I haven't played since 2015 and thinking of starting again, should I and is Horizons worth it?

I used to play since beta till about 2015 a few months after Powerplay came out and then stopped playing (although I kept up to date with the game since).

I stopped playing because I found the depth with the mission system to be really lackluster. I was really disappointed by Powerplay because I found it was a big missed opportunity of using "blazing your own trail" and player-driven potential for Powerplay to be akin to something like EVE's faction warfare system, but it wasn't anything new than from what I was already doing in the game to begin with like simply gathering coupons.

I spent most of my time doing missions, exploring, and engaging other players in Open play.

I didn't get Horizons upon release because I was bored with the game and rather wanted to wait until its feature set was complete and with the 2.4 it is at its end, which is why I want to get back into it.

However of course over time keeping up with the forum and such I've heard a lot of complaints about the engineers and such but I can't really relate or truly understand or form an opinion because I simply haven't played Horizons. I heard a lot about the grind and RNG but grind is one thing I don't really experience in games personally. I have played EVE for example since 2003 (still do), and I have never grinded in it, I play and do what I enjoy, I could grind and mine/do industrial stuff all the time for ISK, but instead I make ISK from the market with my orders by changing them 1-2 times a day, and the rest of the time I am either doing solo PvP, exploring and peeping through wormholes, or when necessary when there is a CTA/war campaign for my alliance engaging in fleets as needed. I have never grinded for ISK or anything. In regards to what I have read about the RNG/engineers I don't find myself as someone in this sort of game to min-max my ship obsessively and I usually fly a couple of different ships for different things, and I much prefer flying small and medium sized ships.

Basically I'm just asking as someone who used to play Elite since it was in beta till around September 2015, is Elite worth getting back into and purchasing Horizons at this point? Will I enjoy it?Things I want from Elite is more in depth missions themselves from the mission board and stumbling upon things in space, variety, as well as "designed" mission story arcs that has its own designed and written self contained (or linked) story, I don't want thinks like fancy cutscenes, but written narrative experiences I can also engage in within the sandbox. If you've ever played EVE, think of something like Sisters of EVE story arc, I'd love Elite to have lots of "small stories" and large story arcs within a sandbox to enjoy because I love both concepts. Stories can be designed with narratives you actively engage in that doesn't treat the world (and you) as some single entity that is engaging in it. The engineers are an example of the potential to have stories that are designed with mission objectives/scripted events that are important to you as a player personally even though many players engage with engineers, but from what I've read there isn't any grand stories/missions really associated with each engineer.

TL;DR I last played Elite since beta to September 2015. I stopped because I got bored with the lack of mission depth and variety, I primarily like to flight various small and medium sized ships instead of one or one large jack-of-all-trades ship. I like to do everything from time to time when I feel like it, I'm not just combat centric. I play Open only. As such I haven't bought or experienced Horizons at all. Should I get back in and buy Horizons?
 
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First get the latest Non-Horizons version (1.9) and play around with that. You still get a lot of improvements, passenger missions and some new ships.

If you like it, go for Horizons as the next year will have many improvements free for Horizons owners.

Also you can land on planets w/o atmosphere which will look even better next year.
 
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The game is certainly better as in beta. hard to tell if horizons is what for you. Sisters of arc , thats a long time ago lol , there are chain missions in elite now thats look like that if i remember correctly
 
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TL;DR I last played Elite since beta to September 2015. I stopped because I got bored with the lack of mission depth and variety, I primarily like to flight various small and medium sized ships instead of one or one large jack-of-all-trades ship. I like to do everything from time to time when I feel like it, I'm not just combat centric. I play Open only. As such I haven't bought or experienced Horizons at all. Should I get back in and buy Horizons?

The game is and always will be divisive. IMO a lot has changed in the early-mid game since then and Horizons does add a lot of variation to it. But I would say if you got bored the first time around, try to do something different this time.
 
I used to play since beta till about 2015 a few months after Powerplay came out and then stopped playing (although I kept up to date with the game since).

I stopped playing because I found the depth with the mission system to be really lackluster. I was really disappointed by Powerplay because I found it was a big missed opportunity of using "blazing your own trail" and player-driven potential for Powerplay to be akin to something like EVE's faction warfare system, but it wasn't anything new than from what I was already doing in the game to begin with like simply gathering coupons.

I spent most of my time doing missions, exploring, and engaging other players in Open play.

I didn't get Horizons upon release because I was bored with the game and rather wanted to wait until its feature set was complete and with the 2.4 it is at its end, which is why I want to get back into it.

