BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL as long as you are opportunist

[Phelix]

This game/SIM is not for everyone. Is you're the kind of gamer that needs to be handheld, and have executing given to them, then perhaps ED isn't your kind of game. You do need to think in ED, you need to use your imagination, think outside the box. This is the greatest game I've played in 30 years. It's challenging, it lets me expand my views on things, to look beyond what I can see, imagine what's out there, then go and find out how close I came.

Nothing's predetermined, what people do makes changes, something so small that your can't immediate see them, but ripples through time alter politics, markets, reputations and perceptions.

If you don't want to use what's onto off your shoulders, there's always Pac man and asteroids.

Personally, I like cerebral games, far better than one's that just hand things out like candy on Halloween.

As for being an opportunist, that's life, without being an opportunist, you do nothing in life, just sit and wait for others to give and do for your.

Oh please, what amount of thinking outside of the box do you have to do to play this game? It is a glorified, simplified flight sim with a re-skin and some gameplay elements thrown in there for good measure. Don't get me wrong, I kinda like the game, but don't start salivating over this like it is the second coming.

I agree with the OP, this game is lacking in depth for people who ARE thinking outside the box, and are trying to play the game in a less mainstream way. If you are not playing like the herd, it simply isn't very lucrative. It might be sustainable (and I emphasize might), but that is it. So blaze your own trail, just don't expect to earn a single penny doing so... This game is easy, there is no secret trick, you just have to put down a lot of time, but that does not make it a good game. If this game had the depth that OP is requesting, it would make a world of difference. You could actually blaze your own trail, as advertised, but FD isn't to bothered about what they are advertising anyway, so I'm sure they're fine with it as is...

 

[Anne Otherplayer]

Note 1: Gamma has been called feature complete, so only bugfixes and polish till release.
Note 2: Obviously there will be more free updates after release.
Note 3: Paid expansions have been promoted that might add WIS (Walking in Stations) and Planetary Landings.


Ok, let's forget Offline-Gate for a moment. Let's ignore the fact that you can't properly interact, socialize and play with friends in the release candidate of a game that's being promoted as the next great multiplayer experience. Let's talk about the core idea of the game instead. I'm getting the impression that you can't really blaze your own trail in the game (yet?). And that it might be very hard to add certain features from the DDAs once the game is running openly.

Reference: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62733&p=1072272&viewfull=1#post1072272
Missions are variations of the same 3-4 things to do with names and items rotated. No impact on anything, no connection to the world.
Trading is merely trucking from A to B.
Smuggling is running towards the door really fast.
Mining is just shooting a rock and collecting smaller rocks.
Pirating and Bounty Hunting are screwed or at least bugged. (See several threads on these topics in the Gamma Forum right now.)
Exploration could really be screwed, because it might not be possible to add it later in the way it was envisioned. See https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62733&p=1066039&viewfull=1#post1066039 and https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63837&p=1074327&viewfull=1#post1074327

Even though you have to admit the discrepancy between the DDAs and the implemented features you might still be unsure what I'm worried about: after all, you CAN get a mission, mine and transport something, let yourself be interdicted, kill someone, collect the bounty and pirate his cargo, which you 'smuggle' somewhere. On your way you collect some exploration data, which you can also sell. So it's all there, right? Well, technically the baseline version of these features is there. Yet, that doesn't allow you to blaze your own trail. Why?

The way the features are implemented the game forces you to play a certain way: the opportunist.

You have to find your own goal, you have to roleplay your pilot in your head, you have to fill in the gaps with you imagination - sound familiar? Yet, you can only play any way you like as long as you switch your style every time the game forces you to, which can happen several times in a single session. Get a bad starting position and you can't do many missions or trade a lot of stuff. In other situations pirating, mining or bounty hunting gets incredibly hard or if you manage to do it, it isn't any deep at all. People asking in the forum what to do get an interesting answer: you're playing the game wrong. Wait, how can that ever be a legit answer in a game that's supposed to let you blaze your own trail? One example is: let yourself get interdicted to earn easy bounties. What if I want to be a pacifist explorer? What if I don't want to carry any weapon at all? What if I start out as an explorer, but decide to keep advanced hyperjump routes for myself instead of selling the data - so I can use them for smuggling activity later on? What if I want to be a miner who manipulates trade? None of this is possible, instead I have to play trucker for anything that comes up and do combat minigames (interdictions) which turn me into a bounty hunter for a minute or two. You can't really specialize and get skillful at one thing while leaving others - blazing your own trail - instead you have to do everything a little bit whenever the game throws it at you.


So I'm pretty worried about Frontier's communication, PR and design roadmap. All we know is that they're going to release updates after release and start working on the paid expansions - Walking on Stations & Planetary Landings. There is no word on the features as described in the DDAs. I'd like to know when you can actually BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL in the Flying In Space part of the game and no longer need to play as opportunist. And honestly, I couldn't care less about WIS as long as FIS is as barebones as it is now. (And there are definately some crazy expectations attached to those expansions.)

What do you think is a realistic estimation of when we will get a fleshed out FIS game where you can actually Blaze Your Own Trail? Six months from now? Twelve? Do you think it's still possible to make exploration come close to the DDA and make it a viable career - without being a Bounty Hunter and Trucker on the side?

