Elite: General talk

Kasumi Goto
15 Dec 2023, 8:21am
Meowers
Perhaps you secretly enjoy watching insane people in their habitat.

I feel called out. Not on the observing but ‘insane yet not clinically insane’ part.

Meowers
Since this space boat is being dragged into a brown hole, I'm busy copying Meowers in 3D-modelling stuff. Lol.

Don’t lie, you would be doing that even if the game was going down the shoot into a waterfall.

… and so am I, I suppose. We’re unleashing worse terrors into the world than Cthulhu. He would die of cringe before he gets to kill his first squishy human.
Minonian
15 Dec 2023, 1:08pm
Aleksander MajjamI can't remember when I last played Elite, but I'm still here on the forums!














...for some reason.


And i taking a break after that from genetics & exploration from one to 5 stunt. That was exhausting.
Playing with other games instead but i just fed up with all the grinding for a while.
RS Yote
15 Dec 2023, 5:02pm
Artie
Not sure about the numbers in the game, but Elite player numbers on Inara are still fine, definitely nothing in a category of "most players were lost".


I did a quick scan of the Squadrons I was part of or aligned with. < 15% active. Participation was much higher before. Not shocked at this, just hoping that something about the game will change so that there will be a resurgence.
Sakashiro
15 Dec 2023, 6:30pm
If you look at Frontier's forums, you'll get the impression that the game is fine and in no need of improvement. That's what happens if you employ "volunteer moderators" who see it as their mission to shield the game from criticism. You'll end up with a community of "forum dads" who barely play the game but hang out on the forums to socialize with their kin and praise anything the company does. People who spend time writing down the flaws of the game get mocked relentlessly, and banned as soon as they respond to the mockery.

The first time I noticed this was when they perma-banned Kai Zen. For those who don't know, Kai Zen was the host of the "Elite Week" podcast, super passionate about the game and an excellent community event organizer (Turning the Wheel). That guy should have been hired by Frontier; instead some imbecile "volunteer moderator" banned him for discussing a drug that's actually part of the game.

So yes, Frontier deserves to become a penny stock. No matter what you think about Chinese corporations, a takeover of Frontier by a Chinese investor is at this point the best that could happen to Elite Dangerous.
Artie
15 Dec 2023, 6:45pm
RS Yote
Artie
Not sure about the numbers in the game, but Elite player numbers on Inara are still fine, definitely nothing in a category of "most players were lost".


I did a quick scan of the Squadrons I was part of or aligned with. < 15% active. Participation was much higher before. Not shocked at this, just hoping that something about the game will change so that there will be a resurgence.

Looking at your commander profile, mainly console game version squadrons, I suppose? Yeah, there is/was the decline very much expected as Frontier stopped any updates for the console game versions. Some console players moved onto PC, some left, etc.
Heilrider
16 Dec 2023, 11:56am
SakashiroIf you look at Frontier's forums, you'll get the impression that the game is fine and in no need of improvement. That's what happens if you employ "volunteer moderators" who see it as their mission to shield the game from criticism. You'll end up with a community of "forum dads" who barely play the game but hang out on the forums to socialize with their kin and praise anything the company does. People who spend time writing down the flaws of the game get mocked relentlessly, and banned as soon as they respond to the mockery.

The first time I noticed this was when they perma-banned Kai Zen. For those who don't know, Kai Zen was the host of the "Elite Week" podcast, super passionate about the game and an excellent community event organizer (Turning the Wheel). That guy should have been hired by Frontier; instead some imbecile "volunteer moderator" banned him for discussing a drug that's actually part of the game.

So yes, Frontier deserves to become a penny stock. No matter what you think about Chinese corporations, a takeover of Frontier by a Chinese investor is at this point the best that could happen to Elite Dangerous.


Other places arent much better to be fair.
Complaining echo chambers or fanboy echo chamber- both are echo chambers at the end of day. In one place they will mock "any" criticism (I have quite other imperssion from forum, people usually mock absolute nonsense, like "game is bad, if ANYTHING new require any effort, refit, or leearning some tactics). Meanwhile in other place they will complain at everything to point, when only button "get everything" could be good enough
Same with moderators. Everywhere, where you have power hungry volunteers you will see bans which make absolutely no sense, from rules point of view.
Miseri
16 Dec 2023, 6:24pm
i only stopped by because some one mentioned TURNING THE WHEEL and well... im a creature of habit
Does that CMDR Kai Zen still play or did they leave after that?
Also the lower the stock price, the more tempted I am to invest in the company,
I keep saying this but id love to be finishing the story of this game so we can at least set the stage for a future iteration that i hope will one day exist
like 10 years down the line.
Jays Hawk
25 Dec 2023, 10:26am
Hey Folks,

I have a weird question. How do you play to enjoy ED?

I started years ago on Playstation and had then a very long break after an exstensive Exploration Tour to the Galaxy. A few days I came back on PC, got my first HOTAS and was ready to get in and was stomped by everything new. Thargoids War, Guardians, Engineering, Upgrades here, upgrades there.

So instead of playing I just sunk into YouTube Tutorials, watched some topics twice because the first tutorial was outdated, and with every video, I slowly sank into despair because that was most of the time to much for me and didn't sound like fun.

So, last night, I decided to fuck it all just open the game and do some of the grinding things but without the power grind, but more like Roleplay, and this kept me going for a long time and I started enjoying the game once more.

I mean, I get it: Its a super massive game, heavily depending on grind. I am not saying the grind is not immersive. Its the way you get to understand the game that is bothering me. You need tutorials, guides, some help at least, but I hope there is a more immersive way to learn about the game than a guy that sounds like he is drunk and is most of the time trashtalking the game so you definetly don't enjoy anything anymore.

