A little late to the game but surely the new fsd is limited by design as in this is the first iteration. As in deliberate because a new technology would surely have flaws in its design limited by it's research in a "story line " perspective rather than trying to deliver a "new thing" for cmdr's by frontier trying to fix all Thier previous woes. From that point of view I get it as it's trying to fit in with the "game" as a whole and from my point of view I like it, would have appreciated a class A I stead of C but hey it's still a lot of fun
Update 18.02 | Wednesday 10th April
- Thread starter Paul_Crowther
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Ironic words of denial, from someone who's discarded everything I state to declare that I'm "just trolling" and claim that, contrary to all of my personal efforts, nothing I've said is 'engaging sincerely'. That doesn't sound very sincere to me at all.
In fact (which I'm losing faith that you have any interest in), Helldivers 2's recent crashes issues were caused by a myriad of things and not solely thanks to electric weapons/turrets (it wasn't just the 1 new feature), and they patched that issue within a week of its discovery - and then followed up a week later with a second patch that knocked out almost every other crashing issue the game has.
Two-week turnaround to address issues like this is unheard of when looking at Fdev's track record. How long have various bugs & issues just like this one with the FSD persisted for literal years and almost a decade in some cases? Do you know there's a similar issue related to tissue gathering that's persisted for over a year now? Or is that fact just a minor inconvenience?
It's a given that new things can have issues, that there's priority lists, and other considerations anywhere software development is involved. The point I'm making by drawing your attention to this bug is because of your own statement about "speaking in hypotheticals" and that the issues I criticize aren't real. I am not a target for you to project denial onto only because I choose to raise my voice about these issues and base my criticisms on 'inconvenient' facts.
Here's another fact: I've had the link to the 'saving time' feedback thread I started in 2017 for a good seven years now. It's not the first or oldest suggestion about the topic of time in supercruise. The arrival of this new FSD module is the first time I've seen Fdev even acknowledge this as being something they recognize, let alone announce introducing a feature to address it.
It really should not be a wonder to you, if you actually sit back and consider the facts, why it is that my expressed frustrations run so deeply and why I remain adamant about expressing them - and why the last thing I'm going to acknowledge is the tired forumite trope: "it's not my issue so the issue doesn't exist"; it is false, and runs completely contrary to the process of improving this game's situation from the doldrums it's been in throughout its lifetime.
I've seen this idea expressed many times over now. It would be the first time Fdev's introduced a new module/feature in that fashion, if that is how events unfold in the coming weeks. "Release it and largely never touch it again" has been their modus operandi until now. By all means it would be a welcome surprise to break that mould.
So far, this year has been a lot of "firsts" for FDev. They have been a lot more communicative and interested in telling us what is coming down the pipe. I hope that this year is the start of a very different FDev.
It occurred to me that the new FSD might be the impetus for me to finally get a fleet carrier.
So far I have never purchased one because I never felt any need for one. Bubble missions don't need it, and for long range exploration I can travel at least twice as fast than a FC can even at best of times (ie. 15 minutes per jump), so it only feels like it would slow me down rather than help. I fly carefully so I don't feel in any real danger of losing exploration/exobiology data.
However, if I intend to do exploration with the new FSD, in order to get to planets much faster, now the FC could be of actual use. After all, the jump range of my exploration ships drops to less than half if I equip the new FSD, so long range traveling becomes much slower. Now having a fleet carrier as a "base of operations" to explore nearby systems becomes much more practical. On top of that, I can easily switch between FSDs if so needed.
So far I have never purchased one because I never felt any need for one. Bubble missions don't need it, and for long range exploration I can travel at least twice as fast than a FC can even at best of times (ie. 15 minutes per jump), so it only feels like it would slow me down rather than help. I fly carefully so I don't feel in any real danger of losing exploration/exobiology data.
However, if I intend to do exploration with the new FSD, in order to get to planets much faster, now the FC could be of actual use. After all, the jump range of my exploration ships drops to less than half if I equip the new FSD, so long range traveling becomes much slower. Now having a fleet carrier as a "base of operations" to explore nearby systems becomes much more practical. On top of that, I can easily switch between FSDs if so needed.
I’d feel the same way, if I didn’t loathe the effects of private “player housing” in shared public space, have no desire to grind credits to acquire and maintain one, and acquiring Tritium involves an activity I avoid like the plague. Also, trying to reason out where nearby pristine areas to explore are is kind of a fun activity, and even visited systems leave a lot of unexplored worlds on the proverbial table these days. So the choice of FSD type basically boils down to how much time do I want to spend traveling 500 light years?
There is one tiny problem, they don't sell it remote
Getting back for me will take another 6-7 months. I guess - for many "explorers with carriers" too. So this statement is theoretical still, until tried by many.
I never managed to get out of the bubble and go exploring until I got my FC, it really unlocked that activity for me and I think it is a great asset for exploration. I have been using it as a destination so send it off 500ly then set off after it in (recently) my bio exploring Hauler, depending on luck a couple of sessions to a week later repeat the process.
