Everyone loves diversity, but does this game have it?

[Petersen]

I never make a seemingly negative comment without an equally balance suggestion for improvement.

This is the only 'suggestion' I can find:

Suggest you edit it and sum it up in a couple of paragraphs.

I hate to break it to you, but it's already beautifully edited and formatted and is only a 'couple paragraphs'. Perhaps you could find some medication for you apparent reading allergy. I'll never understand people who come to a forum to not-read...


As to the OP, I'm relatively unexperienced with the Anaconda, but from tinkering around in E Shipyard, it does seem to be pretty fantastic. As 777Driver mentions, there are some roles that some other ships are better suited, though I'm curious for combat specifically, why would you ever not take an Anaconda? I think that's the main point the OP is trying to make: there should be space for other kinds of ships to excel in combat. I'm also curious why you wouldn't mine with an Anaconda once we get drones to pick up the mined ore.

 

[Jack Schitt]

Part of the problem is the whole multiplayer balance thing. It doesn't matter how much fun you make it, nobody in their right mind is going to fly into a PvP combat zone in a Sidewinder when there are people tooling around in Pythons and FDLs, unless they've got money to burn and just want to do it for poops and chuckles. It's a starter ship and, all things being equal, will remain a starter ship. Just as the Hauler is a stepping stone up the trading ladder; nobody is going to carry on using one as anything other than a long-range taxi once they can afford a Cobra or larger.

Off the top of my head I can think of only three ways of ensuring that more players spend their time flying a larger variety of ships:

• Carrrier ships
  
  
  If a player Anaconda could carry a couple of Sidewinders or Eagles -- but nothing larger -- it might give the player the incentive to launch as an escort pilot when under attack, leaving an NPC or another player in charge of the main vessel until they re-docked. Clearly this would require a lot of additional code, although multi-crewed ships were part of the DDF IIRC so it might yet be part of FD's long-term plan.​
  
  
• Planetary landings
  
  
  If some larger ship types were restricted, physically or legally, from entering the atmospheres of certain worlds if and when the SPL expansion arrives then pilots might have to dock at orbital stations and take smaller craft such as Haulers down to the surface. This feature could be combined with carrier ships although, again, it's not a trivial thing to code.​
  
  
• "Ship provided" missions
  
  
  This seems like the easiest one to add. Have missions on the bulletin boards in which the client is only looking for a skilled pilot and will provide their own ship. Eagles for bounty hunter or mercenary missions, Sidewinders for escort or canister recovery, Haulers for short-range cargo deliveries. The ships themselves might even be the cargo, and could give up-and-coming pilots the opportunity to fly ships they couldn't yet afford. "Fly this new Anaconda to the buyer's station in {system}. Credits will be deducted for scraping the paintwork or failing to avoid combat situations. Delivery is expected within one hour. A stock Sidewinder will be provided for the return journey."​

There may be others but you get the idea. Even with balancing and tweaking there are always going to be some ships that are better suited to a particular role than others. Encouraging players to occasionally take on different roles, rather than trying to make them choose a less-than-ideal ship for their primary role, might be the way to go.

 

[stoicfury]

Do you actually own the ship?

Yes; me telling you that your feelings were incorrect with regard to me owning the ship should indicate that I do in fact own it (it's my primary ship in fact). You present an interesting argument, I respect that. I only wish we had more to back it up, as everything I've come across data-wise seems that anaconda ownership is rising, already at ~15% of the playerbase.

You seem to have posted a reasonable, if slightly pompous, original post, just to stir people up so you can then call them 'fanboys'. How fulfilling.

Yes, you caught me. I have nothing better to do in my life than troll people with long, reasonable posts.

 

[Mikkel Toxwenius]

Dear Sir,

I never make a seemingly negative comment without an equally balance suggestion for improvement. Which I did. Rather than some folk who dont. Further, my comment kep this post fresh for others to expand on rather than it dropping off the radar due to lengthy and gifs.

