How to perpetuate relevance in Elite: Dangerous - 2 simple steps

[Vindris]

1 - Unending Maximization - Ships can be upgraded indefinitely, though upgrades will continue to become smaller and more expensive as you become more powerful.

2 - Quality and Incentivized PvP - Actions between players are always random, unqiue, and exhilarating. There is no greater and unending challenge than to overcome other players. Direct competition against other players should be more incentivized than anything else in the game, in my humble opinion.

I can't tell you how long I would play this game if those 2 factors were implemented effectively. It would very likely be the only game that I would play for several years. I would like to think that a large majority of players here could agree with me on this.

Fellow Commanders, what are your thoughts? How can we flesh these ideas out? Do you think these factors would add or detract from Elite: Dangerous?

 

[IronGremlin]

I think your first suggestion is already a design goal, and the existing content indicates to me that this is currently implemented effectively and lacking only in scope, and not philosophy - A rating even small ships is quite expensive and makes a huge difference.

If we ever get the ability to customize modules or find more variety in modules, as has been hinted at a few times by Dev, we'll be shaping up nicely.


I'm primarily a solo player, but I have no bones about encouraging PVP, but some degree of hesitation about implementing it effectively without breaking the 4th wall.

I'd like to see things like, bounties from minor factions being consolidated into a major faction or just pilot's federation bounty after 7 days, so that CMDR bounties are more worth cashing in on.

Relatedly, I'd like the ability to try to encourage matching instances quietly on specific commanders so that BH could hunt player targets - and to have that ability restricted to a bounty threshold so that it couldn't be used for griefing a particular commander.


What I don't want is stuff like commander specific combat areas, as this feels cheeseball and breaks immersion, although it would be good to have ways of encouraging player conflict that weren't restricted to piracy and bounty hunting. Powerplay does this to a point, but not very gracefully.

 

[Kazacy]

1 - Unending Maximization - Ships can be upgraded indefinitely, though upgrades will continue to become smaller and more expensive as you become more powerful.

2 - Quality and Incentivized PvP - Actions between players are always random, unqiue, and exhilarating. There is no greater and unending challenge than to overcome other players. Direct competition against other players should be more incentivized than anything else in the game, in my humble opinion.

I can't tell you how long I would play this game if those 2 factors were implemented effectively. It would very likely be the only game that I would play for several years. I would like to think that a large majority of players here could agree with me on this.

Fellow Commanders, what are your thoughts? How can we flesh these ideas out? Do you think these factors would add or detract from Elite: Dangerous?

My 2 eurocents:
1 - if ships can be upgraded indefinitely a young pilot cannot compete with an older commander.
2 - see point 1 pvp will be "let's hunt noobs" because we already grind some leet ships, no thanks

 

[technophebe]

My 2 eurocents:
1 - if ships can be upgraded indefinitely a young pilot cannot compete with an older commander.
2 - see point 1 pvp will be "let's hunt noobs" because we already grind some leet ships, no thanks

Which means that Elite will be in good company with Eve and in fact any other online game with open world PVP. Welcome to the club!

 

[Kazacy]

Which means that Elite will be in good company with Eve and in fact any other online game with open world PVP. Welcome to the club!

I am not so sure; in EVE for example a noob with a frigate, can take down a veteran with the same frigate. After some skill level and a good fit, only the pilot himself can make the difference. Same here in ED, but even better because the skills in the equation is your personal skills.

 

[Robert Maynard]

1 - Unending Maximization - Ships can be upgraded indefinitely, though upgrades will continue to become smaller and more expensive as you become more powerful.

2 - Quality and Incentivized PvP - Actions between players are always random, unqiue, and exhilarating. There is no greater and unending challenge than to overcome other players. Direct competition against other players should be more incentivized than anything else in the game, in my humble opinion.

I can't tell you how long I would play this game if those 2 factors were implemented effectively. It would very likely be the only game that I would play for several years. I would like to think that a large majority of players here could agree with me on this.

Fellow Commanders, what are your thoughts? How can we flesh these ideas out? Do you think these factors would add or detract from Elite: Dangerous?

The Close Quarter Combat game module will be released later in the year, first on XBox One then on PC/Mac later than that. This will be totally PvP oriented.

 

[Chann3l]

1 - Unending Maximization - Ships can be upgraded indefinitely, though upgrades will continue to become smaller and more expensive as you become more powerful.

2 - Quality and Incentivized PvP - Actions between players are always random, unqiue, and exhilarating. There is no greater and unending challenge than to overcome other players. Direct competition against other players should be more incentivized than anything else in the game, in my humble opinion.

I can't tell you how long I would play this game if those 2 factors were implemented effectively. It would very likely be the only game that I would play for several years. I would like to think that a large majority of players here could agree with me on this.

Fellow Commanders, what are your thoughts? How can we flesh these ideas out? Do you think these factors would add or detract from Elite: Dangerous?

