Newcomer / Intro Can Elite Dangerous be a casual play game?

[Ceodryn]

Hi,

I have not bought the game yet, but am considering it. I am also considering whether I would buy it now, or wait the fall/winter/xmas that more features exist in the game.

I used to play Elite as a kid, and the videos of ED shows that it is very similar gameplay (with better graphics). It looks like the dev did an amazing job at recreating the Elite experience. Now, as a kid, I had all time in the world (mostly) to play missions. Today, being a new dad, job and etc, games I play (mostly grand strategy) need to be paused often.

I understand however ED isn't this kind of game. I would use 1 evening week to immerse myself, and here is my main question: Playing ED once a week, for a few hours, will I enjoy it? I have been reading reviews that it is tedious to get to the point where the game is enjoyable, running missions to pick object Z at X and drop to at Y. I recall that aspect in Elite, and back then, as a kid, I enjoyed figuring out how to make trade works. Today, I am unsure I want to grind in the evening at trade after grinding all the day at work.

Does ED has fun missions, short missions, things to do that doesn't require you hours of gameplay to have enough of a ship to do it? Basically, can ED be a casual game?

I totally get the learning curve of the gameplay, I am asking more about the playability/replayability and diversity of the game. Since to get into the game is rather pricy (the game, the controllers), I want to figure it before I decide.

Furthermore, what features are expected to exist in the game by the end of this year?

Thanks a lot for your feedback
Philippe

 

[unicron]

I think that you can really enjoy it if you play a few hours once a week.

Fun missions? Not really, they are just the same as normal activities.
Things that don't require loads of time? Sure. But you'll be "more efficient" if you do stuff for around an hour a session in my brief experience.
The initial ships are all fairly enjoyable, but if you want to fly the larger ones, you'll need a LOT of cash from a beginners standpoint. With 4 hours a week, even the "cheap" ships of under 100k credits are going to take you a few weeks, unless you get lucky.
Ships that cost 100 million? A year perhaps?

Personally I find that the game handles like a dream with keyboard & mouse. I'd hold off investing in a controller just yet, unless you think that is half of the joy of flying a ship around.

A limiting issue: You can't just walk away from it for 2 minutes, outside of a space dock. Playing E-D while watching over kids is impossible. Go afk for 20 seconds and get blown up by pirates, fly into a sun out of frameshift or overshoot your navigation target by many lightseconds.
Sometimes when you are low on time, it's an annoyance to get to a spaceport to dock, especially with an interdiction underway. That said, no penalty to save & exit just after a jump to another system, so it's not all bad.

 

[Gavski]

As someone who played Elite 84 I couldn't wait to play again, and you're right: it has all of the elements that made the original so good, plus plenty more. I play keyboard/mouse and it's great, I wouldn't even bother with a stick.

I wouldn't hesitate; new features arrive as the game matures, but we might get hit by an asteroid tomorrow, so why wait? And having real people playing as well as NPCs, does open-up some fantastic possibilities.

There are plenty of short-hop missions and all the usual Elite things to do; I don't always have time for hours of play either. There is grind, as there always was, but get some credits and it all opens-up very nicely.

Just park-up in a station before you exit the game, it doesn't pause!

 

[Danube]

I play casually, averaging maybe 2 hours per evening, and I'm having fun. I was in an Adder (20 tonne cargo hold) in the first week and a week later in a nice Cobra (40 tonne cargo hold). Trading earns cash very nicely but as a casual I am happy making smallish amounts of profit at around 55k to 60k per three-stop trade run - two stops in Eravate and one in Frigaha and then repeat the run. I do a bit of pirate hunting as a hobby. I will be playing tomorrow and should notch up my first million - big yee-haaaaaa for me, anyway.

 

[crazygoldfish]

I have kids and get a few hours game play a week, sometimes more .

