Citation/source?
Steam figures seem to be showing a continued down trend to mirror/match previous lows? - http://steamcharts.com/app/359320#All
But I guess a continous inrush could be filling an continuous outrush?
Last edited:
News Elite Dangerous 2.4 - The Return
- Thread starter Edward Lewis
- Start date
Citation/source?
Steam figures seem to be showing a continued down trend to mirror/match previous lows? - http://steamcharts.com/app/359320#All
But I guess a continous inrush could be filling an continuous outrush?
Okay, maybe 'inrush' was an exaggeration. But my point was that clearly not everyone has this problem with it, and like I said, it just makes the game more realistic in my opinion.
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Not a citation or source as such - but Steam charts cannot tell us anything about player numbers on either of the consoles, or for players on PC/Mac that only use the Frontier launcher and not Steam.
Go and look at the thread where people are saying what they've been doing for the past 24hrs... Note how many are things along the lines of, "spent hours (grinding) upgrading module X", or "did a CG", or "farmed a RES" etc.
Look at each week's news update email from FD. Look at what's in it? The same type of news stories. The same rather thin CGs. Someone's new lego model. A new colour of shoes to equip your holo-me with.
Given all the recent new versions, why aren't more interesting things being reported by CMDRs?:-
Contact by an old NPC aquaintence I'd done some work for in the past, who wanted his family escorted from system X to Y. I asked a friend to help and the two of us escorted the NPC's family convoy. They were interdicted at one point and the two of us, along with 2 NPC fighters we hired (who we could give tactical commands to) had to defend the convoy from some assassins. We managed to get all but one of the ships away and to safety. We then went back to that ships and protected it for 10 minutes while ships shuttled in repairs for it.
Or:-
Wanted to improve my Imperial Navy rank so took an hour long tour of duty at a capital ship. At one point we found a nest of enemy ships and we had to go in and first destroy the ships defending the location, and then had to torpedo the asteroid base they were using. I had a wing of 3 NPC ships to control!
Am I the only one who raises an eyebrow how after two years of updates, people are seemingly pleased with the fact that their gameplay is nigh on the same and in reality no deeper than two years ago? Look at ED's livestream each week... At best after a new version is released he might get one (possibly two) livestreams of content out of the new gameplay, before then resorting to CQC or back to doing two year old trading gameplay. eg: Mutli-crew isn't even talked about now! Great investment!
I'm having trouble understanding your point? You're suggesting not having much (more) variety added for exploration in 2+ years is good? You don't think if FD had added in comets, aurora borealis, electrical storms, huge geysers (km high), common envelopes around binary/trinary stars, huge coronal ejections, exploration drones to control, procedural distributions maps for materials/elements in rings and on surface? etc etc, exploration might not be more interesting/rewarding?
Apologies if I've misunderstood your point?!
Last edited:
I still utterly adore this game and instantly want to defend it again posts like this but I have to say that Neil makes a pretty good point here. The only thing I will say is that, although there are lots of things to do (missions, CG's, credit/rank/rep goals, BGS, PowerPlay, etc) that are provided by the game itself (and whose achievment does indeed make for rather weak news stories), I view the game more as a galactic sandbox in which it is possible to create incredibly rich and detailed stories of ongoing adventure and achievement. You just need to apply a smidgen of RP and the galaxy comes alive.
This week I used the available intel to locate an independent system currently suffering a system wide outbreak of disease and, following a number of tip-offs, found myself 15kls out from the orbital plane where I was finally able to track down a quantity of Pharmaceutical Isolators, materials I've been hunting for some time now as they're needed (god knows why) by that mad scientist Prof' Palin in order to craft the grade 5 thruster upgrades I need before making another attempt at the Station Sprint Challenge over in the Okinura system. Alas I then had to put my plans for this challenge on hold as I caught wind of an intriguing Buckyball event in the Slink's Eye system which was attempting to test the security systems of the penal colonies on planets in three nearby systems including none other than the fabled Mitterand Hollow. I had to strip the Sans Serif (my racing iCourier) down to the bare essentials, even ripping out the standard fuel tank in favour of a half-size one, in order to get just enough jump range to complete the circuit with minimal jumps. After 5 days of intensive race action involving one lost ship (thank god for my Remlok) and over 5000cr in incurred speeding and perimiter infringement fines, I currently find myself in 4th place, awaiting the announcement of the final scores. It's been a hell of a week and I haven't even upgraded the Sans Serif to fully unleash her maximum racing potential yet. Oh, and here's some of the evidence I've submitted to the aforementioned penal colony security companies. My recommendation would be to erect a vertical landing cage (similar to the notorious "toast rack") around the pads of these settlements in order to prevent further unauthorised high speed landings.
