The Exploits Have Damaged Elite

[Nebohtes]

I've never done a gold rush or participated in an exploit. I know this makes me the biggest idiot in Elite: Dangerous, but until the most recent one, I haven't really cared.

I usually have fun, and if making some credits without having to risk anything makes the game fun for others, why should I care?

Seriously -- why should I care?

Well, I'm actually embarrassed to say I do, for once. FDev couldn't care less that players who have never bent the rules are hopelessly outclassed by players that spend a few hours cheating. It has always been like this, but it's too unbalanced, now. I've always been behind, but it's so laughably skewed now, playing missions feels like putting quarters in the punching machine. The worst is that it's all me -- my fun game is no longer fun because I actually wish I had cheated so I could go do the stuff I want in the ship I want without having to spend hours building up the credits to do it, which used to be fun when it was the cost of doing business, but I'm like the only player in Elite that has to do it, so it suddenly feels like... bull.

 

[Hellakitty]

Just make sure you're on board the next big one, then go have fun.

 

[Phisto Sobanii]

FDev couldn't care less that players who have never bent the rules are hopelessly outclassed by players that spend a few hours cheating. It has always been like this, but it's too unbalanced, now.

You'll be pleased to learn you are not your bank balance in Elite.

 

[catanonia]

I agree, I have been away for over a year from today (as a beta player) and looks like I will stay away for longer. Nothing has changed, still the same.

Same old Frontier, can't get the basics right and why the hell did i pay the premium for Horizons and every week, something I like doing gets taken away as a solo player.

Every time I try to play the game again after a few months, it is just a ball ache to work out what has happened, what the new mechanics are, why it keeps crashing, grrr.

 

[Dbrn47]

"I've always been behind."

Elite isn't a race and all ships are viable for one reason or another. There's being a rookie and being a veteran, but there is no falling behind as it simply isn't that kind of game. There's nothing to look forward to other than whatever you feel like doing for a play session, for a few days, a week, or over the course of months.

As someone who used the previous incarnation of skimmer fun, I can tell you it really isn't all it is cracked up to be, all it did was allow me a little more purchasing freedom which did nothing to set me above anyone else. It's really the main point of people using these things at all, skipping the slower methods of gain so that they can play with the ships they want. There is no finish line to cross, no end game waiting for you, just little variations on what you can do on day 1.

 

[Maka Gucci]

playing missions feels like putting quarters in the punching machine.

Damn, that gave me a good laugh.

I mean I agree, it's a massive thing that many talk about all the time. I fully get venting, and while I don't wanna bash the devs any more than I have (as I don't see how it can be encouraging in any way), they must be aware of player frustration.
I can't believe it's fully intended, but they haven't listened (in regards to this point) so far, so its hard to hold out hope for future.

Just stay alert for the next thing that pops up and jump on it, then actually get to play the game. FDev wont take the credits, and the vast majority of people that will get on at you really do already have vast sums. (Just watch Rusty Dogs streams, who I like, but he has as much play time as me, vastly more credits and ships yet gets on people for using "exploits").
Well I used Upsilon, and I've made a hell of a lot more than I would have organically just playing, and my balance doesn't come close to many of those who complain about such missions.

So forget those people, and as much as I'm sure you'd rather do something you enjoy for rewarding pay, 1 day spent at one of these gold rushes is equivalent to months of your life grinding for peanuts. Your time is worth more than that, even if FD refuse to appreciate it.

Fly safe, o7.

 

[Phord Prefect]

I've never done a gold rush or participated in an exploit. *snip

I'm like the only player in Elite that has to do it, so it suddenly feels like... bull.

So let me get this straight. You made the choice to work harder.. not smarter..

And now you're unhappy the Joneses next door have a nicer car than you?

And the universe should do what exactly? Enforce an equal distribution of wealth? Force the Joneses to give you that shiny ride?

See you on the front lines sir...

 

[CMDR Dumbfries]

...playing missions feels like putting quarters in the punching machine.

I'll drink to that.

 

[Nebohtes]

I have 1,600 hours in Elite; most of that time has been enjoyed. Sure, I'm not my bank account, but I have risk because of my bank account, and most players do not. I will probably not care about this in a couple weeks, and log in and enjoy playing the game again, and I'll probably continue not cheating... but it's kind of hard not to cheat when it carries zero risk or penalty.

 

[Hellakitty]

Random thought provoked by this thread:

I'd love to see the sales figures for Corvette/Cutter/Anaconda ship kits and paintpacks from the store, post-Volyboom.

Food for thought, and I'm sure that if there's a large enough uptick, it factors into the decision making process going forward at Fdev towers.

They made a few £££ out of me, that's for sure.

 

[yolomcbobbinz]

"I've always been behind."

Elite isn't a race and all ships are viable for one reason or another. There's being a rookie and being a veteran, but there is no falling behind as it simply isn't that kind of game. There's nothing to look forward to other than whatever you feel like doing for a play session, for a few days, a week, or over the course of months.