So, I thought/hope I can't be the only one with this problem and so I wanted to ask here: What do you guys/gals do, to play Elite in an immersive and fun way. Have you tools that you would recommend for that (and yeah, I am aware I am asking that on Inara, but there are some deeper Gameplay Mechanics at least I cant find here).

Thanks to all and Merry Christmas
Meowers
25 Dec 2023, 11:17am
Jays HawkWhat do you guys/gals do, to play Elite in an immersive and fun way. Have you tools that you would recommend for that
WordPad is the best thing for writing fanfics about the game world I don't play anymore because of the same grindfest.

On a serious note, every 'tutorial' on the internet is just like that. Either a 20-min long video about pressing one button, or a bunch of idiots always ready to tell you you're doing everything wrong, even living wrong, if you ask a simple question. So, sadly, in-game Codex lacks the information you need to fully understand the stuff. The grind is monotonous as it gets, unlock an engineer, max out the reputation, unlock another. Their requirements can be found here on Inara. Also there's a Wiki on the internet too and you can google it. Better than videos, by far.

Regarding Thargoids-Guardians-whatever stuff. You'd better take one step at a time and do ship engineering first. Messing with them on something less than G3/G4-engineered might be difficult for someone returning to the game, with an entirely new control setup, etc. And, when you get to that point, you'd know more about how to grind play that 'new' game.

Last edit: 25 Dec 2023, 11:38am
Sampi Ogonek
25 Dec 2023, 9:05pm
Jays HawkI have a weird question. How do you play to enjoy ED?

Here’s a couple of things that work for me (YMMV, of course):
  • Set yourself some goals, and play to achieve those goals, but do not overdo it.
  • As you seem to have discovered yourself, an element of roleplay helps.
  • When a gameplay loop becomes a chore, switch to another, even if it means delaying the achievement of some goal.
  • Try to discover things yourself in the game instead of learning about them on the Net; but do search for answers (see below) if you feel like you’re stuck.
  • If you feel like you’re about to burn out, take a break from the game, but keep a watch on Galnet and the dev posts.
Additionally, as Meowers said, don’t watch YouTube tutorials. There are much better options:
  • Use the Wiki (unfortunately, some info is out of date there, too).
  • Search the official forums.
  • Ask for advice on Inara
Jays Hawk
26 Dec 2023, 9:54am
Thank you both for your input.

A followup question: Is roleplay ingame a thing? I have seen some forum threads here dedicated to roleplay, but are there groups / clans that have this going on ingame?
Bainsey7
26 Dec 2023, 11:47am
Although they're mostly correct about YouTube guides being unreliable: This guy knows his stuff...

https://www.youtube.com/@Exigeous
Mintaka5
26 Dec 2023, 12:34pm
Jays HawkHey Folks,

I have a weird question. How do you play to enjoy ED?

I started years ago on Playstation and had then a very long break after an exstensive Exploration Tour to the Galaxy. A few days I came back on PC, got my first HOTAS and was ready to get in and was stomped by everything new. Thargoids War, Guardians, Engineering, Upgrades here, upgrades there.

...

What do you guys/gals do, to play Elite in an immersive and fun way. Have you tools that you would recommend for that (and yeah, I am aware I am asking that on Inara, but there are some deeper Gameplay Mechanics at least I cant find here).

Thanks to all and Merry Christmas


Happy Christmas to you as well.

I too just started role playing again, and it has increased my enjoyment of the game immensely. I started role playing trading, and it's so much fun (even down to disembarking my ship and requiring that my headlamp is on for "safety" reasons, when walking about the ship in the hangar. Having my carrier back makes the RP improved. I think without it the game would still be fun to RP, but having it gives me an extra set of things to engage.

ED, IMO, is one of those games. It's a sim so I think it is meant for RPing or at least it gives us that capacity. Other thins I like doing is exploring on my alt account, and that is something that really requires RP, because there is not much else to do out there in the "Black". It forces you to be creative and imaginative in a good way.

Enjoy your game! If you ever see me pop up in FleetComm, give me a shout.

Cheers.
Black Adder
26 Dec 2023, 8:39pm
Jays HawkHey Folks, I have a weird question. How do you play to enjoy ED?


The answer to that is to fight thargoids, youtube tutorials are outdated because FD is always changing the scripts between easy and difficult back and forth...

Last edit: 26 Dec 2023, 11:31pm
Sakashiro
26 Dec 2023, 10:53pm
Jays HawkHow do you play to enjoy ED?

I use ED as an interactive screensaver while listening to music, the same way other people play truck simulator games. There is something strangely satisfying about flying from point A to point B without accident, skillfully docking at a station or carrier, or softly landing on a planet surface to explore on foot or by SRV, all while listening to your favorite playlist.

If you like storytelling, the game can be an excellent canvas to develop fan fiction because once the flying becomes routine, your mind is free to do other things at the same time. I did some writing too for a while, but stopped because the headcanon grew bigger and bigger while interwoven with Elite lore and old Galnet articles, until it was too large to write it all down.

The ship engineer grind is designed to grow exponentially with grade, so most people stop at grade 3 which doesn't require tons of high-grade materials. For me personally there are only three reasons to engineer a ship: to make it more agile and fun to fly, to make it jump further, and to keep it from falling apart under enemy fire (aka. ganking). A possible fourth reason is to increase its damage output, but I don't do much combat, so most of my ships don't even carry weapons. The whole Thargoid war scenario doesn't appeal to me because of the grind that comes with it. The same can be said about on-foot combat, which has its own grindwall that is even higher than the one for ships.

Currently I'm riding off into the sunset traveling the galaxy with my carrier, sustaining myself by scanning life forms for credits and mining the tritium I need for jumping. It's a mix of activities that involves flying my three favorite ships in turn, so it doesn't feel grindy.

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