Why Mr.Braben

[Skillet]

I think a simple UI change could be in order. If you select "Launch", and your credit total < rebuy + cargo insurance, then you get a popup that says something along the lines of "You're about to launch without the credits to cover yourself should the worst happen. Are you sure?" and get a confirmation that you want to launch uninsured.

Oh my! ..and add are you REALLY sure?? ..and REALLY, REALLY sure??? And add a disclaimer to not post a sympathy thread of the forums should you foolishly decline Ins. and go poof.

 

[Eloy]

Howling wolf howling. Schmidt happens, but flying with no insurance is not Me.Brabens fault.

 

[Stigbob]

hmm I wasn't specifically talking about Elite. But the problem is some people moan that the Ai is too easy, so if FD listen to that section of the games players then it will be too hard for another section, catch my drift? Not everyone has the same skill level and believe it or not some may want combat...but at a difficulty that suits them not someone else. Capiche?

The AI really isn't much of a threat once you get beyond starter ships. If you are struggling with combat wing up or stack the odds in your favour, let the space-police take the brunt of the fight and nip in to steal the bounty at the last minute. Practice makes perfect, the single most important skill to survive in ED is how to run away if you master that everything else is easy because you only fight on your terms.

I fully realise that it's WAY harder to do that within the MMO mechanics of a level playing field. Hence why I dislike Elite having any MMO elements, most of which actually make the game worse IMO. Without MMO elements FD would have had to flesh out the Ai characters a bit more, instead we're stuck with bland faceless/voiceless/characterless entities. Without MMO elements most of the law and order issues would be very easy to solve, Without MMO elements we could pause the damn game, Without MMO elements we wouldn't need the constant "balance" dance of buffs and nerfs all the damn time. MMO's suck IMO and are ruining the proper game experience that we should all be having, just because some 12yo cretin from some country miles away from me wants to PWN my ass. Oh yeah MMO's and MP have also ruined storylines in games.

<MMO/MP rant over>

Yep there's no story in elite but I wanted a sandbox and that's what I've got elite doesn't need a story because I have my own*. Freelancer had a story line which I played once then I installed the opensp mod and turned the story off and just treated it as a sandbox, it was great fun much better than being locked into certain sectors till the next story mission popped up.

You can always play solo, group if you dislike open. I play all three depending what mood I'm in.

*bounty hunter struggles to fly straight wanders in the direction of alliance space gets shot to pieces goes exploring for a bit gets a better bounty hunting ship and kicks space-ass.

 

[Stigbob]

I think a simple UI change could be in order. If you select "Launch", and your credit total < rebuy + cargo insurance, then you get a popup that says something along the lines of "You're about to launch without the credits to cover yourself should the worst happen. Are you sure?" and get a confirmation that you want to launch uninsured.

This wouldn't work, although it might reduce forum moaning.

The issue is some people are greedy (I want to maximise profit so I'll spend my insurance on cargo) and some people are impatient (I want the upgrade now not when I can afford it so I'll spend my insurance money). Neither of those mindsets are going to be effected by a warning they will take the risk die and complain. People new to the game have the insurance loan buffer to cover them and really cheap ships so they're OK.