How do you play ED and what do you want from it?

[Mangal Oemie]

How do you play ED?

Virtually daily. And usually for several hours per day. Some days over 8 hours, on the weekend I might make 14 hrs... I got over 25 weeks of play time in less than 2 years, which actually is a little frightening

I am a BGS player, which means I do just about every activity in the game. Combat and Trade Elite, Exploration is getting close, but never been on a real exploration trip. Manipulation of the BGS, supporting specific Alliance factions takes up the vast majority of my time. Things like engineering go in between to support the build of ships that enable the work in the BGS. There is literally never enough time in the day, before the next tick... BGS play really encourages playing daily.

I do a little PvP, too.


What do you want from it?

In general, I am very happy, and have few wishes. I largely appreciate the improvements to come in BEYOND, with Alliance ships, squadrons, more colorful planets, Alliance ships, improved planetary surfaces, improved mining (I loved mining, but it is pointless in the BGS now), and did I mention Alliance ships?

But these are things that are icing on the cake for me. I play the game we have now. Every addition or improvement is great, and the ones I don't care for (the entire Thargoid storyline) I can pretty much ignore, like I do PP.

What I really want, though, is for Frontier to really commit to the sandbox and a player-action driven galaxy. The only real thing that frustrates me deeply is the railroading. The bubble is full of player activity, conflicts and drama, and to me this is where the game is. This will only increase as player minor factions increasingly are running into each other.

Support this, Frontier! Give us a better Galnet. Give us a way to communicate to the rest of the galaxy what is going on. Engage with player activity, rather than ignore it and overlay the game with a flat, simple, and barebones story that moves glacially. Release your fear of player agency. FD increasingly runs the danger of having their story play out in a galaxy different or parallel to the one actually in the game. Do something FD doesn't like, and you don't get dialogue or acknowledgement, but instead a change in mechanics in the patch notes to prevent what you did in the future. That's no way to engage with your player community.

 

[Vasco Sapien]

How do I play at the moment? Since I got all the ships and engineered them as I wanted ED`s current "end game" for me is pretty much sightseeing and making selfies with external cam. Thats truly it at the moment.

What do I want from ED? I bought this game with Davids big vision in mind - that includes future space legs, planets with life end so on. ED is not about space ships but about ultimate si fi fantasy pilot experience. So as said I will be jumping in and out to see interesting places in the galaxy and simply waiting for space leg and future expansions.
At the moment there is literally not that much of actual playing that interests me.

Pretty much this.

Ive logged in maybe 2/3 hours a week for months now. I find some wind under my wings with a task to set myself and i go do it. But im having trouble finding reasons to play with the current games content.
I have climbed the mountain, Im not a multi-billionaire, but i have what i want in game, My ships are engineered and accomplished, ive seen mostly what i want to see in game and my motivation to play is drying out.

When i first started ED i would be up until 4am, risking deep vein thrombosis and keratoconjunctivitis but i couldnt put the game down.

However i still love the game and i am invested. I will be playing ED for years to come no doubt (unless P2W happens) and im looking forward to the new content coming next year. The new planet/exploration mechanics really interest me as well as the new ships. Im also curious what the new hinted at 'Premium content' will be.

The issue with any game like ED is a matter of pacing, If you play any game to death it will get old fast. The fact that im still playing ED all this time later since buying it i think speaks volumes. Right now, im pacing. But i really do need more content and wonder.

But i am looking into joining the fuel rats (reading all their documentation, rules and advice right now..... Its throne reading... so i have a once a day window to read it....taking my time)

For now Ive got Fallout 4 to finish and ive just started Dragon Age Origin (never managed to play that game thanks to EA's terrible DRM practices back in the day).

 

[Vorxian]

I know that I'm not the hero who saves the galaxy, but I'd like to have some sort of unique "relationship" with NPCs I interact with........

You may not be the one to 'save the galaxy'....... but you were the one that stopped famine on a remote planet, earned enough reputation in Empire to be crowned KING, and you were the one that destroyed several hundred marauding insurgents attacking an imperial colony... lets not forget that you single handed vanquished a Thargoid ship...

