The empty sandbox of a game... Yeah, right!

[Bret Riverboat]

So, this game is a boring empty sandbox then...?

I once saw a YouTube video with an American bloke ranting to all the nay-sayers about what this game is, but I'll sum it up for you in one paragraph:


In this game you are a NOBODY. In this game you WILL NEVER BE ANYBODY. You will only get out of it what you put into it. It's not a game to complete and be the saviour of the universe, it is a game to live in and have as much fun as you can.


I'm pointing this out because just had what I possibly would describe as the best ED gaming experience of my life so far yesterday and I know I'm not the only one who feels the same.


The inaugural Hogan's run SRV rallye organised and directed by the Hutton Orbital Truckers Cooperative was intense, fun, demanding, exhausting and completely awesome! A gruelling 600km SRV dash from one side of a planet to the other carrying the infamous 'Hutton Mug', a rare item that can only be purchased at Hutton Orbital, a player controlled outpost some 0.22ly from Alpha Centauri that takes literally one and a half hours to get to in SC. Our team spent 2 weeks planning every detail and for 2 hours at the start we lead the race, leading the fabulous 'Elite Racers', a player group who know a thing or two about SRV racing. Many player groups from the whole community joined in and the Team Speak channel (Laveradio.teamspeak3) was full of fun chat from all over the world. It was even broadcast over the factions radio station for all to enjoy that couldn't make the event.


The team I was in came 7th overall, 1 hour behind the eventual winner who deserved victory judging by his twitch stream driving skills- an underdog that not many of us knew much about. (I can't post names but Cmdr T...., you have my utmost congratulations, you were incredible!)


We had instancing nightmares, we had crashes to desktop, we had SRV crashes and explosions, and even the final driver after starting at 1pm on Saturday only finished just after lunch today.....


So, some points to note for anyone that didn't know about it or is still wondering what to do in this game other than the usual trade/smuggle/grind/pew-pew malarkey:


1. You will only get out as much as you put into the game
2. PwP is one of the best ways to play
3. The player group 'The Hutton Truckers' has something for everyone
4. If a notorious player group asks to join in 'in good faith', don't believe a word of it...!


Thanks to everyone that took part, it's YOU that make this game what it is (and you to, FD obviously...), and to the HOT team in organising such an amazing event. We can't wait for the next one!


Oh yes, just one more thing....


#forthemug!


www.huttonorbital.com

 

[MottiKhan]

Well, I wanted to read it and gave it a try. Why the hard to read font and why is it in fine print? Oh well, on to the next thread I guess.

 

[TheDamnedCommander]

So, this game is a boring empty sandbox then...?


1. You will only get out as much as you put into the game

Yes, and I think therein, for my, lies the problem. It doesn't feel like fun. It doesn't feel like I achieve anything, despite hours of play. When I do achieve something, not much changes. I can't really create anything. I can only leave a lasting mark on the game if I am the first to discover a system. My ship may take many, many hours of trading or fighting but it can all be lost in an instant, no matter how 'good' I think I am. Sorry my friend, but this isn't a game.

TheDamnedCommander

 

[Bret Riverboat]

Well, I wanted to read it and gave it a try. Why the hard to read font and why is it in fine print? Oh well, on to the next thread I guess.

Hi Mottikhan

It was typed with a mobile. Please feel free to edit the font and colour as I can't seem to do it for everyone's viewing satisfaction.

Either that or I'm a numpty

 

[CMDR Heisenberg B. Damned]

Well, I wanted to read it and gave it a try. Why the hard to read font and why is it in fine print? Oh well, on to the next thread I guess.

You on a PC? Hold Ctrl and mouse scroll wheel up. Then back down once read. I play on a TV some distance from me regularly have to do this on web pages.

 

[MottiKhan]

You on a PC? Hold Ctrl and mouse scroll wheel up. Then back down once read. I play on a TV some distance from me regularly have to do this on web pages.

+1. Thanks, that did it.

 

[Eros]

Bret is right, point is that gaming these days has become a simple

Push button A
Get reward... either via huge explosions or some kind of game breaking upgrade to skills/items/whatever.

We have moved from an era when gaming required a lot of imagination due to lack of graphical fidelity and computing complexity, to an era in which gaming means quick and easy gratification from little to no effort at all.

Its true that Elite isn't for everyone, but that doesn't mean its a bad game (like so many people come out to say so angrily)

In Elite, you are a nobody, if you want to be someone, you need to work hard at it... if you don't want to, then fine see ya later, but even then if you did make it, you are a one man/woman and a group of people who, on the grand scheme of things are still pretty small...You know... kind of like reality.

