My Concern

[BennyBoyW]

.... is that the game on full release will have enough to do to hold all of our interest.
At the moment, I am flying an Anaconda, have done the trade thing to death, have done combat sites, missions etc., have gone chasing unidentified signal sources.
I must admit that currently I am thinking of backing off again till the next big release.
Thoughts ?

 

[Toumal]

Back off until the next release. Problem solved. We all know that the beta doesn't contain all the needed parts yet. No need to worry. Yet.

 

[Dr Zachary Smith]

try this

.... is that the game on full release will have enough to do to hold all of our interest.
At the moment, I am flying an Anaconda, have done the trade thing to death, have done combat sites, missions etc., have gone chasing unidentified signal sources.
I must admit that currently I am thinking of backing off again till the next big release.
Thoughts ?

I was in the same place man, what I did was set myself goals e.g
see how much bounty you can incur on yourself by shooting friendlies at a beacon collecting their loot and then getting back into the station with the loot and selling it.
Preferably a station with a black market that's not in an anarchy system such as Chango in I bootis, it's fun trying to get back into Chango un scanned with a few thousand bounty on your head and a cargo full of stolen loot Try it with stupid ships like the hauler it's hilarious causing murder at the beacon with your hauler yaaaaaar target the cargo hatch and catch the boooty !!!

 

[ste]

You are right to be wondering why it feels like there little to do, because alot of it is still missing.

The beta isnt an accurate representation of what is in the full game.

And your also right, there is no benefit to playing the beta to death and being so sick of it you dont even want to play the full game.

 

[WDeja]

If you've done trading to death I'll assume money is no object.

I'd try flyin other ships and different loadouts (if you haven't already), but yes most of the features are still not implemented.

Try to make your own fun like Dr Zachary Smith ^

Feel free to add CMDR WDeja, a wingman can add some cool gaming dynamics.

 

[MadDogMurdock]

This is a good opportunity to try out gameplay styles that aren't your first choice.

 

[Alric]

Stop playing. Or stop playing much at least.
Isolating specific mechanics and grinding them to death without all the other richness of the universe will just detract from the final game.

 

[blulark]

You could try pvp, just visit that lovely freeport in online open mode in your anaconda. There's no penalties apart from creating enemies and lots of lost credits. Its interesting how differently pvp combat is from pve combat. Esp when people know that turning off fa gives you very great advantage.

 

[Hydrino]

.... is that the game on full release will have enough to do to hold all of our interest.
At the moment, I am flying an Anaconda, have done the trade thing to death, have done combat sites, missions etc., have gone chasing unidentified signal sources.
I must admit that currently I am thinking of backing off again till the next big release.
Thoughts ?

I have no concern with Elite holding my interest for a long, long time. But I'm not doing a lot of grinding now as there will be wipes and it is not a feature complete first release (mining, fuel scooping and exploration are three big systems still to come). Exploration, naming stars and systems, and the social meta-game of watching the PU expand with player actions will be fun to follow. EVA and FPS and planetary landing modes coming after initial release will continue to evolve the game and play. There will be famous player pirates and probably massive bounty hunts to find them as an example of emergent play. Two years from inception to delivery is very aggressive AAA game development cycle, and in addition to the follow-on major expansions, I expect we will see ongoing server-side additions to missions and other bits after release.

A lot of games are very repetitive and questions of whether it will hold your interest are just one of preference. The typical FPS for example is just a dozen maps and the same game play over and over. Other story-driven games have a limited play time and the story ends. If you have ideas to add things you think would give the game more longevity, post them in the forums, the Devs do read these.

And someone will find the Thargoids somewhere out there, which could open up lots of interesting story-lines.

 

[Ayo]

Just back off for a while, seriously. It's been great to be able to try it out so early, but the world isn't quite 'there' yet. I've just been dipping in every now and then when I think of something I want to test or if I feel like exploring the galaxy map some more

I can't get full on into the game until more sophisticated stories start to emerge from playing. That needs more motivations (beyond credits), more short/medium/long term goals (beyond new weapons and ships), more unexpected events, more variety of locations and a bigger area to explore. Also the fact that you can get to the Anaconda in a week is great for testing but gives no sense of achievement, especially when the quickest way to do this means avoiding all risk.

I'm not concerned. The beta is a great foundation and we have a very good idea of what will be in the game when it is released. If they achieve it (and I see no reason, beyond rushing the game out, why they can't), then this will keep my interest for a looong time.

 

[flexy123]

I am giving you my very honest reply here:

*I AM* concerned since I still have in the back of my head that E: D is to be released end of this year, likely in November or December.

Ok, we don't have an idea what is worked on and what devs priorities are, but I have a VERY difficult time to imagine that the game will be what it *COULD* be or should be in only two, maybe three months. There is simply NO WAY ON EARTH.