I think continual upgrades would be good to a point, so long as it doesn't change the pros and cons of running a certain ship. For example, Viper has better shields than a cobra but needs more power management. So to continue upgrades you would need to be able to upgrade the power plant beyond the current max, which would then allow commanders to run their ship with fully A grade equipment from the current selection which is something that can't be done right now. Also there are class limitations which seem to be based entirely on the size of the ship, does it make sense that a viper could have a class 5 Shield generator for example? not when the vulture is running a class 5 shield as the maximum. It would have to be done by creating a new level of quality and performance within the existing class limits beyond an "A" rating. I'm sure they could do it though.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

The Close Quarter Combat game module will be released later in the year, first on XBox One then on PC/Mac later than that. This will be totally PvP oriented.

And, *that* is OK with me.

Now, if some programming resources could be diverted back to the real game...

 

[Chann3l]

The Close Quarter Combat game module will be released later in the year, first on XBox One then on PC/Mac later than that. This will be totally PvP oriented.

While cqc may be a fun add on I don't think that is what the OP is looking for. That won't have the same risk/reward you would get from PvP in the open world and is probably a step backwards as far as what the OP is looking for. The risk of having to rebuy when going after a playear bounty won't exist there. I haven't paid attention to galnet so I don't know if this exists but it would be cool of they had a most wanted list and reported on criminal players. Like "be on the look out for commander x, last seen in x system, wanted by the system authority for piracy and murder".

 

[Robert Maynard]

While cqc may be a fun add on I don't think that is what the OP is looking for. That won't have the same risk/reward you would get from PvP in the open world and is probably a step backwards as far as what the OP is looking for. The risk of having to rebuy when going after a playear bounty won't exist there. I haven't paid attention to galnet so I don't know if this exists but it would be cool of they had a most wanted list and reported on criminal players. Like "be on the look out for commander x, last seen in x system, wanted by the system authority for piracy and murder".

Not everyone plays the game for PvP - even in Open....

 

[Vindris]

The Close Quarter Combat game module will be released later in the year, first on XBox One then on PC/Mac later than that. This will be totally PvP oriented.

I'm very leery about this CQC stuff. It sounds like it's going to be entirely apart from the actual game itself. I want to be able to use my own ship that I have earned to do some lucrative PvP activities in the open world. Arena is neat and all... I'm just not sure about the way Frontier is implementing it, and I'm sure it's not the answer many players are looking for.

 

[Flavourless]

Both the OPs concepts move E: D away from its original philosophy, which for me is a backward step.
In Elite there was no PvP, and very limited upgrade potential (and only one flyable ship), but the gameplay was more engrossing despite (maybe because) of this.

I played the original game way longer than I ever will this one, especially the way that the post release development has gone.

 

[Chann3l]

Not everyone plays the game for PvP - even in Open....

I get that, I'm just trying to put out ideas for what the OP is looking for. I mean regardless of whether people want that In open or not, cqc isn't going to stop the players that actively engage in PvP in open from doing so anyway so it makes sense to at least give more of a purpose to it and maybe it will prevent indiscriminate killing without purpose, or greifing as people call it.

 

[Herik]

I think your first suggestion is already a design goal, and the existing content indicates to me that this is currently implemented effectively and lacking only in scope, and not philosophy - A rating even small ships is quite expensive and makes a huge difference.

If we ever get the ability to customize modules or find more variety in modules, as has been hinted at a few times by Dev, we'll be shaping up nicely.


I'm primarily a solo player, but I have no bones about encouraging PVP, but some degree of hesitation about implementing it effectively without breaking the 4th wall.

I'd like to see things like, bounties from minor factions being consolidated into a major faction or just pilot's federation bounty after 7 days, so that CMDR bounties are more worth cashing in on.

Relatedly, I'd like the ability to try to encourage matching instances quietly on specific commanders so that BH could hunt player targets - and to have that ability restricted to a bounty threshold so that it couldn't be used for griefing a particular commander.


What I don't want is stuff like commander specific combat areas, as this feels cheeseball and breaks immersion, although it would be good to have ways of encouraging player conflict that weren't restricted to piracy and bounty hunting. Powerplay does this to a point, but not very gracefully.

Hmm, I agree I'm a Solo/group player, but I also could see quietly making certain agreeing Cmdr's available through matchmaking; not sure how this could be implemented keeping immersion. Simply using the 'group' modes?

 

[IronGremlin]

Hmm, I agree I'm a Solo/group player, but I also could see quietly making certain agreeing Cmdr's available through matchmaking; not sure how this could be implemented keeping immersion. Simply using the 'group' modes?

I envisioned an alert like to top ten bounties being clickable, and allowing you to put your hat in the ring as a BH looking to claim the bounty.

Like your accepting a mission to go kill that guy, and now your chances of being matched in open play are much higher.