I wanted to just post that I am sorry to hear of Elite Dangerous' recent problems, player's leaving, Frontier being criticised etc. It's a shame, but probably no great surprise to a lot of people who have followed the development of this much anticipated game since Kickstarter, experiencing the highs of the first ever Beta development when the great combat, flight and base mechanics were first released, the dashed hopes and tribulations of the lacklustre development, and the recent lows of Odyssey. I hope Frontier can somehow pull it around and produce the game a lot of people are still waiting for.
I haven't properly played the game for a few years myself, I keep coming back to it on occasion hoping that its changed enough to interest me but I never usually play more than a few hours before getting bored. Multiplayer gameplay certainly restricts what can be done with the game compared to the earlier Elite/Frontier/First Encounters gameplay I feel.
But there is great promise here in this game. I still believe that atmospheric planets could be the key - adding weather, gravity and manual landings, with proper landing communications and base operations such as face to face ordering of refuelling/rearming and meeting prospective clients. But what about enabling the ability to employ AI escort ships and play escort missions in fighters? Adding the ability to walk around ships and design the interior cabins, boarding operations, improve piracy and stealth/blockade running mechanics, adding much desired new classic ships like the Panther Clipper and the Saker- all of these things could raise the gameplay to a new level, show the players that Frontier actually care.
But Frontier don't seem to agree, they seem to be happy to constantly add new ways to do the same grinding game. That is a real shame and that will probably see the death of the game, if not now in a years time. What Frontier say and do over the next few months could be very telling. Their recent work plan was very uninspiring and vague, it does not give any indication that they have any intention of developing this game with any sort of renewed dedication, but rather just aim to make more easy money by expanding the present lacklustre gameplay into the console market.
It's all very disheartening to be fair, but it's not come as any real surprise. A lot of the older mature players probably, like myself, saw the writing on the wall even during the Kickstarter, Frontier were hardly forthcoming on what their plans were even then, resulting in the Kickstarter almost failing, and this lack of communication has continued throughout the games development. Will Frontier ever change and start to show some love to this game like they did in the early Beta development????
I haven't properly played the game for a few years myself, I keep coming back to it on occasion hoping that its changed enough to interest me but I never usually play more than a few hours before getting bored. Multiplayer gameplay certainly restricts what can be done with the game compared to the earlier Elite/Frontier/First Encounters gameplay I feel.
But there is great promise here in this game. I still believe that atmospheric planets could be the key - adding weather, gravity and manual landings, with proper landing communications and base operations such as face to face ordering of refuelling/rearming and meeting prospective clients. But what about enabling the ability to employ AI escort ships and play escort missions in fighters? Adding the ability to walk around ships and design the interior cabins, boarding operations, improve piracy and stealth/blockade running mechanics, adding much desired new classic ships like the Panther Clipper and the Saker- all of these things could raise the gameplay to a new level, show the players that Frontier actually care.
But Frontier don't seem to agree, they seem to be happy to constantly add new ways to do the same grinding game. That is a real shame and that will probably see the death of the game, if not now in a years time. What Frontier say and do over the next few months could be very telling. Their recent work plan was very uninspiring and vague, it does not give any indication that they have any intention of developing this game with any sort of renewed dedication, but rather just aim to make more easy money by expanding the present lacklustre gameplay into the console market.
It's all very disheartening to be fair, but it's not come as any real surprise. A lot of the older mature players probably, like myself, saw the writing on the wall even during the Kickstarter, Frontier were hardly forthcoming on what their plans were even then, resulting in the Kickstarter almost failing, and this lack of communication has continued throughout the games development. Will Frontier ever change and start to show some love to this game like they did in the early Beta development????