The odd time I lose out a little but I don't feel like I'm miles behind other player

 

[Hellhawk666]

Definitely, however you do need to become comfortable with the controls first, which is a bit of a learning curve. Once you can dock, handle interdictions, scoop fuel etc - all the basic mechanics of getting around - then you can definitely play in short sessions of a couple of missions or trade runs, etc. As an explorer you can just jump in, survey a couple of systems in detail, then log out in space as needed - rinse and repeat. It's possible to do significant deep space exploration this way, and the bonus is you avoid it getting monotonous.

The delightful thing about ED is that because it is a sandbox game with no specific goals or endgame scenarios to work towards you can just relax and enjoy the ride, which is actually the best way to play the game. It's a very good fit for occasional play.

As for upcoming features, expect to see greater involvement in the political faction-fighting and missions etc spawning from that. Passenger transport will come in at some time, hopefully as a fairly extensive addition. Salvaging will also be introduced as a minor career path at some time, possibly as an extension of mining. Then there are the promised pre-paid major extensions of landing on planets and FP activity, but they probably won't happen for a year or two.

 

[Ceodryn]

I see mentionned that "you can log out in space". I wasn't aware of that. Is there restrictions as to when? What happens when you log back in? I am assuming you cannot have a mission on at that time.

 

[Undecided]

You can logout whenever and wherever you like provided you haven't been taking damage or firing weapons within about 30 seconds. Missions have timers on them that tick by whether you are logged in or not, but aren't cancelled by leaving the game.

 

[Jumbik]

Im in the same situation like you. I can play maybe two hours in the evening. It took me about 3 evenings to find out what should I be doing in the game to ejoy it. Now Im bounty hunting with the starting Sidewinder and I have made 100k credits yesterday by just hunting the wanted targets at local nav point. So to answer your question, yes you can enjoy it as a casual player too but be prepared that the first week will be slow.

But be sure that you play when kids do not need attention because this game is not made with pausing in mind.

 

[Kuroshio]

I used to play Elite as a kid, and the videos of ED shows that it is very similar gameplay (with better graphics). It looks like the dev did an amazing job at recreating the Elite experience. Now, as a kid, I had all time in the world (mostly) to play missions. Today, being a new dad, job and etc, games I play (mostly grand strategy) need to be paused often.

Three kids, job, etc. here. I usually play in the evenings, when the kids are asleep, or on my days off. As long as you're not right in the middle of combat or parked in the corona of a star, logging off is actually a fast and simple affair. (Fast enough to be considered cheating in combat, at any rate.)

Today, I am unsure I want to grind in the evening at trade after grinding all the day at work.

If you chose to get the game, don't grind. Ever. Never try to make money simply so you can get a better ship, you'll end up in a vicious circle that ends at an Anaconda - at which point you will learn that you can do nearly everything in this game with the ships that cost less than a million credits. And those are in easy reach. People cross the galaxy in Sidewinders, and a nice multi-purpose Adder is easily earned with one or two evenings of playing. A Cobra might take a while longer, but - I can't stress that enough - you do not need bigger ships to have fun in this game.

Does ED has fun missions, short missions, things to do that doesn't require you hours of gameplay to have enough of a ship to do it? Basically, can ED be a casual game?

"Well, it has short missions" and "yes, it can be casual". Pick yourself a fringe system with a good infrastructure (no PVP crowd there), and do whatever you want - it's a sandbox in the true sense of the word. There's no rush to do anything. There are missions, but they are nothing special, they don't give you any tasks you couldn't give yourself plus a small bonus payment.

I totally get the learning curve of the gameplay, I am asking more about the playability/replayability and diversity of the game. Since to get into the game is rather pricy (the game, the controllers), I want to figure it before I decide.

For replayability, the game would need to have an end, which it doesn't. Is it diverse? That kind of depends on how you break it down: One core activity: Make more money. Three (four?) core activities: Trade, exploration, combat (rumor has it that there is this mining thing as well). Subdivide those? Sure, why not.

