Frontier - please stop work on any new expansions and focus on your core gameplay.

Ian Skippy

Ian Skippy
Kewpa Eurus said:
FD developed a game without knowing what kind of game they were developing. Is it multi-player? Is it a solo game? Is it a co-op game? Is it a sandbox? Is it an MMO? Etc. Etc. Along the way they have bamboozled new and old fans. Not having a clear definition of the game they are developing is coming back to bite them on the back side.

I've never seen a gaming community so divided and so confused of what kind of game they are playing.

I hope they are learning, they were never really a multi-player game development company and it really shows in ED. It shows from the decisions they've made in development all the way to their marketing. Half way through season 2, with the state of the game and community they are going to have to step it up to gain confidence for S3 purchases. They can start with not spamming my inbox begging me to buy skins and expansions and releasing an actual development blog.
Click to expand...

Or maybe they want to design a game that doesnt neatly fit any of your labels. People were confused about the original Elite too for the same reason. :)

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

babelfisch said:
Not sure if I got this right...

Most people in this thread want them to stop developing new features. Instead they should focus on the core features. However improving these features isn't enough, you want them to develop and redesign these features so they change drastically. Which is basically adding new features. Oxymoron?
Click to expand...

Maybe not. Its very well possible that people like Viking have ideas that really are internally consistent, but they just have different ideas about the abstract concepts underlying these discussions. And since we never discuss those much I get the impression we're all talking about different things using the same words. Ofcourse we all seem nuts to the other. :)
 
Last edited:

Don Alvarez

Don Alvarez
babelfisch said:
Not sure if I got this right...

Most people in this thread want them to stop developing new features. Instead they should focus on the core features. However improving these features isn't enough, you want them to develop and redesign these features so they change drastically. Which is basically adding new features. Oxymoron?

Also almost everyone agrees that they are doing it wrong or that the game is lacking something, however just very few are describing exactly what they are doing wrong. I think if you would talk about this you would recognise that your ideas and visions differ from the ideas and priorities other people might have. I've spend quite some time on this forum and the one thing I learned is that we are a very heterogenous community, with lots of different ideas for a perfect game. It's easy to provide criticism, but it's very difficult to find a suggestion everyone agrees with.
Click to expand...
^^ This, thank you. I was trying to find a way to say this in another thread and had complete brain fart. Cause I'm at work, and you know, I'm supposed to be working, BUT....

I also get the impression some people, especially the "moar contents" crowd, attack every content release like it supposed to replace the original core content. I don't mean attack as in criticize, but the play the crap out of it till it becomes boring (which doesn't take long) and they leave ..."Horizons didn't add anything to do, gonna stop playing for a while". These things are meant to be an extension of core gameplay, another thing to do and not meant to be played exclusively. Engineers is a perfect example. Yeah, your gonna approach burnout if you've made your last week or so of gameplay about collecting engineers materials, RNG issues aside.

Not saying these things don't have problems. They definitely need some refinement, but i think your'e right. Every gaming philosophy that's represented in this community are too far apart on some things. I starting to think there will never be a happy middle ground, not without adding hokey immersion breaking mechanics.
 

Mengy

Mengy
babelfisch said:
Most people in this thread want them to stop developing new features. Instead they should focus on the core features. However improving these features isn't enough, you want them to develop and redesign these features so they change drastically. Which is basically adding new features. Oxymoron?
Click to expand...

No one is calling for the core features to "change drastically", but just to be improved upon and fleshed out. An awful lot of players feel that building up the game's core mechanics is much more important than adding new features right now like multi crew, or fighters, or even stuff like CQC and Power Play. Elements like trading and exploration are still rather bare bones and have barely been touched at all since release.

To make it more clear for you, many of us would rather have an "Exploration Update" or a "Trading Update" instead of a "Multi Crew Update" or a "Fighters Update'. And both exploration and trading are mechanics that have been in the game since beta, and thus we call them "core mechanics". Clear now?
 
