Is 2.1 the "Make or Break" or "Do or Die" Update for Elite Dangerous?

[Colonel Kenney]

A lot of people are fed up. This is why the numbers are dwindling, the forums are crawling and people are generally just not too excited about ED anymore. There are a core of a few thousand people who still play off and on which is good all things considered. But many of them are "waiting" for the game to introduce some new winning formula to give it any sort of longevity.

Make Elite Dangerous Great Again!

Many people have lost patience and are gone never to return. You'll have the fair weather fans return just to check up on the latest update, you'll see a spike in traffic and then it dies again.

Will this be the "do or die" update? Will it be the last straw for some people?

Or will this inject the missing ingredient to the recipe that will keep people engaged and will renew their faith?

Prediction - as usual after every update people will be thankful and there will be a 2 week period of euphoria. People will marvel at the wonder of the new glistening art work.

But will it all be the same repetitive grind that is shallow? Or will the universe open up into unlimited complexity and depth?

Is this the last nail or the start of something new?

If it turns out to be a dud - will you be quitting?

PS - Yes I already know how the poll will go because we know specifically opinions of the majority of people left here in the forum. This is an interesting view into the psyche though.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

A lot of people are fed up. This is why the numbers are dwindling, the forums are crawling and people are generally just not too excited about ED anymore. There are a core of a few thousand people who still play off and on which is good all things considered. But many of them are "waiting" for the game to introduce some new winning formula to give it any sort of longevity.

No! (imo) The game does not need saving. **

but hopefully it will add even more "Awesome" and take it up to 11

**I am talking the game as a whole....... Right now tho I totally get why some people are finding horizons is not really adding Value for money right now..... but hopefully in another 4 DLCs time that will have changed

 

[tarragon]

But many of them are "waiting" for the game to introduce some new winning formula to give it any sort of longevity.

Not at all my friend. Many people are simply waiting for fdev skeleton crew to introduce game into their amazing space flight simulator demo.

 

[EUS]

To Op, which FD db are you tied into where you see dwindling numbers?
I for one would love to see 'hope' and all versions of this word added to the forum's swear list, especially around patch/upgrades release dates/dev posts.
As a player of ED : Vanilla, I voted no, I'll keep playing as long as the game holds my attention.

 

[Colonel Kenney]

How many hours have you put in Eus? Were you in it from the start (Alpha, Beta?)

 

[Wasp0]

Didn't we have a poll just before Christmas saying was Horizons/2.0/1.5 the do or Die patch/upgrade for ED?

Will we have a poll before 2.2 asking is 2.2 the do or die patch/upgrade for ED

Same for 2.3

Same for 2.4

Sorry am i droning on a bit? Somewhat like these polls!

 

[Kayweg]

I think it's going to be" just another update", there are no miracle patches.
In the long run, neither the direction of the game nor it's appeal to players will significantly change because of this update (although i expect a temporary increase in player numbers).
I even think 2.1 will go widely unnoticed by many players who have shelved ED a long time ago, not least because 2.1 will coincide with the imminent release of NMS...but not only because of that.
Make of break for FD as a company ?
I'm in no position to even make a semi qualified call on that.
My crystal ball would suggest that Planet Coaster could be the "make or break" moment, because i sense that ED has stalled with regard to player numbers and revenue generation.
I also believe that Horizons has sold steeply below expectations so far.

Mind you, before you burn me at the stake, this is just opinion and anyone's guess is as good (or better) as mine.

 

[mossfoot]

Yes. Absolutely.

...until the next one.

 

[Viking84]

For me I think so - or rather it will decide whether I play ED a lot, or just every now and then for the relaxation. 2.1 will be a clear indicator of the direction FDev are intending to take for the future updates, and after they delayed it to improve quality, it will indicate what quality level they are happy with. Pretty damn important if you ask me.

Add to that the fact that the mission system is getting a big overhaul it will basically define the gameplay experience for a large portion of the players, Horizons or not.

 

[Cmdr Andrew Johnson]

To the OP What?
I'm a premium beta backer and I still am finding loads to do. With real life getting in my way I'm still clocking up around 10 hours a week and loving every minute of it.
Just this month I set the personal goal of reaching Sagittarius A and coming home again. Made it and lost count of the first discovery bonuses I picked up. Most players are never leaving the bubble and trying something new.
I'm now back mining and cursing not Panite Astros whilst cheering the expensive finds.
This game is brilliant. Well done FD

 

[AdamL]

When 2.1 is released it will be roughly 6 months since the last major content release. If 2.1 doesn't live up to expectations I imagine quite a few people will give up on the game, at least for a while. Powerplay was underwhelming, CQC/1.4 added very little to the main game, 1.5/2.0 didn't *really* add that much: a few more ships, the best of which are locked behind steep rank requirements, and landing on airless worlds. The novelty of planetary landings wore off for me after a few days and I (like pretty much everyone else) realised that there is virtually nothing to do on the surface apart from posing for pretty screenshots and driving around shooting at randomly placed rocks. "Points of interest" are not interesting at all and its very obvious that they just spawn randomly with no real purpose or reward.