However of course over time keeping up with the forum and such I've heard a lot of complaints about the engineers and such but I can't really relate or truly understand or form an opinion because I simply haven't played Horizons. I heard a lot about the grind and RNG but grind is one thing I don't really experience in games personally. I have played EVE for example since 2003 (still do), and I have never grinded in it, I play and do what I enjoy, I could grind and mine/do industrial stuff all the time for ISK, but instead I make ISK from the market with my orders by changing them 1-2 times a day, and the rest of the time I am either doing solo PvP, exploring and peeping through wormholes, or when necessary when there is a CTA/war campaign for my alliance engaging in fleets as needed. I have never grinded for ISK or anything. In regards to what I have read about the RNG/engineers I don't find myself as someone in this sort of game to min-max my ship obsessively and I usually fly a couple of different ships for different things, and I much prefer flying small and medium sized ships.

Basically I'm just asking as someone who used to play Elite since it was in beta till around September 2015, is Elite worth getting back into and purchasing Horizons at this point? Will I enjoy it?Things I want from Elite is more in depth missions themselves from the mission board and stumbling upon things in space, variety, as well as "designed" mission story arcs that has its own designed and written self contained (or linked) story, I don't want thinks like fancy cutscenes, but written narrative experiences I can also engage in within the sandbox. If you've ever played EVE, think of something like Sisters of EVE story arc, I'd love Elite to have lots of "small stories" and large story arcs within a sandbox to enjoy because I love both concepts. Stories can be designed with narratives you actively engage in that doesn't treat the world (and you) as some single entity that is engaging in it. The engineers are an example of the potential to have stories that are designed with mission objectives/scripted events that are important to you as a player personally even though many players engage with engineers, but from what I've read there isn't any grand stories/missions really associated with each engineer.

TL;DR I last played Elite since beta to September 2015. I stopped because I got bored with the lack of mission depth and variety, I primarily like to flight various small and medium sized ships instead of one or one large jack-of-all-trades ship. I like to do everything from time to time when I feel like it, I'm not just combat centric. I play Open only. As such I haven't bought or experienced Horizons at all. Should I get back in and buy Horizons?

Personally I have found horizons a superb update. Most I liked, some I didn't. Multicrew certainly did not add much of a game to me, but I like the rest. Also horizons will be getting a whole load more content/updates next year.

Definitely not.
Please explain why? It will help the original poster.
 
No Horizons, no engineers.

Even without PvP, that still means no upgraded thrusters or FSDs.

Even though I'm not always in the mood for planet landings, I know I wouldn't want to go back to basic ED only, for that reason alone.
 
I don't think you are going to find in depth missions on the mission board unless they stop procedurally generating them. The in depth story right now is the thargoids. There are more mission types than there were in early 2016 when I joined.

Flying in open without Horizons will be more challenging. Your a rated FDL will not have the DPS, shields, speed or maneuverability of an FDL that has been engineered.

The engineers can be a grind. You will gather materials for them as you play from day to day. Maybe not the ones you need for a specific upgrade, but if you vary your play enough you will get them.

The planetary landing and SRV missions would be new to you. Enough to make Horizons worth it? I just got Horizons and find them frustrating.
 
I would say, if you didnt like the game back then, things are more or less the same as it always have been, you either like it or you hate it..... Personally I have always liked elite so I still enjoy it,, if I was like you and didnt like it in 2015, I wouldnt like it more now...
 
TL;DR I last played Elite since beta to September 2015. I stopped because I got bored with the lack of mission depth and variety, I primarily like to flight various small and medium sized ships instead of one or one large jack-of-all-trades ship. I like to do everything from time to time when I feel like it, I'm not just combat centric. I play Open only. As such I haven't bought or experienced Horizons at all. Should I get back in and buy Horizons?

FA Off! FA Off!

Seriously. That tl;dr. YOU ARE A PERFECT PILOT for FA OFF!!! It transforms the game. It kills the grind. Horizons has meaning!

!Small to medium ships.! The only ships I fly. My sig ain't lying.

See my sig for the Discord of Newton's Gambit. CMDRs there will be only too happy to help get you started with FA Off.

Here is a super quick (zero polish) tutorial video to get you started - with some step by steps:
[video=youtube;sDalA5uu7x8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDalA5uu7x8[/video]


Here is a far more in-depth and professional set of videos if you get the buzz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zIXu52RnA&list=PLIQVVKXGd78AiYjhGUNZL9dFm23hYgc8R
 
I think there are a few story arcs you can find.

The guardians is actually really interesting, and will be expanded.

The INRA story is dark and just coming into the light.

Thargs are Thargs...who knows what kookiness that will bring.

The Formidine rift can still be revisited.

Tye generation ships haven't all been found yet.

Beyond is the free expansion for the next year or so for horizons users which promises to flesh out almost every angle of the game.

If you actually like the game? I say go for it.
 
Thanks for all the replies and the FA video (I did try exclusively flying like this back when Isinona did this videos. Think I may attempt so again).

