My, how times have changed...

[Pville_Piper]

I was going though my video archives and found a video recorded on June 6, 2015. I must have just started playing as I was in a Sidey with 22,000 credits. I must have had a good day as I was turning in 16,000 in bounties! I must have thought I was rich! The next day I turned in 25,000 in bounties on the next video.

Looking ahead to September 20, 2015 I was flying an Eagle (oh how I loved that ship back then!) and had a whopping 388,000 in the bank. I remember the agonizing decisions of whether to up grade, buy a new ship or to hold off for a while. Money was always short and not so easy to come by in those days so each decision was important and affected my game. I think of those who are starting out now and how different the game is and how easy money is... I wouldn't trade my early days for theirs, not for a minute. The galaxy was a more dangerous place then. At times the game was (is) very frustrating and then I found the forums and things got better... A big hats off to all of those whom have helped me along the way.

Fly safe commanders!

o7

 

[Iskariot]

I was going though my video archives and found a video recorded on June 6, 2015. I must have just started playing as I was in a Sidey with 22,000 credits. I must have had a good day as I was turning in 16,000 in bounties! I must have thought I was rich! The next day I turned in 25,000 in bounties on the next video.

Looking ahead to September 20, 2015 I was flying an Eagle (oh how I loved that ship back then!) and had a whopping 388,000 in the bank. I remember the agonizing decisions of whether to up grade, buy a new ship or to hold off for a while. Money was always short and not so easy to come by in those days so each decision was important and affected my game. I think of those who are starting out now and how different the game is and how easy money is... I wouldn't trade my early days for theirs, not for a minute. The galaxy was a more dangerous place then. At times the game was (is) very frustrating and then I found the forums and things got better... A big hats off to all of those whom have helped me along the way.

Fly safe commanders!

o7

Yes the game has changed more than many tend to acknowledge.
Getting big money is a lot easier.
People get from Sidewinder to a Python in a single weekend these days.
I met a cmdr the other day, who had not been playing the game for very long and he asked me how to upgrade his Corvette?
Can you believe it?

I think new players miss out on a lot.
I loved my time in the sidewinder. Upgrading it to the max, then buying a Viper Mk III and having fun for many weeks in that ship.
All in all it took me a year to buy a Python.
I am in a Corvette for only 3 months now and I have been playing the game since the start.

 

[Foxiol Eagle]

Those were great times indeed. I still remember all the ships I got, the time it took me to get each one of them and in the order from 1st to the last one. The last one was the Cutter like a week ago after some hard weeks of grinding without any exploit (just making missions and paying all those donations that came up).

I bought the Mercenary Edition and got a Sidewinder and a free Eagle, then went to an Adder and started to do some heavy trading because my main objective was to do some exploration, and for that I needed an Asp Explorer. So after the Adder I had to buy a Cobra and then a Type 6 which after months of trading (reminding the payments at that time...) I finally bought the Asp and went to explore back in August 2015 for about 3 months.

My new objective after those months of exploration was the Python (still my main ship)...but before that one I had to buy a Clipper (luckily after a Community Goal, there was no rank needed for it, so I spent all those credits made in exploration to buy it (used it for some Bounty hunting as well). Then some more heavy trading with the Clipper and after months I finally had enough money for the Python (had to sold the Asp too but kept the Clipper). Also bought an Imperial Courier and an Imperial Eagle when they came out to try them, still have the Imperial Eagle but sold the Courier.

All that in one full year of gameplay since release. Then Horizons came out and got a Cobra MkIV which I barely used, a Viper MkIV (still have both too).

Then took a break from the game for a couple of months or so, came back to some more exploration, trading and passengers (bought a Beluga for that, never used it) until I had enough money to buy the Cutter, but then needed the rank so had to do missions and donations like a boss for weeks.

