Thanks to material traders this is no longer the case in 3.0.
Where Elite Went Wrong, or: How NOT to craft a Sandbox Experience
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Thanks to material traders this is no longer the case in 3.0.
There are 2 sandbox games which I have put a huge amount of time into playing in the last 6-7 years. The first one is Minecraft (which is a hugely popular and successful game) and the second one is Elite: Dangerous. With ED I have put in almost 4,000 hours (3,940 to be exact) at the expense of newer games which I don't play that much (if at all), so therefore Frontier must be doing something right otherwise I would have stopped playing ED and moved onto those newer games a long time ago.
Elite: Dangerous is still my number one game and this year we are getting some awesome updates starting with Chapter One soon(tm) so thank you to everyone at Frontier.
Elite: Dangerous is still my number one game and this year we are getting some awesome updates starting with Chapter One soon(tm) so thank you to everyone at Frontier.
Normally I'd take the time to write an articulated response, but seeing as how these pop up almost daily (usually twice a week) I'm not going to bother, unless I do up a nice copy/pasta instead. In short, I'll just say, if you can do better- go for it. I'll even help you with a nice link that will get you there. You're welcome! Happy to help. 
Now you can show us all what you're made of. Best of luck in your venture, please keep us posted with the development so we can see your progress!
Looking forward to seeing how you compete.
Now you can show us all what you're made of. Best of luck in your venture, please keep us posted with the development so we can see your progress!
Looking forward to seeing how you compete.
JAWT* from another armchair developer who doesn't have any accomplishments of their own to compare.
(*Just Another Whine Thread)
(*Just Another Whine Thread)
What are the OP's credentials in game design?
+1 rep for OP.
Sandbox is great, now give me a shovel that isn't an imaginary one.
p.s.@ shadowdancer: I don't need to be a writer to tell a badly written book. I don't need to be a car designer to tell my tire is flat. OP doesn't need to be a game designer to tell ED has problems with its gamedesign.
Sandbox is great, now give me a shovel that isn't an imaginary one.
p.s.@ shadowdancer: I don't need to be a writer to tell a badly written book. I don't need to be a car designer to tell my tire is flat. OP doesn't need to be a game designer to tell ED has problems with its gamedesign.
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Being a gamer is a reasonable credential for making a valid criticism of a game. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.
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What are your credentials in imaginary shovel design?
But forum traditions have to be upheld. You have to state that you're a professional game designer within the first two sentences or it doesn't count. And on a less facetious note, if you're stating that something is fundamentally broken, having some background in the matter doesn't hurt.
OP - How many hours have you put into the game?
Aren't all of these threads simply different iterations of the same thing...
"Somewhere buried in the blurb for the game it says "play your won way/blaze your own trail" I'm going to completely misinterpret that statement (which is 100% accurate...the game allows you to simply do combat/trading/exploration/missions/sightseeing/lore discovery etc etc with no limits or strictures on your behaviour)
INTO...if I only do exactly what I CHOOSE to do...without demonstrating any of flexibility...then I STILL EXPECT to get access to EVERYTHING players who undertake a variety of activities do...and and as an addendum...please make sure all future development priorities are focused around the activities I like to do...and the Outcomes I like to see...
(Though as a deeply cynical player I also imagine many of these type posts are simply I want G5 Thermal Resist Armour without having to do much Mining/G5 Dirty Drives without having to do any Exploration)
"Somewhere buried in the blurb for the game it says "play your won way/blaze your own trail" I'm going to completely misinterpret that statement (which is 100% accurate...the game allows you to simply do combat/trading/exploration/missions/sightseeing/lore discovery etc etc with no limits or strictures on your behaviour)
INTO...if I only do exactly what I CHOOSE to do...without demonstrating any of flexibility...then I STILL EXPECT to get access to EVERYTHING players who undertake a variety of activities do...and and as an addendum...please make sure all future development priorities are focused around the activities I like to do...and the Outcomes I like to see...
(Though as a deeply cynical player I also imagine many of these type posts are simply I want G5 Thermal Resist Armour without having to do much Mining/G5 Dirty Drives without having to do any Exploration)
But being a gamer you should at least be correct in your gaming examples. OPs entire argument is based around how you can easily and in a fun way get everything you need no matter what you do in Skyrim. That is factually not true, not even remotely. Which is a bit of a habbit of OP, to dress up a basic "I dont like the gameplay in ED" (which is a fine opinion in itself, as any other) with lengthy examples riddled with falsehoods and nonsense to dress up the opinion as something more objective. Which is not fine.
Blackcompany
Banned
No. I mentioned it as an example of undelivered promise, NOT a suggestion. Nice try though.
maybe it would help if FDevs would add a "WIN NOW" button at the launcher
just press and win
and go to the next game
TL
Look, its simple. Use your imagination, decide what you want to do in the sandbox and get on with it. For those that whine about ANY aspect of this game, tough. Its not care-bear, its not rule driven, it is what it is. You want to be a murdering SOB? Go right ahead (within TOS). Anything you want to do, do it. That's sandbox, no one leads you by the hand. Trade, explore, play solo, play private, play open. gank, murder, smuggle or pirate, just do it. its that simple.
I wish it was like that but it isn't really is it, don't get me wrong I play the game still and enjoy it but I don't actually class it as a game I class it as a flying around in space sightseeing thing. Kill the pirate lord who has been harassing the known system killing and a pillaging , 1 second after you kill him ,nothing changes nobody has ever heard of the guy before "Dread Pirate Scraggins?? Nope never heard of the dude you sure you're in the right system?
Dump a load of stock in a system nothing really changes, go and kill 1-every other space ship flying in the game, nope nothing, Go attack an alien tough work in my conda but hey I've done it, now why can't these space stations kill thargoids when they attack , I can kill them but the space station that wreck my thargoid killing ship in under 3 seconds can't kill a thargoid. Literally the only thing this game got right was the ability to explore and even that needs attention. Love ED I really do but please don;t try and get me to pretend it's something it isn't.
As for the idiot in the post above going on about the I WIN button they already have given you that in the ASP Explorer. I use my imagination every day of the week/year I always thought "entertainment" was a way of not having to use your imagination and having it supplied to you?
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Only thing I wanted to say here is that I don't believe (might be wrong of course) that anyone from Frontier has ever called this game a "sandbox" and so accusations that it doesn't work as a sandbox are surely somewhat irrelevant?
Another typical blackcompany post where he doesn't seem to know what he is talking about.
Blackcompany
Banned
Exactly this. And its a shame, since flying and fighting are pretty fantastic, actually.
Blackcompany
Banned
This now?
So...when people complain about a LACK of things to do...its a sandbox, stop asking fot hand holding.
But when they complain about shallowness and needing more interaction, its, "well, no one said this is a sandbox...what more do you want..."
Cracks me up, it does...
A sandbox is where you can go anywhere, and do anything, which you can do in E: D - every time ppl complain about things to do I read responses like "its a sandbox make up your own fun" so according to lots of vocal community members here ED is a sandbox of sorts. But I did not find this term in official game description yet.
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