Why are you NOT playing Elite: Dangerous?

TheScavenger · October 2017

Extremely realistic space simulator...check

Challenging gameplay (especially with the Thargoids)...check

Massive universe, bigger than any other current space game...check

While a niche, does well and is played by many...so not dead, and still updated with big updates...check

Not a WoW clone...check

Not a themepark...check

PvP...check

PvE...check

You can drive on planets...check

Massive amount of players in the universe...check

Can play singleplayer for those who solo...check

Is a finished game and not asking every month (or every few months) for hundreds of thousands and/or millions of dollars...check

No cash shop...check

No pay to win where you can buy expensive ships with real money for "convenience"...check

So it checks pretty much all of the MMORPG.com userbase complaints of current MMOs.

So...why is no one playing?

halfmystic · October 2017

No one is playing?

I think a lot of people are. I constantly run into other commanders. What game are you playing?

Kajidourden · October 2017

I don't dig space exploration. Space is mostly empty....well space.

LeFantome · October 2017

halfmystic said:

No one is playing?

I think a lot of people are. I constantly run into other commanders. What game are you playing?

You're not playing the same game as us, for sure. The game is empty. OP, I stop playing because there is not enough content and the grind is way to real for me.

Kyleran · October 2017

Is there a "purpose" to the game yet?

Manestream · October 2017

you mean the Thargoid race has been inplemented into the game now? I stopped playing along time ago before even horizons came out, but i still purchased that as i support the game.

Hariken · October 2017

I don't upgrade my PC for games anymore.

Asm0deus · October 2017

Shallow gameplay, high amounts of grind and RNG, the whole season 2 was badly received as can be seen by numerous threads about it in their forums enough so they are dumping the season pass format and last but not least FD has Braben Vision which means they nerf the hell out of anything that is remotely fun and not a grind.

Sadly the "mile wide, inch deep" saying still holds true.

TheScavenger · October 2017

Asm0deus said:

Shallow gameplay, high amounts of grind and RNG, the whole season 2 was badly received as can be seen by numerous threads about it in their forums enough so they are dumping the season pass format and last but not least FD has Braben Vision which means they nerf the hell out of anything that is remotely fun and not a grind.

Sadly the "mile wide, inch deep" saying still holds true.

I can't say about the other stuff. I find the gameplay fine, but I like euro truck simulator a lot which is how I play ELITE...but in space. And no monthly fee which is great, just buy to play.

However. Forums aren't much to go by in MMOs. WoW is doing great and still the most subbed MMO, but if you went to the official WoW forums you'd think it was a disaster and that it has no players and everyone hates the game. Ever gone to the WoW forums? Every single person unhappy with the game goes there to complain and rant away...but...the game is VERY healthy and still played by millions.

Most people love the features of Legion. Most people loved WoD. But go the official WoW forums, and you get a totally different than how people INSIDE the game feel.

However this thread IS to see why others aren't playing ELITE. Right now last I looked, over 6k people (almost 7k) were on ELITE according to steam charts. That isn't really that much, but for a niche MMO its not too bad.

But a lot of people ask for a unique MMO that isn't WoW and no cash shop, no pay to win and many things ELITE has on MMORPG.com.

I guess people do complain a lot about the grind (they complain about it in Black Desert Online too)...but every MMO has grind. In EVE, you grind ISK. In WoW you grind levels and then grind dungeons/raids/mythics non-stop like a rat in the maze loot system to get a tiny bit better item. In Ultima Online you grinded skills. In Everquest it was an even worse grind. In GW2 there is a grind to unlock abilities and special expansion features, and the grind of doing events over and over. Is there an MMO with 0 grind at all?

I don't get the complaint of grind in an MMO, when every single MMO has intense grinding of some kind or another. Even Planetside 2 has a grind to unlock new weapons and gadgets.

In any case, good to see why people may not like Elite Dangerous and skip it by. It does meet a lot of what people ask for here though, unless its really just a small group of players that post over and over and most would actually rather play WoW style games (that kind of MMO always seems super popular despite what MMORPG.com (at least some) users say lol)

Mardukk · October 2017

I didn't enjoy the steep learning curve. I watched hours of videos just to attempt to understand the basics. The default keyboard controls are madenning. Maybe I should not have tried to play the game with keyboard and mouse.

TheScavenger · October 2017

Mardukk said:

I didn't enjoy the steep learning curve. I watched hours of videos just to attempt to understand the basics. The default keyboard controls are madenning. Maybe I should not have tried to play the game with keyboard and mouse.

Okay now this is a HUGE obstacle. When I first played, I realized how much of a commitment the game was going to take...not only to progress the game...but the controls. I use a Xbox One controller and remembering all the buttons and all the combinations to press is still requiring me to learn and remember things. I stopped playing the first time, not because the game was bad to me, but because of the controls rofl.