The problem is that new things get added but they feel like the bare bones and never get fleshed out. Most new content feels like a placeholder for the future, and that point in the future never seems to arrive. On top of that, many aspects of the game appear to be going backwards: the AI is worse now than it was a year ago: the rotisserie bug has been present since October and, assuming its actually fixed in 2.1, will have stuck around for a solid 8 months. The graphics have taken a turn for the worse and ships and weapons are arguably more poorly balanced than they were a year ago.

If a good number of these problems are addressed in 2.1, in addition to a decent amount of new content that isn't shallow or feels unfinished, I think 2.1 could turns things around. However, things will go sour if the rest of the Horizons updates are delayed beyond 2016. People are now claiming that "a season doesn't mean a year" but when Horizons was released, it was stated or at least heavily implied that we would get a new major content upgrade per quarter, finishing with the currently unknown 2.4 patch in Q4. Delays and an unclear release plan/schedule could seriously impact the uptake of Season 3.

Personally, I'm giving Frontier the benefit of the doubt this time. If 2.1 holds up I'll be back on board, provided the remaining Horizons updates are not delayed beyond 2016.

 

[EUS]

How many hours have you put in Eus? Were you in it from the start (Alpha, Beta?)

I bought in Dec 2014, just after release.

 

[Colonel Kenney]

I bought in Dec 2014, just after release.

Fair enough. Just curious for statistical purposes.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

For me I think so - or rather it will decide whether I play ED a lot, or just every now and then for the relaxation. 2.1 will be a clear indicator of the direction FDev are intending to take for the future updates, and after they delayed it to improve quality, it will indicate what quality level they are happy with. Pretty damn important if you ask me.

Add to that the fact that the mission system is getting a big overhaul it will basically define the gameplay experience for a large portion of the players, Horizons or not.

Interesting because the age group of players obviously is on the high side, and I'm finding more and more of us older generation are finding games "relaxing" and using that term. Usually most people want "exciting" or "challenging" or even something that gets your adrenaline pumping. I rarely see anyone except the rare occasion someone makes it back with little O2 left that describes this game as fun, rewarding , exciting, exhilarating or gets your adrenaline pumping. Its a calm boring repetitive game of floating and trucking around space with the odd action. Even interdictions are more of an annoyance.

For marketing purposes I can see why the payload of left over fans here are engaged by "relaxing" games.

 

[Vihear]

A lot of people are fed up. This is why the numbers are dwindling, the forums are crawling and people are generally just not too excited about ED anymore

Which numbers? And which people? Yes, I know that people are getting enough of the game and quit, or ragequit, and there are people who announce this in the forums (for whatever reaseon) and those who harshly criticize the game, but I don't think that has changed much since release. The forums also crawl with people having lots of fun with the game (take a look at the UA and Rift threadnaughts) and give constructive criticisms.

Personally, while I think the game could offer some more story-telling and while I am by no means completely happy with the game, I am not unhappy with it either - not at all, actually. Sometimes I lose interest, then I quit for some weeks, and return with renewed interest. That's ok for me and I think overall, Frontier has done a brilliant job of resurrecting the old Elite feeling. Back then, I wouldn't play every day or week for a whole year either.

As for the update, I don't even really know what to answer. To people who have nearly lost all hope for the game it's make-or-break, but those who think otherwise probably disagree. So each answer is "correct". I voted No because I will continue playing regardless, but I might play more than I do now if I get a better sense of purpose in the game.

 

[Alexander the Grape]

I feel like it's make or break because it's the first time they're going back and completely revamping a core game mechanic. If Elite truly has a 10 year plan, they have to prove they are capable of this

 

[MottiKhan]

I don't think 2.1 will mean a lot. Those of us who are still having fun will continue. There will be attrition as well, but there always is. There'll also be new players and returning ones.

If the numbers being looked at are from Steam, I think they're incorrect. A lot of us have stopped using the Steam client to log in and our hours are no longer being counted there. We're still being counted in FD's timer though. For instance, my Steam account says I have 494 hours in the game. FD is more accurate and shows over 1160 hours. I'm by far not the only one.

 

[Sir.Tj]

****Mod hat off***

To the OP.

I'd be interested in seeing the statistics of dwindling numbers etc.

I'm assuming there is somewhere you can collate the statistics for PC, Mac & Xbox player numbers over a set period of time?

Also remember the forum is only a slice of the player base and trust me it's not crawling .

Just curious.

 

[LKx]

Don't know, but 2.1 sounds like the most important content patch since Elite's release.

No pressure.

 

[Belthize]

Does anybody have Atlas' phone number or have him friend-ed on Facebook (I assume he stays up with the times).

If so could you let him know that the sky is falling and we need him to get back to work.

edIt: I have been spending *way* too much time re-re-reading Greek mythology and details about the Berbers and north Africa. Salome be damned.

 

[Anson22]

For me it's a Maybe - but not for me personally! I'll continue to play but I suspect that there are other players who really need more from the game than space trucking or going sight-seeing. Most days, even with improved NPC's, I find the game a 'relaxing' diversion (as OP has suggested) - it's quite worrying when trying to maintain time whilst driving a train in Railworks is more stressful than dealing with the 'Dangerous' of Elite ;-) Perhaps I should make my way over to one of the CG's for some excitement! But then again... maybe not ;-)