Yes the journey could be better, but Elite's core gameplay loop has generally been "take off from A,fly to B, occasionally stuff happens from A -> B". How much mileage you get overall does depend on how much you can stand that main loop. YMMV.
ED gameplay it's all about -> logoff/logon
- Thread starter Altarf
- Start date
Yes the journey could be better, but Elite's core gameplay loop has generally been "take off from A,fly to B, occasionally stuff happens from A -> B". How much mileage you get overall does depend on how much you can stand that main loop. YMMV.
Yes the journey could be better, but Elite's core gameplay loop has generally been "take off from A,fly to B, occasionally stuff happens from A -> B". How much mileage you get overall does depend on how much you can stand that main loop. YMMV.
In other words, boring =/
Each to their own. Speaking for myself, I can honestly say that I've never once been bored while playing Elite. Not to say that I'm not excited about new features and mechanics being added, though
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This is still a problem for even new players that want to trade in solo. You simply can't do any real trading in the hauler, defined as buying goods at one station and selling them at another for a profit. The hauler's cargo space is so small and its jump range is so low that your profit margins will amount to just a few thousand credits. To start earning any real amount of profit you at least need a Type 6. Which means that for the first million credits a solo trader is stuck doing hauling missions for pennies on the dollar or spend 45 mins+ each way hauling rares.
But the problem is much, much worse for pilots who want to focus on combat or exploration, because hauling missions and rare trading aren't even remotely related to their chosen careers. They're the ones always looking for exploits to help them speed through this part of the ED. This is exacerbated by the fact that progression is painfully slow at all levels of those careers, which has many skipping the entire portion of game up until you get an Anaconda. So now ED is filled with players who view the the entire time period until you can buy a big ship as nothing but a time sink to be bypassed as quickly as possible.
Long term this is turning away players, and you should care deeply about that. More players means more money for new expansions, new patches, and new content. And that benefits everyone, even you in solo.
There's nothing wrong with ED being a journey. But right now there's effectively only one path to that destination, and it's a path that really isn't intended for everyone.
I totally agree with your pertinent/ beautifully laid out analysis CMDR. (I've done it all... reached mostly the same conclusions.)
And if I may say, I fear it is even worst. It is not the path intended/ laid down by FD. But a random path born out of necessity, “playing” half of the game in the forums. You can became aware of it only if you dig through the forums. This is an unpredictable and inherently uncontrollable path, and coupled with the fact that it may be the only path for a decent progression in terms of time, it is obvious why there is no easy fix for FD.
My suggestions (short of a total overhaul of the gameplay mechanics):
- Integrate somehow the forums and the external tools in the game, to preserve as much immersion as possible (maybe using an embedded web browser as a short term fix?)
- Mission convergence for Solo/ Open play. The exact same missions in both instances, coupled with a timer showing a countdown until the missions are updated. This will only work if the missions pay out a fair amount of benefits either in credits, rank or materials/cargo scaled with the challenge and the current rank. It is all about tweaking the system you have in place.
- Create a rudimentary system that allows the players to create missions for other players.
I really like the game in terms of scientific realism, graphics and sound. But I would very much like to gravitate towards it more than when new content is released, each time hoping I’ll find some of the much needed fixes to the overall mission system/ gameplay.
And if I may say, I fear it is even worst. It is not the path intended/ laid down by FD. But a random path born out of necessity, “playing” half of the game in the forums. You can became aware of it only if you dig through the forums. This is an unpredictable and inherently uncontrollable path, and coupled with the fact that it may be the only path for a decent progression in terms of time, it is obvious why there is no easy fix for FD.
My suggestions (short of a total overhaul of the gameplay mechanics):
- Integrate somehow the forums and the external tools in the game, to preserve as much immersion as possible (maybe using an embedded web browser as a short term fix?)
- Mission convergence for Solo/ Open play. The exact same missions in both instances, coupled with a timer showing a countdown until the missions are updated. This will only work if the missions pay out a fair amount of benefits either in credits, rank or materials/cargo scaled with the challenge and the current rank. It is all about tweaking the system you have in place.
- Create a rudimentary system that allows the players to create missions for other players.
I really like the game in terms of scientific realism, graphics and sound. But I would very much like to gravitate towards it more than when new content is released, each time hoping I’ll find some of the much needed fixes to the overall mission system/ gameplay.
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Don't call him Shirley.
