Do we still see ED as being THE space game in 12 months?
Surely you jest and mean Battlezone 1(998)
![[VR] Deggial](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/47/47252.jpg?1553527110){kind=avatar}
... and approximately one billion other examples.
The world must be a very, very boring place for you indeed.
No, that's Eve Online.
No matter how smart you are, there's very little chance you can actually follow PRNG patterns, you'd wish you could.
So you want FD to build a planet Earth simulation that you can spend years exploring and then you will be happy? Not asking for much then.
As for some of your other points. I'm guessing that planets of varying types look pretty much the same all over the Milky Way. The big differences will come with atmospheres and their affect on the surfaces. How FD are going to tackle that I have no idea, but I bet it will take a ton of work to get right. We will have to wait.
Depends on what level you are talking about. He aint seeing the tectonic plate algorithms. He may have noticed gas giants are often purple.
So you want FD to build a planet Earth simulation that you can spend years exploring and then you will be happy? Not asking for much then.
That is exactly it. Its so absurd when people talk about 'just a few handcrafted star systems' or even 'just a single planet like earth'. Its a complete separation from reality deep into dreamland. With the drawback of being upset your dreams aint real.
Depends on what level you are talking about. He aint seeing the tectonic plate algorithms. He may have noticed gas giants are often purple.
Well that's an actual RNG (probably).
What ED has is VR and space flight in an approximation to our Milky, someone needs to build something similar first and no one currently is. For me ED will keep its niche.
On the subject of VR, I think it is here to stay. I work with 8 confessed gamers (5 console and 3 pc), all with the means to afford pc and VR. None of the console gamers have VR, but 2 out of 3 of the pc crowd do and the one that doesn't plays none vr style games. Interestingly the two of us that do are 50 plus. Small sample size of course but it makes me realise VR is still niche, but interestingly the middle aged generation are adopters. Normally, new tech is the younger generations interest. The fact that over 50's are buying suggests increasing acceptance.
On the subject of VR, I think it is here to stay. I work with 8 confessed gamers (5 console and 3 pc), all with the means to afford pc and VR. None of the console gamers have VR, but 2 out of 3 of the pc crowd do and the one that doesn't plays none vr style games. Interestingly the two of us that do are 50 plus. Small sample size of course but it makes me realise VR is still niche, but interestingly the middle aged generation are adopters. Normally, new tech is the younger generations interest. The fact that over 50's are buying suggests increasing acceptance.
I would say older people seem more accepting of VR because they are more financially secure and have more money to throw around.
I'd say it was more down to the older generation of gamers playing more niche game genres like space games or flight sims rather than purely financial security. Judging by both my sons in their late 20's, the game titles (namely fast paced AAA FPS shooters) that attract them have no use for VR implementation, neither have the gamers that play games like Battlefield, COD, PUBG or Fortnite have any real use for something that would slow their game reaction speed down in real terms...
When I asked my son (who's home on leave) if he had any interest for VR support in the games he plays, he simply said that all his friends and people he plays with online, play purely for the competition and not the immersion.
Makes sense to me...
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"The Space Game" is different for each person. I do most of my gaming in VR. Elite is still the best space game in VR. There is no competition in the future.
But I almost never play ED anymore. I prefer playing IL-2 or other flight sims. ED has a great flight model and great ships but that's it. I'm hoping that future updates will make it worth playing for me.
If X4 lives up to its hype I could see a large chunk of ED players moving to that.
People keep talking about when SC gets "released" but it will probably be developing for a very long time. I think in a year SC will be in a state where some will find it more engaging than ED.
But I almost never play ED anymore. I prefer playing IL-2 or other flight sims. ED has a great flight model and great ships but that's it. I'm hoping that future updates will make it worth playing for me.
If X4 lives up to its hype I could see a large chunk of ED players moving to that.
People keep talking about when SC gets "released" but it will probably be developing for a very long time. I think in a year SC will be in a state where some will find it more engaging than ED.
I think Cloud Breaker is correct. If VR were cheap and all his friends could afford it they would be playing competitive games like this in VR...
[video=youtube;B4rLtvDXTWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4rLtvDXTWo[/video]
Currently VR costs too much for mass adoption and it's on the PC platform which requires a lot of technical knowledge to deal with issues like driver updates.
The VR hardware isn't there yet to play fast paced FPS games. The pixel density makes it impossible to see objects clearly at distance. Also framerates have to be fast to avoid motion sickness when running or turning quickly. Not much of a problem in ED as there are no space legs.
You do NOT need a lot of technical knowledge to install VR hardware, drivers or updates on a PC. I don't know why you would think that.
