If only self-awareness was a rare good on sale *somewhere* in the galaxy.
"A mile wide but an inch deep."
- Thread starter AlexAndTheDJ
- Start date
If only self-awareness was a rare good on sale *somewhere* in the galaxy.
Can be deceptively dangerous...
[video=youtube;v7OVqXm7_Pk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=v7OVqXm7_Pk[/video]
Elite is only as shallow or deep as the person playing it.
Imagination and patience has a lot to do with it. You have to be a patient person, willing to fail at things a lot until you figure out the right way to do it.
2000+ hours and I am never bored with this game. Ever. And, I still learn new things that I had no idea about. One of the deepest games I've ever played. So many layers.
And when you get interested in the BGS (Frontier's version of The Matrix) get ready to disappear into the arcane...
Imagination and patience has a lot to do with it. You have to be a patient person, willing to fail at things a lot until you figure out the right way to do it.
2000+ hours and I am never bored with this game. Ever. And, I still learn new things that I had no idea about. One of the deepest games I've ever played. So many layers.
And when you get interested in the BGS (Frontier's version of The Matrix) get ready to disappear into the arcane...
The problem with the game is that it has very shallow mechanics.
I can set my own goals thats VERY easy but I get bored pretty much 30-60 minutes later because the gameplay mechanics are not complex enough.
Every aspect of the game is simplistic without depth.
The problem is not the goal, the problem is the road (mechanics) that is boring. I don't care about the aliens nor the story because Elite has an earlier problem, the gameplay.
The professions in this game need to be more complex. Now we have mining and exploration after years of placeholders but it just a small start in the right direction. I hope all of the next expansions focus on one profession each to amke them more interesting.
I can set my own goals thats VERY easy but I get bored pretty much 30-60 minutes later because the gameplay mechanics are not complex enough.
Every aspect of the game is simplistic without depth.
The problem is not the goal, the problem is the road (mechanics) that is boring. I don't care about the aliens nor the story because Elite has an earlier problem, the gameplay.
The professions in this game need to be more complex. Now we have mining and exploration after years of placeholders but it just a small start in the right direction. I hope all of the next expansions focus on one profession each to amke them more interesting.
Which mechanics specifically? Trade? BGS? Mining? Exploration? Combat?
Please define which mechanics you think are shallow, why its bad they are shallow, and what is needed to make them deeper, and how making them deeper will make the game better.
You mention profressions - please go into more detial.
Thanks.
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Guest193293
G
Formidine Rift;
The story behind the Formidine Rift mystery was written by Drew Wager in his book called Elite: Reclamation, which is one of several books in his series on Elite. Wagar confirmed there's something there to be found in-game.
John Harper, author of And Here The Wheel, wrote in a Kickstarter comment:
"You don't know what I've seen. I've sailed beyond the Formidine Rift, seen the fleets of Octagonal ships blocking out the stars. I've stood on lost worlds, sterilised clean by the Thargoids and erased from humanity's maps. I've seen the graves from the Thargoid wars, countless headstones stretching beyond the curvature of the horizon, little spots of reflected light dottering the abandoned continent ..."
No one knows for sure what actually happened in the Rift.
John Harper, author of And Here The Wheel, wrote in a Kickstarter comment:
"You don't know what I've seen. I've sailed beyond the Formidine Rift, seen the fleets of Octagonal ships blocking out the stars. I've stood on lost worlds, sterilised clean by the Thargoids and erased from humanity's maps. I've seen the graves from the Thargoid wars, countless headstones stretching beyond the curvature of the horizon, little spots of reflected light dottering the abandoned continent ..."
No one knows for sure what actually happened in the Rift.
Hyperspace, colloquially known as Witch-space, is a higher-dimensional region through which ships can travel between star systems at superluminal speeds.
"It was around this time the phrase 'witch-space' first appeared, reflecting the inherent dangers of early hyperspace technology and the strange 'corridor' a ship travelled through during a hyperspace jump. Some even believed witch-space was haunted by 'ghosts of ships that went into Faraway and didn't come out again'. It is certainly true that a number of ships never reached their destinations."
"Even today, hyperspace remains poorly understood. Many pilots have reported glimpsing inexplicable lights, and even structures, within the witch-space tunnels. It may be centuries before all of its mysteries are unravelled."
"Even today, hyperspace remains poorly understood. Many pilots have reported glimpsing inexplicable lights, and even structures, within the witch-space tunnels. It may be centuries before all of its mysteries are unravelled."
Raxxla;
"Does it exist, or does it not? If it does, then on Raxxla there’s an alien construct that’s a gateway to other Universes, and all that’s in those Universes in the way of bounty, and treasures, and aliens, and life..."
In September 2015, Drew Wagar - one of the official writers for Elite Dangerous - stated "I spoke to David Braben directly in 2014 and he confirmed to me that 'It’s out there and we (FD) know where it is.' – So it does exist. "Michael Brookes said “There will be no clues."
In September 2015, Drew Wagar - one of the official writers for Elite Dangerous - stated "I spoke to David Braben directly in 2014 and he confirmed to me that 'It’s out there and we (FD) know where it is.' – So it does exist. "Michael Brookes said “There will be no clues."
MetaDrive Technology..
Planet Soontill..
(unknown) Permit locked systems..
etc..
You probably lost interest but there are still many things, mysteries or whatever that are yet to be discovered.
With that said, I will leave this here;
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Essentially, we're supposed to think that the reason this game is such a paper-thin facade is that we are stupid and shallow people.
Not news: ED was the Emperor's New Game since the Kickstarter.
Now you have lost me with this.
What do you mean? Because I honestly do not know what you are talking about!
What do you mean by shallow mechanics. You are doing the same thing as a lot of people and confusing complexity and depth.
