Deconstructing boredom in ED (or why ED is too easy)

[SentineI]

in regard to Boost : I fly a mining hauler without shields nor battle weapons to maximize the cargo. Boosting is the *only* way I have to escape, and even then, IF I can escape, my hull will be wrecked.

I'm struggling to see the problem here. You only go without shields because the game is so easy mode that it's a feasible tactic. If boosting was nerfed then you simply wouldn't sell your shields. Slightly less cargo space doesn't seem a big deal to me, but if it was then I am sure mining could be slightly rebalanced to compensate (e.g. increase the value of stuff that you mine).

"nerfing" boost will not increase "learning", it will just make some professions worthless. When I'm bounty hunting I try to make sure I have always enough energy on the engines to recover my boost capacity fast enough, in case my target thinks it can outrun me.

Again I struggle to see the problem. If boosting is nerfed, then it is nerfed for both the hunter & the criminal.

 

[Narsiliel]

I think that the game is fine for those players who want to play trader or explorer and who aren't interested in groups.
The problem is that combat is boring, far too easy and repetative, and the only players I can find are clean and harmless traders (who I leave alone since I dont gank)

There was a little conflict zone in Jera which was fun but we need a large part of the galaxy sectioned off for full scale war.
This would concentrate all the PVPers together, give us something to do and keep us out of the traders hair.

I feel that we need a warzone rapidly before a large percentage of players die of boredom.
Now that the devs are back from holiday let's see where the emperors succession story takes us....

 

[SentineI]

I've updated my first post to indicate that I am NOT COMPLETELY bored with ED... However, I am no-longer able to play it for long stints without boredom setting in, and several times I've had to take a week or mores breaks to recover from grinding burn-out. (Yes, I started getting burn-out during Gamma.)

And it seems I am not alone in finding that ED becomes boring eventually:
http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/2r7suu/rant_im_bored_and_its_a_shame_really/

I mean, if you are bored of ED after a week, then ED simply isn't the game for you (and never will be)... or you have far too much spare time (i.e. no job!). OTOH, if you've been playing since Standard Beta or Gamma, and only now is the game starting to loose it's appeal, then ED is definitely the right game for you, and you just need to wait for Frontier to improve it.

 

[Tar Stone]

Chris I agree with you, and Kremmen's suggestions that he has patiently posted in a few places now are the solution. They are so much the solution that they were expected as a no-brainer from the get go. Having dangerous systems as you stray into deep space IS the game, and it's missing in action.

But I share Ste's doubt about them being able to do it - introducing difficulty into systems where there was none before will create a forum storm from trader commanders operating there.


The smart thing to do is have wings working at the same time, so there is an opportunity for traders to seek out help to trade in dangerous, profitable systems. Then you can communicate the changes in difficulty to the players whilst offering them some really cool gameplay to deal with it.

Here's the rub though - solo mode. Traders in solo mode will see difficult systems appear, in some cases right under their feet - and without online buddies to team up with it might be seen as an unwelcome change.



I watched those videos with the guys and girls from the dev team, they all had great memories of Elite and they came across as genuine fans and very bright and creative individuals. I don't believe for a second that a single one of them is satisfied with this easy galaxy that you can zip around in no time.

I don't like how they have turned combat into an optional career path, and I am dumbfounded by seeing such a large population of the ED community on the forum and on Reddit who are happy to grind out trade routes or sit in Nav points.


I'm not asking for the game to be changed to suit me, I'm pointing out that there's a big piece of the game missing! This is what was talked about, this is what attracted all the old fans, this is what drew in people looking for a challenge, this is what attracted a fair chunk of the flight sim community.


See this 'rose tinted glasses' argument being thrown around? There isn't a bin big enough to put that argument in, it deserves to be set on fire in the street. People still fire up Elite and Oolite. We know exactly how brilliant they both are, cos we're still playing them, talking about them, and loosing ourselves in them. ED isn't coming close - yet.

 

[Cmdr Cheese Wedge]

Absolutely agree %100. NPC's for their rank have been so dumbed down now it's embarrassing. The only things I'm finding remotely dangerous are Brown Dwarf stars when I fly too close to them!
Yes Anarchy systems have to be no, NEED to be scary, whole swarms of pirates should be breathing down our necks, I can sit scooping fuel from a star in an anarchy system, go away make a cuppa, return and my hull is still intact. Speaking of which fuel scooping needs to be ramped up a notch in the dangerous department as well. (Coronal mass ejections should really cause hull damage for example.)
Please Frontier make it HARD.

 

[Macgyver]

Except for the other points, I have to disagree with the maintenance cost part (sure, cheap ships cost pennies) - the prices rise rapidly the bigger ship you fly.

This is another reason I settled with a Viper for combat and a T6 for trades.

The Viper is a lot of fun, is cheap $4-$6 Mil fully decked out. Seems to be quite capable even with my newbie skills of Asps and smaller pirates.
The Viper is also a good goal to aim for early in th game.

My issue today, and while having a Nana Nap ( hey it's summer here ) was.... Why am I not getting the most enjoyment ?

