A Question for the Mega-Rich, Accomplished Veterans among you...

My recent few hundred hours has been on Engineering ships.
I have three ships that im happy enough to call my children.

1 for PvP, 1 for PVE and 1 kinda in the middle.

There is something satisfying about tweeking and building a ship, running trials and feeling satisfied that you've built a monster.
 
My recent few hundred hours has been on Engineering ships.
I have three ships that im happy enough to call my children.

1 for PvP, 1 for PVE and 1 kinda in the middle.

There is something satisfying about tweeking and building a ship, running trials and feeling satisfied that you've built a monster.

I managed to do that for the jump range etc for a few ships, and to fully engineer one ship, and then just got totally bored of the fact that I was still doing exactly what I was doing 18-24 months ago just for a roulette wheel to generated ill-considered, unbalanced, game-breaking improvements...

I wonder if the Thargoid related weapons will open up exciting new gameplay to upgrade them with new engineers... [where is it]
 
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I managed to do that for the jump range etc for a few ships, and to fully engineer one ship, and then just got totally bored of the fact that I was still doing exactly what I was doing 18-24 months ago just for a roulette wheel to generated ill-considered, unbalanced, game-breaking improvements...

I wonder if the Thargoid related weapons will open up exciting new gameplay to upgrade them with new engineers... [where is it]

There are some who think engineering is broken, boring and pure RNG.

There are others who dont.
 
I'm not really sure about the whole "wipe your save and start again" thing.

There's certainly a lot of stuff in ED that I wouldn't fancy doing all over again but I also feel like my character has "history" in the ED universe and I don't want to just erase that and start again.
I want to know that it's MY name on all those systems I discovered and it's MY reputation that makes different systems treat me in different ways.

Honestly, I don't think it really matters what you're doing in-game when you get tired of playing.
Last time I stopped, I was in the middle of engineering my Corvette, I had a bunch of missions underway and had big plans for what to do next.
Next day I just decided not to bother.
And then 3 months passed.

People accuse FDev of being "slow" to introduce new stuff to the game (the word "glacial" sometimes springs to mind) but they do keep introducing new things so, sooner or later, a player is going to hear about things that make them eager to jump back in and see what's going on.
And then, once you're back, you start to pick up where you left off and all of it is fun again, for a while.
 
Credit to ED and you. There aren't many games that would keep a player's interest for that long, so little wonder your interest is fading.

Have you thought about joining a group (clan)? Co-op play with others having their own game/roles/structure, etc. may revive your interest.
 
What keeps you going?

I come into a bit of a malaise with my ED experience of late. For context I've been plugging away since Beta. I'm Triple Elite. I've engineered every ship I give a damn about engineering to the nth degree. I've seen the sites galaxy wide. I suppose I'm goal driven in a game like this, and over time it's become harder and harder to find new things as checkboxes get ticked, and certainly spent the time with more experiential pursuits with months out exploring away from the bubble.

This isn't a gripe or complaint about the game, not at all, I adore this game but I'm digging for reasons to strap on the headset and jump in. The easy answer is to take a break, spent some time and come back when there's a patch, but the heart is still willing and looking for inspiration.

Some ideas I've been bouncing around internally ...
  • Finally get that CQC Elite squared away, match making makes this rather impractical.
  • Adopt BGS faction somewhere quiet on an edge of the bubble somewhere and start pursuing their interests.
  • Have an top tier engineered version of EVERY craft in the game, sounds totally pointless because I have *the* ship I want for each core role in Elite.
  • Head out to the core again hunting for Planetary Nebulae unknown to EDSM (my last trip I cataloged about 50 of 'em...).

I'm open... hungry for suggestions...

Sounds like you have beaten the game!

I imagine at your stage I will take a break until the next update. I can't see getting too focused on BGS, powerplay, attempting to find CQC etc to keep me amused. I like exploring but get the space madness after a few weeks in the black.

I MIGHT be ok with alternating exploration with PVP. That might be my eventual goal.
 
There are some who think engineering is broken, boring and pure RNG.

There are others who dont.

Put me in the former camp - I suspect NPCs might in that camp too, wondering why even now they still for some reason don't have access to the same engineered arsenal/mechanics as CMDRs? Must be down to the beautifully considered balancing of it all.
 
As a few other have said - for me (All engineers at G5, Elite Elite Pioneer, Duke, Admiral)... PowerPlay and specifically joining my power's Discord channel (Hudson in this case) is what keeps me interested - it is being part of that community with never-ending goals in BGS (to lower fortification triggers), fortifying our systems, undermining other powers and opposing their expansions - chasing down enemy CMDRs while they are trying to undermine/oppose our power's actions, scouting for nefarious activities, helping new recruits, designing new ship builds to help with wing actions - lots of never-ending great gameplay and a continuous stream of new friends all with similar causes and objectives - and "friendly" chat with those enemy players on open-discord channels etc...