There are a lot of impediments to VR adoption:
1. price
2. VR requires a lot of space that most people don't have
3. complexity (more complicated than a console)
4. Smaller user base means fewer AAA games
5. people sensitive to motion sickness (a problem that is cured for most by exposure)
But the inability to play "fast-paced" FPS games is not one of them. Watch this video of Zero Caliber. Is it not fast paced? Is it not an FPS?
[video=youtube;14UswFyeyLs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14UswFyeyLs[/video]
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I didn't say you can't have fast paced VR FPS games, I said the hardware isn't up to it yet, in particular the screens. In ED for example, it is difficult on the Oculus Rift to see distant objects clearly. So how earth are you going to be able to spot a distant player shooting at you from behind a tree in an FPS?
The game you linked to doesn't go into alpha until next month. Let's see what it's like nearer release before using it as an example.
Have you ever heard of Onward and Pavlov? There are tons of fast-paced FPS games in VR.
[video=youtube;KhEV_HCwxDc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhEV_HCwxDc[/video]
Or Firewall Zero Hour on the PSV?
[video=youtube;18074QFwdmE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18074QFwdmE[/video]
I even play IL-2 in VR which requires you to see tiny dots miles away which could be enemy aircraft. If you're playing competitively against people using 4k monitors you're at a slight disadvantage. But I play IL-2 in VR all the time online and offline. Keep in mind that spotting planes miles away is probably the most extreme case and it's still playable.
If you mean that VR doesn't look as sharp as a 1080p monitor right now, then, of course, that's true.
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The OP’s question is very subjective, as different people value different things in space games and games in general. The very diversity in space games available today makes the question unanswerable. To some people Space Engineers is the best for the creative freedom of it. For others Kerbal Space Program is the best for its sense of difficulty and accomplishment. And to some No Man’s Sky is the best for the breadth of exploration and discovery it allows.
NOW, if you were to narrow the focus down a bit, maybe like so:
Will Elite Dangerous be the best open world space simulator game 12 months from now?
Okay, now you’ve got a question which can be debated to a degree!
With regards to space sim games I feel that ED is currently the best you can play at the moment. It’s not perfect by any means, but the overall package is IMHO superior to anything else available, and very importantly the feeling of flying the space ships is second to none. SC is a tech demo. Evochron is impressive but it’s flight mechanics are not as good and the production values are far lower (understandably so for one person!!!). The X games are great but more RPG and world builder than sim to me. There are others but none have matched the overall level which Elite is at.
Now, will it still be the case one year from now? Probably. I don’t see anything on the horizon which could do better. X4 will be good but will need patching and expanding to have a shot, and even then its flight model will likely never be close. SC isn’t coming out anytime soon. Starfield is still years away and likely will be an RPG anyway. So unless some surprise game comes out of nowhere I feel that Elite is safe as the top dog in open world space sims.
Someday though some large studio is going to throw their hat into this ring. Someone with the resources and vision and skill to create something truly special, like a multiplayer Subnautica in space crossed with No Man’s Sky on steroids utilizing proc gen to its fullest potential. It’s not a question of IF, but WHEN. Probably a great many years from now though, so no time soon.
NOW, if you were to narrow the focus down a bit, maybe like so:
Will Elite Dangerous be the best open world space simulator game 12 months from now?
Okay, now you’ve got a question which can be debated to a degree!
With regards to space sim games I feel that ED is currently the best you can play at the moment. It’s not perfect by any means, but the overall package is IMHO superior to anything else available, and very importantly the feeling of flying the space ships is second to none. SC is a tech demo. Evochron is impressive but it’s flight mechanics are not as good and the production values are far lower (understandably so for one person!!!). The X games are great but more RPG and world builder than sim to me. There are others but none have matched the overall level which Elite is at.
Now, will it still be the case one year from now? Probably. I don’t see anything on the horizon which could do better. X4 will be good but will need patching and expanding to have a shot, and even then its flight model will likely never be close. SC isn’t coming out anytime soon. Starfield is still years away and likely will be an RPG anyway. So unless some surprise game comes out of nowhere I feel that Elite is safe as the top dog in open world space sims.
Someday though some large studio is going to throw their hat into this ring. Someone with the resources and vision and skill to create something truly special, like a multiplayer Subnautica in space crossed with No Man’s Sky on steroids utilizing proc gen to its fullest potential. It’s not a question of IF, but WHEN. Probably a great many years from now though, so no time soon.
That is because the rift is dated hardware. WMR, Vive Pro, Pimax and such have a considerably higher resolution already. Of course, it requires high end GPUs to really use (in particular with Pimax 5k) so we're a few years away from it being both good enough and affordable, but the hardware is already here.