News David Braben Guest Blog - on Xbox One and CQC

[Riandor]

If they have time, resources and money to make a completely seperate game, then they damn well had time, resources and money to fix this one. That's the problem with it.

Apart from the fact that the money for this likely came from Microsoft and to boot just plain fits well with the console. It attracts players to that medium and it increases the funding for further PC development.

I'm sorry, I know where the backers are coming from, heck I'm an Alpha too, but this really doesn't bother me one bit. In fact I have stayed clear of Elite to play Witcher 3 and am looking forward to sitting down to play this properly now that Powerplay is here and August will hopefully bring some good news for us PC folk.

 

[Sanderson]

Apart from the fact that the money for this likely came from Microsoft and to boot just plain fits well with the console. It attracts players to that medium and it increases the funding for further PC development.

I'm sorry, I know where the backers are coming from, heck I'm an Alpha too, but this really doesn't bother me one bit. In fact I have stayed clear of Elite to play Witcher 3 and am looking forward to sitting down to play this properly now that Powerplay is here and August will hopefully bring some good news for us PC folk.

Where are you guys getting this "money came from Micro$oft" crap? Most likely the timed exclusive was required by M$ to allow FD to sell it on Xbox. MicroSoft doesn't go around begging for games to be sold on Xbox, it's the other way around.

 

[Riandor]

Where are you guys getting this "money came from Micro$oft" crap? Most likely the timed exclusive was required by M$ to allow FD to sell it on Xbox. MicroSoft doesn't go around begging for games to be sold on Xbox, it's the other way around.

Microsoft always pay to have timed or full exclusives. No way would a publisher exclude other consoles without being compensated. MS ensures it gets more people buying it's hardware if it has exclusive rights. Hence why they pay for that. its well known.

See no reason for it to be different here.

 

[Sanderson]

Microsoft always pay to have timed or full exclusives. No way would a publisher exclude other consoles without being compensated. MS ensures it gets more people buying it's hardware if it has exclusive rights. Hence why they pay for that. its well known.

See no reason for it to be different here.

Well known? Well guessed you mean? It's well known that if you scare a pregnant woman it'll scar the baby but, that doesn't make it true.

One thing that is a fact, timed exclusives only benefit the companies that pen the deals, it hurts gamers and the games industry.

 

[Riandor]

Well known? Well guessed you mean? It's well known that if you scare a pregnant woman it'll scar the baby but, that doesn't make it true.

One thing that is a fact, timed exclusives only benefit the companies that pen the deals, it hurts gamers and the games industry.

Well I knew about it... GTA (3 I think it was), Tomb Raider franchise, Gears of War, etc... All were paid for by Microsoft to be exclusively theirs, not a guess. Known fact.

As for hurting gamers... That's a seperate issue.

 

[Sanderson]

Well I knew about it... GTA (3 I think it was), Tomb Raider franchise, Gears of War, etc... All were paid for by Microsoft to be exclusively theirs, not a guess. Known fact.

As for hurting gamers... That's a seperate issue.

Can you show me the contracts or quotes from either M$ or any of the companies listed that shows this is "known"? We are talking about "timed exclusives" like the crap FD just pulled, not exclusives as that's not relevant to ED.

As for hurting gamers, there's no way you can seperate the two, they aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[oceancalm]

Can you show me the contracts or quotes from either M$ or any of the companies listed that shows this is "known"? We are talking about "timed exclusives" like the crap FD just pulled, not exclusives as that's not relevant to ED.

As for hurting gamers, there's no way you can seperate the two, they aren't mutually exclusive.

Tomb raider timed exclusive, cod timed exclusive dlc (now on Sony), SF:V Sony exclusive, SF:IV ps4 exclusive for next gen paid and devd by Sonys teams, destiny timed exclusive ps4 content on release its a well known and understood procedure I can't believe you've not seen the mention of money hats regarding games...

And it'll get worse http://www.vrworld.com/2015/03/26/timed-exclusives-are-the-future-of-gaming/

 

[Bambi]

CQC seems like a really, really, really bad idea. You're taking something that should be in the main game, i.e. more interesting locations to fight in, and putting it in a separate gamemode. You've already completely discouraged all fighting around stations with the instakill station guns and defenders that disallow all combat, and then you add it back in as a meaningless arena mode rather than letting players in the persistent universe benefit.

You're also worried about people being worried about losing their ships. Which is simply yet another manifestation of how extremely overpriced ships are compared to income. The consequence is extreme because the grinding required to recover is extreme. Rather than address the underlying issue of cost vs income, you decided to move this kind of play into a completely consequence free mode entirely.

Overall it is simply ignoring existing issues with the game and detracting from the meat of the game. I'm starting to doubt the competence of whoever came up with this.

