I'm a Casual Player: What Elite Needs to Draw and Keep Us

It's more like 9000 concurrent players, not everyone plays on Steam. Anyway, the reason ED is (and will remain) successful is because it caters to a niche audience. There are a few million casual players, but there are also several thousand competing casual games, ED isn't one of them.

PS

This doesn't mean casual gamers shouldn't play ED, the definitions aren't exclusive.

I would imagine most players would have steam unless they are still stuck in the 90's. I gather the OP thinks the game only caters for a niche and thats where its problem is long term as if it doesn't cater to a wider audience it won't survive.

I suppose this will be determined by how well they keep their niche players (who are all on here shouting the op down lol) and what the expectations of the developers are. If the game gets dumbered down you will know they are looking for some AAA type money..

Ive had a number of buddies quit this game. Here is how their journey goes:

They start out amazed at how real flying the ship feels. Amazed at how cool the galaxy is. Amazed at how fun combat is.

Then then they say, 'how can i get money for a better ship'? Then they review their options and take part exploring their money making choice. They quickly get bored with the pointlessness of it and explore a different choice.

Then they ask if i can give them money or trade them a ship. I say, 'id love too but its prohibited by the game'. They bang around for a few more days thrn quit.

You cant trade with people? How immersion breaking.

Every update is just another PVE Grind fest.

Where is this sandbox?

I must admit this is what has happened with most of the players I know, the game is not for everyone..
 
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Its also a game, a game has to be fun.
I respectfully disagree. Games don't have to be fun. They can be challenging and rewarding instead. Most people would probably say that a game of chess isn't fun, but lots of people play it nonetheless.

ED is a galaxy-sized sandbox simulation and is primarily about flying a spaceship. I find that to be enjoyable and I do have fun at times, but for me, it's not about fun; it's about challenge and exploration.

I would imagine most players would have steam...
...the game is not for everyone..

Yes, I have Steam, but never use it to launch ED. What's the point, since Steam just launches the FD launcher (or it did a couple of years ago, the last time I did that).

This game is definitely not for everyone and I appreciate that FD is not trying to dumb it down. My best friend doesn't understand what I see in ED, but he's more of a pew-pew instant-gratification type. That's OK, there are plenty of other games which offer that.
 
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I respectfully disagree. Games don't have to be fun. They can be challenging and rewarding instead. Most people would probably say that a game of chess isn't fun, but lots of people play it nonetheless.

ED is a galaxy-sized sandbox simulation and is primarily about flying a spaceship. I find that to be enjoyable and I do have fun at times, but for me, it's not about fun; it's about challenge and exploration.



Yes, I have Steam, but never use it to launch ED. What's the point, since Steam just launches the FD launcher (or it did a couple of years ago, the last time I did that).

This game is definitely not for everyone and I appreciate that FD is not trying to dumb it down. My best friend doesn't understand what I see in ED, but he's more of a pew-pew instant-gratification type. That's OK, there are plenty of other games which offer that.


Where do you get that "flying a spaceship"? because "flying a spaceship" for me is like this http://imagespaceinc.com/rogsys/.

Also, where do you get challenge and exploration? Pressing a button to Honk is not a challenge nor exploration. If you call facing a dot several minutes in Supercruise to "scan" (lol they call it scan) a planet exploration or a challenge..., well I think we have the standards really different.

This forums show me something very clear, for some people very little is enough. How cool is that?, you can charge 60USD, give them a wooden stick and they will make a whole mysterious story from it.

Also, FD can't dumb the game more, its already at the bottom.
 
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Time certainly will tell.
I've bought in as far as this season because engineers is mandatory if you don't want repeated visits to the rebuy screen.
I don't think FDEV will be getting another dollar from me in the future for this game, or any game for that matter. It's really starting to leave a sour taste the way they introduce one time wasting mechanic after another.
The only reason there hasn't been a mass exodus is because this is basically the only game in town that can satisfy the "space pew-pew" itch for those of us that have it. NMS was a complete bust and I don't expect Star Citizen will be much better if it ever sees the light of day. If anyone ever makes a true successor to games like x-wing, wing commander and freespace I would uninstall this poor excuse for a skinner box tomorrow.
 
