Gameplay Summary

[Elmakai]

So, first of all, hello to all here at the forums. I'm hoping that I can get some clarification from some of the people here who have been in the beta/alpha.

So I'm really interested in the game, but at the same time hesitant. The reason of the reluctance is I'm having a hard time finding info on what genre the game most similarly emulates. I've watched hours of video gameplay at this point, but people seem to focus on certain specifics about the game (such as mechanics, graphics, etc.), as opposed to overall feel.

I guess what I as asking is what games would you compare this one to? And I'm not really talking about the space sim aspect, more of how open it is. There are two extremes that I can imagine, and one is complete linearity where everything is laid out and planned for you, and the other would be no direction whatsoever and you have to just figure it out as you go. Where on the spectrum would you put the game? I'm guessing closer to the latter, but how much so?

So would you compare it to The Elder Scrolls series in terms of openness? There does not seem to be much story driven content, so games like Mass Effect don't seem appropriate. Maybe Firefall? Guild Wars 2?

 

[HDRhineland]

Welcome to the forums!

There are two extremes that I can imagine, and one is complete linearity where everything is laid out and planned for you, and the other would be no direction whatsoever and you have to just figure it out as you go. Where on the spectrum would you put the game? I'm guessing closer to the latter, but how much so?

Very much so, at least at the moment. I am sure things will change over time, but right now everything you do depends on... well... what you do.

So would you compare it to The Elder Scrolls series in terms of openness? There does not seem to be much story driven content, so games like Mass Effect don't seem appropriate. Maybe Firefall? Guild Wars 2?

What is 'openess' for you? The size of a game in terms of possibilities? Or the fact that you are not guided whatsoever and have to decide on your own what you want to do and what you don't? At least the games you mentioned didn't come to my mind when I first played Elite...

 

[Dr Zachary Smith]

hmm

I guess the story driven content could be the missions you can undertake from the various stations but I've never actually done one as they don't pay very much, hard to really find a genre for this game tbh I've played almost 9k hrs and I'm still wondering myself hehehe, it seems to be whatever you want to do with it, like a sandbox.
You can be a nice simple trader, or you can hunt other players that have bounties on them, you can become a pirate or scavenger, or just be a pure barsteward and kill people for no reason because you like it...like a serial killer,or a mix of everything I suspect all players will be at one time or another It is going to be a monumepic game when it's finished but as it's beta it can be a bit hit and miss, travelling distance is a bit of a grind but then again it's space and space is big

I can't really compare it to any other game except for an old game called "Elite" on steroids, comparing it to the X games I suppose because of the trading aspect but then again Eve has trading but it's nothing like Eve either, it is it's own game tbh.

 

[Tar Stone]

Welcome to the forum.

You may get several different answers here, as it's possible for everyone to have a unique experience and come away with different positives/negatives.

On your linearity scale, it's all the way to the non-linear side, with a few caveats:

- There are missions you can pick up from stations, varying from deliveries to (eventually) assassinations and things that tie into the background lore.

- Everything you do feeds back into the background galaxy simulation. Trading affects prices, exploring produces information on remote systems that can be made available to other players etc, picking a side in a battle will affect Empire/Federation influence in that area etc.

- There is a background story, how that develops over time remains to be seen but players will have an influence no matter how small.

- You can ignore all of this and just do your own thing.

- The simplest task like getting some cargo from A to B can be a routine task or completely fraught with danger.


I loved the original so I'm right at home with it. I love my flight sims and this is giving me the same satisfaction of flying. There isn't anything out there you will have played like this, other than the original Elite or its sequels, or Oolite.

It's very open, and rewards your own imagination and effort.

 

[Commander Debic]

Later you will be able to land on planets and experience exploration games and possibly go hunting trips or discovery trips, possibly ruins.

Space exploration and discovery of systems, wrecks, planets, minerals are all slated for future expansion.

Missions at this time tend to be just placeholders at the moment and I am sure they will become more worthwhile and interesting as time goes on, possibly even dynamically changing also.

ED is unlike other games it doesn't really have a predefined goal its more of a simulator of space exploration with game elements built in.

I guess what I am trying to explain is you can pretty much do what you want where you want when you want, as long as you work within the games mechanics.

The games mechanics also allow you pretty much the freedom to choose your style of play when interacting with other players and/or NPC's.:smilie:

 

[MajorEpeen]

There will be a limited amount of structure coming from missions and more importantly tiered mission chains which will add to your reputation with your chosen faction. Also you have structure in the sense of the profession that you are currently undertaking, although you are not limited to any one of them.

