Why I think Elite Dangerous is going to dominate the Space MMO/Space Sim genre

[Agony_Aunt]

That is where I believe you are wrong.

It's not a competitor in the sense that it rivals what ED is doing, but more importantly it's a competitor for time - that's the only important thing here. Time. There are only so many hours in a day and each person only has a certain amount of free time to be filled with whatever they please - yes, you can easily split your time and play both (or more) but ultimately that is what each game is competing for .. your time.

Yup, its a competitor for time, but there again, so is every other game i have installed on my computer, and I don't think we are considering those.

Besides, i'm planning on getting NMS for the PS4 for me and the kids to play, so its going to be more of family activity. Daddy only time will remain ED time

And for the moment, yeah, if/when SC is released, things will need to be revisited. However, I currently am no aware of whether the state of the underworld is in an endothermic or exothermic state and what the forecast is for when hell will freeze over.

Besides, from what i see so far, SC is going to be a FPS with spaceships, whereas ED is a spaceship game that ultimately will have some FPS elements. So don't think SC will grab much attention in the long run for me.

 

[Hellhawk666]

ED didn't quite turn up to be what I thought it would be. It's missing way too many game elements and overall basic game design 101 aspects. So I've been looking for other space games for more than a year now. SC seems to be what I'm searching for but I hate the flight model.

I know what you mean. I've been enjoying testing out the recent SC builds - it has promise but at the moment you have to overlook the mountain of alpha bugs it carries on its back. The flight model is getting a bit better, but it's still a pain. I often play SC for a bit, get annoyed with the flight model etc and bail out to ED to enjoy flying around. Then inevitably I get bored with ED very quickly and turn to something else entirely for actual fun.

The Long Dark is my flavour of the month - great addictive little game, with gameplay that is beautifully balanced. Remains to be seen whether NMS takes pole position over everything else, but I'm hopeful.

 

[Mr T]

<snip>
Besides, from what i see so far, SC is going to be a FPS with spaceships, whereas ED is a spaceship game that ultimately will have some FPS elements. So don't think SC will grab much attention in the long run for me.

I agree with your assessment of how SC looks at the moment. Of course a lot will change before it officially goes live but FPS definitely seems to be the direction it's heading. As with most FPS' it's going to appeal more to those who are combat focused and have quick reflexes.

 

[ishish]

Well I guess the SC game has changed with the 3.0 demo reveal, and the NMS fail, although NMS is not a spacesim. But even though it failed it still sold very well. Also somebody has stated Elite Dangerous has sold 1.7 million copies in all platforms and that SC can't compete because it is a pc only game, but it already 1.4 million people who own the game and it is only on PC, and it hasn't even come out yet, plus SC 3.0 has changed the SC playing field, and if you go back year by year you can really see how much this game has advanced over the 4 years since it was announced I think. Also elite kinda flew under the radar and was considered a disappointment by a lot of people, and there is a huge disconnect between the player and the universe, it's just not the first space sim that comes to mind, and it is also considered a completed game. And my final point is I think we shouldn't be comparing No mans sky, SC, and elite to each other. No Mans sky isn't even a space sim it's a casual exploration game. SC and Elite are both space sims but they both have a very different approach on it. And it's not a competition, space games are currently a dead video game genre it's been more than a decade since a good space sim game has been released. So there is space to share in the market. So SC fans be happy that elite is there the be that gate way drug into the genre for people who haven't heard of SC, and elite fans be happy that SC is here because it brings so much more media attention to this genre meaning more space sim games will be made, and pray to God it does well, or else you'll have to wait 10 years for another one. So the question shouldn't be which one is going to "dominate" because there is nothing to really dominate, the question should be which game is going to push this genre of games the furthest, and in my opinion SC, the game with the most attention, hype, and detail at the moment will really bring this genre into being a more popular genre. And none of us old timers should forget Chris Robert's Freelancer am I right.

 

[milligna]

Or should forget that Chris Roberts' left Freelancer three years before it was released. A shame the fun game that resulted is attributed to him instead of the people that actually pulled it off!

 

[Zetta]

Well I guess the SC game has changed with the 3.0 demo reveal, and the NMS fail, although NMS is not a spacesim. But even though it failed it still sold very well. Also somebody has stated Elite Dangerous has sold 1.7 million copies in all platforms and that SC can't compete because it is a pc only game, but it already 1.4 million people who own the game and it is only on PC, and it hasn't even come out yet

Sorry but this is simply not true, they have 1.4 million forum accounts / free fly accounts / dupe accounts. It was confirmed by CIG not so long ago that they had 500,000 backers or so.

