I realized something today that has been bugging me ever since I joined Elite Dangerous. In truth it nagged at me before I began to sign up for the game. I nagged friends about it. I rarely got any clear answer.
I'll break this down:
Topic:
What is Exploration meant to be in Elite Dangerous: From the Developers' Point of View?
- It really isn't clear
Let's look at what we have to do it with:
- ADS
- DSS
Really. That's it.
There is absolutely nothing else to do with Exploration existing in Elite Dangerous. The entirety of Elite Dangerous' Exploration Content beyond this point is player made.
Let's look at that for awhile:
1. Players have come up with the idea of going Exploring.
2. Players have set the goals as to what is to be done, found, or sought from Exploring.
3. Players have decided what ships to use for Exploring.
Pros of this situation:
1. Players came up with it entirely on their own organically.
Cons:
1. If there was anything to find many feel we would have found it by now.
2. Con 1 is often shot down by the argument that we are searching for a needle in a stack of needles without a clue what needle we are looking for. This forms the basis for Con 2: we don't have the equipment necessary to do Exploration.
3. Con 3 spawns from heated and contentious discussion around Con 2. All of these discussions shrink down to a few basic problems.
3a ) FULLY-Equipped Exploration Ship needs to meet ALL current demands of an Explorer.
Requirements:
1. Fuel Scoop
2. Shields
3. Cargo Space
4. Collector Limpet Controller
5. ADS
6. DSS
7. Planetary Vehicle Hangar
8. AMFU because Neutron Stars
9. AMFU for AMFU
10. (Vanity w/utility) Fighter Bay
11. (Vanity w/utility) High Jump Range
12. (Vanity w/utility) Multi-crew available
Right... So... That's 10 Modules.
12 total requirements.
How many ships out there meet this requirement?
What was that?
No, that ship you just mentioned. Say it again.
Anaconda, you say?
Anaconda.
Anaconda, Anaconda, Anaconda...Anaconda.
Summary:
1. Exploration demands more modules than ships have module space in all circumstances save one: the Anaconda.
2. Exploration is greatly enhanced by having
a. High Jump Range
b. Fighter Bays to get down into tight spots
c. Multi-crew because the chances you're going to see another person besides yourself otherwise over the next 3 months is ZERO.
3b ) "Choices" for Exploration are extremely limited
1. You really want to bring a ADS and DSS along.
- 2 module spaces
2. Can't do this Exploration thing without a Fuel Scoop
- 3 module spaces
3. You probably want an SRV so as to gain the benefits from Horizon at the cost of 2 Ly because FDev.
- 4 module spaces
4. You probably want to bring shields because you're going to have to land to deploy the SRV
- 5 modules.
And now you have eliminated all of the module space most ships in the game have.
You've still got 6 more to go.
...and so you have arrived upon your only choice. The Anaconda.
Because after this point you're already looking at ships who will struggle to make it to 40 Ly Jumps.
Because after this point you're already realizing the AspX can't even do the job.
Summary:
Because of the lack of consideration for Exploration Development explorers are in a bind. This is enough of a bind that it comes up practically every time someone gets ready to go out exploring. What do I sacrifice?
- This isn't the sort of question like... Do I sacrifice Thrusters from A to D or Module from 4 to 1? Oh no... You're going to choose between bringing something critical like the SRV or a Mining Laser.
This just demonstrates that Exploration has gone past the point of no return. There is more to do in the game than we have ships that can use it. And frankly, people are sick to death of it.
3d) Holo-display quits working at 2.0 to 1.5 Km. About 2.0km to 1.5km above where... when you put your nose in the dust... you can start seeing rocks. Seeing as currently all of the surfaces in the game are beige now this is really putting some strain on the eyes. Especially when mountains decide they're going to turn into vaguely lumpy hills as you get closer. This really makes finding anything at all on a planetary surface luck.
Summary:
Planetary surfaces morph and change depending on elevation.
Planetary shadows morph and change depending on elevation.
