The problems with elite dangerous and why I'm not having fun. (Discussion?)

[Kristov]

Ah, but mine had many HILARIOUS analogies. *Sarcasm evident*.

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I get that, but by every right it should be. As I've said, I LOVE space, so why am I being bored by a game in which you can travel the entire galaxy? Something doesn't add up.

Over 1000 hrs here myself, not bored, haven't had any issues with grinding as I simply don't do anything that I feel is grindy for long enough to become a grind. 2 weeks after I got the game I was in an Asp Explorer, fully A upgraded within another week. Exploration, trading, bounty hunting, some mining, whatever I felt like doing whenever I felt like doing it. Closest thing to a grind in my opinion is getting naval rank and trading. I found ways around the grind aspects in both of those, don't do JUST those things! When I feel like working on getting some naval rank, I take missions, all kinds of missions, and that keeps it from getting grindy. Trading, same thing, I take missions to make the cargo runs fun, because I find trading to be the most boring damn thing in the game, so I do things to break up that boredom.

And that's the thing, E: D IS a sandbox game, those tend to not come with a storyline for you to follow, nothing leading you around by the short and curlies, you can do whatever you want whenever you want for as long as you want. We get plenty of tools to play with in this sandbox as well, lots of ships, lots of things you can do with those ships, and now we even have buggies and planets we can piddle around on. We have missions galore if you need to be told what to do, or you can just do whatever. I've made billions and blown billions, I've restarted multiple times due to my own stupidity as well, and I'm not bored and I've yet to grind anything.

This simply may not be the game for you, despite you liking space. I like FPS games, especially ones using modern firearms, but I really don't enjoy BF4 or Hardline and don't really enjoy CoD all that much outside of the Zombie stuff, while I logged well over 5k hours in BF2. They are all FPS games using modern firearms, but they are NOT the same games by any means. So it goes with E: D, it's a space genre game, but it's not an FPS game using spaceships as your avatar, nor is there a massive epic storyline quest series. It's you, a ship and a galaxy full of things to do, but you gotta go out and do them on your own, the game doesn't drive you to stuff to do.

 

[tafkabb]

Ah, but mine had many HILARIOUS analogies. *Sarcasm evident*.

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I get that, but by every right it should be. As I've said, I LOVE space, so why am I being bored by a game in which you can travel the entire galaxy? Something doesn't add up.

Thanks for taking that how it was meant, and not being offended.
I don't know, you're asking me to explain my love for broccoli when you don't like broccoli.
Driving around aimlessly in an SRV? I could spend days doing that.

 

[drawerboy99]

I don't understand. I got an Asp Explorer too, but I did pretty much zero trading. I mostly did mining (the old-fashioned way, too, because I am dumb), with the occasional bounty hunting claim when those NPCs were dumb enough to take on my Cobra, and I managed to get enough credits to buy my Asp. And I had a blast! Did I do it wrong? *upper lip quivers at the thought of being busted back down to a Sidey because he had too much fun in the game*

I understand your frustration regarding the initially underwhelming reaction to Horizons. (Also Canadian, also had to pay that steep exchange.) When I realized exactly how long I was going to spend driving on planet surfaces to get jumponium materials, I was not looking forward to it. So I took breaks. I went and participated in community goals. Also, if you think all planets are boring, you just haven’t seen enough planets. There are planets with mountains, planets with beautiful craters, and planets with steep canyons you can fly your ship through, if you dare. And yes, it's pretty basic right now, and it will get better with future patches and expansions.

As to the game being empty: well, yes, it's space. Space is big. But if you want to play with others, go join a group. After I came back from my first exploration expedition, I joined these forums. I participated in a community goal for the first time, and I talked with other players about it and even coordinated with them to help us advance the goal. And I had a blast! I am a very solitary person, and I personally don't play Elite for the MMO aspect. But I keep seeing all these emergent groups of players who have come together to do cool things in this game, whether it's deliver Hutton mugs to far reaches of the Bubble, or jump 65,000 light-years from Sol. If you aren't finding people, go look for some in this forum, join a group, and start having fun.

