Some direction would be nice

[MandalorynOranj]

I know this game is entirely built on the premise of freedom and sandbox-yness, and I'm not asking for a story mode or anything, but some sort of direction teaching new players how to play would be great. The included tutorials, while great at teaching the mechanics of the game, do nothing to prepare you to actually do anything. I played through the tutorials in the free preview available with the preview program, and did a little online research, and thought I had a reasonable handle on what the game was about. However, once starting up a session, there's no indication whatsoever on how to actually get anything done.

Just my feedback for a game still in development, but if you want to add new users consistently and not stagnate to the same group of people that's always been playing, there needs to be more direction to get people started. This game is extremely unwelcoming and discouraging, and I feel somewhat deceived by the provided tutorials, as well as held hostage now by the $30 I spent on what looked like (and still does!) a very promising game.

Please, just consider adding in a more advanced tutorial system covering how to actually play this game long-term. It's the only way you're going to see consistent growth of the player base.

 

[Dillontheman]

Just start playing. It'll come quick.

 

[Surly_Badger]

Please, just consider adding in a more advanced tutorial system covering how to actually play this game long-term. It's the only way you're going to see consistent growth of the player base.

There is a whole internet full of "how to play elite" videos and postings. Moving that in-game would make it rather large.

Start with running some missions from the bulletin board system, upgrade your ship, then decide where to go from there.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

When you're starting out all you need to know right away is the bulliten board mission's pay best at that point. After that you can experiment, and like the Commodity market work's just like any other supply demand market so you'll buy a high supply item and sell it where there's high demand. Everything else is fairly easy to pick up on thing's so compareable to the more complex console genre's like Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and MGS3 Snake Eater in the stealth genre only difference they don't handhold like what most console game's as this is a simulator like Forza(Forza 5 has no "here's how you drive" level either, that I recall).

 

[DoctorHotWings]

The game has been out on PC long enough to where there are plenty of google searchable tutorials that carry over to console. There is even a manual if you care to read through it.

You got thrown out in the wilderness. Its up to you to fend for yourself. Don't blame the game, it was designed like this for a reason. The original Elite, was the originator of the sandbox video game.

 

[Lock]

Well, I can feel OP pain. I've played all the previous Elite(s) for years but when I touched ED for the first time, my first three weeks of gaming were on Google.
It's nice to learn things slowly but there are parts of the game structure you couldn't understand without tutorials and not everyone likes to spend hours looking for youtube videos (and you know that on YT you start watching something and you end up learning how to create artistic statues using anthills).
At this stage it reminds me '80-'90 flight simulator, where only your nerdy friend was able to take a Jumbo safety to mainland, while you spent hours clicking buttons and the darn airplane didn't even turn its engines on.

Of course you'll become a good commander in the end, but FD needs to attract more console players, not only Elite lovers.

 

[Hordriss]

The main thing with this game is it appears to be a lot more complex than it really is. I mean don't get me wrong, it's complex. but at first glance is overwhelmingly so. I mean, I started out with a whole host of dumb questions, but when you get into it it's actually fairly straightforward to get into the basics. The rest comes with time (and indeed, Youtube video tutorials can be a great help). But the idea is completely that you pave your own way.

 

[MandalorynOranj]

Lock summed it up quite nicely. While all you guys are right, that the information is out there on YouTube, I think it's bad for the health of the game in the long run on a console market for it to only exist external to the game itself. And while I do certainly intend to keep at it and figure it all out, it's not great that the initial stage appears to be such a steep cliff to climb to get to the good stuff, even if in reality it isn't (although the first hour was pretty damn frustrating).

 

[Fire70]

There is a whole internet full of "how to play elite" videos and postings. Moving that in-game would make it rather large.

Start with running some missions from the bulletin board system, upgrade your ship, then decide where to go from there.

Yep, I hit the ground running with no idea and though there has to be a better way. So I just went onto Youtube and there are heaps of informative information which is better than any tutorial...

 

[littlemisery]

Anyone not interested into figuring it out? Probaby not the game for them, u can download a pdf manual for the game. Elite started in 1984 and was no u tube or wiki then but we still loved it.patience is all ill say

 

[Dan Gatang]

Out of all of my pre-ED friends who started playing around the same time, I'm the only one that's still playing. Half of them never made it past the tutorial, the other half gave up around the time they bought their Cobra because the BB mission grind was too mundane or they couldn't leave a station without crashing. The only reason I'm still playing is because getting the credits to buy that next ship is still a challenge to me. I'm not sure if I'll be around after I buy a Conda.

