While I would agree with you, and I do plan on playing every game you listed again at some point, I can't for one reason. Both games rely on their multiplayer aspects to keep the game alive. By the time SC comes out, ED's playerbase will already have a year at most under their belt. When SC finally comes out, it's inevitable that all but the most diehard ED fans will leave and the multiplayer will die. So does that mean that ED MP has a one year shelf life? Hmm food for thought.
A comparison of ED vs X3
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While I would agree with you, and I do plan on playing every game you listed again at some point, I can't for one reason. Both games rely on their multiplayer aspects to keep the game alive. By the time SC comes out, ED's playerbase will already have a year at most under their belt. When SC finally comes out, it's inevitable that all but the most diehard ED fans will leave and the multiplayer will die. So does that mean that ED MP has a one year shelf life? Hmm food for thought.
by your theory there would be only ONE FPS everyone plays, or ONE MOBA, or ONE MMORPG, but in reality all these games are played by someone all the time.
there is no competition between ED and SC because
a) they are in different release windows and developments states
b) for different player types
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I wonder what portion of the ED player base will not play in the MP? I realize that the Solo Online will be influenced by the MP, which I like. Plus getting a game isn't like getting married....you can have more than 1. I have to say that SC looks great and I hope it's a success too....I may even buy SC when it comes out. I don't see why folks have a need to pit one against the other. The entry costs for each are pretty low and they both have a high fun factor.
You don't have to. You've already got the game and if you're not enjoying it right now there's no point in playing it until it's in better shape for you. You can always keep an eye on developments and check back later. That's what I do with games that haven't got as far as I'd like (and there's a dozen or so of those on my hard-drive at home).
I do agree with you that there's a lot of presentational stuff that could be better in ED (stuff even that was in other Elite games) but that's not a game killer for me. I'd definitely like to see some improvements on that front, but not as a priority over bringing more depth to what's already there.
As you've mentioned several times modern games are very different to the olden days and expectation are different too. But modern games are also subject to early access programmes (like this one), content DLCs and expansion, all of which are a consequence of modern development cycles which don't necessarily end at release. In fact I think most games that push what modern PCs are capable of simply can't be developed without the revenue that comes from their release. And certainly not for smaller studios or even large indies like Frontier that are self-publishing.
You are aware that you just described the persistent NPC interactions we're yet to see in the game?
Take a look: [url]https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7494[/URL]
That's why I keep saying that the game is not yet finished. I'll be the first to complain if FD were to somehow scrap all the features described in the DDAs and go with something shallow and bland. The entire game runs on the premise of a vast, persistent NPC simulation where players are just a small cog in the machine. It wouldn't be much of an NPC sim without NPCs, eh?
Your analogy doesn't apply here, all three of those genres have hundreds, thousands, likely even tens of thousands of times larger playerbase than space sims. To add to this, these genres focus on trying to bring players together. Meanwhile ED already suffers from a lack of player interaction with its 500 systems. What do you think will happen when the full 400 billion system universe is released and everyone spreads out? Less player interaction of course. Fast forward six months, many players have quit. Less interaction. Now what happens when SC released? Even less player interaction. Combine all these things and that would be the definition of multiplayer fizzling out, there would be no point in maintaining the servers, and then the game would be played single-player by die-hard fans aka "dead" by gaming standards. If a player quits ED it will affect the game more than if someone quits WoW, simply because dedicated space sim players are hard to come by in the video game industry, while MMO players are abundant. Of course this is just speculation, but it is based on rudimentary logic and previous occurrences. With that said, there is absolutely competition between ED and SD, it's naive to think otherwise.
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By that logic ED will kill EvE. Not seeing that happening.
Read my previous post. ED has and will take a large chunk of EvE's playerbase, but since ED is a space sim, and EvE is a MMO, it is unlikely that the amount of people that switch over will have an impact on EvE's presence. There are many people on these forums that have stated that they came from EvE. Not once did I cross over between genre's, not sure why you people are. I compared X3 to ED to SC, all three are space sims.
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What makes you think everyone will spread out? Will you, or will you try to find people to play with? Well, so will many others. In short time hubs will form, systems either in convenient locations or famous for their lore, and players will congregate there. They always do, because people are social and like to hang out.
Sure, there will be a bunch of explorers, but I think we established exploring uninhabited systems all day is not everyone's cup of tea.
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Yes, and SC is a themepark where ED is a sandbox. Also different crowds. Personally I think there is little overlap beyond the most broad criteria of genre.
You're wrong, not once in the entire alpha or beta did people congregate to one location and use it as a hub. Not only that, but the instancing system would prevent that anyways. There are a multitude of posts where people are having trouble meeting up because the system sucks.
Do you even know anything about SC? It's just as much a sandbox as ED is, in fact I dare even say that it is MORE sandboxy. You can trade, explore, bounty hunt, pirate, board ships, mine asteroids, fly drones, participate in races. The only difference is that SC has OTHER game modes as well, whereas ED only has one. In fact, in comparison to X3 and SC, ED isn't much of a sandbox, it's just a skeleton.
