Passenger missions and mechanics looks.....like normal cargo!
- Thread starter lysan
- Start date
Is anyone really surprised by this striking similarity? I certainly am not. Many a jaded ED vet predicted what 2.2 is sadly shaping up to be months ago. The unfortunate part of the Elite Dangerous universe these days is Frontier's stunning predictability when it comes to their pre-release hype vs the actual deliverable content.
While I haven't played ED in weeks, I am still curious about any possible improvements to the current state of affairs that may come in the next chapter of 2.xx.
Just started watching the YouTube video of yesterday's live stream from Gamescom. Just saw a tidbit about the new Beluga liner, (beautiful ship) with of course no mention of the cost of the ship other than it will be expensive and confirmation that it will be about the size of a Conda or Corvette. A passenger lounge is being added to the current mission board but as usual, it looks basically identical to existing mission offerings except they replaced the word CARGO with PASSENGERs and/or TOURISTs.
Ed and Sandy are raving about what they are showing, but all I am seeing is a very slightly modified mission offering with a lot of button pushing going on, and the addition of some jerk off passengers who demand you make a detour to procure them some booze or whatnot. WOW! That sounds like fun! [uhh] All I could see at the core of the missions they were watching was the laughably LOW payouts!
But before I even bother to watch the rest of this looooong video with so far very little actual information.... Let me cut to the chase and ask the only question that really matters with this whole 2.2 passenger focused update... WHAT IS THE JUMP RANGE of this new ship? 60? 80? 100ly per jump?
Anything less than 60Ly per jump is going to make this entire addition one big tedious YAWN! So its no surprise that I fully expect Frontier to do just the opposite of what they should do and gimp this beautiful new ship with some ridiculously low jump range.
With the new Bubble beginning to actually become a thing, I was hoping FD would finally get a clue and offer us something that could actually make the run out to Jaques in a reasonable period of time and thus would entice more players to make the trip.
We are not going to get what we need are we?
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The time-money ratio is horrendous for those missions.
There's no new mechanics with passengers over a box of space rock or slaves.
There's even a typo on display in the VIP mission menu ("Our you going to take us or what?").
The new ship looks neat but until I'd like to see stats.
Not exactly impressed so far.
There's no new mechanics with passengers over a box of space rock or slaves.
There's even a typo on display in the VIP mission menu ("Our you going to take us or what?").
The new ship looks neat but until I'd like to see stats.
Not exactly impressed so far.
I think this update is wholly devoid of creativity. The only mechanically gameplay problem fixed is the fuel scoop filter to filter out routing to un-scoopable stars. Was absolutely pathetic listening to the Frontier guys laugh about how they were putting Fuel Rats out of business. I was like "Yeah because there is so much gameplay depth in the game due to FRONTIER creating it that players bored out of their mind are busy creating it. Meanwhile Frontier chooses to do this then laugh about it instead of fixing some of the higher priorities of the community which they actively ignore. It is really sad this game is in the hands of FRONTIER.
Sandro clearly stated that balancing of payments will be one of the very last things they do, so I would not go on what was in that video. Indeed, aside from the basic mechanics, I would take the whole video with a massive pinch of salt.
I always suspected that passenger missions were a bit of a niche thing, and never going to have a mass appeal. Reasonably (for me) they were never going to offer anything wildy different from cargo. Especially the economy class runs - what were people expecting ferrying cheap/poor citizens around to be like? Being a coach driver is not dramatically different from being a truck driver. If you thought it might be then I believe your imagination got the better of you.
I think the VIP stuff looks interesting, and the tourism looks good too - and I like how they've based in/on to the explorer path, getting advancement from visiting tourist destinations and scanning the tourist beacons.
Why so many people have latched on to the money when it was clearly stated several times and answered in the Q&A they don't finalise the reward structure until last is also confusing. I think some of you either need to pay more attention or take your blinkers off and stop just looking for negative things to jump on and complain about.
When 2.1 landed it wasn't just the engineers - there were plenty of changes that really changed the game for me, in a good way. I think the engineers in their current state are excellent. Going on what we've seen so far I think 2.2 will have a similar impact
It's the first day of the conference (I assume the announcements will escalate in significance as the conference goes on) and this forum is already awash with bitter criticism and arguments, chill out!
I think the VIP stuff looks interesting, and the tourism looks good too - and I like how they've based in/on to the explorer path, getting advancement from visiting tourist destinations and scanning the tourist beacons.
Why so many people have latched on to the money when it was clearly stated several times and answered in the Q&A they don't finalise the reward structure until last is also confusing. I think some of you either need to pay more attention or take your blinkers off and stop just looking for negative things to jump on and complain about.
When 2.1 landed it wasn't just the engineers - there were plenty of changes that really changed the game for me, in a good way. I think the engineers in their current state are excellent. Going on what we've seen so far I think 2.2 will have a similar impact
It's the first day of the conference (I assume the announcements will escalate in significance as the conference goes on) and this forum is already awash with bitter criticism and arguments, chill out!
Tourist as the only option was a consequence of the test system.
They did say they wanted to tie it in to the BGS so you will see refugees fleeing war zones, Security forces deployed to civil unrest, and Soldiers as well.
