Last night, disgusted by the whole rare trades debacle, I decided to retire my Asp and go back home to Eravate in a Cobra and hang out there for a while to see how the new players were faring. It was exciting to see all the players rushing around system, but disappointing to see players and NPCs rubber-banding like crazy from one side of the system to the other.
So I go and check out the Nav Beacon. It's fun being a big fish in a small pond. There are about ten players here, all sitting around waiting for the next ship to appear. It's like watching sharks feeding: as soon as a new ship jumps in, it's scanned. If it's Wanted, a frenzy ensues in which someone inevitably clips another player's ship, and soon becomes the target of the mob. I noticed many new players flying around with 160CR bounties on them, and they soon became the new targets. When I tried to warn one guy, he replied "how did that happen?"
I tried chatting with many people, but often ended up replying to the wrong person as my original target got out of range and the chat system switched to another ship. I got very few replies, and the ones I did get were often directed at other people. When I explained how to use chat to a few people, it was obvious they didn't find it easy or intuitive to use. It was weird flying around with so many people but unable to chat with them all, instead having to fiddle around to make sure I was talking to the right person.
There was a lot of sitting around waiting. Most NPC ships jump into the area near the beacon itself, but some seem to drift in from the surroundings. I'd often see laser fire off in the distance, and soon all the sharks would dart in that direction. I was guilty of kill-stealing most of the targets, as I had beam lasers installed so would inevitably get the final blow, but there were occasions when I took on a larger ship (an Imp Cruiser or a Python) and did most of the damage, but didn't get the bounty. Considering how many players were there and how few NPCs appeared, this must have been very frustrating for most people there.
It was also pretty hard after a while to navigate the area, as NPCs would drop cargo and players and NPCs alike were leaving FSD wakes everywhere, so my radar was cluttered with contacts.
Throughout Gamma testing ED was a bit like a themepark where all the rides were free and there were no queues. Now the general public have been let in and the rides are busy, with some children getting trampled in the rush as the gates open. I'm sure after a time things will settle down as people slowly migrate to new areas, but for new players arriving at the Nav Beacon it must seem like a very poorly designed system, with not enough targets, no credit for damage done, harsh punishment for friendly fire, and an unintuitive chat system with no global chat.
...
Personally, for me the spell has broken. As a 14-yr old, the original game was a marvel; games have changed a lot since then but sadly ED hasn't really updated its formula, and it doesn't hold up well in a world used to multiplayer. No global chat, no personal storage, no grouping, no clans, no damage attribution/target locking, harsh friendly fire penalties, a badly scaling economy, no personal storyline missions....
I'm off to play Dragon Age Inquisition for a while, I'll pop back later to see if things have improved.
So I go and check out the Nav Beacon. It's fun being a big fish in a small pond. There are about ten players here, all sitting around waiting for the next ship to appear. It's like watching sharks feeding: as soon as a new ship jumps in, it's scanned. If it's Wanted, a frenzy ensues in which someone inevitably clips another player's ship, and soon becomes the target of the mob. I noticed many new players flying around with 160CR bounties on them, and they soon became the new targets. When I tried to warn one guy, he replied "how did that happen?"
I tried chatting with many people, but often ended up replying to the wrong person as my original target got out of range and the chat system switched to another ship. I got very few replies, and the ones I did get were often directed at other people. When I explained how to use chat to a few people, it was obvious they didn't find it easy or intuitive to use. It was weird flying around with so many people but unable to chat with them all, instead having to fiddle around to make sure I was talking to the right person.
There was a lot of sitting around waiting. Most NPC ships jump into the area near the beacon itself, but some seem to drift in from the surroundings. I'd often see laser fire off in the distance, and soon all the sharks would dart in that direction. I was guilty of kill-stealing most of the targets, as I had beam lasers installed so would inevitably get the final blow, but there were occasions when I took on a larger ship (an Imp Cruiser or a Python) and did most of the damage, but didn't get the bounty. Considering how many players were there and how few NPCs appeared, this must have been very frustrating for most people there.
It was also pretty hard after a while to navigate the area, as NPCs would drop cargo and players and NPCs alike were leaving FSD wakes everywhere, so my radar was cluttered with contacts.
Throughout Gamma testing ED was a bit like a themepark where all the rides were free and there were no queues. Now the general public have been let in and the rides are busy, with some children getting trampled in the rush as the gates open. I'm sure after a time things will settle down as people slowly migrate to new areas, but for new players arriving at the Nav Beacon it must seem like a very poorly designed system, with not enough targets, no credit for damage done, harsh punishment for friendly fire, and an unintuitive chat system with no global chat.
...
Personally, for me the spell has broken. As a 14-yr old, the original game was a marvel; games have changed a lot since then but sadly ED hasn't really updated its formula, and it doesn't hold up well in a world used to multiplayer. No global chat, no personal storage, no grouping, no clans, no damage attribution/target locking, harsh friendly fire penalties, a badly scaling economy, no personal storyline missions....
I'm off to play Dragon Age Inquisition for a while, I'll pop back later to see if things have improved.