You're not going to get much sympathy here. Even a cursory glance at these forums will reveal how often people posts threads like this. And I'm not saying Elite is perfect; I'm not saying there aren't elements that are too boring or feel like too much of a grind. But I'm not so keen on petitioning Frontier to try to "fix all the things." So I totally get why you might need to rant, but don't expect this to get many thoughtful responses. You sound a little burnt-out on Elite—have you tried playing other games for a while, until you are ready to come back to this one? Meanwhile, we are a little burnt-out on posts like this.

I realize that there are WAY to many posts about this stuff on here. I just needed a place to vent my frustrations. For the entire time I've been playing, I've been defending elite for what it will become, (if they fulfill their promises), but what the game isn't has finally gotten to me. And that's what frustrates me so much. I want so badly to like this game. But the lack of goals/community/story really dampens the experience for me. And I realize that the game has all of those things, but they aren't really part of the game. The community is on a forum outside of the game, the story is outside of the game, and anything you may want to know about the game is outside of it. That's extremely frustrating for me.

In terms of meeting other people, I too am a lonely black sheep, but I get frustrated when I have to jump in and out of the game and my web browser to look on the forums or google to find someone to play with. And even then, what do I do with those people? I realize that I'm sounding like a blind and deaf person, but I honestly don't know. It's not like Planetside where your instantly in the action, or world of warcraft where there are in game clans to join. I feel like if frontier just streamlined the process a little bit more, I'd get a lot more enjoyment out of the game.

The planets, as far as I know, are dull (In my opinion.) I've found planets with mountains, craters, and canyons. I've even risked my ship by flying through them. But they all look the same to me. I have yet to find some strange anomaly on a planets surface, such as an unexplained arch. The most fun I've had on a planet's surface is when it has a high level of gravity, and I'm constantly battling to prevent myself from crashing into the ground. Otherwise, I'm seriously underwhelmed.

It isn't that I don't get why people like Elite. I do! And from time to time I thoroughly enjoy playing it. After a while however, brushing all the problems and frustrations under the rug stops being a viable option.

Cheers

 

[Triple88a]

Nothing also can be done about the fact that not even nearly everyone is crammed to same place - you kinds of ignore the fact that the play area is GINORMOUS with a few hundred billion places. Except for "hot-spots", people are spread out pretty thin.

One way to fix that would be to make the home systems of the factions important. Add NPCs, add NPC battles, add group challenges, add vendors that are only available in those systems, handcraft the system so they are beautiful... The home systems are suppose to be the beacon of society for that faction yet currently the home system of the faction feels no different than empty system 2000ly outside of the bubble.

Every station in that home system should have at least 15-20NPCs at the base including ones in large ships (aka military ships or something to defend the station.

That is how you make the game feel alive. Ever played WOW? Ever been to Orgrimar or stormwind? It's full because thats where the players want to be because it feels alive..

 

[AcademicDust894]

"It was wonderful. Amazing. I saw the universe, and our galaxy within it, as I'd never seen it before, and I felt the presence of the real caretakers of our galaxy. The paradox of their existence – tiny yet gargantuan, fleeting yet eternal. They spoke to me as I drifted in the void. It was amazing. I must share their message."
Jasmina Halsey

 

[drawerboy99]

Theres a very deep story, its just unfolded in real time https://community.elitedangerous.com/galnet
If you hate the grind then don't grind. Its really that simple ive played 200 hours and I haven't grinded once. If I get bored of something I move and and try something else.
I would also like to point out that 1. You currently have 20% of horizons and 2. planetary landings are something that's going to take years of development time especially at the level of detail ED is wanting. When a game has a 10 year plan and its only 2 years in, don't set your expectations too high

But look, you just linked me to the story. Why isn't that in the game? I don't particularly enjoy clicking out of my game to go read for half an hour. :/
And yes, I understand that the game is still in development. But there are plenty of IN DEV games that are fun. Take for example Subnautica, or Planetside 2, or any other game that is constantly having stuff added. I mean, technically elite has already had a full release, even though its still very much in the works.

