What Elite needs going forward

Cmdr Travers

Cmdr Travers
VR CMDR Novindus said:
Certainly just my own opinion, but after the (hopeful) implementation of on-foot VR, and before the (also hopeful) addition of ship interiors and/or other large features, I think the original game loops need to be revamped or even overhauled, but especially the following:
  • Piracy
  • Bounty Hunting
  • Smuggling
  • Powerplay
The Suggestions forum has a massive pool of ideas for what can be done with the above, which Frontier game designers can use for a basis, or at least for inspiration.
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My own Monster List of QoL improvements includes a ton of ways these could all be buffed and improved, have a look as I really hope Frontier do buff these things 🙂
 

Riverside

Riverside
Jmanis said:
But no, what we really needed was walking in FCs 🤷‍♀️
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The lightning effect was used for the new carrier jump view :)

I think you make an excellent point about re-using features, assets and gameplay loops that have already been developed, in new ways.

One of the things I like about the interdicton mechanism is that it teaches the player a skill that is useful for fixed weapons too; precision & staying on target. Neutron scooping scooping could too but instead just throws the ship around.

There are lots of situations like this in the game.
 

Dillon Fallon

Dillon Fallon
Jmanis said:
Or if you forgot the cargo hold life support in FE2 :D And animals for animal meat... just a shame you didn't get animal skins which were worth something...
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I'm glad you said that, because in a decaffeinated moment I was about to argue that the slaves got turned to animal meat.

My imagination just turned that into a very different game.
 

dubsdj

dubsdj
Frontier have opened up so many possibilities with legs that there are so many things they could add to the game both in ship and on foot. I think it must be very difficult for them to decide which to follow first with all the bug fixes and performance issues their small team is faced with. I still wish the best for them and proud of them not giving up on such a wonderful game.
 

Tikanderoga

Tikanderoga
Cmdr Eratosthenes said:
Ship interiors. Now
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Look at FC interiors.
Long anticipated, didn't add much gameplay. Technically, it could have been added with an extra menu from the ship "Sell Vista genomics data".
But for those who don't do much on foot play, it's a feature that got added with no value.

So even adding all the ship interiors, you'd have to add some meaningful gameplay with it, else it's just wasted resources.
 

VR CMDR Novindus

VR CMDR Novindus
Tikanderoga said:
Look at FC interiors.
Long anticipated, didn't add much gameplay. Technically, it could have been added with an extra menu from the ship "Sell Vista genomics data".
But for those who don't do much on foot play, it's a feature that got added with no value.

So even adding all the ship interiors, you'd have to add some meaningful gameplay with it, else it's just wasted resources.
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I don't completely agree, simply because I think the immersion factor of having ship interiors makes it a meaningful feature in and of itself, especially in a game like Elite. Importantly though, there would need to be some greatly varied customisation options so each commander could make their ship their own, or make it like their mobile home in the galaxy (fleet carriers are decidedly less mobile, being stationary outside of the occasional jump).

At the same time, having some interesting gameplay loops for what can happen inside your ship would be great.
 

DemiserofD

D
Smuggling really is the obvious choice for renovation. It's easy to change, because virtually no one does it right now, and even the people who do don't have any particular attachment to the way it works. Content was recently added that synergizes with it; on foot smuggling missions. Much of it can be done with just with statistical changes, making it somewhat easier to implement. And it could very easily use a lot of the contents that currently goes unseen, like mega ship cargo hatches, Recon limpets, and so on.

Smuggling is, and should be, the de-facto choice for improvement in the near future.
 

DemiserofD

D
gorankar said:
The question really is, how can they fix these things without causing more issues and rage just from different parties? Why do the work if you are just changing who is torqued off at you.
We have been asking for these things for years.

NPC piracy is not really broken provided you know where to find the good hauls until we get to the part where you sell for a fraction of value. Which is silly. Nobody knows 5 systems over that load of whatever you are carrying that you pirated in an anarchy is stolen. PvP piracy is unfixable. Menu logging means your prey only stays if they want to.

I actually think NPC bounty hunting is in a good place if you do your research regarding where you bounty hunt. It can be very lucrative. PvP bounty hunting is in the same place as PvP piracy. Broken by other mechanics Fdev is almost certain to never change, (menu log/modes), or can't realistically change, (P2P networking splitting systems into multiple different shards).

Smuggling could be fixed by being able to sell contraband goods at very high prices in the places those goods are illegal subject to the same supply/demand/system status as legal items. Smuggling is a bit too easy at present but making stations and system authority a bit more aggressive in scanning could fix that up.

Powerplay is really unfixable due to other game mechanics, and wildly differing opinions from the player base as to what would constitute a fix. Any changes would just change who is screaming at Fdev. They are never going to open only or open weight it. Uncapping it will not fix it, just make it easier for large groups to get their way. Having dynamic caps might help some. While I don't think botting is as big an issue as some claim, getting that under control if it really is an issue couldn't hurt anything. However we are dealing with a feature they seem to have almost no idea how to deal with from the moment they put it into the game.
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On the subject of power play, is there any chance you seen my recent power play topic? I believe I fixed most of the issues, and if creating a framework around which an enjoyable new power-play could be created. However, I'd love to hear any comments you might have.

