The ONE reason I don't enjoy exploration... :(

[galahad2069]

Not even Witch Space can laugh in the face of inevitable doom forever.

Instead of sinister-looking clouds of gas it should be decorated with pink fluffy unicorns and, of course, banners all over the place with the word 'oppressive' printed on them in large, friendly, strikethough letters.

Maybe we could rename it to Safe Space.

 

[Dagwit]

Coming soon, alternative Witchspace animations in the Game Extras store!

 

[Fenris Wolf]

Imagine it more clear, with just stars and beautiful, with white glitter flying by.

You want it more like this?

 

[krylite]

Hyperspace in the Elite franchise seems to be less most pop tv/movie sci-fi and more like old book sci-fi type of weird altered space state travel, similar to Niven's "Known Space" novels, ( http://news.larryniven.net/concordance/content.asp?page=Hyperspace ), or Asimov's "Foundation" series' hyperspace. ( https://www.shmoop.com/science-fiction/journey-characteristic-foundation-example.html ) So I don't mind ED's hyperspace looking more wierd and mysterious which I think adds to it's own unique style.

 

[rrobes]

If you take a short trip (for an exploration) to Colonia or Sag A, it's roughly 50k ly round trip, and with a reasonably capable ship w/ 50 ly range it's 1k jumps.

As it has been said, jumping is repetitive and tedious, no matter what you wrap it in, for me and any number of players.

That being said, game design requirements that necessitate the screen can't be overlooked, we have to live with it. Making each jump "different" is likely not an option.

The only way to minimize the screen numbers is to increase the ship jump range, but that's for another discussion.

"You can't always get what you want,

but if you try sometime, you might find,

you get what you need".

 

[IndigoWyrd]

As a Lovecraft fan, I rather like the look of it. I'd rather they add some more mind-bending, reality-questioning effects to it. We are, after all, bending spacetime itself.

 

[Darkfyre99]

There's really only one thing that prevents me from being a major explorer around the stars in Elite..

- The hyper-jump animation is so disgusting and ugly.

It looks like enveloping space and its stars is something monstrous, sticky and satanic.
You are hurled forward into parts of intestines and green moldy slime.

H.P. Lovecraft couldn't have thought up a more hideous version of "hyper space" - which I picture to be clean, transparent and filled with the light of the stars, rather than dark and patchy.


Couple that with the sounds in the Zorgon Hauler, and you feel a game remake of Event Horizon coming on.
Its Opressive


I intensely dislike staring at it for 60 seconds each time and
it could be so much nicer if FDev expended some of their QOL efforts planned for this year on a better animation...
...for what takes up so much of our time in the game.


Imagine it more clear, with just stars and beautiful, with white glitter flying by.


CCP managed a great looking warp animation on their 15 Year old EVE Online engine...
Yes, any repeating animations get old eventually, but its nice if they're not in your face gross and unpleasant.

Sounds like Frontier did a really good job with the jump animation then. Hyperspace is supposed to scare the crap out of you. It is, after all, called Witchspace, not Sparkling Rainbows and Unicorns Space.

What do you want, unicorns and rainbows?

dang it, ninja'd

 

[Mengy]

The hyperspace animation is the least of explorations failings.

Precisely! On a list of things to improve regarding exploration, the hyperspace animation is like #857 on that list!!!!



That said though, if I could change anything about the animation, it would be to make it not a random starfield flyby but instead make it a very fast flyby of the actual galactic in-game starfield. Meaning actual stars in your vicinity fly past as you hyperspace by them, nebulas in the game move and draw closer as you approach them, etc. Space dust could fly by at very fast speeds to provide the velocity reference because the starfield would move much more slowly. I feel like it would just be a lot more immersive like that, and possibly even more useful too.

 

[Sylveria]

Never understood all the "hate" about the hyperspace graphics.

If you were to go into "real" space, you'd see empty nothingness everywhere and piloting a ship would be very boring indeed.

This isn't a Michael Bay-splosions movie, it's a video game with spaceship piloting at its core.

 

[Ziljan]

It looks like enveloping space and its stars is something monstrous, sticky and satanic.
You are hurled forward into parts of intestines and green moldy slime.

Seeing "Satan" in the stars eh? Sounds like a hallucination issue mixed with indoctrination issues.

 

[Quester91]

- The hyper-jump animation is so disgusting and ugly.

It was even worse before 2.3 lol

When I first started playing witchspace wasn't even trying to hide the obvious loading screen happening in background.
There was no light at the end of the tunnel and stars were squared sheets of textures shot at your face, it was super cheap. Also lasted three times longer per jump, or even more if servers weren't smiling at you.