As someone who used the previous incarnation of skimmer fun, I can tell you it really isn't all it is cracked up to be, all it did was allow me a little more purchasing freedom which did nothing to set me above anyone else. It's really the main point of people using these things at all, skipping the slower methods of gain so that they can play with the ships they want. There is no finish line to cross, no end game waiting for you, just little variations on what you can do on day 1.

This...so much this.

Atleast thats what keeps me playing. Doing what i like, the cash cows for most players is just a way to have the fun they want without credit limitations.

Dont let players that use the cash cows affect the way you play.

 

[Laste]

I've never done a gold rush or participated in an exploit. I know this makes me the biggest idiot in Elite: Dangerous, but until the most recent one, I haven't really cared.

I usually have fun, and if making some credits without having to risk anything makes the game fun for others, why should I care?

Seriously -- why should I care?





Well, I'm actually embarrassed to say I do, for once. FDev couldn't care less that players who have never bent the rules are hopelessly outclassed by players that spend a few hours cheating. It has always been like this, but it's too unbalanced, now. I've always been behind, but it's so laughably skewed now, playing missions feels like putting quarters in the punching machine. The worst is that it's all me -- my fun game is no longer fun because I actually wish I had cheated so I could go do the stuff I want in the ship I want without having to spend hours building up the credits to do it, which used to be fun when it was the cost of doing business, but I'm like the only player in Elite that has to do it, so it suddenly feels like... bull.

What exactly are you trying to do in elite that requires you to be dripping in credits?
This is a game that is done however you wish. Yep people made a lot of money, bet that they aren't any further ahead then anyone else. They may have engineered up the ships, but i guarantee its a never ending loop of rerolling to get that extra percentage or just right drive.
Just play at something, anything, and don't worry about the credits. If your playing in open and getting beat up by other players you are assuming are cheating because they got credits and strong ships , then go private or solo till you can match them.Go into one of the non ganking groups.

This isn't an elite dangerous thing, this is any game where you grind for more and better gear.
As for it being skewed i've been around long enough to see it get skewed all over the place and back again.It happens, developers make decision in beta that seem great but end up being not so hot.

 

[Nebohtes]

So let me get this straight. You made the choice to work harder.. not smarter..

And now you're unhappy the Joneses next door have a nicer car than you?

And the universe should do what exactly? Enforce an equal distribution of wealth? Force the Joneses to give you that shiny ride?

See you on the front lines sir...

It's just balance. It's true, I'm an idiot for not jumping on the band wagon and following some guide on the latest exploit. I'll probably continue in my idiocy, for reasons.

It has little to do with what other players have -- exploits have been running the entire time I've played Elite. This is the first time I've cared; I'm frustrated that I care what other people are doing, and that it finally feels unbalanced -- that cheating is not only acceptable, but encouraged and allowed has always been Elite: Dangerous.

You won't see me on the front lines, because I'm always on Open.

 

[Stealthie]

See, this is why FDev need to sort something out.

Volynov wasn't an "exploit" or "cheating" (although you could have used dubious practices to maximise profit). It was simply a convergence of factors which led to a unique opportunity.

It was, basically, no more an "exploit" than participating in a CG would be.

Sometimes you'll get CGs that want you to haul Water or Scrap and you'll earn Cr50 per tonne, plus a reward at the end.
Sometimes, however, you'll get a CG that wants you to haul Platinum or Palladium and, in those cases, you can make a heap of credits regardless of the reward at the end.
You don't look at the 2nd type of CG and think "Well, it'd be cheating to take advantage of that!".

There's, basically, 2 things FDev can do about gold-rushes.
1) Eradicate the possibility of them occurring.
2) Officially sanction them.

If they attempt #1 there's a chance they'll never succeed, things will continue to "go wrong" and then they'll continually have to step in and sort it out manually (and usually clumsily), thus annoying the people who see them as an opportunity and the people who object to their existence.

If they go with #2 the galaxy will be a more interesting place, people will have opportunities to look forward to, nobody will have cause to be resentful of what others are doing and the only thing they'll need to sort out is a way to control the situation rather than prevent it completely.

 

[Nebohtes]

What exactly are you trying to do in elite that requires you to be dripping in credits?
This is a game that is done however you wish. Yep people made a lot of money, bet that they aren't any further ahead then anyone else. They may have engineered up the ships, but i guarantee its a never ending loop of rerolling to get that extra percentage or just right drive.
Just play at something, anything, and don't worry about the credits. If your playing in open and getting beat up by other players you are assuming are cheating because they got credits and strong ships , then go private or solo till you can match them.Go into one of the non ganking groups.

This isn't an elite dangerous thing, this is any game where you grind for more and better gear.
As for it being skewed i've been around long enough to see it get skewed all over the place and back again.It happens, developers make decision in beta that seem great but end up being not so hot.

