Blackcompany
Banned
Imagine for a moment you intend to purchase a high performance sports car. Or perhaps a truck that specializes in hauling heavy loads, or long hauling, perhaps for your fleet.
You purchase the vehicle. But it still requires modifications in order to fill its specific role to the best of its abilities. That is worth emphasizing here: You desire for the vehicle in question to perform its task not in a manner sufficient to the requirements of the job, but rather, to the best of the vehicle's abilities. Meeting the requirements is neither what you want from this vehicle, nor what you require of it. If it were, you would simply purchase the vehicle, and begin using it for its allotted task immediately, without modification.
So, you set up a time for have these modifications performed. Maybe you need nitrus and racing slicks, and changes to gear ratios and engine tuning. Perhaps you need a heavy duty trailer hitch, hook ups for refrigerated trailers or larger or auxiliary fuel tanks for long hauling. So you set up the appointment, drop the vehicle off, have the adjustments made, and put the vehicle into use a day, or a week, later, with minimal inconvenience to you, your fleet or other responsibilities. Because responsible business owners who care about their customers and repeat business understand the 3/11 rule, and know that WASTING THEIR CUSTOMERS TIME, is a BAD IDEA.
Now lets look at Elite.
I buy, say, An Asp Explorer. Or an Imperial Courier, for small ship combat or bounty hunting with some light USS Mat salvaging while I am out and about. No problem. While a rather ridiculous and overly gamey system in and of itself, once the ship is A Rated (usually possible at the station where the purchase was made, at least for small and medium ships) the ship is prepared to perform its role in a manner that fits the requirements of the job.
The ship is not, in any way, shape or form, however, ready to perform its allotted task to the best of its abilities.
For that, we need Engineering. And since I purchase this ship explicitly because I wanted a vessel that would perform its tasks to the best of its abilities, as opposed to simply meeting the requirements for the job...I need to Engineer this ship. Whether I WANT to do so or not is now irrelevant; if I desire for the ship to maximize the efficiency with which it can perform its allotted task - whatever that task might be - Engineering is now mandatory.
Which means I now need to spend time prospecting. Whether I enjoy it or not is irrelevant; it is, according to the above criteria, a requirement. Whether this fosters burnout in me, and makes me want to leave the game completely, doesnt matter. I cannot have a ship that lives up to its full potential without doing this. And the same goes for USS Salvage (which I, personally, somewhat enjoy, especially with the varied wrecks and debris types). The same goes for various mission types. Regardless of how much I enjoy a task in Elite - or whether I enjoy it at all - I now have to perform every task in the game. Otherwise, no ship I purchase will ever live up to its full potential.
But not only must I perform every task in the game, regardless or burnout or enjoyment. I must also spend time unlocking various engineers. That the unlock requirements for many engineers set a gold standard for boredom inducing tedium not only in Elite but in all of modern video gaming doesnt matter. That Kamitra Cigars alone are an intelligence insulting time gate is irrelevant. If I want a ship - any ship - to live up to its maximum potential, I have to partake of this ironically named "content" now.
And once that bit of tedium is out of the way, I still need to travel round to every single Engineer individually, rolling what upgrades I can get. This alone can take a day, or more. Not the entire grind listed above, mind. Just the flying around to each location part, and rolling upgrades.
On the up side, once all of this is done, I finally have a ship - one ship, that is; just one - that can perform its allotted task to the best of its ability. That can maximize the efficiency with which I can utilize that ship. That makes me feel as if I am not missing out on things I could accomplish with that ship. Provided I still derive any enjoyment from Elite at all, at this point - and there's a fair chance I dont, after being forced to partake of game content I dont like, for countless hours, in order to unlock game content I DO enjoy - I am now ready to put my new ship to use.
Of course, if I ever want to buy another ship...I will need to do almost all of this all over again. Every single time wasting, step - except, thank god, the initial unlocking of Engineers. But all of those other layers of tedium remain. Especially - and this is key, since the Beta isnt doing anything to change it - the RNG Mat grind. This alone can take days, or even weeks, for G5 min/maxers (which, thankfully, I have decided I am not, after all, going to become; I can live without SOME potential).
Does FDEV really believe that literally wasting your customers' time is a good idea? That this will foster positive feelings - and, more importantly, positive reviews and repeat purchases of game content? Of course it wont. Which is why roughly 50% of those who try the game, never leave a Sidewinder, and why a very, very large percentage of the install base is no longer playing the game. Because FDEV would rather waste our time, then help us enjoy it.
There are, of course, counter-arguments to this viewpoint. Chief among them: Engineers are something FDEV intended you to do gradually, over time.
