First boring 24 Hours

[soapmak3r]

The thought of grinding to get stuff, only to have it wiped again is enough to put me off even trying to play until the launch...I did play a little of 'gamma' though, and found the entry barrier pretty harsh though.

Maybe I am just dense, but I couldn't accept any of the money making missions due to factions not trusting me enough...and because of only having 100 credits, I could only afford to buy 2 food cartridges, which I could only trade for a loss no matter where I brought them.

Not really inspiring me to play at all.

 

[akaliel]

Why? Why not make a game that anyone can enjoy on their own too?

The problem is that EVERY GAME is fun in cooperative multiplayer with your friends, because cooperating with your friends is fun, the game is irrelephant.

I can't fly around the multi-million dollar non-multiplayer game though, because someone insisted that everything be online because I don't know.

(Yes, I said irrelephant for fun.)

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They were actually concurrent. The ATI Rage too. Now Cirrus Logic... And didn't Nvidia just buy 3DFX?

Nvidia bought patents and maybe some tech, can't remember it all. Probably got some of the talent too, after they were out of jobs. There was a lot of turmoil at 3dfx, I had a friend who worked there who told me some pretty outrageous stories. She said that the mismanagement was really bad, the executives knew a long time in advance that the company was doomed and started leeching every dime out of it. Employee's caught on next and basically raided the offices for whatever they could. She said that she once saw a guy with a trolley carrying boxes of vids and other computer parts and he just rolled it out to his car, tossed it in the trunk and took off, never came back. By the time it was shuttered it was like a carcus stripped clean.

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The thought of grinding to get stuff, only to have it wiped again is enough to put me off even trying to play until the launch...I did play a little of 'gamma' though, and found the entry barrier pretty harsh though.

Maybe I am just dense, but I couldn't accept any of the money making missions due to factions not trusting me enough...and because of only having 100 credits, I could only afford to buy 2 food cartridges, which I could only trade for a loss no matter where I brought them.

Not really inspiring me to play at all.

In the beginning only do the jobs where you have to haul item X to port Y. Don't take the "Bring me 2 fish!" type of jobs. Cause you first need to know who sells the fish, and there's no easy way in game to get that info. Especially now that they've changed our start location (Styx is soooooooooo far away!) And yes, even if you did know, you need the credits to buy the fish too. So don't bother with those unless you have the money and know the source.

If you want to improve your relationship with a particular group, that's likely what those "Take item X to port Y please, and we can't afford to pay you." missions are for.

 

[Yukon Jack]

I find the first few days of game play rather boring and tedious also. This game starts pretty slow. You get the smallest nothing ship have to pretty much take any job you can get to get enough credits for an upgrade. The first time around, I endured this because the game was new. It didn't really start to get fun until I got my Cobra. Now I feel like I'm stuck in limbo because any effort getting beyond the initial slow phase will only last until the next database wipe. The second time around, the game is NOT new and the tedious phase is NOT fun. I'm not sure why anyone would bother with this game until we get past the final database wipe.

<rant>And one more thing... what the frack is a gamma release anyway?! I've worked in software development for a while now and it goes alpha, beta, RC, release, release party, next version. There is no gamma!</rant>

 

[akaliel]

I find the first few days of game play rather boring and tedious also. This game starts pretty slow. You get the smallest nothing ship have to pretty much take any job you can get to get enough credits for an upgrade. The first time around, I endured this because the game was new. It didn't really start to get fun until I got my Cobra. Now I feel like I'm stuck in limbo because any effort getting beyond the initial slow phase will only last until the next database wipe. The second time around, the game is NOT new and the tedious phase is NOT fun. I'm not sure why anyone would bother with this game until we get past the final database wipe.

<rant>And one more thing... what the frack is a gamma release anyway?! I've worked in software development for a while now and it goes alpha, beta, RC, release, release party, next version. There is no gamma!</rant>

Gamma is essentially RC. It's the feature complete version and you're just eliminating bugs. The gaming industry uses Gamma quite a bit. I've been involved in a quite few of them. Both as tester and developer.