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LP-198-32, I Bootis, Aulin..I could go on, and yes the mutiplayer is somewhat broken at the moment, you don't think that will and is being worked on and improved?
Since I've started playing I have not seen any meaningful changes to the multiplayer code, so pardon me if I'm not being overtly optimistic.
Oh look, lo and behold another "I'm bored" thread. Read between the lines folks. Look at how many of those threads there are. Now assume that most bored players just stop playing without making a thread about it. That's a lot of boredom, in a video game.
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My point is, yes the grouping mechanisms and multi player are somewhat underwhelming at the moment, that has not always been the case, nor will it continue to be. Ask the guys that were doing the extortion racket, (ahem, sorry, protection services!), in LP 198-32 whether they had plenty of 'customers' during Beta 2. Have they got the same amount now? - no probably not. But you cannot honestly say that you think F: D are going to chuck this out of the door with its current problems can you? Also, on hubs, they will exist, as others have said, Capital Systems, iconic systems, systems with good trade links, systems with good equipment, visually stunning systems. All will form hubs of some sort, sure, maybe none will be like Stormwind in WoW the day after patch day but to be honest, I do not think that Frontier intend it to be.
well, it might not kill (too much difference in gameplay style), but will definite put a dent in playerbase, especially those "levelling the raven". Hardcore nullbears/ meta players will stay where they are.
That is assuming ED will be capable of providing at least semblance of social interaction in a living universe. Space amish sim we have here today will be a blip. Lots of potential though in shallow (albeit vast) pond. Again- hopefully that's beta thing.
As for X - again different playstyle. more executive - though it would not kill FD to have some higher-level goals.
Truth to be told in some design decisions, like constant need to flipping same button sequences for frequent tasks, current iteration feels more like Microsoft Flight Simulator X
We can also assume that most players aren't bored. We can aslo assume that those players that are bored, at this time, have read the DDA and know that there is much more content coming so they don't post "i'm bored" threads.
Name any game out there and I'll dig up at least twenty threads complaining about the game being boring. Don't you know that players who like the game, play the game?
Only those with issues come to the forums... well, them and diehard fans. Then they fight. Why do you think virtually every game forum eventually looks the same?
I only managed to digest the first 5 pages or so. Got repetitive after that it seemed.
After 3 decades of playing games I've noticed that the only games that hold my interest long term are the ones where other people are involved (MMO's mainly; co-op is still too limited).
Any game get's boring over time without sustained human interaction...
I hope ED will implement more multiplayer features and optimize the experience/functionality for open play.
I know it's only beta now, so I don't need to hear it again!
After 3 decades of playing games I've noticed that the only games that hold my interest long term are the ones where other people are involved (MMO's mainly; co-op is still too limited).
Any game get's boring over time without sustained human interaction...
I hope ED will implement more multiplayer features and optimize the experience/functionality for open play.
I know it's only beta now, so I don't need to hear it again!
Foreverowned
F
No i wasn't aware of that, it makes me very happy, looking forward to it.
Interstellar is spot on with this comparison of ED and X3. Elite Dangerous has nothing noteworthy to spend money on other than ship upgrades and more ships. There's not much to strive for. The factions are dull and most station interiors look the same. The star systems lack unique content.
1. Elite doesn't have much station variety (they're too similar).
2. Elite players can't create a business or station. The only thing players can spend their credits on is ship modules and more ships. This will get old rather quickly.
3. Elite's star systems lack unique content. They're uninteresting to explore. Why explore thousands of star systems when most have nothing special?
4. Elite doesn't have major alien factions and alien life. There's obscure Thargoids which will be rare encounters, nothing more meaningful.
5. Elite's Factions are too plain and similar. They lack personality, there's no back-story information (no Codex).
6. Elite doesn't have any significant multiplayer gameplay. Grouping is tedious. I have *Never* seen multiple groups of players working together or against each other.
7. Elite doesn't have staple social features of an MMO such as a star system wide chat and a bulletin board for player contracts. There's only a 1 vs 1 chat and voice communication. That's all.
1. Elite doesn't have much station variety (they're too similar).
2. Elite players can't create a business or station. The only thing players can spend their credits on is ship modules and more ships. This will get old rather quickly.
3. Elite's star systems lack unique content. They're uninteresting to explore. Why explore thousands of star systems when most have nothing special?
4. Elite doesn't have major alien factions and alien life. There's obscure Thargoids which will be rare encounters, nothing more meaningful.
5. Elite's Factions are too plain and similar. They lack personality, there's no back-story information (no Codex).
6. Elite doesn't have any significant multiplayer gameplay. Grouping is tedious. I have *Never* seen multiple groups of players working together or against each other.
7. Elite doesn't have staple social features of an MMO such as a star system wide chat and a bulletin board for player contracts. There's only a 1 vs 1 chat and voice communication. That's all.
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Point is they know player base will thin out extremely due to the infinite number of computer generated systems.
That´s why multiplayer is not given much attention because only a few will play co-op at all, since there is not much point other than socializing. I´m pretty sure most will play it as single player game but remain in online mode. Small groups or "squadrons" will meet up and do co-op stuff together.
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