Subscription would have had to be introduced from the start, now it's too late and would a) put many existing players off as a result of the "deal being changed" and b) not entice a lot of new players who will look at Elite as an aging,
10+ year old game with insufficient update cadence and -quality to justify a monthly fee. I hate it personally and always have, and would've basically passed on Elite altogether if that was the only way to play it, just like any other subscription funded game ever made.
agreed, now it is too late to move to a subscription model. To be honest, I would not have liked such model, either but to keep a game alive for a time span of 10+ years, a one-off payment is difficult.
What I would like is an expansion that enriches and deepens the sandbox, but the problem with that is you end up with the same problems as with Horizons and Odyssey by splitting the player base.
Expansions would be my most favoured option, too. When done well (additional exploration, ship interiors), it could be without splitting the player base. Non-explorers would never miss anything which can be found somewhere outside the bubble but yes, it may have ramifications which I can't think of, now.
Ships for money (not Arx) as I described in a separate post earlier would work for me provided that the assets being sold are worth it. I did purchase the Cobra 5 because it is a genuinely new ship (both hull and cockpit) but it took me a lot of ummming and aaahing as it's too pricey imo - X4 Foundations recently added for the first time a ship-only DLC, but the ship not only comes with unique attributes (weapons, looks, and of course a detailed interior space, as well as a mini-story plot based introduction in the game) but is sold at half the price. And recycling cockpits as Frontier did for most of the Arx-ships (glad to see they didn't for the PC2, besides the Cobra) is just low effort corner cutting and shouldn't be rewarded at the price they're selling at tbh.
'Worthwhile' is a bit in the eye of the beholder. I was so eager to get the Mandalay, the T8 and the Cobra MkV and I never regretted an ARX spent on my new ships. The mistake that FDev made a couple of years ago, was to invest the margins from ED into other games which turned out as being flops. Now, they would have to reverse the approach and milk PlanCo, Jurassic Park and invest it into ED or a successor. I don't believe that this is going to happen, though.
On a side note, I want to state that many of us have invested a sizeable sum into their gaming rigs and the price of ED plus expansions is ridiculously low compared to our hardware investment and I somewhat dismiss complaints that anything in Elite is expensive.
I would (and used to, quite extensively) spend money on cosmetics as long as they're reasonably priced, which used to be the case until Frontier jumped the marketing-shark, so on that note I'm out.
Bottom line is though - I'm really bored of Elite at this point, and new ships and repackaged variations of existing gameplay loops (PP2.0 and Colonisation) just won't cut it anymore... I want to do genuinely new things in the game (I'm open to what that could be, I'm not the creative here, Frontier is), explore new worlds, visit new locations both in space and planetside, etc. etc. I would totally pay money for that (if reasonably priced, which is unfortunately something Frontier are moving away from it seems).
Agreed insofar that I am also wishing for more variety in game play. It is not that the community here hasn't suggested a lot of ideas
(and sites like Elite Dangereuse even create such chained game play).
Having played the game in Open for the majority of my 10 years with it, I also have to conclude that Frontier should've made it a single player game - despite having had great interactions with other players in the past, but it would've solved a lot of compromises Frontier had to make in terms of monetisation and game design.
edited for grammar & clarity
Not sure about that. I think that a lot of players like the interaction. I personally, don't and I am playing in a very small group with friends and really enjoying it. If that would be removed, I might not continue playing.
Thanks for giving me an exhaustive answer. Personally, I don't see ED and its future that negative. It just could be more on the things I am hoping for (exploration, complex game play beyond simple loops, more side stories, relics of old and long forgotten civilisations, thicker atmospheres and fluids, better /fixed team functionalities, landable fighters and many more things) but I can live with the fact that not many of my wishes will be fulfilled as long as ED's lights are kept on because there is no alternative on the market which has a similar grade of realism, size and multi player functionality.
Not to forget its lore - that makes it quite unique.
Sorry for breaking some of your quotes
, but I'm still playing the game ).
