Conveying this games "Story" through nothing but text is unacceptable.

[Spenceuk99]

Acually, most of the books have reserved space in the game, FR is just one of them. And yeah, its basically just two or three lines in the entire book that references it, so its no big deal.

Quite, though just as you don't have to align with a faction, you can stay indie and fly around, you don't have to get involved in any of the plots that come from the fiction either.

Hell, I am out in the Galactic sticks on the way back from Sag A so really, not part of anything at all until I get back to the bubble. I am enjoying every jump immensely

 

[Punished Mobius]

And how would you convey a plotline that happens in real time to a lot of sporatically online people?

I'm just wondering, I mean sure you could do like many games and make scenario's that play out in an certain order and we are getting that.

But how else?

And I have to ask, do you even like the game? you seem to be creating a lot of complaint threads rather then just you know, sticking to one and talking about what you dislike? which seems to be a lot?

To be fair it is a tough question. But I know the answer can be more than make everyone read a galactic newspaper. If a ship crashes. Place a wreckage. If some planet explodes or something like we had the other week. Make a asteroid field. Make it more than just text when possible.


And no. I hate the game. I hate the devs and I hate every single player. I only play this game to fuel my masochist self torture in between my dates with Vlad and a hot poker.

 

[Taimaru]

We have some schmuck writing a book...

You are entitled to your opinion about the game but Drew Wagar is not a schmuck. I have met him in person and not only is he intelligent and a great author but he is one of the nicest guys one could ever meet.

What is it with some community members insulting others. *sigh*

 

[Goose4291]

The books are considered canon, yes.

Quite how he's going to make the "Earth Defense Fleet" sound cool in the upcoming book remains to be seen. I just hope he changes the cringeworthy name and make the Grand Poobahf or whatever he's called, fully literate.

I'm looking forward to the chapter where the EDF's Sky Fuhrer or what ever the title is has to explain to Hudson himself how the Federations combat force failed to prevent a ragtag bunch of filthy truckers obsessed with mugs from steamrolling all the federal systems local to Sol

 

[SP45M]

[video=youtube;07So_lJQyqw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07So_lJQyqw[/video]

 

[Punished Mobius]

You are entitled to your opinion about the game but Drew Wagar is not a schmuck. I have met him in person and not only is he intelligent and a great author but he is one of the nicest guys one could ever meet.

What is it with some community members insulting others. *sigh*

I said schmuck because I couldn't be bothered to remember his name. It wasn't meant as an insult or criticism towards him.

I'll save my shots for when it comes out. Though I'm sure there won't be anything wrong with it and if they want to write a book it's not unusual. Though it seems those resources could be better used inside the actual dang game.

 

[BL1P]

I'm looking forward to the chapter where the EDF's Sky Fuhrer or what ever the title is has to explain to Hudson himself how the Federations combat force failed to prevent a ragtag bunch of filthy truckers obsessed with mugs from steamrolling all the federal systems local to Sol

Made me giggle

 

[Suteksio]

I ain't reading no 3rd-rate, hack sci-fi 'novels'.

I get you don't like the game, that's fine, but when you start being disrepectful to others work you lose any point you could have.

Have you read them by the way? Reclamation for example? By your post I asume not, yet you label it as a third rate product. Typical.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Perhaps we should petition to rename the game from Elite: Dangerous to Elite: Potential

There is certainly far more Potential than Dangerous around.

And the first part of that Potential that really needs tapped into: Voice Acting

The tutorial missions are beautiful example of voice acting done well in Elite.

Then you dive into the game, and it's all but gone - replaced by pages of GalNet text, and text comms from NPC Pirates who came a long way for what's (not) in your hold...

And sure, 2.3 is bringing us a new text comms interface. And after a day or so, we'll be right back to missing those messages again.
But add a voice to it, and suddenly it's a far more lively universe.

