Dangers of overplaying ED

[darthyank]

Totally agree with you OP;

Actually I wrote similar answers in forum.

I play a lot more than 3-4 hours a week, I got many ships, I will eventually try the anaconda but it's not my main goal.

Loved playing in the cobra.

For the moment the best ship I got is the Vulture and it doesnt cost that much, not a difficult goal even for a casual player.

Tried the FDL, Python, Clipper, ... but dont like fighting with them.

Eventually I think only casual players and real fans will play with elite (most of my friends are casual and still here) and we will loose most of the hardcore players. Nothing against them at all but I wont loose sleep playing with only the casual players

 

[Chris M Fortune]

I seem to be hovering in the middle between being a casual player (few hours a week) and a dedicated player (few hours a day). I don't find the game boring although there are times when I find the thing that I am doing boring, that's when I stop doing that and do something else instead. I probably average about 2 or 3 hours a day for 4 or 5 days of the week, but I don't watch much telly and have few if any family responsibilities to worry about. In addition my work hours are such that I am free in the afternoon (or morning depending on the shift) and at that time there are not many of my friends who are not at work to be sociable with.

Just having reread that paragraph I think I may just be lucky

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Except when you try to make something of it, the game says "No". Any space adventure fantasy I'd like to live out this game isn't capable of reproducing. I'm running out of chances to give it, they wasted 3 major patches so far, and I'd really like this to be the space game I can get invested in for the next decade. That's simply not going to happen if the current trend stays true.

Then I guess it's not that this particular space adventure fantasy for you? They have put certain flavor in ED and it's not gonna change.

 

[Winterwalker]

It's going to be this way though, jumping to the thread's aid maybe.

If you fly an "all plasma anaconda" you now have massive power within the game, about as high level as it gets yes? Nothing could touch you, you can kill anything (maybe wings aside). That's top level grind, if all you want to do it get there fast as possible, fair?

Danger of playing like that, you are 100% sure to burnout because you're not inhabiting the galaxy, at all .. You're only trying to strip mine the place, and extract resources as fast as you can. By doing that you're not playing a game, you're working at it.

To me, I play a game like this much more to hang out in space, chill out exploring, have a laugh from despatching a few NPC's .. the progression side of it is less important for me BUT, even if it was, once you get to FDL and you're looking at Python / Anaconda .. fellas .. that is the endgame .. the big boss .. if progression, FDL to plasma anaconda (top gun) is four or ten times that from sidewinder to FDL then I'd say that's getting it right because after that, there just aint .. no more.

 

[Kirk-Fu]

Then I guess it's not that this particular space adventure fantasy for you? They have put certain flavor in ED and it's not gonna change.

Mate, there's less flavour in this game than the little sachet of curry powder in a pot noodle.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

For you, maybe, but not everyone else is as easily amused. Believe me, I've extracted every ounce of fun I could muster so far. I like variety, I change my ships up all the time to get as many different experiences as I can out of the game. Yet variety is something this game is strangely lacking in, for a representation of an entire living galaxy. I flew the cobra for months and you know what? I got bored. There's only so many things you can do in a cobra and I did them all. So I went to the next ship, and the next, and found that it doesn't really matter what you're in or what you're trying to do. The grind is always the same, only increasing in intensity as you "progress" up the credit ladder, as you require sources of higher income and the lesser options are no longer viable to you. Being in denial of that and trying to say anyone who has a problem with it is wrong somehow is just... silly, honestly.
But then I've seen your posts and you don't strike me as someone who backs down from an ill-thought-out theory in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, so I'll leave you to it.

Re-read my OP and see how it's exactly what I am talking about. I was talking about danger of sinking endless hours in ED in just first months...how you will find not bored in any other game without PvP centric content is really a mystery there.

- - - Updated - - -

Mate, there's less flavour in this game than the little sachet of curry powder in a pot noodle.

There is strong flavor in my opinion, it just seems not to be working on you

 

[Soopyyy]

It's going to be this way though, jumping to the thread's aid maybe.

If you fly an "all plasma anaconda" you now have massive power within the game, about as high level as it gets yes? Nothing could touch you, you can kill anything (maybe wings aside). That's top level grind, if all you want to do it get there fast as possible, fair?

Danger of playing like that, you are 100% sure to burnout because you're not inhabiting the galaxy, at all .. You're only trying to strip mine the place, and extract resources as fast as you can. By doing that you're not playing a game, you're working at it.

To me, I play a game like this much more to hang out in space, chill out exploring, have a laugh from despatching a few NPC's .. the progression side of it is less important for me BUT, even if it was, once you get to FDL and you're looking at Python / Anaconda .. fellas .. that is the endgame .. the big boss .. if progression, FDL to plasma anaconda (top gun) is four or ten times that from sidewinder to FDL then I'd say that's getting it right because after that, there just aint .. no more.