It's that exploits are usually allowed and encouraged. I'm good now; just had to figure out why this round bothered me so much, and I think it was mostly people g out over the exploits getting pulled, and players that don't exploit getting punished: skimmer missions and mining missions got pulled. I'm usually pretty happy with the game. I've got 1,600 hours in Elite; this is par for the course, it was just the first time it got my drawers twisted.

 

[Phord Prefect]

I can't get on board with calling a gold rush cheating. Nor an exploit. Nobody here modified game code. Money doesn't get made by running a 3rd party app. These are in game occurances that happen due to shifting system states usually. If FD overlooked their numbers.. that's on them.

It's on you to capitalize on these opportunities and make hay while the sun shines.

To saddle up some moral high horse and decry the injustice of others doing so is baffling to me.

There is no exploit! There is no cheat! There is no flippin' bug!!

These are the parameters our masters have presented in this always-online game-as-a-service.

So game the system!

 

[Nebohtes]

Random thought provoked by this thread:

I'd love to see the sales figures for Corvette/Cutter/Anaconda ship kits and paintpacks from the store, post-Volyboom.

Food for thought, and I'm sure that if there's a large enough uptick, it factors into the decision making process going forward at Fdev towers.

They made a few £££ out of me, that's for sure.

That's both funny and bizzarely encouraging.

1,600 hours, this is the first time it has bothered me; honestly, I think the main reason I haven't and won't exploit (this was a rant post) is because I like the risk/reward balance in Elite. It's weird that I gave a crap even for a minute, but seriously, sometimes I want to do a skimmer, Goliath or mining mission, and they got pulled -- whatever, new patch, game constantly in development, happens all the time... I'm mostly over it.

I usually have nice things to say about Elite, but this stuff just got really old for a minute.

 

[kofeyh]

Trust me, the forums have done far, far more damage, in the long term, than the short term gold rush episodes. I have 2000+ hours in Elite. Singling out “exploiters” (in the sort of nebulous way that’s always done; some sort of vague reference to exploiters exploiting for exploitation) is just crapping on other players because the game isn’t what you thought it would be.

Arguing this is a valid reason why you haven’t progressed, is rediculous. You can’t achieve if you’re not playing. And expecting a developer to accomodate people who don’t play, well that’s illogical in the extreme. Attract? Yes. Build entirely for? No.

The only person holding anyone back, is the same person complaining. Not leveraging mechanics is a personal choice, but you don’t get to whine about the consequences. That was your choice. No-one else’s.

It’s not me. It’s not us. We, none of us, directly impact your experience. You impact your experience. We’re just other people in the same game. And that seems to always be the problem. Other people play.

I should imagine if no-one else played it’d be fine. We always end up back at the “if only it was an offline game”’argument as though this is some holy grail. It’s not. It’s just a false argument to prop up the excuse that people simply cannot stand other people play.

Almost all of these arguments, boil down to the exact same cause. Other people. It’s always other people.

 

[Hellakitty]

That's both funny and bizzarely encouraging.

1,600 hours, this is the first time it has bothered me; honestly, I think the main reason I haven't and won't exploit (this was a rant post) is because I like the risk/reward balance in Elite. It's weird that I gave a crap even for a minute, but seriously, sometimes I want to do a skimmer, Goliath or mining mission, and they got pulled -- whatever, new patch, game constantly in development, happens all the time... I'm mostly over it.

I usually have nice things to say about Elite, but this stuff just got really old for a minute.

Hey, these things happen, and if anything the forum is as good a place as any to vent.

I had a similar 'this feels weird, for the first time in 1000+ hours this part of the game is really ******* me off' moment earlier when I realised the mountain I had to climb to re-engineer my whole pre-2.x fleet and engineer the ships I bought post 3.0.

I turned the game off, bobbed over to the forums for some light-heartedness and amusement and made myself a little off-the-cuff action plan for climbing the engineering mountain a bit at a time instead of looking up and thinking 'this is bloody impossible'.

 

[JetsonRING]

I've never done a gold rush or participated in an exploit. I know this makes me the biggest idiot in Elite: Dangerous, but until the most recent one, I haven't really cared.
I usually have fun, and if making some credits without having to risk anything makes the game fun for others, why should I care?
Seriously -- why should I care?
Well, I'm actually embarrassed to say I do, for once. FDev couldn't care less that players who have never bent the rules are hopelessly outclassed by players that spend a few hours cheating. It has always been like this, but it's too unbalanced, now. I've always been behind, but it's so laughably skewed now, playing missions feels like putting quarters in the punching machine. The worst is that it's all me -- my fun game is no longer fun because I actually wish I had cheated so I could go do the stuff I want in the ship I want without having to spend hours building up the credits to do it, which used to be fun when it was the cost of doing business, but I'm like the only player in Elite that has to do it, so it suddenly feels like... bull.

Let them have their "exploits", let them buy their big, expensive ships, let them be a Mostly Harmless Corvette CMDR, then blast them from space and let them learn about REBUY. o7