If you ignore the fact that the game needs a ton of work to be any real fun for any length of time, and all the bugs, it's a great game.

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Oh please, what amount of thinking outside of the box do you have to do to play this game? It is a glorified, simplified flight sim with a re-skin and some gameplay elements thrown in there for good measure. Don't get me wrong, I kinda like the game, but don't start salivating over this like it is the second coming.

I agree with the OP, this game is lacking in depth for people who ARE thinking outside the box, and are trying to play the game in a less mainstream way. If you are not playing like the herd, it simply isn't very lucrative. It might be sustainable (and I emphasize might), but that is it. So blaze your own trail, just don't expect to earn a single penny doing so... This game is easy, there is no secret trick, you just have to put down a lot of time, but that does not make it a good game. If this game had the depth that OP is requesting, it would make a world of difference. You could actually blaze your own trail, as advertised, but FD isn't to bothered about what they are advertising anyway, so I'm sure they're fine with it as is...

It IS the second coming of a game from 1984, what do you expect it would play like? A modern game? lol

 

[Pomerlaw]

There is a new Call of Duty game in stores, you guys should check it out.

Features will still be added later, maybe your attention span is too short, that's life.

Bugs are being squashed right now, gamma isn't release material.

 

[carazvan]

Just to answer a particular question about exploration and how to possibly add hyperspace discovery and new routes.
I'm imagining there being 'shortcuts' between systems much farther than you can get via normal jumps that could be discovered by the player.
Aka. maybe 2 systems are 60Ly away and everyone only knows to get there via multiple jumps.
Later they add the ability to discover a 'wormhole' or whatever they call it that means any ship can instantly travel between them.
That sets up a new trade route that you can keep secret or share.

 

[Phelix]

It IS the second coming of a game from 1984, what do you expect it would play like? A modern game? lol

Yes, silly me to think a game released in 2014 would use modern gaming mechanics to make gameplay more immersive. You are right, laugh out loud at me. Who would dear dream that anyone could be so bold as to wish for more gameplay, and more roles in the vast univers than hauling cargo and playing cops and robbers. You are right, I was of course way of track here. Let's make fun of me, for being the silly one, for daring to want more than that when we have 4 bazillion stars float around in, of course there is no space for smugglers, saboteurs, militia, pacifistic explorer or any other kind of deviant from the hard core trail blazer elite in the universe.

Where are my manners? Silly old me... Of course, it's the second coming... It is supposed to be this bad... I mean good...

 

[Pille]

I wouldn't go that far. Most of my money has been made so far via trading, with the occasional transport mission for factions opposed to the Federation if they're in the direction I'm heading. Pretty much what I'll be doing once I get back to civilized space. I haven't done any bounty hunting, and I'm seriously consideringbdropping my guns and other equipment to get across the gap if I can't go around it.

Being an opportunist implies I'll do anything to get ahead. I won't work for the federation, I won't take assassination or piracy missions, and I won't take combat bonds. This has been perfectly viable for me, and a lot of fun.

Thanks for letting me know more about the way your are playing. It seems you don't have to be total opportunist. It's more of a spectrum. Playing a total opportunist is probably like easy mode. Restricting yourself to a pacifist explorer who doesn't kill or trade ends up being extreme hard mode. Well I'm not complaining if it's hard but fair and has rewarding and deep mechanics. So I really hope they build toward those DDAs...

 

[Pille]

If you ignore the fact that the game needs a ton of work to be any real fun for any length of time, and all the bugs, it's a great game.

Well, yes. I wonder how new players and reviewers are going to react to that little fact though. Since Frontier needs more players to keep the cash flowing and the servers running. But hey, there's still the possibility of microtransactions, pay for in-game credits and of course in-game advertising to keep the show running. It's just... I don't want to play a pay to win online game filled with advertising. If it comes to that, I'm outta here.

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Just to answer a particular question about exploration and how to possibly add hyperspace discovery and new routes.
I'm imagining there being 'shortcuts' between systems much farther than you can get via normal jumps that could be discovered by the player.
Aka. maybe 2 systems are 60Ly away and everyone only knows to get there via multiple jumps.
Later they add the ability to discover a 'wormhole' or whatever they call it that means any ship can instantly travel between them.
That sets up a new trade route that you can keep secret or share.

I hope so!

 

[RobinsonUK]

Game is lacking a narrative at the moment, yes. But as I understand it Frontier will provide the narrative by imbuing facets into the game over time. I think this is why it couldn't really be done offline. You can understand it from a long-term development point of view. You don't have to design and code the entire evolution of the narrative up-front before release do you. That would take 4 or 5 years (I was watching Carmack talk about his Rage development taking 6 years on Youtube the other day). Of course the only problem with this is there's no "re-playability". You can't get into a story and choose to do things differently next time can you, because it unfolds live and once it's over, it's gone.

Anyway I would suggest a little patience.

 

[Anopheles]

Get real oldtimer

We are in 2000s, is not about being handheld is about minimum features that are now standard gaming grammar

Get an OS update

Get a politness update.

