Leaving Active Duty to join the Reserves

[-VR- Max Factor]

I've got to get back to the bubble, then I'll probably do some BGS work, open up the rest of the engineers, open up more of the guardian modules.

That'll keep me going for months I suspect.

 

[Hoopes81]

 

[Quantis Trap]

Yes, my commanders have been on and off active duty several times also.

My evaluation of whether or not I buy a Fleet Carrier in June will be determined by if I think I can still choose between off duty for a respectable amount of time and not be sucked back in purely because I have to pay the bills so the speak.

Meanwhile, I'll be off on other games, mostly but not all in the space genre, which offer more compelling game play.

 

[Kzak]

A smattering of other games I've enjoyed in recent months: Rimworld, Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, Bard's Tale Remastered, Road Redemption and more. Rimworld especially is a game which can claim all your non-work and non-sleep hours, just so you are warned.

 

[timbero]

Already done that - remember, I've been playing this for three years, made Exploration Elite twice (closing in on my third). I've had enough until we get atmospheric landings.

You and I have done the opposite. While you were playing for 3 years, I took a 3 year break.
Feels like I've got some catching up to do. But when I came back not much had happened, Galnet gone, Community goals gone ..
The only thing it feels like I've missed are some alien structures and guardian modules... in 3 years.
Oh and the whole FC thing happened when I came back.

 

[Enderby]

EDistancing.

 

[hems303]

Welcome to the club, Old Duck! I, too, have put my CMDR on reserve status, or on vacation if you'd like. There's tons of other things to do, games to play, books to read, experiences to enjoy. We're under no obligation to wait for the New Era playing only Elite, after all.

My two commanders are now, to use an old naval term..'On the Beach' until CG's, II's, Thargoid activity, better missions and even GalNet are brought back. o7
P.s. Keeping my stufz in case FDev recover ED from where it is at present

 

[Cheese Helmet]

In one form or another, the question, "What are you going to do between now and New Era?" has cropped up in multiple threads as well as my own head. I think I finally have my answer. For the most part, I've approached this game as "active duty", in that I'm constantly looking for something to do - some new mission, new goal, new experience, etc. I've pretty much done all the procgen stuff that I'm interested in, be it trading, mining, exploring, running missions, etc. I've tried various community-created activities like squadrons, BGS, and expeditions, and I found some enjoyment in those for a season until these too became repetitive and ultimately boring for me personally. I've even done "out of the box" stuff like PvP piracy, which is enjoyable but not a full-time career, especially as Borann nears its end.

In other words, I have finished the game.

And yet, I haven't! This isn't the first time I've felt this way, only to return later when Frontier offers some compelling new content like the Interstellar Initiatives. So giving it some thought, I know that I will never quit this game as long as Frontier is supporting it. I have plenty of hard drive space, so no need to uninstall it. But what I think I will be doing is transitioning from "Active Duty" to "Reserves". This means changing my approach to how I play the game and how I build my fleet. Instead of looking for things to keep me playing, desperately trying to invent new content where there is none, I'll make sure I have the ships I need for the gameplay I enjoy (fighters, explorers, personnel transports, haulers, and support) and then basically leave the game until the next big "event" takes place. For me that event might be a community goal, an unexpected Thargoid Invasion, or some really compelling player initiative. I'll be "called up" as a member of the Reserves to help in whatever this event might be, to then return to standby until the next event. Of course New Era will likely result in me returning to active duty, but that's a long time from now.

This may sound all like "Duh, bro, that's just common sense!" to some of you, but for those of us who have made ED our primary game and a part of our lives, this is actually a pretty big "pivot" in mindset. Well, at least it is for me. But before you go all whitey knighty on me, understand this is a much better solution than rage-quitting and deleting Elite and burning an effigy of David Braben, as some are want to do around here. And it's not just as simple as putting down the game now and picking it up later, it's a change in relationship with the game, so much that it will in some ways feel like a different game than the one I am used to, kinda like New Game+ that many titles now offer. Most importantly, this will allow me to maintain a positive relationship with the game even during these tough times of content drought.

Anywho, just sharing these thoughts since the topic comes up over and over lately. Now I'll have a thread to point to! And I'm sure what I'm thinking will be further refined in any discussion that takes place.

