Frontier Developments, this game needs a multi-jump feature!

[S3B4ST13N]

Guys you wantes to make this game a casual game :|

Exploration should be an experience, not something that is done automatically... Or simply don't explore and stay in the bubble.

I guess I have a different type of experience in mind.

I'd like to get to my destination, and either:

Go to the science lab to study the system, planet, or stellar phenomenon.

Spoiler

Go to the mess hall, interact with crew (both CMDR and NPC):

Spoiler

Or perhaps go to the bio-lab to study some alien plant life:

Spoiler

Point is; for some people, exploration involves a lot more than travelling from one place to another.
For some people, it's not the journey that matters; it's the destination.

 

[coca_fr]

Yea, but for that you would need space leg and a lot of graphics enhancement.

 

[S3B4ST13N]

Yea, but for that you would need space leg and a lot of graphics enhancement.

For what I want to do, yes I would; but that was an example of how two different people can have two different approaches to what they consider to be "exploration."
As my last line says; it's not the journey that matters; it's the destination.

Some people would really just like to get where they are going.

 

[Fray]

As my last line says; it's not the journey that matters; it's the destination.

Some people would really just like to get where they are going.

Maybe some people shouldn't play a game that includes optional travel across an entire galaxy? Don't like travel - stick to the Sol bubble. Not all games have to cater to all people, and Elite represents a rare kind of game that doesn't readily bow down to those with short attention spans. I see this as a distinquishing perk, not a drawback. It's not as if there aren't a thousand and one quick-fix games out there to play instead.

FDev haven't even implemented atmospheric worlds/flight yet, and you're worried about quasi mini-games as on-flight auto-pilot entertainment? It really is peculiar; in a game where you can travel over a thousand times the speed of light - and skip systems via higher dimensions - people still want more convenience and faster 'fast travel'. Long range travel should stay as it is. Well, no, it needs to be riskier, and more punishing of mistakes. The changes should be dedicated to things to find and see, not automation of travel.

...but hey, 2.4's apparently going to make close binaries/primaries a meaningless cinch, so maybe you'll get your way with effortless, disengaged gameplay in future updates.

Out of curiosity, care to offer suggestions on exactly how 'studying' system data, planets, stellar phenomena, or alien plant life (kinda need plantlife for that one... ) might translate to actual gameplay systems? Fancifully imagining 'doing things' on your ship is all well and good, and I love the idea as most do, but actually finding worthwhile mechanics and systems to bring any of that to partial life is a colossal undertaking, and one likely to frustrate, disappoint, or bore a great many people.

edit/

I notice your Exploration rank is Aimless; is that your only account, or just one of two or three?

 

[S3B4ST13N]

Maybe some people shouldn't play a game that includes optional travel across an entire galaxy?

Or maybe a game that caters for multiple play styles, so be consistent and allow players to play the way they'd prefer.
Whether someone is jumping one star at a time, or following an "auto-path" route that takes the same amount of time .. what difference does it make to you? Why is it any of your business how someone plays the game?
Do you apply the same logic to auto-docking? Because there's no difference as far as I can see.
Either a player is docking manually, or docking automatically .. the same end is achieved with neither CMDR inconvenienced in any way.

Don't like travel - stick to the Sol bubble.

Or not.
Some people do like travel, they just as I keep repeating .. prefer the destination to the journey. (Next I'm going to colour it, and make it 3 sizes bigger.)

Not all games have to cater to all people, and Elite represents a rare kind of game that doesn't readily bow down to those with short attention spans.

No, it seems to cater to people with a mind-set that naturally gravitates to simplistic, repetative tasks.

FDev haven't even implemented atmospheric worlds/flight yet, and you're worried about quasi mini-games as on-flight auto-pilot entertainment?

Who's worried? I just gave an example of how two people have completely different ideas of what they consider to be exploration.
Why do so many people on this forum not know what the word "example" means?

