The Old Elite IV speculation thread

[caol]

redstar1 - you make a good point about realism vs gameplay. I also agree with you entirely about the MMORPG, although I can see nats point of view about escapism from the real world too...

Wasn't there going to be two seperate releases anyway - an online one and a single player one? Did it not say that on the old website...?

 

[Fost]

Is the Elite name that well known anymore?

I was shocked when the other day, the bloke who cuts my hair asked me if I remembered Elite! Elite and Premiere Manager were his two favourite games. Of course, he and I are in our 30's; does anyone under 20 know about Elite? I tried it on my nephew who is 12, and he kind of got the idea but lost interest quickly

Personally, I would love to see an extended FE2/FFE universe MMO.

I used to think this was impossible without dropping the realtime controls - EVE does a point and click thing that I just don't want in a space sim (although it's a fantastic game, it's a much different experience to Elite), however I recently had a quick go of a scifi flight combat mmorpg (Name escapes me, I think it was Korean though). It wasn't a great game, but in that, you aimed and shot, and it 'rolled the dice' to tell you if you missed based on your stats. I thought that part of it worked very well - it 'felt' realtime, but was really just working out the result in the background, so it should work well with massive multiplayer situations where you can't rely on server speed to cope with 'twitch' gameplay.

 

[Bounder]

The floor is too high for me to sufficiently prostrate myself before the one true God, hallowed be thine breadbins. If I could but crush myself within the fiery bowels of the earth I would be yet unworthy to utter His name.

That said, I do hope E4 doesn't dumb down for any reason. If ppl want biplane handling get a flight sim. Anyone who thinks Frontier handled like a "submarine" should change their dope (or upgrade their ship). None of us can even imagine what piloting an E4 ship will be like, except Himself.

Mr B is a true genius and E4 will be the greatest feat of software engineering ever concieved. It will change everything. Too few seem to appreciate what He's aiming for. Elite is set to become the last word in virtual reality. Again.

Have faith, brothers!

 

[Fost]

If ppl want biplane handling get a flight sim.

I think you're quote me in another thread. An odd thing to say really, since Elite 1 handles like a flight sim rather than a physics brick.

Anyone who thinks Frontier handled like a "submarine" should change their dope

Again, I think you got this from the other thread - although I didn't mean it handled like a sub More that combat was more strategic, like sub simulation, than dogfighting. I loved the old Elite combat more.

 

[djbully]

Pre-Order at play.com

Well this made me feel better, I pre-ordered my copy of EliteIV at play.com heres the link:
http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/680942/-/Product.html?searchstring=elite+iV Although the release date does look slightly optimistic!!!!

For me the most important thing for Elite IV is the open endedness of the game. In most space trading games since there is an element of storyline where you "must" go here or you "have" to do this.... In elite you could just do whatever the hell you feel like and not have to feel commited to doing a certain thing. That is what kept me coming back to the game. Also I am hoping that the universe will be sufficiently MASSIVE not like in SWG where there are just a handfull of planets. That would really not be good!

just my thrupence worth

Bully

 

[djbully]

Sticky?

Also you should make this a Sticky and keep us informed of any Elite 4 happenings here

that would be nice...

 

[Michael Brookes]

There's no need to sticky this thread, any important announcements will have their own thread.

Michael

 

[Bounder]

@Fost - soz if I took you out of context. I also preferred Elite's handling, until I got the knack of Frontier. Mr B has hinted we'll get the best of both anyway. And besides, some ships really did handle like submarines (or "rougue asteroids"). Very fast superstellar submarines. Cool. Hey maybe we'll finally get to see space dredgers. And what if some of E4's ships are actually submersible, like the moray...? Like, way cool.

 

[Fost]

what if some of E4's ships are actually submersible, like the moray...?

Yeah! I bet everyone had that same thought back when they read the original ships guide in elite

 

[Marcus_UK]

Elite 4 absolutely has to be 'right' - and does indeed need to stand out from the perceived competition. Trebor, you are right to be sceptical; the game has to be outstanding to live up to expectations, and the three reasons you give have to be considered.

Nevertheless, I have never seen Elite as (just) a space trading game - it is way more than that - even though I realise this is how it has been classified since. What we plan to with Elite 4 is quite different, and much of what we are doing in Outsider will feed into that.

Oh - and Marcus - thanks for your comments on Dog's Life!

Again fair play on responding directly to the community "yourself" many others would simply have passed the details on to a community manager to write and then supply to the general public.

Whilst I share a login similar to that of Marcus ( nice name BTW ) I am not him.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you implement all the advances of the last 10-20 years into the new version of Elite. Spefically the graphical and AI advances.

I'm sure I speak for may when I say that if the only thing that got improved over FE2 was the graphics and a few more missions I would no doubt be hooked for another 5-10 years.

The game just had something that kept me coming back to it !

 

[Foyler]

Once again, I am an elite fan who has been checking in here fairly regularly for the last 8 years or so looking for any information regarding the release of Elite 4.
I think elite 4 should try not to lean too much toward ultrarealism as this makes the game difficult to get into. As has already been mentioned, the new generation of gamers will have heard little or nothing about the previous incarnations of elite and ad such will be coming to the game blind. Initial gameplay has to be easy enough to learn that new players want to stick at it, elite did this but some of my friends (who hadn't played the original) were put off of playing/buying the game as they found it too difficult to get into.

