2.1 - stop the hype train

[Ziggy Stardust]

And I fear 2.1, 2.2 etc risk being more features which will look good on paper, but risk not really adding significant depth/interest/variety (or emergent gameplay) to the backbone of the game...

I've not done many missions, but I'd like some explorer variety of them. But what I've gathered about the mission part of 2.1, the idea is to make them more significant and more sequential. Don't know about variety though. Since we already have missions, it's not so much more features, but a revamp of existing ones. It's a often requested update. Which doesn't mean the update will do what it's intended to do though.

I believe the best attitude is to chill out about the whole thing until we see some actual changelogs.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Yep... I'd much rather of had V1.5 Core Love, than V1.5 Ships...

And I fear 2.1, 2.2 etc risk being more features which will look good on paper, but risk not really adding significant depth/interest/variety (or emergent gameplay) to the backbone of the game...

This year will be an interesting ride (or not as the case may be)

Surely a lot of 2.1 is core love?

Complete revamp of the missions is core.

Trading updates that are possibly coming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4bu1vc/trading_qa_summary/

Powerplay updates that are possibly coming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4cs2i2/powerplay_qa_summary/

Exploration updates that are possibly coming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4auvgi/exploration_livestream_qa_summary/

From these you can see that a lot is planned and some of it coming to 2.1 as well.

The future of elite is looking good for me.

 

[Heavenly-Hammer]

How giving the players the ability to group up meaningfully and to have the ability to interact with the games environment hurt the game?
I just don't see the down side but maybe I am not the type of gamer aloud to be in Elite Dangerous

As he said, it could quickly create a scenario where players have to join a large group. For safety if nothing else. As long as groups are small, their threat level and impact on the game experience will be greatly diminished. That's probably a good thing.

This is isn't to say that better group tools and communications systems aren't welcome. But I don't see the attraction to player owned stations at all unless owned or controlled stations will offer its owners some tangible benefit similar to a PowerPlay passive bonus or module. Even then...meh.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Never mind.

 

[Ian Skippy]

How giving the players the ability to group up meaningfully and to have the ability to interact with the games environment hurt the game?
I just don't see the down side but maybe I am not the type of gamer aloud to be in Elite Dangerous

Oh, you're allowed, just not very welcome to many. Btw, why dont you just say you're an EvE goon, that way you dont have to post long topics beating around the bush and we dont have to pretend your suggestions are about anything constructive? Just say:"Hi, I like to troll you guys in-game rather than on the forums, but I need better tools to do so. What do you guys think?"

 

[lysan]

How giving the players the ability to group up meaningfully and to have the ability to interact with the games environment hurt the game?
I just don't see the down side but maybe I am not the type of gamer aloud to be in Elite Dangerous

To group up, are on the list, however as I remember DB said that it will not be like in other MMO games. I don't know how they will pull it off, but it will not be in the traditional way. DB has stated many times that he do not want ED to be like EvE as this has already been done, and EvE is doing it great in their way, and he do not want to copy that.

 

[NeilF]

Surely a lot of 2.1 is core love?

Complete revamp of the missions is core.

Trading updates that are possibly coming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4bu1vc/trading_qa_summary/

Powerplay updates that are possibly coming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4cs2i2/powerplay_qa_summary/

Exploration updates that are possibly coming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4auvgi/exploration_livestream_qa_summary/

From these you can see that a lot is planned and some of it coming to 2.1 as well.

The future of elite is looking good for me.

Hopefully you're right... But the risk is of course... well, what's the title of this thread?

 

[Zeta Legion]

To group up, are on the list, however as I remember DB said that it will not be like in other MMO games. I don't know how they will pull it off, but it will not be in the traditional way. DB has stated many times that he do not want ED to be like EvE as this has already been done, and EvE is doing it great in their way, and he do not want to copy that.

I'd settle for winging up being less clunky and awkward right now. I'd also dearly love to have NPC wingmen, for trade/mining escorts (or, traders/miners to protect) and for all-out combat. I don't recall 2.1 having anything to do with wings though.

I'll also be marginally impressed if they can get missions to not bite the big one, meaning; combat/trade missions being more efficient than grinding away for credits, more involved missions than pulling people/getting pulled out of supercruise ad nausaem, more focus on single high-payout missions than stacking 40+ missions together, for example make mining missions require turn-ins of 10, 20, 30, 40, etc but pay out exponentially more. I don't think these things are too much to ask for either. I'd love to see more involved, varied, and perhaps narratively driven missions in the future and an overhaul to CG's but I'll settle for making what we have an effective means of making money.

 

[NeilF]

IMO they improved core professions with every update so far. We had improvemts to mining, explorers got some new stuff to find and remember that there are things that we haven't found yet, bounty hunters and smugglers got better payouts. Traders and pirates need some love though. The new uss and mission mechanics will improve core professions as well.