As you say it is a good basis, and it would be great so see effects like Transport Medical Personal (and medicines) to Outbreaks helping end that outbreak
Perhaps even the VIP system to doing to CZ and other sites of interest could be borrowed for Reporters and Spies
Or even timed missions to go to a place to extract someone quickly, all things that can be built up on as we have seen the vast improvements in the Mission system to date.
Mechanisms may not change vastly but a lot of it is helping build the narrative for the player and provide context.
its a dlc from a 3rd party studio, still in the spirit of flight sims good
And yet you expect Frontier to have dug around for FSX and some third party add-on that not everybody uses and replicate it? Sorry, to sound harsh but I am sure a third party could come up with something, just as they did for FSX.
This has been answered by another commenter but I want to confirm that too. Sandro specifically said soldiers to the systems in war and refugees from those systems were already decided for when the system is connected to the BGS. It was actually the first thing he said when the screen opened up and all missions were tourist transports. He quickly clarified that was not going to be the case when these missions are actually in the game.
Also another weird concern was the missions rewards looked too low (low thousands) and he said the rewards in the release would be compatible with other types of missions with the same difficulty and length.
No they can't, because unlike FSX Elite isn't open to modifications.
I understand what you're saying, however they work very close with the main company, it's not "just" a 3rd party, they are recognized by the main developer as a contributor to the game/SIM. The Recognition was pasted over to Prepar3D when the took over FSX and made Prepar3D, all the information is on the main Developer / publisher site.
http://www.prepar3d.com/developers/
I've watched the stream again regarding the passengers, and it's still early to make a final judgement.
FD got some good mechanics going, I can see that, they just need to add a little spice for starters.
When you enter the passenger lounge, add some "airport" background sound. When you start your ship, let us start the safety "recordings" because we don't have cabin crew. It's "just" a tap on the screen! It doesn't take much to make the illusion more complete and differ from the cargo runs you normally do.
I can use VA to make all this, but should that really be necessary? they know how much the voices added to the game, it would be easy to do the same thing here.
[video=youtube;yKSRPEKd8fE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKSRPEKd8fE[/video]
e: I would pay $20 for a good Passenger DLC, I don't think I'm the only one.
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I always expected passengers missions to be like cargo missions with complications to pice things up.
The complication part is where FD needs to deliver XD.
The complication part is where FD needs to deliver XD.
I think tourist missions is the bit they are focusing on now because it the one where they can say it 100% done game mechanics wise.
Troop transport especially is one where the mechanics can be expanded hugely once walking and FPS is place. An we have full size cities and proper war zones around stations and planet bases.
Not at all. Also, as unfortunate as it may sound, look at the replies to recent requests to fix/update/make pertinent PP. It's in full maintenance mode and no major changes will be made to it. The same will happen to these 'missions' which, sorry, are of no game value.
Look at something else though. Listen carefully to DB's interview and look at some of the footage shown. What you might see is that a lot of focus is on adding eye candy. Additional station interior? Nice, yes. Adding game play value? No, as the novelty will wear out quickly. Adding more realism to stars, white dwarfs and the like? Nice. Will it add gameplay value? Not at all, unless you're an explorer and play for that aspect only.
Frontier is, after 18 months, still not addressing the underlying concern of content issues. It doesn't matter one bit if you fly 1 ton of X from A to B in a sidewinder or $ tons of Z from C to D in a $different_ship. Same gameplay, same mechanics, same everything. Only difference is $ return. Adding another option to fly passengers instead of goods does... ah you get it. This is not a mistake, or error, this is by design. The priorities are on eye candy and physics simulation, not gameplay. Love it or hate it, it's not gonna change.
Fighters on the other hand look like fun. Entirely different story though.
in the beginning they could add ambient sound when carrying passengers.
It would add a lot to the immersion and to the feeling of actual carrying passengers around.
'once walking, FPS, full size cities and proper war zones around stations' sound like season 164 to me given the state of affairs with walking, cities, planetary landings and proper war zones.
Honestly, what'd you or anyone else really expect? Passengers are EXACTLY that - cargo. They may have particular requirements in terms of safety, comfort, life support etc - but they are nothing more than cargo, if one wants to be particular about it. Now, there are passenger types that may introduce some variety and the VIP passengers is clearly the start of that (as will be prisoner transfers and military transports) - but your normal run of the mill, take me from point A to point B, passenger is nothing more than another type of cargo. And even the special types are still just cargo in principle, just that they might trigger some other game event such as increased chance of interdiction. Flying a passenger ship is tantamount to flying a bus or driving a train - or a cruise liner even. And while taking passengers on routine or even special runs might not be your cup of tea, there are plenty of people who do want that, just as there are those who love to play something like <insert country> Truck Simulator or whatever. Not your cup of tea? Don't run a passenger ship or do those missions? Sheesh...
And for what it's worth, the presence of the new bubble in no way immediately implies that the new ships need to have significantly larger jump ranges - might be a big tedious yawn to you, but it won't be to some others....again, if you don't want to do that, then don't. And in any event, aren't the Engineers the logical vehicle for someone to use to increase the jump range of such a ship rather than it having a long range by default?
But boy do I get tired of seeing Frontier try to implement something different only to have some selfish types belittle it or seek to diminish it in some way simply because they personally don't like it and, thinking for some reason that they speak for everybody, insist that therefore it's not worth anything to anybody.....
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Sorry buddy, but I don't think you understand the concern, just saying.