Yet, here is Elite. One thousand years in the future. One THOUSAND. And no internet. No web. I have to fly around, HOPING to find the thing I WANT to buy

You have a few valid points along with various invalid ones, but the above one is technically faulty:

There is no means to facilitate any stellar internet due to the fact that you are limited with the speed radio waves propagate. and that is at light speed. so, to send data packets to a star 8 lightyears away, you would have to wait 8 years, and then another 8 years for the return if you are expecting anything back. all the stuff ranging from signal strength requiring massive devices to do that to interference sources which could not be handled with existing technology to boot.

an internet as you speak would not be possible even 1000 years into the future with our technology or the technology elite world seems to have.

and the moment you open the box of inter-dimensional technologies - like warp gates, wormholes, is the moment you enter a totally different world for these are not in elite's universe.

............

some kind of communication in between stars to ferry most used information, like an information service by data couriers jumping among the stars and delivering packets could happen. it already exists to a degree.

but a lot of things are kept outside that loop to effect gameplay choices it seems.

...........

engineering is indeed a problem - in a universe with trillions of credits flying around, very important materials are not available to be bought from the market or through very expensive intermediaries.

so it doesnt matter if you amassed a few hundred million credits - you just have to go and grind materials because, well, game design, thats why.

it would be ok if it didnt break in game realism so much.
 
You have a few valid points along with various invalid ones, but the above one is technically faulty:

There is no means to facilitate any stellar internet due to the fact that you are limited with the speed radio waves propagate. and that is at light speed. so, to send data packets to a star 8 lightyears away, you would have to wait 8 years, and then another 8 years for the return if you are expecting anything back. all the stuff ranging from signal strength requiring massive devices to do that to interference sources which could not be handled with existing technology to boot.

an internet as you speak would not be possible even 1000 years into the future with our technology or the technology elite world seems to have.

and the moment you open the box of inter-dimensional technologies - like warp gates, wormholes, is the moment you enter a totally different world for these are not in elite's universe.

............

some kind of communication in between stars to ferry most used information, like an information service by data couriers jumping among the stars and delivering packets could happen. it already exists to a degree.

but a lot of things are kept outside that loop to effect gameplay choices it seems.

Sorry, but there certainly is instantaneous interstellar communication in this game. We are not told precisely how it works (antitachyon harmonic oscillation? I'm sure someone could come up with some convincing science-fictiony technobabble), but it is a system that does not rely on courier ships physically transporting data packets. Examples:

- If you're carrying cargo for a mission and flying through even a completely uninhabited system enroute to your destination, you can get a redirection/pirate warning message sent to your inbox from the NPC that gave you the mission. Instantly.

- If you know your friend's precise antitachyon harmonic oscillator frequency (ie you have made them a "friend" in-game), you can talk to them, wherever they are in the galaxy. Instantly.

If there is instantaneous communication of some kind - any kind, even if the comms rate is really slow, like 1 byte per second - then a pan-galactic hypernet is entirely plausible.
 
I'm new to this game and haven't played a ton yet, but I still see how this gaming is going to be and already becoming boring.

The most important thing for ANY game in my opinion is the mechanics of the game. If the game feels fun to play then it won't become a grind. I usually play FPS games and the most important thing to me when playing those types of games is how does it feel? Are the mechanics of the game pleasing? Then grinding really isn't an issue.

I like flying and combat in this game. Its fun and satisfying, however traveling far distances is not. It just isn't... watching a loading screen, and that's really what it is even though its well hidden, is boring.

Hardcore vs Casual player. There's really no need for debate. This game and any game can cater to both very easily. I think its just a matter of long term and short term goals. Have goals that require you to travel the galaxy and others that can be done within a system. That's really the problem I see. The game insist you travel to different systems to do missions and guess what they look almost the same. I want more depth within the systems. I don't want to travel to other systems if they look the same.

