FDevs does everything have to be a grind?

[Vasco Sapien]

Well all PVP multiplayer FPS's don't have any grind. You play to kill your opponents and that's it. One of you wins, one of you dies. Try playing Armed Assault 3 - it has PVE and PVP - do a mission with your freinds, no grind there at all. You either fail the mission or you don't. Try any racing game - there's no grind there as you're racing to win the game. Flight sims are the same - zero grind. Portal has no grind - it's a puzzle game so puzzle games don't grind neither do turret defence games. What about Total War games - are they a grind - nope. Survival games like The Forrest or Subnautica aren't grindy either.

True, but playing the same levels over and over again until you get good... building your experiance and skill is seen by some as a grind and one which some players today actually pay to avoid with the advent of loot boxes with Buffs inside and paying to unlock all weapons and character classes from the get go.

Which is why we keep seeing pay 2 win mechanics becoming more common place. Play to some is grind to others and those that dont want to work towards their goals... complain.

 

[Ian Skippy]

Make the interim gameplay fun and you don't need to do the grind to get somewhere.

The thing that never gets responded to by the 'OMG grind!" folks is that there is no interim gameplay. The gameplay in the middle is the same as in the end and the same as at the start. If you dont like the gameplay, play a different game while discussing how to improve it. It makes no sense to 'grind interim gameplay' so you can then do the same stuff in a bigger ship.

What do you consider high paying? And please, tell me where I can find these secret missions that aren't dull and repetitive

Not speaking for him, but I consider any 2m+ cr mission high-paying. What you find dull and repetitive is something you have to decide for yourself.

 

[EUS]

The thing that never gets responded to by the 'OMG grind!" folks is that there is no interim gameplay. The gameplay in the middle is the same as in the end and the same as at the start. If you dont like the gameplay, play a different game while discussing how to improve it. It makes no sense to 'grind interim gameplay' so you can then do the same stuff in a bigger ship.



Not speaking for him, but I consider any 2m+ cr mission high-paying. What you find dull and repetitive is something you have to decide for yourself.

I'm confused, are you blaming the customers for wanting better gameplay?
And if everyone who complains quit playing, who's going to buy the next DLC?

 

[Ian Skippy]

2 million is literally nothing, I could spend that just transferring a medium ship a couple hundred light years.

Ugh.

Okay, then in your opinion that is too low. I am also sure in your opinion its all repetitive and dull. In my opinion that is your problem, not mine.

 

[sollisb]

There is a grind. And I thinnk, most people accept they have to grind to get to achieve a certain goal.

The problem is; The amount of randomness this job has in it.

Fed/Imp ranking. Might get a good board, might not. If I do get a good board, the missions might pay nothing. Might come back tomorrow to a closed system.

The absolute worst is Engineering; roam a planet, might find what I need, might not. Go to scan station, might get what I need. Look for missions that I might get a reward that I need. Go to engineer, might get a good roll.

For all the work I put in there has to be a tangible reward for it.

 

[babelfisch]

What do you consider high paying? And please, tell me where I can find these secret missions that aren't dull and repetitive


The only missions I've ever played that were fun and at the same time payed a fair price were the old Robigo smuggling missions. Payed around 50 million an hour or so and had risk, you could lose everything with one scan.

I started playing the game when we still had 20k reward missions and bounties, I consider everything above 1 million high and 500k acceptable

 

[babelfisch]

I'm confused, are you blaming the customers for wanting better gameplay?
And if everyone who complains quit playing, who's going to buy the next DLC?

Nothing wrong with constructive criticism, I think Frontier could (and hopefully will) do a lot to improve the game. But "I don't get a Corvette quick enough" isn't very constructive. And there are some people who seem to literally hate the game, I think it would really be best if they move on and find another game. They aren't going to buy any expansions anyway.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I started playing the game when we still had 20k reward missions and bounties, I consider everything above 1 million high and 500k acceptable

I remember the day when gettin a 400K mission was a jackpot. And those were rare. These missions and payouts and progression were perfectly fine up until around saving for Vulture. But that never scaled up (back then). Instead the ship prices did. Whne the smuggling missions had high payouts from remote places I cheesed them to advance to Python and get a FAS. I never got to A rate the Python, though. The payouts were increased somewhat afterwards but then Engineers dropped and I just got fed up with the grindy parts. I tried powerplay twice and it was twice good time wasted with the g decay mechanic.

 

[Ian Skippy]

I'm confused, are you blaming the customers for wanting better gameplay?
And if everyone who complains quit playing, who's going to buy the next DLC?

Clearly you are confused, I just made a few suggestions on how to improve gameplay. What I am saying is that as the gameplay stays more or less the same currently throughout one's progression, you can argue about improving gameplay but not grind: you aren't grinding anywhere, or towards any new gameplay. If you dont like what you have now, than that is should be what you should discuss. Not complaining you dont get fast enough to the same spot you dont like anyway.

Mostly though, people feeling chronicly frustrated, angry, despressed and lord knows what else should probably stop trying to peddle their despair onto others and do something they enjoy. Its literally (see that, Mr ZDW?) noone else's problem, and endless complaining doesnt help one self. Its tragic to see some here sit for years at the sideline, waiting for others to stop having fun.

 

[askavir]

nevermind

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

good god

Most of my missions are under 500k. I end up with 5-6M for playtime anyway. /shrug

 

[Darkfyre99]

Or just get rid of the stupid stock items nobody sells. Why are they there?

Because the way the economic sim works, if you bring in raw materials to a station, it will produce goods for sale at a faster rate.