Scanners near to the planets surface require changing from the SHIP's scanner to the SRV's scanner which... as already discussed... we might not have brought one along because you didn't give us the option.
3e) Lack of module choices impacts Multiplayer decisions and coordination.
Summary & Explanation:
Because players have to sacrifice something like the SRV to bring cargo AND a refuel limpet you (FDev) are cutting into... not how... but IF people decide to bring them in the first place. This in turn means people disband entire expedition ideas simply because who wants to give up the functionality of an SRV to be sure at least one person in the group brought rescue options.
Also, the lack of module options for MANY ships means we aren't using the neutron stars because we have to give up TWO of typically FIVE modules to do it.
In short, people are throwing their hands up in the air at this point. "Which critical functionality do you want to give up for the next ump-teen months??"
1. Give up a second seat? "Option: Throw your friend out the window"
2. Give up an SRV for Mining Laser: "Option: Throw our the only scanner you have that does anything useful."
3. Give up two modules for AMFU: "Option: a bigger ship at the cost of extended your expedition's time period from weeks to months."
3f ) The Beluga Liner was a chance for FDev to find some redemption in the eyes of Explorers by giving some other option... any other option... than the Anaconda for that end-all-be-all exploration ship. We got something more like a slap-dash-train-wreck from Kerbal Space Program. By all evidence the Panther Clipper is doomed to be that much worse.
And this is before we even get out of the dock.
SO... alright. At this point Explorers are a bit disgusted with FDev.
By "a bit" I'd rank the disgust somewhere in the bilges and at this point drilling holes in the hull because when people ask, "What do you think of Elite?" We answer, "It has the potential to be something amazing..., but what were you saying again about Star Citizen? 100 hand crafted worlds? That's great. Elite has replaced all development with RNG at the moment. It is getting hard to get people to log in. And anyway, after you've found the 1000th Nav beacon 40,000 Ly + from anywhere you get the idea... more RNG spawning things that shouldn't be out that far." And that really... summarizes most of what is there to do.
Summary:
Inadequate module space to meet the demands of the exploration related content.
Inadequate utility modules to preform system and/or planetary scans.
Inadequate ship options for very long duration exploration... Anaconda or Broke.
Strong option by the Exploration Community there isn't anything to find and there wasn't anything to find.
4. A Matter of Opinion:
There's always a horde of someone's ready to jump in here and say this is just a matter of opinion.
I'm going to contest that right here and now.
ADS
DSS
Holo-display that stops working just for the excuse of making you use the SRV you might have had to sacrifice for other utilities.
- a general lack of care at all about all these problems building up since before even Horizons released.
We have the ADS which can summarize as a scanner telling us quantity of large objects in a system their location.
We have the DSS which can summarize as completely useless except in the rare cases where you're only objective is know for certain a PLANET ...SOMEWHERE ...has Geysers.
With the Holo-display being an excuse to get you to use the SRV EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT EXPLORATION COMES DOWN TO YOUR EYE-BALLS.
Good look... 400 billion star systems and god knows how many trillions of planets, moons, and whatever... and then some mystery crap we can't detect at all unless we chance to fly by it and happen to look at our Contact List which is located off to the side in another window that you wouldn't reasonably be looking at 99% of the time any way in deep space. Nor would you know to look if you had will to always be trying to look. And then we have even more mysteries with what's going on with logarithmic vs. linear scans in a window directly opposite the contact window.
Summary:
1. Exploration couldn't be more convoluted and backwardly designed if keybindings randomly rearranged themselves.
2. Exploration vs. Discovery are currently divorced from one another by design
3. ADS and DSS were pretty clearly intended to just help people expand the immediate bubble while the game focuses on Combat development. Seriously, I think the only conclusion to come to after some 2200 hours played (most of it exploring) is that exploration was never imagined to have become as popular as it is. Consequently WE have done the development for exploration... and we're out of ways to do anything more with the tools on hand. Game over.
