First things first let's get the obligatory showering of adulation out the way. Elite, without a doubt, is an incredible accomplishment. For it's genre it possesses qualities that can arguably be said to be perfect. in some aspects it is literally above any and all criticism. It has a heritage that spans decades and its creator's dedication to this pedigree is beyond reproach. David Braben obviously cares deeply about it and it shows in almost every facet of the game. With that said there is something that inarguably leaves a hollow space in whatever it is we satisfy by playing games and I'd like to know, as specifically as you can say, what simple improvements do you think could fill those irritating absences.
For me it's the way FD seems to think obstacles are equivalent to puzzles and it leads me to wonder about the creative department. The aspects of the game that most highlight this for me is the Engineers and, having recently got into exploration, Detailed Surface Scanning. Elite's pedigree may have demanded it keeps a certain character but I think with the imminent release of Odyssey that pedigree has been irrevocably altered and I'd love for them to embrace it by doing something radical in the direction of fun and engaging gameplay.
Engineering is a hugely wasted opportunity to have a perfect little side game. In reality chance does not play a role in designing and building equipment. All constituent parts are purpose built to serve a role as efficiently as possible and to work in harmony with it's other constituent parts. The game itself is brilliant example of this. David Braben hasn't ignored any aspect where his expertise could accurately reflect his vision and the reality it's set in. However this has led me to wonder hard about how he views and employs creative people and abstract game design. The pure random nature of rolling for upgrades is baffling and it is reflected in the Detailed Surface Scanner. Both of these dynamics are crying out for a minigame, both of which could employ an encouragement to learn a little about maths or geometry in keeping with what seems to be Mr. Braben's philosophy to make Elite something more than a shooty game. There are tonnes of simple but enormously engaging puzzle game apps now for mobiles. What is it do you think that prevents FD from injecting something like this to give those moments of passive observing more appeal? In fact in the case of exploration I'd argue it is desperately needed. I spent more than two hours in one system yesterday scanning every world because the current CG is asking for 2 million scanned worlds with bonuses for Ammonia Worlds.
I remember when mining was just about sitting there lasering asteroids but something motivated him to apply the same pedigree to that as to the traditional game. Do you think they made it brilliant because they knew it would be needed for people to get into Fleet Carriers?
For me it's the way FD seems to think obstacles are equivalent to puzzles and it leads me to wonder about the creative department. The aspects of the game that most highlight this for me is the Engineers and, having recently got into exploration, Detailed Surface Scanning. Elite's pedigree may have demanded it keeps a certain character but I think with the imminent release of Odyssey that pedigree has been irrevocably altered and I'd love for them to embrace it by doing something radical in the direction of fun and engaging gameplay.
Engineering is a hugely wasted opportunity to have a perfect little side game. In reality chance does not play a role in designing and building equipment. All constituent parts are purpose built to serve a role as efficiently as possible and to work in harmony with it's other constituent parts. The game itself is brilliant example of this. David Braben hasn't ignored any aspect where his expertise could accurately reflect his vision and the reality it's set in. However this has led me to wonder hard about how he views and employs creative people and abstract game design. The pure random nature of rolling for upgrades is baffling and it is reflected in the Detailed Surface Scanner. Both of these dynamics are crying out for a minigame, both of which could employ an encouragement to learn a little about maths or geometry in keeping with what seems to be Mr. Braben's philosophy to make Elite something more than a shooty game. There are tonnes of simple but enormously engaging puzzle game apps now for mobiles. What is it do you think that prevents FD from injecting something like this to give those moments of passive observing more appeal? In fact in the case of exploration I'd argue it is desperately needed. I spent more than two hours in one system yesterday scanning every world because the current CG is asking for 2 million scanned worlds with bonuses for Ammonia Worlds.
I remember when mining was just about sitting there lasering asteroids but something motivated him to apply the same pedigree to that as to the traditional game. Do you think they made it brilliant because they knew it would be needed for people to get into Fleet Carriers?
