97% of Viewers (Players?) Want Ship Interiors!

[Kris]

Honestly if i would have a choice between:
1) expand current planetside gameplay, maybe add worlds with atmospheres (but not ELW yet, that would be too big to undertake), maybe more gameplay around exobiology and exogeology stuff.
2) ship interiors and all the gameplay around that (eva repairs, zero g etc).


I would choose nr1. But both would be great. It's going to be interesting to see what steps Frontier takes next (doubt it would be anytime soon, i'm sure they have their hands full with Odyssey until late 2021 atleast).

 

[DemiserofD]

I'm tired of manually docking and auto docking takes too long while I might be under attack outside of Jameson. I guess now we will have to request docking and fade to black to landing pad. It's a poor decision and a poorer excuse as it makes a lot of existing mechanics outdated and unnecessary. But try to take some of this away and watch the riots start.

Much the contrary; the way to bypass the slow auto docking process is to dock manually. Which is so challenging it has a whole tutorial dedicated to it. You know, gameplay.

So that's a bad example, not sure why people keep bringing it up.

 

[IamMe]

@Obsidian Ant i voted YES however you didn't give much options in that poll, even i want it at some point it's not high on my priority list!

I'd rather they spend time on actual gameplay and develop more landable atmo planets, space phenomena and settlements where FPS can get it's full potential (abandoned outposts, stations and such) before they add luxury features and details like ship interiors.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

It left out the "I Want Bots To Mine For Me!" option...

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

(sigh) This is what is known as furious agreement.

"Figures never lie" means that the math, separate from what it is meant to prove, will be valid. 1 + 1 = 2

"Liars figure" refers to the fact that people will use math in an attempt to prove something that the math is not appropriate for. 100% of all apples I have seen are red, therefore all apples are red. True within the statistical universe presented, but false in the overall universe of data.

My misunderstanding

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

Just this one thing. I readily admit that my basic attitude to games (and I think I've made it clear that it's entirely subjective - as opposed to your thoroughly objective view ) has changed a lot over the decades, and dramatically over the last few months. What I'm no longer willing to accept at all is Elite's undecided optionalism taken to extremes. For me, that's pretty much the opposite of what I expect from a game. Until recently, there were few if any alternatives though.

Edit:
Apologies for the term "nappy headed" used earlier, that was a mistranslation I had hastily adopted from my translator.

My opinions are as subjective as anyone else's. It just tends to be the popular opinion at the moment. We know this isn't always the case and I wasn't intending to label you as a strawman, only the specific line of reasoning regarding the specific topic at the time.

I'm fairly bald against my will. I'd be happy to be nappy headed tbh lol

 

[DemiserofD]

Again we hear "no gameplay involved" with ship interiors.

Was anyone against the change when we went from a single station interior to the multitude of interiors we now have today (based on the stations economy)?

They spent months upon months hand crafting all of those then new interiors. You could say they could have done something else with their time. But they didnt. There is no gameplay value whatsoever with those station interiors

Why didnt they just make wireframe ships? They spend a huge amount of time making the ships look wonderful and detailed. That time could have spent making actual gameplay options. There is no gameplay value whatsoever with having anything more then a wireframe ship.

I hope you are getting my point. You dont need "gameplay value" to justify the addition of a feature, Artwork, layout, ambiance, or graphics...

You do it to add aesthetic value, realism and quality. Half of Elite Dangerous has no gameplay value whatsoever, but it exists, and we are all much better off for it.

Pragmatically speaking, designing a new station interior is probably quite a bit easier than designing a new ship interior. Stations only need to be seen from hundreds of feet away, and if you get close enough, you can start to see the minimum level of detail pretty easily.

By contrast, ship interiors are, by proportion, quite significantly larger, since the viewpoint is first person, and there are quite a few more variants.

Not to mention the fact that there is room for aesthetics in tandem with content. Different weapons with different effects, for example, isn't just aesthetics, it's also informative for gameplay purposes. A player can use the appearance of a station to determine what services it's likely to offer, which is, ultimately, greater depth of gameplay.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Ok so 1st off I am not a Dev
2ndly I am just spitballing and not making any demands.

