Looks like ED is safe from competition until at least 2020

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Elite is further protected by the system depth that most other developers would turn away from, probably what people call the "learning curve".

Even star citizen looks like its not that brave, all the video's ive seen are pretty similar to everspace for controls.. but in 2018 i genuinely have lost interest in it. Its completely done even before its out.

 

[SAB380]

I don't assume that in Starfield you'll actually be flying the ships.
Its a Bethesda game and travelling in Elder Scrolls/Fallout is generally done by cut scene and/or fade to black.
I just assume it'll be the same here. - it may be Mass Effect style where you have a ship but aren't the pliot and just give an order where to travel.
We don't know if they're even using the same engine but its not an unrealistic guess to say it'll be on the same engine and be their Star Wars style sci-fi RPG.

 

[White Prime]

Yeah. Bethesda's Starfield is going to be the biggest threat to Elite by far.

The other big dev houses are realising the colossal appetite players have for Space Sims.

 

[Borko]

Well, Star Citizen gave me an unintended incentive to play. The game glitched out and gave -- GAVE -- me a an Aegis Reclaimer I in no way earned or paid for. I can summon it, I can enter it, I can fly it, I can haul cargo in it, and I did nothing to earn it.

Fun watching the knobs swarm around it in Port Olisar. People seem determined to steal it, though seeing as I didn't earn it I don't really care.

If Chris Roberts turns out to be a visionary instead of a loon, SC is gonna be cool. And no, it won't kill Elite, even if it succeeds on every level; they're different games and different experiences, and I think there is enough room in the market for both. SC won't stop me from playing ED.

Starfield? Until we hear it's something other than Skyrim in space, I'm not interested. Isn't that called Mass Effect?

 

[Devari]

My feeling is Starfield will be the only natural competitor but that's only going to be released when next gen consoles are out apparently. Star Citizen is....well....they're selling a ship pack for 27k. Insanity. I suspect we might actually be living the space fantasy before Star Citizen is released. I was hoping for some competition soon just to push FDev a bit. I don't see any real meaty DLC while they have a monopoly on the genre.

SC probably won't reach beta before 2020 and will need at least a few years in beta before a commercial release. However, once that happens what's left of Elite is not going to be remotely competitive any longer. In fact it's not remotely competitive right now but when there are really no other retail space games to actually compete against (and no, NMS still doesn't count) that shouldn't be surprising.

 

[LuxAeterna]

One thing will hold true, though. Those that want space legs and atmo planets WILL go to SC when/if it's finally released, if Fdev can't deliver soon.

To compare, Star Citizen has better content and ships/vehicles but isn't close to being released; while Elite is low on content and ships but is a fully released game (that's another debate).

You can mission and trade all you like in SC without the constant back and forth to the stations/outposts (players can even create missions), PVP/E and even do some exploring of the moons around the system. You'll get the same content with Elite but with a lot of running around accepting/turning-in missions and exploration just as dull.

Star Citizen is Elite's main competitor (term used loosely, atm) and when SC does release Fdev had better have a full deck of cards to keep players interested.

2020 is a solid prediction...

 

[Sweet&Dandy]

SC probably won't reach beta before 2020 and will need at least a few years in beta before a commercial release. However, once that happens what's left of Elite is not going to be remotely competitive any longer. In fact it's not remotely competitive right now but when there are really no other retail space games to actually compete against (and no, NMS still doesn't count) that shouldn't be surprising.

You are forgetting VR... you don't play ED, you experience Elite Dangerous! Chris Roberts with a DK1 strapped to his head all those years ago promised us SC would be a VR game. He can barely make this one as a 2D game so ED has nothing to worry about as far as I'm concerned!

 

[Borko]

No. NMS simply doesn’t compare. It plays like a cartoon and feels amateurish all the way through.

 

[Riverside]

what's left of Elite is not going to be remotely competitive

Here you make a good point, assuming the game does not improve to keep up with the competition sales may well die off. If that lack of revenue becomes a concern for FDev at the time they could step up their game or cut their losses.