I'm writing this because people's cynicism with the tools available for exploration is reaching a point where the excuses we have afforded FDev have run out. Why did multicrew release with a ship that has only one seat? It makes zero sense. Why can't we go to an Engineer and add a seat? It makes no sense. Why can't a co-pilot in an explorer ship even use to ADS or pivot the DSS so they have something.. anything... anything at all to do besides sit there? Why are we stuck with the canopy-on-top Anaconda when we need to SEE with a eyes; mostly because that's all we've got that works anyway. Answer... We the players made exploration into what it is. We got far outside the boundary of the game's content and because that much that is done was so well made we are just now realizing it.
So ya, it's a matter of opinion HOW YOU RESPOND TO THIS... but it isn't a matter of opinion that it is true.
Also, understand this cynicism people have doesn't seem to be anger. Anger was last summer. it isn't even a crisis of faith. That was somewhere last fall. This is just contempt at the idle silence regarding the situation. There's hope that FDev will do something ENJOYABLE for exploration without making us do Engineering for another zillith time to get to gaming again. But here's the danger of the situation as I see it... and why I'm posting this in the discussion area...
If we're responsible for running off into the black hoping to find things with nothing more than the ADS and DSS... and then chasing the carrot still further down the road with Horizons... do you still want Exploration? Does anyone care? Because more and more people I talk with are so disgusted by it that the see it as broken beyond all recovery. They go out to see the skybox now. The expectation the design of exploration actually supports discovery is dead. And in that death was a death in faith of FDev ever giving us explorers something to do besides play with RNG endlessly.
If you enjoy exploration you might want to take awhile to get into some sort of constructive discussion about what Exploration needs and what it is because as it is stands it is like vaporware and the phantom of a story of content no one has actually seen yet. What does discovery mean, for example? How much of exploration should be left up to RNG dumping some random nav beacon or corpse of SRV ahead of us for the gazillionth time? What about the community aspect? Distant Worlds, Small Worlds, etc. Is Exploration sufficient as merely the discovery of a new reason pressing F12 or should there be some sort of actual gameplay involved? Anything at all besides F12 and RNG?
I'll break this down:
Topic:
What is Exploration meant to be in Elite Dangerous: From the Developers' Point of View?
- It really isn't clear
Let's look at what we have to do it with:
- ADS
- DSS
Really. That's it.
There is absolutely nothing else to do with Exploration existing in Elite Dangerous. The entirety of Elite Dangerous' Exploration Content beyond this point is player made.
Let's look at that for awhile:
1. Players have come up with the idea of going Exploring.
2. Players have set the goals as to what is to be done, found, or sought from Exploring.
3. Players have decided what ships to use for Exploring.
Pros of this situation:
1. Players came up with it entirely on their own organically.
Cons:
1. If there was anything to find many feel we would have found it by now.
2. Con 1 is often shot down by the argument that we are searching for a needle in a stack of needles without a clue what needle we are looking for. This forms the basis for Con 2: we don't have the equipment necessary to do Exploration.
3. Con 3 spawns from heated and contentious discussion around Con 2. All of these discussions shrink down to a few basic problems.
3a ) FULLY-Equipped Exploration Ship needs to meet ALL current demands of an Explorer.
Requirements:
1. Fuel Scoop
2. Shields
3. Cargo Space
4. Collector Limpet Controller
5. ADS
6. DSS
7. Planetary Vehicle Hangar
8. AMFU because Neutron Stars
9. AMFU for AMFU
10. (Vanity w/utility) Fighter Bay
11. (Vanity w/utility) High Jump Range
12. (Vanity w/utility) Multi-crew available
Right... So... That's 10 Modules.
12 total requirements.
How many ships out there meet this requirement?
What was that?
No, that ship you just mentioned. Say it again.
Anaconda, you say?
Anaconda.
Anaconda, Anaconda, Anaconda...Anaconda.
