My thoughs on the future of Elite.

[Dipso]

Posted this on Reddit, but thought I'd post it here too for visibility.

Yes i know there are hundreds of threads out there about this, but please take a look at what i have to say.


I feel that E is a great game but with a lot of untapped potential. Instead of ranting about all its shortcomings i want to give a structured overview of what i think can be done to improve the game experience.

I have structured this according to the complexity and suggested time frame for the changes.


Short term (Changes that require little to no new assets and should be fairly easy to implement):

• More interesting missions -> Varied missions, salvage and rescue operations. etc + missions that take you more than a single jump away.
  
• Signal source overhaul - Different types of signal sources that give you an idea of what to expect. Sources are placed/spawned differently so its less obvious that they are generated as you fly.
  
• More exclusive content and unique prices and goods. Reward players for going out and looking for places that offer outrageous prices for various commodities or have unique ship-parts etc.
  
• Risk/Effort VS Reward: Stations far away from the sun in a solar system need to have far better prices, and more interesting missions. Reward players for venturing out there instead of just landing at the closest station.
  
• Weapons/modules: More variation and and possibilities in the module department. First thing that comes to mind is a Ammo module that can be inserted. To avoid spam during combat, refills from the ammo module could take a few minutes to complete. I especially want this because i really enjoy using misiles, but having only 12 means i can't use them much before i have to head back for a refill. I would gladly give up some cargo space for more ammo.
  
  

Medium Term: (Requires more assets and code to get up and running)

• More variation in assets. Completely different station interiors and exteriors for each station type, and overall more variation then just a few color swaps between stations. Would love to see different types of docking bays on different stations too (For instance large stations with stacked bays outside or something)
  
  
• More life in stations. Both to make the world feel alive and lived in and for the feeling of scale, i would love to see "dockworkers" Hauling goods around, People walking inside the stations etc. Also make the population count affect the size of the base, how much people and ships you see, so you really feel the difference between a tiny system and a huge metropolis.
  
• More Events and discoveries. Jumping into a asteroid field and finding a secret pirate base. Discovering a big derelict ship with lots of goods around it. Finding a transport in dire need of help. etc
  
• More interesting scan mechanics. Right now scanning planets etc seems really dull. This needs to be spiced up to really make the player feel they are exploring uncharted lands and making discoveries that are interesting.
  
• Player groups. I have come to understand rhis is a sensitive subject, and has been debated a lot more detailed and cleverly then i can, but overall i support the idea, if done correctly.

Long term:

• Storylines - i would love for a few series of missions and events that has a bit of narative. It doesn't need to be huge massive adventures but small campaigns that you (possibly cooperatively with a few friends) can partake in. Something like this could probably be generated to some extent too, if done right.
  
  
• Planetary landings - Some say this is not necessary, some say its integral. I say i want this to happen. I want to live this world. I want it to be more than just me and my ship. But i feel they need to get the space sim fleshed out and breathing before they focus on the landings.
  
  
• More varied interactions: I want to go hang out at a bar in the local space port. Hear the latest rumors, talk a bit of smack. Get drunk and be thrown out. I want to be contacted by an NPC and be able to chose a few different replies. I want the characters to have faces (even if its just an image) and for the world to feel like a real place.
  
  

These are a few of my toughs. I tried to organize them as best i could. There are probably a few toughs i forgot, and i will probably update and clean this up as things come to me.

TLR; I feel the game needs to nourish and expand the sense of adventure, discovery and exploration. And for the world to feel more alive. - And these are some of my thoughts on how this can be done.
Edit1: added a comment about weapons and modules.

 

[Fost]

Completely agree with everything you've written. I'd love to see missions getting bigger and more detailed. Reckon it's on the roadmap though but so hard being patient. We all love the game so much

 

[Dipso]

Completely agree with everything you've written. I'd love to see missions getting bigger and more detailed. Reckon it's on the roadmap though but so hard being patient. We all love the game so much

Yep, I think one of the rumours from Lavecon was an overhaul of the mission system.

 

[Mendelt]

Completely agree. We can sum this all up as "Do more with what you already have" instead of bolting on completely different games.

Things like longer missions should be relatively easy to implement. Send someone for a Federation mission from Sol to a faraway outpost to deliver or pick up something. You could have follow up-missions. Pick up a document somewhere. Oops, document is not there when you get there. Follow the person who has the document somewhere else. That kind of thing. Same mechanics but makes for more interesting gameplay and can be procedurally generated too.