 

[anikaiful]

But look, you just linked me to the story. Why isn't that in the game?

Galnet is in game ...

 

[Monk]

One way to fix that would be to make the home systems of the factions important. Add NPCs, add NPC battles, add group challenges, add vendors that are only available in those systems, handcraft the system so they are beautiful... The home systems are suppose to be the beacon of society for that faction yet currently the home system of the faction feels no different than empty system 2000ly outside of the bubble.

Every station in that home system should have at least 15-20NPCs at the base including ones in large ships (aka military ships or something to defend the station.

That is how you make the game feel alive. Ever played WOW? Ever been to Orgrimar or stormwind? It's full because thats where the players want to be because it feels alive..

There is something to be said for having really good NPCs in a game. One of the major things that contribute to making a great game world and a basic one is NPCs. Areas rich with realistic NPCs who a varied and can contribute to gameplay will make a simple game seem amazing.

I do feel Frontier have a ways to go with this. Variety of locations, variety of NPCs and variety of interactions....all in good time, I'm confident of that.

 

[Kristov]

But look, you just linked me to the story. Why isn't that in the game? I don't particularly enjoy clicking out of my game to go read for half an hour. :/
And yes, I understand that the game is still in development. But there are plenty of IN DEV games that are fun. Take for example Subnautica, or Planetside 2, or any other game that is constantly having stuff added. I mean, technically elite has already had a full release, even though its still very much in the works.

Nav panel, bottom left, the Galactic Powers button...hit it...GalNet is there, part of the game itself, they include it on the website as well because people tend to read the GalNet while at work and such, like me during the week or when I'm too busy to play the game(last 3 weeks, 2 hours ingame, going to be like that for the next 6 months, work thing, we're expanding to another 10 markets), so I keep up with GalNet when I can via the website.

And this is something that's telling, no offense meant, but you've missed something so basic that's ingame, how much else have you missed? Stop and think on that a minute or twenty.....maybe, maybe it's not so boring, you've just been missing things because you weren't looking for them and expected them to be put in front of you? That's an Elite thing, so seriously, I mean no offense, it's NOT a standard in video games at all, and David has even commented on that fact, they just don't make enough stuff obvious for the gamers of today, and that means a lot of stuff gets missed.

 

[smiths121]

Well other than that time my T-9 was escorted by 2 x Anacondas, I stopped trading Gamma and then again in 1.2

have reset my 2nd account twice in the last 2 months (playing self imposed iron man) - these days as I have an objective and know how to reach it I actually ignore other players. There are plenty about (well I play in open not a private group or anything). Other players are leaving me alone.

My observation of ED is -

if you want player interaction go get.
if you want quick credits go get it.
if you want pew go get it (may have to do some PvE fisrt).
If you want the joys of working out how a system was formed go get it (you need 2.5Mcr for an OK Adder come scout).

In short what ever you want its pretty much there now, you just have to go get. The trick is working out how.

Obvioulsy if you want 30 (or larger) a side mass combat - go get somewhere else.

Simon

 

[drawerboy99]

What is wrong with me...I'll never have this time back

Was hoping to see any new insights, but it is the same old, same old.

You are done with this game...time to move on. Perhaps revisit in a while and try the new things until you are bored again.

Some points of my own...

Space is super empty and devoid of life and activity. Elite is as near a reconstruction of that as possible. Heck, even humans being this advanced by 3300 seems pretty far fetched. Take that for what it is worth. If you didn't know it would be like that then your elementary science teacher failed you.

One man's grind is another man's rest and relaxation. There are activities in Elite where I can go about making gobs of credits while still holding a pleasant conversation with my wife (this greatly improves my available play time). I can also switch it up and get into some action (and rake 2 mil in bounties when I'm about done with that). I almost never do the same thing for more than an hour straight. I don't get bored because I don't let it happen.

Our characters do not wear helmets all the time. A helmet auto-deploys when your canopy is breached. The external character model currently shows a CMDR with a helmet on, but this is probably b/c faces aren't in yet.

