Assassination Missions even more Tedious than Before?

[Charonys]

Unfortunately this permeates the game [...] The repetition and predictability are disappointing

It's really rare to find any game that doesn't have this problem though. I can't think of any MMO that doesn't have a version of this, some better designed than others, but the repetitive nature is basically the same. It's simply the easy path to take when making a game because it reduces the amount of variables one has to double-check every time a new update is released.

It's not just about bug fixing but also the extra work to make sure everything still makes sense lore-wise. If you have 100 NPCs with carefully hand-crafted dialogue and backstory, all somehow intertwined, you will always have to keep track of everything - possibly hire a writer just for that. And why even bother if people will buy the product anyways, despite repetitive content?

The lack of complexity, respectively lack of variation is ultimately the result of profit-oriented decision making, be it in game development or other (entertainment) industries for that matter. Even the "multiple-choice" or "your decisions matter" game mechanics just simulate complexity, but usually player decisions that seem important don't have much impact. The number of games that have a vastly different story development, thus different ending due to player decisions is very low.

Apart from that, there are limits to designing repetitive content less repetitive. I mean, any encounter in Elite is basically a variant of the basic content loop - it's just different variables turned on/off. So at its very core, Elite (and the majority of games out there) doesn't really offer much if we are being really honest. It's the same old concept that has been used for decades, it's just presented differently; even VR is just a different way of experiencing the same thing. It's all layer upon layer of tricks/illusions trying to distract you from the true nature of virtual worlds.

So what are we really expecting here? If it's just more illusions to further mask the repetitive nature of the game, sure, why not. I guess one could come up with some interesting aspects to spice up things, etc. The question is how long until those new distractions will finally become repetitive, simply because there is a finite number of variations one can implement at this stage - unless there is a way to generate an ever-changing experience with an immense number of parameters - which would basically boil down to simulate randomness or even implement actual randomness due to infinite possibilities produced by the game code (though I doubt that would be possible within the limitations of the game as is).

My point is - while the longing for more variety and possibly more complexity is a justified desire, it seems highly unlikely to provide a proper solution, taking into account limited resources. Frontier already seems to struggle with some basic aspects of game development (as far as I have gathered as a new member of this community), so it seems less likely for them to invest into creating a more engaging day-to-day experience - but I sure would love to see such changes.

The only questions that remain: how/what to do in particular to simulate what you and others are looking for while working within the constraints of the game's core mechanics (and engine)? What would it take to not only provide some variety but also implement a solution that continuously produces new-ish experiences without constant support? How much RNG would be required and how would that affect the current gameplay experience (long-term)? Can there ever be too much RNG? And what is the degree of complexity that one would expect to see - possibly impact on BGS or just "local phenomena"?

This may sound like counter-arguments against complexity/variety, but I'm just wondering what people like you are really looking for and how such needs could be implemented properly. Because if it's just a few more slightly different interactions to create some cool experiences for a few weeks until they get stale again - what's the point other than short-term entertainment? If anything, such gameplay experience optimizations should introduce fundamental changes that introduce long-term complexity/variety (imho). Otherwise, we will have this type of discussion again in the near future.

 

[zipline]

Oddly enough, I recently did that for my alt-account.

You can't really moan about the need to make 3 round-trips of 6 jumps each way but, OTOH, it's probably fair to ask whether there's any point having players make those three trips.
I mean, in a world where google isn't a thing, I guess the gameplay might come from locating the Fujin Tea (yes, the clue's in the name) and then buying it and taking it to BT but is there really any extra merit in making the player repeat the process two more times?

If we had to go to three different places to find three different items (perhaps requiring some ship modifications to complete each task) and face different obstacles during each task then it'd feel like a bigger challenge.
Instead, what we have is simply a tedious task repeated 3 times to make it take longer.

Exactly, and that is my point. The unlocks could be more of a challenge instead of pointless repetition.

 

[DeletedUser191218]

So me and some friends have been doing Assassination missions, we love assassinations, quick n simple fun while supporting your local faction.
But we've noticed the past couple days that when we do Assassination missions, we aren't sent to scan the target system's Navigation Beacon anymore.
We are sent to scan a planetary installation's beacon in the target system, then are sent to the Real target system where the assassination target lies.
This doesn't really add much to the missions other than extra steps to find your target, it isn't very fun.
We didn't start noticing this until this past Thursday Tick.

Has anyone else been experiencing this occurence with Assassination missions?

