Collection of Ideas for Elite 4

[Steve O B Have]

On the ships, I personally would prefer the single ship. It gives you a sense of you against a huge universe.

What I really want is FRONTIER/FFE updated, with the modern graphics and more storylines, I think if you put too much into it, It could make it too messy? if if that makes sense.

Really? A single ship? Surely half the fun in the development of your life/character is in the making money so you can buy a new ship that is bigger and better. The RPG element when you can have definite targets for your money making and the like. I think I would seriously miss that, it was one of the primary things that I wanted from the first Elite after landing on planets.

I agree there has to be a fine balance in the complexity vs gameplay department but FE2 and FEE rehashed I personally think would struggle to find an 'outstanding' place in the current gaming market. I would think that people would expect quite a bit more from E4 than a graphics update...

 

[Sir.Tj]

Really? A single ship? Surely half the fun in the development of your life/character is in the making money so you can buy a new ship that is bigger and better. The RPG element when you can have definite targets for your money making and the like. I think I would seriously miss that, it was one of the primary things that I wanted from the first Elite after landing on planets.

I agree there has to be a fine balance in the complexity vs gameplay department but FE2 and FEE rehashed I personally think would struggle to find an 'outstanding' place in the current gaming market. I would think that people would expect quite a bit more from E4 than a graphics update...

Sorry Steve,

I meant you can only own one ship at a time not multiple ships. unless you could use a hanger to store certain ships for missions, Would be nice to have a Argents Quest tucked away for when you need it.

I know what you mean about "rehashed" But I would hate to lose the feel of the original games.

As you say its a fine line, a very fine line.

 

[Steve O B Have]

Sorry Steve,

I meant you can only own one ship at a time not multiple ships. unless you could use a hanger to store certain ships for missions, Would be nice to have a Argents Quest tucked away for when you need it.

I know what you mean about "rehashed" But I would hate to lose the feel of the original games.

As you say its a fine line, a very fine line.

Oh yeah totally Fleets would just be getting annoying altho wing commander didn't really suffer from having wingmen and I think the option of playing some missions with wingmen could be really quite cool - altho I agree the single ship thing is most desirable.

I think the feel is going to change no matter which way it is approached but I am curious as to what would be the feel about FE2 and FEE that you would like to see maintained in E4?

 

[The Space Pirate]

I don't want to sound negative, but this guy seems to have a point:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=2522828#2522828

 

[Sir.Tj]

Oh yeah totally Fleets would just be getting annoying altho wing commander didn't really suffer from having wingmen and I think the option of playing some missions with wingmen could be really quite cool - altho I agree the single ship thing is most desirable.

I think the feel is going to change no matter which way it is approached but I am curious as to what would be the feel about FE2 and FEE that you would like to see maintained in E4?

Well.... their lies the question.

Keeping the universe as is, Imperial Alliance & Federation along with maybe another rogue piratical system who are ****e to be a bit naughty.

Thargoids obviously with them not appearing till quite later on along the same way as before news reports slowly building untill all hell breaks loose. maybe a search and destroy mission culminating in full scale war?

The actual feel for me is however, the small single trader sitting in a space dock with no money a tiny ship and needing a lot of luck just to survive your first flight.

I don't want it to be like X3 etc.. where your lead by the nose. do the same as before have a manual and work it out for your self. NO tutorials with someone telling you how to turn, land. fir lasers. the aspect of actually getting of the ground and then blasting through the atmosphere and seeing space emerge infront of you was a brilliant way to start the game, much better than sitting in a station in orbit and pressing a button and the station automatically doing it all for you.

I would love it to be hard work just to get going.

 

[turwhitt]

I don't want to sound negative, but this guy seems to have a point:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=2522828#2522828

Hmm i'm not sure i agree.

Such a game will be very expensive to develop and will also run a high risk of disappointing fans, and therefore not being the success it needs to be given the cost

This is true, but he is forgetting the fact that, even if it is total crap, it will still be bought by hundreds of thousands of people. DB only stands to lose face. Commercial success is virtually guaranteed.

 

[DraQ]

I think the feel is going to change no matter which way it is approached but I am curious as to what would be the feel about FE2 and FEE that you would like to see maintained in E4?

For me it's flying a ship in huge, realistic universe. I too would like to see something along the lines of rehash.

Of course, gameplay focus should be shifted somewhat towards celestial bodies - more things, like missions, to do around them and more in-game incentive, to, for example flying deep into gas giant's atmosphere, looking at it's rings and moons from below and risking getting fried by superlightning or losing control due to powerful winds and turbulence.

