The Old Elite IV speculation thread

..

  • .

    Votes: 36 100.0%
  • .

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    36
elite4 won't be the top seller i guess, even when it will be outstanding.

Perhaps Gernot, or perhaps not, to my mind at least it will all be about balancing accessibility to complexity. If Mr Braben gets this right, the game has a very good chance of being a hit.

Thinking about this took me back to reading about Sid Meier's Civilization. At the time of the first game's release, everyone (except for Sid and Bill Shelley, his assistant designer) expected the game to fail, plus had not Sid been a part owner of Microprose, Civilization would have never seen the light of day. On release much was written about Sid's arrogance in releasing such an "obscure game". But we all know what happened next, success and buckets of it! Flying in the face of established thinking is not arrogance if you are actually correct. ;)

I think there are some parallels between what Sid Meier did with his game and what David Braben could do now. Speaking of the here and now, David Braben sits at the head of his own company and is perfectly placed to create something wonderful despite many saying the space sim is a dead genre. I have faith that he will :)
 
one thing for shure
computergames showed allways that a generally dead called idea can surpass any expections.
examples there are many...
i guess it's because you can't know exactly what gamers will like as next
now they are surprised about "off the box" created simple games using a simple trick, the rewarding with points you can use for something (more or less useful).
but next could be complete different, to shoot in the same direction one succeeded, is allways a bad idea, imho.

but rewardings are of course a part of any game, i guess it's simple.
what do i was after when i started out? points, to get my name on the highscore table, best on top. so i spend every red cent into the slot of these machines to be better then my neighbour.
times have changed, but basically it's the same.
you will agree a idea like i posted on SSC, to gain a special ship after a long and hard quest will have the effect that everybody who plays the game will be after that then. you can hide it and make it as hard you like they will, i'm shure. one thing of course i would never do, to sell the solution or this special ship, weapon, or whatever, even if that can bring you a lot of earnings. i don't know, it's lame, imho. in contrario i would like to make it that individual, a simple exchange of how i got it won't work for the next :p

to me there is no challenge in it, if i know my neighbour can buy that only because he owns more points, i mean $. that might work now for a wide range of young players, but even they will feel compromised about that after some time, it didn't shows your class neither it shows your individuality. it only shows my pa (or ma) earns more money as your pa do, something i hated allways, isn't it enough the real world works that way?
further i do understand computergames still as a chance to educate people...

i know i'm a prole :D
 
Last edited:
Ah yes, the "Secret Ship" scenario. Yes I spent months looking for the fabled Thargiod ship in FE2. It did not exist of course (except on the surface of some planets with a military base), but at least it gave a reason to get out there and see the galaxy. Absolutely agree with you here Gernot.

What I don't agree with is this comment you made

i know i'm a prole :D

If I read you correct, are you saying your some sort of newb? No way Gernot, you are a Frontier veteran and part of the Pioneer dev community. If your a newb, god help the rest of us! :eek:
 
And why was the troll line not drawn under OP?

Anyhoo, Elite IV as an MMO... I can see that severly hampering the epic scale and being a step backwards from Frontier.
Kiss goodbye to Newtonian physics & your Stardreamer, say hello to Space Friction, jumpgates, instantaneous in-system hyperspace, etc.
Freelancer 2, in other words.

Pure speculation of course, and I'll happily recant once provided with a review copy :)
 
Ah yes, the "Secret Ship" scenario. Yes I spent months looking for the fabled Thargiod ship in FE2. It did not exist of course (except on the surface of some planets with a military base),

Perhaps i misunderstand, but there are plenty of thargoids at the end of the Turner's Quest mission, and you even get to keep one of them!


*EDIT*

Hold on, you're talking about Frontier, not First Encounters. I've been blonde again.
 
Yes, Cmdr Jameson! That's the game I want to have, except this MMO stuff. :>

Wait, you... want... space friction and all this crap?

In that case could you please provide me with your precise coordinates, so I could demonstrate the superiority of proper Newtonian physics *directly*?

:>
 
Wait, you... want... space friction and all this crap?