Solid multi-player that actually deserves this name? (Not only two dots on the radar as a "multi player experience)...and core game elements which makes this game more than "go from A to B to make some money".

There is so much which needs a change for this game getting appeal that can SUSTAIN as a "game experience" for weeks, months even...there is simply no way that this is in the finished game "end of this year".

As for now, we have a pretty good implementation of the original elite, but this is not enough.

And..by the way..what does NOT have priority is adding 4Bil more star systems....which would make the "multi player experience" even more...disappointing...spreading people out over even more systems. This universe is already relatively empty.

This game HAS potential, but I don't see this realized "soon", unless of course I'd be very surprised and those devs are wizards and would "magically" add to this game what it needs...within the next two months..

Just being honest, guys.

PS: Scrap that planetary landing expansion and make procedural planets NOW. You CAN NOT SELL a game which is based on 90% flying through dark, empty space from station A to B. We have 2014. Rather delay the entire game and make it RIGHT, including planets etc. and all the fun things. Not as an "expansion" for 2016. Please see this as constructive, but flying through empty space just makes fun for a very short while.

 

[Ayo]

I am giving you my very honest reply here:

*I AM* concerned since I still have in the back of my head that E: D is to be released end of this year, likely in November or December...

If FD find that they are unable to deliver what they promised in the time-frame they have said, then they will delay the release. They don't have publishers pushing the game out of the door and have a passionate team looking to deliver a great experience. What could go wrong? (Oh crap, why did I have to say that!)

 

[flexy123]

They have the backers, money and most importantly fantastic devs. I have no doubts they get it done...just not this November or December. Releasing a game in November which may become boring after a week playing wouldn't make too much sense.

"What could go wrong?"
Answer: If you're a software dev..you know...EVERYTHING

But the current 'problems' (if we want to call it that way) are not really "code related" (except things like netcode etc.)...they are more broad, revolving around what the game should offer *as a whole*. That's how I see it.

 

[Krow]

OK two things...

1. From my knowledge, nobody knows exactly where their development is at. (if anyone does know I'd been keen to hear)

2. To hell with deadlines and promises. Make this game all it can be and take the time needed to make it happen.

This community is brimming with great idea's, people, concepts and feedback. Let's not get impatient.
I've been waiting for this game for many years.
I hope it becomes all it could be before it's released, and would gladly wait for the time needed to make this happen.

 

[bassman]

There is so much which needs a change for this game getting appeal that can SUSTAIN as a "game experience" for weeks, months even...there is simply no way that this is in the finished game "end of this year".

Agreed, to get a gameplay level which implements all the mechanics outlined in the various DDF proposals is going to take at least another 9 months or so I would think.

 

[Viajero]

Yes, this beta is so polished that it actually gives the impression of being the actual final game and hence leading to comments such as the OP.

If anythting I think it is actually a praise for the quality of the current early version, even with all the issues it still has (instancing, netcode, lack of narrative and context, ship bugs etc), and all the things still missing in it: http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?p=443428#post443428

All the advice given above is probably very reasonable indeed: Have a break and maybe wait for release (whenever that will be).

 

[CaptainKremmen]

For me, the fantastic thing about joining the beta phase is not having to magic up Zen-like patience, like I normally do when anticipating the arrival of a new game.

Some time around April, I think, FD opened up the solo combat scenarios for me to cut my teeth on.

In late May, I got to fly around in the ED world as it stood then. Stations! Hyperspace! Trading!

In late July, I got more ED systems to explore, extra ships to fly and new modules to try. Fuel! Comms! Police!

This process will continue, and I get to try each new iteration.

One of those iterations will be called a formal release.

After that, there will be MORE iterations, expanding and enhancing... for a long time, I hope.


Am I worried about which one will be called the "formal release"? Nope. Not my problem. Not my worry. I'll let FD worry about that! Me, I'll be in my Cobra. Or Sidewinder, Viper, Anaconda, or whatever.

 

[forger]

my 2 c.

strip GTA of most activities and mission trees and you will be bored in couple hours, that's exactly what ED has now, when there will mining, 25+ ships, REAL conflict zones that matter and change their payout depending on which side loses and which wins, explorers pushing human frontiers even further, FULL reputation system that will take months or even years to achieve and FINALLY reach elite level missions that should be really insane, also new missions will be added in time (especially after expansions will be LOADS of new missions with completely new gameplay mechanic), cooperative multiplayer missions for wings, player owned bottom range stations filled with pirate/smuggler groups that other bounty hunter groups will hunt and destroy (all composed by players)....and then comes FPS and boarding, walking inside stations....then planetary landings with cross missions in space/on land, driving vehicles on planets surface, killing animals or other living things there and just taking day or two off from space...thargoids...

i am not worried even for a second about the amount of fun i will have in next 5 years