Ok, so someone's just posted that ED could do with some 'End Game'. I realise that a lot of you don't like the phrase, or indeed the concept, BUT I can see what they were getting at; Elite needs something other than the Buy Ship > Earn Credits > Buy Ship cycle.... something bigger... something more long-term. Something that could potentially take years to achieve. So, I put it to you, if you were a Frontier Dev and had to add something that was a layer above the 'Buy Ship' cycle, what would it be?
Game Over Man!
- Thread starter martinwright6
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i think that is that the background sim is for. when it's fully working i expect to see players flipping systems over left right and centre.
To eventually be able to leave this galaxy and travel to another one where one could possibly own one's own planet or space dock.
Being a sandbox game, doing whatever you want for however long you want, is what the game is (and should be). I've always disliked linear games where you're lead by the hand through missions to "get to the end"...and then the game is over. Instead of asking the Devs to change their game to have some kind of ending, just create your own goal. Once you achieve it, make up a new goal...or clear your save and start from scratch, or go play a different game. You will get a feeling of accomplishment and will have played the game for longer than most "get to the end" games.
Hey, I'm not looking to see what the Devs are planning for future updates 
I'm asking *you* what you'd add.
I'm asking *you* what you'd add.
This really. Elite isn't a game with a traditional gamey arc which you can beat. Its a world to do your stuff in. Whatever that stuff might be.
Granted, its still limited but it'll grow in time
What goals though? The universe is shallow, so are the tools at your disposal. There are no long-term goals to set for yourself really, other than endlessly grind money for the sake of it, or exploration.
Good luck with that
Anyway, perhaps I shouldn't have used the term 'End Game'; I mentioned it as it prompted my thought process on what could be added to give Elite something more meaningful/substantial beyond the 'Ship Cycle'; it doesn't have to be in the form of typical linear games.
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I didn't say it had to be something you buy
I agree community goals will be that thing, but it would be nice to have something driven by developers. Like a common goal, that after exploring x% systems in a galaxy total by all players the new race is discovered and introduced in to a game. And progress to achive this goal should be possible to track. I don't know what trading or combat goals should be.
Also, more things to buy with credits, not only ships and upgrades. Again no idea what it should be. Buying an outpost is not an option with thousands of players.
Also, more things to buy with credits, not only ships and upgrades. Again no idea what it should be. Buying an outpost is not an option with thousands of players.
Get a certain ship, kitted out with top-grade modules
Become Allied with Federation, Alliance and Empire
Become Allied with the owning factions of stations within a certain radius of your "home system"
Amass total wealth of x credits or have x number of ships
Change the influence of your favorite faction in a system (with new updates coming should be able to do more and have more change available)
Just use a little imagination and go do something. No need for a game to HAVE to lead you by the hand to some "end". If you feel the game is just a "grind for money and ships", then you might be approaching it the wrong way.
'End game' for me would be to have a nice ship with multiple rooms and crew, cruise through deep space, land on planets and try to find the most beautiful spots noone ever saw before. But both the devs and I have work to do to get there.
So there are 5 goals to set for yourself, two of which involve just grinding credits for the sake of it, and 3 of them relying on the inconsequential reputation and influence mechanics.
That does sound very limited in scope and not really something thrilling to do, especially considering how boring the process of gaining reputation is, thanks to bad mission design.
And it's not even like for example in EVE, where you can set yourself goals within the context of the MP meta, considering there is no such meta, thanks to limited scope of the MP experience and the ludicrous P2P architecture.
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Did you read my post?
I didn't say the game needed an 'end'. I asked people what they'd add to Elite to give it something above the 'Ship Buying' cycle (and I like some of your suggestions by the way, but they're already in the game aren't they?).
The point of a sandbox is that each "End" just leads to a new beginning. Currently, my Endgame is finding a Earth-like planet. After 3 days of searching, I still haven't found one - been close a few times but no paydirt yet. As soon as I do that, I'll go to something else. Probably down to the Empire for the first time and try to build some influence there.
We need generation ships, so your descendants can finish the game.