Sorted?

Not at all. Your first post did nothing at all to comment, add or discuss in any way the OP's subject. The only point you got through was that you were to tired to read walls of texts on sundays. But this debate is getting of topic, lets bury it unless we got something related to OP's post and the thread subject. Good night.

 

[Fangrim]

In my opinion, there is no diversity in this game. None at all.

100 players start with 1,000Cr and basic sidewinder. Let them play for 2 months, doing whatever they want.

After those 2 months , they would still have access to the exact same stuff.

All that matters in this game, when it comes to ships and equipment, is credits.

Absolutely nothing comes from siding with the Empire, Federation, Alliance. Nothing comes from becoming high rank in Combat, Trade, or Exploration.

I stopped playing about 1½ months ago, never looked back. I need something "special" as rewards for whatever I'm doing - a better weapon, more efficient armour, you name it. I would love to have something to fight for, other than a totally irrelevant rank in some totally irrelevant stat.

Anyone with credits can buy exactly the same, and there is nothing else than what can be bought. No diversity, no special stuff, everyone is playing the same vanilla game with the same vanilla items.

I love this game, but as it is now, it's just too empty and unrewarding to me.

 

[medwyn]

I remember the same problems have been brought up earlier too - the question of "what X or Y ship is good for if there are W and Z and they do the same but better?"
It really seems that there's a kind of "progression" towards the more expensive ships and those left behind are falling out of the game.
I know for example there are Eagle pilots and Sidey pilots too but overall these ships became NPC ships one can farm continously but they are not really valid alternatives to anything.
It's a lot of work to make these game contents, I would not let them being overlooked that easily.

Maybe ship-specific missions could give a valid purpose to fly them for a good reason or what the OP says with more personality and configuring options could help.

 

[Kano Magnus]

"I WANT REAL REWARDS!" - A guy playing a computer game

 

[Stavro Mueller]

Not at all. Your first post did nothing at all to comment, add or discuss in any way the OP's subject. The only point you got through was that you were to tired to read walls of texts on sundays. But this debate is getting of topic, lets bury it unless we got something related to OP's post and the thread subject. Good night.

OK, I might be opening myself up to criticism here, but I actually thought that the post hit a crucial, if subtle, note, in that it left the discerning reader in no doubt as to how much time the op was worth; i.e., not much. This appears to have gone over your head. In fact, if I wasn't so eager to defend a nuanced and clever post by BR, I might have just written 'whoosh'.

 

[CMDR Nick]

I think the OP has a lot of merit - if a bit lengthy. But if folks are willing to put time and effort into their posts, is that such a bad thing?

It is essentially true that most ships in Elite are multi-role - and that is a flaw. I can do pretty much the same thing in my Python, Vulture and Asp. OK, some things are easier in one or the other, but none of them have any special distinguishing features in terms of outfitting. Fair point. If, for example, I wanted a ship for sniping at long range, I could fit the appropriate weapon to pretty well anything - and call it a sniper. There are lost opportunities there I think.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Right click. Left Click. Gone.

 

[777Driver]

Yes; me telling you that your feelings were incorrect with regard to me owning the ship should indicate that I do in fact own it (it's my primary ship in fact). You present an interesting argument, I respect that. I only wish we had more to back it up, as everything I've come across data-wise seems that anaconda ownership is rising, already at ~15% of the playerbase.

The Avatar and Giant spinning python suggested that was your main ship..

I would expect Anaconda ownership to rise, especially amongst wealthy traders. I have owned my Conda for quite a while now, along with most other ships in the game, the conda get's used as and when needed. The simple fact is the ship is too slow to be an effective hunter, I could reel of a whole bunch of ships that can do the job better.

I used to always see posts from people proclaiming 'I have a Conda, I beat the game' Sure, if your idea of being elite is sitting in a heavily defended ship that everyone can outrun.

I spend more time in a Viper these day's

 

[medwyn]

Right click. Left Click. Gone.