But as in a real sandbox, a lot of the diversity comes from what you bring to it. In kid metaphors: For kids that get bored in a sandbox unless you supply them with a dozen different toys, it's a difficult game to like. Kids who can play for hours with a piece of they found lying around will probably love it. (Huh. I should run a study on that with mine. I have both types.)

If you decide to give it a try, all I'd recommend is a cheap flightstick (works really well with your left hand on WASD), though a lot of people are perfectly happy with keyboard and mouse. Buying a HOTAS is something that you shouldn't do unless you decide to stick with the game.

Furthermore, what features are expected to exist in the game by the end of this year?

More of the same, really. Expect the features we already have to become reworked and expanded, not something entirely new. Rumor has it that the first major (paid) expansion will come by the end of the year, but whether that will happen and what it will contain remains a mystery.

ps:

Playing E-D while watching over kids is impossible.

Well, it's a bit like driving with kids in the car. Probably why there's insurance in the game.

 

[Hellhawk666]

I see mentionned that "you can log out in space". I wasn't aware of that. Is there restrictions as to when? What happens when you log back in? I am assuming you cannot have a mission on at that time.

When you log back you just appear at the same place where you logged out (more or less). I always play it safe and head a short distance away from any stars or other bodies and drop out of supercruise before logging out. I'm probably being over-cautious, but why take risks?

I mostly do deep-space exploration (currently about 10,000LY out from Sol) so logging out in space is my usual thing - never had a problem.

As others commented - you can log out during a mission, but the clock will still be ticking and you'll time-out on it. Don't take more missions than you can handle in one session of play, if you expect time to be limited.

All good advice as well from others about not getting distracted. Casual play is fine, but you need to concentrate.

 

[the100thmonkey]

^ good simile.

Trying to dock with my two eldest asking me for a running commentary can get quite demanding!

 

[cmdr lowest]

I sure hope you can exit the game in space otherwise with me being 2000LY away from populated space, and no starports around, I'd have to keep playing forever...

As to what is to come by the end of the year. Nobody except the developers know that for certain. All we know about the next update is that it's called "Powerplay" and it's not related to PvP.

 

[rootsrat]

In my opinion you can. Easy. Don't get fooled by people that tell you the game is a grind. THEY make it a grind for themselves and then complain It's totally up to you how YOU are going to play. Of course the progression will be slow, but this game is not about progression IMHO. It's about having fun in space, and you can do that in ANY ship in game, even the starter one.

::EDIT::

Couple of points though:

1. Missions are on a timer in real time, so if you cannot commit enough time to complete the mission, don't take it, as the timer runs even when you turn off the game.
2. There is no pause as such, to "pause" the game you actually need to log out to the main menu. You can then log in in the same place you've logged out.

 

[halo jones 101]

As with many games you can be as casual or hardcore as you want, its really down to what you consider is fun, sometimes I just open it up look at the bulletin board and or galaxy map, planing my next moves sometimes I put in a couple of hours, trading or exploring. mostly I play in open, unless I want some HD screens... So yes it can definitely be a casual game.

 

[mistohise]

My play sessions with Elite tend to be around the hour-long mark, because, well, there's just not enough time to fit more in. I find that that's normally plenty of time to do whatever I wanted to do. If you have greater goals, you can just take longer to do them. The game doesn't have checkpoints to reach or any such constraints, so really it's easier as a casual game than a lot of other things.

 

[Ellen_K]

I see myself as a casual player, at least in my standards, i.e. 2-3 times per week, 1-2 hours per session. Sometimes though I do allnighters and play until sunrise. I'm a PhD-student, hence very big variations in "free time".

In my opinion it's one of the best games I've played for casual gaming. There are no skills needing attention and training, grinding money wont get you much except larger ships, equipment or bank account (you can live without that, there's no "progress" in it per se). I mainly explore and on the side do some bounty hunting. Sometimes I do some trading if there's something I want to buy, like I want that thing or ship it NOW! But even that I usually split up in sessions. It takes a bit longer to get what you want comparing to the full time grinders, but you won't lose anything by waiting. There's no problem parking your ship in space for days or weeks, it will still be there when you log on.