There needs to be a lot more explanation of how the mechanics of this game works. I basically have to look up every aspect of this game while playing. That's not depth. It's just annoying and honestly a waste of time. The thing that comes to mind is playing guitar. You can teach yourself guitar, but why do it the hard way? Take some lessons and learn everything in a fraction of the time. That's how I am at least. If you don't want lessons or tutorials that's fine, but simply don't use those resources if you like finding your "own way".

Another thing I've noticed so far is text being used for primary communication. Half the time after collecting bounties I look at what ships were saying and like wow I missed a lot. I don't pay attention to text while flying. I need a voice to talk to me to get my attention. The little voice acting that's in this game is great, but its not much.
 
Sorry, but there certainly is instantaneous interstellar communication in this game. We are not told precisely how it works (antitachyon harmonic oscillation? I'm sure someone could come up with some convincing science-fictiony technobabble), but it is a system that does not rely on courier ships physically transporting data packets. Examples:

- If you're carrying cargo for a mission and flying through even a completely uninhabited system enroute to your destination, you can get a redirection/pirate warning message sent to your inbox from the NPC that gave you the mission. Instantly.

you can receive reliably acceptable and fast communication inside a system. at the speed of light. from the local affiliates of that faction.

inter-system, however, is a totally different story.

- If you know your friend's precise antitachyon harmonic oscillator frequency (ie you have made them a "friend" in-game), you can talk to them, wherever they are in the galaxy. Instantly.

that's a gameplay necessity. i dont consider such things a huge violation of in game realism.

antitachyon harmonic oscillation

as i said, the moment you open that box, is the moment you obsolete all kinds of technologies in the game. from there not being gravity-devices to create gravity in ships to even ship engines and weapons.
 
I'm a casual player, been playing since alpha. Although I don't agree with the OP tone in getting his point across there are nuggets I agree with.

I don't know that there is a solution to a lot of his points much of what hes talking about is now part of the core game....powerplay is conpletely anti-casual for instance. The alien search also is something id like to do but i dont have the time and frankly its so high brow it puts me right off.

But improvement to market load times would be a help that everyone could agree with casual or not.
 
I'm a casual player and I found it really difficult to relate to a lot of your post. There is some stuff in there but it's obscured by way too much waffle.

The game could use adjustments to improve the experience for new players, casual players and veterans alike. But a lot of your suggestions aren't something I think the game needs and I'm happy it isn't designed that way.

I recommend you make your suggestions much more succinct and to the point, perhaps spend less time repeating the reasons you hate the game and spend more suggesting how it'd be better without saying it should literally be rewritten from the ground up.
 
Ooh OP want simple mode, just short of the big red I win button.

I do not. I think I would prefer a game with some challenges, something that will waste my time to I improve at that aspect. I quite like the clock being used to add tension.

Think I would prefer ED did not cater for the casauls at all, Eve seems to do OK so I am not convinced ED needs to appeal to the casauls as much.

In fact this forum and the recent the recent threads about payouts have convinced me we have too many casauls. Could do with some moving on. Great game, terrible community, thank goodness for private so I do not have to put up with people like the OP in open.

Simon
 
You guys need to stop acting like these opinions are invalid. They are not. And the frequency in which many of these same frustrations and concerns are articulated should be a sign to you that there is a lot of work to be done. The game has pacing, framing, and design issues that are burning people out and turning them off on a regular basis.

The game is a time grind (negative) instead of a skill grind (positive). That is to say, the game rewards having a lot of time to play rather than the improvement of your skills and understanding of mechanics. Adding more time to doing things doesn't make the game harder or tougher; it makes it more tedious. The game becomes bass fishing. And yet a vocal part of the community seems to want more time added, as if attempting to escape some issues in real life. The rest of us would prefer instead to simply have our time respected.

I recently did a play test a few hours long building up mats for Engineer stuff. I found my play breakdown was 78% traveling/waiting and 24% actually playing. In my opinion the game is too much about the traveling and too little about the destination (and the action at said destination). It's just burning away lifetime for no apparent reason.