#1 The combat is fun and about my skill level Cobras and smaller, have yet to find any bigger Wanteds at extraction points.
#2 Loot is not currently possible - this is not enjoyable
#3 Local system missions are few if you have no cargo space ( where are the kill grind system missions ? ) or the deliver person to station with an automatic encounter of bad guys ?

Stations have had no missions I can do in the same system.... This is frustration and stops me from earning any reputation what so ever, even though I've killed 100 pirates ...... Nothing... ( this is not enjoyable )

# I want to build my reputation with this system but am totally unable to do it unless I buy another ship with cargo space, or buy a bigger ship - but I like my Viper and should be able to advance ingame with it - this is not enjoyable..

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

Absolutely agree %100. NPC's for their rank have been so dumbed down now it's embarrassing. The only things I'm finding remotely dangerous are Brown Dwarf stars when I fly too close to them!
Yes Anarchy systems have to be no, NEED to be scary, whole swarms of pirates should be breathing down our necks, I can sit scooping fuel from a star in an anarchy system, go away make a cuppa, return and my hull is still intact. Speaking of which fuel scooping needs to be ramped up a notch in the dangerous department as well. (Coronal mass ejections should really cause hull damage for example.)
Please Frontier make it HARD.

Agree.
I remember the old game, Anarchy systems were scary and I stayed far far away from them whenever possible.
# Bring back the Scardy pants factor for Anarchy, even the law is scared to hang out there....

The " please Frontier make it hard " part.... I bet you say that to all the girls

 

[SlackR]

I do believe that the smaller patches will add some more meat to the bones as they say.

With the Wings update which is slated for this month/ early February (hopefully) it will add a new layer to the game for co-op play.
I am
very much looking forward to this update. Being able to fly around with your buddies, sharing missions/ bounties/ cargo etc.

Also, the story right now is still in early days, we should start seeing things kicking off especially with the political divide between empire and federation.

These things do take time. I'm happy that the current game is relatively solid.

Frontier really had two options...
1. Release a solid game, which lacks the extra features, but keeps the main core of the game solid.

2. Try to push all features for release, without extensive testing. This would ultimately cause the game to be the next AC: Unity.

For me, I'm glad it's not the latter. I'm having a lot of fun flying around, creating my own little story, and just exploring what the game has to offer.
Yet I agree, that the extras are needed in order to keep a lot of the players, playing.

Planetary Landings won't be here until the end of the year. Before then though, we need to see new features coming in, which are not so epic as the PL expansion, but still add new meat for people to chew on.

Only time will tell.

I will say that I am thoroughly enjoying my experience, but there isn't much incentive to plug in the joystick and play at this time. It's more for me as a relaxing, enjoyable experience. I don't feel I'm working towards anything (which is fine), but I do hope that there will be more added to the game in the coming months for us to mess around with.

How about option 3... Don't release an unfinished game?

I've been around since Alpha 1 and believe me when I say it's the best £200 I've ever spent- but the "release" felt no different to any other phase drop... I still feel like I'm testing an unfinished product. Given the amazing level of detail in flight mechanics, graphics etc. I can only conclude the missions are incomplete because they feel so amateurish in comparison with the core mechanics of the game that they play as though they were an after thought. Given the high standards DB and co set for themselves I do find it odd that trading and missions were considered in a solid enough state to be included in a finished product... At present they let the game down badly.

 

[Dweezil_Moon]

I'm struggling to see the problem here. You only go without shields because the game is so easy mode that it's a feasible tactic. If boosting was nerfed then you simply wouldn't sell your shields. Slightly less cargo space doesn't seem a big deal to me, but if it was then I am sure mining could be slightly rebalanced to compensate (e.g. increase the value of stuff that you mine).


Again I struggle to see the problem. If boosting is nerfed, then it is nerfed for both the hunter & the criminal.

Similarly, I don't see your problem with boost. People are using boost to escape ... well .. buy better weapons to kill them faster. What's YOUR problem? If you force people to have shields then there is absolutely no point in making them sellable. If you nerf boost for the traders and miners you'll have to nerf the frikking weapons for everybody just so that the miners and traders have a chance to survive .... and off you go in a nerfing spiral. Right now the game is actually well balanced when it comes to ways to destroy something and ways to escape being destroyed.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

The problem isn't me, the problem is *other players*:

If everyone (that I see) is playing Ironman Mode, then you know they won't do stupid stuff like ram into you for fun, because they are just as likely to die as you. And in fact they would be much less likely to attack any players, simply because the risk is mucher higher when game death means starting from scratch. Pirating & bounty hunting would become a REALLY scary, particularly against other players. Ganking other players would be almost impossible. In effect Ironman mode would force people to role play.

You don't get any of that if you only play Ironman Mode in your own mind. :-(

actually, ramming your opponent when his shields are down and yours are not is a completley valid and effective tactic. You might not like it, but it works fine. Basically, you want people to play YOUR way.

Just for the record : I've been playing since early september, and I'm still looking for that boredom of yours. Yes ... the difference between a mostly harmless viper and a dangerous viper should maybe be slightly increased, but as a trader mining in anarchy system is actually dangerous (which makes flying into asteroid belts in anarchy systems much more interesting when I'm out for bounty).