I realize it's far easier to type up a page or two of information for GalNet, and that's actually OK when it comes to things like Traffic Reports, and the latest expansion efforts and all that.
But the good stuff - the important stuff - the stuff that CAN drive story lines - put some video and audio with it.

Just imagine how much more interesting it would have been had the announcement that Alien Ruins had been discovered Out There would have been, had a GalNet story featured some audio-visual.

We've moved past the days of Infocom games and text parsers and still graphics (although admit it, Leather Goddess of Phobos will always be a CLASSIC - my scratch and sniff stickers still have some smell left!).
We've got 3d, we've got VR, so why do we still have all these in-game walls of text?

 

[Hessfire]

@IndigoWyrd

Perhaps because the game is available in multiple languages, and it is far more cost and resource effective to translate text into different languages that it would be to hire dozens of voice actors to present voice acting in multiple languages.

Just my 2 cents on this one...

 

[Enderby]

I get you don't like the game, that's fine, but when you start being disrepectful to others work you lose any point you could have.

Have you read them by the way? Reclamation for example? By your post I asume not, yet you label it as a third rate product. Typical.

Apologies. I was perhaps a little mean.

Hopefully it's really, really good and everyone has a grand old time.

 

[Ian Skippy]

You are entitled to your opinion about the game but Drew Wagar is not a schmuck. I have met him in person and not only is he intelligent and a great author but he is one of the nicest guys one could ever meet.

What is it with some community members insulting others. *sigh*

I get you don't like the game, that's fine, but when you start being disrepectful to others work you lose any point you could have.

Have you read them by the way? Reclamation for example? By your post I asume not, yet you label it as a third rate product. Typical.

Its interesting to note that the less someone likes ED, the more vicious and nasty their personality. Maybe its karma?

 

[Shinkaze]

Perhaps we should petition to rename the game from Elite: Dangerous to Elite: Potential

There is certainly far more Potential than Dangerous around....

As a counterpoint I feel the game is growing into it's potential with each new release.

Personally I like the idea that "if everyone is given a princess to rescue then princesses are not rare enough to be valuable"

[video=youtube_share;gDh9G1gDgMU]https://youtu.be/gDh9G1gDgMU?t=8m30s[/video]

Now to the OP's point of story in a game should be lived not read, I agree with that, however the tools of the game haven't been there to really show the story (which may change with Holo-Me giving face and personality to the world).

After 2 years of playing the game, I have ranked up my explorer and trader ranks and barely have a pip on combat, 'cause I'm not here for the pew pew. The "story" that has resonated with me have been the community goals and actively supporting efforts I agree with (rescuing escape pods to bringing materials to build stations that I will later see in the game).

The most engaged I've ever felt to the "world" of Elite was running out of the gas as a noob in a Sidewinder being rescued by a Fuel Rat in a Diamondback. The terror I felt in VR of having my oxygen running out as I waited for a Rat to jump in and save my was perhaps my most immersive experience in VR yet.

So for me the story I have most engaged with has been the user-generated content, like the Fuel Rats and Community Goals,
...but to the OP's point, reading text in VR is downright eye-strainingly painful, so I haven't engaged with any of the Galnet driven causes etc and perhaps when we can see and experience that story more I will engage with it more. But there is real color developing in the player community and that is what makes this a rich playable game for me.

 

[biot]

It would be handy if Galnet incorporated a sort of codex functionality. It could record in-game events of significance and background lore. They could be organized/tagged by subject; so for example if I wanted to see a timeline of events/news items relating to the Lugh conflict I could just pull it all up. It would grow and expand as things unfold and progress. It would be a full time job for somebody to maintain but it might add a bit of contextual depth to everything.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I get you don't like the game, that's fine, but when you start being disrepectful to others work you lose any point you could have.

Have you read them by the way? Reclamation for example? By your post I asume not, yet you label it as a third rate product. Typical.