 

[Patrick_68000]

CQC seems like a really, really, really bad idea. You're taking something that should be in the main game, i.e. more interesting locations to fight in, and putting it in a separate gamemode. You've already completely discouraged all fighting around stations with the instakill station guns and defenders that disallow all combat, and then you add it back in as a meaningless arena mode rather than letting players in the persistent universe benefit.

You're also worried about people being worried about losing their ships. Which is simply yet another manifestation of how extremely overpriced ships are compared to income. The consequence is extreme because the grinding required to recover is extreme. Rather than address the underlying issue of cost vs income, you decided to move this kind of play into a completely consequence free mode entirely.

Overall it is simply ignoring existing issues with the game and detracting from the meat of the game. I'm starting to doubt the competence of whoever came up with this.

The main game does not need a butchery around the space stations. Doing it in a arena, is a good outlet

 

[NeilF]

CQC seems like a really, really, really bad idea. You're taking something that should be in the main game, i.e. more interesting locations to fight in, and putting it in a separate gamemode. You've already completely discouraged all fighting around stations with the instakill station guns and defenders that disallow all combat, and then you add it back in as a meaningless arena mode rather than letting players in the persistent universe benefit.

You're also worried about people being worried about losing their ships. Which is simply yet another manifestation of how extremely overpriced ships are compared to income. The consequence is extreme because the grinding required to recover is extreme. Rather than address the underlying issue of cost vs income, you decided to move this kind of play into a completely consequence free mode entirely.

Overall it is simply ignoring existing issues with the game and detracting from the meat of the game. I'm starting to doubt the competence of whoever came up with this.

I suspect the reason is, they've needed to add modules and the like for CQC that simply don't fit well in the core game itself.

That said, the core does need dedicated PvP arena/mechanics. Even if they just put aside 4-5 "zones" where player could go in OPEN and:-
- A number of different arenas were offered by ship types/wing size.
- Locations could differ. ie: Open space, dead platforms/stations, asteroid fields.
- Player earned money for kills.
- Players insurance costs were heavily subsidized (TV cover pays for it all )

 

[Bambi]

The main game does not need a butchery around the space stations. Doing it in a arena, is a good outlet

And yet one of the funnest activities players reported in the closed beta was engaging in PvP around stations before the guns were buffed too much. There could easily be a lot of variety in what certain stations and systems allow, even depending on your reputation. Safe areas doesn't need to be compromised to allow fighting around stations.

Apart from stations there just needs to be more "space terrain" in general.

 

[Zer0gear]

guys, you can't imagine how awesome i think this CQC is. this is exactly how i imagined pvp to be implemented but better.

you really know what you're doing. i haven't been this excited for a game since id software showed rage for the first time. i'm looking forward to a great future. when planetary landings will be introduced, my head will probably explode. who needs star citizen anymore?

the exclusivity is a bit annoying. i hope microsoft gave you enough money to justify this. as long as it's a timed exclusive, i don't care that much. but don't let us wait for too long.

I agree planetary landings will be an amazing addition. I just hope they include a social feeling about the environment when you do. Read my post "Alone in the Galaxy" for more details on what I propose.

 

[Zer0gear]

Response to newly proposed alternate game mode

This was meant to be a reply to Neilf's comment above.

I think this is an amazing idea. It's kind of like "the ring" where galactic disputes are settled. "Settle it in the ring, boys."

Another analogy is that these "arenas" would be like the center of town at high noon in a Western. Ya don't shoot up the saloon, you take it outside. Players coming and going for legal trade will have a loose assurance of their safe travel. But, by having the "arenas" as a seperate game mode, it detracts from the very essence of what "Elite" is. I consider "Elite" to be more of a Simulator than an Action game.

By compartamentalizing the game into modes you lose that feel. You're trying to be too many things to too many people and you 'll lose sight of your vision and your true fans.

Remember your vision,
Troy

 

[Guywired]

Is the Wings feature coming to XB1 at the same time or before CQC?

I would love to Wing-up with my ED XB1 friends for both.. and CQC without my friends doesn't sound like much fun.

 

[ErectEvan]

Is the Wings feature coming to XB1 at the same time or before CQC?

I would love to Wing-up with my ED XB1 friends for both.. and CQC without my friends doesn't sound like much fun.

It's already in the game on Xbox One, you need to go to your friend if you end up within the same instance, scan him, hold x and up on the dpad and then scroll right and select invite to wing .

 

[Steve50]

Personally I don't give two hoops about CQC and even when it's on the PC as it's something I will never use.

That said, I do feel it's harming the legacy of the Elite name.

Why? Well, a lot of modern gamers introduction to Elite will be as a pewpewpew Deathmatch, CtF fest.
...which isn't Elite at all.