 

[crimzonrazor]

If your wanting more direction you go to the board and pick the mission type you want, go to were it tells you and do what it told you to do get paid they have directions built right in. If you dont want to do the board missions do whatever you want explore, bh hunt, pirate. If your still lost look for some people to wing up with that will show you the ropes, I know that Nova group has alot of members maybe you need to hook up with them.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

Out of all of my pre-ED friends who started playing around the same time, I'm the only one that's still playing. Half of them never made it past the tutorial, the other half gave up around the time they bought their Cobra because the BB mission grind was too mundane or they couldn't leave a station without crashing. The only reason I'm still playing is because getting the credits to buy that next ship is still a challenge to me. I'm not sure if I'll be around after I buy a Conda.

You're playing with the wrong mindset then. The game is not a ship to ship to ship grind unless you make it, it's not a grind out million's of cr game unless you make it. In short this game is as fun as you allow it to be and grinding through the ship's isn't allowing it to be fun it's shooting yourself in the foot by not looking for the other possibilities

 

[Doookie Shoes]

I have to agree, but truth be told at the time I purchased I really had no clue what the heck this game was. I bought because I love space and they said 1:1 scale Milkyway.
Most who don't care to take that blind leap won't buy.
Not aout mindset or how anybody does what..... it's marketting, they need to give more a clue what ppl are buying if you want to sell it. That simple.

Like the screenshot and gameclip limitation thing.... I make MANY of my purchases from watching game clips. It's the only way to see REAL gameplay

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

I have to agree, but truth be told at the time I purchased I really had no clue what the heck this game was. I bought because I love space and they said 1:1 scale Milkyway.
Most who don't care to take that blind leap won't buy.
Not aout mindset or how anybody does what..... it's marketting, they need to give more a clue what ppl are buying if you want to sell it. That simple.

Like the screenshot and gameclip limitation thing.... I make MANY of my purchases from watching game clips. It's the only way to see REAL gameplay

My god don't get me started on marketing! Did you see the official lanch trailer, the GDC trailer, and the Wing's "I bring friend's" trailer? Those trailer's all border on false advertising for the sake of cool factor.

 

[MickOps]

I'm quite experienced at this game now, not an expert by any means at all but experienced and to be honest I somewhat agree with the OP. Now I also have to agree with Surly_Badger that if you put a full tutorial of what this game can actually do then new players would spend more time in tutorials than getting in and enjoying the game.

Recently two friends of mine acquired the preview and began to play, and questions they asked me straight away after I advised them to ACTUALLY do the tutorials was "Now what" and "where do I pick up my cargo for the bulletin board missions".

The game is somewhat sparse on direction for new players. Maybe showing them the bulletin board in a tutorial would help and running them through a short Bulletin Board mission from Chamunda to Eravate for example. After this the rest of the game opens up to the player. To be honest the game is picked up easily.

 

[Doookie Shoes]

My god don't get me started on marketing! Did you see the official lanch trailer, the GDC trailer, and the Wing's "I bring friend's" trailer? Those trailer's all border on false advertising for the sake of cool factor.

Seriously! Made it seem like the upcoming Star Wars game! lol
Which quite honestly would chase me away. Much happier it's not

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

Seriously! Made it seem like the upcoming Star Wars game! lol
Which quite honestly would chase me away. Much happier it's not

Much happier it's not what? I saw nothing that bad about the Star Wars Battlefront trailer's I've see- oh you're talking about that "made useing in game engine" trailer on Endor aren't you? It wasn't that bad if you noticed the clever wording of "made using in game engine" which is starting to become standard practice to fool the sheep- I mean customer's.

 

[BW Beans™]

As a new player I think that on the GPP you need more than the 1 hour trial to do all the tut's and get more of a feel for the game as it's not the easiest flight dynamics to get used to for new players.

I also agree with putting in a brief tut on mission running - it could be incorporated into the travel tut covering two bases at once!
As the rest say there is always YT or Wiki if you get stuck. I'd also promote jumping into a wing with others so they learn by doing!

 

[s0litaire]

Best direction you can give for this game is go exploring:
"Second start to the left and continue till morning."

As it's a sandbox game their is no start, no middle, no end, just like life... (but with more lasers, explosions in space, and cool ships to fly...)

^_^