All or nothing?

[SlackR]

I just finished reading a post that was closed before I could add my own thoughts to it- OP was frustrated and unhappy for a variety of reasons, but being killed by other players and struggling with trade were his main grievances. I've been reading a growing number of posts like this recently and it got me to thinking...

The things that many people complain about are the things I LOVE about this game! I love having nothing and trying to make my way in the universe in whatever way I can. In fact, I enjoy it so much I reset my game once I hit 10 million credits and try and find a different way to become successful.

There's so much out there to try and see and buy / sell / steal / destroy, that you are really spoilt for choice. So why is it I can feel this way and happily spend hours "grinding" or "blasting" my way through this Beta, when others are bored and frustrated after an hour or two and convinced every other player is out to blow them up and that trading is a long road to nowhere?

Simply put: They don't know what they are doing or why they are doing it!

I've been playing since Alpha and have tried every ship, every weapon and every style of play. I have calibrated my controls to four different joysticks and have over 300 voice commands at my disposal. I know how to fly into and out of Freeport without being detected by the 12 yr old waiting in the no fire zone and I know when to fight and when to run. I know how to find trade runs and what piece of music to fly to, depending on the style of play I'm going for. In short, I know Elite.

I must admit that gaming in the rift also adds greatly to my pleasure, but the poster I previously mentioned also had one and was still miserable. What he didn't have was perspective and I feel sorry for him.

For us lucky ones, who've been around the galaxy a few times it's easy to forget that things were a lot more Basic when we signed up... A few single player missions with NPCs who flew nearly as poorly as we did!

There's no denying there is a pretty steep learning curve now and those recently joining our ranks have it tougher. This coupled with an expectation to "win at all costs" in the first hour of playing (for those not familiar with previous incarnations of our beloved game) is almost certainly going to disappoint, frustrate and possibly even turn them off the game for good.

So to those "Freshies" straight out of the academy, remember that the aim of the game is to enjoy the game ... Take your time, see what works and what doesn't. Learn to fly, learn to trade, learn to run! There is a lot of material out there to assist in all of these things, but if you approach the game with the right mentality, you can figure most of it out in your FREE sidewinder.

I've been a millionaire several times over, but currently fly a battered old sidewinder with around 30 000 in the bank and I've never been happier!

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

Great post - I haven't played the game to the extents you did obviously, but this game in combination with the rift is a door.

I am convinced this is the future - just as the original Elite was the future when I first played it almost thirty years ago.

 

[Sandmann]

Agreed... I was close to my first million and chugging about in a Type 6 when I acidentally boosted inside a station with all my cash in the hold. Felt a bit silly at first but getting back into the sidewinder and struggling to rebuild was more fun than being rich.

I'm currently sitting on about 1.5 million and scooting around in a viper LOSING money bounty hunting, just for something different and to build those combat and smuggling skills. One day I might go back to trading so I can try a type 9 or an anaconda but there's no rush.

To put this into perspective I've been doing this since Premium Beta and I feel like I've just started. To the newbies who just came in recently this isn't one of those instant gratification games that you can master in a day and beat in a week. Expect to still be playing this in 6 months, next year, and probably the year after that.

 

[Zvanya]

Good post. I started early this month and I guess I was lucky and careful. I never had a disastrous loss and went through the progression up to Anaconda. I only had that for a little while, sold it and since then I do nothing but goof off and practice risky stuff in mostly small ships. Regularly losing ships but With 11m in bank and less than 30k to replace a tricked out ship I don't figure I'll need or want to trade until the next wipe.