[video=youtube_share;PMAlsNNuQYk]https://youtu.be/PMAlsNNuQYk[/video]
o7
Duckfather's Avatar
I for one welcome our Ammonia based insectoid overlords and shall be ready to shop my fellow Commanders at the earliest opportunity
Duckfather
Legend. This made my read.
Sorry about the edit screwed up the post 1st time.
I for one welcome our Ammonia based insectoid overlords and shall be ready to shop my fellow Commanders at the earliest opportunity
Duckfather
Legend. This made my read.
Sorry about the edit screwed up the post 1st time.
Last edited:
FD said long ago that planets with atmo would not be included in Horizons but in a later 'season' or update.
Any news about 2.4 beta content?? If thargoids going online the release date, what are we going to test in 3 days?? Mail filter? Dunno if any of the devs have already said anything about the beta content. Love the game, but seems pretty boring now, and with Star Citizen 3.0 in September a lot of people will leave if FD leaves us with no interesting content. Personally I dont care about Thargoids, just because I´m not a combat lover, I love exploring, but not THIS exploring (Fly planet surfaces waiting for a POI to appear). If FD dont bring me enough fun content in 2.4 I´m afraid I´ll leave the game for a while until they announce interesting content for non combat players. And no, I´m not going to explore the thargoid bases or the Ruins... That seems Elite Youtube Dangerous. If we hadn´t have this forum, a lot of people didnt know that bases, or ruins. I need ingame content, not Youtube content tha I´ll visit after someone discovered it.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Wasn't SC 3.0 supposed to have been released in July?!
2.4 updates will be in the release notes when 2.4 is released to beta in 3 days time. There already have been some details released. For example, hull repair limpets, changes to comms UI, search and rescue.
2.4 updates will be in the release notes when 2.4 is released to beta in 3 days time. There already have been some details released. For example, hull repair limpets, changes to comms UI, search and rescue.
Last edited:
Thanks! Tomorrow we´ll see
SC 3.0 was delayed to September due to bug fixing, let see what they have to show us on Gamescom, and FD on the Frontier Show of course
. As a gamer I´ll play both if are good enough Same as usual. Came to check if anything had improved after, what, 1.5 years? and from what I read ED is still a stapled set of minigames rather than a living universe.
Any improvement is only done in the scope of a minigame instance. I do have to wonder how much of this has to do with how the product is managed and how much with inherent limitations of the game engine architecture that cannot be fixed without expensive (thus won't) rewrites.
Any improvement is only done in the scope of a minigame instance. I do have to wonder how much of this has to do with how the product is managed and how much with inherent limitations of the game engine architecture that cannot be fixed without expensive (thus won't) rewrites.
Try the ED Groups section?
Frontier are more in business of providing tools. Though there are rumours of CG events weekly and colonisations; One remote base and as people expand into, risk of conflict in the Pleiades where reports of contact with an alien species - if true - for me means new technologies people might be willing to fight over.
Example (spoiler); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abaiGdrnC38
Last edited:
But if such colonisations are simply driven by CGs (2+ yr old gameplay) where CMDRs have a bar chart to show how much of X they've delivered to Y, is that really what we expect after nearly 3 years? It sounds exciting, colonisation... But the mechanics behind it?
And with the approaching conflict with The Thargoids? What mechanics have been added to the game to make the most of this moment? There's been release after release, and instead of adding mechanics which could be utilised to make such a conflict more interesting... we've had things like CQC and Multi-Crew introduced... So in a couple of months when CMDRs are flying around, being randomly interdicted or entering rebadged CZs, will they wonder, really? After three years this is the best mechanics we can hope for?
ps: Fingers cross FD have sneaked some interesting mechanic into 2.4 without us knowing... Because as it stands I just cannot see how a conflict with an alien race will be particularly interesting for players.
Exactly !!
I was perhaps naively thinking that BETA testers would be testing these new weapons of mass destruction or game mechanics or interactions ... As for the repair limpet - I assumed from the publicity shots and live streams, that the Repair limpet would be crawling around your ship with hand tools and controllable arms and lasers for 'actually' repairing things on my ships.