On the basis that I'd much rather they step up their game I encourage the competition to step up themselves

 

[Chaparral]

Don't discount Cyberpunk. CD Projekt Red does amazing work. Even though it's quasi-scifi, I know I'll be all over it. I don't see Starfield being any kind of flight sim, but sand box with mini story arcs, crafting, and base-building is Bethesda's niche. Layer modding on top of that, and these two offerings will definitely suck players out of ED.

My fantasy is that FDEV would sell its environment engine to one of those two publishers and let them build an rp world within it. ED is so beautiful, so intensely realized as a setting - just so empty as a "game".

 

[Reina Kaede]

Remember when it wasn't a competition and we were just happy to have multiple space sim games in development again?

 

[Borko]

Yes, Reina. You’re right. I usually have two games on the go. Both of those are now space sims. Star Citizen hasn’t replaced ED, it’s replaced Fallout 4.

 

[krylite]

I don't think Frontier could have been "pushed" any faster for dev on ED. They had to survive as an expanding company with other products , PC and now JWE, and now have over 400 employees, since they weren't previously established as a triple-A studio and without dubious marketing for dreamer funds like SC . They've been pragmatic and professional, where the PS4 port was a major problematic delay besides realistic dev expectations , and they now are set to continue to improve ED which I still have faith is their flagship product. As for competition, I'm still betting ED comes out on top in 2020 especially in this niche of 1:1 galactic realism of the genre. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...Expectations?p=6759704&viewfull=1#post6759704 When they do get spacelegs, it'll be last nail in the coffin of the SC ponzi boondogle.

 

[Mengy]

We really have no idea what Starfield is going to be yet, other than a Bethesda game in a sci fi setting.

However, we do know that Starfield is using Bethesda's next gen engine, it will not be on their current Creation engine. We also know that one major priority of Bethesda's new engine is vehicle support, they've stated so several times over the past few years. So with that in mind, it's not too far fetched to think that Starfield just might include some form of spaceship mechanics as well. I doubt it would ever be anything as in depth as Elite's flight model, BUT, again, we don't know what they are going for with this new IP.

It's possible that Starfield will have space legs, and spaceship flying, AND atmospheric worlds, all in one game, from the very get go. It's possible.

But yes, Starfield is at least one full year away, but more probably two years, so in 2020. Expect footage of it at E3 2019 and a launch sometime in 2020. We do know it's playable now, Todd Howard said so, but it's probably still using alpha placeholder graphics, which is likely why they didn't show any of it this year.

 

[Pablo-Diablo]

If X4 had multiplayer and was anythig like X3 we'd have a winner.

Also Dual Universe looks interesting and Infinity: Battlescape looks promising.

 

[Ignition]

One thing is for sure, we don't have a good space game yet.

 

[GTwannabe]

SC probably won't reach beta before 2020 and will need at least a few years in beta before a commercial release. However, once that happens what's left of Elite is not going to be remotely competitive any longer. In fact it's not remotely competitive right now but when there are really no other retail space games to actually compete against (and no, NMS still doesn't count) that shouldn't be surprising.

All those beautifully detailed SC ship interiors don't do much good when you're constantly falling out of your ship due to clipping bugs.

 

[Majic-12]

But is Elite: Dangerous safe from itself?

That's the question that can keep us up at night.

 

[Oopsie Daisy]

[h=1]Looks like ED is safe from competition until at least 2020[/h]

That's too bad. This game could really do with some competent competition.

 

[kofeyh]

Remember when it wasn't a competition and we were just happy to have multiple space sim games in development again?

Frontier needs competition. Competition makes companies hungry for growth and their focus switches to solid output because their bottom line comes down to the fact they have to stand on merit and value; it's not automatic because they are the only kid in town. They don't have time to procrastinate and walk back changes and faff about and not communicate very much and do them four times over.

Frontier desperately need competition. Good competition. It will drive them in a way no commander, or the forums, or any group, ever could. Frontier does good work, when pushed to do good work. They, with the best of respect, really need constant pushing.

SC would have been competition; but it's really trying to capture a different feel and whilst some mechanics are similar, it's something different.