"working on something secret for PC and Mac"

[Eric Sheppard]

I've been playing Elite for hundreds of hours. I first played when the game came out, for about two weeks. I was extremely disappointed at the lack of content and remember feeling at the time that I'd been cheated out of my money, having expected much more. I told myself that I was at fault for not doing my homework, and for preordering the game.


Maybe it's because im 41 and out of touch with modern gaming, so forgive me (and you're not the first I've asked this to)....but how can you play a game for hundreds of hours and feel "extremely disappointed" and "cheated out of my money"? I don't understand!? If you played for say 300 hours and paid £40 ($63) for the game, that's about 13 pence (20c) an hour. It at least seems like excellent value for money when you consider the equivalent number of hours of cinema entertainment would have set you back £1,500 ($2,354) at £10 ($15.70) a ticket. Don't get me wrong, there's lots they can improve but personally I don't worry too much if stuff is missing/not working. I just play the game when I feel like it and generally really enjoy it. I've not played much PP, but mainly because there's no Anarchist faction.

To answer your question, Barking... I felt disappointed in the game and still do because it lacks meaningful content. I'd played maybe 20 hours after the first release, and I've only played hundreds of hours now because powerplay gave me some great trading opportunities, and I resigned myself to the soulless grind in order to be able to buy a better ship. Copious amounts of upbeat music and several audiobooks were used to help keep me sane, and I carefully avoided contemplating all the poor choices in my life that had led me to be grinding a trade route in Elite: Dangerous for hundreds of hours. The fact that I was making a LOT of credits made the grind merely tolerable, not enjoyable by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps I simply don't enjoy repetitive gameplay.

 

[Ekar]

I still believe there is a long play here that none of us are privy to.

This year is about growing their market.

Very reasonable. I imagine there's so much that the devs themselves want to see put into the game that the only way they can achieve what they want to do is by expanding the product into as many areas as possible, hopefully without compromise. The last six months have certainly been rocky from the community standpoint and the base game isn't exactly straightened out even yet, but give or take a year or two and who knows?

The Galaxy wasn't built in a day...

 

[Mxthe]

Biggest FD "crime" - and I still think they should have said that around middle of 2014 - was saying that not everything they envisioned will be with 1.0. (...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM0Gcl7iUM8

That video is from 2012, and it was clearly stated that all the "promised features" were not going to be in by launch, and would be added later.

 

[Hydrino]

FD curious comms continue. IMHO, any DDF topic, Planetary Landings and EVA are overall not "secret" except regarding the timing. So hopefully it isn't another curve-ball like Power Play.

I hope the statement really means we will learn about "expected" features that FD just hasn't verified/said are in development yet.

 

[Eric Sheppard]

FD curious comms continue. IMHO, any DDF topic, Planetary Landings and EVA are overall not "secret" except regarding the timing. So hopefully it isn't another curve-ball like Power Play.

I hope the statement really means we will learn about "expected" features that FD just hasn't verified/said are in development yet.

Though... if it IS something like Planetary landings or EVA, or ship interiors, they may simply have referred to it as 'secret' because they've made hardly any mention of those promised features since the game's release. Here's hoping.

 

[Hydrino]

Though... if it IS something like Planetary landings or EVA, or ship interiors, they may simply have referred to it as 'secret' because they've made hardly any mention of those promised features since the game's release. Here's hoping.

Well, like I said, those aren't really secret. But I guess if I were to be a bit more liberal in the definition of secret it can include something that just hasn't been seen, like a rumored airplane or submarine.

The stellar forge coders have to have been working on something... and FD has a lot of experience with 3D worlds and characters so walking about a ship isn't beyond reason either. Really, I would not be surprised if it was one (or even both) of the "paid expansions" in phase I mode.

But like others I hope that we get a big bundle of Design Document or Dev Video love, like scooping fuel from gas giants, Tier 2 persistent NPC or other addition that can be further built upon to expand play.

FD probably can't book the expansion pass sales as actual income until the first paid expansion launches in some manner, so there may also be that incentive for FD to get us to planet surfaces sooner rather than later-although with sales as they have been I can't imagine that is a big concern at the moment.

Always good to keep the *squeee level in check though. Many folk project too much (even onto upcoming movies, and such) only to be disappointed after a few hours of entertainment passes. Over-hyped projection and dreams leads to disappointment due to unrealistic expectations. Best to just wait to see what FD says and not build up any expectations until they decide to share.

 

[Kramster]

OK maybe wouldn't be classed as a secret but, one thing that would possibly draw me back in is the much anticipated 'Iron man' mode. Sure I know I could delete my save but I did that post gamma and have put so much work into what I have that wiping it would leave a bitter taste and ruin what I might gain from starting afresh and playing with some self imposed iron-man rules set.
Even a second slave slot would be great as it would allow me to do just that.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

OK maybe wouldn't be classed as a secret but, one thing that would possibly draw me back in is the much anticipated 'Iron man' mode. Sure I know I could delete my save but I did that post gamma and have put so much work into what I have that wiping it would leave a bitter taste and ruin what I might gain from starting afresh and playing with some self imposed iron-man rules set.
Even a second slave slot would be great as it would allow me to do just that.

Unfortunately Michael said recently that iron man mode won't be landing any time soon. It's not only a dying though - there's manual escape capsule launch, other threats, etc. There's quite list of dependencies to fulfill before even thinking about rolling out such feature.

 

[clavain]

My greatest fear is that I'll get bored of Elite before I find out what that little screen between my legs is for.

It's the water reclamation and monitoring system for those long exploration voyages. Didn't you know? Folks wanted realism, right?