I am not so much focused with only playing Elite every day but just the expectation that if I pick up Horizons that it will offer enough for me to keep my interested if I play every odd or so day for a few hours. I have never treated Elite as an MMO I dedicate 100% of my gaming time to but when I last played in beta to 2015 I pretty much experienced everything I could have (exhausted the depth/variety of missions for example) at that point. If Horizon can keep my coming back every odd day or so for a gaming session for a while then I am happy. I just don't want to exhaust for example the extent of the game' content very quickly.
 
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Thanks for all the replies and the FA video (I did try exclusively flying like this back when Isinona did this videos. Think I may attempt so again).

I am not so much focused with only playing Elite every day but just the expectation that if I pick up Horizons that it will offer enough for me to keep my interested if I play every odd or so day for a few hours. I have never treated Elite as an MMO I dedicate 100% of my gaming time to but when I last played in beta to 2015 I pretty much experienced everything I could have (exhausted the depth/variety of missions for example) at that point. If Horizon can keep my coming back every odd day or so for a gaming session for a while then I am happy. I just don't want to exhaust for example the extent of the game' content very quickly.

Happy to help you with your FA Off training. Ping me in game AWEMAN or DARTH NUMPTY and I will join you. Or say hello in Discord - see sig.
 
Well yea. Of course you should be playing - now with Horizons.
If you have fun then keep playing. If not try something else.
Hard to imagine though, if you have any interest in the subject at all, that you will not have a blast. I am.
 
No, wait a bit longer.
Stopped playing myself about a full year ago.

Missions are still all over the place from huge exploits to massive nerfs and npc AI is bugged out yet again (old ramming bug re-re-introduced).
'Season' 3 (beyond) should improve the base game a lot, so better go in after that instead of experiencing the same half-baked systems yet again.

Also, in Q1 next year, there will be a (massive in my opinion) graphics update for planetary surfaces. Think this alone is worth the wait if you like exploring.
Engineers will probably be improved as well, reducing a lot of the grind. And possibly some other little things although many will come long after Q1 2018.

So, unless you really want to experience the ongoing thargoids introduction yourself (outside of youtube), I see no reason to go back just yet.
Edit: forgot.. if/once you decide to start playing again, absolutely DO buy Horizons. This will give you both planetary landings/missions/engineers and includes a lot of the stuff coming next year.
 
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There are so many improvements promised for Horizons this year, you might as well buy it and enjoy the ride. Meanwhile, you will notice a lot has got a lot crisper ... voices as you approach space and planetary docks, messaging, improved missions (but they have their ups and downs as this game progresses lol), you might even enjoy the wings or multi crew aspects, and the engineers will offer you a challenge to improve your ships exploring some aspects of the game you might not have considered.

So I'd say now is the time to go for it.
 
I used to play since beta till about 2015 a few months after Powerplay came out and then stopped playing (although I kept up to date with the game since).

I stopped playing because I found the depth with the mission system to be really lackluster. I was really disappointed by Powerplay because I found it was a big missed opportunity of using "blazing your own trail" and player-driven potential for Powerplay to be akin to something like EVE's faction warfare system, but it wasn't anything new than from what I was already doing in the game to begin with like simply gathering coupons.

I spent most of my time doing missions, exploring, and engaging other players in Open play.

I didn't get Horizons upon release because I was bored with the game and rather wanted to wait until its feature set was complete and with the 2.4 it is at its end, which is why I want to get back into it.

However of course over time keeping up with the forum and such I've heard a lot of complaints about the engineers and such but I can't really relate or truly understand or form an opinion because I simply haven't played Horizons. I heard a lot about the grind and RNG but grind is one thing I don't really experience in games personally. I have played EVE for example since 2003 (still do), and I have never grinded in it, I play and do what I enjoy, I could grind and mine/do industrial stuff all the time for ISK, but instead I make ISK from the market with my orders by changing them 1-2 times a day, and the rest of the time I am either doing solo PvP, exploring and peeping through wormholes, or when necessary when there is a CTA/war campaign for my alliance engaging in fleets as needed. I have never grinded for ISK or anything. In regards to what I have read about the RNG/engineers I don't find myself as someone in this sort of game to min-max my ship obsessively and I usually fly a couple of different ships for different things, and I much prefer flying small and medium sized ships.

Basically I'm just asking as someone who used to play Elite since it was in beta till around September 2015, is Elite worth getting back into and purchasing Horizons at this point? Will I enjoy it?Things I want from Elite is more in depth missions themselves from the mission board and stumbling upon things in space, variety, as well as "designed" mission story arcs that has its own designed and written self contained (or linked) story, I don't want thinks like fancy cutscenes, but written narrative experiences I can also engage in within the sandbox. If you've ever played EVE, think of something like Sisters of EVE story arc, I'd love Elite to have lots of "small stories" and large story arcs within a sandbox to enjoy because I love both concepts. Stories can be designed with narratives you actively engage in that doesn't treat the world (and you) as some single entity that is engaging in it. The engineers are an example of the potential to have stories that are designed with mission objectives/scripted events that are important to you as a player personally even though many players engage with engineers, but from what I've read there isn't any grand stories/missions really associated with each engineer.

