Bored of the game already

[Flipp Fuzz]

Am I doing something wrong?

I was enjoying the game and everything, but right after buying a cobra, it hit me that I'm just grinding over and over...
There really isn't much to do in the game other than trading, bounty hunting and exploration, which are really just doing the same thing over and over.
I've seen a few players in game on my radar, but that's it. No chat, no interaction at all.

Is the game really this shallow?
Please tell me what do you guys do to enjoy this game...

 

[Commander Mugwump]

Join a group, find some friends, have some lulz. shoot some other players. Take a break.

Rinse and repeat.

 

[Capt.Mitch]

pretty much lol

 

[Ebannaw]

Have you tried smuggling? It can be very fun as well. There's going to be a lot more to this game as time goes on, and things develop and start working out. It's really just starting to take off now. I've been playing non stop damn near since release and I have yet to be bored. I don't know, perhaps it's just my penchant for space and sciency stuff that has me all gitty, but as a sandbox there's a bit of imagination involved in creating your own story so to speak.

 

[LaznAzn]

If you've tried a bit of everything that Elite has to offer and are no having fun. Put the game down for now before you burn yourself out. Come back in 1 or 2 months and try again once the devs add more content.

 

[Cmdr Cupcake]

Don't grind. It's a sandbox, not a classic mmo with grinding and endgame. Vary your activities. Still bored? Fine, stop playing and come back some weeks later. ED will grow continually, you might then find something new that interests you.

 

[Flipp Fuzz]

If you've tried a bit of everything that Elite has to offer and are no having fun. Put the game down for now before you burn yourself out. Come back in 1 or 2 months and try again once the devs add more content.

Well, I guess that's what I will do then.
Take a break and hope my perspective changes.

Man, I even took today off to play this game

 

[Bkim]

Wow...you should be happy you made it to the Cobra! Im stuck after jumping to another system and on arrival i thought: "huh...i jumped didn't i" because it looked exact(!) the same as the previous system.
Creating a huge world with nice graphics these days is easy for even a simple indy developer. Creating good game mechanics and gameplay is a whole different story. The implemented ship systems are too scripted.
There is a huge lack of diversity. Releasing is game out of beta and sell it still as beta...thats some hardcore commmercial management, i must admit.

 

[fshow]

Wow...you should be happy you made it to the Cobra! Im stuck after jumping to another system and on arrival i thought: "huh...i jumped didn't i" because it looked exact(!) the same as the previous system.
Creating a huge world with nice graphics these days is easy for even a simple indy developer. Creating good game mechanics and gameplay is a whole different story. The implemented ship systems are too scripted.
There is a huge lack of diversity. Releasing is game out of beta and sell it still as beta...thats some hardcore commmercial management, i must admit.

Really? Space still looked like space? Unbelievable.. Would think space looked like a desert in another system. Or maybe a forest.. Jump some more, and you'll find some pretty neat looking systems.
Will admit there is not too much content, but i still find it amusing. You are just expecting to get everything handed to you like sooo many others.. Dont! The story will unfold itself after time.

 

[Sandmann]

Have you tried smuggling? It can be very fun as well.

Totally off topic, but it strikes me as amusing that your avatar is Riker, mister straight laced himself, and you're advocating smuggling. Not having a go at you or anything, just sharing a giggle.

 

[777Driver]

Wow...you should be happy you made it to the Cobra! Im stuck after jumping to another system and on arrival i thought: "huh...i jumped didn't i" because it looked exact(!) the same as the previous system.
Creating a huge world with nice graphics these days is easy for even a simple indy developer. Creating good game mechanics and gameplay is a whole different story. The implemented ship systems are too scripted.
There is a huge lack of diversity. Releasing is game out of beta and sell it still as beta...thats some hardcore commmercial management, i must admit.

You will have to jump a little further than 14LY my friend It's like me walking 3 mins to the corner shop and complaining :/

Open the galaxy map and pick a destination. The Pleides Nebula alone is worth a visit, not to mention the California/Eagle & Orion.

Here's a couple of interesting systems for those that can't be bothered to do the legwork

Aries Dark Region OY-Q B5-0
COMA
ALTAIS
CAPELLA
BAGA
HIP 63835 - Contains two black holes and a Neutron star
HD 226868
HIP 22500
Akheilos
MACAY
Ngarokpoi
WD 1207-032 (Stellar Nursery)
MAIA - Blackhole deep within a Nebula

 

[WillFrog]

I must admit the lack of content is getting me down a bit. People keep saying it's a sandbox, but well a sandbox should have some toys in it. What we have currently is just a big heap of sand. A very pretty heap of sand I'll grant you, but it lacks a certain something.

