When will it become a game? Will it become a game?

[Vasious]

It's been around for a while now (long enough I would say) do you think we will ever see the addition of properly developed, fun and engaging, gameplay mechanisms?

What makes you think it's NOT a game? What is "your" criteria that determines what a "game" is?

I'm not entirely sure. It's a good question. But, I just don't feel that there is much 'game' here. It's lovely looking and impressive but is it any more than that?

So I really dont know what you expect to be gained here.

You don't know yourself, you just don't feel like it is a game, yet expect anyone to be able to make it feel more like a game.
So other people are supposed to change or improve "things" to make things feel more something, but you are not sure what that something is.

Like a small child saying "I am bored!"
When asked what would they like to do
"I don't know, entertain me"

It is not for the rest of the world to try to figure out how to entertain you, let along expect the rest of the world to do the "self" discovery of working out what you want first before then trying to figure out how to cater to that.

Figure out your own feelings, then do the leg work yourself to fulfill them

 

[Enderby]

So I really dont know what you expect to be gained here.

You don't know yourself, you just don't feel like it is a game, yet expect anyone to be able to make it feel more like a game.
So other people are supposed to change or improve "things" to make things feel more something, but you are not sure what that something is.

Like a small child saying "I am bored!"
When asked what would they like to do
"I don't know, entertain me"

It is not for the rest of the world to try to figure out how to entertain you, let along expect the rest of the world to do the "self" discovery of working out what you want first before then trying to figure out how to cater to that.

Figure out your own feelings, then do the leg work yourself to fulfill them

Yes but I don't make games. I play them. And I have learnt, over the many years, to recognise a good game from a bad one.

I got ED in early 2015 and played it only out of hope that my earned credits and ships would come in handy when it became an actual game.

But, as ever, we all hope the coming year will improve the state that the program's in. But even I am starting to doubt that this will happen - though I realise that this may make me sound a little pessimistic.

 

[krylite]

This is the game. It also encapsulates and improves on FFE (Elite III: First Encounters). If you had played that game, you'll see it's very similar in general main gameplay. You can trade, fight, ferry passengers, do mining, use fighters, use SRV, in ED. There are the ram tah missions, thargoid bases, hunting thargoids, or join in group powerplay objectives and not just for the modules. (https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/7dfudr/for_those_who_think_powerplay_is_dead/)

The reason there's no single player narrative scripted storyline because the worldverse is mmo with persistence elements, intqstance limited (for now), and much is auto generated for thousands of populated systems. Sure, we could use more capital ship , or fleet or npc fleet gameplay, but imo what's there is plenty already for exploration by one's ship fleet and attained resources.
http://elitedangerous.hozbase.co.uk/interestingsystems/distancefrom/sol/10000

Maybe in the future there will be a whole other new game added to ED in the form of spacelegs rpg which I wouldn't mind.
Overall, ED is a great hybrid of space simulator and open world space game. The "Flight Simulator X" of the space games. I remember episodes of the original Star Trek where they would mention taking days, weeks and months travelling at warp 4 to 8 (around 64c to 512c on the original series scale) and the ED world simulates warp speed in a system as well as type 2 civilization hyperspace travel where the galaxy is attainable so quickly, far more advanced than most sci-fi worlds in media and in pulp sci-fi fiction and some may not realize ED's outstanding efforts to both sci-fi and astronomical scientific realism, not perfect of course , but far more overall, than most other games.

 

[GG7]

Not as long as a large proportion of the playerbase
does not criticize the way FD develops stuff and implements
it unfinished and hasted.

Maybe Frontier will reward them someday with their own update?

Elite Dangerous 2.4.5!

REVENGE OF THE APOLOGISTS!

Community goals for everyone! Every day, every night, for everything you do in game! Hooray!

 

[Darth Ender]

I can tell you most of those ideas sounds very vague and most likely would be very boring in actual game.

As for SC it is quite easy - I can explore system and explore points in it - either signal sources, either combat zones, stations, and so on and so forth.

It seems you are looking for something constantly challenging you.

If you'd like to employ me to spend time to flesh out a full game idea and whiteboard it and pseudo-code it (can't code it without access to elite's code-base), i'm available for hire. But since this is free brainstorming, then vague is to be expected.