Yeah I feel ya. Everytime I jump in im propelled with enthusiasm for new ship builds. Then I start the material grind.... Little wind out of the sails. Borann helped put the wind back, some good piracy that was neigh impossible without a predictable place to look for people selling goods was enjoyable. But the more people you pirate, the more go to solo. So that started drying up.

Looked back into powerplay, still dead. The pmfs are still kicking about some, but bgs presses you up against the mission system which is still much to be desired. It just deflates you lol.

Picked up Stellaris for a change of pace. Just on standby for wing fight calls in the meantime I reckon.

Just eats at me how much elite makes you feel like it doesn't want you to play lol, mostly just from consistent implementation of minimum viable product.

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

You could always become the GRIEVER that's hiding within.

 

[pnellesen]

This is pretty much how I've been playing since they ended CGs and IIs. I have been doing station repair and mining here and there as the mood strikes, but otherwise I'm in a holding pattern until/if something new ever happens again. (And I'll be honest, I will be surprised if we ever see the so-called "New Era" content get released)

 

[Chaparral]

How many hours per week is "in the reserves?"

 

[Old Duck]

How many hours per week is "in the reserves?"

Maybe an hour or two on the weekends if it's raining, though if this time mirrors previous "sabbaticals", I'll soon transition to the point where I'm not bothering to log in, period. I have already parked my pirate ship and turned off the lights, not much else to do.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

I'm in the same boat since quite a while...

So what am I doing right now?
Pre-prospecting a few future Carrier Waypoints in Deep Space.

While I can't prospect Rings for i.e. Tritium yet, I'll still leave behind a very dense matrix of fully explored Systems.
So when I arrive in that very region in my Carrier in the future, all I have to do is to check all those Rings and do some Hotspot Surveys.

PS.
But in the meantime, I'm occasionally a "Slayer" in Doom Eternal just as well (stupid Monsters, Legs, big guns, gibs... nice oldschool fun )

 

[Rock Hunter]

As things stand I’m playing a fair bit less than I have for the previous two and a half years. I’ll pop in and move my explorer a few jumps closer or farther (depending on your perspective) or do some combat in one of my Eagles on another account.

Frankly the delay to Next Era is allowing me to finally learn to fly in iL-Sturmovik, not quite the VR revelation that Elite is but how else am I ever going to fly a Spitfire?

I doubt I’ll ever quit ED, though losing VR would be a big crossroads, but it’s great to mix things up. It’s almost unfair to expect one game to offer enough entertainment to be your only game; though please note I’m not suggesting this of you OP, it’s merely a general observation.

 

[VR Jay Le Chardon]

Duck - similar to goose - migratory bird, it is just turning from spring to summer, hes migrating. Give him a season (few months) and he'll be heading back this way.

 

[hems303]

Already done that - remember, I've been playing this for three years, made Exploration Elite twice (closing in on my third). I've had enough until we get atmospheric landings.

For me, Atmospheric Landings is the treasure at the end of the rainbow, if it were done as per what is in my imagination (not too unrealistic I believe); then it will give Elite Dangerous Horizons the shot in the arm it really needs. IMHO © ® ™

 

[Vandaahl]

Isn't this the 2nd time you're leaving? This lasted about a week:

The End?

Let's put aside bugs and shadows and elephant butt leather for a moment and focus just on the game itself. I fired up Elite Dangerous after a few months on hiatus, did some things, and then exited with the thought, "I think I really am done with the game..." It just doesn't 'scratch the itch'...

forums.frontier.co.uk

So, cya next week o7

 

[CMDR X]

Download Raceroom Racing Experience and master the Nordschleife.
That'll give you something to do 'till 2021. It's what I do when bored with Elite.
X.

 

[Bob McBobblehead]

Borann burnout, happens to miners and pirates. Except for the introduction of fleet carriers in June, the game will basically be on pause until Q1 2021.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

BGS group activities used to do the job foe me. But since AI and players got so enormozs HP buffs I simply cant bother anymore. Compared to X4 ED is grind exponentialised.
True, X4 takes time too, but at least I can run NPCs earn money while I explore or fight. Not going the grind path in ED and just doing what I like doesnt get me anywhere to unlock the rest of the content. I just finished ED earlier