I am back in ‘busy’ space for the first time in almost a year and have parked in a quiet system now after spending a few days topping up the Tritium by my usual technique of putting a buy order on its market and letting other commanders have profitable fun mining or trading it just for the cost of some exobiology.
To be honest I wouldn’t get your hopes up about this module being intended to address your and others long held wishes regarding faster travel, I think it is intended purely as a short ranged sprint mode and the punishing heat and fuel costs of trying to run it for a longer time are pretty much intended. Just as the FC ability to jump between system bodies is not an answer to the other old request to get rid of cruise altogether.
Come back in ten years. Helldivers 2 is the hot game of the moment, I'm sure Arrowhead are flush with cash from it, as they should be, it's a great game after all. So they're going to be right on it as they want to keep that momentum up. It's a pointless 'no you' conversation that's going on here. I'm acknowledging what you are saying but the fact of the matter is that just because the module doesn't do exactly what you want you're attaching it to bemoan Frontier for this and that. I outlined my thoughts on the module here in response to someone's critique:
Update 18.02 | Wednesday 10th April
Next development step: SuperCruise Booster as a module, like the Guardian FSD Booster. Prettyprettyplease, please? 🤩 I was thinking an armoured fuel tank to put in the restricted slots.
Funny that it was just kept to the scope of the discussion at hand, the module. Why can't you do the same? There's no denial in pointing that out. You have a gripe with Frontier, you do you, I really don't care, but all of that adds nothing to the conversation or is relevant. And yes, your persistence in talking about something that's basically irrelevant comes across as trolling.
I just hope it doesn't fizzle out again like their previous "new era" of communication.
Seconded.
We're past the start, because 1 calendar quarter went by. If ED becomes more popular then frequent game updates should be sustainable.
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I don't think a turn-around of a full decade is remotely reasonable turn-around for addressing key issues in a video game in 2024 - to say nothing on the return on investment in terms of simply having fun. The fact that you'd even think to suggest that, speaks volumes about how low your own bar of expectations has become regarding Fdev, let alone my own.Come back in ten years. Helldivers 2 is the hot game of the moment, I'm sure Arrowhead are flush with cash from it, as they should be, it's a great game after all. So they're going to be right on it as they want to keep that momentum up. It's a pointless 'no you' conversation that's going on here. I'm acknowledging what you are saying but the fact of the matter is that just because the module doesn't do exactly what you want you're attaching it to bemoan Frontier for this and that. I outlined my thoughts on the module here in response to someone's critique:
Update 18.02 | Wednesday 10th April
Next development step: SuperCruise Booster as a module, like the Guardian FSD Booster. Prettyprettyplease, please? 🤩 I was thinking an armoured fuel tank to put in the restricted slots.forums.frontier.co.uk
Funny that it was just kept to the scope of the discussion at hand, the module. Why can't you do the same? There's no denial in pointing that out. You have a gripe with Frontier, you do you, I really don't care, but all of that adds nothing to the conversation or is relevant. And yes, your persistence in talking about something that's basically irrelevant comes across as trolling.
Incidentally, AH's CEO has made statements about deliberately not overreacting to being flush with cash, such as not over-hiring; they have their head on straight about not being caught up in their own momentum. That they can accomplish these results without crunching their talent base & letting the momentum cart get ahead of their horse should be an example well worth looking up to from anywhere in the gaming industry.
Frontier has a long & patterned track record of introducing new features like this with absurd restrictions, downsides, and/or barriers to entry that detract from the enjoyment of the game & the features themselves, and then leaving things that way interminably. Look at how excited players are just to see a sign of a new ship on the horizon, or an update to Powerplay. It's because we've come to expect seeing nothing, stagnation that extends over years and years and years.
So yeah, I'm bemoaning that. I want better than nothing. I want to be surprised. I want to be excited by new content releases. I want regular updates. I want to know & trust that issues are acknowledged and are being worked on (something that AH has been communicating regularly multiple times a week about, including recently adopting official weekly player polls in their official discord about hot community topics). I want to know that player feedback means something. I want to know that the developers themselves are gamers, play their own game, and comprehend the same likes and dislikes that players playing their game are experiencing, and for that to be apparent by the form that new features take in the game.
What I do not want is new content that tries to fill a new role created in a vacuum that does not account for player feedback or real gameplay experiences, with such excessive downsides that it gives the impression of deliberately trying tie the games' own hands behind its back, rather than let freedom of fun & play occur. This impression is not new. This has happened already many times before.
That is why the scope of discussion of this module in its current state extends to this subject. It's one more representation of a recurring issue in this game's design that deserves attention and real thoughtful consideration.
Your own choice to dismiss facts and statements contrary to your own position of apathy towards these issues is your own issue to face, and I for one am thankful that you are not one of the developers in question, because you evidently lack the drive and compassion to meet these expectations and hopes that I have for this game and communicate about that in a considerate manner.
That's true.
