After playing for nearly 2 years now, what I have noticed is that every update seems to wage war against earning currency. Every viable means of bypassing the tedium and frustration of Elite Dangerous seems to shrink with every update.
Each update removes former credit acquisition resources, with areas like Rhea and Quince being perfect examples. Frontier Development seems to have no problem with removing means to earn money in this game. Yet I notice they very rarely to never implement improvements to quality of life gameplay. Players are tasked with not only earning currency but also surviving the tedium of earning naval rank. A process which I have survived to earn my Corvette and sadly have no desire to repeat. I would be interested in owning an Imperial Cutter, however knowing that the daunting task of Naval rank would once again rear its ugly head, as well as having to grind the 2 billion plus credits to do so, well to say it is discouraging is an understatement.
Let us pay our foolishly loyal community pennies, while tasking them with amassing 2 billion credits..
From community goals with ridiculously pathetic payouts, a broken Mission Board with the same pathetic payouts, time-consuming and rare resource acquisition with abysmal drop rates, brutal Engineer unlock requirements and RNG, as well as tedious, torturous and unfun Naval rank acquisition. Is a 20 million credit Community Goal helping at all towards a two billion credit goal? I think not, especially not for a week of dedication. This however does not stop Frontier Development from removing every viable source of income acquisition that they can find. It is as if they indulge themselves at the prospect of the filthy Plebs toiling away for hours in the fields.
Yet there also exists the ever-so vocal reformed cheaters that support these changes. Since they have engorged themselves on a feast of skimmer and massacre missions, planetary scans etc, they now stand at the forefront of FD's tedium initiative.
Ever so ready to suggest new areas to neuter. Even though it is thanks to these people that the gameplay is so unrewarding and frustrating in the first place. Their incredible greed mandating most of the changes that have made the game so unfulfilling in many ways.
What is good for the goose is no longer good for the gander. They have their hot Corvettes, fully ranked Cutters, and both combat and exploration Anacondas ready to go! Fresh from the ED Chop Shop. These avatars of hypocrisy have found religion.
Hopefully one day this game will actually reward player effort properly and in a way that makes sense. Perhaps one day FD will consider trying to find new ways to make their game fun and not just new ways to make it more tedious, frustrating and unfulfilling. Rather than simply sending their players to dig ditches while giving them a spoon rather than a shovel. Here's hoping.
In the meantime I will continue trying to decide if Elite Dangerous is actually a video game or just a clever and insidious psychological and sociological experiment.
Each update removes former credit acquisition resources, with areas like Rhea and Quince being perfect examples. Frontier Development seems to have no problem with removing means to earn money in this game. Yet I notice they very rarely to never implement improvements to quality of life gameplay. Players are tasked with not only earning currency but also surviving the tedium of earning naval rank. A process which I have survived to earn my Corvette and sadly have no desire to repeat. I would be interested in owning an Imperial Cutter, however knowing that the daunting task of Naval rank would once again rear its ugly head, as well as having to grind the 2 billion plus credits to do so, well to say it is discouraging is an understatement.
Let us pay our foolishly loyal community pennies, while tasking them with amassing 2 billion credits..
From community goals with ridiculously pathetic payouts, a broken Mission Board with the same pathetic payouts, time-consuming and rare resource acquisition with abysmal drop rates, brutal Engineer unlock requirements and RNG, as well as tedious, torturous and unfun Naval rank acquisition. Is a 20 million credit Community Goal helping at all towards a two billion credit goal? I think not, especially not for a week of dedication. This however does not stop Frontier Development from removing every viable source of income acquisition that they can find. It is as if they indulge themselves at the prospect of the filthy Plebs toiling away for hours in the fields.
Yet there also exists the ever-so vocal reformed cheaters that support these changes. Since they have engorged themselves on a feast of skimmer and massacre missions, planetary scans etc, they now stand at the forefront of FD's tedium initiative.
Ever so ready to suggest new areas to neuter. Even though it is thanks to these people that the gameplay is so unrewarding and frustrating in the first place. Their incredible greed mandating most of the changes that have made the game so unfulfilling in many ways.
What is good for the goose is no longer good for the gander. They have their hot Corvettes, fully ranked Cutters, and both combat and exploration Anacondas ready to go! Fresh from the ED Chop Shop. These avatars of hypocrisy have found religion.
Hopefully one day this game will actually reward player effort properly and in a way that makes sense. Perhaps one day FD will consider trying to find new ways to make their game fun and not just new ways to make it more tedious, frustrating and unfulfilling. Rather than simply sending their players to dig ditches while giving them a spoon rather than a shovel. Here's hoping.
In the meantime I will continue trying to decide if Elite Dangerous is actually a video game or just a clever and insidious psychological and sociological experiment.
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