Point is even if you don't agree with every bullet point, you need to do more empathizing and understanding what these people are trying to say and why they're saying it. Most do not want an instant win button. Most do not want to be able to fly Anacondas in a week. Most DO want compelling, emergent gameplay that allows us to fill most of our time with excitement and action rather than spending most of our time in Supercruise or otherwise waiting. Waiting to get somewhere, waiting for a ship to spawn, waiting for RNG mat to appear, waiting for mission boards to refresh.

And this is before even addressing the issues with missions at their core, the issues with variety, the generic presentation, devoid of any life or feeling. The feeling that things you do matter. Agency. I could go on but I won't. You guys need to stop pretending that the perspective of new players somehow doesn't matter. It does. Sometimes we can be in too deep and can lose critical perspective, only to look up and wonder what went wrong. When lots of people in lots of places say the same thing, it's time to do soul-searching, not blanket disregarding.
 
I think a couple of you have hit the nail on the head. Travel times are ridiculous. I made the trip to and from the galactic center just to say I could. And you know what? It was terrible. Possibly the single most tedius thing I've ever done in a video game.

The way I did it was by watching Netflix on my second monitor the vast majority of the time. I did some sight seeing, got some cool screenshots, scanned a whole bunch of worlds in an effort to entertain myself. I marveled at the amazing game engine.

But now I don't play anymore. I paid for beta access before the game was even out, because I love space games, and in a way, I still wish elite dangerous could be as good as I think it could be.

At the very least, travel times in the bubble should be dramatically reduced, add a hypergate network or something. I am just tired of the constant association of increased travel times with gameplay.

Just my two cents
 
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You guys need to stop acting like these opinions are invalid. They are not. And the frequency in which many of these same frustrations and concerns are articulated should be a sign to you that there is a lot of work to be done. The game has pacing, framing, and design issues that are burning people out and turning them off on a regular basis.

The game is a time grind (negative) instead of a skill grind (positive). That is to say, the game rewards having a lot of time to play rather than the improvement of your skills and understanding of mechanics. Adding more time to doing things doesn't make the game harder or tougher; it makes it more tedious. The game becomes bass fishing. And yet a vocal part of the community seems to want more time added, as if attempting to escape some issues in real life. The rest of us would prefer instead to simply have our time respected.

I recently did a play test a few hours long building up mats for Engineer stuff. I found my play breakdown was 78% traveling/waiting and 24% actually playing. In my opinion the game is too much about the traveling and too little about the destination (and the action at said destination). It's just burning away lifetime for no apparent reason.

Point is even if you don't agree with every bullet point, you need to do more empathizing and understanding what these people are trying to say and why they're saying it. Most do not want an instant win button. Most do not want to be able to fly Anacondas in a week. Most DO want compelling, emergent gameplay that allows us to fill most of our time with excitement and action rather than spending most of our time in Supercruise or otherwise waiting. Waiting to get somewhere, waiting for a ship to spawn, waiting for RNG mat to appear, waiting for mission boards to refresh.

And this is before even addressing the issues with missions at their core, the issues with variety, the generic presentation, devoid of any life or feeling. The feeling that things you do matter. Agency. I could go on but I won't. You guys need to stop pretending that the perspective of new players somehow doesn't matter. It does. Sometimes we can be in too deep and can lose critical perspective, only to look up and wonder what went wrong. When lots of people in lots of places say the same thing, it's time to do soul-searching, not blanket disregarding.

The thing is, I can agree with you and disagree with the op at the same time. I've almost reached the end of upgrading my combat ship (everything I wanted to upgrade has been upgraded, I just need to make some alterations to my decisions, like rapid fire pulse instead of overcharged, a couple of heavy duty shield boosters instead of all resistance augmented).

I am a casual player who doesn't get much time to play each week but I did enjoy the process mostly. I feel a sense of accomplishment and the rewards were well worth the effort.

