The desire not to handhold, and create an open sandbox in this case seems lifeless and all about development on a budget. FD invest in us and the game plz.
When will it become a game? Will it become a game?
- Thread starter Enderby
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The desire not to handhold, and create an open sandbox in this case seems lifeless and all about development on a budget. FD invest in us and the game plz.
Rafe Zetter
Banned
just to correct you little here - FDev has 312 employees and turnover (earnings) in 2016 was £37.5 million GBP, with profit after running costs around 8 million.
Not so small and pretty well funded I'd say.
I've gone looking at Youtube videos of when the game first came out. I'm going to recommend others do too, so they can see how much the game has actually evolved. (Yes, you long-timers and early adopters too, memory can play tricks on people y'know.) They've come a LONG way from the first release, and yes, added new gameplay mechanics since it started. Having started in 2.1 myself, and looking back on what 1.x was...I don't think I could enjoy the game in the old version.
Then again, if I'd been lucky enough to know about the game back when it first launched, I probably would have signed up in a heartbeat.
For many people, December 16, 2014. For some of us, perhaps as far back as December 2013, depending on what Alpha or Beta stage we happened to be in.
I think the question you're asking isn't when or if it will become a game, but when or if you'll fall in love with it again.
That's not a question we can answer for you.
I think the question you're asking isn't when or if it will become a game, but when or if you'll fall in love with it again.
That's not a question we can answer for you.
Elite has always been a universe where a lack of intelligence and imagination is endgame.
That was the case with the original Elite(s) and is still the case.
If you're so dumb that astronomy and celestial mechanics don't interest you go play Mass Effect where the characters are defined for you and you don't have to think. You'll be fine there because, generally, the world at large is full of people who are too lazy or stupid to think for themselves.
Sandbox games are, and remain, RPG games. You develop your own character and play it within that sandbox.
No intelligence or imagination? You're in the wrong game.
That was the case with the original Elite(s) and is still the case.
If you're so dumb that astronomy and celestial mechanics don't interest you go play Mass Effect where the characters are defined for you and you don't have to think. You'll be fine there because, generally, the world at large is full of people who are too lazy or stupid to think for themselves.
Sandbox games are, and remain, RPG games. You develop your own character and play it within that sandbox.
No intelligence or imagination? You're in the wrong game.
I have nothing against adding game elements to the sandbox, as long as the sandbox is respected.
Certainly don't need it though, and the fact that its so not there has probably contributed to why i've played it for 1.4k hours rather than.. 20? maybe 60?
Its more subjective choice? at the moment its done by the evolving set piece, and it would be a natural extension of that to add interactive narrative to, including cutscenes and auto accepted missions which is what i think 99% of people are missing when they call for this.
Its not in frontiers nature, but if they went all tie fighter on us yeap id be there.
I'm going to end with saying i personally don't need what the op is teary about not having, and consider the education of what pure sandbox is to be such a liberation when it comes to games.
Certainly don't need it though, and the fact that its so not there has probably contributed to why i've played it for 1.4k hours rather than.. 20? maybe 60?
Its more subjective choice? at the moment its done by the evolving set piece, and it would be a natural extension of that to add interactive narrative to, including cutscenes and auto accepted missions which is what i think 99% of people are missing when they call for this.
Its not in frontiers nature, but if they went all tie fighter on us yeap id be there.
I'm going to end with saying i personally don't need what the op is teary about not having, and consider the education of what pure sandbox is to be such a liberation when it comes to games.
It is small compared to some other studios. Also the 300 are not all working o ED iI would say 200 or so are working on other projects.
I don't think people are asking for auto accepted missions. I think people want better tools and more tools to create their own stories. There are some that do want a story line to follow. As long as it is optional I'm fine with it.
We already have tools, or crayons as some put It, there are just not many colours though.
Sorry but the same instances are still around and the game plays exactly the same. There are almost 0 new mechanics. Exploration is a joke, non existant, its only an excuse to take some screenshots and to press a stupid button to scan an object for some story who I dont care.
Trading is the same as in beta with a bigger map. Smuggling is another joke, its trading with a fast landing sequence. 0 skill needed and equipment needed.
The game is bigger but not better. Every new addon is shallow and doesnt give us complexity in the way we play each profession.
Sole Hunter
Banned
I think he's talking about defined linear progression type of gameplay with real career choices and rewards.
My guess is we will probably have those in 5 years and 6 months with 2 weeks of beta and it will be released with bugs.
My guess is we will probably have those in 5 years and 6 months with 2 weeks of beta and it will be released with bugs.
"Almost zero new mechanics."
Planetary landings.
Deployment of SRVs
Prospecting with said SRVs as well as ground-based missions.
Passengers.
Engineers (regardless of whether you like them or not, they're added since 1.x)
White Dwarf/Neutron star jump boosting.
Multicrew (regardless of whether you like it or not, they're added since 1.x)
Legal salvage/search and rescue.
And those are just off the top of my head, and not including all the stuff coming in 2018. The game being "not better" is a subjective assessment. You don't have to like it, but if you don't then it's time to consider other games.
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I have that already in ED. I also want more and more and more... but that's just how we are as humans, rarely satisfied.
If you don't currently have it with ED, then it might be you never get what you want, because your standards might be too high.
Maybe try another game? I'm a big fan of Ark, have you given that a go? Or you could try... (wait for it!).... Star Citizen
(sorry, couldn't resist).
Why do so many threads and posts on these forums have to be so hyperbolic and disingenuous? Preposterous statements like: there's zero mechanics, zero gameplay, nothing to do? You might well argue that there needs to be more to do or that core mechanics require more depth and variety, or that aspects of the game are too easy or simple, but saying that there's nothing to do or that it's not even a game is just idiotic, non-constructive and unhelpful.
This is another poor attempt to derail the real discussion, this is not SC which will fit perfectly into this category.
There is a game, in fact there is a lot you can do, a lot of the game mechanics actually work and in an excellent frame rate too
So instead you should point out what you would like to see changed, and how it should be changed.....
Because ...
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Yes. This is because there aren't any varied or interesting gameplay loops. e.g. as you say, all the missions are effectively the same. There is no variation of mission location (derelict stations/ship graveyards/other structures) and basically it's either (a) 'go to X, kill Y ships' or (b) 'go to X, drop off/pick up Y thing'.
If they ever figure out how to design some gameplay into missions which will actually work within their procedural generation tech, then maybe some day we'll see some interesting gameplay loops.
e: the other possible avenue for gameplay is them giving the players/community the ability to actually influence and progress things in the BGS/the simulation generally. Be it base building & consequent conflict, or proper conquest and expansion mechanics. Including specific PVP mechanics (e.g. PVP combat zones).
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Because conceptually it's quite hard to understand how Frontier have made a game that has such good gameplay mechanics (flight, docking, scooping, combat etc. etc.) and yet at the same time has such a massive dearth of gameplay which actually utilises those mechanics (i.e. it's all very simple and uniform).
It's just very difficult to get your head around that dichotomy. I still don't understand it - how have they managed to be years into the game's life and still not come up with any decently interesting gameplay loops?
Because they get attention. Well reasoned criticism requires brainpower.
Why? The original Elite never had a story (except in novel form) - and that was the reason for its success (it broke the gaming mould of the time, as it also didn't have three lives). The version of Elite I played (Acorn Electron) didn't even have missions! Many of us do not require linear storylines in a game. Or even a story at all. I'm perfectly happy with a huge sandbox (which we have) into which the developers add stuff as they progress...
You can already choose your career in E: D. In fact, you can pretty much do what you like...