- - - Updated - - -

Well you are all wrong, I predict the next big thing will be growing fruit and veg in the habitat rings of space stations, hang on..... Get off my spud patch ya wee blighters ! (Shakes fist)

Will provide some use for the all the biowaste being spouted by some (on all sides) on this thread...

 

[Fly666monkey]

Hmmm... my guess? the ability to buy, construct, and run your own space stations.would be a nice thing for those peeps sitting on millions with nothing to spend them on.

 

[Cymek]

If we want the game to improve (whatever that means to individuals) then shouldn't we encourage people to buy it as it means more money for development. If you go by hours played for the cost its quite good value even if you find it currently boring.

 

[Alien]

Hmmm... my guess? the ability to buy, construct, and run your own space stations.would be a nice thing for those peeps sitting on millions with nothing to spend them on.

Elite is about being Han Solo, not Emperor Palpatine.
If you want a space sim game that lets you own and manage stations, go play Egosoft's X series (and I'm not being nasty, I've played the X series from XBTF to X3TC)

 

[lefty1117]

Whatever it is, we should all temper our expectations and realize that based on this game's history it's not as likely to be as spectacular as our imaginations are projecting. Kind of like in that old Heroes TV show, when they foreshadowed what looked like Hiro as a samurai battling a tyrannosaurus rex, and everybody was flipping out about it, but when it was actually revealed it was just him in a museum with a t-rex skeleton nearby. Don't let your expectations run wild!

 

[Eric Sheppard]

Whatever it is, we should all temper our expectations and realize that based on this game's history it's not as likely to be as spectacular as our imaginations are projecting. Kind of like in that old Heroes TV show, when they foreshadowed what looked like Hiro as a samurai battling a tyrannosaurus rex, and everybody was flipping out about it, but when it was actually revealed it was just him in a museum with a t-rex skeleton nearby. Don't let your expectations run wild!

While I acknowledge that this is probably the case, it might just be the last nail in the coffin for me if it proves true. If their update, after all this idiotic secrecy and hype, brings no new meaningful gameplay or experiences to Elite, I'm done. And I'll make sure I tell friends who are considering the game exactly why I quit, and see if they're quite as interested in it after hearing what I have to say.

If Frontier can't do its dwindling playerbase the courtesy of keeping them informed and up to date on the status of development of post 1.0 promised features, making them instead wait for special events like gamescom and the like to release information about what they're working on, then what they're working on better be mind-blowingly good.

The younger generation that I am a part of grew up playing video games. Maybe we're just spoiled, but we're not inclined to wait around hoping for a project that looks like a lost cause to finally wake up and change when there are other things out there that are more satisfying and fulfilling to spend our time on.

 

[Red_13]

Window cleaning services

What else can it be.
"Mac and PC only"
The XBONE guys first have to fly around with dirty windows for 6 months before they'll get it.

LOL! +1 Rep. Too funny!

My son actually made this comment: "You need to get some better Imperial Slaves - your windows are streaky!"

My reply: Yeah you can talk... When's the last time you washed the family car!

 

[Jason S]

A wookie in the spare co-pilot seat !

 

[Jason S]

Elite is about being Han Solo, not Emperor Palpatine.
If you want a space sim game that lets you own and manage stations, go play Egosoft's X series (and I'm not being nasty, I've played the X series from XBTF to X3TC)

Yes, but you know the galaxy is large and it can be standard Elite where the current powers are, but perhaps somewhere distant, well away then another players power can be set up where in that part of the galaxy stations player built and other things are allowed.

 

[jabokai]

Unfortunately Michael said recently that iron man mode won't be landing any time soon. It's not only a dying though - there's manual escape capsule launch, other threats, etc. There's quite list of dependencies to fulfill before even thinking about rolling out such feature.

Please clarify "other threats" and "etc" because that looks like you're just padding out the sentence to make it look as if what's needed is much longer than it is without actually specifying anything.

ALL that is needed is the manual escape pod bit. Hell, most of the people crying for Ironman don't even demand that - they mostly want (as a basic delivery) an open mode where dead is dead, manual escape pod or not. But, with manual escape pod sequence, Ironman would be what FD proposed, even without "other threats" and "etc".

 

[Ian Phillips]

Positivity (just as negativity) is like a drug of the mind one can use to see and expect things differently than what they really are.
So let's rather make it real.
There are people hesitating to believe in ED's future outcome. Whether it's a clue or not I leave it to you to decide - for more information please check the forums for opinions (here you go Pecisk) which are the primary source of reflections from players.
<snip>

Would you like a list of the predictions made on these forums for the demise of the game because of the removal of a single player mode.
For the demise of the game because of a "rushed release" in december 2014.
For the demise of the game because FD is "losing money at X per month" (ffr has been rather quiet of late.....).
For the demise of the game because of the "dumb flight model".
For the demise of the game because it is to be released on the Xbox one console.
For the demise of the game because it doesn't have guilds.
For the demise of the game because of supercruise.
For the demise of the game BECAUSE.....

So let's rather make it real.

 

[Patrick_68000]

Would you like a list of the predictions made on these forums for the demise of the gameb ecause of the removal of a single player mode. For the demise of the game because of a "rushed release" in december 2014. For the demise of the game because FD is "losing money at X per month" (ffr has been rather quiet of late.....). For the demise of the game because of the "dumb flight model". For the demise of the game becasue it is to be released on the Xbox one console. For the demise of the game because it doesn't have guilds. For the demise of the game BECAUSE.....

So let's rather make it real.

The series of Elite will bury us all