As already pointed out, missions are timed so maybe a 5 day mission is a bad choice, but there are missions spanning from a few minutes to an hour or two in practical work time. Be prepared though that it might take you some time to get the hang of things, how stuff works and get yourself a budget with margin in the beginning if you don't have the ability to immerse yourself for prolonged timed during start up. It's like coming to a new job, if you work full time you will get into it right away but as a part time worker you have to accept that there are some things that will be out of reach for some time. Be patient and accept eventual losses as part of the learning, those who play for hours everyday will regain what they lost the same day. For you it might take a week or two.

All in all, if you're patient, it's a great game for casual gaming. I see it as a hobby, like building a model railroad, it won't be done in a weekend or evening, but the process is what is rewarding in itself.

Edit: read you're post again and I might not answered in the way you wanted, so I want to add that bounty hunting and exploring is very doable casually. When I explore, I just log on, explore some systems, then log out. Repeat next time. Takes ages to get anywhere, but I don't have to be anywhere a certain time. As for bounty hunting, you do it for as long as you like.

 

[ToniB]

Hi,

I have not bought the game yet, but am considering it. I am also considering whether I would buy it now, or wait the fall/winter/xmas that more features exist in the game.

I used to play Elite as a kid, and the videos of ED shows that it is very similar gameplay (with better graphics). It looks like the dev did an amazing job at recreating the Elite experience. Now, as a kid, I had all time in the world (mostly) to play missions. Today, being a new dad, job and etc, games I play (mostly grand strategy) need to be paused often.

I understand however ED isn't this kind of game. I would use 1 evening week to immerse myself, and here is my main question: Playing ED once a week, for a few hours, will I enjoy it? I have been reading reviews that it is tedious to get to the point where the game is enjoyable, running missions to pick object Z at X and drop to at Y. I recall that aspect in Elite, and back then, as a kid, I enjoyed figuring out how to make trade works. Today, I am unsure I want to grind in the evening at trade after grinding all the day at work.

Does ED has fun missions, short missions, things to do that doesn't require you hours of gameplay to have enough of a ship to do it? Basically, can ED be a casual game?

I totally get the learning curve of the gameplay, I am asking more about the playability/replayability and diversity of the game. Since to get into the game is rather pricy (the game, the controllers), I want to figure it before I decide.

Furthermore, what features are expected to exist in the game by the end of this year?

Thanks a lot for your feedback
Philippe

it all about what you make out of it. you can play elite as long and as short as you want. the game IMHO is enjoyable right from the start.

only if your intention is to make a certain progress in a certain time, you prbly. will fail. if you take elite as a space simulator with just playing it and see where
it gets you, you will be fine.

 

[Hellhawk666]

...
I see it as a hobby, like building a model railroad, it won't be done in a weekend or evening, but the process is what is rewarding in itself.
...

Well put, Commander, have some rep.

 

[Uvelius Sång]

Completely agree with Ellen_K. I also only can play casually, some hours a week maybe. I still enjoy it very much, only the time for racing to some other system to find Conflict Zones or similar that have vanished is sometimes a bit annoying. But then, the game time really pays up for it.
Getting enough credits for a ship upgrade really IS quite a challenge, so for example upgrading a Cobra power plant is something to plan long ahead really. But then, as Allan_K wrote, there is no time limit really. And when you are finally able to buy the upgrades you really have something to be happy about!

Even with a Freagle or a medium-fitted Cobra you can have some very satisfying space fights -- I find it an excellent feature that skill seems to matter more than only the quality of the equipment.

I have posted on that topic at Mobius on how your approach may be as a casual player, here: http://elitepve.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1435&p=14458#p14458