Core gameplay. What's your poison?

[Globusdiablo]

Sense of achievement: Some of us have been around long enough to remember the sense of awe when we finally had enough credits to access that elusive Python, only to find it sorely lacking until properly equipped for the same amount of credits. Or bustling from port to port in a T6 with your cargo of choice.

OR

Instant gratification: Gaining access to all the biggest ships and guns and modules within a week of gameplay via "exploits/gameplay-mechanics". Leaving only engineering as the "inevitable" grind. Access to all in-game content as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: This question is obviously biased, but I'm genuinely curious as the player demographic seems to have shifted a great deal since release, and I now see myself as part of the minority.

 

[Entilzar]

I used to primarily enjoy the trading part of the game , when you could make a good living off it, after that was butchered , I did some exploring and got too Elite in it, it was an achievement I set my goal for, I really don't like pew pew ing, im just not very good at it, so now I just try and do rep and rank to be best with all side and tinker with engineering, but I'm still space street trader at heart

 

[Zynniah]

I want to like the sense of achievement but the problem is the gaps between steps are too big. I was about ready to give up after getting a nice custom Cobra (including internals) for about 10 million.

What save the game (or me) was the Smeaton run. Netflix became a part of the game but a couple of evenings of that got me enough to get a Python, which is the next ship I actually wanted and with outfitting, it runs nearly 200 million.

The thought of how long it took to get the Cobra and the order of magnitude difference in price was so disheartening that I was ready to give up. Only the Smeaton run kept me in the game.

Of course now I know how to play the game and even without exploits, I can make enough Cr without the high paying grinds. But back then I didn’t know how and would have given up if I hadn’t found a solution.

My issue is, for me, there are no ships I want between the entry level and near high end. I know there are lots of ships in between the ones I want, but I don’t want any of them.

 

[Dutchman141]

I still play the game as I did in the beginning.
I let progress in ranks etc. just run it's coarse and do only things that are fun to me.
Only once did I get myself dragged into a grind, the rank for the Cutter, ugh never a grind in my life again!!

Right now I have 27 ships, 1.3 billion in the bank but I still decide every day what fun thing I'm gonna do.
Sometimes I'm out for a while exploring, outside of that I'm running missions, passengers, bounty hunting in a HazRes, planet surveys for materials, etc. etc.
Oh and trying out different ships for different tasks.

 

[Starbreaker]

Sense of achievement: Some of us have been around long enough to remember the sense of awe when we finally had enough credits to access that elusive Python, only to find it sorely lacking until properly equipped for the same amount of credits. Or bustling from port to port in a T6 with your cargo of choice.

Funny, what you just described was exactly like the first year of playing Elite was like for me. I miss that game and I've entertained the thought of resetting my CMDR and starting fresh, then I remember the navy ranks, unlocking and ranking all engineers and the 1 year worth of time-gated PP modules I have. Unfortunately the game I played in 2015-2016 no longer exist.

 

[BlackSpaceCowboy]

Sense of achievement: Some of us have been around long enough to remember the sense of awe when we finally had enough credits to access that elusive Python, only to find it sorely lacking until properly equipped for the same amount of credits. Or bustling from port to port in a T6 with your cargo of choice.

OR

Instant gratification: Gaining access to all the biggest ships and guns and modules within a week of gameplay via "exploits/gameplay-mechanics". Leaving only engineering as the "inevitable" grind. Access to all in-game content as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: This question is obviously biased, but I'm genuinely curious as the player demographic seems to have shifted a great deal since release, and I now see myself as the minority.

To be honest, I would prefer that the game was more of a simulator like IL-2 or DCS where you can pick any ship you want and do missions by yourself or with friends.

For something more than a basic simulator it would be nice if you could build mining stations, space stations and planetary bases that could be useful for other players. Such that the community would continually build to refueling ports and docs and mining stations to create a real economy where people are continually adding value to the universe.

I wish I had the money to build the game I want.

 

[Mohrgan]

After getting the basics of E|D down, my game became about supporting a favored faction or two through the BGS. That has remained the same since, the Battle for Lugh, I guess. I have jumped around looking for the 'perfect' system/faction, and I am pretty satisfied right now. I log in just about every day I can, and I can most often as I am disabled and look for time sinks. I've been playing steadily since the weekend after 1.0 released with very few interruptions.

Taken as a whole, I guess I am a long term 'Sense of Achievement' type.

 

[DragonIV]

I enjoyed the slow burn from the launch of the game. I winded my way from Sidey to Hauler, then to the Cobra (yeah!!!) all in a the first week or two. Started rare trading in the Cobra, made enough to buy a Type 6 and that was a great rare trader, then the first nerf hit--rare trades got nerfed, big time.

That was the first, but hardly the last time I'd get POed at Fdev for screwing up something I was enjoying.