Even though there IS a large group of players that use a keyboard and mouse (they say to NOT use the default control keybindings but to customize them to a better setup)...I'd never use anything but a controller for Elite Dangerous. The keyboard controls would make me rage rofl

Asm0deus · October 2017

TheScavenger said:

Asm0deus said:

Shallow gameplay, high amounts of grind and RNG, the whole season 2 was badly received as can be seen by numerous threads about it in their forums enough so they are dumping the season pass format and last but not least FD has Braben Vision which means they nerf the hell out of anything that is remotely fun and not a grind.

Sadly the "mile wide, inch deep" saying still holds true.

I can't say about the other stuff. I find the gameplay fine, but I like euro truck simulator a lot which is how I play ELITE...but in space. And no monthly fee which is great, just buy to play.

However. Forums aren't much to go by in MMOs. WoW is doing great and still the most subbed MMO, but if you went to the official WoW forums you'd think it was a disaster and that it has no players and everyone hates the game. Ever gone to the WoW forums? Every single person unhappy with the game goes there to complain and rant away...but...the game is VERY healthy and still played by millions.

Most people love the features of Legion. Most people loved WoD. But go the official WoW forums, and you get a totally different than how people INSIDE the game feel.

However this thread IS to see why others aren't playing ELITE. Right now last I looked, over 6k people (almost 7k) were on ELITE according to steam charts. That isn't really that much, but for a niche MMO its not too bad.

But a lot of people ask for a unique MMO that isn't WoW and no cash shop, no pay to win and many things ELITE has on MMORPG.com.

I guess people do complain a lot about the grind (they complain about it in Black Desert Online too)...but every MMO has grind. In EVE, you grind ISK. In WoW you grind levels and then grind dungeons/raids/mythics non-stop like a rat in the maze loot system to get a tiny bit better item. In Ultima Online you grinded skills. In Everquest it was an even worse grind. In GW2 there is a grind to unlock abilities and special expansion features, and the grind of doing events over and over. Is there an MMO with 0 grind at all?

I don't get the complaint of grind in an MMO, when every single MMO has intense grinding of some kind or another. Even Planetside 2 has a grind to unlock new weapons and gadgets.

In any case, good to see why people may not like Elite Dangerous and skip it by. It does meet a lot of what people ask for here though, unless its really just a small group of players that post over and over and most would actually rather play WoW style games (that kind of MMO always seems super popular despite what MMORPG.com (at least some) users say lol)

I am a backer that has free access to The founders Jameson station I am not going on just the forums but my overall experience from betas to now. The updates have been shallow and shiity so much so even some of the better known "white knights" have been grumbling and sayin they wont be handing FD their money ahead of time again.

I like the flight model and how the ship fly, I like how this a great game to play with a HMD or in a homemade cockpit or triple screen setup and how awesome head tracking is etc etc

But unless you like space trucking and seeing your creds go up there not much to do as that's really the only endgame there is, I mean even pvp is not great cause many of us don't even play in open to avoid it so...

I am not saying not to play it, only you need to moderate your expectations cause it is far far from having decent story or gameplay like a single player space games.

At this point I think NMS has more "gameplay" than ED in its actual state.

Asm0deus · October 2017

Mardukk said:

I didn't enjoy the steep learning curve. I watched hours of videos just to attempt to understand the basics. The default keyboard controls are madenning. Maybe I should not have tried to play the game with keyboard and mouse.

The controls are closer to a flight sim than an arcade type shooter, if you're used to flight sims the curve is not very big, if you never have then yes it is.

Personally I find using a hotas or stick like the t16000m with it is much easier than using kb and mouse as I find it more intuitive once you have it set up. Plus you can use something like this:

it becomes much easier.

TheScavenger · October 2017

Thanks for all that information Asm0deus. Looks like while its fun so far now that I've learned the controls better, it probably get boring fast if all there is, is space trucking. I mean, I do love euro truck simulator...but I play euro truck simulator once every 3-6 months for a day and then stop and then another 3-6 month pick it up again for a day lol.

I do have No Man's Sky as well, sounds like its been improved a lot more than Elite has. Which is sad for Elite, because it looks amazing. The ships handle so well too like you said and how they fly and what not. But looks like from your info, and other posts, Elite is lacking a lot of content. So I may be enjoying it for a day or two or maybe 3 days, looks like I'll run out of stuff to do.

