http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIn1_9YvGds
I should point out that I was active during the Great Usenet War that revolved around his "games" so may be slightly biased against him!
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Landing on planets
- Thread starter stooge19
- Start date
I should point out that I was active during the Great Usenet War that revolved around his "games" so may be slightly biased against him!
Last time question was asked on forums, it was said that there definitely will be landings. Also David year ago was very sure about it "within year of release". They have secured financing for more just than initial game, and frankly they know to be seen as "full" game they need landings anyway.
Candyman. Candyman. Stopping there.
He should have teamed up with Steve Gibson, nothing could have endured those levels of hype.
nats
Banned
Got to respectfully disagree with you there nats
I don't expect GTA5 levels of detail, but I'm sure FD are well capable of giving us plenty of content, missions, and reasons to land our ships on planets!
I'll re-post a my feeling on this from a previous thread.
Yeah well obviously I would love to have all of that but you have whole games just dedicated to that kind of thing and it takes years and years of development to pull that off in the kind of detail we would all want to see, and thats just with one planet type. And Frontier isnt a big outfit.
I would be happy being able to land on planets and have them look relatively spectacular and varied, and land at bases and walk around the base sorting the ship out and ordering supplies/fuel etc and then watching the various vehicles and crew carry this stuff out, and perhaps having large cities where you can watch their activities from your launch pad. But I think even this kind of limited endeavour would take years of development to pull off well.
But actually developing planets to be detailed enough to do interesting foot missions on? I think this is cloud cookoo land really. But its a nice dream.
You just have to look at Kerbal Space Program, which only has a few different planets and a lot less gameplay in it than this game is promising, to realise what a massive undertaking it is making planets interesting when you land on them.
But you know I will be happy to be proved wrong, and if anyone can pull it off David Braben can.
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Yes, it will take a long time. Yes, it will be a massive undertaking. Noone is saying anything else.
This is taken from a recent RockPaperShotgun article:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/12/13/hands-on-with-elite-dangerous/
Frontier maybe isn't a "big outfit". At the moment they "only" have 200+ people working there.
Hello games who are working on "No Man's Sky" consists of 4 people and they have done this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRpDn5qPp3s&feature=youtu.be
Space Engine is done by 1 guy...on his spare time...
http://en.spaceengine.org/
I think FD are going to do just fine.
It would be really awesome to have some movie like shady trade in the middle of nowhere, where both parties are out of their ships, making the exchange face to face. Then of course, by law of movies and tv shows, gun fight brokes up ^^.
I hope eventually we will get there, after few expansions. At least it looks like DB has really grand view and plans for E, so it looks like it might be exciting future. For now I wish for the seamless planets that will be done in such a way it becomes a standard feature.
Give me awesome vistas, atmo flight and combat, various cities and ports to land in and I'll be happy guy. Let the rest come in later.
I hope eventually we will get there, after few expansions. At least it looks like DB has really grand view and plans for E
, so it looks like it might be exciting future. For now I wish for the seamless planets that will be done in such a way it becomes a standard feature. Give me awesome vistas, atmo flight and combat, various cities and ports to land in and I'll be happy guy. Let the rest come in later.
Can you imagine landing on planets and finding long lost civilizations and the ability to take back rare archeological artifacts for big gains at the nearest space station or some exobiology fossil digs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqcSsEurBs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqcSsEurBs
![[VR] Mad Mike](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/27/27910.jpg?1553527108){kind=avatar}
yep for me outerra is the perfect example of how amazing procedural generation can be. If the same can be done with a mission creator then the sky is(nt) the limit.
For all those who have experienced FE2 and FFE, the game without planetary landing in the future, would be inconceivable. It would be like a runner who was amputated of both legs
I think FD are going to do just fine.
And I also would like to point out that FD has been doing their home work for at least last six years. It is not like they don't have idea amount of work it will require. It is their project after all, and so far their predictions have matched reality.
So if they are saying they are capable to do landings within a year of initial release (if everything goes smoothly), then I kinda believe them at this point.