Personally I will buy the game no matter which form it takes as knowledge of the first 3 games will stand me in good stead but I feel it would be a mistake to make the learning curve too steep and risk alienating some gamers as FE2 and FFE did.

 

[Hudson]

Yes, here's another who has been doggedly visiting the old site at regular intervals (around once a week), for news on Elite IV. I'd almost given up entirely this year when nothing new had been posted for about 5-6 months.

Low and behold the reason...a new web site entirely! Sweet.

Like many others I'll buy Elite IV as I'm quite confident that it'll be a winner. Recent games from Frontier have all been fine examples of Frontiers quality and innovation.

I've also been amazed at recent space simulation titles that still haven't managed to land on planets! Freelancer, the X series, even EVE, spring to mind.

To David Braben & all who work at Frontier, I've waited 5 years already, I can wait another 5 for you to make Elite IV the best it can be.


Cheers!
Hudson


PS. Just imagine if some software house was able to 'port' Frontier & FFE to modern day graphics and sound engines. A new generation of gamers would be hooked, and just as eager for Elite IV as I am.

 

[Mike]

e4

Surely the next step for the elite series is to allow your character to get out of their ship and walk around on foot, and explore infinate worlds, blow things up, look at the giant four legged *****'s of delgar 4, or the red nosed flying dolphin of Roodolf 12, or sail around on a raft on the oceanic world of Mare Infinitus?

After playing Froniter all those years ago, I expected that to be the next natural step.

Even imagine the Ross 128 sun rise on todays hardware ?

The thing that always got me about frontier was the way stuff could look as it was randomly created, certain coloured stars on certain worlds with bigger planets in closer orbits on the horizon all thats stuff was great. Anyway thats just what i think, get outa your ship and walk around seemlessly.

Hey what gives?? why can't I say *****?

 

[Michael Brookes]

Presumably it's on the censored word list.

Michael

 

[Mike]

But like its a completely innocent word.

They have four legs, you ride around on them. Gandalf kinda strole his. If it has a horn its a unicorn.. honestly.

 

[Michael Brookes]

***** - Ah I see the problem

Michael

 

[Firebird]

I sure like to hear, that you want to make it right. Too many games are rushed out. I understand the need to make money (we all need to), but I will gladly wait another 2-5 years and have a good game and not another MOO3 (shudder).

I too have been visiting your website for years hoping to see something about Elite 4, so seeing the recruitment ad was a welcome sight.

I understand that you might be very interested in making Elite 4 a MMORG (and that could be interesting for me too), but I hope it will be playable as a good singleplayer game too. That would probably be my main way of playing.

And by the way I agree that Elite was never just spacetrading. The ability to choose and change career was great already in the original and leaves many ways to expand the experience in Elite 4, as has been done in the sequels. I am certain you and your team will do a good job as long as you stick to that:
"Elite 4 absolutely has to be 'right'"

And perhaps I should try Outsider. I'm looking forward to more good news.

Good luck!

 

[caol]

Surely the next step for the elite series is to allow your character to get out of their ship and walk around on foot...

After playing Froniter all those years ago, I expected that to be the next natural step...

Me too. Even back in the mid 90s when I was playing Frontier a lot I always said "wouldn't it be cool if you could get out of your ship and walk around the stations/planets etc or even spacewalk".

In fact can't you spacewalk in the X-series of games? I've only played a demo of the 1st one but I'm sure I heard you could later in the series.

I'd also just like to say to the Frontier development team that if it does take another 5 years or more and it has detailed features such as this then it'll be worth waiting for. I agree with what's been said already - get it right, absolutely right, before releasing it. You don't want another First Encounters situation for the Next Encounter (if that really is what it's going to be called).

 

[Marcus_UK]

I'm not actually all that worried about being able to get out of the ship. Yeah perhaps it would be nice to be able to walk around a space station or a landing area on a planet. I also like the idea of assasin or recon missions on planets.


Hang on I just sold the idea to myself.

One thing amazes me even to this day.

Look at at the way in which the first three were given to us.

Elite was on a floppy disc ( a real one not the ones most may know ) on the BBC.

Fe2 managed to fit on 2 1.4mb disks.

FFE I think needed a cd.

My mobile has more memory installed than that probably 1000 times to be honest. If DB and the Frontier guys could do all that they did in those three games imagine what they could do with the technology thats available to them at the moment.

One thing that I would ask to be considered is a version of FE and FFE that works "properly" on winxp is released. I know for a fact that many younger gamers would get hooked on what are fantastic games and have held up well over the last decade +

M

 

[Hudson]

What I was wondering is not whether you'd be able to get out of your ship and walk around....I think that's a given....but how/when does it happen?

Is it going to be like an FPS where you simply press 'E' to enter and exit a vehicle and/or your ship?? Or will it have a more seamless feel; where you get out of your captains chair, walk down the corridor and through the airlock and down the ships ramp into the spacestation or onto a planet???


H