Of course, combat could use some diversity, like more varied and specialized weapon systems (mass drivers, anti-shield weapons, system disabling EMP, pulse plasma cannons, frag cannons, fast tracking anti-fighter and anti-missile weapons, bombs carried in cargo bay used against ground targets, etc.), multiple weapon hardpoints facing the same way, specialized missile types and more missile mounts on ships (for example, let Asp mount three missiles on it's central pylon). More options in combat (like trying to disable critical systems on a large enemy ships when flying a small fighter) would also be welcome. Finally, some sort of (toggleable - as a veteran I want to be able to fire all my thrusters manually) combat manoeuvring assist for noobs (combat would, of course, remain Newtonian) would be welcome.

Of course, more lively universe, with more handmade content, more diverse missions (deploying probes in dangerous places for scientists, rescue missions, military bombardment and insertion/retrieval missions where you would be fired upon by ground units), traffic around stations, spaceports and surface settlements, as well as between all those and more diverse scenery would also be welcome.

But the core should remain the same - flying a powerful (by today's standards) ship around a realistic universe in a Newtonian fashion.

 

[Davidtq]

Hmm i'm not sure i agree.



This is true, but he is forgetting the fact that, even if it is total crap, it will still be bought by hundreds of thousands of people. DB only stands to lose face. Commercial success is virtually guaranteed.

Is commercial success guaranteed, the original elite is a legend, but most of the original fanbase arent as young as we once were... I would think a good chunk of the gamers market out there have only ever heard of elite, scarily a decent proportion of them probably werent even born when frontier came out .

Im sure there will be plenty of hype about the release, but does hype of a largelly long forgotten title translate to guaranteed sales? I would have though a "blockbuster" status would rely on good reviews and a good game.

 

[turwhitt]

Well my opinion is gamers are getting older on average every year.

I was an Elite 1 kid, so the frontier kids are a lot younger than me.

These days there aren't the same social stigmas on age and gaming that there were.

The 20s/30s gaming market is as big if not bigger than the teens/kids one in my experience, and definitely more loyal.

So yes, i think it would still sell like hot cakes even if it got critically panned.

 

[Davidtq]

Well my opinion is gamers are getting older on average every year.

I was an Elite 1 kid, so the frontier kids are a lot younger than me.

These days there aren't the same social stigmas on age and gaming that there were.

The 20s/30s gaming market is as big if not bigger than the teens/kids one in my experience, and definitely more loyal.

So yes, i think it would still sell like hot cakes even if it got critically panned.

Im just thinking that Ive been an elite fan since the beginning, I loved frontier, Ive played alsorts of different systems, emulated and reworked versions, Ive still never touched first encounters. Im not entirely sure why, I should have gotten over the "bugged" label and tried it out myself, but never did.

Whilst I personally WOULD buy elite 4 no matter how bad just to see for myself, Im not sure how many die hard old fans there are compared to younger gamers who would judge it by its review.

Just looking at the numbers frontier was critically acclaimed and sold 500,000 copies (I think I account for two of those) so thats 500,000 potential elite 4 buyers, but surely not all of those are still gaming? and how many of those never got over the newtonian combat? How many of those copies sold would be die hard fans ready to buy any rubbish that came up with elite stamped on it?

These days with the size of the internet, and the number of voices available a game cant buy itself good reviews either, I remember back when I worked for games magazines there were only a handfull of voices talking about each format. If a publisher either leant on our editor (you do want that exclusive of the next big title dont you) or offered him a cash backhander a game could get a good review even if it was dire. These days it would be hard to pull the same trick. The elite name would get a good deal of pre launch hype but I dont believe anything could save it in the face of a media savageing come review time.

Lets face it what sort of figures did the "transformers" game shift, in the face of bad reviews, that was a game that COULD have sold to me, but it didnt, although I loved transformers as a kid, and my son collects them now, the reviews were enough to put me off, that game had a current box office hit film behind it a tie to my generation and still couldnt bring in big sales for a badly reviewed game.

 

[Steve O B Have]

Im just thinking that Ive been an elite fan since the beginning, I loved frontier, Ive played alsorts of different systems, emulated and reworked versions, Ive still never touched first encounters. Im not entirely sure why, I should have gotten over the "bugged" label and tried it out myself, but never did.

Whilst I personally WOULD buy elite 4 no matter how bad just to see for myself, Im not sure how many die hard old fans there are compared to younger gamers who would judge it by its review.

I'm fairly strongly inclined to agree - I don't think that the games commercial success is anywhere near guaranteed. My reasoning for this is that the investment of resource and money going into large scale games productions these days is extreme to say the least. Of course there are going to be the hardcore that will go out and buy the game regardless but the majority of gamers out there are a pretty fickle bunch (Myself included) and they will rely on the reviews of both their pairs and the industry to be positive before even considering parting with their money.