It really is peculiar; in a game where you can travel over a thousand times the speed of light - and skip systems via higher dimensions - people still want more convenience and faster 'fast travel'.

Not really peculiar.
1. Get to system.
2. Avoid sun.
3. Point in new direction.
4. Jump.
5. Repeat.
This is just really boring for many people.

Long range travel should stay as it is.

It's not changed; it's a request to make it automatic instead of manual. Same distance. Same time span needed. ( Unless OP wants it faster.. that I don't agree with ).

...but hey, 2.4's apparently going to make close binaries/primaries a meaningless cinch, so maybe you'll get your way with effortless, disengaged gameplay in future updates

Feel free to travel 100,000+ ls normally then. Something tells me you won't.

Out of curiosity, care to offer suggestions on exactly how 'studying' system data, planets, stellar phenomena, or alien plant life (kinda need plantlife for that one... ) might translate to actual gameplay systems? Fancifully imagining 'doing things' on your ship is all well and good, and I love the idea as most do, but actually finding worthwhile mechanics and systems to bring any of that to partial life is a colossal undertaking, and one likely to frustrate, disappoint, or bore a great many people.

There are plenty of threads on the topic; and I'd rather be playing ED than sitting here derailing a topic with my over-active imagination.

edit/
I notice your Exploration rank is Aimless; is that your only account, or just one of two or three?

Only account; did a Clear Save on Friday though.
I don't much bother with exploration if that's what you were going to pick at. Partly because I find the travel mechanic in this game tedious, but mostly it's because there's nothing out there to do beside take screenshots .. I managed I think about 5,000ly before I suicided back to the bubble. Jumping had already taken it's toll, but the fact there was nothing to do .. and everything looked the same .. urgh.

Edit: busy travelling 9000ls and I'm back on the forums.
Sorry, but this is not good development. You want your customers to keep using your product, not switch to something else whilst the game essentially just wastes time.

 

[Fray]

Or maybe a game that caters for multiple play styles, so be consistent and allow players to play the way they'd prefer.

It already does: don't like travel, stick to the bubble where the vast majority of the conventional gameplay is.

Whether someone is jumping one star at a time, or following an "auto-path" route that takes the same amount of time .. what difference does it make to you? Why is it any of your business how someone plays the game?

Because, as I mentioned before, it's a change that seeks to simplify and automate the entire game. I see that as a decidedly slippery slope. Making close binaries/primaries risk free is another example that's already going ahead.

Do you apply the same logic to auto-docking? Because there's no difference as far as I can see.
Either a player is docking manually, or docking automatically .. the same end is achieved with neither CMDR inconvenienced in any way.

Auto-docking is slower, for one, so the end result is not quite the same.

Penalise lazy daisychain jumping (being unable to fire the D-scanner, for example, meaning auto-jumpers would make no money traveling), and make the risks greater if a pilot doesn't step in quick enough, and sure, I wouldn't really have any issues with it, even though I'd still shun it.

Some people do like travel, they just as I keep repeating .. prefer the destination to the journey. (Next I'm going to colour it, and make it 3 sizes bigger.)

...yes, and your destinations can remain in the bubble, where everything's right at hand and no real effort or time has to be put into traversing that tiny region of space.

No, it seems to cater to people with a mind-set that naturally gravitates to simplistic, repetative tasks.

Ever taken a really long car/train/plane/boat/anything journey? Were you bored by the monotony? Great, then Elite's engagingly realistic...

Glib, perhaps, but apt. Traversing tens of thousands of light years should not be 'fun', or easy (at the moment it's far too easy, sadly). And as I said: what needs to change is what's out there, not how you get there, so the sacrifice is better rewarded.

Not really peculiar.
1. Get to system.
2. Avoid sun.
3. Point in new direction.
4. Jump.
5. Repeat.
This is just really boring for many people.

Twitch shooters are boring to me, and boring for many people. I do not play them. Problem solved. Maybe play something other than Elite?

