Still as Inconvenient as Possible to Play

[Darkfyre99]

So many obdurate posts as usual. If you have to play a game with 3rd party software to make it playable then the game is missing something IMHO. At least FD are addressing the trade functionality in the update . 4 years too late but at least it is a start.

It's perfectly playable without 3rd party software. It just requires you to, you know, develop a skill within a skill based game. It doesn't take too long for you to start noticing a pattern to where ships and modules can be found, just like it doesn't take too long to notice a pattern to where commodities can be bought and sold. The only thing the 3rd party software does is remove the need to develop those skills.

The new trade tool Frontier added to the game removes some of the need to develop those skills, but not all of them. More importantly, it requires the player to actually explore inhabited space to use that trade tool.

 

[CMDR Dreamstate]

FTL communication exists in Elite, so no excuses about star distance.

Finding ships and what modules are sold at stations needs to be; A) simplified, B) easy to access, and C) informative.

Shinrarta Dezra shouldn't be the answer to everything, that's just a pretty big cop-out.

 

[B1rdy]

It's perfectly playable without 3rd party software. It just requires you to, you know, develop a skill within a skill based game. It doesn't take too long for you to start noticing a pattern to where ships and modules can be found, just like it doesn't take too long to notice a pattern to where commodities can be bought and sold. The only thing the 3rd party software does is remove the need to develop those skills.

The new trade tool Frontier added to the game removes some of the need to develop those skills, but not all of them. More importantly, it requires the player to actually explore inhabited space to use that trade tool.

I am perfectly fine with a game requiring skills. With all the information ED provides you at the moment, you can do an educated guess at best. Due to the sheer number of systems and star ports, it will result in a dumb search on the long run. This process of searching in ED is just boring from my POV.

 

[Lily from anim.o.v.e]

So a galaxy wide information network of whats available where and at which price but ingame? HAHAHAAAAA, nooo that would be sorcery.

 

[CMDR Dreamstate]

It's perfectly playable without 3rd party software. It just requires you to, you know, develop a skill within a skill based game. It doesn't take too long for you to start noticing a pattern to where ships and modules can be found, just like it doesn't take too long to notice a pattern to where commodities can be bought and sold. The only thing the 3rd party software does is remove the need to develop those skills.

The new trade tool Frontier added to the game removes some of the need to develop those skills, but not all of them. More importantly, it requires the player to actually explore inhabited space to use that trade tool.

I'm afraid there there is a difference between bare-bones development and what could be considered skill in a game with under-developed features, especially that of a under-whelming user interface - then again, I wouldn't be surprised if you could claim you use FA-off in the galaxy or system maps

3rd party programs or websites exist because the game lacks development - it is a symptom of a much bigger problem than just "skill".

 

[Exiton]

OP, it's actually about to become even MORE unrealistic with the new crime and punishment system (hints: ATR and undermining).

 

[signal11th]

OH! See the entire galaxy at the click of a button. The I want it now crowd. Hope it never happens.

Seriously that's just such a idiotic reply in regards to information, we have this tech now although on a much smaller locational scale, of course you would have all this data the only caveat to this would be it would not be current due to the time taken for the light/information to travel. The game itself makes things from what I can see "awkward" seemingly on purpose just to increase the time it takes to do something where in real life this has already been overcome.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Great and now what? Other arguments and reasons invalidated?

Hey, I am not against more information given to the players like NuttiKrusts suggestion, I am just stating that the game is perfectly playable without 3rd party apps, which it is.

 

[Rafe Zetter]

Two car dealerships on opposite sides of the world are still orders of magnitude closer to each other than any two stations in Elite. It may not be good game design but from a scenario standpoint it's not at all implausible.

one word: GalNet.

 

[B1rdy]

Hey, I am not against more information given to the players like NuttiKrusts suggestion, I am just stating that the game is perfectly playable without 3rd party apps, which it is.

And for me it is like that: I went from playing ED in fullscreen to borderless window, which I never do for other games. I went from playing on triple screens to a single screen, with third party tools on another screen. I only play ED in VR occasionally, like for combat, because it is a pain when trying to do stuff for engineers.
I am genuinely interested: How are you locating ships and modules? How do you proceed to engineer your ship? How do you do Ram Tah´s mission?

 

[Rafe Zetter]

OH! See the entire galaxy at the click of a button. The I want it now crowd. Hope it never happens.

Did you read the part where he said THREE JUMPS AWAY?

talk about overmagnification of an OP's point, so that the argument you use to ridicule the OP's point becomes "valid".

THREE JUMPS, is not the "entire galaxy".

Round my way we get a "local news" newspaper sort of thing - apparently they are pretty common...... oh yeah and the internet.

And in large company / college / university campus's they also have an "intranet" informing people of what's what within said campus. Because "local information" is what people are interested in and more to the point WANT, even NEED in most cases..... Because "Traders who have no clue how much they can sell their cargo for in another place and will travel thousands of miles..... just in case......" is a real thing where you live, right? yeah can't have that, being all logical and all.

So with the ability in 2018 to have such networks - and in game there is GalNET - why on earth are you making it sound so preposterous that systems within "local distance" can't talk to each other.... AT ALL?

The update of "can review prices of places they have BEEN" - is all well and good, but unless that information also covers what else is available at that base - ships / weapons / upgrades / etc etc.... then it's not enough.

I would also point out that the system FDev intends to implement is not "live" - it'll be a database of "prices - at the time you visitied that system", that's kept in your SHIPS DATABASE. Right now that's not a problem, because the economy isn't "live" either, it's as static as the pixellated rocks on the moons, so the prices you have from 6 ingame months ago for station X will still be 100% accurate 6 months from now.