In that case could you please provide me with your precise coordinates, so I could demonstrate the superiority of proper Newtonian physics *directly*?

:>

Ah I'd lovee it if I were arbitrarily flying along at .5C only to have my ship disintegrate because of a micro-meteorite cloud... space is awesome.
 
Ah I'd lovee it if I were arbitrarily flying along at .5C only to have my ship disintegrate because of a micro-meteorite cloud... space is awesome.

They can always add some sort of navigational deflector or other piece of applied phlebotinum to explain it away (and make it breakable if they feel extra evil).
:p
 
Perhaps Gernot, or perhaps not, to my mind at least it will all be about balancing accessibility to complexity. If Mr Braben gets this right, the game has a very good chance of being a hit.

Thinking about this took me back to reading about Sid Meier's Civilization. At the time of the first game's release, everyone (except for Sid and Bill Shelley, his assistant designer) expected the game to fail, plus had not Sid been a part owner of Microprose, Civilization would have never seen the light of day. On release much was written about Sid's arrogance in releasing such an "obscure game". But we all know what happened next, success and buckets of it! Flying in the face of established thinking is not arrogance if you are actually correct. ;)

I think there are some parallels between what Sid Meier did with his game and what David Braben could do now. Speaking of the here and now, David Braben sits at the head of his own company and is perfectly placed to create something wonderful despite many saying the space sim is a dead genre. I have faith that he will :)

Agreed Geraldine, though I hope the parallels aren't too precise: I always loved the Civ series: addictive, complex, adult. But having upgraded my system for the release of Civ V, oh no! It's flashy, childish and dumbed down: it's been "consoled":(
I really hope commercial pressures don't make E4 go that way!
 
I didn't know they had done that to Civ 5 as I don't own it, what a shame :( My point was the balance must be right for Elite IV, sure, make it easy to play and get into, but difficult to master once you leave the safe starting zones. Complexity can still be left in the game to be discovered by the curious even if it is "hidden" under an easy to play veneer. Perhaps Civ 5 is the same?
 
I didn't know they had done that to Civ 5 as I don't own it, what a shame :( My point was the balance must be right for Elite IV, sure, make it easy to play and get into, but difficult to master once you leave the safe starting zones. Complexity can still be left in the game to be discovered by the curious even if it is "hidden" under an easy to play veneer. Perhaps Civ 5 is the same?

"Easy to learn, difficult to master" absolutely hits the nail on the head.:smilie:
 
Heck, they ain't even working on Outsider I'll bet. This is all vaporware just to build hype.

Frikin' do not even announce another game until Outsider is released. Mmkay?

:mad:

I've been away for ages and was hoping for some news, but I really don't think Elite IV is vapourware and insulting devs. like this isn't called for.
 
And why was the troll line not drawn under OP?

Anyhoo, Elite IV as an MMO... I can see that severly hampering the epic scale and being a step backwards from Frontier.
Kiss goodbye to Newtonian physics & your Stardreamer, say hello to Space Friction, jumpgates, instantaneous in-system hyperspace, etc.
Freelancer 2, in other words.

Pure speculation of course, and I'll happily recant once provided with a review copy :)

If it comes out as an MMO, that's one of the few things that'll immediately lose them a sale - followed by if it's dumbed down for consoles. ;)
 
They are working on it - I am sure.

Picture related: it is the Sistine Chapel. It took Michelangelo 11 years to finish it. And his eyesight.

Of course I do not expect anything less than the Sistine Chapel of computer games when it is finished. And some big party for this forum here!

 
Uh. oh.

Seems like Braben got himself a difficult fanbase - if Elite 4 is anything short of perfect or at least true sequel in spirit to both Frontiers, then Fallout's infamous glittering gems of hatred will be overshadowed by burning neutron stars of pure, uncontrolled nerdrage.

In other words: everything is going as planned. :cool:
 
Let's go!

I am ready!
And I brought some friends with me!
Where do we go first?
And can we have some brunch with the developers first?

 
Back
Top Bottom