Say bending bent bits of metal back into shape
Repair Limpet could be up-gradable at the engineers
Repair Limpet needs fuel for example
Repair Limpet animation is beautifully crafted and looks amazing - but NO it's just ANOTHER limpet.
I wanted a device which I had to manually enter and control to perform repairs.
I am so disappointed with that repair limpet. Honestly FDev - w t actual f ?
Last edited:
Yeah that would be pretty cool .. more R2D2 astro-droid you're talking? Though I think I <definitely> still prefer the art department working on the Thargs (content NeilF that's content) in terms of priorities as, even when playing the game, metal bending R2D2's would ge good to watch .. once .. but then it comes down to repair my ship (quickly as possible please), moving on .. So not sure all that animation's worth it, right exactly now.
Last edited:
Totally agree on the dev time being spent thing, but still, man oh man that limpet was a disappointment.
Story telling, and getting the feeling of achieving something, other than just credits in the bank - would be the best way to overhaul the mission system.
As said already, Mission givers need more life in them :
Faces on the mission board mean nothing to me. They look good, but still lifeless. They don't move or speak. There is no interaction or dialogue. I look at them and don't feel like there is any story behind that avatar. I know nothing of the person behind the face, I haven't spent hours dealing with them, listening to there voice, running missions for them. They haven't earned my respect, they haven't rewarded me with anything. They are just faces on the board.
First time entering a new starport or outpost :
queue video animation cut scene :
Avatar face - Welcome to starport X I am commander Y
Goto my colony on planet alpha who will assist you further
Running missions for the colony on planet alpha unlocks the outpost near planet beta
Whilst running these missions, you get to learn about the Starport commander Y
Once you climb the ranks high enough, you can deal with commander Y
By which time, you feel like you know commander Y inside out
Commander Y missions are the real juicy ones, the ones that pay out big time
Commander Y missions could lead to awesome discoveries around the verse which are locked until you have completed the above missions.
feeling of achieving something in game ....
Once you have done all the missions in that system, and you thoroughly understand who commander Y is and all about that system, you could move on to somewhere else and learn about other commanders around the galaxy. You might even learn of something strange lurking out in the far reaches of space. A whisper, a strange 'thing' which would lead you on a REAL exploration story. Getting to know commanders at starports and outposts all over the galaxy to gain information which leads you ever close to da da dah ......
... , I think I might have just created another grind wall ... hmm, well at least that would feel like I am achieving something and getting to know the commander behind the face on the mission board and feel loyalty to a system or location in the galaxy.
NO randomness, just plain old fashioned good story telling and game play.
Also, this could be done on an algorithm bases, after 3 months or so the missions change in that system or better still the BGS affects the commander Y in control of that system and then the missions change to his storyline -- I had hoped that PowerPlay would be like that, but no ...
Story telling, and getting the feeling of achieving something, other than just credits in the bank - would be the best way to overhaul the mission system.
As said already, Mission givers need more life in them :
Faces on the mission board mean nothing to me. They look good, but still lifeless. They don't move or speak. There is no interaction or dialogue. I look at them and don't feel like there is any story behind that avatar. I know nothing of the person behind the face, I haven't spent hours dealing with them, listening to there voice, running missions for them. They haven't earned my respect, they haven't rewarded me with anything. They are just faces on the board.
First time entering a new starport or outpost :
queue video animation cut scene :
Avatar face - Welcome to starport X I am commander Y
Goto my colony on planet alpha who will assist you further
Running missions for the colony on planet alpha unlocks the outpost near planet beta
Whilst running these missions, you get to learn about the Starport commander Y
Once you climb the ranks high enough, you can deal with commander Y
By which time, you feel like you know commander Y inside out
Commander Y missions are the real juicy ones, the ones that pay out big time
Commander Y missions could lead to awesome discoveries around the verse which are locked until you have completed the above missions.
feeling of achieving something in game ....
Once you have done all the missions in that system, and you thoroughly understand who commander Y is and all about that system, you could move on to somewhere else and learn about other commanders around the galaxy. You might even learn of something strange lurking out in the far reaches of space. A whisper, a strange 'thing' which would lead you on a REAL exploration story. Getting to know commanders at starports and outposts all over the galaxy to gain information which leads you ever close to da da dah ......
