Elite: Dangerous. I broke down.

[Tpek]

^And yet they are still adamant against providing the promised offline SP mode?

[Grim.Reaper]

It was interesting to see that Quarter to three listed this game as the number one disappointing game of the year....not sure how they can really label the game that, especially since it came out so late in the year and seems hardly the most disappointing of 2014, although not sure of the criteria they used...

"A long shallow progression grind, zero social elements, online-only DRM, wretched documentation, a half-baked attempt at the new-user experience, a painfully clunky ingame map of the universe, sheepish and muted world-building, and a complete lack of space porn by keeping your view tethered to the interior of the cockpit. Other than that, this is fine if you're looking for an immersive, wide-open, make-your-own-fun sandbox sim."

[Jarhead0331]

It was interesting to see that Quarter to three listed this game as the number one disappointing game of the year....not sure how they can really label the game that, especially since it came out so late in the year and seems hardly the most disappointing of 2014, although not sure of the criteria they used...

"A long shallow progression grind, zero social elements, online-only DRM, wretched documentation, a half-baked attempt at the new-user experience, a painfully clunky ingame map of the universe, sheepish and muted world-building, and a complete lack of space porn by keeping your view tethered to the interior of the cockpit. Other than that, this is fine if you're looking for an immersive, wide-open, make-your-own-fun sandbox sim."

Interesting criticisms...I must say I agree with most of them, yet I still find Elite to be one of the greatest games ever made. Odd.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I wonder if it ever gets a little deeper or more involved.  As of now it seems incredibly broad but mostly very shallow.  I take on missions or haul goods to get creds to upgrade my ship to take on more missions or haul more goods to get more creds to upgrade my ship.  Is there anything more to it?   I miss the storyline of I-War 2 and the deeper economy of X3.

[JasonPratt]

Not that I care BECAUSE I AM NOT (mostly) BUYING NEW GAMES THIS YEAR... but between this, X-3 (which version) and X Rebirth? Or something else of the same ilk? Which do people like better after chewing over Elite for 37 pages now?

[GDS_Starfury]

what Im picking up from the chatter is that people are trying to make cash and upgrade and have so far not gotten into the universe's storylines.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I don't think there are any storylines of real consequence.  There are little blurbs that you can read about in the GalNews service that give some backstory and some context but they don't really embroil you in a complex storyline. 

[GDS_Starfury]

to what degree have you tired?  I'm not trying to bust your balls, I'm just wondering how much is there if you really start digging.

[jomni]

what Im picking up from the chatter is that people are trying to make cash and upgrade and have so far not gotten into the universe's storylines.

Well there are different factions and your actions affect your relationship with them. And the favors you do for them will benefit them as well. I suppose the collective actions of players can make a certain faction dominant.

But no real "story", it is evolving.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

There isn't much.  You can go to a sector where players have engineered a war between factions and watch capital ships slug it out.  (It's also a good place to gain some easy credits shooting up faction fighters but watch out for ships coming out of Frameshift.  They tend to run over fighters.)

At best, you can take on a mission and then get a little scripted mini-event where you'll meet an NPC ship which will offer you an alternate reward if you abandon your current mission goal in favour of whatever it is the NPC wants.  These aren't very involved and don't lead into any in-depth, multi-phase story based missions though.  You either continue with your current mission or abandon it in favour of the new mission, end it and get your reward.  The only difference that I've seen thus far is that your rep will go up with the faction you sided with and stay neutral or go down with the one you didn't. 

Hopefully they'll flesh this stuff out more as the development of the game progresses but as of now, there really isn't much in the way of a storyline that involves the player at all.   

[Jarhead0331]

For me it is becoming a bit of a tedious grind. The only real incentive for me to play right now is to make profit and buy a bigger, better ship. However, the vast gulf in ship costs makes purchasing the better ships feel completely out of reach.  In my lakon 6, I can make a profit of close to 200,000 credits running common commodities back and forth between stations. Problem is, that just isn't enough to buy a ship that costs over a hundred million credits! I know there are better ways to make money, but I just don't feel like flying all the way across the galaxy to do it. I feel comfortable in my little neck of the woods. Besides, trading is really monotonous, especially since space is so vast and empty.

Anyway, there is a lot of room to expand the universe and give the player more exciting things to do. I really hope they have plans to expand on the activities that are currently in game. Otherwise, despite the beauty and wonder of the game, it will become repetitive and stale.

[GDS_Starfury]

so there is no dynamic universe where you can play a Han Solo.

[Jarhead0331]

so there is no dynamic universe where you can play a Han Solo.

There is a dynamic universe, to be sure. There just isn't THAT much that you can do in it. Additionally, a lot of the events that do seem to be occurring dynamically require a lot of travel and effort to have an opportunity to participate. Hey always seem so far off from where I am that I barely pay them any heed.

[Nefaro]

God damn it!  The server is shit today.  I've been kicked to the main menu twice and, even though I'm playing solo, the screens froze and failed to update for about 10 seconds when I was in a fight with a pirate.  End result?  My Cobra III was turned to scrap and that really pisses me off because I'd not lost a ship up this point.

I had hoped any server load issues would be in the past this long after release.  Still growing & adjusting I guess. 

[Yskonyn]

Not that I care BECAUSE I AM NOT (mostly) BUYING NEW GAMES THIS YEAR... but between this, X-3 (which version) and X Rebirth? Or something else of the same ilk? Which do people like better after chewing over Elite for 37 pages now?

I think Elite still has great promise, but the critiques here do fly for me.
The sim parts of the game are very well done. The size of things is very well conveyed, but the game does a terrible job of making you feel connected somehow.
The galaxy might be huge, but what makes the first system different than the next? It all feels quite generic or 'procedurally generated' after a while, without much soul.

The X games make you feel like a Faction within a Living world. But they have other problems, like atrocious story telling. Or, in case of Rebirth, being stuck to only one ship.

So.. In my view there still isn't a 'full package' yet. Both games have their strong and weak points and both are still on my hard drive. :)


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