ANNOUNCEMENT Content Reveal Livestream - September Update - Recap

[Noobilite]

Adam said it was the weekly cap for game play in the stream

There is a weekly cap to how much you can play?! 8p

The docking computer was nerfed to a 'safe speed' of just 50 m/s?
It's a pity Adam didn't mention ARX progress through idle time (whether idle in stations or idle floating in space).
Depending on how this part is implemented it could be my only caveat about this update.
If idle time will be rewarded, this system would massively support players like me. Which somehow doesn't feel right...
Anything else looks pretty cool though. Love the new tutorial section: improved accessibility for new players (hopefully bug-free!)

Are you joking about the 50m/s for an automated feature? That is moronic. The whole point is to be able to dock efficiently.

 

[zimms]

Players are complaining that showing the noob tutorial to us is like preaching to the choir. I watched it and in the chat section I saw a few players who said they would be more comfortable to recommend ED now to friends and family as the experience is much more thought out.

I know some people this may help accelerate the learning curve for and would feel more comfortable recommending the game to now.

Just my 2C worth
Caliber_az

Why though? We literally already have a voice acted tutorial that covers the exact same topics. People who have troubles now will also have troubles with the new version. But it's nice that it's "in-game" now.

Another thing: Seeing how long they talked about the new throttle indicator and how "excited" they were really says it all. Then again, we already new this year's theme is "please hold the line".

 

[Noobilite]

They need to stop hyping every little thing they implement into the game and just be straightforward about things. They would likely get more done too.

 

[Liet Atreides]

Nothing interesting for old players. Again. Usual dumb water.
Frontier, make new things already f f s.
Atmospheres, walking on station, planetary construction + bases, ground cars, even add pvp, anything.
I don't want to login into that boredom.

 

[Alec Turner]

One quick suggestion (plea?) for @Paige Harvey to pass on to the team ... Adam said something about the "safe drop" from supercruise message getting tweaked to include the required key binding.

Please please please can you make the display of keybindings in HUD messages optional. It's brilliant for new players but once you're up and running it's really immersion breaking to have things like "Press [ Joystick button 5 + Joystick button 8 ] to exit supercruise" appearing on the HUD.

 

[VR CMDR Novindus]

Having seen more of the details on how Arx works, and the weekly accrual cap, I think it’s going to result in more real money being poured into cosmetics by players.

Need that little bit extra to get the paint job you want, and want it now? Think that ship kit would go great with your new paint job but you don’t want to wait a few weeks?

Well played Frontier.

 

[BDelacroix]

I was intruiged by their description of the UX analysis. Wish we had similar tools here.
Also, astute observation. I build flight sims at work, so that fact and the fact that I've played Elite before (from 1984) I had no real issues with the mechanics from day 1. I had wondered if that was the reason.

 

[CMDR_Raikkonen]

Feedback:

- Add the training course to other areas of the game so we can make our own racing events (boost restriction removed).

- Today I replayed the current 'tutorials' in game, and seeing Blaine sat there in her ship in front of me really put space into perspective. The new Theo is just a voice in your own ship.

- Roll out some more voice acted missions? Add some in game structure and narrative; thargoid mission line, empire mission line, fed mission line etc. Maybe as a DLC? Maybe add some wing / group mission packs to do as a raid?

 

[Sylow]

Under the tutelage of Pilots Federation instructor, Theo Acosta, new Commanders will be led through a fully-voiced experience before being left to pilot their own starter ship, the Sidewinder!

Watched it. And this in my eyes is the core problem. It's yet another tutorial in a tincan. No matter how much voice acting you put there, no matter how much you try to sell it, even if you make it mandatory, it's NOT DOING THE JOB!

What you provide is yet another one-time tutorial. Anybody but designers at FD by now know that information retained by people put through such tutorials is low. Even 30% are only reached by people who are really interested and pay complete attention. For the average person, you can expect to only take the most basic 10% along.

So now you've put them through a tutorial, which theoretically showed them everything, but he only manages to remember a small part of what you tried to teach him. That's less than worthless. He feels schooled and now forced to get schooled again as he didn't get it the first time. That's contraproductive. (Not to mention that it's one or another decade behind modern software design. )

And while i could write all of it down, there's a great video on the basics here:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFdEEzgc7pg


Take the 7 minutes to watch it. Pay attention, so you can take 20 to 30 percent of the info along. Make all of the team watch it. Mostly the designers. Make them watch it a few times. So the info can sink in. I know that making context sensitive help seems to be so much more effort than creating yet another tutorial. But not only isn't it always (you just have to invest more work -before- implementing, to determine the right trigger condition to provide additional information to the player), it also is so much more helpful than a tutorial.

Please, when you try to once again improve the new player experience (which still is something the game needs), don't produce yet another stale tincan of tutorial but try to provide context sensitive help throughout the game. It really would be better.

 

[BDelacroix]

They need to stop hyping every little thing they implement into the game and just be straightforward about things. They would likely get more done too.

They've come a long way since the release commercials that were blatantly incorrect.

Also, I didn't see this as hype at all.

 

[BDelacroix]

Feedback:

- Add the training course to other areas of the game so we can make our own racing events (boost restriction removed).

- Today I replayed the current 'tutorials' in game, and seeing Blaine sat there in her ship in front of me really put space into perspective. The new Theo is just a voice in your own ship.