If the games mechanics are so boring that people use this login/logoff "exploit", as a developer, I would rethink my game design... People don't use it because it's fun but because the game itself is less fun than getting a better reward from using this "exploit".
All the travel is actually BORING, I stopped playing the game mostly and especially in VR. It looks great in VR but it is terrible boring to jump 40mins and just to stare at the loading screen, sorry warp tunnel effect in VR when I can't read on my second screen or do something else that is more than boring waiting to finish a jump.
All the travel is actually BORING, I stopped playing the game mostly and especially in VR. It looks great in VR but it is terrible boring to jump 40mins and just to stare at the loading screen, sorry warp tunnel effect in VR when I can't read on my second screen or do something else that is more than boring waiting to finish a jump.
![[VR] Mad Mike](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/27/27910.jpg?1553527108){kind=avatar}
very good points CMDR. I disagree that having consistent missionboard on all modes would not help, but all the rest i 100% agree with.
I have a suggestion, which may help CMDRs with big ships be able to make good money without needing to mode switch AND would not bong down the mission board like having 200 missions on every board.
imagine if there was 1 mission...... "Fred Phibs on Sothis has 20,000 tons of a unique genetically modified fish he needs to get to Farseer asap before they rot and will pay 30k per ton with2 days to get it done.... over the next 45 hrs that number goes down, as does the time to complete (to reflect people taking what ever they can carry from him. it does not even need to actually reflect the accurate number it just needs to give the appearance of people taking the mission. As the time goes on and the fish get closer to spoiling, he gets more desperate so at the end he is offering 50k per ton!.
that is 1 mission which can sit on the board and once it is gone it is gone...... and that would be it, however then a similar mission would pop up elsewhere.
at any 1 time there could be 50 long range "gold rush" missions populated accross the bubble. no one knows where, but perhaps have contacts give you hints on your comms (and am sure it would come up on here) or you could take other missions where part of the reward is a hot tip for a gold rush money maker.
its way better than having a hand full of go to places for the rich picking anyway. and no need to refresh the BB, as you would fill up your ship with what ever you can carry... but the more you have the more attractive you may be to pirate so you fill up your anaconda with 300 tons and you will expect a lot of interest.. where as a cobra with 30 tons would be of interest to some pirates but not as many, and likely not as big game pirates either..
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You don't need Engineers to beat NPCs LOL, if you can't beat them simply change loadout , don't blame it on the NPCs
Oh my god. I love this.
I did mode switching a couple of times for mining missions - it was dull to say the least, completely broke my enjoyment of the game and just felt like cheating so I stopped. That has not stopped me building up a fleet of ships despite me having a job and 2 young children. Do not be in such a hurry to make the game a grind, take your time and enjoy the game if you are bored go and do something else. I would prefer it if FD just closed the exploit but no sign of this happening anytime soon.
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If you stack high paying missions you will just become the person with all the gear and no idea. You will still lose fights but now your loss per fight will be much higher. Much better to learn to fight in cheaper ships where the re-buy is less.
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If you stack high paying missions you will just become the person with all the gear and no idea. You will still lose fights but now your loss per fight will be much higher. Much better to learn to fight in cheaper ships where the re-buy is less.
There's a destination?
Yes, sure there is, you didn’t know? You have to get to BLUEO YLUD S23-1 in order to win the game.
Good luck commander, it’s not as easy as it appears to be!!!!!!
[hotas]
Mental note to self, stay away from BLUEO YLUD S23-1. Besides fun, I also hate winning.
Not able to log into the game, but I'm guessing you'd need a 3000% boost or something to reach it.
Mental note to self, stay away from BLUEO YLUD S23-1. Besides fun, I also hate winning.
Not able to log into the game, but I'm guessing you'd need a 3000% boost or something to reach it.
To be totally honest, I just made the system name up. I’d literally laugh my rear off if it actually existed in the game!!!!!
Wasn't there a competition where the prize was naming a system?
So if I win that, I could win the game
Wasn't there a competition where the prize was naming a system?
So if I win that, I could win the game
You should do that, if only to have somebody literally laugh their rear off
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Sort of. There isn't a "game over" screen in ED but once you get to a certain point earning credits no longer matters to you, and that fundamentally changes the way you play the game. Then all that matters is having fun and keeping enough credits in your account to cover insurance costs.
So there is a destination, but it's really just the start of another journey.