At least like Black Desert Online while it is very grindy...there is tons of stuff to do. Guess Elite isn't like that

Talonsin · October 2017

I picked it up over a year ago and tried it for about 4 hours. Maybe I am too old for this game because here is how my playtime went:

Between maneuvering out of the station, moving far enough away from station to warp, warping past my objective, warping past it again, finally getting to my objective, shoot pirates for 2 minutes (this was the fun part) warping back, going sub-warp 10,000 away from the station and slowing getting there, then another minute or two trying to dock correctly and get paid a minute amount for the two minutes of fun I just had in the last 30 minutes.

I get that it is trying to be a realistic simulation but holy cow, just give me a "warp to obj" button along with an auto-dock. If I want that kind of realism, I will go play with the wife and kids.

Tokken · October 2017

needs more aliens on planets.

Phaserlight · October 2017

1) I have a Mac; it doesn't support Mac.

2) Even if it did run on Mac I don't think my current desktop would be up to spec. I am planning to upgrade to a newer Mac, but again it doesn't run on Mac.

3) TheScavenger said:

Massive amount of players in the universe...check

Can play singleplayer for those who solo...check

There is currently a cap of 16 (32)? pilots per instance. Call me a purist, but if there are massive amounts of players playing a "MMO" I want to potentially be able to run into several hundred at once. I don't want there to be a "Solo" option on the launch screen; this runs contrary to the basic design principles of a MMO(RPG).

4) Hitscan weapons.

That's about it. I would be open to trying it, but 1 and 2 are show-stoppers.

edit: so... on revisiting the Steam page, it looks like Mac support was added? I will definitely look at giving it a try once I upgrade.

Asm0deus · October 2017

TheScavenger said:

Thanks for all that information Asm0deus. Looks like while its fun so far now that I've learned the controls better, it probably get boring fast if all there is, is space trucking. I mean, I do love euro truck simulator...but I play euro truck simulator once every 3-6 months for a day and then stop and then another 3-6 month pick it up again for a day lol.

I do have No Man's Sky as well, sounds like its been improved a lot more than Elite has. Which is sad for Elite, because it looks amazing. The ships handle so well too like you said and how they fly and what not. But looks like from your info, and other posts, Elite is lacking a lot of content. So I may be enjoying it for a day or two or maybe 3 days, looks like I'll run out of stuff to do.

At least like Black Desert Online while it is very grindy...there is tons of stuff to do. Guess Elite isn't like that

Yes I love the game because it has sooo much potential, I hope the next expansion/season or whatnot will help in this regard.

I also play it in spurts like you do NMS. The sheet I posted comes in handy when I haven't played it for a couple months!

Sometimes I play just so my son can hang out with me and see all the pretty stars and planets etc One day I will visit Sol and show him our very own real life system!

Just waiting till it coincides with a school project or somesuch.

Panther2103 · October 2017

Mardukk said:

I didn't enjoy the steep learning curve. I watched hours of videos just to attempt to understand the basics. The default keyboard controls are madenning. Maybe I should not have tried to play the game with keyboard and mouse.

This was the same problem for me. The keyboard layout was insane, plus having to try to remember every command on the fly was just straining for some reason. I watched about 4 to 6 hours of videos to attempt to learn how to play and just burnt out after that. At some point I will probably give it another shot but at the moment I just have absolutely 0 urge

Asm0deus · October 2017

Panther2103 said:

Mardukk said:

I didn't enjoy the steep learning curve. I watched hours of videos just to attempt to understand the basics. The default keyboard controls are madenning. Maybe I should not have tried to play the game with keyboard and mouse.

This was the same problem for me. The keyboard layout was insane, plus having to try to remember every command on the fly was just straining for some reason. I watched about 4 to 6 hours of videos to attempt to learn how to play and just burnt out after that. At some point I will probably give it another shot but at the moment I just have absolutely 0 urge

Yes the learning curve is difficult if you never played flight games before but it's lower than an actual flight sim like DCS.

Myself I refuse to play it on kb and mouse, I think most people would have a much easier time using a stick and sheet like I posted that you can keep near you to glance at. Makes the game so much easier and fun.

Also I wanted to add about the ship they all handle differently my vulture for example is much much more maneuverable that say my Python or even my Asp. The sidewinder isn't the most fun ship to start in being that it's so squishy.

Erillion · October 2017

Steep learning curve.

And you have to find your own goal in a vast, uncaring universe.

You are NOT the hero. You are Joe Nobody. Do you want to become the hero ? Work for it. Become the hero in the eyes of your fellow players. Because the universe does not care about you.

Have fun

TheScavenger · October 2017

Erillion said:

You are NOT the hero. You are Joe Nobody.

Have fun

That is one of the thing that draws me into games like EVE Online (granted, EVE Online you are special by being immortal, but you never feel like a hero lol) and Elite. I hate being a hero. Why does nearly every game make you a hero? In Skyrim, I get tons of mods to NOT be dragonborn. What if I want to be Joe the Janitor?

