Why is Elite so Epic and the X-series so flat?

[Mars]

It seems from another thread I started that we all tend to have a very similar backstory in coming to this game. We all seem to have discovered Elite or FFE as kids and almost instantly become hooked, remembering with great enthusiasm what made that game great.

We all say; open, trading, combat, imagination goes wild etc. But when you look at a list of what Elite did and what the X-series does the list looks pretty similar.

Yet somehow, one is vast rich and epic, and the other one just lacks that magic. And I can’t explain why on earth that is???

 

[Komemiute]

For me is the approach Elite always had to the No-nonsense and uncompromised vision of the game.

That game was made to be HARD!
ou can´t complete that trade due to pirates? oo-hoo cry me a river or get better!

God I love that.

X? Hardly so.

 

[deMangler]

X series was a bunch of interconnected rooms. Those rooms were generic and had a very much up/down orientation. There was almost no sense of being in space at all.
I played the X series, especially X2 a LOT, built massive factory and trading empires run by scripts I worked on for days. Nothing like Elite at all. Flat. Engaging as a business sim but that is about it.
Oh and the video cut-scenes were awesome... And the Rogue series of X2 fiction was good, well I enjoyed it and remember it fondly.

 

[Simo3583]

I find the feeling of total freedom that elite gives coupled with the chore of controlling 100s of ships in X-universe prob p.s

worried my systems gonna struggle 6 core amd phenom 1055t 8 gig of ram 1333mhz 1gb radeon hd6670 any opinions welcome

 

[Hamerstein]

For me is the approach Elite always had to the No-nonsense and uncompromised vision of the game.

That game was made to be HARD!.

Pretty much this, it started brutally hard - mistakes were punishable by death and even when you were fully tooled up, you couldn't relax.

Also Elite remains personal, whereas X starts as personal but it's goal is empire building, all the best toys come with expansion. It's easier to become disassociated in X and that dilutes the experience.

 

[CMDR Noctivagus]

i think its is because most of us remmeber the old days , it was ahead of its time then ,, just like star wars was,,

also x series don't you think its just a rip off version of what elite could of been when it was first released,,

i would say most space sim's took there ideas from elite to start with

 

[Oddball]

The X series of games never appealed to me because there was 'nebula overload' all over the place. It didn't feel like your were in space.

 

[Decrayer]

I wouldn't say that the X-series is flat. At least if you don't look at the newest part, Rebirth. I had a couple hundred of hours fun with thoose games and haven't seen any game going that far in real economy simulation and controlling and possessing so many different ships. I'm not so familar with the old elite games, but was it possible to have AI-Traders and own stations etc.?

And also, I think it's quite hard to compare Eliteangereous to X3:Albion Prelude for example. Because X3 was build on hardware that is quite weaker than what we have nowadays.

But on the other hand, as far as I like Egosoft for never giving up the Sci-Fi fanbase, I dislike them for trying to become more casual. In the end they say, that everything becomes easier, but in fact it becomes even worse than before. And there where always parts, where Egosoft really sucked: Story, Character Animation, Game Balancing and Bugs. But with the last release, they made all their old mistakes look like nothing.

So what I wish for elite is, that they don't look at X:Rebirth. Don't try to make it more casual to become more appealing. Just make it like you told us so far, you are on a good way. An be honest with us if something doesn't work out.

 

[Smugallo]

The first X game I played had a character named Ban Danna. I stopped right there.

 

[Allen Stroud]

Disagree with the OP. I liked X2. I got the same buzz from it I got from Elite.

The nuts and bolts of flying, trading, upgrading ships and different cultures were all there and great to play around with. Having my own freighters to 'rescue' whilst I sat in the middle of a trade route, was also great fun.

When the scale got larger and more automated, the game lost its appeal. The only exception? The yacht style ships that you could dock a fighter into. Fly around in the larger ship, undock and fight in the fighter. Awesome.

I think there were a lot of things the X series tried to do that never came off. The storylines weren't great as they cut against the sandbox of the game and rendered certain characters as static owing to their development being part of the story.

 

[Alien]

also x series don't you think its just a rip off version of what elite could of been when it was first released,,

As an active member of both communities, I would like to ask people in this thread to not resort to bashing Egosoft / X series. We wouldn't like them bashing Elite (and it wouldn't be tolerated on their forum). Giving an opinion is one thing, but the comment I quoted here borders on insulting (I'm not saying it is, but that it could be viewed that way).

