Is ED on life support? A terminal decline?

[JosiahD]

We've been promised exploration improvements every year since before release. Go back and count the meaningful improvements there have been to exploration, and if you use more than one hand's worth of fingers I know you're fibbing.

I'm the first one to agree that exploration has been the poor cousin in updates thus far - if you've read any of my posts you will know this to be true. But it would be wrong to say that there's been no improvements to exploration at all. The ability to land on more than half of the planetary bodies in the game was a huge step (and caught everyone by surprise to boot, at the time), even if there was initially little to do but admire the scenery. But that has steadily improved, with structures, volcanic sites and biologics to find. The next iteration of that, hopefully, will include improved scanners to help find these (often elusive) sites and surface navigation by a manually entered coordinate-based waypoint. And I fully expect we'll eventually see an expansion of the planet types we can land on, even if initially only basic atmospheres and the like. The recently increased galaxy map plotting range has been a boon for many. Even engineering has increased jump ranges, by directly engineering the FSD and reducing weight of other modules (if desired). Q1 2018 brings the next iteration of planet graphical improvements, so that's not far off and clearly would have been being worked on through the development of 2.4 and probably earlier (so not suddenly being developed in a reactionary way). There's a long way to go, to be sure, and improvements delayed by other content such as Powerplay, CQC, Engineers, even 2.4, but let's see what 2018 brings.

This myth is easily dispelled by a skim of the original project proposal on the Kickstarter site.

The base game was supposed to be complete by early 2014. Not until long past then with still no release and Frontier's sheepish admission that they were going to have to release with "fewer features" did we all realize how incomplete the game really was.

No myth from where I stand. I was a quite early kickstarter backer myself and I was always under the impression it would be an iterative development process. Mind you, I also expected a solo offline mode so there you go....

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

We've been promised exploration improvements every year since before release. Go back and count the meaningful improvements there have been to exploration, and if you use more than one hand's worth of fingers I know you're fibbing.

They never promised those improvements though. Sandro has been discussing things on and off, but never official development followed - till Beyond.

So while being salty about exploration being well, very light on gameplay is justified, overall that will change in 2018.

 

[metatheurgist]

People said exactly same thing during first year before Horizons reveal.

I'm still disappointed that guy didn't eat his sock.

 

[Mengy]

As it's been touched on before by many others Exploration is THE most prominent hole in this game, compounded only by the extensive universe it occupies.

I'm primarily an Explorer- and I absolutely LOVE this game, but Exploration need love NOW, whenever they're done screwing around with Engineers it needs to be THE priority.

We have a year to wait yet, and then we'll see how much love FDev is willing to give exploration. Hopefully a high gravity ton of love. Hopefully.

 

[M00dyBoy]

It is good note that you need Horizons to have those updates, so they are not necessarily free completely.

Frontier has not said you need Horizons to have the Beyond updates.

If Frontier DID put those Beyond core gameplay updates such as debeigification, exploration and mining fixups and new crime & punishment system behind the Horizons expansions paywall they'd get a torrent of complaints from vanilla game players.

And they'd make a mess of the game. Vanilla players on the old crime & punishment system mixed with Horizons players on the new crime & punishment system would be a wretched mess.

 

[Seizewell Warrior]

In response to the OP I just bought ED + Horizons (late in the day, I know) and really enjoying it so far. In fact of the three games I bought in the Steam sale, I got so engrossed in ED I haven't even looked at the other two.

So I for one sincerely hope it isn't dead!

Once I've played a bit more I'll be dropping a positive review on Steam. Part of the problem there I think is there should be a minimum play-time before being entitled to post a review. Otherwise you will just get the haters who buy, play for half an hour, negative review then refund. Not just ED, of course that suffers in that respect.

 

[Julio Montega]

As it's been touched on before by many others Exploration is THE most prominent hole in this game, compounded only by the extensive universe it occupies.

I'm primarily an Explorer- and I absolutely LOVE this game, but Exploration need love NOW, whenever they're done screwing around with Engineers it needs to be THE priority.

Nah sorry, piracy is the biggest hole,
you guys even have a rank, have the ability to stumble upon ruins
and secrets, can see bases and beautiful sights.
A lot of piratey lads left since there is no evolution on the piracy site.
Exploration and piracy at least have some stuff that pays,
but that is not the problem of the game.

