Collection of Ideas for Elite 4

[essezeta]

These are some of the best suggestions for Elite IV that I've yet seen on this forum! Nice one essezeta! I like the fact that a lot of your suggestions come directly from some of the frustrations of earlier Elite games. I can certainly relate to most if not all of those frustrations. Especially the lack of responses you got from other pilots etc (e.g. no-one anwers "broadcast message to all in range...", no-one answers calls for help, if you say "surrender or die" they ALWAYS just say "ha ha!".

Thank you very much caol.
You're right: some suggestions came from Frontier Elite 2 and First Encounters bugs.


I've always wanted to visit Beta Lyrae!!

 

[caol]

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/B/Beta_Lyrae.html

Modern graphics could make it quite a beautiful place to visit (if a little dangerous)!

 

[zmurf]

One thing.

When you are looking for starsystems there should be a "Search" box so you can find the star by searching on its name and/or its possition, instead of being forced to scroll thru the whole universe.
This would save a lot of time.

 

[essezeta]

One thing.

When you are looking for starsystems there should be a "Search" box so you can find the star by searching on its name and/or its possition, instead of being forced to scroll thru the whole universe.
This whould save a loot of time.

I agree with you!

I add other suggestions:

- Real undercarriage damage in spaceflight or in combat
- Complete thruster controls with numpad like in mods

 

[essezeta]

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/B/Beta_Lyrae.html

Modern graphics could make it quite a beautiful place to visit (if a little dangerous)!

Yeah!

Thank you for the link!
This remind me a book I read in 80's: I think the title can be translated in "The planetarium of the space age"

I loved the book: it was full of hand drawn images about space.
There was Beta Lyrare too..
The image was a view of the two contact stars from a local planet Mercury-like.
Unfortunately, I can't remember the artist name..

 

[Prycon]

I would like "relative" target, so I decide what the ship control and speed should be relative to. It was horrible to be a pirate in Frontier, I was unable to control the ship to pick up the loot.

- Complete thruster controls with numpad like in mods

I agree, it will help in combat situation.

 

[insidah]

i think as an idea for missions, the player should be able to be employed to fly the employers craft - for instance "we need a pilot to fly our transport of synthetic meat to the Lave system", etc
aswell as being employed by the military - you fly their craft and can do your own stuff/fly your own ship when your contract ends...

is that a fair suggestion?

 

[Bounder]

yes, i just wrote a long rambling post about employment and career opportunities, but i got stupidly carried away again so deleted it and wrote this instead...

but it would be good if you could, like, do lots of different jobs and stuff eh.

 

[zmurf]

i think as an idea for missions, the player should be able to be employed to fly the employers craft - for instance "we need a pilot to fly our transport of synthetic meat to the Lave system", etc
aswell as being employed by the military - you fly their craft and can do your own stuff/fly your own ship when your contract ends...

Yes. I really like the idé to fly your employers ship. As in real life, if you work as a trucker, the company owns the truck. And in the end of the day, you take your own car and drive home.

So in Frontier this would be like you having a Eagle Mk, and your employer provide you with an Panther Clipper.


You go to work. You park your Eagle. You take the Panther. You fly the goods for a couple of weeks back an forth between some starsystems. You come back. Fly away with your Eagle. And one or two weeks later your back from your "weekend" (or vacation, whatever you want to call it) and go back to work in the Panther.
And in the end of the month you get your monthly salary.

 

[insidah]

exactly!!!

good to have u guys back me up.
cheers!

oh, and another idea would be for the player to buy shares in companies running in each star system/empire, so that they can put their money directly into this company, and each time items are bought from the specific company, the player receives dividends somewhat -
i think this is getting pretty complicated in economics, but its another avenue that could be used in the game...

 

[zmurf]

Yes. A working stockmarket ingame... thats a splendid idée

The more complicated and realistic economics ingame the better.

 

[Linwig]

Please have a ship within a ship, eg a small hover bike that drops out of the cargo hold for exploring planet surfaces ala Darth Maul... Or perhaps a better analogy would be Thunderbird 2!

 

[Steve O B Have]

Yes. A working stockmarket ingame... thats a splendid idée

The more complicated and realistic economics ingame the better.

buuuuurrrrrrrrrr - I'd have to dissagree with you on that one - partially. An overly complex economic system as massive potential to heavily detract from gameplay. If you want to play stock markets and the like, I believe that the option should exist to vary the involvement.