The value for the purchase price of Horizons has not been fully deployed yet. Plus, I have quite a bit of fun on planets. Racing friends, climbing mountains learning to fly the SRV...all good fun

Missions do indeed need work and hopefully 2.1 brings a lot of what we are waiting on.

Personally, I don't care for Powerplay, but if I were part of a big org or something, I'd be more inclined.

Exploration...eh, I love/hate relationship with it. I've decided long range exploration isn't for me until there is a bit more to encounter out there. For the time being I'm fine with doing local exploration....mostly b/c that makes more sense to me than the long distance stuff.

And that SC still is super disingenuous. You took from the one part of the video that shows the hand-crafted terrain. On top of that they are using some excessive lens softening (read: atmosphere) to hide detail. A little further on in the video and you see the PG assets and it is clearly nascent, hence why they speed up the camera at that part.

First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. I mostly posted this for my own benefit as I am sick, playing elite just made my head hurt more, and I needed to let off some steam.
And I get where your coming from completely. If I just read your comment, I would get it in my head that this game would be the greatest thing since cream cheese, and I would go out and buy it instantly. But for me, it just isn't. One thing I noticed while reading your comment is that some of the things you list as positives, I see as negatives. For example, the grind thing. For me, its not relaxing in the slightest. Its the most stressful thing I've ever done! I'm trying to make the most of my time, and when I fail to do that, I get fed up with the time I wasted and log out. The universes size also bothers me. While I am a proponent of realism, it doesn't seem to create the best game play in the world. That's one reason I'm looking forwards to no mans sky, although I am very hesitant as to weather or not it's worth my time after my overall experience with elite.

And I get that star citizen is hand crafted, and so obviously it's going to one up elite in some areas. I'm not saying that star citizen is amazing and a million times better than elite. All I was saying was that I found the video shown in star citizen to be more interesting than if you were to record the same thing in elite.

 

[Maelthor]

Aside from all the features that are planned for 2.1 and the mission revamp etc, I'd like to see more gold sinks in the game besides buying another ship.

Why can't I buy or rent hangar space at stations? The hangar space would include some parts storage for instance.

Why can't I buy or rent a suite in one of those skyscrapers on the outside of my home station and display a few rare moon rocks or trophies or rank medals I picked in my travels?

Why can't I buy paintjobs and other cosmetic things with credits? ED doesn't need a cash shop for in game cosmetics, they already have a base game and seasonal DLC to cover their income. Cash shops are for f2p games imo.

Why can't I buy and deploy one of those POI type outposts (a few small buildings and a data point sort of thing) on a planet that acts like a storage for illicit materials or an auto-mining rig?

Why can't I bribe a local system or station authority to avoid scans for say 24 hours?

As it stands now all we can do is buy ships.

 

[Privata]

Evidently. But it's a game about space, and I love space.
Doesn't add up.

Elite is a bit unique in how it does things.
Its slow and aims to go as far as it can in terms of realistic scale.
And I like that , SC could IMO be the best thing ever , but its smaller scale kills that chance of ever being my main space game for me.

I love the planets , for example ; driving around them seing a amazing crater and it taking something like 1h30min to get there is awesome because it makes the adventure worth it.

Currently FDEV have put the basics and the world in the game , everything else is WIP or comming soonTM.
I would say come back in a few months when 2.1 comes , if you still are not happy try again near the end of season 2.
If that fails just keep an eye on the progress of the game it will be amazing. I promise

And about players , there are a lot of them but with so many sectors and places you could be within a sector its hard to see one. but near alioth I see a lot of them

 

[drawerboy99]

Oh, I realized it was there. I've even browsed it a few times. But I'd much prefer to watch a news bulletin in the corner of my hud while outfitting my ship than read it. I do enough reading as it is. I understand that's totally unrealistic and not possible, but I'd be more engaged.

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Thanks for taking that how it was meant, and not being offended.
I don't know, you're asking me to explain my love for broccoli when you don't like broccoli.
Driving around aimlessly in an SRV? I could spend days doing that.