And now here I am, unlocking some engineers, my Python is A rated with some upgrades, the Cutter is waiting for some more money so I can A rate it as well, and then after collecting enough materials (again) for upgrades I'll give it a proper try. (already bought almost everything but need the best power plant and shields so I can upgrade those those...need tons of materials so it will take a while).

Long story short, my favourite ship was and still is the Python, took me like one year or so to get it (once I had it, it felt like a brick since the Clipper I was used to the awesome Clipper), but after trying the Cutter now the Python feels like an Eagle. hahaha

About the payments and progression, for us that played for so long, now it feels right, it will be extremely painful to do anything in the game if payments were like 2 years ago. So for new players the game could be a little bit easier than it was for us, but still there is the rank progression which takes a lot of time, and engineers if you want to do that of course. Then there is the learning curve of each ship and such, I rather learn everything by myself (as I always do) than read some wiki's and such to play the game. That was the best part of the game, learning how everything works.

Then I personally never touched Powerplay but those pack hounds...probably one of the few things that I really want to get in the game still. (I rather have those unlocked by naval ranks instead of 4 weeks of playing a mode that I really don't want to play though...)

 

[Codger]

You sound older than me, even. Did you also have to walk to school, 10 miles through the snow, uphill both ways?

Seriously, the "good old days" are always tinted by nostalgia.

 

[Pville_Piper]

Yes the game has changed more than many tend to acknowledge.
Getting big money is a lot easier.
People get from Sidewinder to a Python in a single weekend these days.
I met a cmdr the other day, who had not been playing the game for very long and he asked me how to upgrade his Corvette?
Can you believe it?

Amazing... Kind of reminds you of that old song... "Hey buddy, how do I get this thing out of second gear!"

Spoiler

[video=youtube;enqNl7tdLR4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=enqNl7tdLR4[/video]

You sound older than me, even. Did you also have to walk to school, 10 miles through the snow, uphill both ways?

Seriously, the "good old days" are always tinted by nostalgia.

Yes... My dad insisted I do so...

As far as the good old days, I get that everyone plays differently and for different reasons but with so much money floating around many have missed out on things in the game

 

[Marshall...]

I enjoyed the early struggles. Took me about 7 months to get a Python, which is still my main ship. Bless my little Adder that i used to fly

 

[kryss]

For me it wasnt even the cash, or lack of it but trying to figure out where the second star in binary systems was, before i got an advanced discovery scanner!

 

[Ian Skippy]

I was going though my video archives and found a video recorded on June 6, 2015. I must have just started playing as I was in a Sidey with 22,000 credits. I must have had a good day as I was turning in 16,000 in bounties! I must have thought I was rich! The next day I turned in 25,000 in bounties on the next video.

Looking ahead to September 20, 2015 I was flying an Eagle (oh how I loved that ship back then!) and had a whopping 388,000 in the bank. I remember the agonizing decisions of whether to up grade, buy a new ship or to hold off for a while. Money was always short and not so easy to come by in those days so each decision was important and affected my game. I think of those who are starting out now and how different the game is and how easy money is... I wouldn't trade my early days for theirs, not for a minute. The galaxy was a more dangerous place then. At times the game was (is) very frustrating and then I found the forums and things got better... A big hats off to all of those whom have helped me along the way.

Fly safe commanders!

o7

And when 2.3 goes live new players can just sit idle in a Cutter as crewmember and get a fully tricked out corvette within hours, never having taken off in their sidey.

Progress or whatever...

- - - Updated - - -

I enjoyed the early struggles. Took me about 7 months to get a Python, which is still my main ship. Bless my little Adder that i used to fly

Something tells me that back then less people in Condas were unaware of how the basics of the ships worked too...

 

[Spacecat]

Op, tried to rep and couldn't. Anyway, the early days in my Cobra III were the most fun for me. I mainly just did nav beacon bounty hunting and cargo/courier missions in my sidewinder until I bought my Cobra. It was then that I finally tried res sites and really started trying to take on more combat oriented missions. Good times.