I was in the Type 6 for quite a while, eventually bought an AspEx (selling the T6 to do so). Eventually bought a Clipper, and was in that a long time.

Saved up, bought a T7, and wistfully longed after my real target, a T9, which was gonna take quite a while to earn. Oh well, earn I started....until I stumbled upon a Seeking Luxuries ship looking for performance enhancers right outside of a station selling them. Was that an exploit if I stumbled on to it? Or was it one when I, um, exploited it like a madman and bought the T9 outright by the end of the evening?

Saved up the long hard way for the Cutter, but took the shortcuts to gain rank (no exploit, just doing all the right missions).

It was shortly after this point that passengers got introduced, and when the Quince exploit showed up, I saw it as a way to greatly expand my bank account and buy the other ships I couldn't afford. Was the Quince scanner mission boring? Only the board flipping. The mission itself was quick, and blowing yourself to smithereens at the end was actually lots of fun.

I don't regret doing it at all, and now I'm spending time building out my combat skills in game.

I definitely think Elite's ship and rank progression has some pretty huge gaps--and that those encourage people to use exploits who wouldn't ordinarily use them. There will always be some who want to go that route, and....different strokes for different folks. I still grin when I see Harmless Condas. I was a Master when I got mine!

 

[BlackSpaceCowboy]

Sense of achievement:

I think "sense of achievement" from pouring hundreds of hours into a game is not a good thing. I don't like when games make you "work" to earn virtual items or ranks. I don't mind if you gain rewards and rank as you play the game. But as soon as you have to change the way you play for the purpose of items or rank it becomes work. And the time you spend on this work is real time but the pay is virtual.

 

[Mohrgan]

I think "sense of achievement" from pouring hundreds of hours into a game is not a good thing. I don't like when games make you "work" to earn virtual items or ranks. I don't mind if you gain rewards and rank as you play the game. But as soon as you have to change the way you play for the purpose of items or rank it becomes work. And the time you spend on this work is real time but the pay is virtual.

Fortunately, none of that has ever happened to me. My progress has been entirely through doing what interests me. And, I'd like to say I have a very successful Commander. i have rank enough to own any ship in the game. I have six well fitted ships, with enough credits to cover re-buys on any of those ships many times over. I can only manage r3 level of engineering, but that's my choice to limit my involvement. All in all, I have escaped the the grind.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Core gameplay is actually my list.

I have a list of everything and anything I could think to do in the game.

Organised it into three sections:
Long term goals - Elite ranks, navy ranks, credit balance etc
Activities - Mining in haz res, rare goods trading, CZ combat, CGs, PvP, Powerplay, Piracy, Exploration etc
One off goals - Capital ship fight, thargoid battle, visit Betelgeuse, go to Sag A*, find a ringed earth like etc.


I go from activity to activity doing what I enjoy. If I enjoyed it I re-add it to the bottom of the list. If I don't it gets put on an inactive list which gets filtered back into the active if there's an update to that activity.
If I ever get bored I'll do a few of my one-off goals which are short but spicy and re-invigorate me for the day-day activities.
Goals I try to ignore, done a bit of grinding here and there when I get close to something I want but I seriously try to avoid it.


Anyway, works for me, possibly a bit too organised for others The only other thing I'd say is core gameplay for me is Fuel Ratting. When I'm online generally that's where you'll find me

 

[coca_fr]

It's because money grind was hard back in 2014 - 2015.
Mission were rank locked and paying really low.

I'm happy mission are paying really more. I struggled getting a Python by myself, then ceos/sothis biobaste long distance mission gave me my first Anaconda and i never been more than happy since then.
Those long run mission gave me nice gameplay and i like getting new ships and engineered them.

The fun is not about grind but about trying new ships, new configurations, testing the few game mechanics there is implemented in the game.

 

[Globusdiablo]

Core gameplay is actually my list.

I have a list of everything and anything I could think to do in the game.

Organised it into three sections:
Long term goals - Elite ranks, navy ranks, credit balance etc
Activities - Mining in haz res, rare goods trading, CZ combat, CGs, PvP, Powerplay, Piracy, Exploration etc
One off goals - Capital ship fight, thargoid battle, visit Betelgeuse, go to Sag A*, find a ringed earth like etc.


I go from activity to activity doing what I enjoy. If I enjoyed it I re-add it to the bottom of the list. If I don't it gets put on an inactive list which gets filtered back into the active if there's an update to that activity.
If I ever get bored I'll do a few of my one-off goals which are short but spicy and re-invigorate me for the day-day activities.
Goals I try to ignore, done a bit of grinding here and there when I get close to something I want but I seriously try to avoid it.


Anyway, works for me, possibly a bit too organised for others The only other thing I'd say is core gameplay for me is Fuel Ratting. When I'm online generally that's where you'll find me

Sorted.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

Sense of achievement is good the first go-around, but it gets tiring when the money doesn't flow in from there. Whenever I get a new ship I've never flown before, I buy it with the barest amount of money left over, and play in high-stakes mode - one rebuy at most, then putting everything into the ship.