As far as the idea being constantly challenging to me, that's the idea. The game should be constantly challenging to me for it to be fun. This is not to say that it should be constantly difficult or hard, that's not the only definition of challenging. It just needs to make me want to engage in something that if i get good at, i benefit in some way vs sucking at it and perhaps letting it do it's thing hands-off (current setup).

This is not about making ED only playable by the top 10% of players. It's about adding gameplay to activities that consume most of the player's time when actually active in the game. What that gameplay is is far less important than the gameplay just existing. I have my ideal gameplay ideas, but these are hardly the only ones that would work. The current system of not having anything going on during these activities is just patently the wrong way to do things. That's what needs to be changed.


It's a space combat / exploration / trade game that has made the aspect of traveling in space not part of gameplay but rather a boring means to an end that people have then forced into this nerfing that has negatively impacted other aspects of the game. by making travel the way they have, we've demanded increases to jump range that make everything about the game's economy/politics totally nonsense and irrelevant. It's removed balance aspects in ships. Travel is currently experienced as a necessary evil, a cancer to the game and it's avoided at all costs by all players whenever they can.

All of which could have been avoided and travel could be a positive feature in the game that could keep the other aspects of the in-game universe intact if it was made part of the gameplay a user has available. There would be no need for 50ly jump ranges if jumping and traveling was part of the game. There would be no demand for everything to travel instantly because half of the excitement of the game would be found in the journey to the system, rather than consolidated only at the destination instance. We could return jump ranges and to ranges that the game originally started out with that make sense given the in-game universe and lore and we can experience the vastness of space without being bored out of our minds watching loading screens or sitting in supecruise for 20 minutes for no reason at all. We wouldn't have a need to nerf distance and undo the entire reason the galaxy was re-created at a 1:1 scale.


It can't be overstated how much of an impact the lack of gameplay during travel has had on this game.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Not as long as a large proportion of the playerbase
does not criticize the way FD develops stuff and implements
it unfinished and hasted.

Maybe be truth is somewhere in the middle
* Large proportion of the playerbase takes game as it is and enjoy it as it is. They might be even feeding feedback directly to FD and ignore forums entirely. They are most likely less dramatic about their feedback;
* It is all about perception. You are constantly looking for holes to poke into game. Other players see what there is, not what's there not;
* Your feedback when well presented still counts and FD still sees it;
* It is just a game, FD is just a business which tries to do things for most money they can throw at game and there's myriads of reasons why something isn't there and why there's no perfect space game and never will be;

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

It can't be overstated how much of an impact the lack of gameplay during travel has had on this game.

Can't really agree of any of sentiments I am afraid and please don't overgeneralize. I actually enjoy those elements you seem to assume people hate.

 

[Urbanski101]

Technically it's amazing.

The stellar forge
The graphics
The sound
The flight model
The ships and stations
The planets (well mostly)
The combat

All amazing. These are the reasons I keep playing.

The game elements.

Missions
NPCs
BGS
Factions

All the RNG elements and how you interact with them and how they interact with you is the issue for me. System security level is meaningless. The BGS feels convoluted, abstract, illogical and disconnected. Faction states are words on the screen, little more. NPC's are mainly dull and lifeless and fairly stupid. The minor factions are a production line of RNG cookie cutter organisations that mainly mean nothing and seem to do nothing.

These are the reasons I stop playing for periods of time. Then I miss the elements from the first list and come back because they are truly amazing.

These RNG elements have improved and they are better than they were, FDev are working on the core game, they say they will improve the RNG and other game elements. I believe beyond will improve the game, whether those improvements go far enough and bring the game to 'life' remains to be seen. I really hope they do.

 

[sb413197]

I like the game the way it is. I've always enjoyed open ended games that cruelly throw you into a giant world and leave you to fend for your self and make of them what you will. Pirates on the Amiga was one of the first such games I enjoyed.

That being said, inserting a story line "campaign" like in privateer isn't the worst idea. Successive updates could include new such campaigns. The Ram Tah mission was a good example of this - although it was just one mission it kind of had that feel a bit. Imagine a military campaign against the thargoids with "mission signal sources" fighting in a battle or something, like Wing Commander. Could add some fun stuff to do. I suspect chain missions were an attempt at this....but it doesn't really work unless it's hand crafted.

