My concerns about the colonization update

CMDR_LS

C
we all know that 2024 has been one of the best years for Elite and the Thargoid war especially brought back tons of players. Why? because it was hella fun. It's the most fun I've had in Elite since I bought this game.
In few weeks Fdev is going to drop the new Colonization update, and I am the most unexcited I have ever been about Elite. Nothing in this update makes me want to play the game. I feel this is going to be a massive grind fest, and will not bring back players like the Thargoid war did. With PP2 being a massive and unbalanced grind fest already, adding the Colonization grind fest, and you get a "sandbox" of grind grind and more grind.

Systems targeted for Colonization will become a hot spot for gankers because , well, what else is there to do in this game right now besides praying on the weak and defenseless. Only the super wealthy and rich will be able to colonize and the rest of us, the casual players, will just be their minions, feeding supplies and mats into their colonization machine. We basically do the grind for them... yea more grind yayyyy

yea... I know this is a free update but I don't think anyone cares about it enough to come back, especially with so many other big AAA games coming out in Feb. If Fdev goal is to break out of the bubble of "old/aging" and "hard core" fanbase, this is not it. I just don't see the "colonization" update attracting new players, like the Thargoid war did. Nobody wants to play a game where the entire game loop revolves around endless grind.
 

Mohrgan

Mohrgan
The end of the Thargoid war, along with SCO and new ships brought players back. Reducing the grind in Engineering, and the revamp of Powerplay brought players back. The goids had dominated most of the previous three years of development, which was a scary time for FDev. The Thargoid war decidedly did not bring the players back.

I see plenty of Commanders wildly interested in Colonization. The colonization up-date looks to bring a real End-Game type mechanic for long term amusement in the game. Something long established players can find value in and spend some of their vast riches engaged with. How many FCs can one own anyway? Colonization is going to be great for ED.
 

Vanquish383

Vanquish383
You see plenty of commanders... But there are many more you don't see.

Colonization is just a bunch of hauling missions without the option to express any creativity. You cannot build a real custom custom base, just install already seen settlements.

You said well, end game for rich commanders that have nothing to do.
It would be better adding some new mechanics for all players: new ground vehicles for mining, real base building to refine and build materials, ground vehicle battles, water exploration, and do on...
 

Rat Catcher

Rat Catcher
I'm not interested in the least in colonisation if it is going to be limited solely to the bubble and be part of the PP 2.0 gameplay eventually.
Still, the rest of the game that has kept me amused for over 7 years is the same...

Wonder how many gankers there are in the game, the 'gold rush' for colonisation will have many systems being grabbed...

Plus, naturally, there being 3 modes, so the chances are that players working on a colony might be in PG are relatively high too, I suppose...
 

Dillon Fallon

Dillon Fallon
I think a lot will depend on how much we can customise the claimed system. Even being able to name settlements and stations will make a system feel like 'home' which I would have thought would be the whole point of this. Of course this means we're in for a load of 'Monkey Spanker Orbital' and the like (just look at fleet carriers), but the alternative is everything proc gen and you're left with something that is identical to every system you passed through to get to your spot, which personally would make the whole thing very tedious.

Still, Odyssey gets plenty of criticism and I have fun playing that aspect of the game, so who knows.
 

Cmdr Derzelat

C
CMDR_LS said:
yea... I know this is a free update but I don't think anyone cares about it enough to come back, especially with so many other big AAA games coming out in Feb. If Fdev goal is to break out of the bubble of "old/aging" and "hard core" fanbase, this is not it. I just don't see the "colonization" update attracting new players, like the Thargoid war did. Nobody wants to play a game where the entire game loop revolves around endless grind.
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I don't think you need to concern. The thargoid battle didn't brought me back( I don't hate it, it's just not for me, therefore I consider it as "grindy gameplay loop", obviously for you was not that), so it's kind of subjective view to say that some content added , brought or will bring back players. Maybe it won't bring new players in, that may be possible, but I feel that the game proved that it has somewhat healthy audience just enough to be still standing today. There are some explorers that are still waiting their turn on updates , some of them playing while waiting , others wait standing by on forums (me included), but thargoid war did not move them towards getting back. It's an exaggerated example, but the point is that the game is surviving, maybe not bringing in new players, for that neither thargoids or colonization will suffice. As you said , there are some games out in 2024 or coming in 2025 that gets ppl busy, and even if not in same market / niche as Elite , and even if Elite is offering the best quality/price offer in its genre, it's still too outdated (engine wise) to bring in new demanding players to expand its pool. Best it's to enjoy the game as it is for what it is, even for casual time O7!
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
egg-eggs.gif


The irony is (according to FDs financial report) player numbers spiked the most on Ascendancy....so PP2 drew people back.