Still doesn't change the fact that it doesn't look like they are implementing a system that allows you to access full station information within local surrounding systems - you're still going in blind. (or use EDDB - a third party app that ED players rely heavily on, and FDev use as a crutch to prop up thier lack of ingame application - and don't even pay the guys that made it / support it.)

And please do try and remember that in 3304 shipyards would be businesses that would ADVERTISE thier inventories, and in more places than just their own systems.

I'm frankly astonished that so many of you - living with the realities of information availability today - continue to say that in 1000 years time, you can't access the information of a system 3 jumps away that in game terms takes you 20 minutes to get to..

*shakes head*...

one more question for you Captain Willard (and all the other dissenters) - ever used the internet to look up prices of an item in SEVERAL DIFFERENT PLACES before you bought it?

Is that clear enough for everyone now?

 

[B1rdy]

I'm frankly astonished that so many of you - living with the realities of information availability today - continue to say that in 1000 years time, you can't access the information of a system 3 jumps away that in game terms takes you 20 minutes to get to..

*shakes head*...

Applying real world logic to in-game logic is not always helpful in order to make a game better. As a realistic game would not equal to infinite fun game mechanics, often times it is the other way round.

Edit: On a second thought, contradictory design isn´t helping either.

 

[Rafe Zetter]

Applying real world logic to in-game logic is not always helpful in order to make a game better. As a realistic game would not equal to infinite fun game mechanics, often times it is the other way round.

Edit: On a second thought, contradictory design isn´t helping either.

Yes ofc, I agree completely, BUT it depends on the topic, and in this case - inter system communication between bases would be an absolute necessity for security reasons if nothing else - so if stations would realistically be sharing that sort of information - why would they not also supply trading information, and everything else, for the convenience of their population ?

Has anyone actually read the heading it says on thier GalNet emails? No? ok here it is:

Galnet Focus
All the news from across the Galaxy


read the second line people, seriously, there is no valid counter argument to that.

 

[Whitehair]

Is that clear enough for everyrone now?

Look up 'speed of light'. That should make it clear enough for you.

 

[Rafe Zetter]

Look up 'speed of light'. That should make it clear enough for you.

In what context? That the information when transmitted digitally would take far too long to reach you?

Who said anything about digital?

Technically ingame I could jump in my ship - hop 3 jumps - write down all the relevent information about that station that most people would be interested in, talk a walk, have some tea, 3 jumps back and still only take AN HOUR to do it.

Traders and various traffic are coming and going constantly - Google "pony express". That should make it clear enough for you. (and if not try "stagecoach mail" or " mail trains".

oh yeah I forgot something.

GALNET.

Lets assume it doesn't take decades to transmit that information - however they do it.

you're arguement was......?

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

And for me it is like that: I went from playing ED in fullscreen to borderless window, which I never do for other games. I went from playing on triple screens to a single screen, with third party tools on another screen. I only play ED in VR occasionally, like for combat, because it is a pain when trying to do stuff for engineers.
I am genuinely interested: How are you locating ships and modules? How do you proceed to engineer your ship? How do you do Ram Tah´s mission?

Each to their own. I used to play ED without VR and never used 3rd party apps, I now play in VR and still never use 3rd party apps. The new trade tools will be good and I will use it and I will still not use 3rd party apps.

The new tools are good as it doesnt kill the exploration of the bubble systems for me. I still need to visit these systems and dock or go to the nav beacon to get the information or have a 40ly range around the galaxy map (not too sure if that is still subject to whether you have been there or not though). For me that is good. All the 3rd party apps do is make things easy to maximise credits per hour, to be more efficient. But for me efficient isn't always fun. Finding out these trade routes to me is fun, not having them handed to me on a plate.

But that's me, and people feel differently. So at least people have these 3rd party apps to make things easy for them as it seems that is what some people want.

 

[B1rdy]

Each to their own.

They used to put that phrase on the entrance of concentration camps, you know.
Would you be so kind and answer my questions?

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

They used to put that phrase on the entrance of concentration caps, you know.
Would you be so kind and answer my questions?

Don't expect non Germans to be that sensitive to the usage of "suum cuique".

 

[Muetdhiver]

And for me it is like that: I went from playing ED in fullscreen to borderless window, which I never do for other games. I went from playing on triple screens to a single screen, with third party tools on another screen. I only play ED in VR occasionally, like for combat, because it is a pain when trying to do stuff for engineers.
I am genuinely interested: How are you locating ships and modules? How do you proceed to engineer your ship? How do you do Ram Tah´s mission?

By reading Tanmark Tranquil Tea leaves. You didn't know ? That's the main reason it's a rare good...

Heike Ceremonial Tea leaves are known to work in a pinch, but prone to pricing errors in the seeked good or ship. Adding Tauri chimes in the room have been reported to fix this.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

They used to put that phrase on the entrance of concentration caps, you know.

Not that has anything to do with anything.

Would you be so kind and answer my questions?

Ships and modules I go to Jamesons Memorial, and if I am elsewhere, I use what I can while my other ship is being transported, one of the reason why I like to use a Cobra when going around the bubble, as I can use it for most thing, combat, trade, bounty hunting, combat zones and it has a good range.

As to Ram Tah, he is an engineer with a galaxy map link, which I use with the rest of the engineers that I know of. Pretty easy. Not that I understand what that has to do with anything.

Oh, if you are talking about rares, well when I come across them, I bookmark the station.