Summary:
1. Exploration demands more modules than ships have module space in all circumstances save one: the Anaconda.
2. Exploration is greatly enhanced by having
a. High Jump Range
b. Fighter Bays to get down into tight spots
c. Multi-crew because the chances you're going to see another person besides yourself otherwise over the next 3 months is ZERO.
3b ) "Choices" for Exploration are extremely limited
1. You really want to bring a ADS and DSS along.
- 2 module spaces
2. Can't do this Exploration thing without a Fuel Scoop
- 3 module spaces
3. You probably want an SRV so as to gain the benefits from Horizon at the cost of 2 Ly because FDev.
- 4 module spaces
4. You probably want to bring shields because you're going to have to land to deploy the SRV
- 5 modules.
And now you have eliminated all of the module space most ships in the game have.
You've still got 6 more to go.
...and so you have arrived upon your only choice. The Anaconda.
Because after this point you're already looking at ships who will struggle to make it to 40 Ly Jumps.
Because after this point you're already realizing the AspX can't even do the job.
Summary:
Because of the lack of consideration for Exploration Development explorers are in a bind. This is enough of a bind that it comes up practically every time someone gets ready to go out exploring. What do I sacrifice?
- This isn't the sort of question like... Do I sacrifice Thrusters from A to D or Module from 4 to 1? Oh no... You're going to choose between bringing something critical like the SRV or a Mining Laser.
This just demonstrates that Exploration has gone past the point of no return. There is more to do in the game than we have ships that can use it. And frankly, people are sick to death of it.
3d) Holo-display quits working at 2.0 to 1.5 Km. About 2.0km to 1.5km above where... when you put your nose in the dust... you can start seeing rocks. Seeing as currently all of the surfaces in the game are beige now this is really putting some strain on the eyes. Especially when mountains decide they're going to turn into vaguely lumpy hills as you get closer. This really makes finding anything at all on a planetary surface luck.
Summary:
Planetary surfaces morph and change depending on elevation.
Planetary shadows morph and change depending on elevation.
Scanners near to the planets surface require changing from the SHIP's scanner to the SRV's scanner which... as already discussed... we might not have brought one along because you didn't give us the option.
3e) Lack of module choices impacts Multiplayer decisions and coordination.
Summary & Explanation:
Because players have to sacrifice something like the SRV to bring cargo AND a refuel limpet you (FDev) are cutting into... not how... but IF people decide to bring them in the first place. This in turn means people disband entire expedition ideas simply because who wants to give up the functionality of an SRV to be sure at least one person in the group brought rescue options.
Also, the lack of module options for MANY ships means we aren't using the neutron stars because we have to give up TWO of typically FIVE modules to do it.
In short, people are throwing their hands up in the air at this point. "Which critical functionality do you want to give up for the next ump-teen months??"
1. Give up a second seat? "Option: Throw your friend out the window"
2. Give up an SRV for Mining Laser: "Option: Throw our the only scanner you have that does anything useful."
3. Give up two modules for AMFU: "Option: a bigger ship at the cost of extended your expedition's time period from weeks to months."
3f ) The Beluga Liner was a chance for FDev to find some redemption in the eyes of Explorers by giving some other option... any other option... than the Anaconda for that end-all-be-all exploration ship. We got something more like a slap-dash-train-wreck from Kerbal Space Program. By all evidence the Panther Clipper is doomed to be that much worse.
And this is before we even get out of the dock.
SO... alright. At this point Explorers are a bit disgusted with FDev.
By "a bit" I'd rank the disgust somewhere in the bilges and at this point drilling holes in the hull because when people ask, "What do you think of Elite?" We answer, "It has the potential to be something amazing..., but what were you saying again about Star Citizen? 100 hand crafted worlds? That's great. Elite has replaced all development with RNG at the moment. It is getting hard to get people to log in. And anyway, after you've found the 1000th Nav beacon 40,000 Ly + from anywhere you get the idea... more RNG spawning things that shouldn't be out that far." And that really... summarizes most of what is there to do.
Summary:
Inadequate module space to meet the demands of the exploration related content.