 

[jadefriendly]

• More interesting missions -> Varied missions, salvage and rescue operations. etc + missions that take you more than a single jump away.
• Signal source overhaul - Different types of signal sources that give you an idea of what to expect. Sources are placed/spawned differently so its less obvious that they are generated as you fly.

• More variation in assets. Completely different station interiors and exteriors for each station type, and overall more variation then just a few color swaps between stations. Would love to see different types of docking bays on different stations too (For instance large stations with stacked bays outside or something)
• More life in stations. Both to make the world feel alive and lived in and for the feeling of scale, i would love to see "dockworkers" Hauling goods around, People walking inside the stations etc. Also make the population count affect the size of the base, how much people and ships you see, so you really feel the difference between a tiny system and a huge metropolis.
• More Events and discoveries. Jumping into a asteroid field and finding a secret pirate base. Discovering a big derelict ship with lots of goods around it. Finding a transport in dire need of help. etc

this stuff is a priority. has been since launch. instead we'll probably get more powerplay nonsense.

 

[Snowdog]

If Dev actually took suggestions and implemented them to completion we might have a great game instead we have the potential for a great game. I am still holding out hope and think they may pull it off, but so far it is sorely lacking. They seem to be spreading themselves to thin and not finishing any one aspect of the game,. mining , missions, reputation.. the list goes on.. all just bear bones but I am trying to be patient. Time will tell if they are just lost and directionless (managers fault) or if they are just spread to thin and taking a lone time to finish any one project.

 

[Webferret]

Great ideas, as many have been brought up before and these are things that need to be put in and Elite Dangerous would be something even more special.

 

[Temple604]

Great ideas and summary! A lot of people care about this game so much because it has such great potential. If the game can expand out and capture even a small part of this shared dream by many, it will ensure itself a place in gaming history.

 

[Steve50]

Agree with most but storylines no, that's best left for Mass Effect and the like, it's not Elite.

 

[Sendraks]

Great little summary and ideas. +1 rep for you.

 

[Dommarraa]

Agree with it all except players groups, and planetary landings.

 

[LeetNoob]

Thargoids!!!!!

Besides that, agree with OP, lot's of potential, lot's to do.

Instead, it's power play only in the latest patch.

 

[Zerosum]

To borrow from my other post on a different thread. Most of this would be easy to implement (except for the capture/salvage aspects)

New weapons and modules . Hanger bay for anaconda and/or other large ships. The ability to salvage wrecks for equip/resale. The ability to capture ships when certain conditions are met. (most vital internals fried or pilot killed through canopy hit)

Ion cannons
Sniper Cannon (looooong range projectile weapon)
interdiction field emitter (pulls ships from supercruise or prevents frame shift charge in a large area)
Flak Cannon
tractor beam (for mining or salvage)
sensor jammer/scrambler
sensors with enhanced module targeting
Supercharged Engines for both flight and evasion
Stealth variant on all gear or cloak
internal expansion (maybe at cost of hardpoint) vice versa
Homing Mines
Cluster Mines
Ion Mines
Tweaker Module (you can overclock a pc, let's overclock a viper for face melting speed or scanners for near instant bounty checking at expense of power requirements/other module performance.)
Automated drone boarding pod (for large craft)
Directional Shields (or the ability to stack more than one generator)
Ammo Crates (counts as cargo)
Loading Module(s) works with ammo crates
Tracking bug
Retractable canopy plating With sensor flight (for all those bad days we occasionally have)
Plastisteel hull armor (to make your craft even lighter at expense of combat durability)


Some stuff like this would turn your common freighter into a highly customized Milennium Falcon-like machine. As almost all of us know , Han's ship wasn;t "the fastest in the galaxy" coming right off the lot.

 

[Fost]

Powerplay's main problem (imho) is it layers on top of the existing mechanics. More elaborate missions and even missions for specific powers would make it a lot more interesting.