Leaving aside mining (boring) and exploring (not for me) you can trade and you can shoot stuff, or do missions which are just trading and shooting stuff. It gets a bit thin after a while.

I'm still playing because I enjoy the combat and things like the Liberate Lugh campaign which is at least an interesting experiment even if it doesn't seem to be going anywhere but everything feels kinda hollow atm. Everywhere you go is the same. Same stations, same missions, same economies. There's no persistent NPCs, little player interaction and just no sense of life to the galaxy.

I'm confident that the game can get there in a year or so but I worry that the majority of people will abandon it before then due to lack of content and the game will go into a death spiral.

 

[Armante]

I must admit the lack of content is getting me down a bit. People keep saying it's a sandbox, but well a sandbox should have some toys in it. What we have currently is just a big heap of sand. A very pretty heap of sand I'll grant you, but it lacks a certain something.

Leaving aside mining (boring) and exploring (not for me) you can trade and you can shoot stuff, or do missions which are just trading and shooting stuff. It gets a bit thin after a while.

I'm still playing because I enjoy the combat and things like the Liberate Lugh campaign which is at least an interesting experiment even if it doesn't seem to be going anywhere but everything feels kinda hollow atm. Everywhere you go is the same. Same stations, same missions, same economies. There's no persistent NPCs, little player interaction and just no sense of life to the galaxy.

I'm confident that the game can get there in a year or so but I worry that the majority of people will abandon it before then due to lack of content and the game will go into a death spiral.

Pardon me if I'm off-base here - absolutely no offense meant - but I'd like to know the age of the players in this thread.

The reason I ask is that I played the original in 1984 as a 13 year old. MANY of the backers are old-timers like me who never stopped playing games. We've seen them from their simple roots right through to todays AAA blockbusters with their pretty graphics and little gameplay.
Here's your 'get off my lawn' moment - we had to use our imagination, we got invested in our games because there were less and they were simpler. I've played my share of games in the last 34 years, and I have a current Steam catalogue of over 350 games, with more in GoG and Desura. Elite allows me to kick back and do some trading, deal with an interdiction, drop into some USS', make some money, upgrade, bountyhunt and explore all inside of the hour or two I get a day to play. I wish I had more.
I like that I can just go with the flow. As much as I like missions and unfolding stories, sometimes I don't want them. I've collected my achievements on consoles; I don't need them here.

As I said, I'm not calling anyone names, or young or stupid. Perhaps this game is simply geared at a different market. The people who created it, created the game they wanted. David Braben made this game 30 years ago, and now we have a modern version. If this game doesn't grab you right now, I'm sorry to hear it. I joined the beta and have not played another game since. I really enjoy it. I know it's not perfect, and there's more to come. It's only been out for a few days. Give it a little time, then maybe take a break. I hope it grows on you.

See you in the black, Commander.

 

[Steve50]

I'm not having a go at the OP but I think it really helps if you have a good imagination when you play. I know most games these days hand hold you at all times and spoon feeds you content but this harks back to the games of the 80's where you neded to use your imagination and use your head meat to think things out. I've been playing since early Alpha and I'm never bored, there's always somewhere new to go to something new to discover. Grind..? I see no grind, it's a matter of attitude.

 

[Whiterose]

Elite Dangerous is not a game for people who like to be told what to do, go here do this, shoot that. It requires imagination, and is really meant for those type of people who like to micro manage to the nth degree, and for those of us who like making lists. If you want to save the universe then this game is not for you. There will be additional content but this may be a long way off such as planetary landings.

 

[Serkor]

All this is normal.
We are in the "sort out" phase between people who knew exactly why they came to play Elite Dangerous, others who came by without knowing anything and others who have thought that it would be World of Spaceships or Eve Online with driving ships. This has been imho also induced by the misunderstanding about the "MMO" used by Frontier and by trailers like the last one. The ones who came with wrong expectations are of course disappointed and will probably move on to something else.
In three months from now it will be settled ...

 

[WillFrog]

Pardon me if I'm off-base here - absolutely no offense meant - but I'd like to know the age of the players in this thread.

