August 31st.
The Planetary landing and planetside missions discussion Thread
- Thread starter Sir.Tj
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- mexican(mexico) nexus
Yes. I thought of the same thing. NMS and the whole sentinal dynamic seems out of place, for ED at least.
The planetary landings expansion is what I am looking forward to the most.
However, I feel that there could be much more to do 'in space' first to make it more interesting and more believable. Here are a few ideas.....
1. Secret asteroid bases
2. Huge cities in space ( a bit like the CQC add on but bigger)
3. Comets (I know they are there but they haven't been switched ON yet)
4. A science class ship with spectrometer and other equipment on board.
5. People inside space stations doing repairs, welding, loading etc.
I am sure that some of you have other idea's too.
However, I feel that there could be much more to do 'in space' first to make it more interesting and more believable. Here are a few ideas.....
1. Secret asteroid bases
2. Huge cities in space ( a bit like the CQC add on but bigger)
3. Comets (I know they are there but they haven't been switched ON yet)
4. A science class ship with spectrometer and other equipment on board.
5. People inside space stations doing repairs, welding, loading etc.
I am sure that some of you have other idea's too.
The whole reason i decided to start a thread discussing this further was to remind fellow cmdr's and take into perspective the realities v.s demands of such game mechanics. Good point IMO about what GTA lacks v.s tries to achieve.
Interesting idea BTW on restricting flight and landing with populated ELP's. This would show potential for smugglers to by pass security or trading with space stations to pick up rares/ illicit trade from the planet itself.
Although i did mention in my original post that i am not obsessed with the whole planetary landing, i am at least intrigued. Thanks for the constructive comments.
What worries me most is the fact that some seem to think that PG is the answer to everything. It is not.
That is why the use of PG currently is very limited when devs want to create fully realized, detailed and believable worlds.
It might be that FD has developed a totally new and revolutionary way of PG that can do all that is needed, but I do not think so for a second.
And I am not even talking about the sheer amount of assets that would be needed to create a believable world on a galactic scale.
Just that alone would break FD's back.
PG is a wonderful tool, but it is a beast that needs a lot of assets to work with. If you feed it not enough on the one end only crap will come out on the other end.
Just look at the stations we have currently.
The variation at present is already far, far too limited to create a believable living diverse cultural human universe.
There is a shadow of diversity there, but not nearly enough to not make it all feel samey.
To create living diversity it is not enough to have station A with a bunch of containers on the left side and station B with containers on the right side. It is much more complicated than that and it has to do with human perception, with how we perceive diversity.
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It's simple - I honestly would be satisfied if they gave my what I can already do in Space Engine - I just want to be able to enter the planet atmosphere and fly through the procedurally generated terrain.
Aliens, life on the surface, cities that all can wait. Let me just reach the surface
Aliens, life on the surface, cities that all can wait. Let me just reach the surface
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That's a rather exact date.
Given that he failed to specify a year, I disagree completely.
The planets are just smooth orbs with no real height maps so far - it's sad especially when you look at our own Moon from the low orbit. We need at least a peek of this real terrain.
I am really interested in what technique FD are going to use for the planet surfaces. Are they going to go with a standard textured surface or are they going to be brave and go for a fractal-based engine that does not require any textures at all as in this engine... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-5Z_031x00
Or maybe a combination of both.
Or maybe a combination of both.
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PG is a great friend but also a terrible enemy. FD in my opinion need to be really careful how they approach planet side so they set the right expectation level so everyone understands the approach taken. I expect them to start with basic terrain like an airless moon and steadily build up from there. Cities are going to be resource hungry and need a lot of assets to give variety so they will come last. What I suspect we might see is the terrain will go in first, but the structures on that terrain will start simple but then become more detailed over time as the assets get generated. eg Earth will get its terrain, with some basic stations and the cities will go in over time. A lot of the outpost style structures would work well as part of a ground installation so the basis for functional set landing places is already there, I am though expecting to be able to land on any flat/stable part of a planet. I am expecting realistic looking terrain, perhaps not to the same level as Space Engine but close. There is a great opportunity here for exploration, because you could visit a planet at one time and nothing would be there, next time there could a simple landing pad and after that a city.
My thoughts exactly.
The game becomes very claustrophobic quickly being refrained to your chair, unable to move a muscle. Especially in my current ship, the Eagle. Watching my guy trying to stretch his hands and fingers bothers me while the ship's so tight in the cockpit that the modules are overlapping his legs. It would be nice to be able to dock at a station, get out of your ship, and take a look around, both at your ship and the stations. Take a break from that endless buzzing of flying through the black. Maybe a colorful bar with some stores or markets, and some big screens with news on them. Like I said in another post, you end up feeling more like a sentient ship, rather than a pilot in a ship after a while.
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I'd be completely happy with it being exactly as it was in Frontier and Frontier: First Encounters. Obviously it would have the current graphics engine, but simply new ports to visit and some kind of decent landscape fitting with the current look of the game. I want to be able to do what i did (alot) in the previous two games and just sit there watching an alien sun rise/set over an alien world, that was (and still is) pure awesome
I really do not want GTAV or ARMA or whatever god-forsaken-fps mind numbing thing is currently in vogue that also will add ridiculous overheads to the runing game; just an additional sense of wonder and things to see and do and some added functionality from that. We have all this already in Elite II and III, so keep it simple but deep with a few nice surprises in the mix please. I really don't need to see each pine needle on a trees branch or have fully living and breathing cities to snort drugs in and do a few drive by's with my uzi and zero imagination, on my way to a strip club while gun blazing down a whole army all by myself. YAWN! (and a way to completely break immersion).
Just what we have already had in the Elite game series, and maybe a little more polished, a little more detailed, a little more 'interesting'? Is that too much to ask?
I really do not want GTAV or ARMA or whatever god-forsaken-fps mind numbing thing is currently in vogue that also will add ridiculous overheads to the runing game; just an additional sense of wonder and things to see and do and some added functionality from that. We have all this already in Elite II and III, so keep it simple but deep with a few nice surprises in the mix please. I really don't need to see each pine needle on a trees branch or have fully living and breathing cities to snort drugs in and do a few drive by's with my uzi and zero imagination, on my way to a strip club while gun blazing down a whole army all by myself. YAWN! (and a way to completely break immersion).
Just what we have already had in the Elite game series, and maybe a little more polished, a little more detailed, a little more 'interesting'? Is that too much to ask?
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for me, scrap planet landing. and actually put something in space for explorers to find. fill the galaxy with danger, unknown races hostile npc's invasion forces secret complex's. something that's fun. not landing on a planet going ow pretty! for first 10-20times then never doing it again cos its boring
Given that he failed to specify a year, I disagree completely.
Oops, I meant 31st September.
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