Forum noob: ED is perfect, yet I don't play

[Deleted member 38366]

If Combat is your focus, having more than one Ship will greatly spice things up.

Plus, who says a Ship can't be fitted with Insanity loadouts?
Remembering the Viper, I had great fun running around with 4 Railguns or stuff like that. Crazy stuff can be done if you're willing & ready to try uncommon things
Or trying to fit 5 Plasma Accelerators into the FdL... *lol* then finding out the A-Grade Power Distributor of course can't handle firing all of them at once. Would have been epic - but nice heat spike from the 4x C2 nonetheless.

Heck, I've taken my Type-9 into a Player-populated High Intensity Conflict Zone - witnessed my ~3 Minutes of glory and made it out with 11% Hull and a blown Canopy
(turns out having an all-Turret loadout on Fire at Will wasn't the best idea *g*)

Of course, grouping up with or against other Players will greatly change things.
IMHO if you're creative, you'll find ways to break monotony and repetition and experience new stuff.

PS.
The one big issue obviously remains : you need Credits to do & risk all these things. No way around that, but great fun can be had even with cheap/small Ships.
Just recently some guys found out it's apparently extremely annoying for evil Gankers in very powerful ships... if they are interdicted non-stop by cheap Sidewinders or Eagles. They harassed the hell out of these guys

 

[Herik]

The game is really still in its very early stages. Its little more than a collection of very basic activities which soon get rather dull once you have done them a few times. It needs something deeper. A story arc, personalisation, ability to write your own story, some humanity and soul.

Also its too large and sparse. It needs better co-ordination of players to encourage people to congregate in areas. The only time I have really enjoyed playing this game are when I was doing a community goal. In themselves they are pretty dull actually but its the way they pull together the players. Otherwise the game is all a bit dead.

Another less tangible reason is that, for me, a game set wholly in space will always feel a bit 'alien'. It was the same with the other games like Frontier - I really enjoyed visiting the planets because they felt more real, more accommodating. Space is after all just a vacuum - its a dead area on the whole. I dont know how to explain it but I have never felt very immersed playing a game wholly in space. I guess as a planet dweller it never felt comfortable - its a wholly alien environment. Its something I cant relate to I guess.

I will feel more interested in the game when the full planet landings come in. But that will be a year away yet.

I know what your saying nats about the space/planet reasoning, but I also think (at least during) these developing stages the multiplayer sort of jammed into a Solo playing game is also part of the problem; the need for Instancing which breaks the immersion I like, etc... And it could have been less of a problem with-out a P2P environment.

At any rate there are some marvelous new games made with old "PG" tech brought up to date, being built; And don't get me wrong; this game has huge possibilities, but I'm not a person who will lock himself into only one game, -the future looks bright.

 

[Pendra]

you are a tiny, tiny influence within a vast socio-politico-economico-military entity

Yeah that is what powerplay is about. Also, it is fun to be the tiny influence who can wipe out trillions of credits worth of hardware in CZ or RES in an hour and still not make a difference. Damn things keep spawning up.

CGs. I hate them. Very artificial. Participated in two. Trucking in one, killing truckers in the other. Both were quite meh. The human element added some spirit to it but it was still 95% boredom and 5% good fun.

 

[TaoZero5]

Check out this thread to see some of that 'added value' that players with enthusiasm bring to the game -
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=195192

 

[Ozram]

Are you serious? I mean... really?

What you are saying is simply pushing numbers. Open your eyes and see beyond that, look at the mechanics. Don´t tell me there are an abundance of gameplay because there are 30000 factions.

Now I know why this game is so casual...

The fact you ignored something like 90% of what I wrote and came up with the answer to some straw man argument I never posed in the first place kind of proves my point. Learn to read. It makes everything in life more interesting. This is no different here.

 

[Ignition]

Are you determined to not enjoy yourself? When you listen to a story, or go to a play, or see a film, you will get much more enjoyment from it by allowing yourself the 'willing suspension of disbelief'.

If you "Open your eyes and see beyond that, look at the mechanics." - then you miss that you are a tiny, tiny influence within a vast socio-politico-economico-military entity, and that you could work, with others, to push up the price of Banananas and, maybe, one day, collectively, form your own Bananana Republic.

Its not about the tiny influence, I dont want to be the hero!, I want a game with complexity where I need to PLAY the game and not simply using 2 buttons, I want a game where the enviroment changes and by that Im not talking about celestial bodies.
I want surprises. The game is static and soulless. The design of the mechanics are really bad, and Im not talking about the background simulation, Im talking about the actual gameplay, the pew pew, trading, mining, exploration, is too simple.

You are talking about pushing numbers. I dont care about numbers, that comes later.
Can you tell me the difference between a war zone from another? aside from the names of the factions. The war zones are like fish tanks, but they lack life and dynamism, there are no goals just simply shoot another ship until you dont for an unlimited amount of time.
Trading, mining and exploration are 1 button activities, I cant find whats so attractive about them.
If I want to push numbers to form a banana republic there are a LOT of better games out there for that, for example X3 and EVE Online.