 

[encrypted]

Money is 100% too easy now.

Looking forward to slight increase to fuel + repair prices as well. Otherwise it's just too casual.

I remember my times in cobra, then T-6. When I was scratching my head like crazy of thinking if I wanna buy a T-9 or not - then I did, sold everything, but made some miscalculations and wasn't able to to buy a needed fsd for it - couldn't even leave the system. Sold it and lost some money ... )

Fun times they were.

 

[Thetele]

The original beta bubble time was the best time i have had in elite. The future looked good and i didn't see or know about huge fundamental issues the game universe had. After 1.1 and first couple CG opened my eyes and i started to see the holes in universe, bgs etc. and how badly game hided its simplicity. Like the original CG of Federations war against Onion head, gal net news said that federation was orbital bombing farmers and i got exited, took of and flew with 14 ly ship to system to find out that nothing like that ever existed in the game. System was just like all others and Earth like planed didn't look anything like a place were a massacre took place, no fleets, no big epic war just a system like any other system. Then at CG to build new capital ship, no capital ship under construction etc. I was really disappointed and went to forums to find why those weren't there. And i found out about open/solo/pg thing, CG being open to all, that everything in gal net was just lies and no such events or stuff existed in game, nothing to find out side the bubble and that the bubble was just same systems copy pasted over and over again with so simple and badly working bgs system and me not seeing other people who are in the system but can still effect the system, CG and bgs. It 100% ruined the game, immersion, lore, story everything for me. Since that i just don't are about bgs, gal net, story, CG etc. I miss the time didn't know how unimmersive this game is or how bare bones it is. But its still okey game to kill time with and have some fun.

I still hope that frontier take elite to the direction i thought it was going or were i thought it was but in reality wasn't and was never going to go to that direction. Credits for Frontiers marketing team for catching me back then and teaching me a lesson about pre-ordering or buying early access games from studios i had never heard of.

 

[lysan]

Not on my first billion yet, was in a cobra for a very long time, still enjoy it to the max.

Getting a big ship today is far to easy, but that is how it is.

Grinding credits on exploits is not fun to me, I like to just tool around and interact with the galaxy.

Unfortunately there is not a whole lot to interact with

PB backer.

 

[Pville_Piper]

The original beta bubble time was the best time i have had in elite. The future looked good and i didn't see or know about huge fundamental issues the game universe had. After 1.1 and first couple CG opened my eyes and i started to see the holes in universe, bgs etc. and how badly game hided its simplicity. Like the original CG of Federations war against Onion head, gal net news said that federation was orbital bombing farmers and i got exited, took of and flew with 14 ly ship to system to find out that nothing like that ever existed in the game. System was just like all others and Earth like planed didn't look anything like a place were a massacre took place, no fleets, no big epic war just a system like any other system. Then at CG to build new capital ship, no capital ship under construction etc. I was really disappointed and went to forums to find why those weren't there. And i found out about open/solo/pg thing, CG being open to all, that everything in gal net was just lies and no such events or stuff existed in game, nothing to find out side the bubble and that the bubble was just same systems copy pasted over and over again with so simple and badly working bgs system and me not seeing other people who are in the system but can still effect the system, CG and bgs. It 100% ruined the game, immersion, lore, story everything for me. Since that i just don't are about bgs, gal net, story, CG etc. I miss the time didn't know how unimmersive this game is or how bare bones it is. But its still okey game to kill time with and have some fun.

I still hope that frontier take elite to the direction i thought it was going or were i thought it was but in reality wasn't and was never going to go to that direction. Credits for Frontiers marketing team for catching me back then and teaching me a lesson about pre-ordering or buying early access games from studios i had never heard of.

Yeah, Battlefield taught me that pre-ordering was a mixed bag... But for me the game is going in a good direction... Got some wing mates, fun ships and adventures ahoy!