That is honestly and insane prospect to me. Days? Id go looney. XD Perhaps a VR headset would up the enjoyment :/

 

[mossfoot]

I get that, but by every right it should be. As I've said, I LOVE space, so why am I being bored by a game in which you can travel the entire galaxy? Something doesn't add up.

I get the dillema and confusion. In fact I'm baffled why more people don't love being in the ED sandbox, but they don't.

I think when No Man's Sky comes out we're going to see more in the way of answers because people will have a different game with similar elements to compare and contrast it with.

Finding out why X person doesn't like ED but does like NMS (or vice versa) will go a long way to clarifiying things. I'd include Star Citizen in this but it's not going to be finished any time soon. Also, NMS is just different enough in a number of ways that it might make it easier for people to explain why one fills a certain need and the other doesn't.

 

[drawerboy99]

Galnet is in game ...

And its reading.
Whats the difference between reading it in game or out of game? I read enough as it is :/

 

[Privata]

Aside from all the features that are planned for 2.1 and the mission revamp etc, I'd like to see more gold sinks in the game besides buying another ship.

Why can't I buy or rent hangar space at stations? The hangar space would include some parts storage for instance.

Why can't I buy or rent a suite in one of those skyscrapers on the outside of my home station and display a few rare moon rocks or trophies or rank medals I picked in my travels?

Why can't I buy paintjobs and other cosmetic things with credits? ED doesn't need a cash shop for in game cosmetics, they already have a base game and seasonal DLC to cover their income. Cash shops are for f2p games imo.

Why can't I buy and deploy one of those POI type outposts (a few small buildings and a data point sort of thing) on a planet that acts like a storage for illicit materials or an auto-mining rig?

Why can't I bribe a local system or station authority to avoid scans for say 24 hours?

As it stands now all we can do is buy ships.

Why can't I buy or rent hangar space at stations? The hangar space would include some parts storage for instance. -will be added in the future

Why can't I buy or rent a suite in one of those skyscrapers on the outside of my home station and display a few rare moon rocks or trophies or rank medals I picked in my travels? -First we need our legs , charecter creation is coming this year , then at some point leaving your ship with your new charecter is a thing on the roadmap

Why can't I buy paintjobs and other cosmetic things with credits? ED doesn't need a cash shop for in game cosmetics, they already have a base game and seasonal DLC to cover their income. Cash shops are for f2p games imo.-They do need it , making the bigest and most ambitious space sim is not cheap.

Why can't I buy and deploy one of those POI type outposts (a few small buildings and a data point sort of thing) on a planet that acts like a storage for illicit materials or an auto-mining rig? Player owned ''blow up'' bases such as astroid bases are planned.
The game is WIP and has a long , long way to go , but tis going to be so awesome when it does

Why can't I bribe a local system or station authority to avoid scans for say 24 hours?

 

[drawerboy99]

I get the dillema and confusion. In fact I'm baffled why more people don't love being in the ED sandbox, but they don't.

I think when No Man's Sky comes out we're going to see more in the way of answers because people will have a different game with similar elements to compare and contrast it with.

Finding out why X person doesn't like ED but does like NMS (or vice versa) will go a long way to clarifiying things. I'd include Star Citizen in this but it's not going to be finished any time soon. Also, NMS is just different enough in a number of ways that it might make it easier for people to explain why one fills a certain need and the other doesn't.

Here here ^_^

 

[Privata]

And its reading.
Whats the difference between reading it in game or out of game? I read enough as it is :/

Well I would say its more immersive.

 

[Marak]

Stuff...

If you don't like grinding, don't grind. If you like other stuff do that. Credits always go up so you'll get your Asp eventually.

ED is a space simulation sandbox. Space is big, people are scarce.

There is no story.

ED gives you the galaxy, SC is offering the moon on a stick.

Missions should be fixed soon (hopefully).

If you don't like the game, wait for updates & play summat else (or buy a cryochamber and live in it 'till SC is out).


Powerplay still sucks though...