Conveying this games "Story" through nothing but text is unacceptable.

[CMDR ColD_ZA]

FDEV do read the forum but i get the feeling they have just started ignoring the OP because every thread is either a whinge or a request for something he wants that's kinda trivial.

Just thinking right now i can remember the following posts from mr Mobius in the last 2 months:

Complaints about:

HUD Colour
Dialogue
Sounds in witch space
Crew members dying
NPC Names
Being locked out of his ship
Having to wrestle his controls
Ship kits looking hideous, ship kits blocking hardpoints and then complaining anyway that they don't block the turrets because they don't have collision
Dead NPCs still firing at him
The "same ships" interdicting him ruining his game.

Theres more but i cant remember them all. I can however remember in the last 2-3 months at LEAST THREE different posts complaining about the dialogue.

I guess the real question is, why are you even still playing a game you A: clearly dislike and B: keep saying is only getting worse :S.

You're using politician tactics, Discredit the post, not the poster

and looking at the list, most of those are valid concerns

HUD Colour - Not everone likes orange, or tampering with the game files and having your hostile targets showing up as blue on the radar
Dialogue - There needs to be some more, I'm tired of being "boiled up"
Sounds in witch space - Which space?
Crew members dying - IMO silly mechanic perpetuating more grind
NPC Names - Not really bothered, there is enough that I don't notice any repetition
Being locked out of his ship - Keys, we need keys! (dont know what you mean by this)
Having to wrestle his controls - Some like Sumo some like Hotas wrestling
Ship kits looking hideous, ship kits blocking hardpoints and then complaining anyway that they don't block the turrets because they don't have collision - Honestly personal preference here, I think some of them could do with some more, Finesse
Dead NPCs still firing at him - Elite: Zombie
The "same ships" interdicting him ruining his game. - FDL's chasing my 50ly asp system to system is a bit silly

 

[Ouberos]

Why?

The OP is complaining about portrayal of story through "only text".
Others have stepped in to discuss various other mechanisms of FD portraying story, which have included discussion of CGs. I'm raising experience-based concerns about why CGs are failing to develop player-driven story.
"The Hunt" was also a different way to progress this story with roleplayed characters. I've linked the reasons why that was a bad idea. Salome is a roleplayed character, and if the advertising for it is anything to go on, she'll be a central character to the upcoming event.

All of this is relevant to discussion of how FD pushes out storyline. I'm not sure how you're thinking that needs to be in a different thread?

But going on that, let's talk a bit more about how the mechanisms FD have in place fail to develop the story. You mentioned to try and "Get involved" with the story.

I was the first person to go against the grain and claim the UA signal was actually morse, much to people's disapproval. I then went on to prove it, create the UA Alphabet, and even submitted an article as a pledge to Patreus. But you think that's the story that got told?

Likewise I was one of the main antagonists for UA bombing Jacques before it's misjump, delivering just over 300 to the station. But again, you think that's what got traction?

If this is what happens when you try to get involved with the story and *aren't* part of a big group, then frankly, why bother getting involved at all? And that's without going near the fact the Ancient Ruins Ram Tah mission only got completed because of the buggy PG/Open instancing issues associated with it.

My point remains: OP is complaining about story development being text-only. Others have suggested the various other means FD have tried to address this. I'm posting my experiences as to why those means have failed to progress the story adequately, and some pretty obvious failings to accurately account for and develop it, notwithstanding the issues they seem to have managing CGs, nor their use of RP characters.. I'm not sure why my comments aren't relevant to this thread.

Ignoring the arguments back and forth for a moment, there's some good stuff in your post there. It would seem you have a story of your own, one that lots of people would like to lay claim to.

+1 rep from me.

 

[Noctover]

You're using politician tactics, Discredit the post, not the poster

and looking at the list, most of those are valid concerns

HUD Colour - Not everone likes orange, or tampering with the game files and having your hostile targets showing up as blue on the radar
Dialogue - There needs to be some more, I'm tired of being "boiled up"
Sounds in witch space - Which space?
Crew members dying - IMO silly mechanic perpetuating more grind
NPC Names - Not really bothered, there is enough that I don't notice any repetition
Being locked out of his ship - Keys, we need keys! (dont know what you mean by this)
Having to wrestle his controls - Some like Sumo some like Hotas wrestling
Ship kits looking hideous, ship kits blocking hardpoints and then complaining anyway that they don't block the turrets because they don't have collision - Honestly personal preference here, I think some of them could do with some more, Finesse
Dead NPCs still firing at him - Elite: Zombie
The "same ships" interdicting him ruining his game. - FDL's chasing my 50ly asp system to system is a bit silly

Haha, Vote me!

