Ok....after getting into several SC discussions I though I'd throw an idea out.
So here is the problem as I see it:
1) space is big.
2) players want to "feel" like space is big. Currently this takes the form of the game deliberately wasting the player's time when traveling from point a to point b.
3) when players complain that SC takes too long, it's not that it just takes too long, but that there's nothing to do. You're literally not playing the game and letting the computer idle for an arbitrary amount of time while a countdown clock decides when it's been impressed upon you enough how big space really is.
Let me make a suggestion - give us something to do in SC rather than just wasting our time to the point where people watch Netflix while "playing" the game.
1) remove the arbitrary 2001C speed limit. It's cute, 2001 was a great movie, but Elite Dangerous is a great game and could be better.
2) increase the max acceleration rate in SC....nothing crazy maybe 4x of what it is now. It's just a guess and probably will need some fine-tuning.
3) this is the interesting part here - make us actually NAVIGATE in SC. There are gravity interactions between all the bodies, right? That's why they orbit each other. So...why not use those gravity interactions to create some kind of navigation mechanic where you have to fly through the various gravity interactions between bodies around you?
4) the faster you go, the more intense these gravity interactions become and the more skill is required to negotiate them and stay on course/not e-drop out of SC.
So there. This allows players to SC travel as fast as their skill will allow. It allows for in game growth as a player becomes more skilled at SC navigation and as SC-related modules are upgraded and engineered and are rewarded with faster SC travel as their skill/ship improves. It transforms SC travel from staring at pixel trails at best and watching Netflix at worst to actual gameplay!! It could allow further mechanics around avoiding/outmanuvering interdictors in SC.
It doesn't just create a short cut for space travel. It adds new engaging gameplay. It allows the covering of mind-numbing distances to far-away secondary systems while still requiring some skill as you surf the gravity waves. It could potentially add depth to pvp and pve interactions by allowing players to use the environment around them to avoid/ambush other ships in SC.
Make leaving/entering planetary orbit an EVENT to be interacted with rather than just a waiting game. Make the gravitational interactions between solar systems and various orbits gameplay, not a countdown clock until gameplay starts.
well....now's the part where 300 neckbeards tell me this idea is crap.
So here is the problem as I see it:
1) space is big.
2) players want to "feel" like space is big. Currently this takes the form of the game deliberately wasting the player's time when traveling from point a to point b.
3) when players complain that SC takes too long, it's not that it just takes too long, but that there's nothing to do. You're literally not playing the game and letting the computer idle for an arbitrary amount of time while a countdown clock decides when it's been impressed upon you enough how big space really is.
Let me make a suggestion - give us something to do in SC rather than just wasting our time to the point where people watch Netflix while "playing" the game.
1) remove the arbitrary 2001C speed limit. It's cute, 2001 was a great movie, but Elite Dangerous is a great game and could be better.
2) increase the max acceleration rate in SC....nothing crazy maybe 4x of what it is now. It's just a guess and probably will need some fine-tuning.
3) this is the interesting part here - make us actually NAVIGATE in SC. There are gravity interactions between all the bodies, right? That's why they orbit each other. So...why not use those gravity interactions to create some kind of navigation mechanic where you have to fly through the various gravity interactions between bodies around you?
4) the faster you go, the more intense these gravity interactions become and the more skill is required to negotiate them and stay on course/not e-drop out of SC.
So there. This allows players to SC travel as fast as their skill will allow. It allows for in game growth as a player becomes more skilled at SC navigation and as SC-related modules are upgraded and engineered and are rewarded with faster SC travel as their skill/ship improves. It transforms SC travel from staring at pixel trails at best and watching Netflix at worst to actual gameplay!! It could allow further mechanics around avoiding/outmanuvering interdictors in SC.
It doesn't just create a short cut for space travel. It adds new engaging gameplay. It allows the covering of mind-numbing distances to far-away secondary systems while still requiring some skill as you surf the gravity waves. It could potentially add depth to pvp and pve interactions by allowing players to use the environment around them to avoid/ambush other ships in SC.
Make leaving/entering planetary orbit an EVENT to be interacted with rather than just a waiting game. Make the gravitational interactions between solar systems and various orbits gameplay, not a countdown clock until gameplay starts.
well....now's the part where 300 neckbeards tell me this idea is crap.
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