What the new secret feature should be

[Greasetrap42]

It should be either base building or a proper PvP mode both things the community has wanted for years.

I thought we already had player bases in ED(?) I got one that allows me to store a fleet of ships, 25K units of stuff, and other cmdrs can visit. It is persistent and it can be relocated.

Expanding the functions and activities of the existing player bases (fleet carriers) would be fantastic. More interior space, the ability to add things to it. And more customization. Am I describing base building? If so then yes... I want expanded base building.

Also, allowing a cmdr to align themselves to a specific faction & port that they could call "home", and get special privileges at that specific location would be good. Especially for new players. Maybe better prices for things, and some storage space.

 

[varonica]

proper PvP mode

You mean like, dare I say it, CQC, that has does in the rear end because...well...nobody plays it!

 

[Cosmo]

I thought we already had player bases in ED(?) I got one that allows me to store a fleet of ships, 25K units of stuff, and other cmdrs can visit. It is persistent and it can be relocated.

Expanding the functions and activities of the existing player bases (fleet carriers) would be fantastic. More interior space, the ability to add things to it. And more customization. Am I describing base building? If so then yes... I want expanded base building.

The Fleet Carrier is very expensive to acquire and upkeep. That makes it end-game content. Only a small percentage of players own a FC. The FC is not a true capital ship, because we cannot fly it around in a star system. It's a static object that's teleported to a fixed location. We should be able to click a location in a star system and order the FC to fly there.

A base on a planet could be tiny or huge. So it's accessible for newbies and billionaires. Bases add purpose to ground-level gameplay. Building your own house (base) or city is a popular game genre. It happens to be the genre that FD is very good at and the Cobra Engine has been used for that. It's also very monetizable. They could sell cosmetics for buildings (exterior, interior), new ground vehicles, SRVs, player / NPC clothing, outfits, first person equipment and weapon skins etc.

Also, allowing a cmdr to align themselves to a specific faction & port that they could call "home", and get special privileges at that specific location would be good. Especially for new players. Maybe better prices for things, and some storage space.

Yes align with an NPC faction and create your own minor faction would incentivize people to play more.

 

[varonica]

The Fleet Carrier is very expensive to acquire and upkeep.

You really think if they implemented base building, which is going to require a lot more server infrastructure and time, that is money, they are just going to give them away for free? FC's, considering the speed with which we can amass money in game these days, are all but free, base building will be a major paid for feature because it will cost FDEV more to support them,a nd consequently won't be cheap in game.

That makes it end-game content.

FC's aren't end game content, end game content is fighting Thargoids, everyone has an FC these days.

 

[Cosmo]

You really think if they implemented base building, which is going to require a lot more server infrastructure and time, that is money, they are just going to give them away for free?

Building a base would likely cost credits and resources, but it would be very accessible because you could start with e.g. an inexpensive small structure (house). If you want to expand it you could add more structures. Maybe it becomes a town or city. That would keep people playing for many months.

FC's aren't end game content, end game content is fighting Thargoids, everyone has an FC these days.

FCs are not accessible for newbies due to the high cost and complexity. That's why only a small percentage have a FC and it's de-facto end-game content.

 

[Jack Winter]

Personally I wouldn't want just a house to decorate on some world. I'd like another game loop that requires players to scout out a good location, start building infrastructure, first agricultural settlements, then moving on to extraction, industrial, etc. Not for a vanity project, but to allow groups of us to colonize the galaxy and manage the resources and economy of our colonies. Yes I know, a small ask..

 

[metatheurgist]

About 3 years ago Inara stats had about 30K FCs, for an estimated 300K active players. That's 10%. That's not even the elite 1% people like to talk about.

 

[angusmadmac1]

Ive tried base building in NMS and SF and I'm not a fan.
I want to see systems rise and fall . Outpost moving to up to stations. Trade makes profit brings people in, sometimes not the right sort of people. So security if you don't want them or it becomes a pirate state a little more fluidity a system doing well needs work needs more or bigger landing pads. Or the opposite the system fails and slowly stuff doesn't get fixed til only a small landing pad is left . People set up their "home" systems but doesn't affect the system . Take Hutton it should be a huge station by now so you can get your anacondas . Fuel rats central ? They could have a nice place where people who they have helped can do nice stuff for them.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Ive tried base building in NMS and SF and I'm not a fan.

I do like base building, but not in an MMO like this, and especially not in shared game space. Most bases will wind up obnoxious monuments to Ozymandias just like personal ship collection carriers are in this game.

I want to see systems rise and fall . Outpost moving to up to stations. Trade makes profit brings people in, sometimes not the right sort of people. So security if you don't want them or it becomes a pirate state a little more fluidity a system doing well needs work needs more or bigger landing pads. Or the opposite the system fails and slowly stuff doesn't get fixed til only a small landing pad is left . People set up their "home" systems but doesn't affect the system . Take Hutton it should be a huge station by now so you can get your anacondas . Fuel rats central ? They could have a nice place where people who they have helped can do nice stuff for them.

And this is the ultimate tragedy of Elite Dangerous. Frontier had plans to do just this. They laid the foundations for it, in the form of the Economic Sim during Alpha 4. And then they destroyed that foundation to appease the unappeasable demands of a certain segment of the player base, rather than put in the effort of understanding and then fixing the underlying problem behind some of the complaints.