Last edited:

We Are Groot

We Are Groot
Expansions can add to and become part of the core gameplay. They can't really stop working on expansions as that adds new features and brings in new players as well as keeps the ones currently playing. Plus it bring in revenue they need to keep developing the game. While doing that they could fix and improve things along the way with the base game but I am pretty sure most players wouldn't want them to abandon adding expansions or new seasons.
 

Marc_Hicks

Marc_Hicks
If the recent news from Zac is anything to go by, I think its pretty fair to say that FDev are very good at doing both (adding new content and fixing older, "broken" content) I do suspect that things like Powerplay will only get a true fix as part of a major update, rather than as a minor patch......like the mission/BGS overhaul in 2.1.
 

X-Terminator

Banned
X-Terminator
Also:
1. besides UI Focus can not be switched OFF for DRIVING only but just universally (needs an Option added here),
2. the Turret swings too much for a start in relation for seemingly
3. has faster response in steering at the same time - it need not as it is connected to the Vehicle and it should steer the same as it was without Turret Mode.
4. the SRV Cargo Scoop has no point in being stowed - no influence to speed nor damage to it over rocks. It could have reduced speed to 75% and then it allows us to MAX Throttle on DA OFF (constant speed).
5. Can not scoop Cargo Racks - so how? With Ship? Placeholder? More like these?
6. Transfer Cargo from SRV is rubbish. You hit the Menu and see what you collected and what the Ship has. Instinctively you press TRANSFER and hear a Sound of Moving Cargo. Nope this does not transfer and you must use the screen to Select items and swap them to where you want (all from a choice of 2 in the SRV !). They disappear and make a Sound so instinctively think they were Transferred. Nope - so after travelling 100km you find yet again your Cargo Bay is still FULL. You go back a 3rd time and try the same selections as you see them appear as before. This time you then Select TRANSFER - it makes the Sound of Moving Cargo and bingo it has worked. What a pathetic ill minded design this is FD! FIX IT.
7. Board Ship should be 2nd Option down not be the 4th - it is not instinctive at all in a hurry and is the 2nd choice we are most likely to make. Transfer Cargo should be the 1st Option.
8. Add NPC SRVs & more SRV designs.
 
Last edited:

Ironwolf

Ironwolf
Good post OP.
I am still waiting for immersive gameplay - I'd prefer it with a heavy dosage of persistence covered with sprinkles of consequences.
Fdev, you should know this, or at least remember, you were making Final Proposals in the good old DDF days.
Please make a Core Game, so we can actually blaze our own trails.
 

V'larr

V'larr
I came in this thread reather skeptical...does anyone else remember how "late" 2.1 was set according to schedule? (To be fair, it was only a week into June rather than the end of May - I was expecting far worse, based on what I've seen occur with other games....)

But the OP has some good points.

Other parts felt like accurate descriptions of how things already work in the game.

And, personally - especially with bookmarks - exploring is perfect.

Still, I'd like to see improvements with many of the things mentioned, especially AI behavior *outside* combat - or the whole RES "fish in a barrel" issue clouding up any AI-challenge discussion.
 

Ignition

I
V'larr said:
And, personally - especially with bookmarks - exploring is perfect.
Click to expand...

How you can say exploring is perfect?
Do you realise what people call exploring is just flying like doing any other activity? What is called exploring in this game is just jump through systems and flying normaly without any gameplay in it.

Its just tourism.

No probes, no heat maps to find the jumppoint, no scanning, all of this was mentioned in the sadly forgotten DDF.
 

V'larr

V'larr
Ignition said:
How you can say exploring is perfect?
Do you realise what people call exploring is just flying like doing any other activity? What is called exploring in this game is just jump through systems and flying normaly without any gameplay in it.

Its just tourism.

No probes, no heat maps to find the jumppoint, no scanning, all of this was mentioned in the sadly forgotten DDF.
Click to expand...

How, you ask? Well quite easily, as I just did. :p

I enjoy exploration as it is. I am pioneer from spending, oh, two months on a Sag-A trip, which was before I was gifted Horizons - so now there's even more for me to go and see if I like.

And actual tourism is coming soon in 2.2, don't-cha-know.

I don't feel like requiring probes or heatmaps would make it better...but there's pleeeeenty of scanning involved.

