Elite Dangerous can do better.

[Cobramac]

We all have our own feeling regarding what we feel can be improved in this game, many of us grew up with ELITE in the 80s and it will forever remain a part of my gaming enthusiasm.

No Game is perfect and no game can and should please everyone, as DB mentioned in various interviews, he made Elite Dangerous the way he wanted as a space game, i can't argue with that, afterall he gave me ELITE back in the day, the man is a genius.

Imo, Elite's Flight engine, ships and combat mechanics are far superior to what i've seen from any other current or future game like SC BUT
Where Elite Dangerous fails is the different space modes, instance loading and the utterly poor multi player implementation.

It is fixable, they can do it, DB is an extremely capable individual and i have the utmost respect for him and the teams achievements in Elite thus far.

1: do away with the different space modes, allow the system instance to cover the number of players it can handle
1.2 merge supercruise with normal space, allow super speeds to be executed in the same space. if player craft comes within mass lock range, it automatically shuts off supercruise in normal space, this allows for huge variations in game play and we will get the feeling we had in elite , just making it to a station in an anarchy system is an achievement.

The above should allow the removal of loading screens when approaching stations and planets as mass lock would determine the drop out range.

I want to fly past ships on the way to the asteroid fields and ships otw to the station/sun or deep space, we had this feeling in the first ELITE, it does not exist in elite dangerous, supercruise space mode destroys that.

that is really my only wish for the game. i wish i could perhaps explain it better, but there it is.

What do you think could be improved in the core game to make it more fun ?
​

 

[Adhock]

Don't agree.

Given how the engine mechanics work, removing SC would simply cause you to zip from one hotspot to the other and not allow for surprise encounters in the form of Signal Sources like we have now.

By allowing us to traverse "Empty Space" between planets, suns, stations, and asteroids, we can as you say "fly past ships on the way to asteroid fields and ships going to the station or sun or deep space". It also allows E: D to give us surprise encounters with different ships and different hotspots that each contain different things.

Removal of Supercruise would break the game and make it worse.

Keep the deep space exploration.

Leave the micro jumps to other games until Frontier can make it work for them.

 

[Ndarain]

We all have our own feeling regarding what we feel can be improved in this game, many of us grew up with ELITE in the 80s and it will forever remain a part of my gaming enthusiasm.

No Game is perfect and no game can and should please everyone, as DB mentioned in various interviews, he made Elite Dangerous the way he wanted as a space game, i can't argue with that, afterall he gave me ELITE back in the day, the man is a genius.

Imo, Elite's Flight engine, ships and combat mechanics are far superior to what i've seen from any other current or future game like SC BUT
Where Elite Dangerous fails is the different space modes, instance loading and the utterly poor multi player implementation.

It is fixable, they can do it, DB is an extremely capable individual and i have the utmost respect for him and the teams achievements in Elite thus far.

1: do away with the different space modes, allow the system instance to cover the number of players it can handle
1.2 merge supercruise with normal space, allow super speeds to be executed in the same space. if player craft comes within mass lock range, it automatically shuts off supercruise in normal space, this allows for huge variations in game play and we will get the feeling we had in elite , just making it to a station in an anarchy system is an achievement.

The above should allow the removal of loading screens when approaching stations and planets as mass lock would determine the drop out range.

I want to fly past ships on the way to the asteroid fields and ships otw to the station/sun or deep space, we had this feeling in the first ELITE, it does not exist in elite dangerous, supercruise space mode destroys that.

that is really my only wish for the game. i wish i could perhaps explain it better, but there it is.

What do you think could be improved in the core game to make it more fun ?
​

[url]https://forums.frontier.co.uk/clear.gif [/URL]

I like it the way it is now, but I like that way too.

 

[Cynaqq]

The problem is, normal space flight and supercruise speeds are so vastly different, it doesn't mean anything to try to sync them on a network.

Let me elaborate.

You'll never have a player or npc traveling at supercruise speeds be at the same area with something at normal space speeds long enough to warrant sending data between them. They'll zip by each other so fast, neither will even notice each other.

So, another way may be found in that contact syncing may be something as in people and things seen at different speed tiers as vague signal sources which will be synced more precisely as you match speed but this means not merely doing away with the instancing system but actually writing the whole game again including the flight mechanics governing SC.

It would be a lot better here on the forums if only members refrained from commenting so passionately about stuff they clearly haven't thought through/isn't knowledgeable enough to have thought through, but it's even more colossal an undertaking than FD rewriting the whole damn game; I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Adhock]

The problem is, normal space flight and supercruise speeds are so vastly different...

Yeah. We're talking meters per second verse the speed of light when you hit 33c or 33 times the speed of light.

Vast difference indeed.

 

[Cynaqq]

Yeah. We're talking meters per second verse the speed of light when you hit 33c or 33 times the speed of light.

Vast difference indeed.

You don't even have to go that far. Normal space flight is capped about at 1000m/s and the lowest SC speed is 30km/sec.

The ship to ship visibility in the game is about 10 km, and contact syncing can be done (such as wing beacons) system wide in a general direction kind of way already. Something will be 30km behind you, then one second later next to you, and 30km ahead 1 sec later. While it could make sense to sync these for the 'wow' factor, many things usually travel much much faster, which will render them practically invisible, even at pretty low supercruise speeds.