Inadequate utility modules to preform system and/or planetary scans.
Inadequate ship options for very long duration exploration... Anaconda or Broke.
Strong option by the Exploration Community there isn't anything to find and there wasn't anything to find.
4. A Matter of Opinion:
There's always a horde of someone's ready to jump in here and say this is just a matter of opinion.
I'm going to contest that right here and now.
ADS
DSS
Holo-display that stops working just for the excuse of making you use the SRV you might have had to sacrifice for other utilities.
- a general lack of care at all about all these problems building up since before even Horizons released.
We have the ADS which can summarize as a scanner telling us quantity of large objects in a system their location.
We have the DSS which can summarize as completely useless except in the rare cases where you're only objective is know for certain a PLANET ...SOMEWHERE ...has Geysers.
With the Holo-display being an excuse to get you to use the SRV EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT EXPLORATION COMES DOWN TO YOUR EYE-BALLS.
Good look... 400 billion star systems and god knows how many trillions of planets, moons, and whatever... and then some mystery crap we can't detect at all unless we chance to fly by it and happen to look at our Contact List which is located off to the side in another window that you wouldn't reasonably be looking at 99% of the time any way in deep space. Nor would you know to look if you had will to always be trying to look. And then we have even more mysteries with what's going on with logarithmic vs. linear scans in a window directly opposite the contact window.
Summary:
1. Exploration couldn't be more convoluted and backwardly designed if keybindings randomly rearranged themselves.
2. Exploration vs. Discovery are currently divorced from one another by design
3. ADS and DSS were pretty clearly intended to just help people expand the immediate bubble while the game focuses on Combat development. Seriously, I think the only conclusion to come to after some 2200 hours played (most of it exploring) is that exploration was never imagined to have become as popular as it is. Consequently WE have done the development for exploration... and we're out of ways to do anything more with the tools on hand. Game over.
I'm writing this because people's cynicism with the tools available for exploration is reaching a point where the excuses we have afforded FDev have run out. Why did multicrew release with a ship that has only one seat? It makes zero sense. Why can't we go to an Engineer and add a seat? It makes no sense. Why can't a co-pilot in an explorer ship even use to ADS or pivot the DSS so they have something.. anything... anything at all to do besides sit there? Why are we stuck with the canopy-on-top Anaconda when we need to SEE with a eyes; mostly because that's all we've got that works anyway. Answer... We the players made exploration into what it is. We got far outside the boundary of the game's content and because that much that is done was so well made we are just now realizing it.
So ya, it's a matter of opinion HOW YOU RESPOND TO THIS... but it isn't a matter of opinion that it is true.
Also, understand this cynicism people have doesn't seem to be anger. Anger was last summer. it isn't even a crisis of faith. That was somewhere last fall. This is just contempt at the idle silence regarding the situation. There's hope that FDev will do something ENJOYABLE for exploration without making us do Engineering for another zillith time to get to gaming again. But here's the danger of the situation as I see it... and why I'm posting this in the discussion area...
If we're responsible for running off into the black hoping to find things with nothing more than the ADS and DSS... and then chasing the carrot still further down the road with Horizons... do you still want Exploration? Does anyone care? Because more and more people I talk with are so disgusted by it that the see it as broken beyond all recovery. They go out to see the skybox now. The expectation the design of exploration actually supports discovery is dead. And in that death was a death in faith of FDev ever giving us explorers something to do besides play with RNG endlessly.
If you enjoy exploration you might want to take awhile to get into some sort of constructive discussion about what Exploration needs and what it is because as it is stands it is like vaporware and the phantom of a story of content no one has actually seen yet. What does discovery mean, for example? How much of exploration should be left up to RNG dumping some random nav beacon or corpse of SRV ahead of us for the gazillionth time? What about the community aspect? Distant Worlds, Small Worlds, etc. Is Exploration sufficient as merely the discovery of a new reason pressing F12 or should there be some sort of actual gameplay involved? Anything at all besides F12 and RNG?