These days with the size of the internet, and the number of voices available a game cant buy itself good reviews either, I remember back when I worked for games magazines there were only a handfull of voices talking about each format. If a publisher either leant on our editor (you do want that exclusive of the next big title dont you) or offered him a cash backhander a game could get a good review even if it was dire. These days it would be hard to pull the same trick. The elite name would get a good deal of pre launch hype but I dont believe anything could save it in the face of a media savageing come review time.

Again I would agree but for a different reason, simply because there are so many sites out there and whilst a big company like EA can strong arm one or two web sites *cough*gamesp0t*cough* they can not influence them all and they certainly can't influence the gamers reviews themselves. We live in something of a more broad and discerning gaming environment these days and the mediocre, regardless of what or who is on the cover, does not float.

 

[Steve O B Have]

For me it's flying a ship in huge, realistic universe. I too would like to see something along the lines of rehash.

Of course, gameplay focus should be shifted somewhat towards celestial bodies - more things, like missions, to do around them and more in-game incentive, to, for example flying deep into gas giant's atmosphere, looking at it's rings and moons from below and risking getting fried by superlightning or losing control due to powerful winds and turbulence.

Ever the Sim man. I too would like to see some more realistic environments but Both T.J. and the article that The Space Pirate posted got me thinking toward our lofty expectations and what we would actually accept as a great, even brilliant, game. In actuality believe that I would settle for a really solid space trader/combat game with decent story depth and a decent number of waves to the nostalgic in me. I would expect decent graphics and excellent environments as well but there are some things that are mearly pipedreams (like my brilliant underwater environment ideas haha) and I certainly wouldn't expect that much from any game.

Of course, combat could use some diversity, like more varied and specialized weapon systems (mass drivers, anti-shield weapons, system disabling EMP...

Yeah a more intelligent approach to combat rather than just jack hammering away at a ship would be welcome. EMP was already an aspect but only for killing missiles, it would be cool to be able to disable a ship and then carry out what ever nefarious pirate activities pleases you - slaves, salvage weapon hard points and the like.

Of course, more lively universe, with more handmade content, more diverse missions (deploying probes in dangerous places for scientists, rescue missions, military bombardment and insertion/retrieval missions where you would be fired upon by ground units), traffic around stations, spaceports and surface settlements, as well as between all those and more diverse scenery would also be welcome.

But the core should remain the same - flying a powerful (by today's standards) ship around a realistic universe in a Newtonian fashion.

You know the Newtonian thing threw me for six a bit when I first picked up FE2, but I do agree, it's now second nature and losing that in any way or form would instantly reduce the game to and arcade shooter. There was something solid about flying and that felt right.

 

[mail@christian-wendt.org]

Just for a little moment of dreaming. These shots are not from Elite 4 but from a tech demo I made with Ogre3D, in order to demonstrate what a space sim could look like, at least if it is supposed to look like space from real spacecraft.

If Elite IV ever gets reality I hope it will make space look like space, so no neon coloured fog and asteroids where ever you turn.

Yeah and I hope Frontier devs read Arthur C. Clarke and not Star Trek novels .. David is British, right?

 

[mail@christian-wendt.org]

Some more. Yes thats the Discovery you see there.

 

[DraQ]

I think I should welcome fellow Codexer.

Anyway, yes, realistic space with realistic objects pwns all the flashy crap typical 'spacesims' try to feed us.

 

[mail@christian-wendt.org]

******* *****, ****!

 

[DraQ]

******* *****, ****!

Can you repeat? I don't speak Asterisksh.

 

[mail@christian-wendt.org]

I was just giving you the usual codex salute, when the language filter kicked in.

 

[DrBaggy]

My sympathies: I tried to write " c h i n k of light" in another post and it thought ***** was anti-chinese!

With you on pc's, though maybe it's more nostalgia for me. I recently got a new laptop to try these DX10 goodies but (as a strategy buff) go back to Civ 4 every time. Consoles are reliable, easier, much cheaper than gaming pc's but to me they are a bit flash and shallow.

Nice shots: have you looked at VegaStrike? I think they use ogre for their rendering (sorry, not a coder so apologies if wrong). But 10 years or more after FFE they still haven't cracked landing on planets!

Welcome to the forum btw

 

[Steve O B Have]

But 10 years or more after FFE they still haven't cracked landing on planets!

Welcome to the forum btw

Indeed Welcome!

It's odd that the landing on planets thing has not been cracked. I don't pretend to understand the mechanics of it but surely someone has seen fit to try? It gets me that FE2 and FFE are the only ones that seem to have done it well. I guess now we expect a bit more from the experience and keeping some constancy with the visuals and scenery is one of the greatest challenges.