Wanting better game play. Trade and other Licenses??

[mistohise]

Why do we talk about ED then as if it exists as a complete product, yet in the same breath keep going on about 10year plans and WIP ?

See, this is what can tick me off, not by you personsally but in general.

I don't know why people would do that. But the fact remains that SC is in Alpha (and I suspect that ED changed massively between alpha and release) and NMS doesn't appear to be readily available in any form. So claims that either product are going to be the "end of Elite" are just wild speculation.

 

[Admiral Stavanos]

As some are indicating here, you need to exercise patience. As an example, I give you Eve Online, which made its debut back in May 2003. I joined that community at about 2 to 3 years after it launched...I joined Elite Dangerous practically 4 months ago. I can tell you that these types of expansive games MUST be deployed with a project schedule in mind. It is the most feasible action to take if companies like Frontier and CCP are to stay afloat and make some money while providing a product to the masses. You must understand that this games are complex and rushing will must certainly risk introducing a degraded experience in any number of ways. Frontier is delivering with every patch/update whilst maintain itself on top of unforeseen tech (VR tech). 10 years is more than enough. It's a good idea to lay off the sauce every once in a while too...you don't want to get what I call "game burnout". I did this with Eve Online multiple times - by the time I came back, new features were added and the overall experience felt renewed.

Hope this helps.

 

[tarragon]

THe system is ok, it is the players that fail the game. They are not enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, fdev is busy on yet another console port.

So I've been playing this game since day one release. It is one of my go to games, however lately I've stopped and starred at the client login and just wondered why I play. I love astronomy and space. That's the main reason. Because when it comes to game mechanics, this game is lacking in a lot of things now that I've slowed my hype train. The amount of ships in a space age game is a joke. Not only that they are only good for 3 things. Combat, Trading, Exploring. The only build up you get in the game and the only thing to work for are the (now 3 after a year and a half) Anaconda, Corvette, and The ALD Combat Logger.

However, lets say you die and loose everything. You literally take the same exact path back to those same exact three ships and there is nothing different about how you do it. The only reason this game is open world is because of the RNG'd Milky Way, of which there is no other intelligent life - YET.

I know I'm doing a lot of complaining, but i also have solutions. Other wise i'd just quit, but i love the idea of this game too much to do that.

1st. MORE SHIPS. I know this is the least-hard thing to do is to add more ships. People love ships. Its why we bought the damn game. and space.

2nd. Make the combat, trading and exploring more of an in depth experience.

For trading- Technically everyone who is trading is smuggling because no one has any licenses to trade the stuff they are trading. Make the trade-able items in game a licenses required trade item for the important stuff. It would allow you to diversify traders, factions, and the imperials. (say only an imperial pledged player can buy Slave trading license. Also a Hazmat license for trading hazardous material, that gives you a bigger credit payout because you bought the right to trade it. Everyone could start out with food, basic metals, and medicines and then you upgrade your ability to trade items along with the ship you do the trading in at the same time. More accomplishments = more satisfaction. It doesn't change your ability to play nor does it restrict game play, just makes it more rewarding and worth while to climb an individual branch. Also increase the armor on the trade ships. It will slow down the amount of grieving on trade vessels.

Smuggling- PLEASE actually make it a thing, not a mission that is run and gun that if you get scanned you are done. Add modules to support this play, like a scanner that blocks cargo scans or a compartment that says you are carrying food or something. This should also be a lucrative game play, so therefore items you are smuggling should be higher up on the licenses to buy list and then you sell it somewhere it in space that the product isnt allowed.

For combat- make it to where being an officer is a thing, to where people can actually patrol a system and scan bounty hunters and pirates and everyone else to make sure they have the proper amount of documentation. like Pirates for the Federation have an ability to purchase a license that states any imperial faction player they kill or steal from is legal in Federation space or else where. Or Mercenaries, Like an Imperial faction selling a license to Federation players to fight with them against another force without apprehension. And as far as bounty hunting goes, limit the kills to the licenses. Then reward the players for having a higher caliber license. It will encourage people to branch out more into pirating and other things knowing that players have a bounty cap before they turn in to a station and reset that cap. I'm not trying to limit the belt waiters just trying to open the game play so someone isn't sitting in a High Res for 5 hours keeping you from pirating NPCs.(or players)