 

[Alien]

Personally I don't give two hoops about CQC and even when it's on the PC as it's something I will never use.

That said, I do feel it's harming the legacy of the Elite name.

Why? Well, a lot of modern gamers introduction to Elite will be as a pewpewpew Deathmatch, CtF fest.
...which isn't Elite at all.

This is true ... but PvP wasn't part of the Elite series until now. Landing on planets wasn't part of the Elite series until FE2. Hand coded mission were introduced in FFE (I may be wrong about this and they may be in FE2, but I hardly ever played FE2 and played FFE mostly)

Each game in the Elite series has introduced something new, and while Dangerous might introduce a lot of new stuff compared to the previous games, it's still in the tradition of the series.

Me? I don't mind PowerPlay or CQC ... I wish I could hire NPC wingmen, otherwise wings is not just useless to me, but actually works against me with NPC wings in Solo mode. I might not take part in PowerPlay or CQC, but I don't mind them being in there.

 

[Distance]

Personally I don't give two hoops about CQC and even when it's on the PC as it's something I will never use.

That said, I do feel it's harming the legacy of the Elite name.

Why? Well, a lot of modern gamers introduction to Elite will be as a pewpewpew Deathmatch, CtF fest.
...which isn't Elite at all.

I think it's because they promised pvp (rare and meaningful) from the outset but have no idea or experience in how to balance it without ruining the game for other players. This is the main reason the combat mechanics went from being fun back in beta to pure shield meta as it is now along with missiles being useless and half the ship modules being useless and that's without even mentioning high wake jumps, interdiction cooldown and armor not protecting subsystems.

Whilst they had good intentions of letting people freely switch between modes by trying to make the game something for everything it's turned out as nothing for no one and watered down everyone's fun and experiences. Not intended to bring the dreaded solo vs open debate to the thread as fd have picked their model and that's not going to change.

With a lack of solid pve content the players who would have happily engaged in a "bit of both" feel bored by pve and thus spill out in to the open galaxy bringing pvp to everyone. With the lack of a proper high/low security systems and consequences for nefarious gameplay I don't see it changing anytime soon.

I wish they had spent the dev time from cqc on improving the fundamental game mechanics for everyone. I don't believe they needed a pvp mode to sell the game to consoles. I think it's insulting when people say "oo it's a perfect fit for consoles as they're all cod players". Gamers are gamers regardless of platform and all the twitch streams I saw at E3 from people playing it on console for the first time were of people excited about the game in the exact same way all the pc or mac players were. I feel bad that they'll be in for the same shock as us when they find out how shallow the game actually is in the long term.

FD should have been marketing the game for what it was and the time they spent on cqc with the team crunching for E3 is the reason why 1.3 beta was cut short and delayed and the reason why 1.3 has been a buggy mess for a lot of people. I've still not played since 1.3 beta and I know I'm not the only one.

 

[Steve50]

I think it's because they promised pvp (rare and meaningful) from the outset but have no idea or experience in how to balance it without ruining the game for other players. This is the main reason the combat mechanics went from being fun back in beta to pure shield meta as it is now along with missiles being useless and half the ship modules being useless and that's without even mentioning high wake jumps, interdiction cooldown and armor not protecting subsystems.

Whilst they had good intentions of letting people freely switch between modes by trying to make the game something for everything it's turned out as nothing for no one and watered down everyone's fun and experiences. Not intended to bring the dreaded solo vs open debate to the thread as fd have picked their model and that's not going to change.

With a lack of solid pve content the players who would have happily engaged in a "bit of both" feel bored by pve and thus spill out in to the open galaxy bringing pvp to everyone. With the lack of a proper high/low security systems and consequences for nefarious gameplay I don't see it changing anytime soon.

I wish they had spent the dev time from cqc on improving the fundamental game mechanics for everyone. I don't believe they needed a pvp mode to sell the game to consoles. I think it's insulting when people say "oo it's a perfect fit for consoles as they're all cod players". Gamers are gamers regardless of platform and all the twitch streams I saw at E3 from people playing it on console for the first time were of people excited about the game in the exact same way all the pc or mac players were. I feel bad that they'll be in for the same shock as us when they find out how shallow the game actually is in the long term.

FD should have been marketing the game for what it was and the time they spent on cqc with the team crunching for E3 is the reason why 1.3 beta was cut short and delayed and the reason why 1.3 has been a buggy mess for a lot of people. I've still not played since 1.3 beta and I know I'm not the only one.

Well said that man! Totally agree, especially the last couple of paragraphs.

 

[Distance]

Well said that man! Totally agree, especially the last couple of paragraphs.

You know something isn't going right when players with completely opposite gameplay types are finding the same problems