That isn't to say I have no feedback. There are a few issues that I have with it and I think it could be improved a lot. But not in the way the op says.

Excluding the RNG mission system, this game's core is robust enough to be fun and the changes needed aren't wholesale. More content, more meaningful game play (like you said) and some QoL stuff. But changing engineers to let us just buy everything?

No thanks. And never going to happen. The tedious part of engineers for me was the naff requirement to buy commodities before every upgrade and the other main issue is the severe disparity between unlock requirements (Marco Qwent and Lori Jameson stand out here). The rest of it was fun and the requirements are all well worth it.

Feedback is important. But so is challenging that feedback.
 
I agree 100% with Blackcompany. Nothing much to say. And it's sad to see people enjoying the boring side of Elite. It's like a SM club or something, enjoying the pain. A game must be fun, not a job, and sometimes, Elite feels that way for my friends and me. Even if we try to do something different each time. Now, you can tell me to go to hell fanboys. I don't care. Fly safe.
 
-Long Grinds: Boring. Waste of time. I would find your game more enjoyable and less tedious, and would play it more, if there were more multirole ships at affordable prices, that could actually hold their own against enemies. Alas, all of those ships require an enormous grind just to make the game convenient to play. If I wanted that, I'd play a tablet game. Make multirole ships less (and frankly, all ships) less costly. The grind isn't fun; it puts me off playing, as opposed to retaining me.

-Forced Combat: the number one reason I play Euro/American truck sim instead of Elite.

Pirates in your galaxy aren't pirates. They are rampaging psychotics. None of them want to negotiate. They all just want to kill me. Period.

And they want to kill me, over a few mats. Or cargo that isn't worth the effort, if I have any at all.

Knock it off. Pirates should be pirates, not crappy RPG random bandits in space. They should be discerning, intelligent, and fairly rare.

Furthermore, the magically spawning, psychic pirates who auto interdicted me e wry single mission...6 times per run...that HAS to stop, if you want to keep players like me. It's not fun, it's not fair (as in, these enemies don't use the game logic or rules). It's pure frustration.

Agreed. NPCs are too simplistic.

-Right now, in the 21st century, I can go online to shop. For clothes. Cars. Anything. And manufacturers will direct me to places where I can buy the goods I want. They will even offer sales and discounts. Because they WANT my business.

Yet, here is Elite. One thousand years in the future. One THOUSAND. And no internet. No web. I have to fly around, HOPING to find the thing I WANT to buy.

It's frankly stupid. No other word for it. Sorry folks. I should be able to check markets in near real time, right in game. But you won't let me. Because your (badly misguided) lead developer is stuck in a tablet game, free to play mindset, and thinks that inflating the time it takes to do things in game, will keep me, and others like me, playing longer.

Trouble is, us casual gamers...we aren't hand held addicts. We are people with diverse interests who also like to fly space ships on a somewhat regular basis. Artificially inflating the time it takes to do things in games, will inflate nothing except the frequency with which j I choose to do OTHER things, instead of play Elite. Which in turn, correlates with my shrinking desire to continue spending money on the game going forward.

In short: stop wasting our time if you want us to play. Long transition times, market load times, forced trips across the bubble to craft a single item. Collect-a-thon mechanics. No market search. Frequent, forced interdiction over the two random garbage items I was given for a mission.

Yea it would help casual gamers if we could see where goods are located so we can plot our travels rather than randomly check stations.
 
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Elite needs casual players.

This isn't 1984. Games cost a lot of money to make. They need an audience of sufficient size to support that cost. Ergo, Elite probably won't make the long haul as a niche title with 4500 daily concurrent players.

Here is how you draw in theore casual crowd and keep us. Reasoning included:

-Dont waste our time. We want to fly ships in space. We DO NOT want:

-Long load times. You MUST begin loading transition sooner than you are. There's a thread here about that. Look it up. Ten or more seconds per transition, with 50 or more transitions in a weeknight play session...too much down time. We want to play, not watch.