The game is VERY open ended. Some people have an issue with this and will see this as having nothing to do and having no goals. I personally see it as having an unlimited amount of choice.

You are the content of the game and you make your own story. This is a true open sandbox and I love it. People in other games often talk of endgame but here you set your own goals whether that is achieving elite status, becoming super rich, obtaining a reputation as the best in your chosen profession, owning every ship in the game or gaining the highest possible reputation with the faction of your choice.

This game is what we want it to be and what we make of it and for that reason I love it. it has been so long since a true sandbox game has really captured my heart in this way.

 

[kwik]

I would compare it to elite / frontier elite II / frontier first encounters

 

[DeepFried]

its basically a sandbox, i.e. the world exists and you can do things in that world, some of which will influence it in a small way, but essentially there is no main story or narrative for you to follow. its sort of like skyrim with the main story and questlines taken out and with a lot less "quest" content. currently there are "one and done" type jobs you can take on, like deliver x to y, or kill x of y, but thats as involved as it gets, at the moment at least.

essentially, its sandbox with no end goal and no win state, you just around and set your own objectives.

 

[Krait_79]

It's difficult to describe Elite as you can't really pin it down to a single genre. All you need to know is the finished product is going to be epic!

 

[Krow]

I'll probably get burned at the stake for saying this but apart from the original Elite games, I would liken the current beta gameplay to a game called Freelancer.

However this is a very loose comparison.
While both games have both job boards, mission, factions, markets and politics, Elite is already a far superior game to Freelancer on so many fronts, and this is only the beta stage..

It is very much an open world game, and that world intends to be massive.

 

[Ttaskmaster]

I'll probably get burned at the stake for saying this but apart from the original Elite games, I would liken the current beta gameplay to a game called Freelancer.

^ Having played FL for several years on end, I'd say that's fairly accurate.

 

[Elmakai]

Great info! I really appreciate it. These replies pretty much confirms what I expected. For some people, I can see why this is an issue of I feeling there is not much to do when in reality there is so much to do. As far as the "quests" you can pick up at space stations, is there enough of them so that way players of other MMOs would not feel lost?

At this point, I have a few friends that are interested but are not used to the vast open gameplay.

 

[Sysmon]

Great info! I really appreciate it. These replies pretty much confirms what I expected. For some people, I can see why this is an issue of I feeling there is not much to do when in reality there is so much to do. As far as the "quests" you can pick up at space stations, is there enough of them so that way players of other MMOs would not feel lost?

At this point, I have a few friends that are interested but are not used to the vast open gameplay.

A few issues here. You mention MMOs, and the ones you listed are in essence theme parks, with the ESO probably the least so? I'm not sure, didn't like it, kinda think the series lost it after Daggerfall.

In the Elite games, you carve out your own niche, find your own game. Traditionally that has been you against the world, and this time the world is huge. Supposedly it will span the entire galaxy although you will never be able to explore it all. Now there will be other players as well, so expect the game world to be influenced by players but not at all controlled by them (so unlike EVE, for example).

The previous games were largely procedurally generated with a variety of generic missions and events you could encounter, and a story line or two buried somewhere beneath that you may never stumble upon, or you might get right into it.

The new game is also largely procedurally generated, but events will occur and there will likely be story lines as well. There will be missions for different factions, granting you reputation that will grant you access to equipment/upgrades and ranks. There will be factions that may not like your ranking with other factions.

You can explore, pirate, extract resources, trade, run passengers, courier missions, military stuff for factions, smuggle, etc. The game is yours.

So the game will be Massive, gameworld wise. It will be Multiplayer, although handled in smallish groups over p2p. It will be Online.

But it will not be an MMO.

S

 

[DeepFried]

Great info! I really appreciate it. These replies pretty much confirms what I expected. For some people, I can see why this is an issue of I feeling there is not much to do when in reality there is so much to do. As far as the "quests" you can pick up at space stations, is there enough of them so that way players of other MMOs would not feel lost?

At this point, I have a few friends that are interested but are not used to the vast open gameplay.

Currently (and we are still in beta and not feature complete) the jobs you can get from space stations are less involving than even the most basic mmo quests. Its simply go from A to B, some times you need to deliver a package at B, sometimes its cargo, or sometimes its kill X feds or whatever. And thats it, its just those same quests over and over.

Anyone comming into Elite expecting anying even remotely like an MMO will be disapointed, because its not an MMO, period. There is some dynamic instancing to put some players in an area together randomly. Froma multiplayer perspective its closer to darksouls than an MMO.

bear in mind my description here is of the beta in the current state, not the final game.