Why is it no one cares or bats an eyelid, that you just saved their outpost from famine? I mean, no one? Not even a word of thanks, or perks or comps to say thanks?
KING, you earned KING in empire, yet, imperial grunts still drag out out of SC in your imperial flagship, to scan an empty cargo hold? Riiiiiight! Imagine the Queen of England getting pulled over in her roller, for a routine drugs check? It's lol.
A pilot killing insurgents or waves of attackers, and take down a Thargoid ship... still no one cares... In reality that person will be revered like crazy, like the red baron?

So whilst you say 'ok I'm not saving the galaxy' it's true, but some kind of LOGICAL change in NPC behavior or activity or the way you're treated, or additional perks and complimentary ships... WOULD NOT go amiss

+1 you do raise some key relationship questions, which are very valid.

 

[Ian Skippy]

You may not be the one to 'save the galaxy'....... but you were the one that stopped famine on a remote planet, earned enough reputation in Empire to be crowned KING, and you were the one that destroyed several hundred marauding insurgents attacking an imperial colony... lets not forget that you single handed vanquished a Thargoid ship...

Why is it no one cares or bats an eyelid, that you just saved their outpost from famine? I mean, no one? Not even a word of thanks, or perks or comps to say thanks?
KING, you earned KING in empire, yet, imperial grunts still drag out out of SC in your imperial flagship, to scan an empty cargo hold? Riiiiiight! Imagine the Queen of England getting pulled over in her roller, for a routine drugs check? It's lol.
A pilot killing insurgents or waves of attackers, and take down a Thargoid ship... still no one cares... In reality that person will be revered like crazy, like the red baron?

So whilst you say 'ok I'm not saving the galaxy' it's true, but some kind of LOGICAL change in NPC behavior or activity or the way you're treated, or additional perks and complimentary ships... WOULD NOT go amiss

+1 you do raise some key relationship questions, which are very valid.

You arent a King, its an honorary title. And they do respond to your actions. Why not start the game from scratch and see how faction leaders adress you vs the way they adress your elite cmdr who his allied to them after saving them from some famine?

 

[Stigbob]

I like to mission run for my pet faction always something to do there, twiddle with load-outs for hours on end, gitting-gud with specific weapons co-op BH'ing and CZ'ing. Occasionally I get the urge to track down a noob killer via his uploaded video's and have at him, with varying amounts of success.

Ultimately I'd like space legs, shooting it out in the rusty bowels of a dodgy Coriolis or wandering down to the space-bar to get the extra lucrative missions only available face to face. Turbolifts/travel tubes/speeder bikes or other sci-fi marvels would be required to get around faster than shanks pony due to the huge planet sized planets. A bit like the mutant offspring of alien isolation/skyrim/x-wing. No rush though, happy as I am.

 

[Chris Simon]

You may not be the one to 'save the galaxy'....... but you were the one that stopped famine on a remote planet, earned enough reputation in Empire to be crowned KING, and you were the one that destroyed several hundred marauding insurgents attacking an imperial colony... lets not forget that you single handed vanquished a Thargoid ship...

Why is it no one cares or bats an eyelid, that you just saved their outpost from famine? I mean, no one? Not even a word of thanks, or perks or comps to say thanks?
KING, you earned KING in empire, yet, imperial grunts still drag out out of SC in your imperial flagship, to scan an empty cargo hold? Riiiiiight! Imagine the Queen of England getting pulled over in her roller, for a routine drugs check? It's lol.
A pilot killing insurgents or waves of attackers, and take down a Thargoid ship... still no one cares... In reality that person will be revered like crazy, like the red baron?

So whilst you say 'ok I'm not saving the galaxy' it's true, but some kind of LOGICAL change in NPC behavior or activity or the way you're treated, or additional perks and complimentary ships... WOULD NOT go amiss

+1 you do raise some key relationship questions, which are very valid.

It's not just Elite, though. I think this is a general gaming problem.

 

[EUS]

When it turns cold, (autumn and winter), I always get the urge to play that game again.
Time to reinstall!

 

[Jonny Shiloh]

I play for the love of exploration.

I'd like more exploration tools to help me do this (an in-system route planner would be handy, I'd love to be able to queue up the planets for scanning in order of distance) and I'd also like more varied POIs on the planets I land on (alien ruins, strange planetary phenomena, "lost" human outposts in deep space, you get the picture), and snippets of back story where appropriate (nameplates on escape pods, ships' logs, that kind of thing). I'd like to be able to fire survey drones out over planets, to report POIs back to me (but with a cost to craft, so you have to work to keep a supply of them). I'd like an easier way of flying to planetary coordinates, and a means of bookmarking those on planets, rather than noting them in the system map.

