Leaving Active Duty to join the Reserves

[Deleted member 182079]

I find it interesting how some players take a very black & white approach to their gaming - you either play it 24/7 or don't play at all. There's a middle way you know - I got bored of playing Elite yesterday, after hovering in the rings doing not much in particular in my Courier (no pirating, no ganking, just flying around looking what others are up to), then mining 54t in my T6.

I then played Streets of Rage 4 all evening (excellent game by the way), and now I already have the itch again to go back to Elite. All you sometimes need is a pallet cleanser.

Suppose for me the fun in Elite comes mainly from just flying spaceships - I don't have any particular goals anymore (sitting on 5.5bn credits now and will have the necessary funds for FCs well in advance of their release I reckon), everything's unlocked bar some useless human tech broker items - and yet, I'm not bored of the game somehow. I'm quite puzzled how this can be in all honesty.

There's a sense of the game getting very stale though, admittedly - never really thought I'd say this because I wasn't too fussed about them in the early days, but I really miss CG's/II's - lots of emergent gameplay. While FDev have said it takes too many resources away, I find that difficult to believe (armchair expert, I know) - as the ingredients are all there already (assets, mechanics); just need a 'chef' to bung them together. I really hope they're back in June.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Borann burnout, happens to miners and pirates. Except for the introduction of fleet carriers in June, the game will basically be on pause until Q1 2021.

Even though this may sound bitter (and I'm not bitter at all - slightly disappointed, sure), the truth is that apart from a low-effort (to me at least) FC release (presumably June... we'll see), from a long term player perspective the game has been on pause since Beyond. Arx isn't game content, neither is bug fixes, and the starter experience (i.e. a tutorial), while good and important for new players, isn't what most existing players have in mind when they think "content".

 

[Jakester13]

I have pretty much been playing like this for a while now. Things which have brought me back over the years include new mining (VO rush; Painite rush; Ltd rush), the FSS introduction; the Gnosis Col-sector debacle; Interstellar Initiatives; The Hutton Hot Mess Mug Distribution; and your thread about Borann, Old Duck.
It's a game I can't see myself uninstalling, but equally I need some different activities (i.e. not E: D) from time to time.
Recently Warzone has had my attention... it's quite a blast!
o7

 

[space voyager]

In other words, I have finished the game.

And yet, I haven't!

Same way here. Just returned from Early Astronomy expedition and right now, I feel ZERO thrust to play the game - and havent for the last week. Also I don't think I'll be coming back for carriers as I hate the idea of upkeep and my assets trickling away even when I don't even play the game.

I may kick myself into learning to fly FA off though. And play some CQC.

But Elite stays on the computer, no doubt. And New Era is an insta-buy for me, I won't even check the content. Hell, I won't even wait for discounts, I OWE Elite this much as this is my ultimately "cost-effective" game ever. Meaning that for the €/hours played ratio is only rivaled by the games I received for free.

 

[Ouberos]

Isn't this the 2nd time you're leaving? This lasted about a week:

The End?

Let's put aside bugs and shadows and elephant butt leather for a moment and focus just on the game itself. I fired up Elite Dangerous after a few months on hiatus, did some things, and then exited with the thought, "I think I really am done with the game..." It just doesn't 'scratch the itch'...

forums.frontier.co.uk

So, cya next week o7

Pretty sure he also quit the Forums a month or so back.

Some people just dont know how to commit to a project.

Ah, found it. Yep, definitely not posting on the Forums Anymore

 

[FixMeNow]

Log on sell data to cap 400 weekly arx limit. log off and wait for next week to sell more data.

Sad but true, current state of game is stale.

 

[[PS4 Pro - PC] earthtone99]

I had a 6 month ELITE hiatus in the first half of 2019. When I returned in summer, my goals had changed and so too had my enjoyment. I’m now coming up to another year since that hiatus. I’m expecting to take a break once I’ve done Colonia and then returned to the bubble.

I have a lot of other games part started or unfinished, so I’ll work on those. I recently finished two that I’d been working on alongside ELITE, so that will give me more time my other unfinished titles.

o7

 

[Siobhan]

Personally I've been pretty much "on reserve" since the launch of Engineers. For me, it ruined the balance of the game, and while I sometimes enjoy a spin in my SRV, I can't say I am happy with my purchase of the "upgrade" to Horizons. As to this [New|Next] Era of [Elite|Space] [Feet|Legs], I guess I'll just wait and see. I doubt I'll pre-order (though that could change depending on details) but will probably get it eventually - if only to not be left behind completely, knowing how FD usually do these things. As people have said though, there's plenty else to do while we wait for the great fleet-carrier economic crash of 2020.

 

[Old Duck]

Pretty sure he also quit the Forums a month or so back.