However I think all these discussions are moot at this point. We have to get to finished game before we can dream about next step!
All we know that FD have said that landings are coming. It is all we need to know at this point.I fully agree that a new Elite without seamless planetary landings is inconceivable, however...
I fully agree that a new Elite without seamless planetary landings is inconceivable, however...
In the meantime, it's better than nothing
that's a strong analogy but yeah
It is important to motivate the troops of ED
When I heard that planetary landings will be separate expansion I felt a little let down. But after I start to see what FD has in store I admit that it was fully right thing to do. I think I won't have so much time to try/touch/experience every thing they will have in ED before first expansion is rolled out.
if it is going to not really mean that much (like in Frontier) then I would have agreed however if there will be proper planetary missions, game hunting, entering your mines and such like then, hell I am more than happy to wait 12 months and have it as an expansion.
Elite in space with a mass effect like ground story is probably too much to ask..... but i can dream
nats
Banned
Yeah but that is one planet. Computers work well on repetition. To do it right you would ned to program different animal and environmental routines for each planet type - if all the planets had the same create routines just with different looking creatures/plants that would soon get dull and look obvious. Procedural stuff works well with static views of landscapes etc but not so well on animated elements where the repetition soon becomes apparent.
I am not saying that Frontier cant do it, I just think it will be a massive undertaking and it could take a massive amount of time and I do have doubts as to whether it would ever be that good. And for me personally I dont need to see that kind of detail on planets. Just landing on them and seeing believable stuff from the cockpit window is enough for me. You just have to take a look at XRebirth to see how difficult it is creating believable life in games. Like I said before many games have their whole development time spent doing believable worlds (like Grand Theft Auto) and they still look a bit naff. So what can we expect from an expansion?
I just dont want Privateer type stuff in this game I always think that kind of animated life looks a bit stupid unless its limited to a specific area like around the landing pad etc where a reasonable amount of 'believable life' could be created with the resources available. But I know Braben is almost a magician with computers so I look forward to seeing what he does despite my doubts.
I'm very keen to see planetary landings. It's key to an immersive experience for me, bringing the universe to life. It's difficult to imagine exploring the vastness of the galaxy without being able to see anything of all those worlds that populate the individual solar systems. It'd be like flying to lots of exotic countries without ever leaving the airport.
Having said that, I'm very curious to know how some of the practical challenges can be overcome. If planetary bodies are realistic, how will different environments be taken into consideration? Obviously landing on earth-type planets can be quite straightforward and consistent, but say for example you discover a planet five times the size of the earth and decide to land for a look around, will the gravitational pull be mapped acurately? Will your ship handle differently? What will happen (assuming environmental suits are a given) if you try and get out and walk around? Will the gravity affect you? How close will you be able to get to gas giants? How much detail will be visible? What about heavily populated planets? How will all those cities, towns and villages be rendered realistically? Not too difficult if they're just scenery as you fly over them, but if you're able to get out of your ship and walk around.....
If sure all this stuff has been considered by the developers, but I'm very interested to know how they intend to approach this.
Having said that, I'm very curious to know how some of the practical challenges can be overcome. If planetary bodies are realistic, how will different environments be taken into consideration? Obviously landing on earth-type planets can be quite straightforward and consistent, but say for example you discover a planet five times the size of the earth and decide to land for a look around, will the gravitational pull be mapped acurately? Will your ship handle differently? What will happen (assuming environmental suits are a given) if you try and get out and walk around? Will the gravity affect you? How close will you be able to get to gas giants? How much detail will be visible? What about heavily populated planets? How will all those cities, towns and villages be rendered realistically? Not too difficult if they're just scenery as you fly over them, but if you're able to get out of your ship and walk around.....
If sure all this stuff has been considered by the developers, but I'm very interested to know how they intend to approach this.
You are right on, and these questions also make me all excited. David had a long time to think this all over, and for this games planets is his magnum opus. We will see wonders for sure. I think we will have some dev diaries talking more about planet generation, because it has never been told in detail.
Yes, it will. Personally I wouldn't go landing on that planet, learnt that lesson in Frontier.