The following is my opinion. Yours may differ and that's fine.
Elite: Dangerous is my favorite game. It is epic in scale, but has had flaws in execution over the years. I've never really minded that because A) I'm an optimist at heart and know any issues will be resolved in time. B) The devs at Frontier are sincere and imaginative individuals who are expanding into unexplored territory where few have dared go before. C) Shortcomings are usually corrected reasonably quickly. D) My game play has not been impacted to any great degree. I just do something else for a bit. E) It's just a game.
I play E: D to relax. Every night after work, I go home, have dinner, catch up with my wife and then when the dishes are done I get on the computer and boot up one of my accounts. I'm on for two'ish hours a night to explore, mine, bounty hunt, or do whatever takes my fancy. I'm not in a rush to get into a certain ship, I don't hurry around stacking missions trying to make as much as possible or stay in one place to build rank for a certain ship. I simply play the game, bumbling around the galaxy. I'll sometimes meet up with friends, but usually do my own thing. I do what I want, when I want to do it. A rank increase usually takes me by surprise when I get the message in COMMS.
I've owned E: D since v1.0 and it relaxes me. I work in a technical IT job and Elite takes my mind off datacenter issues, TCP/IP, firewall rules, tickets and other issues in my life. Other games do that as well, of course, but I consistently come back to E: D after finishing GTA, Far Cry, or whatever 60 hour AAA game occupies my time. Last time I checked, I had over 4,000 hours invested in E: D across three accounts.
The staggering graphics, especially in VR, are jaw dropping. Missions and activities are varied enough for me. If I hit a dry spot where nothing appeals in mission or passenger boards, I drop onto a planet in an SRV and explore. I pick up materials and data as I go and have only ever had to go looking for one specific item (arsenic) once for engineering. I've built up rep with many sub-factions in my home and surrounding systems. Making money is no longer an issue and I can pick up missions between 2-6 million frequently.
Yes, the game has flaws, but as stated in the reasons in the second paragraph above, I know the devs are working on them and am optimistic about the future. If Frontier stumbles every now and then, well they're just human. Expecting perfection from an imperfect being just isn't realistic. I owned my own computer gaming company for ten years and it isn't easy to create a game on this scale. Overall, E: D is a fantastic piece of software. It matches my (slightly OCD) personality perfectly.
I play in Open and PG. I've been killed in Open repeatedly by other CMDR's and that brought me to Mobius and friend groups. I have no interest in PvP, preferring cooperation and a friendlier game environment exchanging "O7"'s as we pass in the mail slot. I still go into Open on occasion, but only when I have several rebuys in the bank, just in case. When in Open, I expect to be killed, but I do avoid major concentrations of players and stick to the more remote areas of the game which successfully avoids most issues.
There's no pay-to-win, it comes down to skill level and how well you can motivate yourself. Nor do I get a sense of being nickeled and dimed all the time. There's no subscription fees, there's no ship purchases and the price for the game is quite reasonable. I've never felt hard done by when dealing with Frontier. Support has always treated me well. E: D has an online store, but nothing you buy there gives you any advantage in-game. A Viper MK III with a chrome paintjob, a ship kit, plus red weapons and thrusters flies just like a stock Viper MK III.
To conclude, I wanted to thank David Braben, the devs, back room boffins and unnamed office staff at Frontier for an excellent game.
Elite: Dangerous is my favorite game. It is epic in scale, but has had flaws in execution over the years. I've never really minded that because A) I'm an optimist at heart and know any issues will be resolved in time. B) The devs at Frontier are sincere and imaginative individuals who are expanding into unexplored territory where few have dared go before. C) Shortcomings are usually corrected reasonably quickly. D) My game play has not been impacted to any great degree. I just do something else for a bit. E) It's just a game.
I play E: D to relax. Every night after work, I go home, have dinner, catch up with my wife and then when the dishes are done I get on the computer and boot up one of my accounts. I'm on for two'ish hours a night to explore, mine, bounty hunt, or do whatever takes my fancy. I'm not in a rush to get into a certain ship, I don't hurry around stacking missions trying to make as much as possible or stay in one place to build rank for a certain ship. I simply play the game, bumbling around the galaxy. I'll sometimes meet up with friends, but usually do my own thing. I do what I want, when I want to do it. A rank increase usually takes me by surprise when I get the message in COMMS.
I've owned E: D since v1.0 and it relaxes me. I work in a technical IT job and Elite takes my mind off datacenter issues, TCP/IP, firewall rules, tickets and other issues in my life. Other games do that as well, of course, but I consistently come back to E: D after finishing GTA, Far Cry, or whatever 60 hour AAA game occupies my time. Last time I checked, I had over 4,000 hours invested in E: D across three accounts.
The staggering graphics, especially in VR, are jaw dropping. Missions and activities are varied enough for me. If I hit a dry spot where nothing appeals in mission or passenger boards, I drop onto a planet in an SRV and explore. I pick up materials and data as I go and have only ever had to go looking for one specific item (arsenic) once for engineering. I've built up rep with many sub-factions in my home and surrounding systems. Making money is no longer an issue and I can pick up missions between 2-6 million frequently.
Yes, the game has flaws, but as stated in the reasons in the second paragraph above, I know the devs are working on them and am optimistic about the future. If Frontier stumbles every now and then, well they're just human. Expecting perfection from an imperfect being just isn't realistic. I owned my own computer gaming company for ten years and it isn't easy to create a game on this scale. Overall, E: D is a fantastic piece of software. It matches my (slightly OCD) personality perfectly.
I play in Open and PG. I've been killed in Open repeatedly by other CMDR's and that brought me to Mobius and friend groups. I have no interest in PvP, preferring cooperation and a friendlier game environment exchanging "O7"'s as we pass in the mail slot. I still go into Open on occasion, but only when I have several rebuys in the bank, just in case. When in Open, I expect to be killed, but I do avoid major concentrations of players and stick to the more remote areas of the game which successfully avoids most issues.
There's no pay-to-win, it comes down to skill level and how well you can motivate yourself. Nor do I get a sense of being nickeled and dimed all the time. There's no subscription fees, there's no ship purchases and the price for the game is quite reasonable. I've never felt hard done by when dealing with Frontier. Support has always treated me well. E: D has an online store, but nothing you buy there gives you any advantage in-game. A Viper MK III with a chrome paintjob, a ship kit, plus red weapons and thrusters flies just like a stock Viper MK III.
To conclude, I wanted to thank David Braben, the devs, back room boffins and unnamed office staff at Frontier for an excellent game.
