This isn't sarcasm, I honestly do wonder sometimes if Frontier despises their sizeable exploration community?
They seem to either willfully disregard explorers or simply don't consider them. One signals neglect while the other signifies a dislike of some kind. I'm just wondering which is it?
- They implement geysers and fumeroles to find on planet surfaces but with no tools at all to find them, forcing explorers to scour planets with their eyeballs only which can take dozens of frustrating hours.
- They turn the galaxy beige for an entire year before finally fixing their mistake. (Admittedly with improvements too, though we did not regain the lost terrain details)
- They neglect improving exploration mechanics for four years, not since 1.0.
- After four years we still don't have any exploration missions in the game.
- Frontier removed Exploration CGs completely.
- Neutron Jumps were a dev mistake, and if not for the exploration community begging and pleading to keep it as a "feature" we wouldn't have them today. It never even occurred to Frontier that it might be a meaningful mechanic until then.
- They finally add heat sink synthesis, only to make it require manufactured materials, meaning you cannot replenish it at all out there on your own. They entirely forgot that heat sinks had uses beyond spamming them together with shield cells.
- They promise an Exploration Feedback Forum for the Q4 improvements but then delay it, then delay it again, and now it's postponed indefinitely with no new date at all.
- They "prioritized" the Ice Planet improvements out of 3.3 and won't answer the question if they are scheduled for a later date or completely cut from the roadmap.
- They implement Multicrew as combat only with no exploration use at all. They don't even make SRV's, a common exploration feature, compatible with Multicrew.
- Over half of the ships in Elite are combat oriented while only two are designed with exploration in mind, and ironically the most capable explorer is neither of them and is in fact a multirole ship.
- One of the "exploration" ships also has the slowest fuel scoop rate in the entire game, a key module for exploration.
- They agree to jump Jaques Station out to Beagle Point at the conclusion of the DWE, wait until lots of explorers fly there or wait around for him to arrive, but then instead jump him completely somewhere else.
- And the latest addition to the list, they have no problem usurping a Canonn exploration event into a combat only affair, at the expense of non combat explorer ships no less, while simultaneously negating any exploration gameplay from the event at all. Despite thousands of explorers flying to the Gnosis eager for a rare exploration event in the game.
As an explorer it often feels like Frontier doesn't consider the playstyle when developing the game, or when creating and managing events. It often feels like they vastly prefer the combat playstyle over exploration. I know Q4 is finally supposed to include major exploration improvements, but given Frontier's behavior regarding explorers I'm worried that their temperment will prevent them from moving this aspect of the game forward in a meaningful manner.
I really just wish Frontier was as thoughtful, considerate, and respectful towards explorers (and non combat players in general) as they were to the combat crowd. I really wish exploration would get half of the development focus and resources that combat gets.
There are
three Elite ranks in the game, my hope is that someday Frontier develops with that triad in mind in a more balanced manner than they have up until now.
Combat, Trading, and Exploration. The game could use a greater focus on the latter two than the former first from now on.
Pretty Please. With sugar on top. With Lavian Brandy icing smothered all around it too.
![[Diplomacy] Carnegie](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/123/123809.jpg?1553527149){kind=avatar}