Some people just dont know how to commit to a project.

Ah, found it. Yep, definitely not posting on the Forums Anymore

Ironic that you're the very disease that tweet refers to. Thankfully the forum has its own "block" function, making it a more tolerable place (which sadly doesn't work in guest mode).

 

[Old Duck]

I find it interesting how some players take a very black & white approach to their gaming - you either play it 24/7 or don't play at all. There's a middle way you know

It's the kind of games I play that make a difference. I can easily jump in and out of a game like Overwatch, because it's simple. However, I find it much more difficult to bounce back and forth between a game like Elite and games like Space Engineers or even Stellaris. These "higher level" games do require a certain commitment. The flight model and controls (and gameplay in general) in SE are quite different than ED, and a game like Stellaris (which I'm still new at) has a whole different set of rules and complexities and keybinds, etc. Even jumping in and out of a game like Skyrim isn't as trivial as a quick match in an FPS like Overwatch, due to the completionist in me wanting to finish quest lines that I start.

And then there's Subnautica, which I started fresh on PC, and once I commit to it again will suck me in for who knows how long.

If I was playing Defender vs Pitfall, bouncing back and forth between games would be a lot easier.

But that's kinda the point of this thread - if I build a "ready to go" fleet that can allow me to quickly jump in and out of Elite when something happens, then Elite becomes more like Overwatch to me and less like Subnautica or Stellaris. Does that make sense? Active Duty to Reserves. (Which, BTW, is different than my previous approach to just quitting the game outright.)

 

[Ouberos]

Ironic that you're the very disease that tweet refers to.

One which clearly isnt that dramatic given your sudden return.

I eagerly await the next installment of "I like this game a lot, but other games exist!"

 

[Old Duck]

I doubt I’ll ever quit ED, though losing VR would be a big crossroads,

PC (especially a certain mod) and VR is what breathed new life into the game for me. As expected, the forum's finest mock me for "quitting" last year and then coming back, but I actually did quit PS4 ED, only occasionally logging in to reference my bookmarks. Starting a new game of ED on PC VR was like starting a new GAME in many ways.

Ironically VR is one of the reasons it's harder to jump in and out of ED like a quick game of Overwatch. It's not as trivial in my own setup (I don't have a dedicated gaming room) to strap into the VR, so to gear up and go into ED only to find there's nothing compelling (for me) to do is a waste of time. Piracy in Borann is the latest example, where when the dice fall in my favor, it can be some of the most exciting gameplay I've experienced, but 90% of the time it's just Facebook Messenger (system chat) with a really fancy background LOL.

Do take note that this thread is NOT a quitting thread, rather a "changing my approach to the game" thread. Think of it as a "changing my relationship with ED from a hardcore game like WoW to a casual game like Overwatch" thread, which I can do now that I am "rich" and have already done all the hardcore stuff (BGS, galaxy transversal, engineer grind, etc) that I'm interested in.

 

[Vandaahl]

PC (especially a certain mod) and VR is what breathed new life into the game for me. As expected, the forum's finest mock me for "quitting" last year and then coming back, but I actually did quit PS4 ED, only occasionally logging in to reference my bookmarks. Starting a new game of ED on PC VR was like starting a new GAME in many ways.

Ironically VR is one of the reasons it's harder to jump in and out of ED like a quick game of Overwatch. It's not as trivial in my own setup (I don't have a dedicated gaming room) to strap into the VR, so to gear up and go into ED only to find there's nothing compelling (for me) to do is a waste of time. Piracy in Borann is the latest example, where when the dice fall in my favor, it can be some of the most exciting gameplay I've experienced, but 90% of the time it's just Facebook Messenger (system chat) with a really fancy background LOL.

Tatty bai, old bean

 

[Old Duck]

View attachment 171939

Indeed! That's what makes this different than a "I quit" thread. I'll be back in June to see a fleet carrier for the first time (no beta for me). And I'll be back for the next CG or II or "wow, something new is happening in the galaxy" moment, even though that might not be until 2021. I may even go exploring or mining for a few hours during a cold, rainy day. But the days of daily grind and commitment (ie - "active duty") are over, at least until New Era brings truly new content. That means no more BGS, no personal Fleet Carrier, no more "it takes 5 hours of grind to do XYZ" gameplay for me, except perhaps to prepare a couple more ships for quick "jump in, jump out" sessions.

 

[Old Duck]

I have a lot of other games part started or unfinished, so I’ll work on those. I recently finished two that I’d been working on alongside ELITE, so that will give me more time my other unfinished titles.