But hypothetically if FD don't realistically plan on making ship interiors any time soon why not go a different route and and create usable Dev tools and release them to the community.

They would be based on the game engine and have baked in limits for number of polygons or what ever so someone would not create something which looks beautiful but has too much "cost" in terms of performance.

FD would present the empty ship and that is it, the rest is up to the community.

FD could have competitions to create interiors for the ships,.modular in nature. The winner (or winners ) get their models added into the game

The beauty here is there could be more than 1 design for different ships . The prize for winners could be arx as well as maybe get to name a starport or something in the game.

We have seen what the community can do when given a tool kit.... And if they can make it work for the sidewinder and viper (surely the hardest to squeeze in all that stuff) the. They could do it for all of them. The same logic could work for modular parts like size 1-7 passenger bays etc etc etc.

Like I say I am no Dev but there is so much talent out there and I know many would do it for free just for the fame. Hell could also be a good pool of talent for FD too to offer paid work for.

Once ships are done no need to stop there, it could then move onto base variants .

ED would end up with more variation than even the biggest AAA team could do. All FD have to do it vet it and basic bug testing .
Then it go into beta.

 

[DemiserofD]

Ok so 1st off I am not a Dev
2ndly I am just spitballing and not making any demands.

But hypothetically if FD don't realistically plan on making ship interiors any time soon why not go a different route and and create usable Dec tools and release them to the community.

They would be based on the game engine and have baked in limits for number of polygons or what ever so someone would not create something which looks beautiful but has too much "cost" in terms of performance.

FD could have competitions to create interiors for the ships,.modular in nature. The winner (or winners ) get their models added into the game

The beauty here is there could be more than 1 design for different ships . The prize for winners could be arx as well as maybe get to name a starport or something in the game.

We have seen what the community can do when given a tool kit.... And if they can make it work for the sidewinder and viper (surely the hardest to squeeze in all that stuff) the. They could do it for all of them. The same logic could work for modular parts like size 1-7 passenger bays etc etc etc.

Like I say I am no Dev but there is so much talent out there and I know many would do it for free just for the fame. Hell could also be a good pool of talent for FD too to offer paid work for.

Once ships are done no need to stop there, it could then move onto base variants .

ED would end up with more variation than even the biggest AAA team could do. All FD have to do it vet it and basic bug testing .
Then it go into beta.

Unfortunately, integrating player-made content often takes more work than doing it yourself. You need to check over every aspect of foreign code/design to make sure nothing malicious slips in, and if it does, you're still liable.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Thanks for the reply like I said I am no Dev. But if we are just talking about ship interiors would there be much code? Wouldn't the ship really just be like a custom "level" in a level designer? Back in the day it was quite normal for community made levels or what not to be made with no coding skills needed.... And it would sometimes make it into the game.

I suppose someone would have to check no one didn't hide a pron image or something into the ship so would need going over with a close eye... But that would be very low paid work and way less than actual 3D artists etc

Years ago I watched an interesting video in star citizen and it followed one of their artists designing the interior of one of their ships. They started from scratch blocking it out and went through the whole thing. It was quite impressive.

 

[Ed [FCOC]]

i kind of prefer Elite to focus on the galaxy, what's out there, more stuff to do, more places to go etc. I'm sure if people were asked about that option they would also say yes.

Not really interested in being able to walk to my coffee machine or stare at a giant computer screen or whatever, i do enough of those things already.

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[Eraden]

I would like to point out that putting in ship interiors does not have to be an "all or nothing" proposition. There is no need to map out every last cubic centimeter within a ship. Major sections within a ship can be modelled and customized for that ship, while access to those sections can be modelled with a simplified corridor/turbolift system that while not as detailed or immersive as some like, would still get the job done. This was done, if I recall correctly, for ships in SWTOR. Hell, putting in ship interiors does not even have to be completed in one go. You could start with maybe releasing a bridge and possibly an SRV room, and then later on as time and money permit, add more sections.

