What's Wrong With Elite.

Whatever magic ED once had was lost after it was released. I remember having a great time during alpha, and early betas mostly because the game was at that stage centred around player encounters. Truth of the matter is there were no template missions, no silly different modes, and most of what went on was pure player sandbox open world activity.

Frontier gutted the game with solo and pg and as for the trade run you speak about in the OP well anyone who refers to themselves as a 'trader' loses t he plot if their ship get so much as a scratched. Its these folks Frontier has catered and listened to. Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward, people progress simply from a matter of turning on the game.


There was a time back early on when they were promoting ED and there was a line in the speil that went along the lines of, 'and cross trading lanes and become rich, if you make the journey' As soon as anyone loses their ship its mass hysteria on the forums and now there is zero jeopardy as a result.

Once you've played for a while it becomes obvious how shallow and poor the actual game-play is. Template missions, filling up xp bars (super power grind is a prime example here). If ED were a woman she would have the looks of a glamour model and the IQ of a pot plant.

The whole 'economy' is a joke. Everyone is a billionaire and yet prices never go up. It feels a lot like all the game is there to do is give people enough of a feel good factor to spend money on 'cosmetics'. And weekly they keep pumping out these dreary 'community goals' hearding players like a bunch of sheep. I dunno who came up with CGs but I am far from impressed.

Unless new blood and direction is given its hard to see anything really changing and if that means moving the key players on to a different project then so be it.

As it stands the game really isn't what we were led to believe it would be. What is frustrating is seeing the raw potential ED has but which Frontier are unwilling or unable to realise. This really can't just be a matter of 'we don't have enough resources', its all down to ideology in my view.

yup!

ED panders far to much to mediocrity and low bar gameplay. There is nothing Dangerous about this game.
And now with the culture of exploits taking over it isnt even a game anymore. Its just exploit billions and buy ships.
 
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Whatever magic ED once had was lost after it was released. I remember having a great time during alpha, and early betas mostly because the game was at that stage centred around player encounters. Truth of the matter is there were no template missions, no silly different modes, and most of what went on was pure player sandbox open world activity.

Frontier gutted the game with solo and pg and as for the trade run you speak about in the OP well anyone who refers to themselves as a 'trader' loses t he plot if their ship get so much as a scratched. Its these folks Frontier has catered and listened to. Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward, people progress simply from a matter of turning on the game.


There was a time back early on when they were promoting ED and there was a line in the speil that went along the lines of, 'and cross trading lanes and become rich, if you make the journey' As soon as anyone loses their ship its mass hysteria on the forums and now there is zero jeopardy as a result.

Once you've played for a while it becomes obvious how shallow and poor the actual game-play is. Template missions, filling up xp bars (super power grind is a prime example here). If ED were a woman she would have the looks of a glamour model and the IQ of a pot plant.

The whole 'economy' is a joke. Everyone is a billionaire and yet prices never go up. It feels a lot like all the game is there to do is give people enough of a feel good factor to spend money on 'cosmetics'. And weekly they keep pumping out these dreary 'community goals' hearding players like a bunch of sheep. I dunno who came up with CGs but I am far from impressed.

Unless new blood and direction is given its hard to see anything really changing and if that means moving the key players on to a different project then so be it.

As it stands the game really isn't what we were led to believe it would be. What is frustrating is seeing the raw potential ED has but which Frontier are unwilling or unable to realise. This really can't just be a matter of 'we don't have enough resources', its all down to ideology in my view.

I agree with a lot if what you say. Not all, but a lot.
 
Whatever magic ED once had was lost after it was released. I remember having a great time during alpha, and early betas mostly because the game was at that stage centred around player encounters. Truth of the matter is there were no template missions, no silly different modes, and most of what went on was pure player sandbox open world activity.

Frontier gutted the game with solo and pg and as for the trade run you speak about in the OP well anyone who refers to themselves as a 'trader' loses t he plot if their ship get so much as a scratched. Its these folks Frontier has catered and listened to. Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward, people progress simply from a matter of turning on the game.


There was a time back early on when they were promoting ED and there was a line in the speil that went along the lines of, 'and cross trading lanes and become rich, if you make the journey' As soon as anyone loses their ship its mass hysteria on the forums and now there is zero jeopardy as a result.

Once you've played for a while it becomes obvious how shallow and poor the actual game-play is. Template missions, filling up xp bars (super power grind is a prime example here). If ED were a woman she would have the looks of a glamour model and the IQ of a pot plant.

The whole 'economy' is a joke. Everyone is a billionaire and yet prices never go up. It feels a lot like all the game is there to do is give people enough of a feel good factor to spend money on 'cosmetics'. And weekly they keep pumping out these dreary 'community goals' hearding players like a bunch of sheep. I dunno who came up with CGs but I am far from impressed.

Unless new blood and direction is given its hard to see anything really changing and if that means moving the key players on to a different project then so be it.

As it stands the game really isn't what we were led to believe it would be. What is frustrating is seeing the raw potential ED has but which Frontier are unwilling or unable to realise. This really can't just be a matter of 'we don't have enough resources', its all down to ideology in my view.