 

[lysan]

Well I guess the SC game has changed with the 3.0 demo reveal, and the NMS fail, although NMS is not a spacesim. But even though it failed it still sold very well. Also somebody has stated Elite Dangerous has sold 1.7 million copies in all platforms and that SC can't compete because it is a pc only game, but it already 1.4 million people who own the game and it is only on PC, and it hasn't even come out yet, plus SC 3.0 has changed the SC playing field, and if you go back year by year you can really see how much this game has advanced over the 4 years since it was announced I think. Also elite kinda flew under the radar and was considered a disappointment by a lot of people, and there is a huge disconnect between the player and the universe, it's just not the first space sim that comes to mind, and it is also considered a completed game. And my final point is I think we shouldn't be comparing No mans sky, SC, and elite to each other. No Mans sky isn't even a space sim it's a casual exploration game. SC and Elite are both space sims but they both have a very different approach on it. And it's not a competition, space games are currently a dead video game genre it's been more than a decade since a good space sim game has been released. So there is space to share in the market. So SC fans be happy that elite is there the be that gate way drug into the genre for people who haven't heard of SC, and elite fans be happy that SC is here because it brings so much more media attention to this genre meaning more space sim games will be made, and pray to God it does well, or else you'll have to wait 10 years for another one. So the question shouldn't be which one is going to "dominate" because there is nothing to really dominate, the question should be which game is going to push this genre of games the furthest, and in my opinion SC, the game with the most attention, hype, and detail at the moment will really bring this genre into being a more popular genre. And none of us old timers should forget Chris Robert's Freelancer am I right.

That is not correct, there are not 1.4 million backers that has been proven wrong, we simply don't know if its 500.000 or 700.000 but its nowhere near 1.4 MIL.

 

[Barking_Mad]

The Long Dark is my flavour of the month - great addictive little game, with gameplay that is beautifully balanced. Remains to be seen whether NMS takes pole position over everything else, but I'm hopeful.

On my selfish ED wishlist I hope that down the line Frontier allow players to survive on planets by crafting in a similar sort of fashion to The Long Dark. It does a great job of loneliness and the fear of dying. Combine that with bounty hunting missions on a planet where you have to hunt down a target on foot and I think FD might have a great reason for spacelegs.

 

[lysan]

On my selfish ED wishlist I hope that down the line Frontier allow players to survive on planets by crafting in a similar sort of fashion to The Long Dark. It does a great job of loneliness and the fear of dying. Combine that with bounty hunting missions on a planet where you have to hunt down a target on foot and I think FD might have a great reason for spacelegs.

Animal hunting in DayZ is some of my best moments, it will take to long to explain, but its pretty immersive, i hope the atmospheric worlds will be similar.

 

[Insomnia]

Since the Star Citizen demo at Gamescom, I think SC is on its way to dominate the majority of the market. NMS failed miserably IMO, and Elite Dangerous is taking a little too long to really excite the "masses".

Btw, no one should compare the sales between SC and ED as nobody knows exactly what has been sold. Some say ED sold 1.7 million copies (although some accounts definitely are alternate accounts for existing players). Others say 1.7 million "units" which means everything related to the actual ED brand, like game copies, paint jobs and merchandise.
I for one am super duper excited for SC after the magnificent 3.0 showcase, but I also know that the game is clumsy and inconvenient.
It's going to be a fantastic race against the clock and while I'm excited for SC, I think Elite Dangerous is also on its own path to achieve something special if not as spectacular like SC.

 

[GaryII]

Since the Star Citizen demo at Gamescom, I think SC is on its way to dominate the majority of the market. NMS failed miserably IMO, and Elite Dangerous is taking a little too long to really excite the "masses".

Maybe lets wait till SC comes out, currently there are too many similarities with NMS if we look at marketing and hype around it ...

 

[lysan]

Since the Star Citizen demo at Gamescom, I think SC is on its way to dominate the majority of the market. NMS failed miserably IMO, and Elite Dangerous is taking a little too long to really excite the "masses".

Btw, no one should compare the sales between SC and ED as nobody knows exactly what has been sold. Some say ED sold 1.7 million copies (although some accounts definitely are alternate accounts for existing players). Others say 1.7 million "units" which means everything related to the actual ED brand, like game copies, paint jobs and merchandise.
I for one am super duper excited for SC after the magnificent 3.0 showcase, but I also know that the game is clumsy and inconvenient.
It's going to be a fantastic race against the clock and while I'm excited for SC, I think Elite Dangerous is also on its own path to achieve something special if not as spectacular like SC.

Sorry but thats is your christmas elf talking, SC are way behind in many ways compared to ED, what they got are only the FPS and ED will catch up before SC even hit the golden releash.

let me predict that when ED implement the spaceleg addition, the sales will sky rocket, unless they screw it up, that is also a possibility

 

[Alien]

Let's not forget Frontier are experienced at space games and though Elite isn't perfect it's pretty incredible for a small company. Anyway preparing myself for the incoming hate but have a nice weekend everyone!