The problem with the OP isn't that his idea is wrong in that it would make the game have more 'wow' and more life to it. It definitely would. It just isn't aware how enormously big that job they so casually suggest.

 

[m0rl0ck]

What do you think could be improved in the core game to make it more fun ?
​

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/clear.gif

First the engineers needs to be removed. That would go far in improving the game.
Secondly they need to NOT allow instant ship transportation.
For every cool feature they introduce, they also include something so game breakingly stupid that you just know they dont play ED themselves.
I have no problem with the way supercruise and travel in general are handled in ED. The original game bordered on genius imo, since the engineers it just seems they are out to vandalize their own work.

 

[Cynaqq]

First the engineers needs to be removed. That would go far in improving the game.
Secondly they need to NOT allow instant ship transportation.
For every cool feature they introduce, they also include something so game breakingly stupid that you just know they dont play ED themselves.
I have no problem with the way supercruise and travel in general are handled in ED. The original game bordered on genius imo, since the engineers it just seems they are out to vandalize their own work.

I say to this; let's wait and see what the fuss is all about.

To make such drastic changes to the game in such a short time, they have to have a solid reason.

I kinda guess what that reason is. Partially to keep the casual crowd more engaged and partially because in the near future, even the hardcore players will appreciate these mechanics due to the stuff they are adding to the game.

Alright, I'll say it. Aliens ok? When the interspecies wars break out, as they inevitably will, how will FD keep everyone happy (since not everyone is a hardcore combat player who welcomes the challange day in day out)? They'll create new regions for regular trade and mission gameplay for people to flee from too much action if they want to. To keep this dynamic, they'll probably change the war hotspots between these various bubbles semi-irregularly, potentially by an early warning mechanism so people will want to travel large distances anyway. To not hinder gameplay too much when that time comes, engineer upgrades, ship and module transfer.

Mark my words. This makes the most sense to me, so I'm behind this prediction. I've been thinking about how they could ever implement the perilous gameplay of the older games without upsetting most people, something they simply can't afford. What they are doing right now is the exact way I'd do it.

 

[Toumal]

Agree with OP, to a certain point. ED could have mega-instances (basically client/server) for big events. Participation could be a reward for playing powerplay or similar. Decisive battles could actually be a singular event and this would encourage people to play to be able to join these.

Basically, unique experiences would be their own reward. And these battles would no longer feel like everything is just numbers on a spreadsheet.

 

[Adhock]

The problem with the OP isn't that his idea is wrong in that it would make the game have more 'wow' and more life to it. It definitely would. It just isn't aware how enormously big that job they so casually suggest.

I don't agree about it adding "more life" to the game. To me the post is reading "strip the SC space and let us micro jump warp between points of interest like in NMS." Instead of cruising around in SC, he wants to cruise around in normal space and then Micro Jump to points of interest such as planets, stations, and RES sites in planet rings and asteroid fields. It would render Interdictions pointless because you couldn't catch anyone and drag them back to you. You'd have to rely on masslocking and that can only be done with a group of big ships.

It would also strip the randomness of the Signal Sources. Because you're zipping from point to point, you'll never see these spawn in normal space bypassing them entirely. They'd have to completely rework the mission system that relies on salvaging from these sources.

Reworking the ability for more players to meet up, I get. Stripping Supercruise from the game? Horrible idea.

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First the engineers needs to be removed. That would go far in improving the game.
Secondly they need to NOT allow instant ship transportation.

First point makes a little sense given how they reworked the AI.

The second? Don't agree. It wouldn't be far fetched to believe that perhaps behind the scenes, when you request your ship be transported, the shipyard contacts the shipyard where your ship is stationed at. The other shipyard disassembles your previous ship sending all the data on performance to the shipyard you're at and then assembles a perfect clone of your ship for you.

Barring that? Perhaps this article about recent resurgences in Hyperspace Research is coming into play.

 

[JuicerPrime]

Give each vessel a dedicated fixed cargo bay and shield generator slot, and a number of scanner slots depending on their size and role. Use the upgrade slots for cargo bay expansions, system mods and role-fitting, not critical systems.

Add mods for systems as slot options instead of just stand-alone functions - cargo bay life support for transporting livestock and non-cabin passengers; cargo bay freezers for carrying foodstuffs; shielded hold to reduce chance for illicit cargo detection. Stuff like that.

More granularity in system grades. 10 or 12 instead of 8 to prevent certain ships from experiencing too much or too little power draw.

Rather than have a basic E > A system progression with minor advantages for D and B, instead have specific system subtypes with quality grades. Very quick and dirty example for life support: Basic (regular Remlok), HazMat (heavier, lets you carry dangerous substances without risk), Military (heavier, hardened against damage), Scout (Lighter, longer capacity, more fragile), each with Standard > Advanced > Experimental quality options.

Ships are one of the things I think Elite can certainly do better. Things are unlikely to change now, but a CMDR can dream. ^^

 

[kilvenny]

The only changes I would make to travel are

a) If you have been to a system or its explored and you have the exploration data, you should be able to choose the star that hyperspace on to.

b) Introduce blue prints for ship components so that if you have the necessary recipe items it will allow you to effect a repair while travelling. No rng, just forage materials once you have the blue print. This will provide reasons for explorers to stop and examine planets.