I'm too busy to play this game.

Rereading, I found this the key comment of the OP.

The OP states as the most probable reason why some are enjoying the game is because time is not as much of an issue. I find that very telling. As if the availability of time determines enjoyment of a game.

I was enjoying the game (extended break atm) because engineers weren't as much of an issue for me. I tried it, upgraded FSD twice, engines once, didn't like it, looked for something else to do. This means that 2.2 didn't have that much new content to keep me occupied, hence the break.

We'll see what 2.3 brings.

You surely mean 2.1 and 2.2 instead of 2.2 and 2.3?
 
Heh. I've been actively scanning data points for Cracked Industrial Firmware and Modified Embedded Firmware since .05 hit. I have found a total of 0 of either in the wild. The few I have came from missions, but not enough to actually progress and do the mods I'm after (multiple ships).

Check my sig for details of which bases to try and how to do the scans efficiently. Prior to 2.1.05 I had been getting around 2 MEF/hr on average from scanning the data points at Medium security +++ bases. I've only ran through a small number of bases since 2.1.05 but so far I've been getting similar drops from the bases I've scanned since the 2.1.05 patch (and each drop counted 3X so that actually put me ahead in terms of MEF/base). The MEF does tend to come in clusters and you can sometimes run through 6-8 bases with no MEF before it starts dropping again but you can definitely find it from bases fairly easily. Same with Cracked Industrial Firmware, I have gotten a lot of that from bases as well as it will also drop from the data point scans.

Pharmaceutical Isolators are another nightmare to find. I spent 5 hours total searching an outbreak system yesterday. Total of 0 found.

I've gotten those from missions, only have about 6 of them so far and have been saving them for Grade 5 dirty drive mods whenever I feel I need the upgrade. I've been using Grade 3 so far and it's all I need to handle NPCs, maybe I'll need to go to Grade 5 when the Thargoids show up but for most ships Grade 3 dirty drive tuning is more than adequate.

Some materials are still extremely hard to find. Some feel impossible.

Exquisite focus crystals are still very difficult to find, I haven't found any good source for them other than occasional mission rewards. I only ever found 2 of them from missions so far.

The only thing they throw at you is rank one stuff.

Even the higher-grade mods only require 1 Very Rare mat (MEF, Exquisite Focus Crystals, etc.) in 2.1.05 compared to 2 Very Rare mats prior to 2.1.05. Combined with mat/data drops giving 3X units for every drop you find this makes the high-grade mods MUCH easier with 2.1.05. You might have to spend 1-2 hours searching for a particular mat but each time you find it will give you three upgrade attempts. That is really not much effort compared to how it was before 2.1.05 where you could spend upwards of 6 hours trying to find a single unit of a Very Rare mat and you needed 2 units just to attempt a single upgrade.
 
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Your problem OP (and anyone else's in the "same boat") is that 2 hours per week is not enough for any game, for gaming in general. Most games need a lot of hours to unlock stuff or be competitive, you would have a problem with a lot of other games. This is not E.D.'s fault.

You choose a family and kids, you need 2 jobs to manage all, you have to live according to your choices. This might sound harsh but it's the truth.

I completed Witcher 3 playing a couple of hours per week. It took the best part of 6 months but I wasn't in any rush as I was enjoying the journey.
 
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I completed Witcher 3 playing a couple of hours per week. It took the best part of 6 months but I wasn't in any rush as I was enjoying the journey.


Yes but did you unlock everything? did you uncover whole map? did you complete it?
You remind me of a rl friend of mine, we both started playing Skyrim back in the day, and when he "finished" the game i was like 30% in. Of course he didnt do anything in the game except follow the main quest.
It's ok to be a casual player, noone rushes you, a couple of hours per week are great if that's all you can afford.
The problem happens when people like that come in the forums and start doing topics about "being too busy to play this game" or "npc's being too hard" or "they dont have enough time to grind some material for stupid engineers".
 
Probably not everything, but then I've never been one for that, even during my days as a carefree batchelor. But I did complete a decent percentage of the side quests in Witcher 3, I'd guess at least 75%.

I agree with your point though, that complaining about the amount of time that has to be invested in games is somewhat futile.
 
I really do not have time for engineers. Since I do not have time for engineers I avoid that aspect of the game. Turns out, the rest of the game is still fun to play despite there being some new content out there. I imagine though that if I was a PvP nut I'd be very frustrated over the engineers content being beyond my reach.

I don't want to say the game might not be for everyone because I think if it was the game for you when you bought it it should not change so much that it is no longer so, but I think it's completely ok for there to be some content that is suited more for some players than for others. Power play and RNGineers being the main examples for me, as I'm aware Trading and Exploring are the main examples for many others.
 