Not that I was here for beta etc. But have said before "Oh what a game ED could have Been".

+rep
 
Whatever magic ED once had was lost after it was released. I remember having a great time during alpha, and early betas mostly because the game was at that stage centred around player encounters. Truth of the matter is there were no template missions, no silly different modes, and most of what went on was pure player sandbox open world activity.

Frontier gutted the game with solo and pg and as for the trade run you speak about in the OP well anyone who refers to themselves as a 'trader' loses t he plot if their ship get so much as a scratched. Its these folks Frontier has catered and listened to. Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward, people progress simply from a matter of turning on the game.


There was a time back early on when they were promoting ED and there was a line in the speil that went along the lines of, 'and cross trading lanes and become rich, if you make the journey' As soon as anyone loses their ship its mass hysteria on the forums and now there is zero jeopardy as a result.

Once you've played for a while it becomes obvious how shallow and poor the actual game-play is. Template missions, filling up xp bars (super power grind is a prime example here). If ED were a woman she would have the looks of a glamour model and the IQ of a pot plant.

The whole 'economy' is a joke. Everyone is a billionaire and yet prices never go up. It feels a lot like all the game is there to do is give people enough of a feel good factor to spend money on 'cosmetics'. And weekly they keep pumping out these dreary 'community goals' hearding players like a bunch of sheep. I dunno who came up with CGs but I am far from impressed.

Unless new blood and direction is given its hard to see anything really changing and if that means moving the key players on to a different project then so be it.

As it stands the game really isn't what we were led to believe it would be. What is frustrating is seeing the raw potential ED has but which Frontier are unwilling or unable to realise. This really can't just be a matter of 'we don't have enough resources', its all down to ideology in my view.

I do agree with your points. Yet I can't resist my usual remark.

People keep playing the game, despite being continually unhappy with it. That could either mean they are dishonest to themselves, or the game actually DOES have some magic to it.

Now that being said, there is certainly a strong disparity between what people think the game should be and what the game is. That is, however, not a fault of the game. The game is what it is. If you want to blame something, blame PR and players susceptibility to hype.
 
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Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward

Its funny how many of the People who talk about the game providing NO CHALLENGE are ALSO the ones who either do/want to spend their times in A-rated Corvettes/Cutters/Anacondas...
Obviously the game offers no challenge...the Ai simply isn't up to the task of competing...admittedly Frontier consciously chose this (remember the wailing and gnashing of teeth at the 2.1 AI)
I long ago realised that if you want to enjoy Combat there's little point in taking out anything much bigger than say a Viper 3...that way you can beat most opponents, some you'll struggle to beat...and some you'll have to flee...which seems about right!
If you're in a fully engineered murder-ship and finding the game offers NO challenge then I think we've identified the problem...
 
Whatever magic ED once had was lost after it was released. I remember having a great time during alpha, and early betas mostly because the game was at that stage centred around player encounters. Truth of the matter is there were no template missions, no silly different modes, and most of what went on was pure player sandbox open world activity.

Frontier gutted the game with solo and pg and as for the trade run you speak about in the OP well anyone who refers to themselves as a 'trader' loses t he plot if their ship get so much as a scratched. Its these folks Frontier has catered and listened to. Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward, people progress simply from a matter of turning on the game.


There was a time back early on when they were promoting ED and there was a line in the speil that went along the lines of, 'and cross trading lanes and become rich, if you make the journey' As soon as anyone loses their ship its mass hysteria on the forums and now there is zero jeopardy as a result.

Once you've played for a while it becomes obvious how shallow and poor the actual game-play is. Template missions, filling up xp bars (super power grind is a prime example here). If ED were a woman she would have the looks of a glamour model and the IQ of a pot plant.

The whole 'economy' is a joke. Everyone is a billionaire and yet prices never go up. It feels a lot like all the game is there to do is give people enough of a feel good factor to spend money on 'cosmetics'. And weekly they keep pumping out these dreary 'community goals' hearding players like a bunch of sheep. I dunno who came up with CGs but I am far from impressed.

Unless new blood and direction is given its hard to see anything really changing and if that means moving the key players on to a different project then so be it.

As it stands the game really isn't what we were led to believe it would be. What is frustrating is seeing the raw potential ED has but which Frontier are unwilling or unable to realise. This really can't just be a matter of 'we don't have enough resources', its all down to ideology in my view.

Well said.

And,"dreary community goals", sums them up so well. Sadly.
 
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I do agree with your points. Yet I can't resist my usual remark.

People keep playing the game, despite being continually unhappy with it. That could either mean they are dishonest to themselves, or the game actually DOES have some magic to it.

Now that being said, there is certainly a strong disparity between what people thing the game should be and what the game is. That is, however, not a fault of the game. The game is what it is. If you want to blame something, blame PR and players susceptibility to hype.


..it's the promise of what the game concept holds, and its inability to actually deliver on that promise, that answers your conundrum. The player base is split between those who are still under the illusion that they only need to "progress" a little further, and they'll inevitably get to "the fun" or some sense of reward or ascension, and those who've already realised they've been sold a pup.


