I love ED, but this "storyline" is infuriating

[DefiledDragon]

This isn't only about the alien encounter, but also about everything that has led up to it. I know that ED is meant to make you feel like a nobody in the galaxy, but making the story line unfold in a series of news articles which are about as interesting as real world news, is not my idea of a good story line, or even a story line whatsoever.

This, compounded by the fact that taking part in solving the "mystery" requires advanced knowledge in cryptography and audio engineering, is what really infuriates me. The chance that I will ever experience anything I'm not expecting in this game is pretty well zero. I've been playing for 2 years now, and absolutely nothing has happened to me so far that I wasn't expecting. The fun is fully reserved for the people who understand and can actually contribute to the mystery, (which is a very, very small group of people) or the people who just stumble across it by dumb luck, (which is also a very very small group of people).

This alien encounter didn't excite me in the least, it was fully expected to happen sometime soon, and I don't care to go experience it myself, because I've already seen what happens in the video. If your answer to that is "don't watch the video" that's kind of hard when there's a big blue announcement on the forums, news about it in the newsletter, and on the BBC. Plus if I ignored everything out of game, I would never know it happened. What are the chances I'd be flying in the right region of space with a UA in my hold to get to experience this first hand? I kind of view this whole story line mystery like CQC, a separate game that just expands the lore, but doesn't really add content to the core game.

All of this has been said before, but with every new "event" that happens, I get a little more angry about it.

A side effect of the shared universe I'm afraid. If it were a single player game then everybody would experience the moment of first contact in their own, unique way. Because of the nature of ED and Galnet/The Forums, once one player experiences something, everybody hears about it, thus meaning that you can never feel like you've made "first contact" because, well, you haven't, somebody else did.

The contempt with which the game treats it's players is not accidental. It's by design. The game hates you, that's just the way it is.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I have been moaning about ED a lot of late too so dont think i am not to blame as well but, i cant help feel FD cant do right for doing wrong in some folks eyes

 

[Besensec]

I really liked how the whole scene was designed (sounds and visuals), but the main reason most CMDRs are excited is because there is nothing else to look forward to. Between delayed updates (2.2.03 was supposed to be released after Christmas, beta has been running for a month), mediocre newsletters, absent dev. diaries, and almost absolutely no news that would impact the player experience (the PS4 release is not changing my game at all), the only event that breaks the grindy routine of ED is this scripted encounter, that repeats over and over (and now it became so frequent it has nothing special to it, becoming dull). It was so embarrassingly lazy from FD to make just one encounter, instead of making a few versions for it with some minor differences. Like the alien ship appearing from different angles, or leaving the scene towards another direction, and so on. On top of all, the first encounter was bugged, and the whole immersion was broken by another bugged NPC.

 

[babelfisch]

I really liked how the whole scene was designed (sounds and visuals), but the main reason most CMDRs are excited is because there is nothing else to look forward to. Between delayed updates (2.2.03 was supposed to be released after Christmas, beta has been running for a month), mediocre newsletters, absent dev. diaries, and almost absolutely no news that would impact the player experience (the PS4 release is not changing my game at all), the only event that breaks the grindy routine of ED is this scripted encounter, that repeats over and over (and now it became so frequent it has nothing special to it, becoming dull). It was so embarrassingly lazy from FD to make just one encounter, instead of making a few versions for it with some minor differences. Like the alien ship appearing from different angles, or leaving the scene towards another direction, and so on. On top of all, the first encounter was bugged, and the whole immersion was broken by another bugged NPC.

FDEV should feel ashamed for not satisfying random internet dude #3503.

PS
There was no 2.2.03 delay.

 

[WeirdWizard]

Yeah I agree.

It feels like the "story" is only there for those that can spend hours dedicated to it, and even then just a single person really gets to experience "the moment" and everyone else gets the surprise spoilt by the forums/reddit/whatever.

In FFE, everyone got to experience and enjoy the game. In ED, unless you are "the one" that discovers it or part of the cabal that spends hours pouring over this then it feels to me like you're ignored by Micheal Brooks et al, and you get to experience nothing apart from excessively long hyperspace jumps so they can insert a cut-scene for those that are "involved".

Frankly the things I've seen "discovered" would have been REALLY great for me on my own to get drawn into and discover on myself - it would have been a really satisfying and intriguing game. Instead I just hear about other people getting that fun and satisfaction while I am left with scraps.

For me, this really sucks. Real disappointment as I was a HUGE fan of Frontier and FFE.

Yeah, right from the outset Frontier seems to have set a clear expectation that you will play the game a lot or miss out. This is in part due to sacrifices made to make Elite and online game, but they've really gone overboard in that area, requiring far greater commitment than most online games...

 

[Besensec]

FDEV should feel ashamed for not satisfying random internet dude #3503.

PS
There was no 2.2.03 delay.

Why the sarcasm? why do people get offended when somebody criticize the game? I would have appreciated more a counter argument, since FD is becoming famous for being silent and slow.

PD
Was 2.2.03 released? I never noticed, and I haven't found any announcement.

 

[ArchEmperor]

Me me me me me me me..... its us, not me. We do this together. It is a community experience. We are all friends and part of this glorious achievement in human history.

But I do see the OP's point of view. Maybe some random bubble encounters would gratify that persons need to feel important.

Importance is important. FD could think about that too, im sure. But maybe that was not important right now...

 

[Xaevryn]

This game has a storyline? Coulda fooled me. I mean sure events happen but I never would have called that a "story" considering how insignificant, disconnected, and disjointed those events are.

 

[Enderby]

Me me me me me me me..... its us, not me. We do this together. It is a community experience. We are all friends and part of this glorious achievement in human history.