The problem is that money comes in so slowly. The time it takes you to get from a Sidewinder to a Type 6 should be no less than the time from a Type 6 to a Type 7, to a Type 9. Your income should increase exponentially as you continue to play and get larger ships, but it really doesn't feel that way.

Maybe it's just my playstyle. I'm a pirate, and piracy is sorely lacking as you progress. In a Sidewinder, you can shoot ships and hope they drop cargo, or use a cargo scanner and hatch breaker limpets to pop open targets. You do the same exact thing as a pirate lord in an Anaconda, with really no extra ability besides attacking larger traders - but you steal cargo at *the same speed*. So you don't really make enough money in a decent timeframe to warrant the new ships - even though that's ridiculous, because that Type 9 has 300 tonnes of cargo and I WANT IT - but I can't have it, unless I'm willing to fly in circles for forever as this fat barge attacks me with it's lvl 1 pulse laser, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly siphoning it, drop by drop.

I totally support everyone going for exploits now because it's completely not fun to have to make money as slowly as you do normally, and add that to the fact that I usually break even doing half the I do loses money. Getting credits is plain work.

 

[Dutchman141]

I think "sense of achievement" from pouring hundreds of hours into a game is not a good thing. I don't like when games make you "work" to earn virtual items or ranks. I don't mind if you gain rewards and rank as you play the game. But as soon as you have to change the way you play for the purpose of items or rank it becomes work. And the time you spend on this work is real time but the pay is virtual.

Imho it's work when you make it so.
I've never seen the things I did in ED as working, I am having fun.
Yes it took me much longer then average to be able to buy the Anaconda or Corvette but why is that a problem, I was having fun without them.
I didn't visualize the fun to start only when I reach a certain rank or own a specific ship.

Most people hate the grind or work in ED, that only happens when your sense of joy is only met when reaching a certain goal, a goal to far away to enjoy it at this time, so they grind/work to get to that goal asap.
I set my goals in short term activities, while doing those I'm getting closer to my greater goals also.
My way of playing takes longer to reach the high end ranks, ships, etc. but the difference is, I'm having fun.

I never changed the way I played, I just didn't feel the need to have that ship right now, or reach a certain rank tomorow.
I take my time to play ED, it's not like it's gone next week.

Just my opinion though....

 

[RolloTreadway]

I just like to amuse myself. Currently in the empty wastes between the Sagittarius-Carina and the bitter end of the Perseus Arm. The idea of chasing some arbitrary target leaves me utterly cold. After all, no amount of exploits or whatever is going to get me to the distant void.

 

[Dutchman141]

I just like to amuse myself. Currently in the empty wastes between the Sagittarius-Carina and the bitter end of the Perseus Arm. The idea of chasing some arbitrary target leaves me utterly cold. After all, no amount of exploits or whatever is going to get me to the distant void.

Right on!!!
Vive la Fun.

 

[Toffmeister]

Mostly I play a sort of jack of all trades (non-combatant), but really I'd like to make a significant find out in the void.

Not interested in mega credits, nor in the Big ships (I stuff the letterbox too often with them).

So I'll go with Fun/Achievement.

 

[CMDR Harada]

I much prefer the "Sense of Accomplishment" game type.

I remember my Python ( Pre 2.0-Nerf ). That thing was brutal. An unstoppable machine for trading, killing, mining.. I didn't want an Annie, I had a Python.. But that changed with an update..

I remember seeing someone in an Annie from the cockpit of my AspX... OMG. I wondered how they managed it.. hundreds of millions of credits and i was sweating the next 500 thousand. But that changed with the stupid exploits.. or maybe I just became aware of them.

I remember a lot of work to finally get enough rank to own a Cutter. People were shocked to see one.. It got me Elite in trading.. and Jameson Memorial. Same for my Corvette. Thought I'd lose my mind grinding at TUN. Mow I hear folks do it in a week.

I engineered for a while.. because I had to to survive. All my ships did the tour ( Farseer, etc ).

But lately, there is no sense of accomplishment for me. It's all exploits, cheap shots, and grind. It's N00b-a-condas, or Gankers in exploit Meta-murder-machines. I've got more then enough money I wouldn't sweat losing my A-spec, fully engineered 'Vette.. 4 or 5 times. Or the Cutter parked next to it. I'd like to find a new sense of accomplishment.. somewhere in the game. But haven't found it. Killing Thargoids is just more killing. I can't see pressing J until I see Beagle Point as appealing ( very cool for those who have done it.. but I'd lose my sanity and self destruct somewhere past Sag-A ).

I've been gone for 8 months... and I think I still need more of a break.

 

[Oopsie Daisy]

Of those three, I choose Disclaimer.