-Spreadsheet Management: I want increased FSD range. What I DONT want: grinding mats. Tracking what I need using Alt+tab 5 times a night. Being forced to mine, or haul freight. Or drive those boring buggies.

All mats should be available on the market, as drops from exploded ships, etc. Get back to letting me play my way, says the casual gamer, and stop forcing me to play yours.

Moreover, show me what I have the Mata to build. Right there, IN your game. Every time I have the mats to complete any recipe from ANY engineer I have unlocked, show me. Right in my ship.

Lastly: give me the ability to craft the items RIGHT IN MY SHIP, WITH NO WAIT. Every time you make me alt tab to check a re open, or fly halfway across the bubble to craft something, you are pushing me toward quitting your game. You're wasting my time again.

I, and others like me, lead a busy life, at the center of which video games do not sit. If you want me, my ample free time and my not inconsiderable disposable income, stop wasting my time.

As with:

-Long Grinds: Boring. Waste of time. I would find your game more enjoyable and less tedious, and would play it more, if there were more multirole ships at affordable prices, that could actually hold their own against enemies. Alas, all of those ships require an enormous grind just to make the game convenient to play. If I wanted that, I'd play a tablet game. Make multirole ships less (and frankly, all ships) less costly. The grind isn't fun; it puts me off playing, as opposed to retaining me.

-Forced Combat: the number one reason I play Euro/American truck sim instead of Elite.

Pirates in your galaxy aren't pirates. They are rampaging psychotics. None of them want to negotiate. They all just want to kill me. Period.

And they want to kill me, over a few mats. Or cargo that isn't worth the effort, if I have any at all.

Knock it off. Pirates should be pirates, not crappy RPG random bandits in space. They should be discerning, intelligent, and fairly rare.

Furthermore, the magically spawning, psychic pirates who auto interdicted me e wry single mission...6 times per run...that HAS to stop, if you want to keep players like me. It's not fun, it's not fair (as in, these enemies don't use the game logic or rules). It's pure frustration.

If I want danger, I will carry high end or rare goods. I will bounty hunt. I will...well, no, I WONT Power Play, because it's crap. One of the worst systems I have ever seen in a game. But I WOULD do it, if it were made at all fun. Or even interesting. Which it isn't.

Point: If it's danger I'm seeking, I will find it. Or so things to attract it. Hang around rate goods runs too long. Get a rep for hauling pricey items. All of which should matter.

But as the guy who rarely even HAS a cargo hold, and most hunts in RES or explores...pirates shouldn't even LOOK ate twice. More less waste their time with me. The things we do should matter.

Another concern:

If I wanted to manage spreadsheets, I would return to EVE (because flight model aside, as a game it's FAR better than Elite under the hood). Stop requiring me track half a dozen faction reps, needed materials and outfitting and ship locations in third party tools.

Right now, in the 21st century, I can go online to shop. For clothes. Cars. Anything. And manufacturers will direct me to places where I can buy the goods I want. They will even offer sales and discounts. Because they WANT my business.

Yet, here is Elite. One thousand years in the future. One THOUSAND. And no internet. No web. I have to fly around, HOPING to find the thing I WANT to buy.

It's frankly stupid. No other word for it. Sorry folks. I should be able to check markets in near real time, right in game. But you won't let me. Because your (badly misguided) lead developer is stuck in a tablet game, free to play mindset, and thinks that inflating the time it takes to do things in game, will keep me, and others like me, playing longer.

Trouble is, us casual gamers...we aren't hand held addicts. We are people with diverse interests who also like to fly space ships on a somewhat regular basis. Artificially inflating the time it takes to do things in games, will inflate nothing except the frequency with which j I choose to do OTHER things, instead of play Elite. Which in turn, correlates with my shrinking desire to continue spending money on the game going forward.

In short: stop wasting our time if you want us to play. Long transition times, market load times, forced trips across the bubble to craft a single item. Collect-a-thon mechanics. No market search. Frequent, forced interdiction over the two random garbage items I was given for a mission.