The development angle is the problem.
Instead of tying the world together, stuff unrelated is
added broadening the pond, instead of compressing it
into an experience.

If elite ever reaches the stage where a dynamic gameworld
is portrayed i may cheer.
That day will be when explorers returning their findings will be tasked in game
to return there with an expedition and take samples, bring specialists to interesting places
and have fellow explorers double check their findings, because of what they did: explore, find stuff.
Ever so evolving to spin a story INGAME without the needs to appeal on forums or elsewhere.

Piracy will be alive when there is a real economy in the game,
not this creation out of nothing tick stuff we are dealing with,
and the ability to include creativity in the game world.
I'm speaking of ambushes, distress calls that have been carefully placed,
stolen flight records and cargo manifests of expected ships, etc.
All that being possible for the player to do and actually affect the galaxy would be interesting.

How would you feel if nothing changed after in a single system over several days
you Interdicted and robbed more than 30 larger transports filled with valuable diamonds to the brim,
slaughtered countless system defense forces and all the world does is maybe change a state?

Elite is prone to the same sickness it had prior to release:
no consistency, no believability.
Due to this and the way development continues to focus rather on
adding shiny new tack-on content to get the players who went into cryosleep
back every once and again, instead of working the core problematics,
i deem this game still a "glorified beta".

All we see is laying the ground works with each update,
not making this galaxy live and breathe, along with episodes
of FD putting out fires they placed in the game themselves: Combat-related modules and Engineers.

 

[Sylveria]

In response to the OP I just bought ED + Horizons (late in the day, I know) and really enjoying it so far. In fact of the three games I bought in the Steam sale, I got so engrossed in ED I haven't even looked at the other two.

So I for one sincerely hope it isn't dead!

Once I've played a bit more I'll be dropping a positive review on Steam. Part of the problem there I think is there should be a minimum play-time before being entitled to post a review. Otherwise you will just get the haters who buy, play for half an hour, negative review then refund. Not just ED, of course that suffers in that respect.

It's not dead, nowhere near it. And if you do some digging in the forums, you'll find these types of threads going all the way back to release.

Does it have issues? Sure it does, all games do. Can it be improved? Yes, it can. All games can.

 

[Sylveria]

Nah sorry, piracy is the biggest hole,
you guys even have a rank, have the ability to stumble upon ruins
and secrets, can see bases and beautiful sights.
A lot of piratey lads left since there is no evolution on the piracy site.
Exploration and piracy at least have some stuff that pays,
but that is not the problem of the game.

Not to detract from your attempt at poetry- just snipped to save screen real estate. We'll have to agree to disagree on the "focus" points- both need attention, and both are available for in-game interaction.

Exploration has a rank. Great. What exactly does that do for us? Want a pirate rank, too? I'm all for it. Practically ANY profession in this game aside from anything with "combat" focus is very shallow.

As to the next year- I'm seriously hoping they expand it for ALL professions instead of just messing with pew-pew balance.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Then I would have to say that your sense of "value" for a $45 USD paid expansion is remarkably low.

If you set your standards low enough then you might not personally be disappointed even by a minimum viable product.

I've had several hundred hours playtime for my money. I don't think I need you to tell me what's enjoyable or not.

Perhaps you enjoy hanging round on forums complaining about a game you don't like and presumably don't play, if so good luck to you.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Yes the reviews do seem to be very low in quantity... if there really were as many copies sold as you have reported.



Says who? Steam Charts has daily peak continuously above 10K only for the last three days.

My mistake, you're quite right.

 

[Julio Montega]

Not to detract from your attempt at poetry- just snipped to save screen real estate. We'll have to agree to disagree on the "focus" points- both need attention, and both are available for in-game interaction.

Exploration has a rank. Great. What exactly does that do for us? Want a pirate rank, too? I'm all for it. Practically ANY profession in this game aside from anything with "combat" focus is very shallow.

As to the next year- I'm seriously hoping they expand it for ALL professions instead of just messing with pew-pew balance.

Focuspoints indeed are prone to personal perception,
and giving insight into personal opinions is aswell.

However i'd say EVERY profession is shallow, even combat.
There are missing links everywhere, you just do a simple repetitive task
en masse, nothing else, that is core gameplay.