They've managed to can the Elite magic before, and accordingly, sold it in droves. But this time, the product no longer does what it says on the tin. It's a farce. It doesn't matter how long you trade or explore or collect collectibles for, how high your credit balance gets, which ship you buy or what gubbins you strap to it, because after all that, it still won't ever be the visceral thrill its predecessors were.

I was lucky; i realised this right from the outset the first time i opened the throttles on my sidewinder and it just groaned instead of accelerating. No matter what i do, which ship i buy, what fitments i attach or how i fund it all, the game's central axis, of unfettered free space flight, is simply absent. It's so hopelessly constrained and limited, it's basically not there, anymore. So trading, fighting and exploring will never be fun, because everything fun about spaceflight, to me, involves being free to pilot the ship. My way. Not being stuck with some weird arbitrary "top speed", or "blue zone" response envelope, or nerfed yaw. So i knew from that moment that this is nothing like the "Elite" i know and love. It's fundamentally incompatible with Elite gameplay. If you want nothing more than to get stuck into a nice satisfying Elite sesh, then ED is definitely and categorically not for you.

I love Elite, me. Lifelong fan. Greatest game ever. But just because ED uses that word in its title doesn't mean it even belongs in the same family.


People buy into the belief - or, to be fair, the contract with FD - they'll be able to play Elite in ED. And that's a perfectly legitimate expectation, and a healthy desire. Nothing better than a cracking good Elite sesh. But unfortunately, you eventually realise - even if you've never played the previous games - that either this quasi-mythical Elite marque must've been fairly rubbish all along, or else ED, somehow, is not quite hitting the right notes.

Hopefully, most do realise that ED is simply not a fair representation of the traditional game, and if the predecessors played anything like this, none of us would ever have got here in the first place..

Bottom line: it's big on promise, but short on delivery. Nowt wrong with the promise. The plan is awesome. You can't criticise the plan. The implementation, however... oh dear.
 
Whatever magic ED once had was lost after it was released. I remember having a great time during alpha, and early betas mostly because the game was at that stage centred around player encounters. Truth of the matter is there were no template missions, no silly different modes, and most of what went on was pure player sandbox open world activity.

Frontier gutted the game with solo and pg and as for the trade run you speak about in the OP well anyone who refers to themselves as a 'trader' loses t he plot if their ship get so much as a scratched. Its these folks Frontier has catered and listened to. Its impossible to fail in ED, there is no real challenge or test of skill, and therefore no reward, people progress simply from a matter of turning on the game.


There was a time back early on when they were promoting ED and there was a line in the speil that went along the lines of, 'and cross trading lanes and become rich, if you make the journey' As soon as anyone loses their ship its mass hysteria on the forums and now there is zero jeopardy as a result.

Once you've played for a while it becomes obvious how shallow and poor the actual game-play is. Template missions, filling up xp bars (super power grind is a prime example here). If ED were a woman she would have the looks of a glamour model and the IQ of a pot plant.

The whole 'economy' is a joke. Everyone is a billionaire and yet prices never go up. It feels a lot like all the game is there to do is give people enough of a feel good factor to spend money on 'cosmetics'. And weekly they keep pumping out these dreary 'community goals' hearding players like a bunch of sheep. I dunno who came up with CGs but I am far from impressed.

Unless new blood and direction is given its hard to see anything really changing and if that means moving the key players on to a different project then so be it.

As it stands the game really isn't what we were led to believe it would be. What is frustrating is seeing the raw potential ED has but which Frontier are unwilling or unable to realise. This really can't just be a matter of 'we don't have enough resources', its all down to ideology in my view.


I thought "Beyond" would be just to start correcting this, but I was wrong.
 
What's Wrong With Elite?
"FDev are trying to please a community that's divided between roleplayers, PvPers, spaceship simulation hobbyists and those who just think that it's a normal 'vidya game'".

Ain't that the truth.
Perhaps Frontier should rather just pick a direction they want to go and then go there.
And then, when the community cries (as it will), Frontier bring out the salt mining limpets and basically tell us to suck it up.
 
I love Elite, me. Lifelong fan. Greatest game ever. But just because ED uses that word in its title doesn't mean it even belongs in the same family.

I don't know about you, but I've tried to play the original Elite, recently. I'm not sure what exactly IS Elite to you, all I know is I DIDN'T have fun playing it. Times have changed and what worked for us 30 years ago, doesn't, anymore.
I enjoy ED, playing it the same way I played the previous ones and I think it already is way better.
Perfect? Not in a slightest, but for what I do, what I consider Elite gameplay, it's the best thing available now.
 
I don't know about you, but I've tried to play the original Elite, recently. I'm not sure what exactly IS Elite to you, all I know is I DIDN'T have fun playing it. Times have changed and what worked for us 30 years ago, doesn't, anymore.
I enjoy ED, playing it the same way I played the previous ones and I think it already is way better.
Perfect? Not in a slightest, but for what I do, what I consider Elite gameplay, it's the best thing available now.

Making do? Yeah I can understand that.
 
Making do with what I've got as opposed to being constantly unhappy due to own expectations? Yes. Any day.
I'm too old to wait for the things to get better. They never do.

Well that's a depressing thought :(

Cheer up old son! ED might get better.
 
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