I sort of try to do this too. But the problem is, there isn't much to actually DO, if not trying to bet the next ship. The progression system is fairly well borked in that sense. I mean if I wanted to sit around and do nothing, I've got a huge TV in the lounge room

 

[Kirk-Fu]

Re-read my OP and see how it's exactly what I am talking about. I was talking about danger of sinking endless hours in ED in just first months...how you will find not bored in any other game without PvP centric content is really a mystery there.

Your post comes with the assumption that you can put a lot of time into a game and be guaranteed to get bored or burnt out. This assumption is not true, there are games I played every day for years without getting burnt out because they were fun for every second of it. Maybe when ED has enough content diversity to live up to the standard of a game that's meant to be played daily, I won't be so hard on it, but your point is just wrong.

 

[Ulysses_W]

So far it seems you're in the minority there bud.

He may be in a minority, but so what? That doesn't make any other way of playing the game 'the right way' does it?

FWIW, I'm in the same minority too.

 

[persephonius]

The Cobra costs nearly nothing, its approx the 4th on the rung of 18(or so). It also costs nothing to maintain. I've played the game for 400+hrs, I've got a Scout, Vulture and FDL. I'd really like a Python and an Anaconda all setup for combat too. The Anaconda Alone is 132,000,000.
Once you get past the Viper/Cobra/Scout, the grind gets reeeaaaaaallllly bad.

This is not really true. If you actually do want to play a grindy game, try Archage. As far as grinding in MMO's go, elite dangerous is at the lower end. Having to grind about 5 hours to be 'prepared' for 2 hours of dungeons/raids is about the standard ratio. The grinding in most MMO's is actually not what you want to be doing itself, but you are grinding away time in order to be able to do something later. When you play elite, the activities you do are actually your chosen path through the game, and you are not really grinding when you do those activities, as those are the activities you have chosen to do. If you feel you are only grinding, then you are approaching elite from the wrong point of view, or you should try other activities.
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Also, after you get past the cobra/viper/scout, your income also increases. The exponential way that ships increase in price is offset by increasing income as you gain skills/experience/better ships.
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If you come from my background of gaming, the 'grind' in elite is almost non-existent.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Your post comes with the assumption that you can put a lot of time into a game and be guaranteed to get bored or burnt out. This assumption is not true, there are games I played every day for years without getting burnt out because they were fun for every second of it. Maybe when ED has enough content diversity to live up to the standard of a game that's meant to be played daily, I won't be so hard on it, but your point is just wrong.

Name any such game witch either has no direct crafting or isn't PvP related?

 

[Parmo]

I'm a binge gamer.
Go for weeks or even months without playing a game.
Then, without warning I sit down and start playing. I play every night into the wee hours for about 1 to 2 weeks.
At the moment the game of choice is ED. And I haven't played it for about 4 weeks now, although I did fire it up the other day just to update and see the UI for the Powerplay addition.
I'll be playing ED for years to come.

 

[Kirk-Fu]

Name any such game witch either has no direct crafting or isn't PvP related?

Uhhh, if you want an example that fits inside the narrowest brackets you could possibly throw up then sure, I would go with anything in the Grand Theft Auto series since Vice City. Or saint's row, or far cry, or X3, or kerbal space program, or literally any other game that isn't a "traditional" MMO like ED is apparently trying to be now.
ED always felt like the space equivalent of GTA Online for me, a large sandbox you can flute around in for your own amusement or to co-operate/compete with other people having their own little mad adventures. It's been straying from that since launch for me and I no longer feel like I'm supporting the same game I was 6 months ago. New features (most notably powerplay) have only added to the grind and repetitiveness instead of replacing the grind with meaningful enjoyable interactions. I respect that you don't see it this way, but don't try to brush the problem under the rug just because you don't think it personally affects you.
I was of that mindset until it started affecting me. As soon as your personal goals in the game become anything that requires grinding just to achieve, support or maintain ("I want an anaconda!" "I want to do warzone PVP!" "I want to take up piracy!") the flaws in this game will slap you square in the face.

 

[ultimateharold]

Currently, the way the game is geared, if you were to only play 3hrs a week you'd never actually get anywhere. The grind is so intense that you would have to play for a decade to achieve anything meaningful.

Achievement is relative to the individual surely.

 

[monsterfurby]

In the end, everyone is motivated by different things - and Elite Dangerous performs at different levels of quality for each of these things.

If I were to make a list of my subjective opinions, here's what I think:

Immersion: Excellent
Grind: Excellent
Exploration: Okay
PvP: Okay
RP: Okay
Community engagement (Clans, etc.): Mediocre
Dynamic content: Mediocre
Variety: Mediocre
Customization: Bad
Story: Bad

If all of these were equally important in every game and to everyone, idle games like Adventure Capitalist or Clicker Heroes wouldn't exist - those actually build on nothing but the joy of seeing numbers rise exponentially. Elite, like most simulators, does require a slower pace and the right mindset to enjoy. Rushing for the highest-tier rewards is a surefire recipe for disaster. Would I love more content? Absolutely, in the long run, content is key - but I'm also aware of what the game means to be.