For exploration- this was my first love. I loved to explore, i spent an entire week out in space just looking at stuff and learning how to do things in the game. Then i came back and turned in my new data and realized i could have saved so much time bounty hunting for 2 hours. I realized how much a waste of time this was. Its awesome to explore. Whats not awesome is the horrible reward for it, there are no special unlocks you get like a better FSD, meeting a new race of aliens, or money. This is literally the least fun thing to do right now, but because I'm a completion-ist I've slowly been doing courier missions because its more rewarding than going 1000+ light years away without being able to switch to combat or trading anytime you want. People need to be rewarded for exploring. I.E. -License for Exploration beyond Federation space. The Federation will pay for you to go discover new planets and stars, the better the license the better the reward. Also where is the High end Exploration Ship? We need an Enterprise thats sole mission is to explore with defensive capabilities.


Let me know if you agree or disagree or like this

 

[bamber]

Not only that they are only good for 3 things. Combat, Trading, Exploring

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I have a miner, a scavenger and a research ship (for barnacles) ( I could also declare a bounty hunter, a pirate an armed trader but I see those as offsets of yours )
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So that's wrong
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only thing to work for are the (now 3 after a year and a half) Anaconda, Corvette, and The ALD Combat Logger.

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Never ever need to fly any of these ships
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So that's wrong
.

However, lets say you die and loose everything. You literally take the same exact path back to those same exact three ships and there is nothing different about how you do it.

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I've clear saved four times now - ive never followed the same path at all - they have all been very very individual styles of play
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So that's wrong
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So basically the 3 main arguments you put forward are flawed therefore your solution must also be flawed - sorry

 

[anikaiful]

Trading licence? Yea sure, if it ensure greater-than-current income. But Exploration licence? Go home! I explore whatever, whenever and whyever - no "official" channel can do squat about it. If somebody doesn't buy the data because lack of a licence... It's their loss and not mine.

 

[tarragon]

I'm pretty certain its a time thing, name on other released game that wasn't released in the 1900 that you can go from space to surface on. Let along a game with procedural planets that are actual sized and round this is a new thing when it comes to programming. This is definetly not a game that makes a lot of money its got a very narrow niche and I wouldn't be surprised if after they pay their employees and electric bills they are losing money. The devs care they just aren't magic

Planets are boring colored heightmaps. Exactly thing Braben said he doesn't want. No caves, no boulders giant boulders or remotely interesting landmarks, only damn heightmaps a color. That is not a large project to implement sadly. It is something, that 3 developers who no longer enjoy their job would do over 2-3 months.. Oh wait.

That is fdev resources on actual game development. Rest is consoles and bobblehead production.

 

[babelfisch]

Planets are boring colored heightmaps. Exactly thing Braben said he doesn't want. No caves, no boulders giant boulders or remotely interesting landmarks, only damn heightmaps a color. That is not a large project to implement sadly. It is something, that 3 developers who no longer enjoy their job would do over 2-3 months.. Oh wait.

That is fdev resources on actual game development. Rest is consoles and bobblehead production.

Nope, they are not colored heightmaps. There is a dev video somewhere explaining how they create planets, you should watch it. Also remember that planetary landings aren't finished yet, I hope to see volcanism in this season and atmospheric planets in one of the next seasons.

 

[Ian Phillips]

THe system is ok, it is the players that fail the game. They are not enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, fdev is busy on yet another console port.

Really? Thats interesting!

Do you have a quote from FD confirming this please?

 

[Iskariot]

1st. MORE SHIPS. I know this is the least-hard thing to do is to add more ships.

You are dead wrong.
The detailed ships in this game take up a huge amount of development time.
They require an elaborate design inside and out and it takes months before a ship design is ready to be implemented.


I like the idea of privateering licenses and I also want bounty hunt licenses to be in the game.
I have proposed this several times myself.

A more elaborate smuggling and black market system would be very welcome too.
I want to be able to buy stuff on a black market for example.
I also want there be a distinction between stolen goods and salvage. For that FD could implement salvage licenses.

I like the idea of doing jobs for the authorities.
It would be great to be able to sign up with the police force of a system and do some policing.