- Roll out some more voice acted missions? Add some in game structure and narrative; thargoid mission line, empire mission line, fed mission line etc. Maybe as a DLC? Maybe add some wing / group mission packs to do as a raid?

It should be encouraging that, as they explained, they built on to what they had added earlier to create this stuff. So your point #3 may indeed come to fruition.

 

[BDelacroix]

Watched it. And this in my eyes is the core problem. It's yet another tutorial in a tincan. No matter how much voice acting you put there, no matter how

I disagree, but that's ok.

+1 for an Extra Credits video. I have some posted at work because some of their stuff applies across the entire field (we don't make games, for instance, but we do software systems.)

 

[Sylow]

Lets face it, totally new players probably won't really listen / read anyway (as mentioned by Adam).

Yea. That part made me a bit sad. They are -aware- that what they are doing is of little value. Yet they decided to do things this way, instead of doing it right.

+1 for an Extra Credits video. I have some posted at work because some of their stuff applies across the entire field (we don't make games, for instance, but we do software systems.)

Hmm. I also am not in game development and i haven't used an extra credit video here. But what that video says is part of modern software design. And it's not exactly new, either. (I mean, people here might remember clippy. That was one of the earliest and still clumsiest attempts to go that way. It was already -removed- again over a decade ago, while they learned better ways of giving users the hints they need. )

And that's for business software. Where there's usually some drive (like: need it to do my job) to learn things and it's often the only option provided to the user. (Companies don't like to buy several different kinds of software to do the same job... ) For games, where the player has plenty of alternatives available all of the time, accessibility is an even bigger topic. And it's an aspect where ED is really not doing well.

 

[BDelacroix]

I've been posting a lot, sorry.

On a side note, what exactly is it that about Theo's voice that I should think he sounds like an Imperial? Wasn't aware that Imperials sound a particular way.

 

[ZeroAi]

Can we now get space ship racing added to the game?

Those green gates new pilots have to fly through would be perfect for a racing checkpoints - each "circuit" or "track" could also have its own leaderboard, like street's in burnout paradise ;-)

 

[LanceLord]

I left the game a year ago and came back for 2 weeks now. After this stream I remember why I left.

Says the guy with the fallout Cmdr name....

Ok. I'll admit it. It was a tad underwhelming. Even though we pretty much knew what topics would be discussed. And that FDev guy talked way too much v. showing the new features IMO. Hoping the 2020 update will be significantly less disappointing (aka Space leg reveal).

 

[LanceLord]

Tbh this felt like an internal development update, new player experience and shop changes are great for frontier but will hardly effect my gameplay. Great for new players too.

It WAS about an internal development update, new player experience and shop changes.

Just like they said it would be earlier. Possibly so they can attract more n00bs to the game and/or build up the fan base for 2020. Jeez. It's as though ppl are confusing this minor superficial/cosmetic (and long overdue) tweak with upcoming FC and the 2020 update next year.

 

[CMDR Rusty Dog]

I'm hoping this trend of telling you what keys to press on the HUD, such as the current 'press x to abort' whilst attempting to jump to an anarchy system, doesn't become a thing.

I noticed on the reveal video that, as part of the newbie features, there is now going to be an on screen notification telling you what key to press to disengage from supercruise.
I sincerely hope this message is confined ONLY to the starter experience as veterans have no need for such messages.
They are also a little immersion breaking when the HUD is telling you 'Press 'C' to disengage from Supercruise' or whatever.

Either have it as an on/off option in the menus or just confine these type of message to the starter experience.
Veterans don't need their hands holding.

 

[LanceLord]

Having seen more of the details on how Arx works, and the weekly accrual cap, I think it’s going to result in more real money being poured into cosmetics by players.

Need that little bit extra to get the paint job you want, and want it now? Think that ship kit would go great with your new paint job but you don’t want to wait a few weeks?

Well played Frontier.

Why the need for the salty cynicism? Welcome to the online store model which has become the established status quo feature in all online multiplayer games.

If you're the impatient gamer who don't care to wait to have the latest new shiny paint job/ship kit/vanity bauble etc. in the online store, then it's your prerogative to waste your money any way you see fit. Because:

• Like SC, no one's holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy anything. Period.
• Unlike SC, none of the store items are P2W aka are cosmetic only. And they can be earned through a stable game economy in a reasonable amount of play time.

Such cynical speculation is unwarranted until FDev makes store items P2W to be honest.

The reality is players are already grinding their virtual Holo Me souls mining billions in pristine belts, metallic/rocky planets of worlds in the deep for VOs, LTDs, Painite etc etc. Just so they have enough to afford the upcoming FC DLC. And the FC btw is not a cosmetic only asset, since it has significant strategic/tactical value for PvE & PvP emergent game play.

Capping Arx on a weekly basis (which they earlier indicated they were considering doing) is a strategic business model to keep players engaged on their servers. And IMO--just like Rockstar--FDev has found a cynical way to stop players from easy money exploits. Like easy grinding to earn infinite Arx through simple deep space exploration etc.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Tbh this felt like an internal development update, new player experience and shop changes are great for frontier but will hardly effect my gameplay. Great for new players too.

Yup, nothing much for experienced players, but I suspect this is a small interim update and most of the work is being done on the Fleet Carrier update.