Huh? Nah.

 

[ArchEmperor]

Huh? Nah.

As describing as: Hah! Yah!!!

 

[GluttonyFang]

I think if anything, how ED makes me not feel like a "protagonist" is what I like about it.

Every other game tells you you're this "chosen one." That you're somehow special or everything depends on you, etc. It's way too cliche and overrated.

I like feeling insignificant and building my reputation from nothing instead of everyone being this "hero" from the start.

 

[Enderby]

I think if anything, how ED makes me not feel like a "protagonist" is what I like about it.

Every other game tells you you're this "chosen one." That you're somehow special or everything depends on you, etc. It's way too cliche and overrated.

I like feeling insignificant and building my reputation from nothing instead of everyone being this "hero" from the start.

Yes, indeed. But there is a difference between not being the centre of things and just not having much story.

 

[GluttonyFang]

Yes, indeed. But there is a difference between not being the centre of things and just not having much story.

True, I get the concern how some believe there is too little story progression and relevance to central gameplay. But I feel like the story is very much a voluntary event, if you want to get involved, you can. But the story isn't pandering to a wide audience nor is it trying to sell itself to everyone to keep everyone on the same page.

I appreciate that about being immersed in a universe, can't say the same for everyone else, though.

 

[ArchEmperor]

Yes, indeed. But there is a difference between not being the centre of things and just not having much story.

Problem can be solved if FD hire some really good writers. But then it is mostly reading anyway.....

 

[CAPT. Ho Chi Minge]

Personally i dont care about being the hero or villain in game as in life there is a grey area , good people do bad things etc etc...

My main issue is with the player urgency and feeling connect to the game world. Im at 4wks and 6 days played and ive learned more about the game, story and lore from 3rd party sites and forums more than i ever would while playing the game. Galnet is good but seriously needs tarting up a bit (audio with text2speech) a bit more lore thrown around (passenger visitor beacons helped with this). I spend all my time sat in a cockpit but feel so disconnected from the ship, it needs more interactivity from the systems and a serious overhaul. Hopefully some of these changes will be seen when multicrew drops as there has to be something for the poor souls to do in between plotting courses or manning a turret.

 

[Enderby]

True, I get the concern how some believe there is too little story progression and relevance to central gameplay. But I feel like the story is very much a voluntary event, if you want to get involved, you can. But the story isn't pandering to a wide audience nor is it trying to sell itself to everyone to keep everyone on the same page.

I appreciate that about being immersed in a universe, can't say the same for everyone else, though.

Well put, old chap.

 

[shadragon]

All of this has been said before, but with every new "event" that happens, I get a little more angry about it.

Sorry to hear a video game is upsetting you so badly. Uninstalling may be a good solution.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

The contempt with which the game treats it's players is not accidental. It's by design. The game hates you, that's just the way it is.

Adding to sig.

 

[Mengy]

This alien encounter didn't excite me in the least, it was fully expected to happen sometime soon, and I don't care to go experience it myself, because I've already seen what happens in the video.

While I think the alien encounter was awesome to watch and was very well done by Frontier, I have to admit that I wish it was not a scripted fixed "cutscene" event but more of a random encounter with AI and a bit more of a dynamic nature.

For example, wouldn't it be cool if during the encounter:

- the pattern of it wasn't precisely scripted but more AI driven, with the alien coming and leaving from random directions
- if the player managed to open fire on the retreating alien then the alien turns around and destroys the player!
- if the player managed to fire off an ADS honk the ship would pause, turn around, and respond with more "honks" of it's own, creating a "Close Encounters" type of scenario

Just something a bit more interactive and interesting to explore with and try various things, rather than just a static cutscene. That would be fun.

 

[Tarman]

True, I get the concern how some believe there is too little story progression and relevance to central gameplay. But I feel like the story is very much a voluntary event, if you want to get involved, you can. But the story isn't pandering to a wide audience nor is it trying to sell itself to everyone to keep everyone on the same page.

I appreciate that about being immersed in a universe, can't say the same for everyone else, though.

This is an approach I appreciate, and seems to be an underpinning of Elite gameplay. In other games I play side content until I'm forced back into the storyline or mod the game. I use the STALKER mod Call of Chernobyl because it removes the storyline and lets you just exist in the combined map area of the three games as a member of one of the game factions.

For me, Elite is the same vibe of existing in a (more or less >__> ) consistent universe of which I am not the centre, where I don't have to bother that I've let some close ally be trapped in imminent threat of death for days on end because I'm manipulating quest completion mechanics to allow me time to re-jig an entire inventory for the special bossfitan encounter. You know those game moments: Companion - "Help I'm trapped in this poison-filled room!" You - "Hang on! As long as I personally don't touch this button, you'll be able to survive this poison indefinitely. Don't ask how I know. I'll be back for you as soon as I get back to basecamp and fit my good heavy armour and rebreather, plus a new weapon; unless I get sidetracked by random encounter loot gathering and forget about you for a while!"

I like that events are occurring in the galaxy at large even if I'm not always a part of them; it adds a low-level believability imo. It also makes events I do participate in feel more worthwhile as for me it's a choice to dial in to the galaxy's events at my discretion or sometimes being the right place at the right time (looking at you, my iFleet with no rank), rather than the reverse view of feeling like I'm always missing out on something because I can't be everywhere at once. A dynamic universe imo should have plenty of things you'll never see personally; as long as SOME section of the playerbase can access any given event and that doesn't always end up being the same demographics I find the buzz and speculation about events galaxy-wide of which I have not experienced to be atmospheric. All we really need for myself in this regard is for that buzz to be represented with more ingame communication tools.