News NPC AI update

[CMDR Rakzoid]

First of all: I play games for entertainment. Not a professional here just want to enjoy and relax playing one of my favourite games ever. Started playing Elite on my Comodore 64.
I mainly fly around in my Cobra MK3. Played this game from Beta but had to stop for more then a year due to health issues. Now finaly back and eagerly bought the season pass to play Elite Horizons 1 week ago.
I dont mind being interdicted due to a wanted status I got. What I do mind is not getting a fair chance of fighting myself out of it.
When interdicted and fail to escape the interdiction, the NPC has already shot my shields down and I end up with around 90 to 60 % hull left before my ship stabilizes itself and I am able to do something.
Only thing for me to do is spam my afterburner and hope to survive the time it takes for my fsd to cool down. Especially when having scanned a few unknown systems to me, I dont want to loose my ship before I got the chance of cashing in the scans.
I know a solution is to buy a big ship but it takes time to make enough credits to buy it and equip it with A type gear. Also upgrading gear trough the new engineering takes time. (no problems with the time needed to accomplish this)
But at least give me a chance to fight back and dont make me flee every time I get interdicted. Since last patch (yesterday) I end up with at least hull dmg after failing to flee interdiction. It dosnt matter what NPC ship type tackles me. Even a novice sidewinder npc manges to get me into hull dmg before my ship stabilizes. A game should be entertainment. There are already other space games totaly centered on loosing ships please dont let Elite go there.

 

[Aksuaho]

Since 2.1 I avoided being destroyed, although it was very close. Since yesterday I was interdicted 3 times by the same kind of Python. Flying an A fitted Python myself I wonder what weapons this AI uses. It is deadly, I get a thermal attack warning and my 6A (3 SBs, 4pips on sys) shield is melting away. I keep boosting all the time, but this NPC has also pimped engines. By the time my FS drive starts (due to mass lock it takes ages) my hull is nearly gone. What the hell did these guys do to the game?

 

[Tecker]

Since 2.1 I avoided being destroyed, although it was very close. Since yesterday I was interdicted 3 times by the same kind of Python. Flying an A fitted Python myself I wonder what weapons this AI uses. It is deadly, I get a thermal attack warning and my 6A (3 SBs, 4pips on sys) shield is melting away. I keep boosting all the time, but this NPC has also pimped engines. By the time my FS drive starts (due to mass lock it takes ages) my hull is nearly gone. What the hell did these guys do to the game?

In simple Words?
They wrecked it to death.
I buy´d ED itself and Horizons + 4 or 5 Skins for my Ships but at this State of Balance i am sure to invest not a single Cent into this Game.

 

[Shakhaz]

I am dying too often now because of this update. It seems that is not just the weaponry it's also the maneuvering which has been effected by the update.

 

[Tecker]

I am dying too often now because of this update. It seems that is not just the weaponry it's also the maneuvering which has been effected by the update.

/sign

Feel it yesterday.
First i´ve got Interdicted by a Bounty Hunter (got a +-4k Bounty) in a Imperial Courier.
Myself was sitting in a Cobra MK4 and i never seen him trough my Front Window.
Runned away.
Then got interdivted by an Cobra MK3 Pirate.
After i got his Shields down and his Hull to 70% he activates the CHUCK NORRIS Mode.
Turned me out with every Trick i got incl. FA off.
Spammed me with Rockets like Hell.
Killed me after 20 Jumps to get to an Engineer.
Frustrating like hell and absolutely no Fun to Play.
The old AI was bugged since Beta (Spin of Death or not open Fire) but this is not a Bugfix.
This is a absolut new Game after over a Year (for me after over 7 Mounths and over 1200 Gameplay Hours)
I have Rank Deadly and 30% to Elite.
Over 325 Million Credits for over 8000 Bountys.
If someone say i should learn to play i must smile.

 

[Case33]

This is a good warning that no matter how well we think we have the 3 laws worded, When mankind achieves a true Artificial Intelligence it will be our greatest discovery, it will also be our last.

 

[RafeZetter]

This is a good warning that no matter how well we think we have the 3 laws worded, When mankind achieves a true Artificial Intelligence it will be our greatest discovery, it will also be our last.

About as much chance of finding sentient life on another planet, but the same results I would imagine.

 

[Adiri]

Can you imagin what this update do to newbies? Peopel who not even know that there Engineers or a Community Forum? Peopel who bought there first Copra MK3 after there first trades and little missions they have done?!
I gave this game to my brother to play together with him but he quit this game after a view weeks, he died several times just during docking or pirate attacks <-- before the update goes live... Just to give you an idea what new people madder about...
I see that skilled people are happy about the changes... may be it´s ok for special missions or regions controlled by cruel pirates but not for the general gameplay.
Please fix it! it´s definitifly to hard for casual players, especially for newbies!

 

[Zplintz]

What an awesome bug with amazing (but devastating) consequences - just goes to show how exciting a world populated by evermore complicated AI controlled machines is going to be.