 

[Corwyn]

Game is lacking a narrative at the moment, yes. But as I understand it Frontier will provide the narrative by imbuing facets into the game over time. I think this is why it couldn't really be done offline. You can understand it from a long-term development point of view. You don't have to design and code the entire evolution of the narrative up-front before release do you. That would take 4 or 5 years (I was watching Carmack talk about his Rage development taking 6 years on Youtube the other day). Of course the only problem with this is there's no "re-playability". You can't get into a story and choose to do things differently next time can you, because it unfolds live and once it's over, it's gone.

Anyway I would suggest a little patience.

Life lacks a narrative, but we continue with that. Why can't this be the same? You make your own story, you are the central character, you make the storyboard.

That's what am open format game is about, writing your own story.

 

[Zing Freelancer]

Four billion star systems, 4 BILLION STAR SYSTEMS! And this is what FD get in return? Complains? Wow.

Nah, am just messing with you. I would settle for 4000 or even 400, hell, even 40 well fleshed out star systems with content and things to do beat 4 billion generic star systems.

 

[kamenjar]

You can be a pacifist explorer, as long as you're good at running away.

Bounty hunting and pirating both work well enough at the moment, especially bounty hunting is easy money.

And how would you expect this to buy you an Anaconda? You can certainly enjoy it, but if this game is called feature-complete, I don't see myself doing any of the currently available ways of earning money in a 100000-rinse-and-repeat way to obtain or even maintain some of the expensive ships.

There's reputation, but I haven't seen any effect of it yet. It should make bounty hunting or any of the methods mode adequate for experienced pilots that have been there and done that a million times over. If this stays the way it is, 80% of the players will quit in frustration before they even get an Asp.

 

[Zing Freelancer]

And how would you expect this to buy you an Anaconda? You can certainly enjoy it, but if this game is called feature-complete, I don't see myself doing any of the currently available ways of earning money in a 100000-rinse-and-repeat way to obtain or even maintain some of the expensive ships.

There's reputation, but I haven't seen any effect of it yet. It should make bounty hunting or any of the methods mode adequate for experienced pilots that have been there and done that a million times over. If this stays the way it is, 80% of the players will quit in frustration before they even get an Asp.

The game is obviously made with "Korean MMO grinfest" mentality.

 

[DaveB]

Opportunist? Not at all, Sir. Merely a diversified businessman. My card...

Spoiler

 

[[SI] Bobdelion]

I doubt that you have read the DDA on exploration, mining, smuggling or trading. It's not that you can't make the choice to do one or the other, it's that there is no depth to anything like in the DDA. It's as simple and barebones as you can get. Also, there is no relation to the universe, no impact or consequence of your actions. Right now, the game throws a simple and very limited set of repeating randomized tasks at you and if you do whatever comes up without scrutiny or in-game conscience, you might not notice that there is no depth to the elements and no connection between them. If you do look closer however and read the DDAs you realize that something is amiss.
If they don't push out big updates at least once a month building towards the DDAs, I doubt this game will have the impact and player base it needs to continue.

I have read the DDF and wait expectantly for more of that detail to be realised over time. With the release of the game we will have a solid foundation including the main gameplay archetypes (trader, miner, fighter, etc) and these will be filled out and added to once Frontier have gotten beyond the 'just getting the god damn game out the door' phase! So in many respects I agree with you that the game does not yet have every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed, but I do think that what we will have come the 16th will set the game on the right track to securing that longer term goal. Whether you think that is enough or not, well, that's for each individual to bare.

More generally however, I do think that ED is intended to be a game that does not prescribe how you should progress within the world. That side of the equation is left firmly up to the player to decide. I think in many respects the 'opportunist' ideology is a fundamental part of the game design rather than a side effect. I suspect that people will not get the most out of the game if they are expecting for it to be served to them on a platter. After all, COD this is not.

 

[Pille]

I would settle for 4000 or even 400, hell, even 40 well fleshed out star systems with content and things to do beat 4 billion generic star systems.

Yeah I wonder if this game will be remembered for the biggest empty game world ever created. Who the hell needs 4 billion systems? I think everyone would jump at the possibility of a smaller universe that is filled with more life, interactions and gameplay mechanics.

And how would you expect this to buy you an Anaconda? You can certainly enjoy it, but if this game is called feature-complete, I don't see myself doing any of the currently available ways of earning money in a 100000-rinse-and-repeat way to obtain or even maintain some of the expensive ships.
There's reputation, but I haven't seen any effect of it yet. It should make bounty hunting or any of the methods mode adequate for experienced pilots that have been there and done that a million times over. If this stays the way it is, 80% of the players will quit in frustration before they even get an Asp.

Nice to see other people notice these things too. Exploration, Mining, Smuggling, Bounty Hunting and Pirating are only a technicality at the moment. There's another thread about reputation and someone goes in depth how it could work. Different entities should react differently depending on who you are attacking, where and when. Right now the only way it works without coming apart at the seams is if you let the game throw random events at you and you always play along.

Opportunist? Not at all, Sir. Merely a diversified businessman. My card...

Spoiler

Spy? How could that work within the game?