When I say "perfect", of course, I mean that I don't feel like anything is "missing" when I go and explore (whenever I fly around the human bubble I make a point of charting everywhere I go - largely why I stopped to wait for 2.1 for a while, so that I could scan the nav beacons for inhabited system exploration data).

There's always room for improvement with anything.
 

zzehirbazz

zzehirbazz
sleutelbos said:
Or maybe they want to design a game that doesnt neatly fit any of your labels. People were confused about the original Elite too for the same reason. :)
Click to expand...

+1 THIS

When I was around 13 smtg and I played Frontier: Elite 2 I think, with the vector graphics, I was like what the hell is this game made for? It was like Flight Simulator in space. I barely managed to leave a planet`s atmosphere ( I think thats what it was) after 50th try.
 

Kewpa Eurus

K
sleutelbos said:
Or maybe they want to design a game that doesnt neatly fit any of your labels. People were confused about the original Elite too for the same reason. :)

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -



Maybe not. Its very well possible that people like Viking have ideas that really are internally consistent, but they just have different ideas about the abstract concepts underlying these discussions. And since we never discuss those much I get the impression we're all talking about different things using the same words. Ofcourse we all seem nuts to the other. :)
Click to expand...

It's not about my labels, it's about them deciding on what kind of game they want to make so they have some direction. The design of this game right now is sloppy, FD implements content without thinking about how it will effect the game as a whole. They over look a lot of issues, which has been beaten to death in these forums since launch.
 

Marc_Hicks

Marc_Hicks
V'larr said:
How, you ask? Well quite easily, as I just did. :p

I enjoy exploration as it is. I am pioneer from spending, oh, two months on a Sag-A trip, which was before I was gifted Horizons - so now there's even more for me to go and see if I like.

And actual tourism is coming soon in 2.2, don't-cha-know.

I don't feel like requiring probes or heatmaps would make it better...but there's pleeeeenty of scanning involved.

When I say "perfect", of course, I mean that I don't feel like anything is "missing" when I go and explore (whenever I fly around the human bubble I make a point of charting everywhere I go - largely why I stopped to wait for 2.1 for a while, so that I could scan the nav beacons for inhabited system exploration data).

There's always room for improvement with anything.
Click to expand...

When it comes to exploring, I do think there needs to be something in between man-made objects and materials for players to discover and interact with.

Even airless worlds could conceivably contain fossils or the remnants of a long, long dead alien civilization.

Also, rare geological features that add value to your exploration data, provide added dangers to players, & also could be the source of valuable items (like precious stones, ores, exotic compounds and gases.....for example).

Just a thought.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

From my experience, FDev are perfectly capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time. No, they aren't perfect, but no game developer is IMHO.
 

babelfisch

babelfisch
CMDR Kantos Kan said:
You really consider the "tire tracks" as part of the core gameplay?
Click to expand...

Not really, but it adds to the game. The claim was that they are not doing anything for the core game and just focus on new features instead, which isn't true in my opinion.

Mengy said:
No one is calling for the core features to "change drastically", but just to be improved upon and fleshed out. An awful lot of players feel that building up the game's core mechanics is much more important than adding new features right now like multi crew, or fighters, or even stuff like CQC and Power Play. Elements like trading and exploration are still rather bare bones and have barely been touched at all since release.

To make it more clear for you, many of us would rather have an "Exploration Update" or a "Trading Update" instead of a "Multi Crew Update" or a "Fighters Update'. And both exploration and trading are mechanics that have been in the game since beta, and thus we call them "core mechanics". Clear now?
Click to expand...

We've already been there a few pages ago, my point was that they are improving the core game. I agree that the core features aren't finished yet and that some stuff was a waste of time... But I've also seen posts that they should stop working on passenger missions and do something more important. Who decides what is more important? I am not interested in them, but passenger missions should've been implemented since day one and people are asking for it since then. The Orca doesn't have any purpose without them (and there are other ships coming for tourism too). To me it looks like some people forgot that passengers are part of the core game.

PS
Ship launched fighters is the same BTW. It was always meant to be part of the core game, people have asked for it since they read the description for the Anaconda...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom