
- a MK1 Skunk is far from a MK4 one in terms of versatility but...
=> flying an anaconda or the skunk is not like flying a M2+.


it's very personnal, but i cannot agree to people claming ED is a simulation game, not more than X:R, or even X3.
some arguments would be :
- limited top speed in space
- who has already experienced a hyper space jump ?
- Galaxy-wide miserable Humanity (seriously ? those poor stations and ships for a conqueror race ?)

But yes, there are some breathtaking environments. Egosoft also does that.
Like Bernd said, it's good to have space games coming out each year

[kurush]

But it's Immersive. (Ducks)

/me throws heavy stuff at Nyax

1) The launch sequence lasts only a handful of seconds if you stayed on the pad.

If you stayed on the pad, it still goes all the way down and rotates you. I actually figured my way around it - just wrote another AHK macro that triggers the LAUNCH, then immediteately saves/exits to the main menu and then reloads. So, I am jump ready in like 7 seconds even from a Coriolis station. For me this in-station mechanics they added is the most annoying part of the game, next one is supercruise with no autopilot. I'll eventually hack something in for it, but at this time it annoys me greatly. I just keep thinking that even Egosoft didn't have such things in their games with exactly the same game mechanics. I always suspected that DB was living in a cave since Elite times and ED has more than one proof of that

[SteveMill]

Well, I still enjoy my Immersion and I still enjoy having different ships able to be configured for different activities. There is a huge difference between my Combat Trader Asp and the little gun-running Adder I use for risky rep building activities (not the least being the insurance costs).

I really like ED just as I would really enjoy playing a modern remake of XT/X2. I like the leaner gameplay, the slower pacing and the atmosphere of the early X games as well as Elite. I just don't think there's more than a niche market for the stuff.

Frontier seem happy to be producing a mid 80's version of Elite and while a lot of people are happy enough with that it's not going to be enough given the need for a constant income stream from new customers.

They don't help themselves by calling it an MMO. It isn't in any meaningful sense of the word and that's just setting up for disappointment.

[Redvers Ganderpoke]

I really like ED just as I would really enjoy playing a modern remake of XT/X2. I like the leaner gameplay, the slower pacing and the atmosphere of the early X games as well as Elite. I just don't think there's more than a niche market for the stuff.

Frontier seem happy to be producing a mid 80's version of Elite and while a lot of people are happy enough with that it's not going to be enough given the need for a constant income stream from new customers.

Couldn't agree more Steve - been playing this for a few days now and really enjoying it (not sure that some of the enjoyment is nostalgia though).

Flying around under my old moniker Iron Orchid.

[SteveMill]

Couldn't agree more Steve - been playing this for a few days now and really enjoying it (not sure that some of the enjoyment is nostalgia though).

Flying around under my old moniker Iron Orchid.

I'm there as 'Max Force'

If i don't answer hails it's because I either haven't noticed or haven't figured out the comms system.

I'm certain the appeal for me has a heavy dose of nostalgia but I always prefer my space games to have a big 'just pottering about' element. I'm not very goal oriented in that way. It's just about 'being there' which is why I like the whole long docking process and the like.

But I totally appreciate this is my mind-set not the 'right' way to play or anything.

[Redvers Ganderpoke]

But I totally appreciate this is my mind-set not the 'right' way to play or anything.

I play in a very similar way - perhaps it's an age thing

[SteveMill]

But I totally appreciate this is my mind-set not the 'right' way to play or anything.

I play in a very similar way - perhaps it's an age thing

I wouldn't be surprised.

I see Frontier have quietly dropped the 'MMO' claim from their advertising. Cue the 'we have always been at war with Oceania' main forum White Knights who have never seen or heard Frontier make any such claim ever.



Call me overly demanding - but I'd like to start hearing more about what ED is going to be rather than what it isn't going to be.

So far 'development' has consisted of rescinding Offline and rowing away from 'MMO' and all that implied in terms of social facilities and group content.

I'm pretty certain what we see now is what we're getting. But that won't stop me pouring a glass or two of wine and doing a few happy hours of gun running for one navy or another tonight.

[Redvers Ganderpoke]

I went and had a look at the FD Forums. Didn't stay - doesn't seem a nice place to be.

[kurush]

I went and had a look at the FD Forums. Didn't stay - doesn't seem a nice place to be.

Yeah, you come there and say there is a problem with the game and many people will show up telling you that the problem is in fact with yourself. I've beend doing it there to all the MMO / PvP folks

[SteveMill]

I went and had a look at the FD Forums. Didn't stay - doesn't seem a nice place to be.

It's not that bad and at least it's lively. I guess the tensions reflect the huge gap between what people expected and what has been delivered. I'm old and easily satisfied but even I expected them to be building on Frontier First Encounters, not building on the original 1984 Elite.

[Redvers Ganderpoke]

I can't stand all this bickering that goes on, I don't venture near the main game forums here either. That said I haven't seriously played any x games since X2 (although I do some of the later games but just can't be bothered to start them - they were cheap on steam)

Anyway tried playing ED last night with a Headset and microphone, Voiceattack and an ED profile, seems to work quite well, just need to remember all the Voice commands instead of the keyboard commands.