TL;DR I last played Elite since beta to September 2015. I stopped because I got bored with the lack of mission depth and variety, I primarily like to flight various small and medium sized ships instead of one or one large jack-of-all-trades ship. I like to do everything from time to time when I feel like it, I'm not just combat centric. I play Open only. As such I haven't bought or experienced Horizons at all. Should I get back in and buy Horizons?

Horizons adds a whole new dimension to the game. Of course you should buy it and no one is going to know better than yourself -jump back in the water it's fine.
 
I used to play since beta till about 2015 a few months after Powerplay came out and then stopped playing (although I kept up to date with the game since).

I stopped playing because I found the depth with the mission system to be really lackluster. I was really disappointed by Powerplay because I found it was a big missed opportunity of using "blazing your own trail" and player-driven potential for Powerplay to be akin to something like EVE's faction warfare system, but it wasn't anything new than from what I was already doing in the game to begin with like simply gathering coupons.

I spent most of my time doing missions, exploring, and engaging other players in Open play.

I didn't get Horizons upon release because I was bored with the game and rather wanted to wait until its feature set was complete and with the 2.4 it is at its end, which is why I want to get back into it.

However of course over time keeping up with the forum and such I've heard a lot of complaints about the engineers and such but I can't really relate or truly understand or form an opinion because I simply haven't played Horizons. I heard a lot about the grind and RNG but grind is one thing I don't really experience in games personally. I have played EVE for example since 2003 (still do), and I have never grinded in it, I play and do what I enjoy, I could grind and mine/do industrial stuff all the time for ISK, but instead I make ISK from the market with my orders by changing them 1-2 times a day, and the rest of the time I am either doing solo PvP, exploring and peeping through wormholes, or when necessary when there is a CTA/war campaign for my alliance engaging in fleets as needed. I have never grinded for ISK or anything. In regards to what I have read about the RNG/engineers I don't find myself as someone in this sort of game to min-max my ship obsessively and I usually fly a couple of different ships for different things, and I much prefer flying small and medium sized ships.

Basically I'm just asking as someone who used to play Elite since it was in beta till around September 2015, is Elite worth getting back into and purchasing Horizons at this point? Will I enjoy it?Things I want from Elite is more in depth missions themselves from the mission board and stumbling upon things in space, variety, as well as "designed" mission story arcs that has its own designed and written self contained (or linked) story, I don't want thinks like fancy cutscenes, but written narrative experiences I can also engage in within the sandbox. If you've ever played EVE, think of something like Sisters of EVE story arc, I'd love Elite to have lots of "small stories" and large story arcs within a sandbox to enjoy because I love both concepts. Stories can be designed with narratives you actively engage in that doesn't treat the world (and you) as some single entity that is engaging in it. The engineers are an example of the potential to have stories that are designed with mission objectives/scripted events that are important to you as a player personally even though many players engage with engineers, but from what I've read there isn't any grand stories/missions really associated with each engineer.

TL;DR I last played Elite since beta to September 2015. I stopped because I got bored with the lack of mission depth and variety, I primarily like to flight various small and medium sized ships instead of one or one large jack-of-all-trades ship. I like to do everything from time to time when I feel like it, I'm not just combat centric. I play Open only. As such I haven't bought or experienced Horizons at all. Should I get back in and buy Horizons?
Wait for another 6-12 months... and ask again.

Too much of the core gameplay is no deeper. Too much else has been added adding no depth.

Next year will hopefully help!
 
Nothing in Horizons impressed me at all. Add in the fact that if you don't own Horizons, you cannot participate in engineer content as all engineer bases are planetside. Now add in the fact that an unengineered ship is no match at all (even completely A rated) for an equivalent ship (not A rated) with even the most basic engineer modules and you've got your answer.

No, it's not worth coming back to. I dislike all the grind, and it seems that is all FDev have to offer in the way of "content" nowadays. More grind.

Of course, your experience may differ, and I always support finding out for yourself.
 
Thought I'd update the thread.

I bought Horizons a few days after making the thread and been enjoying it a lot thus far, I do like the feeling of personal customisation of my ship I get from engineers.

Any way I seem to get flooded with killing skimmer missions, is there some criteria that causes it to be so prevalent like the system's state? I've been to a few neighbouring systems where I've been spending most of my time now and it's similar, making up the bulk of my combat missions on my mission boards.
 
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