Oh - and just started a second account to revisit the early-game (wow its easy now.... 2 weeks and I have 250M, a T9 python, FDL and exploration asp at 45LY range.. and am Expert/Entrepeneur/Pioneer) and 7 engineers... Wont bother with Fed/Imp ranks or the other engineers on this account tho - will move it to Colonia and go exploring, so have choice of Bubble PP or the black :)

Haven't even started with thargoids or other such antics yet - and have never been to Quince, Fehu, Robigo, Sothis, etc..
 
Put me in the former camp - I suspect NPCs might in that camp too, wondering why even now they still for some reason don't have access to the same engineered arsenal/mechanics as CMDRs? Must be down to the beautifully considered balancing of it all.

Strangely, there's always NPC ships lurking around the engineer bases too.
Maybe they're just delivering pizza, eh?
 
Have you thought about joining a group (clan)? Co-op play with others having their own game/roles/structure, etc. may revive your interest.

Sure. I've supported player factions with BGS machinations, Dangerous Games, a few dozen Fuel Rat rescues. And that's all fun stuff.

Large player groups (non toxic ones...) don't exist in the Australian timezone that I've been able to find, which is a shame. There's a reason downtime is at our 7pm after all :).
 
What keeps you going?

I come into a bit of a malaise with my ED experience of late. For context I've been plugging away since Beta. I'm Triple Elite. I've engineered every ship I give a damn about engineering to the nth degree. I've seen the sites galaxy wide. I suppose I'm goal driven in a game like this, and over time it's become harder and harder to find new things as checkboxes get ticked, and certainly spent the time with more experiential pursuits with months out exploring away from the bubble.

This isn't a gripe or complaint about the game, not at all, I adore this game but I'm digging for reasons to strap on the headset and jump in. The easy answer is to take a break, spent some time and come back when there's a patch, but the heart is still willing and looking for inspiration.

Some ideas I've been bouncing around internally ...
  • Finally get that CQC Elite squared away, match making makes this rather impractical.
  • Adopt BGS faction somewhere quiet on an edge of the bubble somewhere and start pursuing their interests.
  • Have an top tier engineered version of EVERY craft in the game, sounds totally pointless because I have *the* ship I want for each core role in Elite.
  • Head out to the core again hunting for Planetary Nebulae unknown to EDSM (my last trip I cataloged about 50 of 'em...).

I'm open... hungry for suggestions...

I have lived and breathed the BGS for almost as long as this game has been released. First helping the Empire and expanding loads of minor factions, then helping a PMF before finding religion and recruiting many others to our Independent direction following the Sacred Text of the Creator. For in his name we now as a PMF in our own right, spread the message of Sacra Oculus to many systems, making use of all our skills combined as a player group to work the BGS. It's not a wealth route but it is rewarding.
 
- Visiting Colonia twice a year and have created there a second life. (Very interesting to find ways to move ships and engineered loadouts there without spending a fortune)
- Pvp with friends in every week's community goal. (Lately switched to FA OFF which is a whole new dimension)
- Lately got our faction in game so.. BGS
- Going out exploring whenever i get bored in the bubble. (Usually goes with testing the little bit more jump range i sqeezed on conda)
- Coming back to bubble whenever i feel the need to see other people.
- Maintain and fly regularilly my favorite ships that are engineered for specific roles. (About a dozen ships)
- Salt in forum.
 
Is that approximated time played stat even accurate?

If so, how did you manage to make over 34000 mil in only 19 days and 5 hours played time despite having spent time to do 2000 jumps and detail-scan 1000 planets? Even Quince can't generate nearly that much.

I can't answer for the OP, but I believe it's fair to say that money making has been nerfed a lot since the early days of the game. When I joined the forum over two years ago, many commanders were pointing out that making credits by the ton was all too easy. Not so much exploits, more unbalanced game play when ED was still in the raw and big ships were within relatively easy reach of commanders who discovered these features. The game has morphed a lot since the early days.
 
Have a go at collecting all 101 Guardian Ruins data.
Find a Generation Ship without using the forums, youtube, or any other out-of-game source.
Explore an alien installation.
Host an event of your very own - I may kick off a public Poker Run in the very near future.
Adopt a new commander and train them.
Collect a full set of ships and engineer them all.
Preach the Gospel of RNGesus outside of CG Stations.
 