Just to butt in here... I've never read them. I didn't even know they existed until a few posts ago. Of course, I also didn't know Elite was the 3rd in a series that began in 1984.
Now I can't and won't comment on the quality of print material I've never seen or heard of - but I will say, on my behalf, I generally do not enjoy reading Sci-Fi books, I'd rather watch the movie or play the game.
I can also say I've been largely disappointed in the majority of game-to-film adaptations I've seen - with the possible exception of Assassin's Creed - I thought the movie fit in well as a stand-alone story based on a game.
The others I have seen... not so good.

 

[Monk]

Good voiced dialogue is expensive.

Now, while I'd like to hear more voice comms from NPCs and such, I'm not too bothered with reading a line now and then. Maybe it comes from playing RPGs for many years but I have no issues with text dialogue.

Further, if they were to start adding it to more situations, it would have to be robustly varied. Station voices are fine b/c they relay the same basic information every time that shouldn't deviate too much. If NPCs started "talking" I'd get pretty tired of hearing "I'm gonna boil you up" for the up-teen millionth time. At least with text it is not intrusive so I don't mind as much.

Finally, seeing how voice animations have been handled in some recent AAA titles like ME:A and HZD to great expense, I'm not exactly jumping up and down to see more of that.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

As a counterpoint I feel the game is growing into it's potential with each new release.

Personally I like the idea that "if everyone is given a princess to rescue then princesses are not rare enough to be valuable"

I'm trying really hard, but I simply cannot agree more, at least as far as the value of princesses as commodities.
As for growing into potential... it may very well be doing just that, though at this point, the rate of that growth seems particularly slow.

And I'm even alright with slow, if the measure of that growth is proportionate to the time. I'm always much happier to see something take longer and turn out better than be rushed and feel rushed.
Of course, it doesn't help matters that we're largely kept in the dark about what's upcoming as well.
Coming Soon: Elite: Dangerous 2.4 Something Else - it just doesn't give us much to go on about what new growth we'll see, at least until it hits paida testing.

 

[{SAS}Stalker]

shall we use the medium of dance?

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Good voiced dialogue is expensive.

Now, while I'd like to hear more voice comms from NPCs and such, I'm not too bothered with reading a line now and then. Maybe it comes from playing RPGs for many years but I have no issues with text dialogue.

Further, if they were to start adding it to more situations, it would have to be robustly varied. Station voices are fine b/c they relay the same basic information every time that shouldn't deviate too much. If NPCs started "talking" I'd get pretty tired of hearing "I'm gonna boil you up" for the up-teen millionth time. At least with text it is not intrusive so I don't mind as much.

Finally, seeing how voice animations have been handled in some recent AAA titles like ME:A and HZD to great expense, I'm not exactly jumping up and down to see more of that.

I dunno what HZD is, but I do know ME:A, and I'm playing it when I'm not here, and to be honest, I haven't had any notable issues with the voice animations. Perhaps this is something that only affects lesser PCs?

And I do agree, hearing "I've come a long way for what's (not) in your (non-existent) hold." would get older than the perpetual string of interdictions we get... so the simple approach would be to add an option to turn of NPC dialog, ideally with a toggle button push. "V" it's on, "V" it's off, and problem prevented.

 

[Soon(TM)]

Last time I checked this company was named Frontier. Not Games Workshop. We have some schmuck writing a book and everyone seems to be all for it but I am just sitting here thinking how absurd it is that they can crank out a book but not a single new line of dialogue for over a year now...
In a visual medium such as video games the rule is "Show don't tell" and that is the only thing they are doing. Is telling us everything. At first it was OK since the game was in its infancy just churning out little tidbits. But here we are where Brabenbits himself actually said we have 5 major "plotlines" going on now...Hwat? And these "plots" are supposed to interest the player? These events do not affect anything at all. They are limited to articles and player imagination they just kind of happen...and we are shown absolutely nothing. Just some lines of text.

If it wasn't for me visiting the forums I wouldn't have a clue about any of the stuff going on in ED.

It's as if FD think everyone subscribes and reads the newsletter or comes here.

Madness, sheer madness!