Jumping around systems is stupid. Classic fdev nonsense- pad it out by making you jump around systems like an idiot. Just have the assassination in the system you get the mission (incl any planet work). Or a mix of both. Another basic gameplay loop that seems beyond the developer’s ability to not to in an utterly dreadful and unnecessarily tedious way.

 

[Stealthie]

Jumping around systems is stupid. Classic fdev nonsense- pad it out by making you jump around systems like an idiot. Just have the assassination in the system you get the mission (incl any planet work). Or a mix of both. Another basic gameplay loop that seems beyond the developer’s ability to not to in an utterly dreadful and unnecessarily tedious way.

I wouldn't mind if, again, it actually added something.

Currently it's usually:-

Go to System A to find target.
Find Contact in System A who tells you to follow him to System B.
Go to System B and find Contact.
Contact tells you target is in System A.... where you started.
Go back o System A, find Target and explode it.

Where's the entertainment in those extra steps?

Should be fairly easy to modify the mission template to provide more diverse gameplay.

How about setting up Assassination missions so there are up to, say, half a dozen POI's in the system where your target might be?
You arrive in the System, scan the nav' beacon and it'll show you all the possible locations where your target might be.
You then have to travel around the system, checking each POI.
You can either drop into a POI, see if your target is there and, if they're not, jump out again or you can stay and fight any ships present.

Also, at each POI there might be, say, a 50% chance that there'll be an "Informant" present, who's being attacked by the other ships.
If you can destroy all the hostile ships before the informant is destroyed, he'll tell you exactly where your mission target is - thus removing all the remaining alternative POIs.

Seems like that'd provide more diverse gameplay.
You want to farm the POI's for mat's and bounties you can choose to deliberately visit them all.
Even if you locate the Informant you can either allow the hostile ships to destroy him or destroy him yourself.
Even if you get lucky and find the mission target you can jump out again and farm the other POIs before going back.
Alternatively, you can either just hop in and out of POIs until you find the target or you can protect the Informant and get the location of the target from him.


Another option might be to have the same set-up, with multiple POIs, but some would contain tougher ships than others.
The mission target would move between POIs and, once you'd saved the Informant, he'd keep you updated as to where the target was going next.
In a big ship you could complete the mission at any POI but in a small ship you'd be able to wait until the target was at an easy POI before attacking.


Not really suggesting either of those ideas should definitely be used but they're, literally, off the top of my head.
It takes barely any effort to improve on what's currently in the game so surely, with a bit of brainstorming, FDev should be capable of improving things?

 

[DeletedUser191218]

I wouldn't mind if, again, it actually added something.

Currently it's usually:-

Go to System A to find target.
Find Contact in System A who tells you to follow him to System B.
Go to System B and find Contact.
Contact tells you target is in System A.... where you started.
Go back o System A, find Target and explode it.

Where's the entertainment in those extra steps?

Should be fairly easy to modify the mission template to provide more diverse gameplay.

How about setting up Assassination missions so there are up to, say, half a dozen POI's in the system where your target might be?
You arrive in the System, scan the nav' beacon and it'll show you all the possible locations where your target might be.
You then have to travel around the system, checking each POI.
You can either drop into a POI, see if your target is there and, if they're not, jump out again or you can stay and fight any ships present.

Also, at each POI there might be, say, a 50% chance that there'll be an "Informant" present, who's being attacked by the other ships.
If you can destroy all the hostile ships before the informant is destroyed, he'll tell you exactly where your mission target is - thus removing all the remaining alternative POIs.

Seems like that'd provide more diverse gameplay.
You want to farm the POI's for mat's and bounties you can choose to deliberately visit them all.
Even if you locate the Informant you can either allow the hostile ships to destroy him or destroy him yourself.
Even if you get lucky and find the mission target you can jump out again and farm the other POIs before going back.
Alternatively, you can either just hop in and out of POIs until you find the target or you can protect the Informant and get the location of the target from him.


Another option might be to have the same set-up, with multiple POIs, but some would contain tougher ships than others.
The mission target would move between POIs and, once you'd saved the Informant, he'd keep you updated as to where the target was going next.
In a big ship you could complete the mission at any POI but in a small ship you'd be able to wait until the target was at an easy POI before attacking.


Not really suggesting either of those ideas should definitely be used but they're, literally, off the top of my head.
It takes barely any effort to improve on what's currently in the game so surely, with a bit of brainstorming, FDev should be capable of improving things?

The point as you have illustrated is there are many other easy ways these missions could be less silly. It’s mind-boggling that FDev implemented them in their current form and thought it works. I would leave to be a fly on the wall in those meetings just to understand the thought processes.