Powerplay - Powerplay 2.0 - What is Power Play? What is Politics? Why Powerplay doesn't have either one...but it should.

Welcome to Powerplay 2.0. This is the most comprehensive rework of Powerplay I've ever written, or seen. Clocking in at over 6300 words, it's very long, and very detailed. Rest assured, the experienced Powerplay can skip much of it, as I've added a great deal of detail to help those less...
forums.frontier.co.uk forums.frontier.co.uk
 

Tikanderoga

Tikanderoga
VR CMDR Novindus said:
I don't completely agree, simply because I think the immersion factor of having ship interiors makes it a meaningful feature in and of itself, especially in a game like Elite. Importantly though, there would need to be some greatly varied customisation options so each commander could make their ship their own, or make it like their mobile home in the galaxy (fleet carriers are decidedly less mobile, being stationary outside of the occasional jump).

At the same time, having some interesting gameplay loops for what can happen inside your ship would be great.
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Your 2nd part is exactly what makes the first part meaningful. If they just add interiors without anything meaningful, then it's wasted time and effort.
I see what you mean by immersion, that's all nice and well, but having to run through 2 minutes of ship interior to get to your cockpit without anything added in value gets stale very quickly.
Look at the walking around on planets, the "armstrong moment". Great for the first, 2nd and maybe 3rd time. But by the 4th time you realise: There is no real value to this.
You park your SRV next to whatever you want to scan, get out, scan it, and get back in and drive off. You won't be walking around for 5 minutes between 2 spots because they have to be 500m apart. You take your SRV.
The 500m distance between 2 sprouts is not meaningful gameplay.

Same thing applies to the interior.
The interior would have to have some kind of interesting game loop or game mechanics to warrant it.
 

varonica

varonica
Tikanderoga said:
Your 2nd part is exactly what makes the first part meaningful. If they just add interiors without anything meaningful, then it's wasted time and effort.
I see what you mean by immersion, that's all nice and well, but having to run through 2 minutes of ship interior to get to your cockpit without anything added in value gets stale very quickly.
Look at the walking around on planets, the "armstrong moment". Great for the first, 2nd and maybe 3rd time. But by the 4th time you realise: There is no real value to this.
You park your SRV next to whatever you want to scan, get out, scan it, and get back in and drive off. You won't be walking around for 5 minutes between 2 spots because they have to be 500m apart. You take your SRV.
The 500m distance between 2 sprouts is not meaningful gameplay.

Same thing applies to the interior.
The interior would have to have some kind of interesting game loop or game mechanics to warrant it.
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Different distances for different bio, but yes your point stands, if all we are doing is pointing a device at the bio why can't we do that from the ship or the SRV, why do we even need to get out, it's interesting for a certain factor of interesting, but as I said to a request to be able to order food in a FC as part of immersion, how many times would you do that? Do we need to sit there for the length of time it takes to eat the mean we ordered? I mean I might do it once as a novelty, but as far as a repeatable and interesting game loop, that isn't one, and doing that takes away time and effort for something that would be good.

Of course there's also that point that making a game loop requires the background to be there. I mean LOTRO adds assets to the game that appear to be just an empty building with blank walls that later become dungeons with entrances etc, adding ship interiors with purpose of extending the use of them later would be ok, it gives them time to test out and make sure the actual interiors are working ok, but if all it came to in the end was a few corridors and rooms to walk around what would be the point?
 

Tikanderoga

Tikanderoga
varonica said:
Different distances for different bio, but yes your point stands, if all we are doing is pointing a device at the bio why can't we do that from the ship or the SRV, why do we even need to get out, it's interesting for a certain factor of interesting, but as I said to a request to be able to order food in a FC as part of immersion, how many times would you do that? Do we need to sit there for the length of time it takes to eat the mean we ordered? I mean I might do it once as a novelty, but as far as a repeatable and interesting game loop, that isn't one, and doing that takes away time and effort for something that would be good.

Of course there's also that point that making a game loop requires the background to be there. I mean LOTRO adds assets to the game that appear to be just an empty building with blank walls that later become dungeons with entrances etc, adding ship interiors with purpose of extending the use of them later would be ok, it gives them time to test out and make sure the actual interiors are working ok, but if all it came to in the end was a few corridors and rooms to walk around what would be the point?
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From an immersion perspective, I'm 100% on board with you right there.
Same as ordering a beer a the bar. Unless some other buff or debuffs are added, which would turn Elite into an RPG, and I can't imagine Fdev wanting to go that way.

I have no issues with assets being put in game for later gameplay. But I can imagine LOTRO tells the players about upcoming content, not just plop assets in game and hope players will be around in 2 years time for when it becomes relevant?
I mean, in WoW, there were walled off parts of the map too (caverns of time namely) that would yield to future content. A new hole got dug and 3 new instances opened up. Then again, WoW has been pumping out content for the last 18 years on a regular basis, where as ED is at the 8 year mark.
I know WoW is paid vs ED being free from monthly fees, but I'd be happy to shell out some cash if it would mean regular content.
 
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