 

[Heavensburn]

I’d hate it too if I had to stare at it for 60 seconds.

Buy a faster internet connection.

 

[Dbrn47]

This is your one reason? Not even on my list. I'm actually quite fine with the animation.

 

[Lightspeed]

You want it more like this?

http://www.fenris.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/FriendshipDrive.gif

I want that Sidewinder !

 

[NW3]

Speak for yourself, I think it looks great.

I do too. I particular like that the effects differ, based on which area of the galaxy you are in.

Besides, this isn't Star Wars. I like the effect, but it would be nice if it were a little shorter.

 

[shadragon]

If that's the one thing preventing you enjoying exploration, here's a tip: close your eyes.

Ninja'd with extreme skill. Hoo-jah!

 

[Cosmos]

There's really only one thing that prevents me from being a major explorer around the stars in Elite..

- The hyper-jump animation is so disgusting and ugly.

It looks like enveloping space and its stars is something monstrous, sticky and satanic.
You are hurled forward into parts of intestines and green moldy slime.

H.P. Lovecraft couldn't have thought up a more hideous version of "hyper space" - which I picture to be clean, transparent and filled with the light of the stars, rather than dark and patchy.


Couple that with the sounds in the Zorgon Hauler, and you feel a game remake of Event Horizon coming on.
Its Opressive


I intensely dislike staring at it for 60 seconds each time and
it could be so much nicer if FDev expended some of their QOL efforts planned for this year on a better animation...
...for what takes up so much of our time in the game.


Imagine it more clear, with just stars and beautiful, with white glitter flying by.


CCP managed a great looking warp animation on their 15 Year old EVE Online engine...
Yes, any repeating animations get old eventually, but its nice if they're not in your face gross and unpleasant.

There are a few problems with exploration in my view. First, modelling the galaxy, whilst impressive from a sciency point of view, does not make for a good game because its impossible to put enough meaningful stuff in it for it to be an enjoyable experience. Whats the rewards for rinse and repeating, jump scan jump?.. Its a very poor, to use FDs language, 'game play loop' and the only reward are some pretty vistas.

2nd, The amount of down time going anywhere is somewhat ridiculous. I know a lot of people who play arent youngsters but when netflix and exploring go hand in hand one can only wonder.

Procedural generation is all well and good but what is the point of an infinite play area which is filled with nothing and of which we can't create any content ourselves, i.e. bases etc..?

I've been playing Subnautica recently and that game makes exploration an amazing experience. I'm so blown away with it but it leaves EDs exploration for dust.

I think Braben got a little too overly ambitious with modelling the galaxy and forgot about making a more enjoyable game.

If anyone has played Subnautica they'll likely understand what I'm banging on about.

 

[jasonbarron]

There are a few problems with exploration in my view. First, modelling the galaxy, whilst impressive from a sciency point of view, does not make for a good game because its impossible to put enough meaningful stuff in it for it to be an enjoyable experience. Whats the rewards for rinse and repeating, jump scan jump?.. Its a very poor, to use FDs language, 'game play loop' and the only reward are some pretty vistas.

2nd, The amount of down time going anywhere is somewhat ridiculous. I know a lot of people who play arent youngsters but when netflix and exploring go hand in hand one can only wonder.

Procedural generation is all well and good but what is the point of an infinite play area which is filled with nothing and of which we can't create any content ourselves, i.e. bases etc..?

I've been playing Subnautica recently and that game makes exploration an amazing experience. I'm so blown away with it but it leaves EDs exploration for dust.

I think Braben got a little too overly ambitious with modelling the galaxy and forgot about making a more enjoyable game.

If anyone has played Subnautica they'll likely understand what I'm banging on about.

When I play Subnautica, I pretend that I'm actually on a water world in ED in a submersible SRV.

 

[Sylveria]

If anyone has played Subnautica they'll likely understand what I'm banging on about.

Stylized graphics with oversaturated textures? That's what you're banging on about?

Or the more interactive life of an underwater environment? Space isn't "filled" with life... at least not that we've been able to recognize with our human intelligence.

Not an equal comparison, IMO.

 

[jasonbarron]

Stylized graphics with oversaturated textures? That's what you're banging on about?

Or the more interactive life of an underwater environment? Space isn't "filled" with life... at least not that we've been able to recognize with our human intelligence.

Not an equal comparison, IMO.

Indeed. Subnautica's sense of exploration and the accompanying sense of mystery and awe blow's ED completely out of the water.

Edit: please make note of the fantastic pun!