Point is, the author took a hit for no reason in the main post which made the post lose all credibility to me, some people just enjoy making posts about the bad stuff, or to cite a reaction.

I asked him why he plays because he obviously likes the game, he plays it a lot, so where are the posts on whats good/fun/enjoyable, why 3 posts in less months about the same issue?

 

[NMS]

This thread interests me greatly.

Firstly, and this is meant in no way to disrespect Drew for the work he has done.

No in-game story should be hidden behind a paywall. Lead up, history, that sort of thing isn't so bad I suppose, but when you mix that with actual gameplay, then I will always have an issue.

Back in the day, when gaming was a lot more innocent, I remember various games having their backstory released in a book that came free with the game in question. I still remember StarGlider, and the accompanying novel which was a great read, and a good way of explaining what you were doing in the game.

There was another one too... The Dark Wheel. Now.. I can't quite remember what game that came free with....

Anyway, today, you have to buy extra books to even have an inkling of what some aspects of the game is about. That's just not on. Frontier should have commissioned Drew to write these books and they definitely should have been part of the overall package. If Drew wants to write fanfiction which has no bearing on the game, then that's up to him - but to tie a game to something he has written AND expect players to pay for it just to understand what's actually happening in game... nope, sorry.

As for Galnet? Quite apart from the fact that it frequently breaks the 4th wall, which IMO is horrific, it simply doesn't work in a means to convey the Elite galaxy. Properly written story-based updates are hidden amongst cold procedurally generated stats. I heartily recommend Cmdr Wotherspoon's audio version of the News, it's great to listen to. However, this should be in game. There should be Breaking News articles that play either when you're flying about, or when you first log in, to alert you to new stuff going on. And I would like to HEAR these articles in game, on the 'official' GalNet News channel.

We should not have to wait for out-of-game newsletters to know what's going on. We need to have this IN-GAME, where it belongs. Hell, pay Wotherspoon to do what he does to play it in game - he is virtually the Voice of Galnet as it is.

As for other means of story delivery? Not every single player needs to visit the NPC to get the mission of the hour. That's not how a single world works - and we really don't want Elite to turn into Galaxy of Warcraft do we? Let individuals find the next piece of the puzzle. After all, the moniker 'your story' applies to everyone, and if your own personal story involves being the envoy of Humanity... then that's awesome.

The galaxy is too quiet. Pirates that menacingly threaten you by text? The only voices you hear are from station control? That seriously needs to change. I'm not suggesting voiceovers for everything... but I would like to HEAR people talking to me on occasion. Hell I would supply voiceovers for free (limited stock) if it meant bringing the galaxy more to life than it is now. Everything feels sterile, dead. There is so much life in Elite, but it's very shy.

Imagination only takes you so far.

Exactly. Any other space game, even much older than ED already has visual and audio communication, in addition to texts with NPCs as you fly. But ED remains stuck in time.

Because he paid for it, and wants it to improve, so giving his opinion on things he feels are broken/could be improved in the hope that someone might be listening and agree?

The real question is why does it bother you, and other people that players want to voice their opinion on a game?

Anyway, I'm gonna get into trouble for derailment as well :|

Be prepared, because that's how things work around here.

 

[CMDR ColD_ZA]

Haha, Vote me!

Point is, the author took a hit for no reason in the main post which made the post lose all credibility to me, some people just enjoy making posts about the bad stuff, or to cite a reaction.

I asked him why he plays because he obviously likes the game, he plays it a lot, so where are the posts on whats good/fun/enjoyable, why 3 posts in less months about the same issue?

Customer service 101 unfortunately,

A happy customer will be less likely to talk about their experience than an unhappy one.

The unhappy one will tell all their friends etc.

thats why when you go to yelp and those kind of sites you see nothing but complaints and whining.

think about it, when you buy a burger at McD's, and it was tasty and good... you're just gonna go, mmm, and go on with your day......

but had that burger been shoddy and nasty, you will feel the need to tell everyone, rent a plane and do sky writing etc.... Human Nature


/derailment, someone get the train marshall peoples here to lift this back on

 

[Noctover]

Customer service 101 unfortunately,

A happy customer will be less likely to talk about their experience than an unhappy one.

The unhappy one will tell all their friends etc.

thats why when you go to yelp and those kind of sites you see nothing but complaints and whining.

think about it, when you buy a burger at McD's, and it was tasty and good... you're just gonna go, mmm, and go on with your day......

but had that burger been shoddy and nasty, you will feel the need to tell everyone, rent a plane and do sky writing etc.... Human Nature


/derailment, someone get the train marshall peoples here to lift this back on

Ive actually said the exact same thing twice already. Happy customers are playing the game, unhappy ones playing the forum .

 

[Kaltern]

Ive actually said the exact same thing twice already. Happy customers are playing the game, unhappy ones playing the forum .

Both games are perfectly valid

Anyway, story. I propose we hire Patrick Stewart to be the voice of one of the leaders in the game, giving an opening history of the game so far, when you either start the game for the first time, of if you choose an option from the main menu. That would be awesome

 

[Noctover]

Both games are perfectly valid

Anyway, story. I propose we hire Patrick Stewart to be the voice of one of the leaders in the game, giving an opening history of the game so far, when you either start the game for the first time, of if you choose an option from the main menu. That would be awesome

Or just get Ant to do it!

His recent video actually about the Alien story made me realise how cleverly they've done it, and how smart a lot of the community are to figure it out.

 

[Han_Zen]

Or just get Ant to do it!

His recent video actually about the Alien story made me realise how cleverly they've done it, and how smart a lot of the community are to figure it out.

I don't think you have to read to get involved in that one much longer.[alien]

 

[Noctover]

I don't think you have to read to get involved in that one much longer.[alien]

If they turn out to be friendly, that'd be anti-climactic wouldn't it! All this hyperdiction because they wanted to share their recipe for banana bread.

 

[Leonick]

I think you're being a little unfair to FDev.
There is a beacon in the Prism system which describes what happened in the book at a high level (and there are lots of other beacons and comms satellites with bits of lore)
There are countless GalNet articles about Salomé and her antics over the last 3 years. (And all the other major characters in-game) and lots of background lore, information and story.
There have been a number of CGs related to this story.
The Formidine Rift mystery has been partially discovered, there are places you can go in-game to find out more, ditto barnacles, ditto alien ships, ditto guardian sites...

Unfortunately none of the ingame stuff is something you'll find without an online guide or stumbling in to it. The Galnet basically has the same issue. Without an external guide linking to important articles simply going through the whole thing (most of which is template based weekly updates or about generic community goals) is your best option...

With the way the story is being told the game should frankly have an official ingame wiki, would make it a lot easier to catch up or even keep up.

 

[Han_Zen]

Unfortunately none of the ingame stuff is something you'll find without an online guide or stumbling in to it. The Galnet basically has the same issue. Without an external guide linking to important articles simply going through the whole thing (most of which is template based weekly updates or about generic community goals) is your best option...

With the way the story is being told the game should frankly have an official ingame wiki, would make it a lot easier to catch up or even keep up.

Why do you want an in-game wiki? Internet is available all the time, whether you are playing or not. It's much more accessible.

Galnet is available both in and out of game. That's where the official in-game stuff is. Anything meta has to be kept out anyway.

 

[Kaltern]

Why do you want an in-game wiki? Internet is available all the time, whether you are playing or not. It's much more accessible.

Galnet is available both in and out of game. That's where the official in-game stuff is. Anything meta has to be kept out anyway.

Nothing you just said makes any actual sense.

 

[Han_Zen]

Nothing you just said makes any actual sense.

Would you like to see meta info from players inside the game?

 

[Crash1099]

Ok people who going to pay for them to make a series elite dangerous? What channel will it be on? Youtube?

Comic book?