Egosoft never made the X series as any sort of Elite clone, they made it to be its own game in its own right. They could have put planetary landings in, but didn't because they don't want to be "Elite".

Yes, X series is more focused on empire building where as Elite is more focused on you & your ship vs the galaxy. The two games offer different features, this is why I respect all the space games I know of, as they all offer something unique to them.

 

[CMDR Noctivagus]

i would like to say sorry for that ,, it was not intended as a bash at any game,,

i have played x not alot,, but did find alot simular to old elite was ,, but like they say ,
theres only 7 storys in the world,, its how you write them makes the differnece ,,

ok thats for books, but think about it , its not alot different for anything else,,
yes x may have things the same as old elite,,,
but who really cares if the game keeps you hooked , then its a good game

 

[Yaffle]

TIM​

You are so blind! You so do not understand! You weren't there at the beginning! You don't know how good it was, how important! This is it for you! This jumped-up firework display of a toy advert! People like you make me sick! What's wrong with you? Now, I don't care if you've saved up all your 50p's, take your pocket money and get out!

[EXIT boy, crying]​

 

[Allen Stroud]

They say there's only seven stories in the world, it's how you write them makes the difference.

Christopher Booker says that (not to be confused with mod Kipper of the same name). Some people agree, some don't. The book's a big weighty tome.

 

[deMangler]

The X series of games never appealed to me because there was 'nebula overload' all over the place. It didn't feel like your were in space.

Absolutely! Same problem with EVE as well. Sometimes it felt like I was underwater more than in space. I did love playing the X games and EVE and others but none had the magic of Elite for lots of big reasons, and little reasons like space not being black.

 

[Mars]

As an active member of both communities, I would like to ask people in this thread to not resort to bashing Egosoft / X series.

I quite agree. Please don’t infer that just because the X-series never grabbed me the way Elite did that means I think it’s worth knocking them for their efforts.

All I am saying is that a lot of us got totally absorbed into Elite in a way that no other game since managed to. I’m picking on the X-series as the one I know, but there have been plenty of others too that never grabbed us, X is just the biggest.

And like I say, I don’t know why it did not. If I were to describe both games to someone who knew neither I have no idea why I would then say that I loved one and never got into the other, I just can’t explain it.

 

[CMDR Noctivagus]

well i can't ditch x series to much lol... but i picked it because it had the same idea as elite

i enjoyed what i did play , and its a good game,,, im actually looking for other space sims worth playing ,,, now i have the gaming bug back , which went missing a lllong time ago

i think actuaally the thread title really is wrong,,

elite would be epic,, it has history and was ahead of its time ,
x series came in later , has a great following , but not the history

thats why elite is epic,, it has nothing to do with game play , story lines ect ...

 

[Alien]

i would like to say sorry for that ,, it was not intended as a bash at any game,,

It's OK. When I joined the Egosoft forum, I asked about planetary landings. I could dig up the reply if you are interested.

Absolutely! Same problem with EVE as well. Sometimes it felt like I was underwater more than in space.

Are you talking about X series? Because I can offer a possible, tenuous explanation for the "underwater" feeling ... The Boron. They are an aquatic species, and so would be more comfortable in systems that resemble their natural environment.

OK, complete rubbish, I know ... but if you wanted a reason for it, there it is. I'd like to know why new gates kept appearing in the timeline with no explanation.

 

[Geraldine]

I agree with Alien here. There is really no need to go bashing the X series. If anything the X series helped to keep that space sim candle burning when there was little else coming out from big game devs. That is something Egosoft should be proud of. Yes it is true it's most important asset, it's community is hurting right now, but they will recover in time as will Egosoft itself I am sure.

I also agree with Alan, X2 was my favourite too. I have all the X games upto Albion Prelude.

 

[Cosmo Bozo]

What annoyed me was that my starting ship was too rubbish to win a fight against anything other than another ship of the same size...

So in order to have dogfights and adventures in space I needed a better ship, so I needed money, so I bought transporters, and worked my way up and had sector traders, then universe traders.... and stations and factories...

but I never did have any adventures....