I was very excited to play Elite Dangerous in beta 2, and indeed purchased and played the game. HOWEVER, after playing for a short while I found the game seemed very backwards in several respects. The game is set in the future, with ships the have computers able to compute frameshift routes, yet unable to save basic commodities data (as one example). In addition who cares what demand there is for commodities, if I buy it for more at one location than another i dont care what the demand is, it is pointless data (all we are looking at is what i buy it for here and sell it for there). Also, the trade route information on the galaxy map is also absolutely pointless, it does nothing to help the user without relevant data (like an ingame compilation of commodities gathered from sites visited).
In the PRESENT, we can check online for current prices of commodities and then compare that with other places. We can buy at one place, and then get it sold at another BEFORE going there (example: a long haul trucker is not going to pick up a load and then travel across country checking prices, he knows that BEFORE loading).
You are setting the game in the future and yet having the game experience set way in the past, its contradictory and extremely maddening to the player.
The news for instance is also tremendously pointless to the player. It says things are "downtrending" but what does that really mean? There is no relevant information given.
The shipyard for instance is a great example for taking something old and making it useful. Before you clicked on a ship and had no information about it, now you know all kinds of useful information. Good on you.. thats one.
You are planning to implement walking around on ships, and planets, to what end though? Just to look at them? If thats all we are going to get with it then please just stow, who cares if you cant actually do something with it. I want to be able to land on a planet, pull out my fishing pole, catch a fish, shoot the bear trying to steal it, take the booty from the resident pirates or monsters, and then launch and sell my stuff at a station. I then want to be able to buy my own star (or system) and place my own space stations, which create their own trade routes, that I get a profit from. That is the kind of game players want.
If you are making this game because you want us to have the experience YOU feel we should have, then you have lost us. Everyone of us. Make a game and let us make our own experiences within it. If you dont want us to profit, dont offer commodities markets then, because your argument that having a database of commodities trade route data is absolutely ridiculous and holds no merit to the real life, let alone the future with ships and computers able to do interstellar travel.