Oh, and your 5 step program missed out refueling, pinging the D-scanner, and opening the system map to check for choice targets, before potentially approaching to DSS worlds. Y'know, one of the primary reasons of exploration being finding ELW's and the like? That's a fundamental reason many (or most?) pilots venture into the void.

After those other three steps, a few minutes or a few hours might be spent roaming surfaces, capturing the best views for posterity, and simply enjoying being so far out from settled space, looking up at stars and worlds perhaps no other player will ever encounter. Those moments are rewards in and of themselves.

I don't much bother with exploration if that's what you were going to pick at. Partly because I find the travel mechanic in this game tedious, but mostly it's because there's nothing out there to do beside take screenshots ..

I traveled to the core and then to Colonia and back and found plenty to occupy my weeks/months. Seeing the whole galaxy shift above and below me was a remarkable thing to behold across the whole journey.

...though starfields not rendering or rendering in pristine squares is horribly immersion breaking, so those moments weren't exactly highlights.

I managed I think about 5,000ly before I suicided back to the bubble. Jumping had already taken it's toll, but the fact there was nothing to do .. and everything looked the same .. urgh.

Suiciding after a just 5K? Jeese. Traveling far really isn't for you, evidently.

Kinda like how I'm not keen on combat. So I barely ever engage in combat. Problem solved.

 

[S3B4ST13N]

It already does: don't like travel, stick to the bubble where the vast majority of the conventional gameplay is.

No thanks. I'd like equal access to the entire game.

Because, as I mentioned before, it's a change that seeks to simplify and automate the entire game. I see that as a decidedly slippery slope. Making close binaries/primaries risk free is another example that's already going ahead.

It seems that I can argue that whilst you're trying to shoot down another players desire to make the game less of a time-sink grind, you're conveniently ignoring the fact that you find the game too easy and would like it harder .. so I can apply your own logic back at you. Play a different game that caters to your preferences. You won't .. why? Because as above, you'd likely want equal access to the entire game as much as I would.

Auto-docking is slower, for one, so the end result is not quite the same.

Penalise lazy daisychain jumping (being unable to fire the D-scanner, for example, meaning auto-jumpers would make no money traveling), and make the risks greater if a pilot doesn't step in quick enough, and sure, I wouldn't really have any issues with it, even though I'd still shun it.

I personally had no intention of making auto-money, nor did OP's post - so I'm not sure where you got the idea from that using an auto-path feature would somehow give the player using it an advantage over another. All it does is simulate the CMDR doing the same thing whilst traveling through space.

...yes, and your destinations can remain in the bubble, where everything's right at hand and no real effort or time has to be put into traversing that tiny region of space.

You need to stop assuming that because a player finds a mechanic boring then it means they are lazy. It's ignorant, and intellectually dishonest.

Ever taken a really long car/train/plane/boat/anything journey? Were you bored by the monotony? Great, then Elite's engagingly realistic...

No, because I always had something to do to relieve it. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to music.
What am I forced to do, is sit through the really long journey with no access to anything whilst being forced to make unnecessary adjustments to my journey every step of the way.

Traversing tens of thousands of light years should not be 'fun',

Why? Because you say so? Works out just fine in a plethora of other games, or movies, or books.

or easy (at the moment it's far too easy, sadly). And as I said: what needs to change is what's out there, not how you get there, so the sacrifice is better rewarded.

If there was actually something out there, I would actually go find it; but there isn't; I've never been a fan of a "needle in a haystack" hunt.

Twitch shooters are boring to me, and boring for many people. I do not play them. Problem solved. Maybe play something other than Elite?

No thanks. I enjoy Elite.
Although, I'll likely give Star Citizen a go since they've actually bothered to do their research first and struck a balance between scale and travelling distance... hell, even travelling between systems will have an in-game mechanic when first discovering, or rediscovering that jump point.