A good example is Red Dead Redemption 2. A game with no complex mechanics, but I can't see anyone saying the game is shallow or an inch deep. It's one of the best game I have ever played.
Mechanic is not what makes a game deep, it the reason why we do the mechanics in the first place and how it emotionally ties you in to the game, especially for a games like ED, RDR2, GTA, Tomb Raider etc etc. . ED is getting better at that, but it is far from perfect and needs more.
Mechanics could be amazing and complex, but if there are no reasons to do them, then they feel pointless and without any emotional depth.
I really like the new discovery mecha but its the Codex that has added the depth. Now if exploration could get some missions for systems to colonise and expand to, then that would add even more depth to the game. It would give more reasons to use those mechanics.
This is why I sold the game and replaced it with a paper and crayons - way cheaper and bug-free
Would you like to see my drawings? I'm no artist, but if you have imagination and patience, you'll get thousands of hours of enjoyment from them, I'm sure.
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I'm familiar with the fairy tale, but still in the dark about what you mean.
If you could explain in plain english instead of being 'dark and mysterious', that would be great.....
DeletedUser191218
D
First, let me caveat by saying this is in no way ageist, but there is a difference on what gamers from different geberations have grown to expect as minimum. I'm 33. So i'm not a child but I'm not Elite 1 or 2 age either. For me, a game that has you limited to sitting in a space ship chair is a game that lacks gameplay depth. I would wager most under 35-40 will be used to having that kind of variety and linked up gameplay that it seems a basic failing when not done - in a game like Elite. Older gamers grew up with games like this. It probably seems more acceptable to them. Similarly, in 20 years time I'll have lower standards than someone is 13 now. Elite D is, for all the garnish and pretty looks, an old fashioned style of game. It's essentially a set of mini games that don't really link together very cohesively. I'm not used to that. I still enjoy it but it does feel pretty shallow (albeit admittedly improving). I do think if/when legs and atmos arrives the linkage it can offer in the gameplay will add depth..it will feel MUCH more like a living, breathing game universe. Right now, you don't see a single human (npc or otherwise). You see a load of little ships. Don't rule out the psychological impact of never interacting with an npc human face. It makes the game feel just a bit cold and lifeless.
Imagine you set yourself a goal in ED. Which goal doesn't result in repeating more or less the same game loops over and over? Engineering a ship, flying to Sag A*, unlock guardian stuff.
How is it then, there are A LOT of spread sheets and third party websites, that provide vital information? How do you view them while playing in VR, by the way?
How do the game mechanics support long range exploration? Or does it just have the same features as watching paint dry with 10,000+ peoples?
Use an injector/overlay application, e.g. OVRDrop or HelloV.
You set yourself multiple goals and work on them at once. You don't need to go for your goal in the shortest time possible.
I have never used them while playing, so how they are vital I don't know.
Nope.
Depends what you consider game loops. If the basics of piloting a spaceship around the galaxy are considered game loops, then there's only a fairly limited amount of stuff, but equally, it's a game about being a spaceship pilot, so if the piloting a spaceship parts are where the repetition is, then that's a whole other set of issues.
A lot depends on the nature of the goals. Taking the examples:
- Engineering a ship - Is the goal the single exclusive short term focus? Or is it something to be done as a longer term objective, with your activities modified slightly to support that objective? Or is it something just to be done with no modification to your activities, and just when it naturally gets to the necessary stage?
- Flying to Sag A* - Is the goal to get there as fast as possible? Is it to take a leisurely jaunt with that as the destination? Is it just a waypoint on a larger trip? Is what you do on the way part of the goal, or is it just getting to the destination?
- Unlock Guardian stuff - Is your goal just to unlock current weapons and modules? Or is your goal to try to uncover and unlock new things? Is the goal to unlock one specific thing? Is it multiple things? Is it all of the current things? Is your goal to just do the unlock as quickly as possible and ignore everything else? Is your goal to do wider Guardian stuff, with an eye on getting stuff for the unlocks you're after? Is your goal to just do the wider Guardian stuff and then unlock things as and when you acquire what's needed?
There's lots of different goals and lots of different ways of approaching them. The specific goal and particular approach that someone chooses will have a huge impact on how they perceive the activity.
Vital information? Go on, give an example of a genuinely vital piece of information that it's impossible to play the game without. Or is it actually information that provides ease and convenience?
You have a limitless supply of food and water. You can gather materials and synthesise things. You can scoop fuel. You can use jumponium. You can use Neutron Star boosts. The route plotter will plot routes up to 20,000 ly. The route plotter will plot routes using Neutron Star jumps. You can filter for or against things in terms of routes and destinations. You can take AFMUs. You can take a Repair Limpet controller.
What more do you want?
That was an interesting and informative read, thanks for posting it.
I think it illustrated pretty well what the core of the problem is when it comes to statements about depth etc. - what one person considers depth can be very different to what another considers depth, but there's a real tendency for people to focus exclusively on their own personal take on it and make declarations as though their take on it is universal, and everyone has the same take on what depth means.
Things are much better when someone explains what it is they're looking for, as you have, rather than just saying depth, and other such terms which are very subject to interpretation.
Personally I would say that there's a lot of depth to the game, but that's obviously in the context of what I consider depth, and what enriches the game for me. If there's other things which will make the game feel richer experience for you then in principle I'm all for it (with the proviso of those things not being detrimental to other things of course).
Also, what I'd say (and I hope this doesn't come across as patronising or anything like that) is while the game might not have depth in the form you're looking for, don't let that exclude you from the depth the game does have. There's no reason to miss out on what is there because of what isn't.
o7
And if you look at it on a 45° angle, you have both depth and width.