 

[babelfisch]

Most comments in this thread proof you right. I don't understand why so many people only talk about credits per hour or imbalanced ships/prices/professions. I play regularly since release and wipe my savegame everytime I reach something like an A rated ASP. This time I fight for the Empire and my goal is a well fitted Courier. Maybe I will stick with it or clear the save again. I played many roles and all of them have been fun. And since I get a major update with every play through I never get bored/ do something else when I get bored.

If you choose to play this game like a huge grindfest, sure, do it. But I don't think that's the way the devs intended and please don't blame them for not designing the game around your misconception.

 

[Winterwalker]

I sort of try to do this too. But the problem is, there isn't much to actually DO, if not trying to bet the next ship. The progression system is fairly well borked in that sense. I mean if I wanted to sit around and do nothing, I've got a huge TV in the lounge room

I do get what you say but the point here is that progression can mean several diferent things. Progress a faction, progress your rank in faction, progress elite standing, progress your ship (load out), progress your ship type (not ignoring), progress the farthest destination from home you've been or number of nebulae you visited, progress your rate of NPC kills per halfhour, progress your PROFIT (that's credits per tonne), progress your screenie collection, progress your skill (entering combat zone, not in a vulture but in a viper), progress your excitement (shoot deliberately, at a system authority vessel! How many can you get?), progress your local knowledge (detail scan your faction neighborhood in as short a time as possible), progress your activities (try mining even though you're not sure if you'll like it), progress your friends (guard a trader), progress ED (report bugs, test mechanics, in a scientific way) ..

I think there are things to do, if you look for them, but at the end of the day, no game can realistically be, an infinite pool of everything life has to offer. Ok you are limited to the world ED creates, but it is a mile wide .. ?

Progress your credits in the bank, you can do that too, but that's an inch deep (imo).

 

[Kirk-Fu]

If you choose to play this game like a huge grindfest, sure, do it. But I don't think that's the way the devs intended and please don't blame them for not designing the game around your misconception.

You're the one with the misconception pal, it might be worth reading the thread again yourself. Nobody chooses to play this game like a grindfest, but if you want to have fun in anything other than a sidewinder the only option presented to you is grind, grind, grind some more, and maybe if you're lucky enough to have the patience or masochistic tendencies for it that grind will reward you with a new ship to grind with.
I hate grind, I avoid it wherever possible, it sucks the life out of a game at lightspeed for me. But I had no choice. I could be content to sit in my Vulture for the rest of my playtime, but small ships aren't always my thing. Dogfighting's fun and all but I like piloting massive starships too, gunboats and battleships. That meant my eyes were firmly set on an Anaconda before I had even bought the game.
Shoulda seen the look on my face when I found out how much time I'd have to spend playing the game "normally" to afford one.

 

[Fireclown]

If you choose to play this game like a huge grindfest, sure, do it.

Sometimes I do get into grindfest mode and look at my rankings or cash and think...I need to grind this or that for 3 hours to get to a certain point.
If I played like that all the time I'd have given up months ago.

Mostly I just bum around taking a few missions, running some PP stuff, a little exploring here and there, happen upon a conflict zone, about with new loadouts - don't even think about cash or rankings or anything. It's not 'wow amazing adrenaline rush' but it's fun and I get really immersed. Bang - 2 or 3 hours of cheap relaxing fun.
My cash and ranks and stuff are slowly going up as I'm pottering around doing stuff but it doesn't feel grindy at all.
That's probably not enough for real hardcore players I suppose.

 

[Soopyyy]

Sometimes I do get into grindfest mode and look at my rankings or cash and think...I need to grind this or that for 3 hours to get to a certain point.
If I played like that all the time I'd have given up months ago.

Mostly I just bum around taking a few missions, running some PP stuff, a little exploring here and there, happen upon a conflict zone, about with new loadouts - don't even think about cash or rankings or anything. It's not 'wow amazing adrenaline rush' but it's fun and I get really immersed. Bang - 2 or 3 hours of cheap relaxing fun.
My cash and ranks and stuff are slowly going up as I'm pottering around doing stuff but it doesn't feel grindy at all.
That's probably not enough for real hardcore players I suppose.

I do this a bit, just cruise around and do different things. Biggest problem with that is, after a while you land, look at your credits and think "In all that time I've made 500,000. It cost me ~120,000 just to fly around and If I ever want a new ship I need XXX,000,000....wow ok..."

It gets somewhat disheartening at times.