Sooooo, I was part of the Gnosis debacle, got caught in the bait and switch and now sit there wondering if I can be bothered to play the game or not. While I am figuring that out, and not playing Project Cars 2, and while I am waiting to see if the Gnosis gets to jump anywhere interesting any time soon, I thought I would revisit CQC.
I say revisit because last time I tried this area of Elite Dangerous there was no one playing and so, without any NPC option, I couldn't actually try it out. However, today (Sunday) I thought I would give it a go and lo' there were two people waiting for a game. Two! Out of everyone that could be playing at a weekend. Anyway, that aside, in I dived.
The two players in my first session were both level 30 players, to my level 1. I thought it was a bit strange that the game hookup system would match me with players 30 levels higher than me, but I think the server might not have an actual option, in that, we were the only ones playing, so it was a case of suck it up...
Initial impressions are of a rapid-fire play environment, built for speed junkies and thrill seekers. When in a combat situation, either taking fire or dishing it out, battles that spin and weave between the beautifully crafted structures are awe-inspiring. At least they were for my fresh eyes. And, disclaimer, I play in VR, which tends to make even the craziest game look cool.
But anyway, battle was fought, and after a while, we dropped to just two of us, which considering the level difference, was not a lot of fun for me, constantly getting blown up by a higher level player. I stuck with it to get the XP Points (you see FD, you can do experience related stuff!), and had a bit of a laugh playing hide and seek with the other guy. For a while.
Logged eventually, when I got bored of being blown up a lot, and when the maps had rotated through all that there were (four I think). I did come back to it later, but again, only two other players, and one of those soon went, leaving me, now a lofty level 2, up against yet another level 30 player. Maybe that's the level peak?
Again, it was fun, for a while, and I can see that if there are four or five players in a free for all deathmatch, it would be enormous fun. Team deathmatch sounds loads of fun, but not really do-able with only two people on the CQC server.
So, overall, a bit of a laugh, something different in Elite Dangerous, but so woefully underused that it's basically just going to entertain those that have already got level 30 and like blowing up curious level 1 players venturing into this area for the first time.
Without NPC ships, or the option of including them to fill the empty spaces, CQC is really looking a little like an FD developers vanity project. A pity, as it does seem as though it has a lot of potential.
I will give it a few more goes, while I wait to see if the Gnosis actually goes anywhere, or if the new patch brings anything of interest to do, but if I am going to constantly find only one or two players, I cannot see this having any long-term attraction for me.
I say revisit because last time I tried this area of Elite Dangerous there was no one playing and so, without any NPC option, I couldn't actually try it out. However, today (Sunday) I thought I would give it a go and lo' there were two people waiting for a game. Two! Out of everyone that could be playing at a weekend. Anyway, that aside, in I dived.
The two players in my first session were both level 30 players, to my level 1. I thought it was a bit strange that the game hookup system would match me with players 30 levels higher than me, but I think the server might not have an actual option, in that, we were the only ones playing, so it was a case of suck it up...
Initial impressions are of a rapid-fire play environment, built for speed junkies and thrill seekers. When in a combat situation, either taking fire or dishing it out, battles that spin and weave between the beautifully crafted structures are awe-inspiring. At least they were for my fresh eyes. And, disclaimer, I play in VR, which tends to make even the craziest game look cool.
But anyway, battle was fought, and after a while, we dropped to just two of us, which considering the level difference, was not a lot of fun for me, constantly getting blown up by a higher level player. I stuck with it to get the XP Points (you see FD, you can do experience related stuff!), and had a bit of a laugh playing hide and seek with the other guy. For a while.
Logged eventually, when I got bored of being blown up a lot, and when the maps had rotated through all that there were (four I think). I did come back to it later, but again, only two other players, and one of those soon went, leaving me, now a lofty level 2, up against yet another level 30 player. Maybe that's the level peak?
Again, it was fun, for a while, and I can see that if there are four or five players in a free for all deathmatch, it would be enormous fun. Team deathmatch sounds loads of fun, but not really do-able with only two people on the CQC server.
So, overall, a bit of a laugh, something different in Elite Dangerous, but so woefully underused that it's basically just going to entertain those that have already got level 30 and like blowing up curious level 1 players venturing into this area for the first time.
Without NPC ships, or the option of including them to fill the empty spaces, CQC is really looking a little like an FD developers vanity project. A pity, as it does seem as though it has a lot of potential.
I will give it a few more goes, while I wait to see if the Gnosis actually goes anywhere, or if the new patch brings anything of interest to do, but if I am going to constantly find only one or two players, I cannot see this having any long-term attraction for me.
Whatever, just play for a while, it will get easier, and you'll know you're doing it right if you're having fun.