 

[Angelpichu]

I'd be fine with something like walkable cockpits while docked and safe below deck, with the back door able to leave to ground or go to a possibly customizable private cabin for roleplay purposes and meetings with friends. I say docked and safe because there might be issues with programming how to handle commanders who are up and walking when the ship is destroyed, commanders just getting into seats during ship destruction, et al. Worst case scenario could be a bug that ends up being that the ship explodes leaving the commander stuck just walking around a "cabin" that's been graphically unloaded due to ship destruction but still walking around on the ground of the graphically unloaded ship, looking really odd and also leaving them stuck.

 

[Iron Golem]

I know it was thrown around in Kickstarter days but with all the time playing Elite, I never imagined we would get legs. It would have been low on my list of priorities and wants. Elite could have entirely stood alone (Ha!) As just a stationary pilot experience for me. I would have thought a submersible exploration vehicle or even ship variant for exploring liquid planets would have come first. All kinds of gameplay that could have been ship centric but fresh and varied. I expected fleshing out of the
Galaxy and ship centric experience would be the future...

However since legs and fps are coming it would be odd to me if all this development time and effort just to give us fps. If its a stepping stone as they flesh out the game fantastic. If it isn't then it feels like to be a low hanging fruit to make the most money scenario (Which is okay, game companies usually want to make money, not complaining).

I feel the ship centric side of Elite is utterly amazing. Its why I've been playing 2k+ hours. There was plenty here to expand upon and polish (Fix even...).

The Epic give away timed with Odyssey was smart. Fps add on to appeal to a new generation of Cmdrs was smart. Giving players the option to start as a shipless Cmdr and using the same mechanics (Weapons / pips etc) to teach players the ship basics during the leg / fps beginning is rather brilliant. Frontier is obviously motivated with Elite and has a plan... I feel like ship interiors and associated gameplay would be a natural future addition for the most important part of the game for me. The ships.

I hope Odyssey shines and they put the polish in so the experience is excellent. Then who knows what the future will bring.

All we have to do is look at Star Citizen to see how passionate space gamers are about ships. Interiors are a part of that. Even if you don't use it much it makes your ship more than just a cockpit and accentuates the best part of the game (For me) the ships!

I would love to see it down the line, not just as a hollow add on, but as a way to bring even more gameplay and customization to.... THE SHIPS!

TLDR: /vote YES

 

[zzehirbazz]

you are wrong

how so? care to elaborate?
The whole marketing keyword for SC is being seamless. The game buffers and renders a certain range of preset visuals instead of segmenting it into layers like Elite.
I would recommend watching the tech on how they manage to make things appear on screen without overloading your computer with huge data. It is one instance with a "torchlight effect" that makes things appear as you move into their radius.
Elite has layers on layers of instances attached by hidden loading screens (like the supercruise enter/exit sequence as well as glide on planets). There is the space, planets, stations and incident bubbles. You can confirm what I just said by trying to seamlessly fly towards a station without entering supercruise. Which you can't. Because they are different instances.

 

[zzehirbazz]

@Obsidian Ant You have been to Frontier HQ and saw some stuff under non disclosure agreement as far as I remember, way before space legs was even hinted at.
Was Odyssey what you saw and stayed silent about or was there more?

 

[Susanna]

Do you have any evidence how much profit they generate from all the paint jobs, bobble heads etc.? Because I think it would be a great opportunity to sell that stuff as ship interior too.

No idea, but I suspect it's not trivial...
Paint jobs for interiors too? I had to laugh at that! Can I have flowery Laural Ashley style wallpaper interior then?

 

[Susanna]

Here's a new poll with a slightly more specific question:

View attachment 214855

Then I'm firmly in the 20% bracket that doesn't care for ship interiors much. I'd rather see decent habitats on planets developed! With Flora and Fauna too!

 

[Rat Catcher]

With Flora and Fauna too!

Weren't they the delightful twins from The Addams Family?

 

[amigacooke]

As I’ve mentioned before, it would be strange if you can travel across the galaxy, wander into bars, fight for settlements, trek across the wildernesses, but the inside of your ship is an unknowable mystery, where you can only be straight jacketed into a pilot’s chair.