 

[Cosmo]

I want to see systems rise and fall . Outpost moving to up to stations. Trade makes profit brings people in, sometimes not the right sort of people. So security if you don't want them or it becomes a pirate state a little more fluidity a system doing well needs work needs more or bigger landing pads. Or the opposite the system fails and slowly stuff doesn't get fixed til only a small landing pad is left . People set up their "home" systems but doesn't affect the system . Take Hutton it should be a huge station by now so you can get your anacondas . Fuel rats central ? They could have a nice place where people who they have helped can do nice stuff for them.

This is possible if they add more assets to visualize the changes per system state. So when a system flips it automatically changes the assets of outposts, stations, settlements.

 

[aRJay]

Building a base would likely cost credits and resources, but it would be very accessible because you could start with e.g. an inexpensive small structure (house). If you want to expand it you could add more structures. Maybe it becomes a town or city. That would keep people playing for many months.



FCs are not accessible for newbies due to the high cost and complexity. That's why only a small percentage have a FC and it's de-facto end-game content.

They were intended to be a money sink not end game content, but earnings have outstripped their ability to absorb it.
Yes the initial several billion to buy one is a stretch for someone starting out but after the sort of time that got me to a Python the modern new player should be about there. I don’t see them as any more complex than the rest of the game and upkeep is relatively straightforward if you aren’t impatient.
As for the small percentage I think you are very wrong as a quick search on Inara shows over 100 FCs with Refuelling within 5.2Ly of my current bubble location and while that will be a high concentration it indicates that they are not all that rare.

 

[Keloot]

anyone with above 90 IQ already knows whats gona release. even i sayd what it was and was banned from the forums for a few days ..

 

[Rubbernuke]

Personally I wouldn't want just a house to decorate on some world. I'd like another game loop that requires players to scout out a good location, start building infrastructure, first agricultural settlements, then moving on to extraction, industrial, etc. Not for a vanity project, but to allow groups of us to colonize the galaxy and manage the resources and economy of our colonies. Yes I know, a small ask..

I just want to set up a humble snack shack and sell honest food at a great price with great customer service:

Just don't land on Pad 2.

DONT

 

[Cosmo]

They were intended to be a money sink not end game content, but earnings have outstripped their ability to absorb it.

These are intended to be both end-game and a money sink for long-term (rich) players afaik.

Yes the initial several billion to buy one is a stretch for someone starting out but after the sort of time that got me to a Python the modern new player should be about there.

Many players don't accumulate several billion credits. Many quit very early because ED is bad at explaining and guiding newbies.

I don’t see them as any more complex than the rest of the game and upkeep is relatively straightforward if you aren’t impatient.

That's subjective, they're more complex than a regular ship with all the options and customization.

As for the small percentage I think you are very wrong as a quick search on Inara shows over 100 FCs with Refuelling within 5.2Ly of my current bubble location

FCs are less rare now, but 100 FCs is a tiny percentage compared to the total amount of (active) players and the greater amount who've stopped playing.

 

[Frankymole]

It might be better for Frontier to reveal the 'secret' before too long, before the hype grows for each different set of theories out of which only one is liable to be correct.

The new feature is going to be revealed on the Livestream on 30th October, according to The Buur Pit's latest update video.

 

[aRJay]

These are intended to be both end-game and a money sink for long-term (rich) players afaik.

Not as I recall the comments at the time, and there is no end-game to ED.

Many players don't accumulate several billion credits. Many quit very early because ED is bad at explaining and guiding newbies.

Yes it is and always has been, I am sure many do quit because of the learning cliff, but most of the ones that don’t quit will earn billions in much less than a year nowadays.

That's subjective, they're more complex than a regular ship with all the options and customization.

I said they weren’t more complex than the rest of the game not a ship, not that ships are exactly lacking in complexities and options.

FCs are less rare now, but 100 FCs is a tiny percentage compared to the total amount of (active) players and the greater amount who've stopped playing.

It turns out that I made an assumption, it seams Inara stops listing after the first 100 items in a near me search.
Picking a system I used to base in and that 100 FCs were spread over 35Lys. Well another 100 FCs not the original ones.

 

[Muzz UK]

As have said before, and now that PP2.0 isn't open only this game needs a forced open only PvP feature. Everything in the same has the option of solo/private etc. Why are Frontier frightened to have just one OPEN/ONLINE only game mode? Its not going to drive people out of the game most of the game is already non PvP friendly.

 

[varonica]

As have said before, and now that PP2.0 isn't open only this game needs a forced open only PvP feature.

Surely that's exactly what CQC is? I mean, it's exactly what it is, it's Open Only, it's PvP only, but no-one plays it!

 

[Muzz UK]

Surely that's exactly what CQC is? I mean, it's exactly what it is, it's Open Only, it's PvP only, but no-one plays it!

CQC has no effect in the main game it doesn't use your main ship and the rank is worthless. The mode is also dead! No one in the pvp groups or pvp discords talks about arena they want PvP with their own ships and load outs in the galaxy against members of other powers. Not training mode PvP which CQC is. There is no separation in CQC of faction affiliation or gameplay style its meaningless.

 

[Nowski]

No one in the pvp groups or pvp discords talks about arena they want PvP with their own ships and load outs in the galaxy against members of other powers.

As a person who doesn't really care about PvP, I don't really get this problem..

If they want it, why don't the "pvp groups and pvp discords" just go and do "PvP with their own ships and load outs in the galaxy against members of other powers" then? Are the pvp groups and pvp discords just aligned with one power?

Which one?

As for the new feature, my hope would be on some kind of dynamic population system which would allow (slow) player-driven changes including colonisation of unpopulated systems and growth and decline of (EDIT: unpopulated) populated ones!