 

[crushdepth]

*sigh* Another one of these posts. It is a game, it's just not going to hold your hand. Dota 2 or GTA may suit you better.

Do you seriously think the game could not be more engaging without hand holding?

"Hand holding" is a straw man argument.

 

[Ian Skippy]

Ugh, this is the game equivalent of those critics sitting on the sideline moaning 'this isn't music'.

It is, you just don't like. Grow a spine and deal with it.

 

[seko]

There are those that enjoy it (who may comment on here), there are those who think it could be improved (who do comment on here), and there are the many thousands who love it, and do not comment on here, and do not post on forums. Frontier state that most players are explorers, not pirates, traders or certainly not player killers (because they can). So, you either enjoy the game as FD have developed it and continue to develop it, or find yourself another game. The main complaints come from griefers, who want the absolute right to attack and kill everybody. If you don't like the game, do one and find another, am so fed up of the negativity of some people on here

 

[Darth Ender]

Can't really agree of any of sentiments I am afraid and please don't overgeneralize. I actually enjoy those elements you seem to assume people hate.

Nothing was overgeneralized.

You dont enjoy watching the same hyperjump loading screen when traveling multiple systems. Nobody does, at all. Ever. There is not a single person in the entire world who likes this aspect of the game after the first time they view it and realize that it's the same every time and takes about the same amount of time every time and nothing happens when they do it every time except that once it's done they need to make sure their throttle is low or they'll fly into a star.

You either hate this or you use the time to distract yourself with something external to the game.

Supercruise, you also dont like supercruise. Nobody in the entire world enjoys the time spent in supercruise. It's _strictly_ a means to an end that at best, may allow for some amount of pvp/npc interaction if you pull over or get pulled over by one, but usually is just a period of time you spend distracting yourself with external activities, only needing to pay attention to the game when nearing your destination because scale differences impact your direction - at which point you are forced to maintain your direction as this repeatedly occurs as you slow down for a period of time until you are allowed to drop out into the destination instance. You hate supercruise just as everyone with a brain hates it because it's a boring waste of time, almost all of the time. It engages neither the eye-candy aspect of gaming nor any actual interactivity.

You dont enjoy either aspect. You either fill the time during these activities with external ones to the game or you sit there and silently hate yourself and so feel the need to punish yourself by continuing to experience it fully or you are lying.

 

[Julio Montega]

Maybe be truth is somewhere in the middle
* Large proportion of the playerbase takes game as it is and enjoy it as it is. They might be even feeding feedback directly to FD and ignore forums entirely. They are most likely less dramatic about their feedback;
* It is all about perception. You are constantly looking for holes to poke into game. Other players see what there is, not what's there not;
* Your feedback when well presented still counts and FD still sees it;
* It is just a game, FD is just a business which tries to do things for most money they can throw at game and there's myriads of reasons why something isn't there and why there's no perfect space game and never will be;

I have no idea how FD works with the feedback.
What i can tell you however, is that if i do not speak up,
i do see stuff in the game that i do not like to see.

Back in the PB times i very seldomly looked at the forums,
since i spent more time in the game testing the waters.
I'd say it is a natural behaviour of an average player
to play and then when you are looking for inspiration on what to
try or change, look at the forums.

Then you see what is discussed, what is very controversial
and you reflect the direction the game took.
Finally coming to the conclusion you need to express your
opinion to not go unheard.

I definitely remember a lot of topics that were hot on the forums
leading to severely gimping that aspect of gameplay.
Missiles being one of that, as example

I am not sure it is a large part of the player data base. I am sure most just play and enjoy

That is exactly what i meant to express.
Most people just play, there are less people on the forums
than playing the game.
They are just "consuming" the game, not expressing their thoughts about it.

On the other hand i know for sure that at least some groups
with special interests left the forums, creating a rift in the discussion base
preferring other media like reddit.

And here comes another criticizm:
Addressing issues and hot topics as first step
on the forums, limits severely how much feedback FD receives.
IMO the first step should be a survey on the launcher for the topic,
or even one of those timestealing popups leading to a survey.
Then FD can inform the playerbase about the topic being discussed
on forums with a special feedback section.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Nothing was overgeneralized.