 

[SlickReed]

Well guys, I'm trying to be positive but the first 24 hours are both a grind and boring? Really not what I had hoped. Can't help but think most new players will be lost to other games in the first few days of play?

Too many interdictions, no cheap alternative ship to the Sidewinder for haulage and markets totally uninspiring?? I am sure it gets better, but right now I am looking for excuses to go and do some real work. Perhaps its just me?

I am very sorry you feel that way. I hope you stick wit it and find ED as enjoyable as I do.

 

[akaliel]

I am very sorry you feel that way. I hope you stick wit it and find ED as enjoyable as I do.

He is right, I enjoy Elite, but I understand all the issues people are bringing up regarding lack of story and content. The hard core space flight guys are gonna enjoy the game b/c we probably all bought into it months ago. But for regular PC gamers, picking this up on the 16th, to be really honest, I don't see this holding many of them for very long. Regardless of our opinions, I just don't see Elite being a success. It makes me worried for the future of the game. How long will they keep developing a game that isn't making financial sense.

 

[piotrr]

He is right, I enjoy Elite, but I understand all the issues people are bringing up regarding lack of story and content. The hard core space flight guys are gonna enjoy the game b/c we probably all bought into it months ago.

Also because I didn't play any of the faction missions in FFE either. I did find that legendary ship though, can't remember how. The one that looks like a horseshoe crab holding onto two dolphins?

 

[Highseas]

I don't agree with OP

I might agree.

Then again I might not.

 

[Yukon Jack]

Gamma is essentially RC. It's the feature complete version and you're just eliminating bugs. The gaming industry uses Gamma quite a bit. I've been involved in a quite few of them. Both as tester and developer.

If this is the release candidate then the database should be treated like a production database. Let's face it, all software has bugs. When it is officially released in December, it will still have bugs. The standard procedure can't be to wipe the universe every time a bug is fixed.

 

[Antigonos]

why are so many people online feel entitled to tell a company how they should do business? I never saw someone going to a McDonalds Manager and tell him if he would sell vegetables it would be much more profitable for him and he'd had a lot of more customers?

 

[akaliel]

If this is the release candidate then the database should be treated like a production database. Let's face it, all software has bugs. When it is officially released in December, it will still have bugs. The standard procedure can't be to wipe the universe every time a bug is fixed.

There will always be bugs, but you can remove the showstoppers, crashes, big exploits and others. Then you fix the smaller ones after the fact. It's pretty standard stuff. Beta is for adding content. Gamma is getting it all working properly. Sometimes save game wipes are necessary if a change involves changing the structure of the save files. You obviously want to try to avoid that, but historically, games don't have a massive beta that people can buy into. Any game by a big developer though, will have plenty of save game wipes between beta's.

 

[CMDR Von Abrahart]

FD will release, extras added as and when, expansions as they come on line, ramp up the BG sim, more 'stuff'. I'm optomistic about the game. I'm going to wait till release and after .. I'm on a Mac anyways so I won't be playing till 2015

 

[Zing Freelancer]

Well guys, I'm trying to be positive but the first 24 hours are both a grind and boring? Really not what I had hoped. Can't help but think most new players will be lost to other games in the first few days of play?

Too many interdictions, no cheap alternative ship to the Sidewinder for haulage and markets totally uninspiring?? I am sure it gets better, but right now I am looking for excuses to go and do some real work. Perhaps its just me?

Haha, its not you. I spend the entire day browsing forums instead of playing :O

 

[akaliel]

why are so many people online feel entitled to tell a company how they should do business? I never saw someone going to a McDonalds Manager and tell him if he would sell vegetables it would be much more profitable for him and he'd had a lot of more customers?

Because we all bought into the promise that this game had. And people are trying to tell Frontier not only what's wrong with the game, but how to make it better. None of us want the game to fail, but they do need to hear the issues and shortcomings. They should want to hear from the fans, not just eternal pat on the backs. They should know people want more content. Do you really want them to go into the next meeting saying, "The fans are okay with using their imaginations. So, onto the next issue."

