As we all probably know, Elite Dangerous is very hostile to new players. The tiny amount of tutorials present is horrendous enough, but the sheer lack of info in the game proper is abysmal. This game might as well have a huge disclaimer saying that you are RECQUIRED to have the Wiki open at all times if you are new. I got past that eventually though, after several hours of repetition and whatnot, I finally got the hang of it.
The comes Horizons, allowing us to land on planets and more stuff!
Woo! Then I hit a brick wall, I think I was tuck for like, two hours on trying to land on a damn planet. I was certain I had everything I needed, I had all the supplies and was ready to go. Oh, but I was missing one thing. The detailed surface scanner! So this device, which since day 1 has served only one purpose, that being more detailed scans for higher pay for data, now has the function of being required for planetary landings. There was NOTHING telling me about this, no notification that I needed it when I was failing to land on the planets several times, nothing. I only figured it out because I read the description of the scanner again, but even that is not telling you that you need it for LANDING, so it was still a guess. Good thing I was right. Oh yeah, and there are zero new tutorials for anything in the game, not even for Horizons. Awesome.
Seriously, what is with Frontier and giving almost no info to us? Are we just supposed to guess what most of the things in this game do? Are we supposed to just have the Wiki on standby at all times? Even a simple database on items in the game would be helpful for new players. Anything. Instead, we get tutorials for the absolute basics, and like what, 7 tutorials for shooting things? Being someone that has no interest in the combat in this game, it is disheartening to see that it is what has the main focus when it comes to information, as everything else is left for the player to figure out entirely.
Giving your player information isn't always a bad thing. Spending $35-$45 on this new expansion only to hit a brick wall because you are told nothing is pretty bad, since not knowing even about one single thing can prevent you form accessing the content you paid for in the first place.
Just a simple suggestion. Info needs to be given for some things in the game and it can be done in a way that isn't too easy either.
The comes Horizons, allowing us to land on planets and more stuff!
Woo! Then I hit a brick wall, I think I was tuck for like, two hours on trying to land on a damn planet. I was certain I had everything I needed, I had all the supplies and was ready to go. Oh, but I was missing one thing. The detailed surface scanner! So this device, which since day 1 has served only one purpose, that being more detailed scans for higher pay for data, now has the function of being required for planetary landings. There was NOTHING telling me about this, no notification that I needed it when I was failing to land on the planets several times, nothing. I only figured it out because I read the description of the scanner again, but even that is not telling you that you need it for LANDING, so it was still a guess. Good thing I was right. Oh yeah, and there are zero new tutorials for anything in the game, not even for Horizons. Awesome. Seriously, what is with Frontier and giving almost no info to us? Are we just supposed to guess what most of the things in this game do? Are we supposed to just have the Wiki on standby at all times? Even a simple database on items in the game would be helpful for new players. Anything. Instead, we get tutorials for the absolute basics, and like what, 7 tutorials for shooting things? Being someone that has no interest in the combat in this game, it is disheartening to see that it is what has the main focus when it comes to information, as everything else is left for the player to figure out entirely.
Giving your player information isn't always a bad thing. Spending $35-$45 on this new expansion only to hit a brick wall because you are told nothing is pretty bad, since not knowing even about one single thing can prevent you form accessing the content you paid for in the first place.
Just a simple suggestion. Info needs to be given for some things in the game and it can be done in a way that isn't too easy either.