 

[CmdrChorusLindarr]

Lol dunno, why call the author a schmuck when you don't even know him? I didn't attack the OP i listed a bunch of posts hes created in the past to make a point. I didnt stop him winging, i didnt stop him playing, so pretty much nothing in your post is correct. I did however ask him why he plays a game he seems to dislike which as you said, is my prerogative to ask.

But you're not really contributing anything to the discussion in this thread by doing so, and so are just derailing the thread.

 

[Justor]

1) They have written new lines of dialogue, maybe play the game more and whine a bit less?
2) If you dont like reading, thats cool.
3) I actually saw alien ships and alien ruins. Hint: they are not on the forum.

LOL Reading takes to much effort!

 

[Spacegamejunkie]

My Opinion, Agree to disagree?, OK either way. That said here it is,

I think that the answer to everything in this post could be achieved by having an On Board Computer Section added to the Modules section.
With the on board Computer you could have slots for in game wiki, news index, map locator ect.
Also a Text to Voice module that could read everything to you as you Travel via the Auto Navigator Module, while doing those long trips.

Story lines could start from a Single Beacon which could only be tripped by actually going to the location and starting it.
Sure the story would be the same for everyone, but as each player is different, the same story would be seen through different points of view,
and everyone could experience it for themselves, or not.

A module that added a Music player, Radio receiver, would allow reception of News both Local, system, and Galaxy Wide based on the channel selected.

So much Time is wasted in this Game, which could be used to add so much more to the Game, with this one addition.
I guess it comes down to:
A-"I like to do the same thing Over an Over, like a workout in a Gym"
OR
B-"I want to spend my time, learning, listening, and experiencing new stuff"

As for me, I am in the B crowd, give me stuff to do while traveling, and points I can jump into a Story Line from.

And Please give us late comers back the opportunity to do the Grind Defeating Tricks, the early players used to cut through the Grind Curve.

And that is my Opinion, Thanks for allowing me to express it here.

 

[Goose4291]

Why?

The OP is complaining about portrayal of story through "only text".
Others have stepped in to discuss various other mechanisms of FD portraying story, which have included discussion of CGs. I'm raising experience-based concerns about why CGs are failing to develop player-driven story.
"The Hunt" was also a different way to progress this story with roleplayed characters. I've linked the reasons why that was a bad idea. Salome is a roleplayed character, and if the advertising for it is anything to go on, she'll be a central character to the upcoming event.

All of this is relevant to discussion of how FD pushes out storyline. I'm not sure how you're thinking that needs to be in a different thread?

But going on that, let's talk a bit more about how the mechanisms FD have in place fail to develop the story. You mentioned to try and "Get involved" with the story.

I was the first person to go against the grain and claim the UA signal was actually morse, much to people's disapproval. I then went on to prove it, create the UA Alphabet, and even submitted an article as a pledge to Patreus. But you think that's the story that got told?

Likewise I was one of the main antagonists for UA bombing Jacques before it's misjump, delivering just over 300 to the station. But again, you think that's what got traction?

If this is what happens when you try to get involved with the story and *aren't* part of a big group, then frankly, why bother getting involved at all? And that's without going near the fact the Ancient Ruins Ram Tah mission only got completed because of the buggy PG/Open instancing issues associated with it.

My point remains: OP is complaining about story development being text-only. Others have suggested the various other means FD have tried to address this. I'm posting my experiences as to why those means have failed to progress the story adequately, and some pretty obvious failings to accurately account for and develop it, notwithstanding the issues they seem to have managing CGs, nor their use of RP characters.. I'm not sure why my comments aren't relevant to this thread.

You're completely right about this. I said it a while back in a thread, when all mechanics to advance the plot require dev intervention, only the chosen few are going to be allowed a place at that decision making table. All its going to do is disenfranchise the main playerbase and lead to those on the outside looking in who want to be involved feeling frustrated, particularly when the devs try to rewrite whats happened to maintain the status quo, like they did with Obsidian Orbital.

+1 rep from another Jacques deliverer.

 

[CMDR ColD_ZA]

Ok people who going to pay for them to make a series elite dangerous? What channel will it be on? Youtube?

Comic book?

I'd pay to get that kickstarted