New AI is good, but still this is a carebear mode in a comprasition to a human player.
False. I have met a number of Turnips in Vultures that prove your insulting statement wrong.
New AI is good, but still this is a carebear mode in a comprasition to a human player.
Wow. Seriously, I did not expect THAT. I'm so bored by this modern video games paradigm: let the player feel like he's smart.
I've been pummeled by AIs... 2 times in less than one hour. Hating multiplayer, I always play solo... and now I can see how much I suck at this game. I lost 25% of my money buying the same new ship. First, I shouted at my screen... then calm down and smiled in a high feeling of nostalgia (Ghouls & Ghost and such quite old and insanely hard games of the 80's). I want more kick in the ass like that! I wanna suffer, I wanna be punished for my laziness, I wanna fear the universe! Time to gain REAL experience... yeah, that's the spirit which has been lost by video games since ages. ENOUGH! Back to the basics.
Now that really feels like Elite: Dangerous. Thanks FD, though I fear that you will submit to whinners... everyone does in this industry... so please, I'm begging you: stay rock solid with that decision and you will gain all my respect (and believe me, it's really hard).
I go try again. I must train again and again. But first, I have some serious fittings to reconsider![]()
Wow. Seriously, I did not expect THAT. I'm so bored by this modern video games paradigm: let the player feel like he's smart.
I've been pummeled by AIs... 2 times in less than one hour. Hating multiplayer, I always play solo... and now I can see how much I suck at this game. I lost 25% of my money buying the same new ship. First, I shouted at my screen... then calm down and smiled in a high feeling of nostalgia (Ghouls & Ghost and such quite old and insanely hard games of the 80's). I want more kick in the ass like that! I wanna suffer, I wanna be punished for my laziness, I wanna fear the universe! Time to gain REAL experience... yeah, that's the spirit which has been lost by video games since ages. ENOUGH! Back to the basics.
Now that really feels like Elite: Dangerous. Thanks FD, though I fear that you will submit to whinners... everyone does in this industry... so please, I'm begging you: stay rock solid with that decision and you will gain all my respect (and believe me, it's really hard).
I go try again. I must train again and again. But first, I have some serious fittings to reconsider![]()
Then again, if these new players really are in Babby's first Sidey or a Hauler and get swarmed by master+ npcs in a high security system, then something might not be completely right. If it's because of the mission danger rank, then okay, but otherwise it's not the difficulty that needs an overhaul, but the level and audacity of NPCs spawning for said players.
Having every encounter with an NPC become a gruelling fight to the death for a measly 100k bounty or an even more measly 30 merits, is not fun!
I am sure this is not lost on frontier. There is almost certainly some finesse for the spawn rates, various procedural generation routines that are kicking these out to make sure they're on track, but I hope that that is actually what happens.
And not a knee-jerk reversal of AI competency. We've finally got decent AI, I'd hate to see the entire bath heading out the window.
Wow. Seriously, I did not expect THAT. I'm so bored by this modern video games paradigm: let the player feel like he's smart.
I've been pummeled by AIs... 2 times in less than one hour. Hating multiplayer, I always play solo... and now I can see how much I suck at this game. I lost 25% of my money buying the same new ship. First, I shouted at my screen... then calm down and smiled in a high feeling of nostalgia (Ghouls & Ghost and such quite old and insanely hard games of the 80's). I want more kick in the ass like that! I wanna suffer, I wanna be punished for my laziness, I wanna fear the universe! Time to gain REAL experience... yeah, that's the spirit which has been lost by video games since ages. ENOUGH! Back to the basics.
Now that really feels like Elite: Dangerous. Thanks FD, though I fear that you will submit to whinners... everyone does in this industry... so please, I'm begging you: stay rock solid with that decision and you will gain all my respect (and believe me, it's really hard).
I go try again. I must train again and again. But first, I have some serious fittings to reconsider![]()
By the tone of this thread (I won't get on until tonight) it does sound to me like FD have slightly over-done the AI improvements.....
Yes NPC combat was too easy buuuuut, this sounds like an OTT swing the other way to me. Combat should be challenging but not impossible for the newer players and even arduous for the more experienced players, especially if the bounty / repair bill ratio makes it pointless participating. Do these changes to AI and weapons make the dedicated freighters pointless in-game now? And did I read somewhere here that someone had a 'Conda or Fed Vette busted up by an NPC Cobra?? that sounds terribly skewed. A Cobra should not be able to take down a Vett or Conda. I have an A-rated Cobra (somewhere, not sure where I left it) and it would be just as daft if I could go blowing up NPC 'Conda's and Vettes in it.... Either scenario is bonkers. Lets hope that things get balanced out so that the game remains fun and exciting for all and not just suited to the ubber rich and pew, pew pros.
Yes, mommy... ahem, auntie...
Moved from a closed thread:
First of all, I was quite suspicious of the danger posed by the new AI and unparked my Clipper with a bit of concern. Equipped (and needed!) point defense and large multi cannons. Went to a Navigation Beacon to test and especially hoping to find some material. I was in Wolf 47 and encountered quite a mix of NPCs, from Mostly Harmless to Deadly (I am "Dangerous").
First off, I was somewhat handicapped by not having my usual X-52 Pro setup available (broken again, replaced under warranty, but parcel will take another 5 days to arrive), so I am playing with an older Saitek Cyborg Evo joystick - unfamiliar to me and no good throttle. But still, I did not find the AI too hard, if somewhat challenging. Would have been quite a bit easier for me with my HOTAS. Only real hairy moment was against a dangerous FGS with no assistance by Security, that cost me two SCBs.
I flew out with a ton of materials, a million in bounty vouchers and 100% hull. I would not consider myself a particularly good combat pilot, but I have a lot of experience with the game and know how to manage my pips and throttle.
However, I can see that a casual player with mediocre skills would be quite put off by the challenge they now face. This would include the (relative) newbies that just farmed credits and rank with easy AI kills and Robigo runs. While I assume that the first reaction of the hardcore community would be a shrug and "git gud" message, I ask you to think again. ED already has not the greatest reputation for being accessible to newbies and casuals - and that reputation is probably going to take another hit. As a consequence, sales to new players and season pass sales to casuals may suffer. This, in turn, might greatly hurt FDev's bottom line and in consequence endanger the long term viability of the game.
Thus, FDev (and we) should listen to the complaints about the UI. Maybe a NPC difficulty slider would be appropriate, with harder settings giving better combat-related rewards (military rank, combat rating, credits, materials etc) and possibly a trade bonus. This might reconcile the casuals without taking the fun away from the "hardcore" players.
TL;DR: new AI is nice, but maybe too much for casuals and less skilled players. This might hurt sales and thus future development. A difficulty slider adjusting AI challenge and rewards might help to reconcile this.
In that I agree, though my poor Asp will probably hate us both. Do you know how many holes an FAS can put into my shiny golden paint job?![]()
Many. My first 24 hours in beta wasn't pretty, it hurt. It gets better. You get a bead on what's going on after a few days and the gulf isn't what it was. Yes, engineering upgrades help, but just getting used to the new AI behaviour means you just adjust and adapt and it becomes the new norm.
Lord knows what beta 4 reception would have been like. Pitchforks outside of frontier's studio I suspect. I just hope this survives through the first update. Frontier will be under enourmous pressure to "fix it" by dumbing down AI again. I am hoping for a steady hand at the tiller.