 

[DefiledDragon]

It's GTA without story mode, that's the "problem". It's a vast, open universe with nothing but side missions and a simple reward system for the same activities when performed outside of the side missions. Some people love the freedom of the open world and the ability to forge your own "story", but most people don't and while the production values and the sheer wow factor keep you dazzled for a time, once the novelty wears off you can find yourself craving purpose. Personally, I'm an ex pirate turned bounty hunter. My only real goal, aside from ridding the universe of filthy privateers, is to eventually own every ship in the game, because I'm a bit OCD like that. I did stop playing for a few months, partly due to boredom but mostly due to issues with my graphics card, for which I seem to have found a workaround. I'm playing again at the moment and have enjoyed it, although once Fallout 4 releases I will be consumed by that for a number of weeks, but I'm sure I'll come back to ED and enjoy it again.

I don't have an "answer" for you and while I hate to say this, aside from the luxurious presentation, maybe this just isn't your kind of game.

 

[aRtFuL]

OP: I don't think this game is for you.

I agree. OP if you don't love space enough to keep you playing or coming back to this game from time to time, I think you probably don't love spaceflight enough to start with (might be you only like the RPG aspect of it, which is not really what this game is about even from the start of the series).

As a person who is interested in space there is a quite an attraction for me to keep coming back, regardless of goals.

I think games like ED, No Man's Sky, etc is about designed for people to fulfill the fantasies of space travel, because it is probably not going to happen in reality within our lifetime (or even several lifetimes after that, definitely not in the sense that individuals can fly a spaceship like the sail a private yacht or fishing boat in the ocean).

 

[Pendra]

As a person interested in everything space, KSP is a lot better at simulating space. Rouge System looks way over the top.
ED flight mechanics are just a little better than Descent Freespace. It is full arcade.
If ED is any indication of how space travel feels and works, I don't want to go to space anymore.

 

[TaoZero5]

As a person interested in everything space, KSP is a lot better at simulating space. Rouge System looks way over the top.
ED flight mechanics are just a little better than Descent Freespace. It is full arcade.
If ED is any indication of how space travel feels and works, I don't want to go to space anymore.

Try OrbiterSim with the DGIV (Delta Glider 4)
E : D FTL is a whole other kind of space travel.

 

[Tanith Low]

.
...There is this feeling of meaninglessness within this vast game environment that is actually so rich...

are you familiar with the total perspective vortex?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSnJl7B_TVs

 

[Cmdr Frawd Digger]

Welcome to the club! Same issues here
I tell you what is missing: the game has no SOUL.

No purpose. You do things for the sake of doing things. No one needs anything in the galaxy. Nothing has any effect on anything. No persistence. No economy. No life. No immersion. It is a 2D cardboard cutout.
This was fun in 1984. But time went on. FD failed to learn anything from the Privateer (immersion) and the X (economy) series. Nowadays, ED is too little too late. Heck, even Frontier and FE had more soul then this chrome zombie.

I stopped playing it a long time ago. If I don't use my imagination, the game is dull and boring. If I use my imagination, the game is crazy restrictive.

Hi Pendra,

Just wondering why guys like you stick around in the forums? If there was a game I didn't like I sure wouldn't be hanging out reading the forums of said games.

Frawd

 

[Wayfarer]

Wow this has become a large topic.

A response to all the "role play" / "make your own goals" kinds of comments: Yes. That is all well and true. But maybe I'd rather not have to invent a reason to do something. Maybe I'd like the game to present it for me at least a little bit, because I can't think for myself

EDIT: I'm not wanting to be the hero and save the galaxy or anything. Just.....I dunno, maybe more... substance? I dunno. It's hard to define, but I know that it's kinda lacking something. Oh well. I'll still play anyway and probably have fun with it, despite that "issue", and the Horizons-cost issue I'm currently brooding over.

 

[JeffRyan]

Wow this has become a large topic.

A response to all the "role play" / "make your own goals" kinds of comments: Yes. That is all well and true. But maybe I'd rather not have to invent a reason to do something. Maybe I'd like the game to present it for me at least a little bit, because I can't think for myself

EDIT: I'm not wanting to be the hero and save the galaxy or anything. Just.....I dunno, maybe more... substance? I dunno. It's hard to define, but I know that it's kinda lacking something. Oh well. I'll still play anyway and probably have fun with it, despite that "issue", and the Horizons-cost issue I'm currently brooding over.

The game provides opportunities, you have to take them. It's not 'that' sort of game.