PS You could argue that this is balancing rather than improvement, but I think this wouldn't be fair.

Depends on what you really count as an improvement I guess... eg: I don't really see as exploration having had anything added in a year+ really (I don't count driving around in an SRV as exploration ) See this post from rather long time ago - https://goo.gl/7mCF22

Personally I'd describe the core professions as pretty paper thin, with, as you point out, Piracy needing a whole valetines day of love!

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Hopefully you're right... But the risk is of course... well, what's the title of this thread?

I hope so too, agreed. Also how long will it take for all of this to come in as well.
Certainly not hyping it up, as stated earlier I will pass judgement on the beta mid May (if thats when the beta starts).

 

[4Corvus]

The hype train derailed a while back. Yesterday there were 6 people playing Arena on Steam and less than 1400 playing the regular game. It's a ghost town galaxy and the reviews get worse and worse. 2.1 better pull a miracle.

 

[Derath]

for 2.1 to make enough meaningful change to have an impact they would have to be genuinely letting pilots customize their ships heavily, I can't see that happening so we'll have to see what it provides instead but Its certainly not a rebuild of the core systems of the game or anything. If its make or break for you its probably break, it aint the kind of patch that was ever going to be make - those are the super ambitious ones involving changing the core mechanics.

 

[Vorxian]

Well....

Some see the glass half empty : pessimists
Some see the glass half full : optimists

BUT

But realists realized the glass should only be half the size of that used by optimists or pessimists, but make the most of what they have by filling it all the way to the top!

Which one are you?

(now I have brown nosed, time to complain about rep grinding for ships.. gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rep grinding for ships.!)

[haha]

 

[Ari Ben Zayn]

Oh, you're allowed, just not very welcome to many. Btw, why dont you just say you're an EvE goon, that way you dont have to post long topics beating around the bush and we dont have to pretend your suggestions are about anything constructive? Just say:"Hi, I like to troll you guys in-game rather than on the forums, but I need better tools to do so. What do you guys think?"

i lol'd

But boy am I glad that definitely won't be in the 2.1 patch :'D

 

[Zeta Legion]

for 2.1 to make enough meaningful change to have an impact they would have to be genuinely letting pilots customize their ships heavily, I can't see that happening so we'll have to see what it provides instead but Its certainly not a rebuild of the core systems of the game or anything. If its make or break for you its probably break, it aint the kind of patch that was ever going to be make - those are the super ambitious ones involving changing the core mechanics.

TBF, Horizons launch was their make-or-break opportunity, which they managed to badly screw the pooch on. Ever since then a relatively positive review section has spiralled downhill faster than you can say 'metabombed'.

 

[Derath]

TBF, Horizons launch was their make-or-break opportunity, which they managed to badly screw the pooch on. Ever since then a relatively positive review section has spiralled downhill faster than you can say 'metabombed'.

Horizons is a much better example of a make or break patch if you were dealing with things in those terms, I don't really get why people would expect 2.1 to be like that the scope is much smaller, so i certainly agree with the OP over hyping it won't make it any better your just setting yourself up for a fall. Join the quietly optimistic camp if you feel good about it or the mildly pessimistic camp if you don't.

Anything more extreme is a bit too much over commitment for me lol

 

[sp0q]

Horizons is a much better example of a make or break patch if you were dealing with things in those terms, I don't really get why people would expect 2.1 to be like that the scope is much smaller, so i certainly agree with the OP over hyping it won't make it any better your just setting yourself up for a fall. Join the quietly optimistic camp if you feel good about it or the mildly pessimistic camp if you don't.

Anything more extreme is a bit too much over commitment for me lol

You know what could help with managing users' expectations? Some news in the newsletter!

 

[Zeta Legion]

Horizons is a much better example of a make or break patch if you were dealing with things in those terms, I don't really get why people would expect 2.1 to be like that the scope is much smaller, so i certainly agree with the OP over hyping it won't make it any better your just setting yourself up for a fall. Join the quietly optimistic camp if you feel good about it or the mildly pessimistic camp if you don't.

Anything more extreme is a bit too much over commitment for me lol

I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic for 2.1 but I wouldn't go far enough to say that it will suddenly make Horizons worth the purchase, especially for people who already have vanilla. Partly because there was still a 6-month barren wasteland of content.

 

[Vorxian]

No! Join the realists that take ED for what it is, warts 'n' all, and just make the most of it!

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

Well....

Some see the glass half empty : pessimists
Some see the glass half full : optimists
…

It's not that simple. Usually a glass containing 50% liquid (water) is within an atmosphere and as a result it is always full (50% water, 50% air).

http://what-if.xkcd.com/6/

You really don't want an half empty or half full glass