IF....
... Frontier fixes the bugs and minor design flaws in the current game.
I honestly believe most of the bugs and broken features in the game are due to Frontier rushing to meet deadlines that in hindsight were unrealistic for their development team. Sometimes the best thing for software is a "feature freeze", during which time the focus is on fixing the features we already have, and Elite Dangerous 3.3 has a LOT of features. I can be kept entertained by the current game for months to come if and when the bugs are fixed. Examples include:
I could go on and on about broken AI, stuttering framerate in supercruise, crashes that risk bricking PS4s, etc ad nauseam, but the point is simple -
Mr. Braben, tear down these bugs!
If Elite Dangerous 3.3 is the game you are going to be selling for the next two years, then you need to fix everything in the current game, otherwise your customers new and old won't trust whatever you try to sell us in 2020. Me personally, I think you have an amazing game already, buried under these bugs, and I think there is enough here to keep me busy until the "new era" (which I'm actually very excited about), but please Frontier, don't neglect the present by putting all your energies into the future, otherwise nobody will be around when the future gets here. Fix the bugs, tweak the glaring mistakes in design, add some very simple QoL improvements, and I think you'll find that most of us will still be here in 2020.
... Frontier fixes the bugs and minor design flaws in the current game.
I honestly believe most of the bugs and broken features in the game are due to Frontier rushing to meet deadlines that in hindsight were unrealistic for their development team. Sometimes the best thing for software is a "feature freeze", during which time the focus is on fixing the features we already have, and Elite Dangerous 3.3 has a LOT of features. I can be kept entertained by the current game for months to come if and when the bugs are fixed. Examples include:
I have yet to visit most of the in-game assets like generation ships and INRA bases because the graphics shaders on PS4 are terribly broken. Take the time to fix these shaders (they looked great when the game first released), and I will enjoy visiting these places, perhaps as part of a "tourist group" of other players.
I recently become more interested in the BGS and playing to both strengthen some factions while weakening others, but needless to say the BGS has been broken lately. Fix this (and perhaps enhance it and make it more accessible to noobs like me), and I will enjoy the deeper strategy game hidden in Elite Dangerous.
I absolutely love the new exploration tools, but there's lots of bugs with things like POI resolve time, statistics not showing, etc. There are also design flaws in the way the "error" messages cover up important details, etc. The various modes are still clunky and could use some attention, and the new lighting system really needs some adjustment. There are also some new QoL additions that would be easy-peasy to add, like the FSS spectrometer on our main HUD, and heck, give those poor souls who miss the ADS the ability to install one in their exploration ships as an optional, separate, module. Make it a Guardian Module that requires a little work if you think ADS is too overpowered for regular outfitting.
I recently become more interested in the BGS and playing to both strengthen some factions while weakening others, but needless to say the BGS has been broken lately. Fix this (and perhaps enhance it and make it more accessible to noobs like me), and I will enjoy the deeper strategy game hidden in Elite Dangerous.
I absolutely love the new exploration tools, but there's lots of bugs with things like POI resolve time, statistics not showing, etc. There are also design flaws in the way the "error" messages cover up important details, etc. The various modes are still clunky and could use some attention, and the new lighting system really needs some adjustment. There are also some new QoL additions that would be easy-peasy to add, like the FSS spectrometer on our main HUD, and heck, give those poor souls who miss the ADS the ability to install one in their exploration ships as an optional, separate, module. Make it a Guardian Module that requires a little work if you think ADS is too overpowered for regular outfitting.
I could go on and on about broken AI, stuttering framerate in supercruise, crashes that risk bricking PS4s, etc ad nauseam, but the point is simple -
Mr. Braben, tear down these bugs!
If Elite Dangerous 3.3 is the game you are going to be selling for the next two years, then you need to fix everything in the current game, otherwise your customers new and old won't trust whatever you try to sell us in 2020. Me personally, I think you have an amazing game already, buried under these bugs, and I think there is enough here to keep me busy until the "new era" (which I'm actually very excited about), but please Frontier, don't neglect the present by putting all your energies into the future, otherwise nobody will be around when the future gets here. Fix the bugs, tweak the glaring mistakes in design, add some very simple QoL improvements, and I think you'll find that most of us will still be here in 2020.
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