Rat Catcher said:
Gankers are the 'new age' monster that hides under the bed to scare little ones...
They are imagined everywhere, and there is no way to evade them...
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monsters-inc-boo.gif
 

Jinx Chrome

Jinx Chrome
Although I hadn't planned to stay in the bubble for so long, the 2024 became really interesting with the Titans and then the new ships (Mandalay) which made me postpone my next long distance exploration trip. Therefore, I'd say that FDev did a lot of things right last year and offered content to keep me engaged. The PP2.0 and colonisation things aren't attracting me at all because I share the concerns expressed above and I don't care about factions and BGS (I 'enjoy' enough PowerPlay at work :p).

However, before I am going to say good bye to the bubble for at least 6-8 months, I want to wait for their announcements for upcoming features. I don't expect that there's anything right around the corner for explorers and adventurers within that time frame (new planet types, interiors, development of the background story, e.g. Guardians) but you never know.
 

Cmdr Derzelat

C
Koma Pahu said:
Yet the majority of their funding last year was from sales of the game. 🤔
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I'm not saying that it does not bring in 0 players, I have no numbers to offer to sustain how many gets in or out, but I do say that no matter the dynamic is (players in Vs players quitting Vs players getting back) the game keeps maintaining a healthy player base for some content being added or simply keep it floating. I don't think there is some metric by which you can say that there is an outstanding increase in new players, star systems in game being flooded by new generation of gamers following an expansion / update . I'm saying the new player base increase feels somewhat marginal cus of the dynamic described above keeping the player base at a level sustaining the game. Anyhow, even if I'm wrong in my assesment, I don't think there's reason to worry about the game, and as you stated ,if the game brings in new players cashflow , enough to keep maintaining itself, which makes me happy.O7!
 

nepomuk

nepomuk
My thoughts on colonization:
FD could bring out a real smash hit or it will be a pipe-breaker! I fear it will be the latter.
But still, I want to make it clear that I'm looking forward to it. If they get it right, it could be something really great. But the idea of colonization needs to be well thought out. In my opinion, it would be best if it were a DLC, so really really big, a game within a game, so to speak. With a DLC, it could generate a few credits again, which is also not insignificant, in my opinion. I'm sure the hardcore ED players have 10/15€ (sorry, I don't remember the conversion to pounds) to spare for it. It should be multi-level and expandable so ED can keep adding to it.
I've been at it intermittently since early 2015 and have always hoped for something similar. Hopefully FD won't disappoint me.

Greetings nepomuk 🫡

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
 

Phoenix_Dfire

Phoenix_Dfire
So thinking about Colonisation a bit more.

What feel is missing from the info we have so far is the actual management of a new system. I'm hoping that your actions set the economy/security levels, not just setting a couple of drop downs boxes.

It could be done as follows; -
If we assume that a new system will start off with a colony/anarchy status, the only way to get the security status and economy you want is to build the right combination of settlements.

For Security - You have to add military settlements to increase security. However, the more normal settlements you have, the more military settlements you need to keep order.

For Economy - If you want your system to have a certain type of economy, you need the right combination of settlements. For mining, you quite simply have lots of Mining settlements. However, you'll also need a number of Agricultural settlements to feed them, but it's not a one to one relationship (say one Agricultural settlement can feed 4 other settlements).

For more advanced Economy types, you have to more advanced combinations, i.e If you want a refinery system, you need at least a couple of refining settlements. However, in order to have those settlements available you have to have at least two mining settlements, so that would mean, you'd need 2 refinery settlements, 4 mining settlements, 2 agricultural settlements to feed them all, and lets say 2 military settlements to increase security to low security.

The idea being, if you want an advance economy and secure system, you have to spend time shaping your system before the BGS starts to influence it.
 

Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
Robert Maynard
Felix DiCestria said:
Except it looks like it might only be a single carrier load... Wait, that is a CG these days...
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It wouldn't be (for me at least) - as mine is pretty much full to the brim with tritium (just in case getting far, far away from the bubble is desirable at any time).

Mind you, I haven't ever used my Carrier in a hauling CG (it's been full of the aforementioned tritium for years) and have still managed to get into the Top 10% in many of the recent hauling CGs.
 

Kira Goto

Kira Goto
I don’t consider colonization for me, as it currently looks largely to be primarily focused around throwing commodities at starports to be built. Just as I didn’t have interest in Powerplay 2 - that’s fine, but I would still like to have “our” story back with the game. Like the NMLA, the Azimuth resurgence arc, or… forbid… Thargoids being more than glorified target practice for the players as the actual story behind the Titan incursion seems to have gotten lost in the haystack somewhere in the last year and a half. Or has been progressing at a slow enough pace that it feels like it largely stopped existing.

Otherwise, as it is, I’m a bit stuck simply doing nothing. Aka not playing the game. Can’t really get myself into exploring at this current point in time and I’m neither into BGS nor Powerplay. And as we all know the Thargoids are basically on hold. Playing for the sake of playing only gets me so far in this one.
 
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