ED has received over 100 major updates (including 2 expansions) over the last 10 years. It's unusual for a game such as ED to still receive major updates (mostly for free) after a decade. Most games are put in maintenance mode a lot earlier. Granted ED has not yet achieved the full vision of Braben during the Kickstarter. What's missing = ship interiors, Earth-like worlds, hunt wild game (creatures) on planets, ship boarding. Braben also mentioned base building.
Yeah, but very few game developers are so super engaged with their player base. Rockstar and Blizzard doesn't do anything like that.
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Eh, while that's technically true, it doesn't paint the full real picture now, does it ? ED has gotten most of these updates in the first 4 years, up to Beyond and Mamba as the last ship so far. Then came 3 years with mostly nothing except fleet carriers. Finally Odyssey launched...a year too early, and yet another year went by in which FDEV had to patch it up, losing thousands of players that had joined/returned for Odyssey in the process. And while the 3 last years indeed had plenty of updates, they were almost exclusively AX content, which is niche content.
There were few ships after Beyond, but game development didn't stop. Odyssey added massive fundamental changes by integrating first-person gameplay and changing the scale from being a ship to a person.
- ED base game = launched in December 2014 had a bunch of free updates.
- Horizons launched in December 2015 = planetary landings, engineers, guardians, commanders (Holo-me), the return (Thargoids), SRVs, more ships. vehicle hangar, synthesis, Megaships, asteroid bases.
- Beyond = free series of updates with huge content and improvements since 2018. (new ships, wing missions, planet visual improvements, crime & punishment improvements, engineering changes, material trader, technology broker, more Megaship interaction, Galnet Audio, new Guardian content, new settlements, mining overhaul, exploration overhaul, new Thargoid content, background simulation improvements,
- Odyssey = 18 free updates post-launch since May 2021. Huge fundamental changes to ED with new planetary tech + first person on-foot content, FPS weapons and suits, planetary settlements, redesign = mission boards + system map + galaxy map + shipyard, hyperspace jump and pulse wave scanner update, exobiologist stuff (lots of new fauna), new engineers, Surface Ports, more Elite ranks, more limpet controllers, Scorpion SRV, Concourses, Fleet Carriers, lots of new Thargoid stuff etc. At least 2 more major updates coming up.
So I'm happy that ED is still supported with updates. I don't want to sound entitled, but according to Braben's vision for ED, some major features are not available yet. That's what many people are waiting for. Development seems to have slowed down in that regard unless the "Brand New Feature" for Odyssey is one of the missing Kickstarter features.
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Thargoid war has done a really great job bringing AX activities from niche to mainstream. Station AXCZ-s with readily available RRR (and no thargon swarms at surface ports), better weapons and modules that you don't need to unlock at tech brokers, non-combat war activities all make Thargoid content accessible to anyone. You don't need to get Guardian gauss cannons, go to Pleiades and git gud at FA-off cold orbiting interceptor duels to participate in AX. A Krait MKII with 4 eAXMC-s, a cooling beam and enhanced xeno scanner is perfectly fine in station AXCZ-s and any decently fast and armored ship is good at non-combat activities, including hostile reboots and spire sabotage.
so if i understand this correctly
you have high expectations, none of which has been ever met over all those years. so you keep your expectations high, stay in place and get yourself even more disappointed. and this has happened many times before. nothing is to your liking, it is fdevs fault and it should be in excruciating lengths discussed why and how to please you.
Once again I can’t help but be reminded of this article: “Water Finds A Crack”
Frontier's biggest flaw as a developer in my opinion is that they tend to make gameplay with lots of "cracks" in it. When some players complain about following those cracks down, at their own volition, Frontier's reaction to the inevitable complaints isn't to fill in the cracks. They widen them instead, making it even easier for more players to follow them down... usually at the expense of the players who wisely avoided them in the first place.
I, for one, am glad that Frontier didn't widen a crack for a change. It's refreshing to have an outfitting choice for a change, rather than the current "no brainer" choices these days.
Frontier's biggest flaw as a developer in my opinion is that they tend to make gameplay with lots of "cracks" in it. When some players complain about following those cracks down, at their own volition, Frontier's reaction to the inevitable complaints isn't to fill in the cracks. They widen them instead, making it even easier for more players to follow them down... usually at the expense of the players who wisely avoided them in the first place.
I, for one, am glad that Frontier didn't widen a crack for a change. It's refreshing to have an outfitting choice for a change, rather than the current "no brainer" choices these days.
Elite Dangerous is in fact quite notorious for the amount of customizability of the ships. Ships designed for different roles can and have to be built differently to be optimal for that role. It's often a balancing act between compromises: Min-maxing a ship for a particular thing means it will be worse for another thing. And that's a great thing about the game. It kind of has this "optimization mini-game" built-in, where you have to weigh the pros and cons of each type of module. Adding even more significant modules that add to this "mini-game" is a good thing, not a bad one.
On another note, it's quite notorious how many players complain about engineering and material grinding. Well, here you have a very useful innovative new module that doesn't require any grinding nor engineering whatsoever! And what's the main thing that people complain about? The lack of engineering for the module, of course. Oh well.