You dont enjoy watching the same hyperjump loading screen when traveling multiple systems. Nobody does, at all. Ever. There is not a single person in the entire world who likes this aspect of the game after the first time they view it and realize that it's the same every time and takes about the same amount of time every time and nothing happens when they do it every time except that once it's done they need to make sure their throttle is low or they'll fly into a star.

You either hate this or you use the time to distract yourself with something external to the game.

Supercruise, you also dont like supercruise. Nobody in the entire world enjoys the time spent in supercruise. It's _strictly_ a means to an end that at best, may allow for some amount of pvp/npc interaction if you pull over or get pulled over by one, but usually is just a period of time you spend distracting yourself with external activities, only needing to pay attention to the game when nearing your destination because scale differences impact your direction - at which point you are forced to maintain your direction as this repeatedly occurs as you slow down for a period of time until you are allowed to drop out into the destination instance. You hate supercruise just as everyone with a brain hates it because it's a boring waste of time, almost all of the time. It engages neither the eye-candy aspect of gaming nor any actual interactivity.

You dont enjoy either aspect. You either fill the time during these activities with external ones to the game or you sit there and silently hate yourself and so feel the need to punish yourself by continuing to experience it fully or you are lying.

Now you're just being silly

Some people like fishing.
Now the only exciting part of fishing is the bit where you've hooked something, but that's only a tiny, tiny part of the time you spend in that activity. The rest of the time is spent waiting for something to happen. Waiting isn't for everybody though - some people hate it - but some people enjoy that time just as much as the bit where they're wrestling with a fish. And the DO enjoy it - the peacefulness, the open air, the contemplation of nature. The don't hate themselves for sitting there waiting for a bite.

 

[Aussiedroid]

You're right, its not a game ... its a way of life!

 

[Ignition]

It is a game. Its a really bad and boring game.

For me its like Im playing with placeholders. Its exactly the same experience since 2014 in Beta.
The gameplay mechanics are EXACTLY the same HAHAHAHA. Sad.

I only log in every 6 months to drive an hour aimlessly in the srv.

 

[Julio Montega]

I think it's doomed to always be 95% 'experience' and 5% 'game'. The sights, sounds, and 'feel' of flying a spaceship - amazing. The gameplay itself? Really terrible.

Not to speak of the reasoning behind it from FD.
I seriously can't stand to hear "it is too complex/difficult"
or "it takes too much time" anymore.

It is a game. Its a really bad and boring game.

For me its like Im playing with placeholders. Its exactly the same experience since 2014 in Beta.
The gameplay mechanics are EXACTLY the same HAHAHAHA. Sad.

I only log in every 6 months to drive an hour aimlessly in the srv.

Some would even go so far to say,
that actual balance and the overall state was better in beta.
But nostalgia and fond memories surely tint the colours.
However it is safe to say the waters in beta were different.

To be honest: This game for me is still beta, there just is no progress
on the "living breathing universe" i can see and interact with.
Same old job mechanics, even less player interaction,
due to pirates and bounty hunters leaving.
People becoming a sour grape over how that worked
turning to full time "wreck premium charging".

 

[Stressfest]

Have you tried Frogger?

 

[Darth Ender]

Now you're just being silly

Some people like fishing.
Now the only exciting part of fishing is the bit where you've hooked something, but that's only a tiny, tiny part of the time you spend in that activity. The rest of the time is spent waiting for something to happen. Waiting isn't for everybody though - some people hate it - but some people enjoy that time just as much as the bit where they're wrestling with a fish. And the DO enjoy it - the peacefulness, the open air, the contemplation of nature. The don't hate themselves for sitting there waiting for a bite.

There is fishing as an excuse to drink and sit around near water with a bonus if anything actually bites.

Then there is fishing where you are actually trying to catch either as many fish as possible or the biggest fish.

In one example, sitting around and doing nothing is actually part of the objective.

In the other, it's a means to an end and the less sitting around the better.

Which is elite?

I don't care about the people who think the former example is what elite should be. They would be happy playing anything that required minimal effort.