Oh, and your 5 step program missed out refueling, pinging the D-scanner, and opening the system map to check for choice targets, before potentially approaching to DSS worlds. Y'know, one of the primary reasons of exploration being finding ELW's and the like? That's a fundamental reason many (or most?) pilots venture into the void.

Yeah.. no. Finding an ELW doesn't interest me in the slightest. My preference for exploration lies elsewhere.

After those other three steps, a few minutes or a few hours might be spent roaming surfaces, capturing the best views for posterity, and simply enjoying being so far out from settled space, looking up at stars and worlds perhaps no other player will ever encounter. Those moments are rewards in and of themselves.

Got boring very quickly.

Suiciding after a just 5K? Jeese. Traveling far really isn't for you, evidently.

My several hundred hours of No Man's Sky, and 500+ hours of exploring Skyrim beg to differ.
I know what I like when it comes to exploration; Elite doesn't offer it yet; I put forth my suggestions so they can maybe implement similar features.
If they never do, then I'll simply leave.

But it's clear you don't have the desire to understand any of this.
So I'll just leave it there and unsub from this thread.

 

[Fray]

No thanks. I'd like equal access to the entire game.

So if I have any issues about combat, I can expect it to be tweaked to my convenience so I can have "equal access"?

...you're conveniently ignoring the fact that you find the game too easy and would like it harder .. so I can apply your own logic back at you. Play a different game that caters to your preferences. You won't .. why? Because as above, you'd likely want equal access to the entire game as much as I would.

Not quite: I won't play "a different game that caters" to my preferences, because there are literally none on Xbox. There is Elite as a first-person sci-fi quasi sim that models an entire galaxy and then--- ?

If you know of any others, feel free to point them out.

I personally had no intention of making auto-money, nor did OP's post - so I'm not sure where you got the idea from that using an auto-path feature would somehow give the player using it an advantage over another. All it does is simulate the CMDR doing the same thing whilst traveling through space.

I outlined it as a penalty for automated gameplay, as a trade-off; every commander bothering to pilot around a star can at least ping their D-scanner, and if it's an advanced scanner (surely everyone's always is these days) then they've gotten a few extra creds which invariably mount up over the hundreds (or thousands) of systems visited.

My point was that that shouldn't be abused, meaning you need to recover full control in order to ping the scanner.

You need to stop assuming that because a player finds a mechanic boring then it means they are lazy. It's ignorant, and intellectually dishonest.

I struggle to see how 'I can't do the bare mininum of engagement with the game I'm playing' isn't a tad lazy.

No, because I always had something to do to relieve it. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to music.

Huh, you can read books and watch films whilst driving a car? Neat trick...

Why? Because you say so? Works out just fine in a plethora of other games, or movies, or books.

I'm not quite sure why anyone would bring films or books into this. Elite still has simulation elements, and so it is more grounded (arf) and sober than other IP's. Wonderfully so, I'd say, because it distinguishes it.

If I wanted to play an arcade game, I--- well, I wouldn't. Which is why I'm playing Elite, where traversing tens of thousands of light years is as much a challenge to one's sanity as anything else... (at least when you're trying to get a move on)

Yeah.. no. Finding an ELW doesn't interest me in the slightest. My preference for exploration lies elsewhere.

Which, again, just makes me think you're playing the wrong game. In actual exploration of the galaxy, nothing would be more valuable than a new Earth, and Elite unsurprisingly reflects that.

My several hundred hours of No Man's Sky, and 500+ hours of exploring Skyrim beg to differ.

Two extraordinarily different games, so not exactly great comparisons (particularly the latter, given how small Skyrim's landmass is and that is a rather casual open-world A/RPG).

But it's clear you don't have the desire to understand any of this.

Perhaps I have the desire to enjoy Elite for what it is, as opposed to want to ultimately strip away some of the elements that make it unique. Who knows, in time both of us may end up dissatisfied enough to leave it for good. On console, at least, there are no other options to seek out, so it'll be a trickier proposition for me. I reckon I'll be engaged with it, on and off, until the lights go out on FDev's galaxy.