Of course, 99% of the time, a station will resupply naturally, at a fast enough rate that a single Commander would find it hard to deplete on their own. It used to be that a single Commander in a Type-9 could deplete a station's supply of high-end commodities for days. But some people complained, and now you only see this level of depletion during CGs.

 

[babelfisch]

I remember the day when gettin a 400K mission was a jackpot. And those were rare. These missions and payouts and progression were perfectly fine up until around saving for Vulture. But that never scaled up (back then). Instead the ship prices did. Whne the smuggling missions had high payouts from remote places I cheesed them to advance to Python and get a FAS. I never got to A rate the Python, though. The payouts were increased somewhat afterwards but then Engineers dropped and I just got fed up with the grindy parts. I tried powerplay twice and it was twice good time wasted with the g decay mechanic.

I think currently credit rewards are too high, but so are ship and module prices...

 

[Darkfyre99]

What do you consider high paying?

Any mission is high paying if you find yourself saying "You can buy your own ship for that!"

And please, tell me where I can find these secret missions that aren't dull and repetitive

Any mission where I can fly a fast ship as quickly as possible, any mission that lets me drive my SRV as sneakily as possible, or any mission that lets me stick it to the Evil Galactic Federation.

I enjoy flying my ships and driving my SRV. If I get paid for doing so, even better.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

2 million is literally nothing, I could spend that just transferring a medium ship a couple hundred light years.

(looks in bank balance................. looks at what 2 million credits buys in elite dangerous..........)

2 million ia NOT literally nothing. it is a mid specced cobra III for goodness sake (which was THE jewel in the crown of multipurpose ships in the original elite.

Now THIS is what I call (almost) literally nothing

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/68294-Bounty-Hunters-are-no-match-for-any-other-career

KILLS: 100
TIME: 320 minutes (most time was spent searching for wanted ships)
Repair and Ammo: 77 000 credits
Bounties Earned: 437 696 credits
Profit: ~360 000 credits
Profit per hour: 67 500 Credits
A

AND the poster was upset because it reflected poorly compared to the HIGH paying professions.....!!!

Let's compare profit per hour in Cobra doing
Mining: ~500 000 credits
Trading: ~600 000 credits (60 t cargo)

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Any mission is high paying if you find yourself saying "You can buy your own ship for that!"


Any mission where I can fly a fast ship as quickly as possible, any mission that lets me drive my SRV as sneakily as possible, or any mission that lets me stick it to the Evil Galactic Federation.

I enjoy flying my ships and driving my SRV. If I get paid for doing so, even better.

We play the BGS so the "cause" often requires taking not so well-paid missions. But when all pull together and the system flips it's been a job well done.

 

[Ian Skippy]

(looks in bank balance................. looks at what 2 million credits buys in elite dangerous..........)

2 million ia NOT literally nothing. it is a mid specced cobra III for goodness sake (which was THE jewel in the crown of multipurpose ships in the original elite.

Now THIS is what I call (almost) literally nothing

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/68294-Bounty-Hunters-are-no-match-for-any-other-career

KILLS: 100
TIME: 320 minutes (most time was spent searching for wanted ships)
Repair and Ammo: 77 000 credits
Bounties Earned: 437 696 credits
Profit: ~360 000 credits
Profit per hour: 67 500 Credits
A

AND the poster was upset because it reflected poorly compared to the HIGH paying professions.....!!!

Let's compare profit per hour in Cobra doing
Mining: ~500 000 credits
Trading: ~600 000 credits (60 t cargo)

Ha, yeah, BH initially paid very, very little. Its insane to see how we now earn so incredibly much and for some it is still a huuuuuuuuge grind. Heck, if I wanted to I could casually earn a Corvette in weekend without ignoring my significant other. It completely nullifies everything. Who cares if your ship is damaged, it costs peanuts to repair. Refuel or re-arm? Just automate it already, clicking the button costs more in time than the actual costs. Take a small ship to do a mission? Why bother, just take the Corvette because operating costs are non-existent. And still it isnt enough.

 

[M00ka]

Well hasn't this thread been an interesting read!

A lot here have bemoaned the grind in the game, but I am yet to read one reply offering how to fix the problem within the confines of the current game (if there was one, sorry I probably missed it in the grind of reading 15 odd pages of comments )

So Commanders, what would you like to see in the game (as it is now, so no space legs or atmospheric landings). What types of activities would you consider aren't a grind or repetitive ? What types of missions would be interesting enough to be attempted more than once. What event, within the current BGS would perk your interest? Come on, be creative, if you believe the game is a grind you must have thought of something that could improve it!

 

[Darkfyre99]

(looks in bank balance................. looks at what 2 million credits buys in elite dangerous..........)

2 million ia NOT literally nothing. it is a mid specced cobra III for goodness sake (which was THE jewel in the crown of multipurpose ships in the original elite.

It's also enough to feed 4000 people a healthy diet for one year, at current galactic average prices for commodities. After all, healthy and happy Imperial Slaves are productive Imperial Slaves.

 

[babelfisch]

Ha, yeah, BH initially paid very, very little. Its insane to see how we now earn so incredibly much and for some it is still a huuuuuuuuge grind. Heck, if I wanted to I could casually earn a Corvette in weekend without ignoring my significant other. It completely nullifies everything. Who cares if your ship is damaged, it costs peanuts to repair. Refuel or re-arm? Just automate it already, clicking the button costs more in time than the actual costs. Take a small ship to do a mission? Why bother, just take the Corvette because operating costs are non-existent. And still it isnt enough.

Yes, I think increasing rewards and decreasing maintenance costs was one of the biggest mistakes FDEV made. It made everything meaningless and turned a large part of the game from a cut throat galaxy to heroin hero:


[video=youtube;uBVkk5rW0lw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBVkk5rW0lw[/video]