 

[Zmaj od Bosne]

Posted this on Reddit, but thought I'd post it here too for visibility. Yes i know there are hundreds of threads out there about this, but please take a look at what i have to say. I feel that E is a great game but with a lot of untapped potential. Instead of ranting about all its shortcomings i want to give a structured overview of what i think can be done to improve the game experience. I have structured this according to the complexity and suggested time frame for the changes. Short term (Changes that require little to no new assets and should be fairly easy to implement):

• More interesting missions -> Varied missions, salvage and rescue operations. etc + missions that take you more than a single jump away.
• Signal source overhaul - Different types of signal sources that give you an idea of what to expect. Sources are placed/spawned differently so its less obvious that they are generated as you fly.
• More exclusive content and unique prices and goods. Reward players for going out and looking for places that offer outrageous prices for various commodities or have unique ship-parts etc.
• Risk/Effort VS Reward: Stations far away from the sun in a solar system need to have far better prices, and more interesting missions. Reward players for venturing out there instead of just landing at the closest station.
• Weapons/modules: More variation and and possibilities in the module department. First thing that comes to mind is a Ammo module that can be inserted. To avoid spam during combat, refills from the ammo module could take a few minutes to complete. I especially want this because i really enjoy using misiles, but having only 12 means i can't use them much before i have to head back for a refill. I would gladly give up some cargo space for more ammo.

Medium Term: (Requires more assets and code to get up and running)

• More variation in assets. Completely different station interiors and exteriors for each station type, and overall more variation then just a few color swaps between stations. Would love to see different types of docking bays on different stations too (For instance large stations with stacked bays outside or something)
• More life in stations. Both to make the world feel alive and lived in and for the feeling of scale, i would love to see "dockworkers" Hauling goods around, People walking inside the stations etc. Also make the population count affect the size of the base, how much people and ships you see, so you really feel the difference between a tiny system and a huge metropolis.
• More Events and discoveries. Jumping into a asteroid field and finding a secret pirate base. Discovering a big derelict ship with lots of goods around it. Finding a transport in dire need of help. etc
• More interesting scan mechanics. Right now scanning planets etc seems really dull. This needs to be spiced up to really make the player feel they are exploring uncharted lands and making discoveries that are interesting.
• Player groups. I have come to understand rhis is a sensitive subject, and has been debated a lot more detailed and cleverly then i can, but overall i support the idea, if done correctly.

Long term:

• Storylines - i would love for a few series of missions and events that has a bit of narative. It doesn't need to be huge massive adventures but small campaigns that you (possibly cooperatively with a few friends) can partake in. Something like this could probably be generated to some extent too, if done right.
• Planetary landings - Some say this is not necessary, some say its integral. I say i want this to happen. I want to live this world. I want it to be more than just me and my ship. But i feel they need to get the space sim fleshed out and breathing before they focus on the landings.
• More varied interactions: I want to go hang out at a bar in the local space port. Hear the latest rumors, talk a bit of smack. Get drunk and be thrown out. I want to be contacted by an NPC and be able to chose a few different replies. I want the characters to have faces (even if its just an image) and for the world to feel like a real place.

These are a few of my toughs. I tried to organize them as best i could. There are probably a few toughs i forgot, and i will probably update and clean this up as things come to me. TLR; I feel the game needs to nourish and expand the sense of adventure, discovery and exploration. And for the world to feel more alive. - And these are some of my thoughts on how this can be done. Edit1: added a comment about weapons and modules.

That is exactly what this game needs. Not PP.

 

[B4DD4WG]

Im fairly new to ED, and so far, it isn't "bad". I can't, with all honesty, say it is great either. I agree with the post, and THE one part that stuck out to me, was "story" missions.

They don't have to be days long, or even have much to do with "lore". Someone lost and heirloom on a pirate raid, and would like you to retrieve it. With some interactions with "pirates" involved, and some dialog, a small story like that could be very interesting. (That could be focused on "salvage", or even exploration)

A little bit of stories, introduced here and there, can be a great way to expand our own imaginations. Make us feel more like we are "involved" in this world. Not just another "ship" in the vastness of the black.

 

[Dipso]

Thank you all for your comments.

I was playing with one of my buddies yesterday and he said it best: "Its a shame that there are so many times when you play this game you find thinks like, "yes thats a bit odd," and "i wish they had done this" and so on, and so forth - so much potential, so many half baked elements..."

 

[Jypson]

Dipso, a lot of great points, thanks for writing that whole thing out!

 

[Banana's_Are_Good_For_You]

Nice post.