I can't think of any other pursuit that yields so little for the time you invest.
I'd like to play more Elite; the ships are amazing and they sound and feel great.
However, that's not enough. I just can't justify spending hours looking for random named materials for random engineers, or trying broken missions, or broken powerplay, or driving around on bleak planets.
There are two places I know I can go to have fun; RESs and Conflict Zones. Wait, three; nav beacons. Because I know what I'm signing up for; I arrive, I fight for as long as I like, I go. But I've been playing Elite for over a thousand hours now, and you know what? I'm bored of these.
Since I bought the game nearly two years ago, FD has added nothing that entertains me save a few extra ships. Everything else they've added, I've tried to enjoy, but the game is so mean spirited and makes it so damn hard to get any enjoyment out of. I have a lot of things to do in my "free time", and try as I might (and I try pretty hard, people) I just can't justify spending the time on Elite when spending it any other way, any other way, is more enjoyable and productive.
Yes, I know. It's Elite Dangerous. It doesn't hold your hand or anything, it's a living Galaxy. But it has to offer enough enjoyment from time spent playing it to justify doing so, which, I'm sorry, I'm now aware that it simply does not.(this is subjective, of course, it simply does not for me - but my requirements are quite low compared to most gamers, and I'm lucky enough to have more time than many to spend playing).
FD are madly creating an amazing universe but they've forgotten that they need to make it something people want to spend time with. Scale and numbers mean nothing by themselves; you have to let people experience it in a way that they enjoy. You might argue that they're crafting the world's most amazing space sim, and that to expect a more "enjoyable" experience is at odds with the core of what Elite is.
And that's a fine argument. Unless you want to people to actually PLAY IT.
Elite is so damn disrespectful of people's time. So. Disrespectful. Doing anything takes so much time. SO much time spent "playing" is literally watching clocks count; distances, drives charging, fuel gauges charging, whatever. Elite always comes down to time, it's what the game asks of you, punishes you with, accidentally demands of you with it's archaic idiosyncrasies. And I can no longer justify this time because it is simply not enjoyable enough. I have other games that are just more rewarding to spend time with, not to mention other non-screen based pursuits.
Clearly I've had enough of Elite and need to take a very long break. But you know, I have no great hope that the game will ever become something that appeals to me, now that I understand why it is I feel I can't play it. I think it will never embrace the fact that people want to enjoy it, I think FD are locked on a crazy path and do not understand that their game is terribly neglecting the human element. Since I first bought it, they have spent so much time and effort on it yet added so, so very little that I actually enjoy.
And so it is with heavy heart that this Elite rated commander, who has spent so long playing this game, must condemn Elite, having realized it for what it is and knowing deep down that he can never justify the time to spend on something so cold, mean and boring when there are so much better things to do.
I'm sorry for the rant, please understand it comes from love.
Elite. You MUST learn to respect people's time. You. Must.
