The Console Is Not Your Enemy

[Frank]

Hey Geraldine! We had MIDI ports

A hearty welcome to all our Playstation players reading this thread. We might never be able to meet up out in the black, but we can share the same community goals.

I look forward to hearing all about your adventures on this forum.

As for the whole "My PC is better than your console" argument. Well, probably in my case I wouldn't like to call it. I know computer hardware is always getting better and cheaper, but then consoles are just so much more convenient.

For me it's a nostalgia thing. The original Elite was released on a gazillion different platforms. It's nice to see its descendant spreading itself around a bit.

 

[verminstar]

Gotta ask... why all the beige then?

That was explained as an unintended side effect...to the pc code which was then passed along to consoles.

Not the other way around ^

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Gotta ask... why all the beige then?

Also, all the salt mined from the forums was used to salt these planets, leaving then as barren beige wastelands.

 

[Old Duck]

A hearty welcome to all our Playstation players reading this thread. We might never be able to meet up out in the black, but we can share the same community goals.

I look forward to hearing all about your adventures on this forum.

Thank you!

As for the whole "My PC is better than your console" argument. Well, probably in my case I wouldn't like to call it. I know computer hardware is always getting better and cheaper, but then consoles are just so much more convenient.

I'm the first to admit that the typical PC gamer's rig is nicer than my console. Considering how much more $$$ you spent, it sure better be!

As a console gamer, my hope is that Frontier efficiently and effectively utilizes every single hertz and flop and byte of RAM at their disposal to make ED the best looking game and fully realized (ie - "complex") game it can be on my hardware. I wish nothing less for my PC brothers and sisters, not even the grumpy ones. Like one of the mods said, we all want Elite to succeed.

 

[CMDR-AD]

Gotta ask... why all the beige then?

I have wondered about this point myself. I am beyond any doubt, there is *zero* chance that this change was due to any console or PC limitations. The color palette of a texture set, or a light source color, cannot be a performance question. Color intensity and variety on ice worlds demonstrate this to me, beyond any thing else.

So that leaves either a design choice, or an issue with the technical implementation (bug).

I haven't owned an Anaconda in a year or more, but the screenshots I've seen posted remind me of the same thing the Asp used to suffer from. Sometimes it had horrible over-brightness, the worst being in those white luxury stations. That was a bug, and did get fixed.

The detail textures to prevent the surfaces looking too "plasticy", again I doubt those can be a huge technical issue, they are everywhere else in other ship cockpits. They may even still be in the Anaconda, but not rendering correctly, along with the other shader weirdness.

At the outside, perhaps the Anaconda cockpit's cleaner look was a design choice (like the beige) made during the cockpit rebuild for Multi-crew. While the excess brightness would then be correctly identified/fixed as a bug, the cleaner look would not be so. Similar to the changes to the FAS cockpit over the last few patches, changed textures, colors, and most recently now apparently some added detail parts.

Hard to be sure what was intended, versus what we now see. They didn't post any development update screenshots, so who knows.

If either of these issues is due to any kind of technical restraint requirements, I'd be truly shocked.

 

[Ignition]

Elite is a 1 button point and wait game so no need to dumb it down even more because its already at the bottom.

The game is built with simplistic mechanics so it can be played on consoles.

With the actual mechanics it would be even possible to play on a phone.

 

[space pilot]

If you're a smart PC gamer, consoles are definitely your enemy. Multiplatform games cost many times more to develop than PC games in the 90s did, and they can't afford to appeal only to smart people. The problem is that it's usually a choice between smart people and most people, and they definitely choose most people.

 

[RamirezKurita]

Elite is a 1 button point and wait game so no need to dumb it down even more because its already at the bottom.

The game is built with simplistic mechanics so it can be played on consoles.

With the actual mechanics it would be even possible to play on a phone.

Interface mechanics ≠ overall gameplay mechanics. Which I agree the overall game needs additional depth which likely can only be added through complexity, this is not really related to issues regarding the in-game interface. Look at playing the real-world stock markets, they boil down to a "buy" button and a "sell" button, yet they are pretty complicated as they operate depending on so many other systems that all have to be accounted for.

One of the main accusations for the "dumbing down" on consoles is the lack of backend mechanics that provide depth and require significant thought on the players' part, with a focus on simplistic in-the-moment gameplay. This has nothing to do with a reasonable interface, particularly as even PC users can opt to use input devices other than mouse & keyboard. In fact, aiming for an interface that can be operated by a variety of input devices is a good thing, providing it doesn't limit the overall depth of the game.

 

[AcademicDust894]

As a console gamer, my hope is that Frontier efficiently and effectively utilizes every single hertz and flop and byte of RAM at their disposal to make ED the best looking game and fully realized (ie - "complex") game it can be on my hardware. I wish nothing less for my PC brothers and sisters, not even the grumpy ones. Like one of the mods said, we all want Elite to succeed.

Don't worry! I was a PC gamer for many many years & what Frontier have done with Elite on the Xbox is something they should be applauded for. You wont be disappointed.

 

[okiimatsu]

Don't worry Old Duck. I don't think they could possibly make it any more bare bones than the current jump and honk. But you have a right to be worried, games these days have been dumbed down even if they weren't going on consoles.

Ya the casuals and the consoles have stifled this games progression form the start. This place is hilarious.

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

It's your privilege to refuse to believe anything that is told to you by someone who does actually know what they are talking about, like Frontier.

I'll make this point now: Provocative posts based on platform differences are going to be robustly dealt with by the moderation team. This is a GAME forum, not a hardware boxing ring.