Lets put that flawed theory to rest right now: Engineering a ship gradually, over time, makes little to no sense. You want a new ship to live up to its potential immediately. Right away. This being the case, then...why would you just take your time, and make your modifications slowly? You dont buy a new race car and wait six weeks to tune the transmission for track time, and four more weeks to add slicks. You dont buy a new long haul truck, start using it, and then wait six weeks to add the auxiliary fuel tanks. Why in the world would you buy a new combat or hauling vessel, and then wait days, or weeks, to modify the ship, all the while subjecting yourself to an experience that is strictly subpar to the one on offer?
Most people wouldn't. Which is why I suspect a lot of people attempt to make all of their modifications to a new ship almost immediately after buying it. Which is abject tedium, and, I suspect, fosters burnout, especially in newer players who change ships fairly often. Which they must, because multi-role in this game isnt half so good at multiple roles as FDEV seem to think.
Another argument against my view is "its, like, your opinion, man." Well of course it is. Move along, please.
I think FDEV need to take a long, hard look at the role they intend Engineers to fill in this game.
If its progression, its a very, very bad implementation of progression. The RNG mat drops - even with a broker that just adds more loading screens between modifying a ship and actually playing the game our way with it - does not allow a player to plan, or work proactively toward goals. Its just gambling. Flying through systems or driving across dirt and rolling dice is neither compelling game play, nor worthy of a triple A space sim.
If the Engineers represent End Game Content the implementation is even worse. The signal sent with this claim is that "grinding RNG is the End Game." Yeah. That will retain players looking for an immersive space sim. Players who were told by that recent PS4 ad to "Build Your Own Empire" are definitely looking to log in and gamble on random material drops instead. Sure. That's why the game was so massively, headline grabbingly successful on that platform...oh, wait...
FDEV need to consider the role they want Engineers to play. Honestly, I dont think they have any business as a Feature Mechanic. I dont think they ever did have. I have always thought that the less time we spend waiting, watching and staring at menus, the more time we can spend in our ships, flying, hauling, fighting, exploring...playing the game.
Engineers puts a serious dent in time spent actually playing. And even that pales in comparison to the dent it puts in the time spent Playing Our Way. And in that regard, Engineers, in their current implementation - even with the adjustments underway in the Beta - are far more detrimental to the game, and those who want to play it, than they are helpful.
We came here to play. To blaze our own trail. Play our way. And now the Engineers are leaving us with a binary choice: Either play the way you are told to play...or miss out on content. Neither of these is an acceptable choice, to your customer base. Neither of these is a wise choice, as a business that cares about customers and repeat business.
The Engineers should not subtract from time spent playing the game in the roles and ways we see fit. And until real, quality adjustments are made that support this, they remain a detrimental burden to the game for a whole lot of players.
You purchase the vehicle. But it still requires modifications in order to fill its specific role to the best of its abilities. That is worth emphasizing here: You desire for the vehicle in question to perform its task not in a manner sufficient to the requirements of the job, but rather, to the best of the vehicle's abilities. Meeting the requirements is neither what you want from this vehicle, nor what you require of it. If it were, you would simply purchase the vehicle, and begin using it for its allotted task immediately, without modification.
So, you set up a time for have these modifications performed. Maybe you need nitrus and racing slicks, and changes to gear ratios and engine tuning. Perhaps you need a heavy duty trailer hitch, hook ups for refrigerated trailers or larger or auxiliary fuel tanks for long hauling. So you set up the appointment, drop the vehicle off, have the adjustments made, and put the vehicle into use a day, or a week, later, with minimal inconvenience to you, your fleet or other responsibilities. Because responsible business owners who care about their customers and repeat business understand the 3/11 rule, and know that WASTING THEIR CUSTOMERS TIME, is a BAD IDEA.
Now lets look at Elite.
I buy, say, An Asp Explorer. Or an Imperial Courier, for small ship combat or bounty hunting with some light USS Mat salvaging while I am out and about. No problem. While a rather ridiculous and overly gamey system in and of itself, once the ship is A Rated (usually possible at the station where the purchase was made, at least for small and medium ships) the ship is prepared to perform its role in a manner that fits the requirements of the job.
The ship is not, in any way, shape or form, however, ready to perform its allotted task to the best of its abilities.
For that, we need Engineering. And since I purchase this ship explicitly because I wanted a vessel that would perform its tasks to the best of its abilities, as opposed to simply meeting the requirements for the job...I need to Engineer this ship. Whether I WANT to do so or not is now irrelevant; if I desire for the ship to maximize the efficiency with which it can perform its allotted task - whatever that task might be - Engineering is now mandatory.
Which means I now need to spend time prospecting. Whether I enjoy it or not is irrelevant; it is, according to the above criteria, a requirement. Whether this fosters burnout in me, and makes me want to leave the game completely, doesnt matter. I cannot have a ship that lives up to its full potential without doing this. And the same goes for USS Salvage (which I, personally, somewhat enjoy, especially with the varied wrecks and debris types). The same goes for various mission types. Regardless of how much I enjoy a task in Elite - or whether I enjoy it at all - I now have to perform every task in the game. Otherwise, no ship I purchase will ever live up to its full potential.