When it turns cold, (autumn and winter), I always get the urge to play that game again.
Time to reinstall!

Odd coincidence - I did just that, last night.

 

[Vorxian]

You arent a King, its an honorary title. And they do respond to your actions. Why not start the game from scratch and see how faction leaders adress you vs the way they adress your elite cmdr who his allied to them after saving them from some famine?

I can understand Lord, or Sir... But King? It's a bit potent to be an honorary title. That's a maxed out accolade. You're top of the reputation pile, the Emperor himself should be seeking your council. buuuut, there's that pull out of SC again, and empty cargo hold scan...

 

[kpmop]

Basically I just like flying spaceships around the galaxy. I do whatever takes my fancy - at the moment I'm engineering a Cobra IV and keeping one eye open for Thargoids (got a scanner and some guns!) ... Are there things I think need improving? Yes for sure, but generally I think the game is in a pretty good state -- possibly it should have got here sooner, but hey...

... No updates, no fixes. And yet, played it for hundreds of hours...

Spoiler

 

[the100thmonkey]

I play the game as a political agitator; i.e. I play the BGS.

With regard to what I want from the game, it's served me pretty well so far - I have about 3,000 hours across several accounts. I'd like the BGS to be elaborated upon and to be more dynamic in certain areas, such as population and station type and state (why is famine a faction state instead of a system state? It doesn't make much sense when a "faction" can be in famine in an agri system with only one starport), without relying on dev-injected assets. I'd also like more in-depth connections between faction type, faction state, faction relationship and faction goals. In other words, I'd like the mission system to be more responsive than it currently is, although I appreciate that this might not actually be a practical possibility.

At the moment we have a couple of mission chains that are pretty simple - donations trigger a delivery mission, black box retrievals trigger a kill mission, etc. I'd like to see factions offer mission chains that are more elaborate and develop along a thread, while being related to the current state the faction is in. For example:

• a communist faction (natch ) in expansion needs pilots to scout the target system and report back with data about the current political situation.
• Once this is complete, a chain mission will spawn to transport passengers (guerillas, political activists, scientists, aid workers, etc. depending on the faction states in the system) that fulfills the explanandum for how the faction is injected into the new system with ~9% influence.
• When that's done, the faction can fall back to standard influence-boosting missions until the trigger thresholds for conflict are reached, whereupon a mission can spawn (say an assassination - "occasionally the state needs to sanction the killing of an individual") that serves as a trigger for the conflict¹.
• Once the conflict starts, you get your standard "kill X ships" missions.
• The cycle can then repeat.
• Flavour text for missions is triggered by faction relationship and the outcomes of previous missions.

Basically, I'd like the BGS to acknowledge my presence in more ways than just throwing money at me. I made 25mcr today just... doing what I usually do (it's a 2.4.03 thing). I wasn't even trying.

Oh, and make NPCs harder. I haven't died in more than a year to one.


¹ If no one takes the mission, the war will start eventually anyway - the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the spark that lit the tinder; another spark would have come soon enough.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

How do I Play Elite?

With a HOTAS, on a PC, sitting in a chair, sometimes on multiple monitors, sometimes with an Avegant Glyph on my face. Sometimes I play alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes with complete strangers.

What Do I Do?

A good bit of everything, except PVP. Too much drama for my tastes.
But Bounty Hunting, Hauling, Exploring, Mining, Poking Things With Sticks.. I even Power Play a little from time to time.
But I do pirate and I don't blow people up - unless they ask to be blown up, but that's a different matter entirely.

What Do I Want From Elite?

To continue to entertain me. In terms of Content - I want everything season 3 suggests it will bring - global improvements to every aspect of the game.
And I want all those "little things" that we've heard David Braben say he'd like to see as well - from Gas Giant Atmospheric Operations to Hunting Big Alien Game on Foot, on alien atmospheric planets, to mechanized crew members, the ability to found my own little refuge somewhere out there, and of course, the two things I've wanted since day zero:

A Hula Dancer for my ship's dash and a Chrome Paint Job for my Orca. We can start with those, and my wallet will open faster than a [insert inappropriate metaphor about cat girls].