Yes it's My privilege that i've been using for a while!


"I'll make this point now: Provocative posts based on platform differences are going to be robustly dealt with by the moderation team."


Where did I have been provocative Mr. Moderator? Design is applied where design is due, that's a fact, and that's all i have said, and you cant simply tell me that a keyboard(104 keys) and a mouse, or a stick with more than 30 buttons, are not dumbed down by a console that forces you to design a game for a 10 button game-pad, that will never EVER be truth for any game.


" This is a GAME forum, not a hardware boxing ring. "


Yes, and that's why I'm concerned about the game's future, i don't have anything against people who play on consoles, I just don't want the game to be hold back by it.

Now if you don't have anything other than keeping threatening me I'd like to continue with my day.

 

[starman]

Star Citizen Arma 3 Total War ... realistic flight sticks modding.

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

Do you mean the planets? Not sure if you noticed but dirt is kinda beige, and most planets are dirty rocks

FWIW. The palette change was explained a while back as the planets were adjusted to better reflect their chemical composition.

Yes I'm with you on that , how can a planet be green if they are made out of ROCK or ICE?! but I still think that metal rich bodies still need some extra color. since the planets are made out of metals that can have very distinguishing colors. At least a more non uniform colors for metal deposits (way more than the game already have, and not just ONE color!)

 

[Deadspin]

They can actually say that, but i don't actually believe. It's a simple question of logic. I Don't care about graphics, lets be straight here, my problem with consoles is the fact that they remove complexity in game mechanics, we cannon have much mouse interaction because of Consoles, so we cant have complex menus, Withouth complex menus task are dumbed down so it does not become a complex situation for Xbox players.

Greedy brings up an interesting thought here. If we're stuck with adaptations for consoles and don't know it, could that explain why Frontier has never gone beyond the two fire buttons? Lord knows a lot of us would like a lot more than 2 buttons to fire with.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Star Citizen Arma 3 Total War ... realistic flight sticks modding.

SC, Arma 3, and Total War can all be played using a gamepad.
Admittedly, Aiming in Arma 3, and battles Total War are easier with a mouse, but it's still entirely possible.

Not sure if the consoles could handle the CPU load on Arma 3 though? It's very CPU intense.

 

[Old Duck]

Gotta ask... why all the beige then?

It's an homage to the Commodore 64, the best hardware to play the original Elite on. Now that might start a flamewar!

 

[Deadspin]

SC, Arma 3, and Total War can all be played using a gamepad.
Admittedly, Aiming in Arma 3, and battles Total War are easier with a mouse, but it's still entirely possible.

Not sure if the consoles could handle the CPU load on Arma 3 though? It's very CPU intense.

They can get close.. The company that broke off from Bohemia after making the original ARMA has made some console versions of the game but they were very lackluster. (Operation Dragon Rising)

Even high end PCs have troubles with ARMA because the engine is a mess and bottlenecks heavily on the CPU while barely utilizing the GPU. I blame Bohemia and government contracts for designing for .gov training computers.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

It's an homage to the Commodore 64, the best hardware to play the original Elite on. Now that might start a flamewar!

Yay for the beige Commadore 64!

That's where I got my first Elite experience.

I still have no clue of that fell in to the category of console or PC...

- - - Updated - - -

They can get close.. The company that broke off from Bohemia after making the original ARMA has made some console versions of the game but they were very lackluster. (Operation Dragon Rising)

Even high end PCs have troubles with ARMA because the engine is a mess and bottlenecks heavily on the CPU while barely utilizing the GPU. I blame Bohemia and government contracts for designing for .gov training computers.

I played OFP Dragon Rising. It was very terrible. Lol

Isn't the Arma engine (or whatever it's called), like 20 years old or something?

It still almost identical to the original Operation Flashpoint, or whatever it was called. Just with adding bling.

 

[stormyuk]

I'm completely speculating, but I do have experience in software development. The assets for the PS4 should be very specific for that platform. Frontier has said they are supporting the Pro, so that means two copies of each asset (textures and 3D models), unless Frontier does some sort of "on the fly" resolution reduction.

Frontier have never actually said anything tangible about what they are doing with PS4 Pro. They have not confirmed 4K (of any sort on pro) or supersampling to 1080p or any real extra features just that they plan to support it, its another one of those no news, no info gigs they like.

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

SC, Arma 3, and Total War can all be played using a gamepad.
Admittedly, Aiming in Arma 3, and battles Total War are easier with a mouse, but it's still entirely possible.

Not sure if the consoles could handle the CPU load on Arma 3 though? It's very CPU intense.

It's just not possible to have ALL Arma 3 infantry movements in a Game pad. We have 6 moving speeds, 12 postures + leaning, head movement(alt), zeroing, weapons buntons e etc., map compass and yada yada yada...

Possible YES, usable no...

Just like that time when i put my X52 to play Star Fox 64...

- - - Updated - - -

They can get close.. The company that broke off from Bohemia after making the original ARMA has made some console versions of the game but they were very lackluster. (Operation Dragon Rising)

Even high end PCs have troubles with ARMA because the engine is a mess and bottlenecks heavily on the CPU while barely utilizing the GPU. I blame Bohemia and government contracts for designing for .gov training computers.

HAHAHA! yes Arma games are made to be playable even without GFX... Plus they have CPU intensity insanity happening in there... But on those MP game modes like wasteland , zombie stuff and life, most of the problem is BAD MADE scripts...

That's why i don't give up on my old i7 2700k