... , I think I might have just created another grind wall ... hmm, well at least that would feel like I am achieving something and getting to know the commander behind the face on the mission board and feel loyalty to a system or location in the galaxy.
NO randomness, just plain old fashioned good story telling and game play.
Also, this could be done on an algorithm bases, after 3 months or so the missions change in that system or better still the BGS affects the commander Y in control of that system and then the missions change to his storyline -- I had hoped that PowerPlay would be like that, but no ...
I think I see how this is going to go. Instead of improving the mechanics of exploration and adding more depth and taking advantage of the 400 billion star systems in the game, FD chooses to focus on the same 1000 or so systems and the same basic mechanic. Grind materials, get random quality weapons and equipment, shoot NPCs, and repeat. But this time it'll be different because it's the Thargoids, right? Wrong, we've seen this before. Remember when engineers was introduced and we were given NPCs with engineered ships that were tougher than anything we dealt with before? Well, what they're proposing now will meet with the same fate as those super-NPCs. People won't be ready and will complain that the Thargoids are too hard. FD will nerf the Thargoids and refund rebuys, then after a year when everyone's ships are engineered, they'll complain that the Thargoids are "too easy." The Thargoids will be considered just another NPC. If the engineered NPC example is not enough, there's also the time when they introduced Capital ships. They were supposed to be this fortress that only a wing could take on. Well, people complained about those too and they were nerfed to where you can take one out single handed.
In my opinion, FD are focusing on the wrong aspects of the game. The one thing that drew me to Elite: Dangerous was the fact that it was a full scale representation of the Milky Way. Roughly all of the stars are represented and you can travel (theoretically) to all of them. That is what sets this game apart from many others, and that is what FD should be focusing on adding depth to. Where is the system map orrery view? Where is the ability to land on atmospheric planets? Where are the exotic Earth-like planets? Where is the improved scanning equipment to help solve the mysteries of the universe? Instead all we can do is jump from system to system, look at things, and then move on. For those that like to take pictures, this is great. For those who actually want to explore, it's very shallow gameplay.
The prospect of this being a story driven update does hold some promise, but I won't hold my breath.
In my opinion, FD are focusing on the wrong aspects of the game. The one thing that drew me to Elite: Dangerous was the fact that it was a full scale representation of the Milky Way. Roughly all of the stars are represented and you can travel (theoretically) to all of them. That is what sets this game apart from many others, and that is what FD should be focusing on adding depth to. Where is the system map orrery view? Where is the ability to land on atmospheric planets? Where are the exotic Earth-like planets? Where is the improved scanning equipment to help solve the mysteries of the universe? Instead all we can do is jump from system to system, look at things, and then move on. For those that like to take pictures, this is great. For those who actually want to explore, it's very shallow gameplay.
The prospect of this being a story driven update does hold some promise, but I won't hold my breath.
The fear I have is ... " this story will evolve over many months, not all content will be in the release of 2.4 "
When 2.4 drops we won't have all the Thargoid game content. We will be slowly drip fed bits of the story. I'm sure in the small print, it reads, more updates and downtime and BETA testing over the next 6-7 months to get something that was supposed to be in 2.4 ...
Exploring the galaxy is what this game was supposed to be about back in the kick-starter days. It feels like someone high up in Frontier Developments, who is leading the development of the game, likes combat. Likes to shoot things, has no interest in the galaxy or stars or nebula or exploration or story telling. 3 years into the development and only now are we getting chained missions aka a little story telling ....
It seems like destroying each other and an alien race is high on the agenda.
Maybe I should have waited to purchase Elite Dangerous 5.0 - RTM
When 2.4 drops we won't have all the Thargoid game content. We will be slowly drip fed bits of the story. I'm sure in the small print, it reads, more updates and downtime and BETA testing over the next 6-7 months to get something that was supposed to be in 2.4 ...
Exploring the galaxy is what this game was supposed to be about back in the kick-starter days. It feels like someone high up in Frontier Developments, who is leading the development of the game, likes combat. Likes to shoot things, has no interest in the galaxy or stars or nebula or exploration or story telling. 3 years into the development and only now are we getting chained missions aka a little story telling ....
It seems like destroying each other and an alien race is high on the agenda.
Maybe I should have waited to purchase Elite Dangerous 5.0 - RTM