But not only must I perform every task in the game, regardless or burnout or enjoyment. I must also spend time unlocking various engineers. That the unlock requirements for many engineers set a gold standard for boredom inducing tedium not only in Elite but in all of modern video gaming doesnt matter. That Kamitra Cigars alone are an intelligence insulting time gate is irrelevant. If I want a ship - any ship - to live up to its maximum potential, I have to partake of this ironically named "content" now.
And once that bit of tedium is out of the way, I still need to travel round to every single Engineer individually, rolling what upgrades I can get. This alone can take a day, or more. Not the entire grind listed above, mind. Just the flying around to each location part, and rolling upgrades.
On the up side, once all of this is done, I finally have a ship - one ship, that is; just one - that can perform its allotted task to the best of its ability. That can maximize the efficiency with which I can utilize that ship. That makes me feel as if I am not missing out on things I could accomplish with that ship. Provided I still derive any enjoyment from Elite at all, at this point - and there's a fair chance I dont, after being forced to partake of game content I dont like, for countless hours, in order to unlock game content I DO enjoy - I am now ready to put my new ship to use.
Of course, if I ever want to buy another ship...I will need to do almost all of this all over again. Every single time wasting, step - except, thank god, the initial unlocking of Engineers. But all of those other layers of tedium remain. Especially - and this is key, since the Beta isnt doing anything to change it - the RNG Mat grind. This alone can take days, or even weeks, for G5 min/maxers (which, thankfully, I have decided I am not, after all, going to become; I can live without SOME potential).
Does FDEV really believe that literally wasting your customers' time is a good idea? That this will foster positive feelings - and, more importantly, positive reviews and repeat purchases of game content? Of course it wont. Which is why roughly 50% of those who try the game, never leave a Sidewinder, and why a very, very large percentage of the install base is no longer playing the game. Because FDEV would rather waste our time, then help us enjoy it.
There are, of course, counter-arguments to this viewpoint. Chief among them: Engineers are something FDEV intended you to do gradually, over time.
Lets put that flawed theory to rest right now: Engineering a ship gradually, over time, makes little to no sense. You want a new ship to live up to its potential immediately. Right away. This being the case, then...why would you just take your time, and make your modifications slowly? You dont buy a new race car and wait six weeks to tune the transmission for track time, and four more weeks to add slicks. You dont buy a new long haul truck, start using it, and then wait six weeks to add the auxiliary fuel tanks. Why in the world would you buy a new combat or hauling vessel, and then wait days, or weeks, to modify the ship, all the while subjecting yourself to an experience that is strictly subpar to the one on offer?
Most people wouldn't. Which is why I suspect a lot of people attempt to make all of their modifications to a new ship almost immediately after buying it. Which is abject tedium, and, I suspect, fosters burnout, especially in newer players who change ships fairly often. Which they must, because multi-role in this game isnt half so good at multiple roles as FDEV seem to think.
Another argument against my view is "its, like, your opinion, man." Well of course it is. Move along, please.
I think FDEV need to take a long, hard look at the role they intend Engineers to fill in this game.
If its progression, its a very, very bad implementation of progression. The RNG mat drops - even with a broker that just adds more loading screens between modifying a ship and actually playing the game our way with it - does not allow a player to plan, or work proactively toward goals. Its just gambling. Flying through systems or driving across dirt and rolling dice is neither compelling game play, nor worthy of a triple A space sim.
If the Engineers represent End Game Content the implementation is even worse. The signal sent with this claim is that "grinding RNG is the End Game." Yeah. That will retain players looking for an immersive space sim. Players who were told by that recent PS4 ad to "Build Your Own Empire" are definitely looking to log in and gamble on random material drops instead. Sure. That's why the game was so massively, headline grabbingly successful on that platform...oh, wait...
FDEV need to consider the role they want Engineers to play. Honestly, I dont think they have any business as a Feature Mechanic. I dont think they ever did have. I have always thought that the less time we spend waiting, watching and staring at menus, the more time we can spend in our ships, flying, hauling, fighting, exploring...playing the game.
Engineers puts a serious dent in time spent actually playing. And even that pales in comparison to the dent it puts in the time spent Playing Our Way. And in that regard, Engineers, in their current implementation - even with the adjustments underway in the Beta - are far more detrimental to the game, and those who want to play it, than they are helpful.
We came here to play. To blaze our own trail. Play our way. And now the Engineers are leaving us with a binary choice: Either play the way you are told to play...or miss out on content. Neither of these is an acceptable choice, to your customer base. Neither of these is a wise choice, as a business that cares about customers and repeat business.
The Engineers should not subtract from time spent playing the game in the roles and ways we see fit. And until real, quality adjustments are made that support this, they remain a detrimental burden to the game for a whole lot of players.