So is it good? is it bad?

Well as above, it is as good or bad as you make it.

The race yesterday was an example of how amazing an experience the game can give you, if you want it. Sure, the game can be rough around the edges sometimes but fun is out there to be had

 

[Twrchuk]

I agree with the poster on much he raises.

This game is what we make it and this race had everything that makes it a fascinating experience to play.

A race, a challenge, cooperation between players an enthralling competition and also a little pirate friction.

Was it perfect..? No.

Lots of instancing issues and some crashes to desk top.

Would I have missed it..?

Nah.

Would I recommend it..?

Hell yeah...!

This game is what we make it - let's make it an enthralling challenge with others...!

 

[Bret Riverboat]

Bret is right, point is that gaming these days has become a simple

Push button A
Get reward... either via huge explosions or some kind of game breaking upgrade to skills/items/whatever.

We have moved from an era when gaming required a lot of imagination due to lack of graphical fidelity and computing complexity, to an era in which gaming means quick and easy gratification from little to no effort at all.

Its true that Elite isn't for everyone, but that doesn't mean its a bad game (like so many people come out to say so angrily)

In Elite, you are a nobody, if you want to be someone, you need to work hard at it... if you don't want to, then fine see ya later, but even then if you did make it, you are a one man/woman and a group of people who, on the grand scheme of things are still pretty small...You know... kind of like reality.

So is it good? is it bad?

Well as above, it is as good or bad as you make it.

The race yesterday was an example of how amazing an experience the game can give you, if you want it. Sure, the game can be rough around the edges sometimes but fun is out there to be had

i can't rep you unfortunately Eros, but you have a far better understanding of the English language than I...!

 

[JoeShmo]

Hi Mottikhan

It was typed with a mobile. Please feel free to edit the font and colour as I can't seem to do it for everyone's viewing satisfaction.


Either that or I'm a numpty

Yet the font / size is just fine with that reply.

You on a PC? Hold Ctrl and mouse scroll wheel up. Then back down once read. I play on a TV some distance from me regularly have to do this on web pages.

Or the OP can format it in a way that doesn't cause glaucoma. Just making the text bigger doesn't solve the other issue of the type of font used. It's like reading a freshman paper or a work memo.

 

[Bret Riverboat]

Yet the font / size is just fine with that reply.

i tried to edit the pictures on my work PC. Maybe something happened there...

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Yes, and I think therein, for my, lies the problem. It doesn't feel like fun. It doesn't feel like I achieve anything, despite hours of play. When I do achieve something, not much changes. I can't really create anything. I can only leave a lasting mark on the game if I am the first to discover a system. My ship may take many, many hours of trading or fighting but it can all be lost in an instant, no matter how 'good' I think I am. Sorry my friend, but this isn't a game.

TheDamnedCommander

Yet you keep playing it for hours and hours and hours... Definition of insanity isn't it, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

Ok serious answer:
You want a game where you play, follow a main storyline, become king of the universe and can re-load if you die potentially with some sidequests and an Xp bar, correct?
Elite is not that game, it was never designed to be and never will be, see the original game on the BBC Micro for why. It is however a game in its own right.

Some people they want the challenge. Some people they want the risk. Some people want relative fun rather than to have action thrown at them all the time like their in a bad war movie.

To expand on that take an example I had early on with an Orca back when they were flying around wanted. I was in a lowly Cobra Mk III and ended up winning with 5% hull, a damaged FSD and no canopy. Made it to the station with about 20 seconds of o2 left. It wouldn't have been nearly as exciting if I had a quicksave option or a infasmagun to 1shot him.
It was also a rare encounter in a long patch of quiet mission running and trading which made it all the more special.

Maybe try CQC if you need achievement and no risk. That comes with a rank structure, instant action and no risk to your credit balance. Sounds more like your kind of game since you can never negatively progress.

If you need achievement you should set your own targets that don't revolve around credits. A wise princess once said "If money is all you want thats all you'll get!". All they are is a number on the screen telling you which ships you can fly and what you can put in/on those ships. Some of my most enjoyable experiences has been joining a random Eagle racing event, taking part in community goals.
For example one of my personal challenges was to experience what the background universe had to offer, in doing so I've flown to nebula, planetary nebula, black holes, the edge of the galaxy, Supergiant stars and a ton of other things. Was some of it boring yes. Was all of it boring no. I even joined up with Distant Worlds and the 1000+ other players travelling to the other side of the universe. Impromptu yes but I didn't spend a single credit doing it.