As with most of these threads some people think its too easy, some too hard, some not getting things quickly enough and then inevitably you have those who complain about anyone wanting the game changed. For my part I agree with the OP and have thought for a long time this is not a game for the casual player who typically requires a faster return on investment (time in this case). I would love to see the ability to configure the game, set difficulty levels, NPC spawn rates, jump range modifiers, ranking modifiers etc, of course this would not work for open but should be fine for solo and group. I would be quite happy just playing in solo and not ever being able to go into open, or for that matter FD getting rid of open altogether in order to provide this capability. Then people can configure the game to suit their situation and hopefully put an end to complaints regarding difficulty or amount of 'grind' required to get any reward.
 
Check my sig for details of which bases to try and how to do the scans efficiently. Prior to 2.1.05 I had been getting around 2 MEF/hr on average from scanning the data points at Medium security +++ bases. I've only ran through a small number of bases since 2.1.05 but so far I've been getting similar drops from the bases I've scanned since the 2.1.05 patch (and each drop counted 3X so that actually put me ahead in terms of MEF/base). The MEF does tend to come in clusters and you can sometimes run through 6-8 bases with no MEF before it starts dropping again but you can definitely find it from bases fairly easily. Same with Cracked Industrial Firmware, I have gotten a lot of that from bases as well as it will also drop from the data point scans.



I've gotten those from missions, only have about 6 of them so far and have been saving them for Grade 5 dirty drive mods whenever I feel I need the upgrade. I've been using Grade 3 so far and it's all I need to handle NPCs, maybe I'll need to go to Grade 5 when the Thargoids show up but for most ships Grade 3 dirty drive tuning is more than adequate.



Exquisite focus crystals are still very difficult to find, I haven't found any good source for them other than occasional mission rewards. I only ever found 2 of them from missions so far.



Even the higher-grade mods only require 1 Very Rare mat (MEF, Exquisite Focus Crystals, etc.) in 2.1.05 compared to 2 Very Rare mats prior to 2.1.05. Combined with mat/data drops giving 3X units for every drop you find this makes the high-grade mods MUCH easier with 2.1.05. You might have to spend 1-2 hours searching for a particular mat but each time you find it will give you three upgrade attempts. That is really not much effort compared to how it was before 2.1.05 where you could spend upwards of 6 hours trying to find a single unit of a Very Rare mat and you needed 2 units just to attempt a single upgrade.

I consider hours spent looking for one thing a lot of effort, especially when the result isn't guaranteed. I spent a long time last night looking for Zirconium, and came up empty. Hours of driving around on a featureless planet.

The planet had a higher % of Zirconium than Tin, and I was finding Tin everywhere.
 
Not that busy: time to moan on the forums.
Most of us are 'busy' and most of us haven't got the time to do all we wish to do.
Now stop moaning!:)
I've finished my meal and now have to wash the damn pots and do some ironing: the real grind.:(
I may get an hour on ED but I would like to do some C++ programming before that.
I'm lucky. I have food in my belly, clean water to drink, clothes on my back, a clean bed to sleep in at the end of the day.
And I can live in the ED Universe some nights of the week. Not bad eh? :)
 
I started with the grind too. I got myself to a B/C grade Python + Diamondback Scout + Vulture before I finally just got tired of it. I recently came back to the game after 6 months and wiped my save. I haven't decided whether I'm going full "Ironman" mode with pilot permadeath or to just losing my ship completely (no insurance). But I'm kind of feeling like I just want to be Mal in Firefly. Have my little ship, do my thing. Flying the big ships, honestly, wasn't that fun. It turns into a "Space Truck Simulator". The Type-7 was the worst (except for running over NPCs in the docking opening before they made it a crime).

So now I've worked my way up to a Cobra doing a CG and a few missions. I'd like to pick a system and just kind of play. If I lose the ship, so what. I like the little ones. I don't need to be #1 in everything. I'm in it for the enjoyment.

And for the record, I also dislike "grind" and actively avoid it.
 
StarLancer was okay at best.
It was just a story driven game that you could finish.

Elite is better , more in depth and aimed at a more mature audiance (or at least the alpha/beta was)
But even with all its flaws its a great game.

However I have been playing from the beta of 2014 and I have to say : I never grinded a single time in my life.
Its not a grind , its your pilots job.

I have a job in real life , a fiancee who needs a lot of attention , friends to hang out with and other stuff.
However there is time for elite , even when a new game is out elite gets a good play out of me.

Elite is one of the forever games.
You play it until you dont want to do so anymore. (or the servers die)
 
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