I don't disagree with your post at all, but I don't think saying "Frontier are experienced at space games" isn't entirely accurate. Elite Dangerous is only their third space sim game, the previous two being Frontier: Elite II and Frontier: First Encounters, and you can't compare those two to Elite Dangerous. Inbetween FFE and ED, Frontier made a rollercoaster management game, a Wallace & Gromit game, two platform games called Lostwinds, a pet game and zoo management game. Yes they developed Outsider, but then dropped it.

I'd also not underestimate Star Citizen. Us Elite fans would love to think Star Citizen is full of impossible promises and all the money in the world won't make that a working game, but the truth is that actually, Star Citizen is shaping up to be as good as, if not better than Elite (and not by much), but only if they can deliver all the things they are promising, and given how much money is being thrown at that game, you'd better believe it will.

 

[Marak]

My personal view is that Star Citizen will never officially release i.e "go Gold".

I think that it will go to Beta & keep improving over the years, but CR is such a perfectionist he will never be satisfied with what is released and hold off 'till he gets what is in his head - the perfect game.

And that will never happen.

Star citizen is going to be in a perpetual beta state until it stops making money.

There. I've said it now. That is my theory and I'm sticking to it.

(I also have a theory about the brontosaurus if you're interested).

 

[lysan]

I don't disagree with your post at all, but I don't think saying "Frontier are experienced at space games" isn't entirely accurate. Elite Dangerous is only their third space sim game, the previous two being Frontier: Elite II and Frontier: First Encounters, and you can't compare those two to Elite Dangerous. Inbetween FFE and ED, Frontier made a rollercoaster management game, a Wallace & Gromit game, two platform games called Lostwinds, a pet game and zoo management game. Yes they developed Outsider, but then dropped it.

I'd also not underestimate Star Citizen. Us Elite fans would love to think Star Citizen is full of impossible promises and all the money in the world won't make that a working game, but the truth is that actually, Star Citizen is shaping up to be as good as, if not better than Elite (and not by much), but only if they can deliver all the things they are promising, and given how much money is being thrown at that game, you'd better believe it will.

From a company point of view CIG the studio developing SC is as dubious as it can be, only the future will tell how it all ended out to be.

 

[1500]

My personal view is that Star Citizen will never officially release i.e "go Gold".

I think that it will go to Beta & keep improving over the years, but CR is such a perfectionist he will never be satisfied with what is released and hold off 'till he gets what is in his head - the perfect game.

And that will never happen.

Star citizen is going to be in a perpetual beta state until it stops making money.

There. I've said it now. That is my theory and I'm sticking to it.

(I also have a theory about the brontosaurus if you're interested).

Have you played the PTU yet? CR is anything but a perfectionist. They have yet to release anything of good quality, and have to constantly re-due stuff because they screwed up the first time (not because they want to make it better, but because they didn't think of any of the systems when they made their ships). In fact CIG and CR have shown that they have very low standards, and are willing to push broken junky code out the door out the door just so they can show progress. Look at 2.0 release, it was crazy broken with most people unable to play for more then 5 min, all in the name of getting something anything out the door.

 

[Jezzah]

Have you played the PTU yet? CR is anything but a perfectionist. They have yet to release anything of good quality, and have to constantly re-due stuff because they screwed up the first time (not because they want to make it better, but because they didn't think of any of the systems when they made their ships). In fact CIG and CR have shown that they have very low standards, and are willing to push broken junky code out the door out the door just so they can show progress. Look at 2.0 release, it was crazy broken with most people unable to play for more then 5 min, all in the name of getting something anything out the door.

Have to agree here. I feel with SC and it's "open development" style they have had to get stuff out there to keep the money rolling in. Adding jpegs and more features as they went where it's now gotten beyond a critical mass of sorts. They simply will never be able to get this out the door beyond some sort of permanent beta state. What really annoys me is the fact the most basic of game play still seems to be eluding them especially the flight model which is horrendous beyond words in my opinion.

I contrast this with ED which has solid game play mechanics from the alpha onward. It's shallow game play but it can and IS being worked on and delivered regularly. The flight model is solid also which caps it off for me. We know they'll do the space legs thing ... again it'll likely be shallow to start with but it will be solid.

SC is a disaster. This coming from a long time backer of SC who's recently got a refund.

 

[CMDR_Orlando]

I think no game will "dominate" because simply there's nothing to "dominate". Every game will have it's share of hard-core players and the casual's that play something one week and then gravitate to other games and vice versa. SSD's are cheaper and cheaper, there's not a good reason to not have multiple good games installed and enjoy the most of them. That's what true gamers do, enjoy games instead of fighting fantasy e-wars.

 

[milligna]

Yeah, "true gamers" just enjoy games and never post obsessively defending the games they think they'll love's honor against perceived rivals on forums for hours a day. Those are the untrue gamers that do that.

 

[Jaiotu]

Yeah, "true gamers" just enjoy games and never post obsessively defending the games they think they'll love on forums for hours a day. Those are the untrue gamers that do that.

I'm detecting a 'no true Scotsman' logical fallacy somewhere.