 

[sp0q]

Just recently some guys found out it's apparently extremely annoying for evil Gankers in very powerful ships... if they are interdicted non-stop by cheap Sidewinders or Eagles. They harassed the hell out of these guys

Oh. my. god. this could be my mission : O

 

[Cmdr_Prussian]

First off, this is a true sandbox game, there's little things here and there for you to DO, but there's no one to tell you what you HAVE to do next, there's no path to attain the highest level or the best gear or a title, although you can do some of those things, there is no set path for them. That is what a sandbox world is actually, people aren't used to that however, they are used to WoW or BF or CoD where everything is scripted out and directed totally by the game designers so you don't have to think or imagine anything, just go kill 10 more snakes or take another capture point. I play some of those types of games still, they can be fun as hell, but the lack of freedom is something I notice.

I definitely didn't recognize those exploration trips as lasting several weeks but you guys seem to be actively looking for that.

Also, don't mistake me for a casual gamer- some answered that I might be the guy whos following quests or the obvious goal in games, that is not the case. I played a lot of games, most of them indy/hardcore/whatever you wanna call it. The problem is not that the game doesnt give me something to do and I am so used to the call of duties of this world that I cannot have fun on my own in a sandbox.

And yes, this IS a sandbox. A very beautiful one with a great shape, it is very large and the sand is shiny. It is so inviting that you immediately feel at home; but then you start playing and you realize that you have no tools other than a toothbrush to shape the sand, and that the sand is not at all sticky. every shape you try to form immediately falls apart, and you miss the tools to do shapes of proper size, so building a sand castle is impossible.


BUT the ships and immersion are pretty spot on. I don't play for achievements, I don't play to win. I play mostly for immersion. I play with Logitech G940 HOTAS+Throttle plus TrackIR. IMHO they got all the assets now to create a really great space sim. They just need to go ahead and do it.
Filling the existing world with content should be their goal - not expanding the universe at this point imho.

 

[Cmdr Wullfen]

TC I point you toward this thread of like minded commanders who shrugged off the grind mentality and made the disconnect of elite from other games

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=195127&page=4&p=3010579#post3010579

When I first started in that little sidewinder I thought of it as my characters graduation, no one tells you what to do, where to go, it's all about what you wanna do. No arcs no linearity, no hand holding all freedom.

Unfortunately this type of thing isn't everyone's cup of fujin tea. The game was created to fill a hole that was inside so many.

It's 1984, with a much much higher bit rate.

And I love it.

 

[Stiffmaister]

What this game is missing in one word? Epicness...After playng games like Epic, X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, Darklght Conflict I think what we miss is a truly epic action. Fly with a wing of friend to attack or defend a convoy with a VIP in an Orca...or storm a base (like the assets we can see in CQC) where firends in big ships should eliminate the enemy defenses while little ships sneaks through the tunnels destroyin' generators...these are only few examples but these would be very funny and incentives to play besides your self-marked objectives.

 

[Jukelo]

I agree. OP if you don't love space enough to keep you playing or coming back to this game from time to time, I think you probably don't love spaceflight enough to start with (might be you only like the RPG aspect of it, which is not really what this game is about even from the start of the series).

Can we stop with these answers making stupid assumptions? WHy do you think people are here for, if not for their love of space? Now if it were just about space and space travel, there are better solutions than ED out there. Space engine is much better at being a galaxy simulator, Orbiter and KSP are better at simulating space travel.
People play (or want to play) ED because it's a game. Unfortunately, although it's a very decent galaxy simulator, as a game it's quite underwhelming. Just because you absolutely love space doesn't mean you can't be critical of the gameplay aspect of a game.

 

[Sammi79]

OP I am the same. I got about 40ish hrs and an A class Viper. Started to grind to get an Asp, but just don't feel like playing very much anymore at all.

ED flight mechanics are just a little better than Descent Freespace. It is full arcade.
If ED is any indication of how space travel feels and works, I don't want to go to space anymore.

This for me is it in a nutshell. ED is a glorious arcade game, and quite a bit of fun for a short time.

For me I cannot effectively suspend my disbelief with a great many things and my immersion is severely compromised.

The static frame weirdness with the speed limits. The absence of gravity. The glowing laser beams. The lack of character death, or any serious consequences for ship destruction. The fact that the HUD is allegedly projected inside my helmet yet when the canopy breaks it disappears - then reappears in SC. The long pauses at the end of SC. The short distances to the target at the end of SC. The homogenous protocols for the bulletin board - why can't I haggle for more money, get more info, demand half payment upfront etc. The compromises to everything based on always online MP even when playing Solo.

It looks and feels like a fairly generic console game to me, and I always wanted more of a simulation in all respects. Don't get me wrong, I knew what it was about and I can understand FDs need to maximise profits by appealing to the widest possible audience, I can feel some innovation and a lot of work has gone in behind the scenes as it were, the presentation is fantastic and the majority of people seem very happy. I have already pre-ordered Horizons as I do support the project, and bought a couple skin packs - but that's £100 spent for essentially what feels to me less like a native PC title and more like a console port. Horizons will bring me back for a while though I don't expect too much, and I can't imagine what appeal any subsequent expansion might have for me.

Maybe in another 30 years we can have Frontier II Elite V ?