The reason I ask is that I played the original in 1984 as a 13 year old. MANY of the backers are old-timers like me who never stopped playing games. We've seen them from their simple roots right through to todays AAA blockbusters with their pretty graphics and little gameplay.
Here's your 'get off my lawn' moment - we had to use our imagination, we got invested in our games because there were less and they were simpler. I've played my share of games in the last 34 years, and I have a current Steam catalogue of over 350 games, with more in GoG and Desura. Elite allows me to kick back and do some trading, deal with an interdiction, drop into some USS', make some money, upgrade, bountyhunt and explore all inside of the hour or two I get a day to play. I wish I had more.
I like that I can just go with the flow. As much as I like missions and unfolding stories, sometimes I don't want them. I've collected my achievements on consoles; I don't need them here.

As I said, I'm not calling anyone names, or young or stupid. Perhaps this game is simply geared at a different market. The people who created it, created the game they wanted. David Braben made this game 30 years ago, and now we have a modern version. If this game doesn't grab you right now, I'm sorry to hear it. I joined the beta and have not played another game since. I really enjoy it. I know it's not perfect, and there's more to come. It's only been out for a few days. Give it a little time, then maybe take a break. I hope it grows on you.

See you in the black, Commander.

Well since you ask I'm 38 and I played the original Elite in the 80s too on my trusty Amstrad 6128 - On disc no less! None of your plebeian tape drives - but things have moved on since then. I expect more from a game nowadays.

Don't get me wrong, as I say I'm still playing and I'm still having fun and I realise they had to just make things functional to get the thing out the door and improvements will come with time but ... I dunno, it just feels ... like I said thin. I can't really articulate it better than that. Like for instance why is the trading interface a f-ing static spreadsheet? In this day and age! Practically the only difference between the current one and the one I remember from 84 is that it's now orange. Is that all that 30 years has brought us? A palette swap? Must. Do. Better.

The thing is the core of the game is solid and I can imagine it becoming something truly phenomenal given time. I just worry that it wont get the time given reactions like the OPs.

 

[IronKite]

Like for instance why is the trading interface a f-ing static spreadsheet? In this day and age! Practically the only difference between the current one and the one I remember from 84 is that it's now orange. Is that all that 30 years has brought us? A palette swap? Must. Do. Better.

Take a close look at FD's job vacancies. You'll notice that they are (still?) looking for GUI and UI artists Well, at least it tells me something

 

[Jetkar]

Pardon me if I'm off-base here - absolutely no offense meant - but I'd like to know the age of the players in this thread.

The reason I ask is that I played the original in 1984 as a 13 year old. MANY of the backers are old-timers like me who never stopped playing games. We've seen them from their simple roots right through to todays AAA blockbusters with their pretty graphics and little gameplay.
Here's your 'get off my lawn' moment - we had to use our imagination, we got invested in our games because there were less and they were simpler. I've played my share of games in the last 34 years, and I have a current Steam catalogue of over 350 games, with more in GoG and Desura. Elite allows me to kick back and do some trading, deal with an interdiction, drop into some USS', make some money, upgrade, bountyhunt and explore all inside of the hour or two I get a day to play. I wish I had more.
I like that I can just go with the flow. As much as I like missions and unfolding stories, sometimes I don't want them. I've collected my achievements on consoles; I don't need them here.

As I said, I'm not calling anyone names, or young or stupid. Perhaps this game is simply geared at a different market. The people who created it, created the game they wanted. David Braben made this game 30 years ago, and now we have a modern version. If this game doesn't grab you right now, I'm sorry to hear it. I joined the beta and have not played another game since. I really enjoy it. I know it's not perfect, and there's more to come. It's only been out for a few days. Give it a little time, then maybe take a break. I hope it grows on you.

See you in the black, Commander.

You nailed it.... This game will not suit everyone.

Although this is first iteration of the old Elite I used to play back on my BBC Micro. I would not doubt what the future developments hold as the game becomes more immersive in forthcoming DLCs and continued development of the game making it an equal against Eve Online and SC

 

[Serkor]

We shouldn't let our thoughts being influenced by people posting saying "the community thinks this ot that". The truth is that 90% of the people who buy a game like this use their free time for playing and never read a forum. The ideas in forum posts are only those of the 10% of the people around who have excess free time.
Let's not give ourselves too much importance.