In the end it may not be the game for you, but hating on it because it's not to your personal taste is kinda low imho.

 

[mossfoot]

In this game you are a NOBODY. In this game you WILL NEVER BE ANYBODY.

I always object to this argument.

Not being the center of the universe is not the same as being a nobody (and never being anybody). It's an incredibly nihilisitic perception of the game (and life in general). Meaning is subjective, and there are a number of players in the game who have wide spread notoriety who have helped make a difference in the game and the players (Erimus and Dr Kaii of Distant Worlds, Surly Badger of the Fuel Rats).

I mean, I get what you're saying, and the terms been bandied about before, but to say "you will never be anybody" is to say "everything you do is pointless" and conveys the wrong message (in my opinion).

 

[Raile]

Yeah, keep beating that dead horse! That'll teach it!

 

[Privata]

I would argue you can be someone in elite but its just as hard as in real life. and I like that.
I hate it when games just give you stuff and tell you that you saved the universe because you killed 5 rats in a basement

 

[CMDR Heisenberg B. Damned]

An embarrassment of rats

I would argue you can be someone in elite but its just as hard as in real life. and I like that.
I hate it when games just give you stuff and tell you that you saved the universe because you killed 5 rats in a basement

Brilliantly put - you can be Barack Obama or Donald Trump and still some (most) people won't have heard of you but the more you put in the more you get out. Elite treats it like life (although Privata - I really liked Oblivion! - I never killed those rats in the basement though *)

*

Spoiler

I did <embarrassed face>

 

[the100thmonkey]

Brilliantly put - you can be [...] Donald Trump...

Let me tell you about the game. My game. I wrote it. It's the best game there is.

I'm also going to build a wall to keep the Thargoids out. And I'm going to make the Thargoids pay for it. It'll be the best wall ever built. Because Thargoids are all rapists and thieves.

=======================

I appreciate the OP's point. If anything, there's too much to do in my opinion, to the extent that it's overwhelming if you aren't disciplined about how much time you commit to playing it.

 

[Bret Riverboat]

I always object to this argument.

Not being the center of the universe is not the same as being a nobody (and never being anybody). It's an incredibly nihilisitic perception of the game (and life in general). Meaning is subjective, and there are a number of players in the game who have wide spread notoriety who have helped make a difference in the game and the players (Erimus and Dr Kaii of Distant Worlds, Surly Badger of the Fuel Rats).

I mean, I get what you're saying, and the terms been bandied about before, but to say "you will never be anybody" is to say "everything you do is pointless" and conveys the wrong message (in my opinion).

Please don't get me wrong Mossfoot, I was merely quoting a youtube video by someone else. It's a reasonably good way to describe the ED experience. Yes, out of 1.4m CMDR's out there, there are a small handfull of pilots who are recongised by many of us in one way or another. We only know about them through places such as FB, the forum, Reddit etc but rarely in-game do we hear or know of their adventures. (The occasional Galnet story if we are looking?)

If our gaming world was based purely in Elite, most of the time we wouldn't know what else is going on and by whom.

 

[Privata]

Brilliantly put - you can be Barack Obama or Donald Trump and still some (most) people won't have heard of you but the more you put in the more you get out. Elite treats it like life (although Privata - I really liked Oblivion! - I never killed those rats in the basement though *)

*

Spoiler

I did <embarrassed face>

I LOOOOVE Oblivion , the elder scrolls is to me the best fantasy universe out there.
It was more a jab at Jrpgs.

In the elder scrolls they only did the rats thing (as a quest part of a main line) in morrowins and it was ment to be semi ironic

 

[frostypaw]

I always object to this argument.

Not being the center of the universe is not the same as being a nobody (and never being anybody). It's an incredibly nihilisitic perception of the game (and life in general). Meaning is subjective, and there are a number of players in the game who have wide spread notoriety who have helped make a difference in the game and the players (Erimus and Dr Kaii of Distant Worlds, Surly Badger of the Fuel Rats).

I mean, I get what you're saying, and the terms been bandied about before, but to say "you will never be anybody" is to say "everything you do is pointless" and conveys the wrong message (in my opinion).

I think he meant to imply without you putting in the effort and taking part properly in the game and your examples are perfect cases

As a veteran of the original it's just wonderful seeing the community and efforts being made and appreciated for more than an XBox Achievement badge