Like...being a hero would be more special... if...that wasn't the theme in EVERY game (well not every game, but nearly all of them). When nearly every game makes you a hero, being a hero is no longer any fun and makes for a boring theme lol.

klash2def · October 2017

Elite Dangerous is a seriously underrated game. I agree with OP about what it checks off. For the people having learning curve issues, I suggest mapping a XBOX controller for controls that makes everything much easier for some reason. Don't believe all the people saying "There's nothing to do" its mostly people who have only done delivery missions and nothing more. Its a space simulator. IF there is nothing to do, its because you aren't doing anything.

Also there is a lot to do especially if you get yourself involved with the galactic war called Powerplay.. Its actually a very EVE like experience but I digress.. there's just so much to do in that alone..but again the game does not hold your hand and "point" at where to go. You can be a seasoned bounty hunter(which i am) or you can earn your keep driving a "Tour Bus" among 100s of other things. Again it will not hold your hand..ran out of fuel because you forgot to get a fuel scoop for your ship and the next docking station is 10-15 jumps away? You could send a message out into the void hoping somebody responds.. if not, Tough shit.. lol prepare better.

If you keep up with the DEV videos they plan on adding a lot more things to the game. They added Planet landings (Moons and Rocky planets), and Character Avatars (yes you can see yourself flying your ship) There's a lot more planned and Its actually really ambitious. Things like "Space Legs" allowing us to walk in and around our ships are coming. Atmospheric Planets with cities and unexplored landscapes are also in the works..

I'm really glad they gave us a "POLISHED" base game first though, They have a decent framework to work with and add super amazing content. They do not rush content out the door, they take their time and execute. I appreciate that. I imagine that in a year or so, ED will be even further alone and gain more popularity as people realize there just isn't a more polished Space sim on the market. I know everyone is hype on Star Citizen (They need to focus on one thing at a time) but I have a feeling its going to be a buggy mess for a long time.

I'm not saying ED is perfect because its not, It needs better weapon balancing, better player communication and more ship types, more mission types for new players, better tutorial (Among other things) but the game as is, super fun, unforgiving and very underrated.

My money is on Frontier.

Edit: Bounty Hunting is a GREAT way to earn some credits and learn how to fly. Do it in the starter ship since there is no risk! you can lose that ship and get it back free of charge.. don't do this in something you cant afford to lose but def do it in the start of the game. It will teach you a lot..

.

Octagon7711 · October 2017

I've never gotten past the tutorials in this game. The controls feel off and I've never taken the time to adjust them. In Eve the tutorial was pretty easy to follow and the controls felt more intuitive. I didn't mine starting off as an average Joe in Eve, there was plenty to do and not to difficult to learn.

I like the idea of ED and perhaps one day will take the time to get past the simulator aspects of the game and explore.

klash2def · October 2017

Talonsin said:

I picked it up over a year ago and tried it for about 4 hours. Maybe I am too old for this game because here is how my playtime went:

Between maneuvering out of the station, moving far enough away from station to warp, warping past my objective, warping past it again, finally getting to my objective, shoot pirates for 2 minutes (this was the fun part) warping back, going sub-warp 10,000 away from the station and slowing getting there, then another minute or two trying to dock correctly and get paid a minute amount for the two minutes of fun I just had in the last 30 minutes.

I get that it is trying to be a realistic simulation but holy cow, just give me a "warp to obj" button along with an auto-dock. If I want that kind of realism, I will go play with the wife and kids.

LOLed at your story, I literally saw it like a pixar film haha..

My brother.. get a auto-dock computer in your ship they are dirt cheap.. training wheels but hey landing solved.. the more you play the easier it gets.. don't give up!

Edit: Sounds as if you enjoy combat.. join powerplay, pledge to someone, and get paid to combat.. or save up for a fast ship, throw some guns on it and become a Bounty Hunter..

ANOTHER BIG TIP: FUEL SCOOP. BUY ONE.

Edit2: To avoid passing your target to drop out of hyper.. slow down waay in advanced. You are passing your target because you are going way too fast lol..

There is a blue (default color) bar at the bottom of the speedometer that is the sweetspot. Keep your speed in there and your will smoothly drop out of hyper and be right in front of your target. It takes some practice but as I said.. the more you do it the easier it becomes.

Manestream · October 2017

I personally didnt like WoD. It was again easy, and once you did stuff you could walk away once again.
A friend bought Legion for me, installed and registered but as of yet i have still never bothered to log in, i will do eventually (i have 4 or 5 60 day gametime cards hanging around).

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Why are you NOT playing Elite: Dangerous?

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Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey