For my part, only because of Oculus Rift. If this game didn't have that I'd have binned it a while back as shallow and repetitive. The VR experience has bought a fair bit of leeway (speaking only for myself of course).
Priority choices of ED development
- Thread starter Cmdr Eagleboy
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For my part, only because of Oculus Rift. If this game didn't have that I'd have binned it a while back as shallow and repetitive. The VR experience has bought a fair bit of leeway (speaking only for myself of course).
"At all" would be an improvement. The way the game is going, it's drifting ever further from the deep game with procedural damage and internal destructible bays, and self-policing high security systems. Right now, it seems to be a wild west shooter with a very boring boardgame nailed on top.
Actually, no, belay that. Before anything else is added, what's already there needs to be triaged and beaten into shape- lamentably broken missions, docking computer, multiple scanning, you name it. Right now, it feels like it's slipping ever more out of control, and could do with a consolidation phase, as it doesn't feel like FD has a good handle on what's there right now. Server issues are particularly worrying- though maybe if they're forced to serve the boners from XBL-affiliated servers, it will be less of a problem for those players, so they can happily ignore it.
..but yes, once the mess in the base game is fixed (and optionally, some of the more pathological parts of Powerplay, for people who like that sort of thing), then looking at fundamentals that are still missing would be good. Associating ships with a commander, which is then associated with an account would be a start. Some of the deeper features like persistent procedural damage, proper security systems and other things which made people kickstart this game in the first place would be useful too.
Adding more poorly-tested bling on an already sketchy foundation to get revenue in the door is obviously an easy short-term business call, but may well harm the game in the longer term. The sort of people who are interested in shallow multiplayer shooters are notoriously fickle, and are a much harder to manage demographic. Anyone who thinks that we unwashed masses on this forum are already unruly have seen nothing yet.
Personally, no. It's such a buggy mess that I am having a hard time to persuade myself to sit down and strap on the DK2 of an evening. My play time is finite, and I generally prefer to get some entertainment along the way. Right now, I am a beta backer surfin' the "sunk cost fallacy" wave, hoping that things will get on track, though I haven't actually played more than a few minutes at a stretch for a while. It's lucky that my Steam library contains tons of good games that are as yet unplayed, picked up for a song in various sales. Tonight, I will probably start on Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall, yay
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Basic scavenging is already in the game. I jumped into a weak signal source and found 4 tons of technical blueprints, not much. But I see it as "scavenging". I hope they can maybe make USS where there are ships to scavenge and modules to scoop up. Like derelict ship USS. This could also show in SC as "Derelict Ship" instead of USS. This could be set up as a trap or as "loot" which you could scavenge from the derelict wreck. Maybe a new module can be made also to scan the USS before you enter, so you know basic information what it contains. So its easier to become a full professional scavenger. Picking up derelict cargo or modules from derelict ships. In the future whole ships can be scavenged and sold on the black market. Then Frontier needs to make a "scavenger class ship" which can pick up these ships and get them to a base and sell them. Scavenging the wrecks in USS for metal is also an option. Strange Frontier havent thought about this earlier, as then you could pick up both the cargo and the metal from the wreck. Scavenging becomes more lucrative and more will fly into USS.
I can't rep you again, a good post that puts some things into perspective.
Aye, the Rift does give the game a completely different vibe. I took a break from using mine for a while, especially when on long exploration runs as I still find it hard to navigate the map using the OR, but having got back I began using it again and ED is like a whole new game again.
Any news on the CV1 release yet?
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Lots - check out the VR subforum and pretty much any tech site! CV1 has been revealed, shipping Q1 2016.
Good question - I think the answer is, at least for me, is no - I was having fun.
ED is starting to turn into a horrible grind fest now, and it appears that trading is the only real viable way of making credits - I really wanted to take part in Powerplay properly but as it is now, I can't afford too. It actually costs me money, All play styles need to pay properly - or at least tied to your own personal ranking.
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Problem is, if you release a game, you are saying it is NOT in development any-more. There is a reasonable expectation of a AAA game at release when you release a game at AAA prices. I think almost everyone will agree that F
at the moment is no-where near a AAA game.This is the biggest problem with E
.Its rushed. It is far far too shallow. Many design decisions have just been 'what is the easiest/quickest way to do this' instead of 'what is the best way to do this'. All in all, its sabotaged itself.
Putting more dev time into console ports, when the game doesn't even have enough content to keep the people already here entertained is just yet another mistake the management has made in this game. The game should be at least taken to the state it should have been at release before they even consider console ports.
Honestly? No. Haven't played it since 1.2 other than a few logins for the 1.3b. Enjoying Witcher 3 more right now. Might come back IF they ever introduce actual content.
Almost tempted to +rep the OP and that's unusual for me!
Basically, we have the FD magician using misdirection to lead us away from the fact that the core game, the great game they designed in the DDA is still not present. They have the shiny new coin in one hand - Powerplay, CQC - constantly distracting from the fact the other hand is rifling through our pockets (or something slightly less dramatic
Could not agree more if I had wrote this myself
Problem is, if you release a game, you are saying it is NOT in development any-more. There is a reasonable expectation of a AAA game at release when you release a game at AAA prices. I think almost everyone will agree that F
This is the biggest problem with E
Yet that was never hidden. They said that free updates were coming later, they needed money at the time and I have personally no problem with it.
Secure the money first, then unleash t̶h̶e̶ ̶k̶r̶a̶k̶e̶n̶ the mind blowing content.
At least that's what I hope for.
Well they got the money... still waiting on the content.
Philip Coutts
Volunteer Moderator
Damage models...<sobs>
Naming of ships...<sobs>
Persistant NPC's...<sobs>
Orrery <sobs>
Shattered dreams...<sobs>
I am being over dramatic but there was so much really good stuff in the DDF that has simply hasn't made it into the game. Stuff that could make a real difference to the game. Maybe it's all still coming but unfortunately Frontier don't do communication very well.
Naming of ships...<sobs>
Persistant NPC's...<sobs>
Orrery <sobs>
Shattered dreams...<sobs>
I am being over dramatic but there was so much really good stuff in the DDF that has simply hasn't made it into the game. Stuff that could make a real difference to the game. Maybe it's all still coming but unfortunately Frontier don't do communication very well.
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DB hated the idea of a subscription model and so did what seems to have been a majority of the backers.
The problem with that though is that revenue is needed to continue development. Therefore continued development needs to be focussed on something that can generate additional revenue. Increasing content depth simply cannot compete with newer platforms for large revenue generation.
A subscription model on the other hand introduces a revenue based driver to keep things interesting. If people discover a lack of depth they leave the game and therefore the revenue dries up. Sure, new platforms will get additional player base but eventually the revenue stream dries up.
In the buy once play forever model, where is the business incentive (forget the moral imperative here) to add depth as a priority over adding new platforms?
Players get bored and leave and maybe come back later. Neither one matters financially to FD because they have as much money as they are going to get.
The problem with that though is that revenue is needed to continue development. Therefore continued development needs to be focussed on something that can generate additional revenue. Increasing content depth simply cannot compete with newer platforms for large revenue generation.
A subscription model on the other hand introduces a revenue based driver to keep things interesting. If people discover a lack of depth they leave the game and therefore the revenue dries up. Sure, new platforms will get additional player base but eventually the revenue stream dries up.
In the buy once play forever model, where is the business incentive (forget the moral imperative here) to add depth as a priority over adding new platforms?
Players get bored and leave and maybe come back later. Neither one matters financially to FD because they have as much money as they are going to get.
That is the problem it gets harder to say yes to this with every half thought out fix that breaks an aspect of the game, every bug that gets ignored when they are told about it in beta, and every 1 liner answer that we get that seems to leave more questions than it answers
I agree with the OP.
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I would say that FD have been remarkably open, but clearly have been stung by it in the past and that is now feeding into the tight lipped stance at the moment. "Offline-gate" taught them that the reaction to cutting a single feature, one added as an afterthought as a fan request and then found to be impractical to implement satisfactorily, can lead to a huge backlash. How much easier would FD's life have been if they'd never mentioned offline or simply added the caveat "if we can manage it"?
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The problem is if FD were 100% open, we'd see a lot of rage when plans changed. Remember what happened when "wings" was announced and it departed from the DDF? Massive rage. FD modified the design in light of experience on how people were playing and with the benefit of more time to refine the ideas. To blindly stick to a plan created at the start and not modify it in light of events would be the height of stupidity. So plans change. Features are cut or modified. Some tasks take longer than anticipated or are not up to release standard and so get pushed back.
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If FD released a roadmap, then any changes would be a PR disaster, and as we know PR is mot FD's strong suit.
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People complain about FD only adding "the low hanging fruit" rather than the big stuff like salvage or mining. Then people complain that ship names and X paintjob hasn't been done.
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For now, we just have to relax and trust FD to keep plugging away (which they'll do as long as there's money coming in). I don't think there will be any radical change in direction, FD are working to the same goals as always
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I would say that FD have been remarkably open, but clearly have been stung by it in the past and that is now feeding into the tight lipped stance at the moment. "Offline-gate" taught them that the reaction to cutting a single feature, one added as an afterthought as a fan request and then found to be impractical to implement satisfactorily, can lead to a huge backlash. How much easier would FD's life have been if they'd never mentioned offline or simply added the caveat "if we can manage it"?
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The problem is if FD were 100% open, we'd see a lot of rage when plans changed. Remember what happened when "wings" was announced and it departed from the DDF? Massive rage. FD modified the design in light of experience on how people were playing and with the benefit of more time to refine the ideas. To blindly stick to a plan created at the start and not modify it in light of events would be the height of stupidity. So plans change. Features are cut or modified. Some tasks take longer than anticipated or are not up to release standard and so get pushed back.