 

[xDreadnoughtx]

why are so many people online feel entitled to tell a company how they should do business? I never saw someone going to a McDonalds Manager and tell him if he would sell vegetables it would be much more profitable for him and he'd had a lot of more customers?

Err! Someone in marketing did some research. Customers told McDonalds to add a carrot sticks option. They did. Seems to work that.

Listening, that is.

I actually believe FD are much better than many companies at listening, but the moment this community feels that has genuinely stopped, this game is dead. Dodo dead.

Cheers

 

[Anopheles]

Err! Someone in marketing did some research. Customers told McDonalds to add a carrot sticks option. They did. Seems to work that.

Listening, that is.

I actually believe FD are much better than many companies at listening, but the moment this community feels that has genuinely stopped, this game is dead. Dodo dead.

Cheers

There is a similar story about Burger King and salads. People wanted salads at Burger King. Burger King brought in salads. Nobody bought the salads.

"But isn't what the people said they wanted?"

"The people lied."

 

[Archon]

We want stuff now, not make up things with our minds doing nothing but staring at a screen and mission for peanuts credits when ships cost millions and millions

This quote explains why some should move on to another game.

It should be a challenge to have a badass ship. I understand you want to kill old men like me, but combat is only a small part of the game, not the sole purpose. I fear not your blood lust; I simply enjoy a variety of game play options, plus a little combat.

Look how far people got between wipes. What are you going to do when you have a fully upgraded anaconda in a few months? Wait for Star Citizen I guess. (Not knocking it, as it looks great).

I really don't care if it doesn't appeal to the masses. I'd rather it be abandoned by FD and have someone figure out how to keep it playable offline than have FD make it appeal to the masses.

 

[CMDR WelshSossy]

I went through the entire grind, as I simply never realized there was a free Eagle stored for me somewhere... So basically I did what every new Player would - earn myself up from absolute scratch...

Anyway, I guess most of us Testers aren't exactly "New Players". We've flown our big ships, owned good equipment, had some good cash and were aiming for whatever was next on our list.
So starting off from 0 again affects us IMHO much more than an actual, new Player who's seeing all this for the very 1st time.

On the positive side, I think you'd have to agree - at least we know how to earn money pretty good, even when dropped into a strange system with nothing but a Sidewinder and 100Cr

A brand new Player will likely experience his 1st 24hrs different than that, not much unlike we did when we left station entrance for the 1st time.

(It's hard, manual work indeed - but it's even more gratifying when that pays off... IMHO one of the core strenghs of ELITE)

Good meeting you at Zodov last night, thanks for the Berylium .

 

[Lord Cochrane]

virtually no options to choose at start, to support the direcvtion you want to go? ( My Eagle is 144LY away)

I don't get this attitude that this kind of distance is horribly far, have you read the Mintaka thread the guy in that is already at the Orion Nebulae (and probably beyond now) 1300 LY from Sol.

Seriously stick a fuel scoop on your Sidewinder and travel to your Freagle. Let's say it takes you 20 system jumps to get there scan and explore every system you jump to down and assuming an average 5,000 credits per system you will get to your Freagle with an extra 100,000 credits and you should be able to do that in only a few hours.

 

[SirGirard]

I get it. Many of those on the forum get it. The fact that we get it, and the OP does not, or has not as yet, got it, does not mean things are all shiny.

The fact is, that if you want lots of new blood pumping round this ED universe, FD needs to make a real effort to make it speak to those who pick up this game at release.

As things stand, it will haemorrhage new players. That should not be something we applaud.

Let's hope the 16th brings all the things that are promised to breathe life into it for a whole new generation.

Just to repeat though, I totally love it, because I got elite 84 etc. Get it?

Cheers

PS - hate the galaxy map as it currently stands. Train wreck.

I like this reply. I GET ELITE! I played it to "Deadly" back in the 80's. I have played Beta for a few months.....so yes I GET IT! However today you can't just rely on an old story with good graphics and huge realistic galaxies to attract a large new player base! I have three game playing children (late teens, god I'm old) .........they all got bored! They do not like the lack of choice at the start and I want them to get hooked! If I tell them they just don't get it, they think I'm dumb!