I agree that this has to change for ALL professions,
as i said this year very early on:
do a year dedicated to JOBS of Elite.

My resumee is this:
Elite, the game, the mechanics, the experience is DEAD.
The community is not and hoping for a cure.

 

[PiLhEaD]

Substantially over half, yes.

Positive reviews: 197
Negative reviews: 236

From a larger sample size, nope, viz:

Images taken 12:00 'today' direct off steam.

 

[Ozram]

Why The Watchmen of course!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4e/Watchmen_cast.png

on the left.

 

[Sylveria]

Focuspoints indeed are prone to personal perception,
and giving insight into personal opinions is aswell.

However i'd say EVERY profession is shallow, even combat.

Perhaps my personal interpretation of combat-focus being better off is that it seems to run parallel with the amount of attention it's been given since release. Combat is about 75% (or more) of this game. You can avoid it for a little while, sure- but eventually you're going to have to dip your toes into it. Hence, the reason it's gotten 75% of the attention. Many patches, changes, ship balance issues, etc. all related to combat professions. Let's not even go into details like "military slots", Wings, Multi-crew, and so forth...

The rest of their time has been spent on game mechanics issues like the mission boards- CG content to keep people "entertained" (because apparently they're bored to no end), introducing shiny new ships, and so forth.

We do definitely agree that professions in general need to be their primary focus- because unless they finish fleshing out what they originally laid down in the game from release, people simply aren't going to stay engaged. The professions/roles are indeed what makes the "experience" feel shallow, because no matter what task you engage in, it's all too simplistic. One only needs to go out and scan a few systems to see that, or go mine some rocks in a belt for a couple hours.

Pew-pew never changes. It's always about the same thing- exploding ships. That's fully functional already.

 

[Julio Montega]

Perhaps my personal interpretation of combat-focus being better off is that it seems to run parallel with the amount of attention it's been given since release. Combat is about 75% (or more) of this game. You can avoid it for a little while, sure- but eventually you're going to have to dip your toes into it. Hence, the reason it's gotten 75% of the attention. Many patches, changes, ship balance issues, etc. all related to combat professions. Let's not even go into details like "military slots", Wings, Multi-crew, and so forth...

The rest of their time has been spent on game mechanics issues like the mission boards- CG content to keep people "entertained" (because apparently they're bored to no end), introducing shiny new ships, and so forth.

We do definitely agree that professions in general need to be their primary focus- because unless they finish fleshing out what they originally laid down in the game from release, people simply aren't going to stay engaged. The professions/roles are indeed what makes the "experience" feel shallow, because no matter what task you engage in, it's all too simplistic. One only needs to go out and scan a few systems to see that, or go mine some rocks in a belt for a couple hours.

Pew-pew never changes. It's always about the same thing- exploding ships. That's fully functional already.

Agreed on,
however combat, engineers and exploration got a lot of attention.
For combat it is just more obvious, as combat pilots and traders alike tuned in.
Exploration got those secrets to find, but the mass of tweaks for it have been
very good QOL updates.

 

[PiLhEaD]

Nah sorry, piracy is the biggest hole...

Commander Jameson said,
I'd rather be dead,
than read a long boring tutorial.

So he thought he would fly,
Without a re-buy,
He remains now only memorial.

 

[Sylveria]

exploration got a lot of attention..

Um... how so?

Commander Jameson said,
I'd rather be dead,
than read a long boring tutorial.

So he thought he would fly,
Without a re-buy,
He remains now only memorial.

Thanks for that- good way to start the day

 

[Julio Montega]

Um... how so?

As i wrote:
Exploration got those secrets to find, but the mass of tweaks for it have been
very good QOL updates.

So yeah FSD injections, supercharged FSD via white dwarf/neutron star,
Route plotting.
That all does benefit long range coverage more than the average
more bubble centric job.
It is the personal perspective to not see these improvements

 

[Sylveria]

As i wrote:
Exploration got those secrets to find, but the mass of tweaks for it have been
very good QOL updates.

So yeah FSD injections, supercharged FSD via white dwarf/neutron star,
Route plotting.
That all does benefit long range coverage more than the average
more bubble centric job.
It is the personal perspective to not see these improvements

Everyone benefits from those QOL changes. Not just explorers.

Not difficult to see why those would be viewed as "minor" adjustments.