These are ALL time sinks in disguise. Many of them, deliberately intended to artificially inflate time spent in game.

This is disrespectful of players. Of their time. I used to play Warframe. The game moved more and more from fun to time sink grind. Myself, and others...Simply quit. Quit saying. Quit spending.

Elite is headed down that same road. Either replace the mentality of your decision maker...or the decisioaker themselves. Because right now, the design direction is KILLING this game.


It seems you are after a Elite: Dangerous Lite Version. It has 3 buttons

1. Start Game
2. Win Game
3. End Game

Great Game OP, but plenty of those games out there!
 
There is no means to facilitate any stellar internet due to the fact that you are limited with the speed radio waves propagate. and that is at light speed. so, to send data packets to a star 8 lightyears away, you would have to wait 8 years, and then another 8 years for the return if you are expecting anything back. all the stuff ranging from signal strength requiring massive devices to do that to interference sources which could not be handled with existing technology to boot.
Except clearly there is as Galnet is available everywhere and mission contacts have no issue contacting you lightyears away.

Now, yes, you may say those are needed for gameplay, and that's fair. Here's the thing though, general trade data (selling, buying, average prices, supply unknown), outfitting availability (what they usually sell and price), shipyard stock, none of that needs to be up to date to the second and this is information that could easily be propagated around the bubble without having to send radio transmissions between systems. Let's use the nav beacons, have them store all the information for their own system, maybe even nearby systems, broadcast all data on a channel ships can check when entering the system. How do we propagate this information across human space? Simple, we use the ships that are already travelling between systems, ships send their stored data back to nav beacons and it can update with any newer information.

Don't need to do any of that in the game, but it's a simple way to explain how Galnet news or trade information could be available across the human bubble. And that's just a solution I can come up with in 15 seconds, I imagine interstellar civilizations would have quite the incentive to figured out a system for this.
 
So, there actually is a way to look up player metrics through steam for people who own/play the game on steam. I can't get into their website from work or I'd provide a link, but maybe you should google it before you go on any further about there being no proof for Steam metrics which, in fact, have been in a steady decline for quite awhile.
But number of people playing the game via steam has no relation to the number of people playing the game.
 

Hello OP,

I get to play for about an hour in the evenings, two if I am lucky. I'd class myself firmly as a casual player due to this. I had a blast last night, got my ENG rank up to lvl5 with the FSD lady, took on a couple of missions which both went without a hitch and finished off the evening by shooting at some lawless fools in a RES site, total time played 1 hour 20 minutes.

Does Elite cater for the way I play? Yes, obviously as I have shown above I can always find things to do - In fact I wish I had a lot more time to play the game as it has so much variety of content I could be doing a different thing every night for a long time. I can however see how those who play it as there main game or spend all day in the game could find it a bit boring after a while but I've also noticed many of those players stick to one or two activities and wonder why they get bored - catch 22.

The game needs these hardcore players more than it needs us. Why? Well cash flow for one. Despite the fact that I will buy the next expansion, buy more ship skins and kits from the store and no doubt get myself some other fluffy bits - more money than sense some would say - the hardcore are more or less guaranteed to buy it and thus ensure the continued development. Casual players are a big risk when it comes to expansions - with many of them choosing to either wait or not even pick up the expansion and carry on with the base game. nothing wrong with doing that, players choice etc. It becomes income you cannot count on and therefore end up only being able to forward budget based on what the hardcore players have put in.

Nor is there anything wrong with having a hardcore game such as Elite that is played by casuals as it is. As a casual I accept that there are players who are much better at the game than I am but guess what, when ever I ask for any help or have a question to ask, it's the hardcore that respond with help, information and support. In most other gaming communities revealing your play style as casual can be a bad choice and end up in lots of bad attitudes and insults being thrown about - Over a game, stupid I know but true.

This community is not devoid of those types but they are few and far between.

As a casual player do I support your call for us to be catered for more? No, I think we have a wealth of choices for content, not perfect by any means but it was never meant to be a casuals game in the first place.
 
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