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If FD released a roadmap, then any changes would be a PR disaster, and as we know PR is mot FD's strong suit.
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People complain about FD only adding "the low hanging fruit" rather than the big stuff like salvage or mining. Then people complain that ship names and X paintjob hasn't been done.
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For now, we just have to relax and trust FD to keep plugging away (which they'll do as long as there's money coming in). I don't think there will be any radical change in direction, FD are working to the same goals as always
A slight glimmer of hope here perhaps... the Xbox trailer for the game has "Ship name" plastered all over the bottom-left info panel in one of its scenes. Likely just an oversight, but *fingers crossed*...
got a newsletter today/last night that linked to the new community section the ed main page - seems that FDEV are busy with E3 and keep announcments for that. to follow your own thinking, that seems a smart move to maximsing their reach on those news. obviously the focus is on Xbox One, the new CQC and its implications.
i fully appreciate your position (torn) and concern, in principle even share it. however, the history of FDEV since day one of the ks is not one of pro-active/aggressive communication. they have improved as they have come along with us and they will have to continue to improve on that front.
their main works seems to be coding (Xbox/mac release, Power Play plus an arena combat module ain't bad). some new commercial opportunities will only have come along in the recent months/weeks since release. like steam and MS. just look who is leading FDEV, a coder at heart. yes he does interviews very well ( i think) but i always feel he doesn't belive in the power of PR (communication) over hard coded substance.
i am still fully behind them, despite not actually playing the game ;p
looking forward to what FDEV have to report from E3 this week or as someone famous once said #SQUEEEEEEEEEEE
ps. a nice touch would be to add a "share via social media" button on their community news/blog as that seems to be missing *HINT HINT*
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If it's one of their "exclusive" things for XBO it would be very very dumb move from FD part. I hope this gets rolled into PC release soon.
It's confusing. They keep on expanding the game left and right and give new features for free which is all good of course, but they continue to forget to fix and finish what they've started in the first place.
Indeed, as you say, things like passenger missions.. How on earth is it possible these aren't in yet? This baffles me completely.
They are completely missing the mark on providing enough confidence for players who already have the game for a while.
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Personally I think they should have finished some core aspects first and released powerplay later. Could even have been part of a (paid) expansion pack.
Now, they're shooting themselves in the foot from multiple angles.
But I'm not a business man, so I might be wrong here.
Maybe the customer base isn't as large as they wanted. Maybe therefor they're implementing fancy features with fancy names in the hope to attract more customers.
But if that works for the long run... nah..
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What's worrying me more though is that more and more streamers/youtubers are showing their concerns with development decisions.
And, to be honest, it's difficult not to agree with them.
This WILL get noticed by future buyers!
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It as no problem when the game was just released. We all knew it wasn't finished and we were perfectly fine with that.
But we are one YEAR further down the road now.
Indeed, as you say, things like passenger missions.. How on earth is it possible these aren't in yet? This baffles me completely.
They are completely missing the mark on providing enough confidence for players who already have the game for a while.
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Personally I think they should have finished some core aspects first and released powerplay later. Could even have been part of a (paid) expansion pack.
Now, they're shooting themselves in the foot from multiple angles.
But I'm not a business man, so I might be wrong here.
Maybe the customer base isn't as large as they wanted. Maybe therefor they're implementing fancy features with fancy names in the hope to attract more customers.
But if that works for the long run... nah..
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What's worrying me more though is that more and more streamers/youtubers are showing their concerns with development decisions.
And, to be honest, it's difficult not to agree with them.
This WILL get noticed by future buyers!
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It as no problem when the game was just released. We all knew it wasn't finished and we were perfectly fine with that.
But we are one YEAR further down the road now.
You see, no, not really. Console expansion moves networking programmer resources, yes, and new tasks 3D model builders, yes, but it does not need any resources currently allocated to missions development. The PP expansion is clearly making ED ready for missions expansion.
Let FD do their job I say. Critique specific bugs, where or when you find them, but don't try to second guess FD's commercial and developmental decision making. They just went into partnership with probably the biggest software company in the world, Microsoft. That's simply not a fail.
Finally, HYPE. This is like surfing. For every one here present, long term fan of the franchise, there are a thousand game players who have never heard of Elite. These people are being asked to lend their money support, to yours, to put into the Stellar Forge, a galaxy model that has obviously been built with a lot of care and passion taken, with planet landings delayed. Why? To "do it well".
Do these 1000 people get it? Do they have a percieved notion of what lone wolf playing is (you can still do that by the way), no! Do they want shock and awe, yes they do. BUT ... only when they have tried space invaders will they appreciate Elite gameplay. If word is, that ED is dull and boring, if you lose that customer base when you have its attention, it won't be coming back .. ergo. wipe out.
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