Please note that I am disinterested in getting involved with the arguments, but I would like to give you my honest (
) opinion of your post.
The fact that you are not so much of a space enthusiast does bias you a bit more against a game that is very much geared to that very type of gamer. Do I think your opinion invalid for all that? No, quite the opposite - you are entitled to advance your review/opinion as much as any. I DO think that it makes a truly unbiased review impossible, much as if I were to do the same, as I do enjoy the game very much, and therefore at least somewhat biased towards that type of game.
I do think that originally, you were very interested in giving E: D a fair shake, but as there was no real connection (how can you, honestly? If you don't like liver, and you think, "Hey, liver and onions might not be so bad," it won't end well), it really was kinda fated not to be that marriage that bridges the gap. I still have no problem with anything you said. You have no cause to defend yourself for putting forth your thoughts on this.
Your first day (or so) experiences are not unique, as I have clearly seen from the responses from many of the people who have responded in this thread. Myself, I remembered being quite pleased that the game was as I remembered it for control and feel more or less.
I'm glad that you did find some enjoyment in the game, short-lasting though it is, but I've been playing since the alpha, and we're not deriving the same experiences, since I'm still having a whole lot of fun.
I do not have a space truck, or anything. In fact, I am pleased to tell you that I am sitting in my Cobra Mk III, and am just putzing around the stars, doing whatever takes my fancy that day. Some days, I mine, some days, I shoot things, and some days, I ferry goods for space dollars (I also mix it up and do many things in a day if I'm of a mind). I've even thought to myself, "Self, I don't feel like playing at all today," and that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don't care about how other people's actions affect my game, and I have travelled more than 200 ly with nothing but rares in my hold, and all my money (minus barely enough to afford my insurance) tied up in not getting shot, only to be two systems from dropping it off for money, interdicted, where for once, I complied as fast as I could with some rares to make the Commander not shoot me in the face (I really decided that losing a 100k was better than losing all of it), then the pirate decided to leave no witnesses, and wiped out just under 500k of crap I had left, along with my ship. I was furious, and no mistake, but I took it as best I could, dusted myself off, and started again selling stuff I could afford (leave it at 'not much')
I think your ideas are worthy of consideration, although you are the 1.03x10^17 th person to say most of those things, and I imagine that a fair number of people are becoming fatigued at what might feel is constant inundation of the same statements, some of which were addressed in the affirmative by the developers.
I'd like to address your suggestions if I might:
Adding in more group play is one great idea, and I do hope that Wings thing will make good inroads on making a robust multiplayer/friends experience. So, kinda started to be answered by the devs. Let's see it happen, but I remain optimistic.
I really have no trouble with tracking my missions, and I really don't care about group missions.
I'm sorry, but I do not understand the '60 LY on the galaxy map' thing, and would like some clarification. If it was explained, I apologise, as I must have missed it when I read all eleven pages.
I have played the game for far more than 50 hours, and I also see myself as rather a typical gamer, although with my developer experience with Bioware, perhaps I am not.
I have little experience with the capital ship fights, as I found myself doing different stuff instead of heading into disputed/violent sectors as a result of my desire of the day to do different things. Were that I was in the mood to check it out more than a bit, I suppose I might have a different train of thought on it. The more ships thing, I KNOW is going to happen, and I am happy to wait.
Live events...that does seem fun, certainly. I hope something cool happens like that.
I do have a number of concerns about the game -
1) I wish there was a free version for people to create an account (or not), and download to see and try the training missions.
2) I wish that there was a way to route a bit better to far off destinations (not referring to the excellent addons or the route finder to 100 LY. I do find the route finder a bit problematic when I'm aiming for one place that is far off)
3) I wish that some of the things that I liked in the game, such as the frosting of the windows, the bobbleheads, and little cool, worthless things that made the game a bit more...mine were still in the game.
There are other things, like I would like to have a way in the game to change the colour of the HUD, for the space cops to not get so sour about an accidental shot across the bow (as a bounty hunter, I'd like it assumed that I'm authorized to pop a cap in a wanted person), although I think they should work me over, and have a FSD jammer (which I would have to destroy the cop to turn off) if I'm pretty clearly trying to make widows and orphans out of their families, I would VERY much appreciate it if the 'Clean' people who start by shooting me with intent turned wanted, so I could get some bounty, I would like some horrifying amount of cost associated with emergency refueling in case I foolishly chose to not refuel (which would mean that the function was reintroduced, but not a reasonable way to get away with cheap gas), and I would like some way to work over the serial killers (pirates, you're filth, but I wouldn't have it for you punks to be missing).
Now, onto the statements regarding Frontier. Please understand that I have no interest in disputing your thoughts regarding the company, as it is little to me. I would like to offer some insight perhaps about glassdoor, and others - they may serve a purpose, but if FD is anything like any company I have developed with, very often, an NDA prevents any developer from commenting on a previous employer for a period of time that is rarely a short period of time. I myself am still prevented from saying much for or against Bioware or their parent company for some period of time yet. As such, I would find that though it does happen, and often anonymously, I do suspect that some, many or even all of the comments (note: I am not saying any of those definitively, as I am not privy to such facts, but I have seen comments on such sites that were proven pretty clearly not originating from ex-employees or current employees (the IP addresses in many cases were traced back to countries where no employees reside, previous or current, and even to people that were proven never to have worked for the companies in question).
Anyway, please do not think for a moment that I don't want your thoughts, just because they are not terribly similar to mine, as I think them valuable. I will freely admit that you shouldn't have ordered the liver and onions if it is not suited to what you like to eat, and to return to the actual topic, if you are not a fan of a particular type of game, you really should consider due diligence. $60 is $60, and it was somewhat foolish to purchase a game that you would already have problem with, just based on the fact that you don't care for such game types.
I imagine that I might now be referred to as a fanboy, or fangirl as the case might be, and possibly reviled by others who might not appreciate that I can see the validity in your words, unneeded as I may or may not see them as being, and that is fine. I play the game for me, not those who like, love, hate, or get violently ill when thinking about the game.
Finally, just as a point of reference, I WILL state that in my opinion, you were not doing a review, you were putting forth your opinion. Might be a small distinction depending on a person's point of view, but it's how I see it, I suppose.
Anyway, I hope that eventually the game becomes more likely to suit you and those who clearly want Elite: Dangerous to be more than it is.
I'm happy with what I get to do in-game, and I do hope that more things get added that result in additional enjoyment for me.
Have a great day,
Commander Leslie
(My, but that Leslie can go on and on and on and on and...)