I really don't want to play a game that has an EVE style learning curve, there is a reason why the saying (K.I.S.S.) 'Keep It Simple Stupid) exists. Sure if you have nothing better to do with your life than sit speculating on a false market place - be my guest, but can you imagine how quickly you'd alienate the casual gamer?

The aim of producing anything like this is to not only meet the expectations of the 'Old School' but also introduce it to the new. To do this it requires a really good level of accessability and an element of "pick up and go".

 

[zmurf]

buuuuurrrrrrrrrr - I'd have to dissagree with you on that one - partially. An overly complex economic system as massive potential to heavily detract from gameplay. If you want to play stock markets and the like, I believe that the option should exist to vary the involvement.

Well.. You shouldnt HAVE to deal with the stockmarket, as you in real life dont HAVE to deal with the stockmarket... But for then who wants to there should be a way to influence the universe economics in other ways then just trade or piracy.

The gameplay should be so versatile that you can decide yourself how hard/easy the game should be by choosing wich starsystems you fly in and how much you try to influnce other things by (as an example) go into buying shares at the stockmarket...

 

[Steve O B Have]

Well.. You shouldnt HAVE to deal with the stockmarket, as you in real life dont HAVE to deal with the stockmarket... But for then who wants to there should be a way to influence the universe economics in other ways then just trade or piracy.

The gameplay should be so versatile that you can decide yourself how hard/easy the game should be by choosing wich starsystems you fly in and how much you try to influnce other things by (as an example) go into buying shares at the stockmarket...

I do agree with you, there should definately be the scope to decide on the complexity. I would agree with you on the buying and selling of stocks etc, but only that far. I would say taking it to levels of put options and the like would be overboard. However, like you say getting to be big enough to effect economics, that'd be interesting but I still believe a bit too much. If you want that, then you can play EVE.

IMO Elite 4 should not forget its roots and remain an engaging space trading/exploration game with the excitement of space combat. To bog it down in politics and economies would be a mistake.

 

[zmurf]

However, like you say getting to be big enough to effect economics, that'd be interesting but I still believe a bit too much. If you want that, then you can play EVE.

Unfortunally... I dont like EVE... imo it hasent realy got any Elite feeling.

IMO Elite 4 should not forget its roots and remain an engaging space trading/exploration game with the excitement of space combat. To bog it down in politics and economies would be a mistake.

Yep... I really agree on that... its more importent to keep the Elite/Frontier feeling then having a loot of complex featurs. But if I could have both, I would like that also.

 

[insidah]

okay then guys, how about in the 'difficulty settings' you can either select or deselect "real world economics" - then it would change the pricing system somewhat - a casual gamer can deselect this, but those that allow the "real world economics" factor into the game, would get a higher "rating" as they play.


anyhoot, its only an idea, and im sorry i divided alot of you with it.

andrew
aka insidah

 

[zmurf]

anyhoot, its only an idea, and im sorry i divided alot of you with it.

As I wrote before. I dont think its a importent feature... but it whould be nice. The most importent part of Elite4 is that it has that Elite/Frontier feeling. Everything else is just bouneses

 

[Steve O B Have]

As I wrote before. I dont think its a importent feature... but it whould be nice. The most importent part of Elite4 is that it has that Elite/Frontier feeling. Everything else is just bouneses

Agreed, and we're not divided on it, it's called discussing the merits of an idea We're not actually totally dissagreeing with each other, it's what these forums are for, offering suggestions and then fleshing them out - it's all in the spirit of good fun.

 

[Steve O B Have]

Unfortunally... I dont like EVE... imo it hasent realy got any Elite feeling.

Yep... I really agree on that... its more importent to keep the Elite/Frontier feeling then having a loot of complex featurs. But if I could have both, I would like that also.

Totally - EVE is a life waster, strangely enough, some of us actually have jobs to go to, girlfriends/wives to entertain and social lives to enjoy - gaming is a happy bonus.

I think another thing that I would like is some sort of a moderated modding system - i.e. Ships are designed and developed then 'vetted' by Frontier Dev and moderated (to avoid the "woo I'm going to make a super ship" syndrome) and then finally released into the single player world as a persistant entity. Even tho the game itself is single player, I don't see any reason why the world you play in can't be either partially or entirely persistent. (Linky)