 

[buzbyticus]

I have died more times in the last 20 hours of gameplay than I did in the first 900. I have not been able to complete a trade, return to a station with mined commodities, or complete material gathering missions since 2.1 went live. The first time I launched in 2.1 I was dead within a minute, losing a bunch of cargo, bounties, and exploration data. And it didn't get much better with 2.1.1. It has been a week of total frustration such that all the joy has been sucked out of this game.

I don't claim to be some bad-ass pilot who should really be in a fighter jet rather than in front of a keyboard; I'm just some schmoe who wants to get a buzz on and pretend to fly around space making pretend trades, exploring pretend systems, and occasionally engaging in some pretend spacedogfighting against pretend adversaries. I was looking forward to be able to start doing pretend crafting with the 2.1 release but the reality has proven to be very discouraging. I hope Frontier will continue to tweak the balancing so that I can keep pretending but I think I'm going to stay grounded for the time being.

 

[Amara]

There totally needs to be a canon explanation for the Night Of The Living NPCs. Dark Wheel uprising? Thargoid agents? A shadowy new fourth power emerging onto the scene?

 

[CMDR Rakzoid]

Maybe its time to give the players the option to set AI difficulty? This way everybody can play the game to his/hers like. Now I have the impression the game is only meant for hardcore players.

 

[KomPot]

After 2.1 release I realised it's time to sell my battleship. I purchased Eagle and life became a bit easier. Except cases when I meet Eagle opponent AI, my life becomes a carousel. This quickly bores.

 

[Oldschool]

The latest patch has toned it down slightly but definitely not fixed it.............

Agreed, it's still too much for me. Getting shield smoked and power mods borked within 2 or 3 sec.s. Not enough time to get away. Don't have enough time to charge s/c or h/s.

Doesn't happen every time, just way too often. Kill 2 or 3 npc's then the server thinks it's your turn, poof................insta pop even with full health. Thermal burns way too hot on the AI side of the
fights, not so much for the player.

 

[Tecker]

Hate the new AI.
With Vulture fighting makes a bit fun but the FdL is a Heavy Fighter and gets his A.. kicked.
Why from 0 to 100?
Since release no one on FD cares about the mighty Bugs in the old AI and now they switch from extrem bugged and dumb NPC´s to a level like Endbosses in some Games.
A way in the middle whould be nice.

 

[Moonax IRL]

Hate the new AI.
With Vulture fighting makes a bit fun but the FdL is a Heavy Fighter and gets his A.. kicked.
Why from 0 to 100?
Since release no one on FD cares about the mighty Bugs in the old AI and now they switch from extrem bugged and dumb NPC´s to a level like Endbosses in some Games.
A way in the middle whould be nice.

FDL is an excellent ship, you have no excuses. Use FA off and learn to pilot properly.

 

[carlosmaline]

On way back from core....jeeze what's been going on. May stay out till bug is properly fixed. I'm not fixed up on defence or weapons. Carrying shed loads of data though.

 

[EdzUp]

Well my first encounter with a NPC was entertaining i was left with 37% of me sidey hull left when the police turned up and engaged the pirate. The pirate interdicted me and wanted cargo abd proceeded to just start firing i dont even have a cargo hold so that was weird.

Pirate NPCs at nav points are more intelligent they will scan you and if you havent got cargo they look elsewhere. Maybe this could be shared with other pirates

 

[Vixsy]

I still wonder about the game focus for players, those that are more combat savvy and hunt bounties etc as opposed to the explorers/miners/traders find the NPC AI changes as no change to a little more challenging. Whereas the explorers/miners/traders have found a fight/flight go to a "won't escape" fight, kissing goodbye to 2,000,000+ in cargo alone atm. I understand this is a blanket statement and combat abilities of all explorers/miners/traders aren't all less than the combat oriented player or vice versa.

I have been given advice that just because you explore/mine/trade doesn't mean pirates aren't going to come after you, I definitely agree. My only retort is that I didn't take out a front page ad in Pirate Weekly letting them know where I would be and what times. Feels like it with the amount of interdictions.

I don't have vast amounts of credits to fall back on and definitely follow the rule of can't afford the loss, don't fly it. Pity there is no option to also insure cargo as well, it would make life a little easier. I haven't played in the last few days just due to plummeting funds. Will attempt again today, hopefully my shields will hold while running and won't go pop in 2-3 secs then all power, followed by stepping into the void.

Will be watching for more tweaks. In space no one can hear you scream, but my wife has to listen to my frustrations, she has no idea what I am talking about but nods and smiles. Bless her heart [heart]

 

[CMDR Chimpinalls]

Imagine being a deep space explorer and spending hours outside inhabited space collecting scans only to be randomly interdicted and immediately killed on the way in to sell the data. If I was carrying valuable cargo I might expect trouble with pirates. If I had a bounty on my head I'd expect bounty hunters. When I'm flying an exploration vessel and get pulled out of FSD by a ship intent on killing me instantly it feels like NPCs have become griefers. Other than this aspect, I love what the engineers added to the game but if I'm constantly having hours of effort stolen from me by NPC with nothing to gain, I'm not going to be playing anymore.

My suggestion would be to make the likelyhood of being attacked more based on value of cargo, bounties, entering into contested territories etc.