I had to repeat it on you. It works but the correct procedure is left click and left click.
Try again.

 

[DiBBz]

okey il just say this.. the game has a good decent amount of gameplay diversity... however it gets boring quite fast... but setting goals on what you want in game is a good driving force for you to keep playing

also the other stuff that happens in game is a small taste of what keeps you interesting...

im 90% sure that by this time next year the game will have advanced alot to the point people are invested for many months! right now tho.. its ( Start > Bounty hunting + missions ) to get a decent amount of money for a new ship then you start branching off into what you would like to do..

trading takes far longer and is not worth the time.

 

[Ben Ryder]

I had to repeat it on you. It works but the correct procedure is left click and left click.
Try again.

I think a little wet came out My hearts!

 

[stoicfury]

The Avatar and Giant spinning python suggested that was your main ship..

I'm sorry that was misleading. The Python is my favorite ship aesthetically, but I see no use for it while I have an Anaconda. :\

 

[scott.dft]

One of the diversifications that was coming, I thought, was the carrying of passengers. I agree that this should be restricted to only certain ships and then can introduce a new set of people carrying missions. Get Senator X over to Station Z by this time to join a diplomatic mission, you may face opposition! Or Drop this squad of marines on this planet. That sort of thing.

 

[Red Dirt Nurse]

It bugs me that the internal outfitting - I mean the seat, console and HUD - are all stock standard across the various ship manufacturers in game. It's like there's only one operating system across the whole galaxy. Really?



Unless I'm looking at the outside of my ship, every ship feels the same - albeit with variance in performance. It' s still early days, I guess, and there's room for improvement.

Perhaps a provision to purchase different modules at shipyards might offer some variety? Dunno.

 

[Fire70]

okey il just say this.. the game has a good decent amount of gameplay diversity... however it gets boring quite fast... but setting goals on what you want in game is a good driving force for you to keep playing

also the other stuff that happens in game is a small taste of what keeps you interesting...

im 90% sure that by this time next year the game will have advanced alot to the point people are invested for many months! right now tho.. its ( Start > Bounty hunting + missions ) to get a decent amount of money for a new ship then you start branching off into what you would like to do..

trading takes far longer and is not worth the time.

I don't think the issue is the ships the the lack of quality things to do with them.. Besides trading and bounty hunting in a RES zone there isn't much else to do that is profitable. So if you want to continue getting new ships then these are the only options available.

What they need to do is make other things as profitable giving you more variety..

 

[puca]

Your feelings, I'm afraid, are incorrect. I've earned over $500,000,000 in assets since buying this game ~1 1/2 months ago. I don't claim to be an expert, but if you think I'm completely naive, you've got something else coming.

Nevertheless, your underlying point seems to be that Anaconda are undesirable, or at least enough so that many players will choose other ships in the end even if they had the money. That's an interesting assertion... do you have any evidence to back that up? How do I know more than just you and a handful of fanboys on this forum think that?

- - - Updated - - -



If you find books frightening, you might consider avoiding the library.

OP, people will use the best ship for the job, not the most expensive ship. Anaconda is great for trading, ok for exploration if you really like jump range over anything else, and crap for combat unless you choose where to fight.

 

[Vasious]

One of the diversifications that was coming, I thought, was the carrying of passengers. I agree that this should be restricted to only certain ships and then can introduce a new set of people carrying missions. Get Senator X over to Station Z by this time to join a diplomatic mission, you may face opposition! Or Drop this squad of marines on this planet. That sort of thing.

Yes, though hopefully "only x ship can do y mission" isn't the only reason for people not to aim for the biggest ships, passenger and drops ship missions aside where it makes sense. Unless the missions are open to all ships but the nature of them means that smaller ships are better suited without artificial constraints.

I enjoy flying a sidewinder, but dislike how people are reluctant to wing up with me when flying one as I am either a "noob" or not taking things seriously, go Vulture for Go home kind of thing.