Well, you could try what I do every so often. Head into Starter Space with a decent load of cargo, dock at a Station, talk to new Players, get them to join a Wing with you (I only issue Wing Invites to new Players in Sidewinders, as I feel that they are most in need of assistance), and then sell the cargo (they will then get a Trade Dividend worth 5% of your profit margin; last time I did this in my Anaconda with 384 tonnes Performance Enhancers the Wingmen got over 24Kcr each). Answer questions, offer advise (I ALWAYS explain things such as REBUY, fuel scooping, exploring, and making sure your sensors have completed a scan BEFORE opening fire!), and be a mentor.
 
Put me in the former camp - I suspect NPCs might in that camp too, wondering why even now they still for some reason don't have access to the same engineered arsenal/mechanics as CMDRs? Must be down to the beautifully considered balancing of it all.

They did once, But players where getting killed. People complained.

When i go up against an NPC Anaconda at Elite Level, i know what to expect and for that reason they are easy to farm. Engineering would have added some variety and surprise to the NPC behavior. But alas its not happening.

Players however are not so predictable, some are good pilots and others are just terrible. Its because of the Terrible players that NPC's need to be watered down, Predictable and homogeneous. A rank is an indicator of what to expect from an NPC and that NPC will perform as expected. clean.

However Engineered ships for players can give an edge to someone who knows what they are doing, The terrible pilots might stand up better against even the most 'aggressive' NPC's of Elite. Giving a boost to someone who is really having difficulty.

Players who dont find the NPC's a challenge have each other to fight (Griefers aside) PvP is an enjoyable area of Elite and if every ship was the sum predictable total of its stock module parts without engineer variation then even PvP would be Predictable and homogeneous. By adding layers to ship design and implimentation it creates levels of complexity to PvP combat that when invested in.... is enjoyable.

Yes PvP griefers can use their engineered mods to attack weaker players, But those weaker players would of been destroyed anyway without. But engineered shields can give the weaker player an edge and the time to escape, maybe even turn the tide if his ship is engineered better than the attacker.

Engineering is an arms race where PvP is concerned, Its not difficult to understand and impliment if you take the time to find out how the system works and what the different stats mean. Its not Pure RNG, You can get the builds you want if you work towards them, you just have to know what you are doing. Most people just roll..... see a single stat improve and ignore the rest but everything about that roll needs to be taken into consideration against other global attributes of your ship. Most people dont even know what the Minimum/optimum/maximum Mass requirements are for shields or thrusters for example... They just see the multiplier go up and confirm the roll even though the ships mass just had 10 tons heaped upon it with a secondary effect. They then go out fill up with cargo and then wonder why their ship moves like a snail and their shields dropped so fast when attacked.

Players need to get wise and stop blaming eveything else.
 
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Ive been playing since the beginning, reset one account that was Elite/Tycoon/Ranger and im now Elite/Elite/Ranger. Got a heavily engineered fleet of ships based at Shinrarta and a few quid in the bank.

Virtual Reality is the main reason i continue to play. Elite in VR is a sublime experience and if you havent yet...just do it already.

I also love PvP and follow the CG Circus around the bubble looking for brawls.

Not to mention things are getting interesting in the Pleaides...

Totally agree with the VR comment.. never grow tired of gazing out of the cockpit window. :eek:
 
Is that approximated time played stat even accurate?

If so, how did you manage to make over 34000 mil in only 19 days and 5 hours played time despite having spent time to do 2000 jumps and detail-scan 1000 planets? Even Quince can't generate nearly that much.

It's accurate. A while back there was a conversation on how much you can earn per hour.. I think we worked out that on average someone :x managed to cheese on average 60 (or thereabouts) mil per hour (average) for the entire time they had been playing. tbh 60m / hour is chicken feed in some of the gold rushes in ED history. My own story is that I took a lot of time off, burned out between gold rushes... Been playing since... well.. back since beta really. Join up in some notable community goldmines from the start, like rare trading (no cap on inventory), 'seeking luxuries', Sothis, skimmers, with shu-babasi, 100+ mission stacks, then lately with Quince.. and all you have is nothing but concentrated income in it's most pure form. At the time the screen grab was taken, I had pretty much had enough. Now I'm LY's away in some nebula in the middle of nowhere actually HAVING FUN!.

I don't recommend it (playing these gold rushes). Makes your eyes bleed. Burns you out quicker than anything (with the exception of RNGineers). Makes you miserable... but it pays... Who gets out of bed these days for less than 1m / minute anyway? :S [knocked out]


EDIT: actually - I found this screenshot from some time early 2016

06rlehgc94udso3zg.jpg


Seems I slowed down A LOT in the last year. Just can't beat the old-skool money makers..
 
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