With the way I've played ED in the past, I've had a hard time doing the "alongside" thing. I think this is because I'm a role-play immersion-based gamer when it comes to games like Elite, Subnautica, Space Engineers, etc. That's why I'm trying adjusting my approach to ED, where the main game becomes more like an Overwatch or even CQC match than an immersive world like your typical MMO.

 

[Vasquess]

Note that combining Hutton Orbital and Supercruise Assist makes a pretty good Idle-Game

 

[Deleted member 182079]

It's the kind of games I play that make a difference. I can easily jump in and out of a game like Overwatch, because it's simple. However, I find it much more difficult to bounce back and forth between a game like Elite and games like Space Engineers or even Stellaris. These "higher level" games do require a certain commitment. The flight model and controls (and gameplay in general) in SE are quite different than ED, and a game like Stellaris (which I'm still new at) has a whole different set of rules and complexities and keybinds, etc. Even jumping in and out of a game like Skyrim isn't as trivial as a quick match in an FPS like Overwatch, due to the completionist in me wanting to finish quest lines that I start.

And then there's Subnautica, which I started fresh on PC, and once I commit to it again will suck me in for who knows how long.

If I was playing Defender vs Pitfall, bouncing back and forth between games would be a lot easier.

But that's kinda the point of this thread - if I build a "ready to go" fleet that can allow me to quickly jump in and out of Elite when something happens, then Elite becomes more like Overwatch to me and less like Subnautica or Stellaris. Does that make sense? Active Duty to Reserves. (Which, BTW, is different than my previous approach to just quitting the game outright.)

It does make sense now (the bit in bold helped) i.e. I can see where you're coming from, and my mind does work in similar ways.

Although I have this problem more with games that are heavy on story - RPGs are the worst - if I leave them for a while I won't remember where I left off, so I either just don't go back them at all, or start afresh. The Witcher 3 is a noticable exception because the game allows you to catch up on where you're at in the journal - wish more games did this.

NMS is another example which I didn't play for some time, then dreaded going back because I couldn't remember what was the material grind of the day, but that's easy to work out in the log screen, and once I realised the game leans so heavily on proc-gen even missions can just be re-spawned (say, in the system you currently reside) it's a bit easier to just jump in and out. Given how the game works, I can only play it for short bursts before its shallowness puts me off and I start missing Elite's graphics and flight model.

With Elite I suppose what is the kicker is that anything you want to do usually takes significant time, so it can feel like a chore to get somewhere in order to have fun. The other day I played on my Alt, I wanted to unlock Martuuk, it took me hours because I was in a ship that didn't jump, and I hated every minute of it. I have now achieved that goal, but can't face logging into that account now, because I know anything I want to achieve will take a fair amount of tedious activities (jumping across the bubble, gathering mats); while my main one has all the goodies - and therefore, options - for varied gameplay, so I'm playing that now.

And since you are still in the early-ish stages of the game, I can empathise from that angle.

 

[askavir]

But Old Duck you have now just started the true ED experience, waiting for future good stuff has always been the best part of the game.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Ironically VR is one of the reasons it's harder to jump in and out of ED like a quick game of Overwatch. It's not as trivial in my own setup (I don't have a dedicated gaming room) to strap into the VR, so to gear up and go into ED only to find there's nothing compelling (for me) to do is a waste of time. Piracy in Borann is the latest example, where when the dice fall in my favor, it can be some of the most exciting gameplay I've experienced, but 90% of the time it's just Facebook Messenger (system chat) with a really fancy background LOL.

Yeah I understand this one - I don't play VR and while my hardware can't handle that anyways, this is putting me off it, just too much hassle in terms of logistics (maybe in the future things will improve, and by then I might have upgraded my hardware also).

I have a similar 'problem' with racing games - I own a T300 wheel, and even though it only takes a couple of minutes to set up, I'm just too lazy to do it more often than not, so I don't bother and fire up another game that doesn't need it. Doesn't help that the desk that I play on is also my workplace, so I can't just leave everything in place, as lovely as that would be.

As for Borann - yeah I'm taking a hiatus from that system now... done a bit of mining earlier but it's more Boring than Borann now. And since I have sufficient funds now for FCs, I can take the foot off the gas and spend more timing messing around in the game which doesn't usually earn (m)any credits.

 

[Slowfiddler]

Play for a while, leave and come back if they catch your fancy again. Some games do, some dont.

Exactly. I have reached 500 million credits, been to Colonia, bought a Krait, learned how to mine, seen amazing vistas that probably no-one else will ever see and am now parked at Hutton Orbital with mug and free Anaconda (first time I have watched Netflix in VR while in SC).

X-Plane is now in 11.50 Vulkan beta and my gosh is it smooth in VR! I will probably spend more of the plague confinement flying over parts of the UK I am unable to actually visit at the moment. ED will still be there in a few weeks/months time.