Exploration will become more and more interesting once the game is further developed and more content is added. Being able to land on planets with atmospheres and life will have a huge effect. What I want asap is a more interesting exploration scan system. The player should be more involved in the scanning and the HUD should have an exploration scanner display that shows all kinds of cool stuff going on while scanning.

Someone said something about caves...
I want those too, so much. Caves could be awesome.

 

[Gaxel]

They should have designed ships, stations, planet bases.. with a procedural process since the beginning... in this way every station and every ship will be different. Basically, Elite should have a system for generating/modding ships as Borderlands or Fallout 4 have for weapons, not necessary like NMS.

 

[Bran Tse Mallory]

You die and then play to get back to the same three ships... I'm confused, you only need one ship and it's non of the ones you mentioned - sure for the 'credits are god' brigade then maybe they are.

Also losing everything denotes a lack of insurance... If you have those three ships and don't cover your insurance you almost deserve to be locked in a grinding machine until you get them back!

License to trade? Why? I am a member of the Pilots Federation, I assume that gives me a remit to carry any cargo I am offered to as a mission or trade on the open market in Fish should I choose to do so. I am not a market trader selling apples to grannies.

Not having license to trade makes me a smuggler - what on earth are you talking about? Sounds to me like you want season three to be Elite:Bureaucracy!

 

[Spacecat]

I don't think I've ever found anyone I was looking for at an unidentified signal source. Asassination targets are always zinging around in supercruise, although once, I found one at a nav beacon.

 

[Jarrek2002]

To the OP: Awesome ideas!
This is the kind of thinking needed to add depth to this game.

 

[tamanaitori]

Cargo scan fooling, now that's a nice idea.

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

Hang on, I'm confused. You loved exploring but don't do it because it doesn't pay as much as doing something you don't enjoy?

Had you considered that you might like the game more if you did the thing you enjoy?

You can do that you know. A steady Elite Dangerous income isn't actually a requirement for anything important. Especially so for an explorer.

 

[R3DB3RD]

Hang on, I'm confused. You loved exploring but don't do it because it doesn't pay as much as doing something you don't enjoy?

Had you considered that you might like the game more if you did the thing you enjoy?

You can do that you know. A steady Elite Dangerous income isn't actually a requirement for anything important. Especially so for an explorer.

I think the key point to enjoying exploring is to go more than a week. This the OP did not do. So, really, I hate to be elitist, but you're not really an explorer after a week. And if you really so enjoy it, you stay out there. And eventually when you return to the bright lights, the pay off is pretty alright. It's like a total free bonus for doing something that is really awesome. And then you remember somebody is going to pay you!

 

[Spacecat]

Here's some more ideas:

Throw some very rare materials out there that only appear in say 1 out of 500 systems and give only the initial discoverer of their location a very substantial (like 50 million) reward to encourage exploration. The space equivalent of a gold rush or space lottery.

Space blockades of systems or planets either help enforce or run them.

Bombing missions (from space or lower down). There could also be planet defense missions where you have to stop bombers.

Escort a VIP ship on a lengthy journey and defeat it from pirates or rival factions.

Sightseeing missions where you get paid to fly as smoothly as possible. Every abrupt jerk, bump, and collision deducts pay.

Emergency transports where you have a very limited time to complete and other ships try to slow you down instead of destroy you with...

tractor beams and a way to counter them.

More versatile and varied ship builds. Single class 3 hardpoint on a sidewinder with no shields? Yes, please!

Guided missiles that are extremely powerful but you can only carry one or two of.

Custom ship transport missions where any damage results in pay deduction.

The ability to buy and name stations and give discounts to friends on stuff (still function like regular stations to everybody else).

Special stations that can customize your ship in more interesting ways for in-game money. Seriously, forget this stupid charging $5 for paint jobs stuff.

System races. You have to fly a set course through the system and fly through checkpoints to the finish line in & out of supercruise. There could even be an annual championship where the winner wins a very large amount of money.

Interception missions where a ship is flying from system x to system x and you have to pick the most likely route and intercept it.

Hazardous materials missions where you have to transport something extremely fragile and/or explosive for very high pay and high risk.

Collection missions where you have to search a system for xx number of items and get something special.

Bounty hunting missions where you have to find a certain person and get clues to their wherabouts.

Each faction (alliance, federation, empire) should have a 10 most wanted list with a large reward bonus for taking out the top wanted CMDRs.

Really, there could be many more...