 

[Pumabear8]

Currently I play as an aimless wanderer, what do I want from the game? a less poorly written narrative would be a good start.

And then the usual

Space legs.
Atmospheric planets with life that's not rooted to a baron wasteland.
A place to call home, and no, the space stations are not home, they're a place you do business.
NPC crew that actually occupy the empty seats.

 

[smilbuta]

How do I Play Elite?

Thrustmaster X -HOTAS/Turbo GTX970 PC/Flight chair,
With friends, rarely with strangers.

What Do I Do?

Powerplay, Trade, Explore, Mine

What Do I Want From Elite?

Im 47, Ill never be 'GETGUD' what ever the flip that is.
I dont PVP except in CQC.
I want a game that i can play that relaxes me and makes me curious. I enjoy the grind and the simplicity of the game.
Im also the kind of player that will Drop $50 a month on a game for cosmetic stuff as i do now because i like the game.

 

[wrmiller]

This was my first MMO game, gifted to me last Christmas. At first, I wasn't going to install it, then read that there is a Solo mode, so I went ahead and gave it a try.

I enjoy bounty hunting wanted NPCs, and am really starting to like exploring, but this area needs serious attention like more planets to land on and a chance to discover interesting things. Maybe ruins, alien tech, interesting geographical formations, new materials, etc., etc..

After a year of playing the game and reading some of the crap on this forum I have absolutely zero interest in anything that requires interaction with other real players. Burn it all to the ground.

NOTE: I will admit that not all here is that toxic, but much of it is.

Give me the ability to interact with NPCs at stations, hire them as crewmembers, and hire them as mercenaries when I'm transporting valuable cargo. Make the major factions something other than a text label, i.e., let me enlist and engage in regional skirmishes, border protection, etc.. Or hire on as a mercenary for particularly dangerous missions.

Long story short: Give me game content, not some nasty zit-faced kid who so desperately needs a baseball bat up side the head.

I'll get my coat...

 

[Jenner]

What I wanted: The game that David and the team described during Kickstarter. For the most part I've got that. The DDF stuff would have been nice, but eh.... Elite is a fine game regardless.

What I want going forward: What David and the team said would be coming back in Kickstarter. (ie- space legs and atmo planets). My pie-in-the-sky desire is for more and better storytelling and missions, but honestly if I don't get that I'm still happy.

All in all I'm quite pleased with Elite. It's not perfect, but it's still extremely enjoyable. Hardly a week goes by where I don't log in for at least a bit. I do what I want and for as long as I want and if I'm bored I go play something else.

 

[Old Duck]

When it turns cold, (autumn and winter), I always get the urge to play that game again.
Time to reinstall!

Terabyte hard drives are surprisingly cheap these days

 

[EUS]

It's not that I don't have the space, I had a massive drive failure a while back, and haven't re-installed much since.

 

[Silver Taffer]

I do think people sometimes forget what ED was like at 1.0. So different to what we have now in many ways, even without considering Horizons or other main features, some of the QoL stuff has been real game changers.

I still remember going out exploring with no route plotter (or was it just 100 LY?), and no filtering the map by star type.

I couldn’t agree more! I go back to the ‘84 Elite, so even in it’s early stages ED was just amazing to me. Yes it needs to progress but, unlike so many it appears, I think FD are moving on...at their own pace, which is fine by me!

 

[Aashenfox]

I play Elite as a semi RP alternate reality simulator where I am a mercenary pilot aligned neutral good. I do a variety of activities and I tend to dedicate entire game sessions to one activity, for example, I'll say "Right, assassinations tonight", and I'll only do assassinations 5 by 5 if I can for a couple hours, I consider myself a hitman in the game primarily. Pirate Lord giving you problems? Know that I will deal with them swiftly and in such a way that it is the pirate's honor to die by my sword, erm....yeh, so other days I might do sightseeing runs, they are back to their lucrative best recently. I like going around the lore zones and other attractions and the money is very good. The Orca is also a joy to fly. I have done exploring and will again. But these are all means to an end, for me there is only one ultimate purpose in Elite, to master the flight model. I'm nowhere near achieving that, and it may well be out of my reach, but that's what I do all the time, practice flying, especially combat flying.

What I want out of it is many years of enjoying that alternate reality.