I used to jump into my ship with a smile and head for the stars. Even when I knew there were tough odds ahead of me, I didn't hesitate. E: D was a happy and joyous experience at the end of a work day. Today, I sit on the launch pad and cringe at the thought that I only have two rebuys on my Python or FDL and I'll probably be using at least one that night. I'm no longer having fun, I'm continually tense, waiting for the inevitable interdiction I can't fight and thirty seconds of being the AI's Piñata before the rebuy screen appears. Now, don't get me wrong, tension in a game is a great addition. However, being tense all the time wears you down. Isn't having fun the whole point of playing this game? I get blown up in World of Warships, World of Tanks, Kerbal Space Program, No Mans Sky, Assassins Creed - Black Flag, Dreadnought, and dozens of other games all the time and love it. E: D, not so much lately.
I can't keep thinking what happens when the mine mechanic changes or AI gets smarter. With only that one viable defence available now (Unless you are Ace Rimmer, star pilot extraordinaire) the game has been reduced to run and dump mines for the kill. Welcome to PvM.
That's tragic in my mind and frankly, I hate it. The devs have done a great job in providing myriad weapon, shield, module choices in-game, but now I'm being forced to fly in a dedicated combat ship and carrying mines just to survive. Well, I don't carry mines. Never have and never will because frankly, it's a cop-out. If I can't outfight / outthink my opponent 1v1 as I've done since v1.0, if I can't run my Python or FDL on a mission without dying, if I can't mine, smuggle, trade or explore, then the game mechanics in E: D and I are now incompatible and instead, I'll go fly Valentina Kermin around the sun. At least the game mechanics in KSP are consistent (for the most part.) If I explode in KSP there's a logical reason and I can take steps to correct it using multiple options. I used to say the same thing about E: D, but not today. E: D is continually reducing my in-game choices, not expanding them. "But you just need to fly FA-Off in a dedicated combat ship to kill those enemies" - Right, except I didn't buy E: D to fight all the time. I bought the game mostly for the non-combat roles. Trading, smuggling, missions, mining, exploration... Now mandatory combat is being shoved down my throat.
E: D has some great ideas, but some of them (PowerPlay, Engineers as two BIG examples) have been badly bungled during implementation and only halfheartedly fixed after the fact. I've consistently played E: D two hours a night, pretty much every night for a year and a half. I've spent thousands on multiple accounts, a HOTAS, joysticks, monitors, multiple GPU + PC upgrades, LEP's, HTC Vive, all to play E: D. As of today, I haven't booted the game launcher in well over a week. Don't get me wrong, I love Frontier, their staff and think DBOBE has a fantastic crystal clear vision. The upcoming 2.2 patch looks amazing. However, they've made some whopping mis-steps in the past and failed to correct them properly before moving on. To use a building metaphor, the foundation is badly cracked and they're still adding on upper floors.
I'm hoping 2.2 re-balances some of these issues without adding more problems. The threadnaught on insta-ships does not bode well in that regard and is a perfect example of the short-sighted design strategy being flung around. Consistent rules (that apply equally to PC & NPC alike) with balanced mechanics are the core of any enjoyable game system.
Anyone relying on mines today to get through the day will, at some point in the future, be disappointed. Mines are the last thin ledge we can cling to as we dangle over the abyss. When that gives out, we'll have no more options left.
I can't keep thinking what happens when the mine mechanic changes or AI gets smarter. With only that one viable defence available now (Unless you are Ace Rimmer, star pilot extraordinaire) the game has been reduced to run and dump mines for the kill. Welcome to PvM.
That's tragic in my mind and frankly, I hate it. The devs have done a great job in providing myriad weapon, shield, module choices in-game, but now I'm being forced to fly in a dedicated combat ship and carrying mines just to survive. Well, I don't carry mines. Never have and never will because frankly, it's a cop-out. If I can't outfight / outthink my opponent 1v1 as I've done since v1.0, if I can't run my Python or FDL on a mission without dying, if I can't mine, smuggle, trade or explore, then the game mechanics in E: D and I are now incompatible and instead, I'll go fly Valentina Kermin around the sun. At least the game mechanics in KSP are consistent (for the most part.) If I explode in KSP there's a logical reason and I can take steps to correct it using multiple options. I used to say the same thing about E: D, but not today. E: D is continually reducing my in-game choices, not expanding them. "But you just need to fly FA-Off in a dedicated combat ship to kill those enemies" - Right, except I didn't buy E: D to fight all the time. I bought the game mostly for the non-combat roles. Trading, smuggling, missions, mining, exploration... Now mandatory combat is being shoved down my throat.
E: D has some great ideas, but some of them (PowerPlay, Engineers as two BIG examples) have been badly bungled during implementation and only halfheartedly fixed after the fact. I've consistently played E: D two hours a night, pretty much every night for a year and a half. I've spent thousands on multiple accounts, a HOTAS, joysticks, monitors, multiple GPU + PC upgrades, LEP's, HTC Vive, all to play E: D. As of today, I haven't booted the game launcher in well over a week. Don't get me wrong, I love Frontier, their staff and think DBOBE has a fantastic crystal clear vision. The upcoming 2.2 patch looks amazing. However, they've made some whopping mis-steps in the past and failed to correct them properly before moving on. To use a building metaphor, the foundation is badly cracked and they're still adding on upper floors.
I'm hoping 2.2 re-balances some of these issues without adding more problems. The threadnaught on insta-ships does not bode well in that regard and is a perfect example of the short-sighted design strategy being flung around. Consistent rules (that apply equally to PC & NPC alike) with balanced mechanics are the core of any enjoyable game system.
Anyone relying on mines today to get through the day will, at some point in the future, be disappointed. Mines are the last thin ledge we can cling to as we dangle over the abyss. When that gives out, we'll have no more options left.