 

[DefiledDragon]

It certainly has become easier to make money there's no doubt about that. Having said that, it's still possible for a new player to stay in a sidewinder for a week, if they wanted to. It just seems that most people don't want to.

 

[Pville_Piper]

It certainly has become easier to make money there's no doubt about that. Having said that, it's still possible for a new player to stay in a sidewinder for a week, if they wanted to. It just seems that most people don't want to.

I don't blame them... I still remember stepping up to the Eagle and what a good feeling that was. I tried the hauler and adder but hated them, I think I stayed in the Eagle pretty much until I could afford a Cobra and then went on to the Asp Scout briefly and the Asp X from there. Tried the Cobra IV and the Keelback back then but they were not for me. Somewhere along the way I flew the Diamondback Scout and loved it but needed more cargo. Same with the Vulture. Stayed in the Asp X until I could get me the FAS... Which was love at first flight! I've also had the Dropship, not too bad of a miner.

Now I have a T-6 and Keelback for no particular reason, a Viper 3 with DD5 drives and the enhanced 3A thrusters, both DiamondBacks (just because) an FGS (which I've come to love as much as the FAS) and my latest addition, the Python. I've got quite a few ships and like to fly them all. I've spent a small fortune shipping them around the bubble as I travel. I will likely get a few more as time goes... Heck, I have a pair of fully engineered 5A thrusters with DD5s on them just aching for some flight time. Might just get another Vulture... We'll see...

 

[Besensec]

There is a dilemma: if money is to hard to get, then PvP is impossible because of insurances costs; If money is too easy, then ships are too easy to buy (and reaching the endgame too quickly).

It surprises me how hard it is for ED to find a solution to balance both horns, and to the money situation in general (as in Multicrew, why not cap the rewards by rank instead of simple duplicates?). Moreover, the game has a noticeable tendency to repetitive mechanics, and even with the diversity of missions, they tend to feel the same. So to make money to hard would expose the game to more criticism about it being too grindy.

 

[lysan]

I was going though my video archives and found a video recorded on June 6, 2015. I must have just started playing as I was in a Sidey with 22,000 credits. I must have had a good day as I was turning in 16,000 in bounties! I must have thought I was rich! The next day I turned in 25,000 in bounties on the next video.

Looking ahead to September 20, 2015 I was flying an Eagle (oh how I loved that ship back then!) and had a whopping 388,000 in the bank. I remember the agonizing decisions of whether to up grade, buy a new ship or to hold off for a while. Money was always short and not so easy to come by in those days so each decision was important and affected my game. I think of those who are starting out now and how different the game is and how easy money is... I wouldn't trade my early days for theirs, not for a minute. The galaxy was a more dangerous place then. At times the game was (is) very frustrating and then I found the forums and things got better... A big hats off to all of those whom have helped me along the way.

Fly safe commanders!

o7

All I can say is this....

Spoiler

[video=youtube;Xe1a1wHxTyo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo[/video]

 

[Mikey2305]

Aye we were poor but we were 'appy in those dqys...

The beep beep song. Not heard thar for years. Thanks for the link and rep!

 

[Wobblin-Gobblin]

I'm playing since Dec. 2014 now and my biggest ship is a T9 for trading.

For combat, I've switched from a vulture to a FAS to a FDL. I didn't like the paper shields of the FAS. I've sold it, but i kept the vulture.

For now, I'm on my way back from Hawking's Gap to the bubble via statue of liberty nebula. I've left the bubble at the end of november 2016 in an ASPX.

If I'd sold all my ships, I couln't afford a cutter or corvette at all. And far away from A-rated

Fly save Cmdrs o7

 

[Kigre]

My completely noob friend got from a sidey to a T-6 within the day we started playing.

I could not a agree more with OP.
Wouldnt trade these days for the past days.

Money is too easy to come by. FDEV should just make a system where you make 50 mil each trip, locally.
Cause as it is now, money gives no depth to the game.