SpaceSimCentral

As I have stated on the Egosoft forums before my gut feeling is that their next project will be multi platform. If so it doesn't bode well in my book.

DragonWolf wrote:
That would be fun, but i was hopping they could take all they get from x series, and add some of Elites features, like planet landing , and gas gathering in a gas giant, and stuff like that, of couse i know that would make the game even more hard core, so probably simpler easyer controlls, or faster lerning curve something like that, o even make it a sectioned game, so you could chose how complex you would like your game to be
I think what we would all like (well, most of us) is "Elite 4". Unfortunately what we will get is likely to be something quite different.

isn't Elite 4 being made as we speak?

DragonWolf wrote:
isn't Elite 4 being made as we speak?
I fear that is only being made in our minds. Unless we consider one of the OS projects the Elite 4 - which, for the time being, they aren't (although Pioneer looks promising).Unfortunately, I fear there is so much dispersion in the OS community and such "mod focused" minds that a real stable and reference OS "Elite 4" is harder to reach than it should be :(Hopefully I'm mistaken

Well i got this from wikipidia Title Release Year Developer Publisher Platform Notes Elite 4 TBA Frontier Developments TBA Windows This game will be a MMORPG X: Online Universe TBA Egosoft Egosoft Windows This game will be a MMORPG. It is not known whether or not the X: Online Universe will come to exist, however it is important not to mistake the game Universe Online with X: Online Universe[52] as both have a similar name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_flight_simulator_gamesaltho you may be rightElite 4 Development 2006 In November 2006, GameSpot conducted an interview with David Braben in which the subject of Elite 4 came up. Braben revealed that Elite 4 began and ceased development as an MMORPG in 2000, abandoned due to the immaturity of technology for online play. When asked if the game would ever be released, Braben responded "We will do Elite 4 after Outsider, so it will benefit from everything we've done in Outsider."[3] Braben repeated this claim in a Game Theory Show podcast in August 2007.[4]2007 During an interview with Computer and Video Games in September 2007, Braben revealed that Frontier Developments is currently working on new technologies required to deliver the game, and has been for two years.[5] At the Gamecity International Interactive Entertainment Festival 2007 event in Nottingham UK, it was revealed that Braben and Frontier Developments are aiming to have Elite 4 released for the current generation of gaming consoles and PC.[6] Also at the event, Braben, during an interview about courses teaching game development in the UK, revealed that Frontier Developments is recruiting staff to work on their current projects, including Elite 4.[7]2008 At the 2008 Game Developers Conference in Germany, David Braben hinted that an announcement regarding the game's release would come in 2008. Braben stated that the new version "would certainly need a better interface, or at least one which is easier to use for modern gamers."[8]2009 In 2009, the game was said to be under development[9]. In an interview with the BBC to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original game, Braben confirmed that the game was still in development, saying, "We'd be mad not to go back to the world of Elite and I'm very excited about it," and adding that it would be released only "when its ready." [10]. Supposed platforms are the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360[2][6].2010 In May 2010, Braben told Eurogamer that there had been staff changes, but that "our commitment to the game is as strong as ever."[11]However Elite 4 has been removed from the 'in-development' section of Frontier Developments — making the current status of its development unclear. In addition Frontier Development no longer has any links to the website for the game.[12]

I'm not sure if I would still want either Egosoft or Frontier Developments to make an MMO. Because in a MMO you have to give up something and that is usually immersion and a story that will hook you in for years. I have played many MMOs over the years and all of them last maybe a year or less (for me I played Lineage II for 2+ yrs). But every other MMO was lucky to make 6mos never mind a year.Personally if both game studios can create an epic game like Infinity: Quest for Earth crew is doing but make it SP/MP only then I think they will have something if they make it multi-platform. Because we all know that MMO's have a lifespan and they will eventually die off never to be played again. But you can still play a 25yr game on your PC with emulators or natively.And I am a huge fan of mods and the games that seem to do well and have a fruitful life is the games that are open to modding. Why not design a game around player made content. Little Big Planet series is a great example, this game is fun to play and you go online to play multi-player and play all the user generated content and there is millions of levels made by fans. Unlimited playability here... why can't this be the model for space/scifi games as well. I think this genre of gamers are a bit more creative and could really make some good content when motivated and have the right tools

Darkone wrote:
And I am a huge fan of mods and the games that seem to do well and have a fruitful life is the games that are open to modding. Why not design a game around player made content. Little Big Planet series is a great example, this game is fun to play and you go online to play multi-player and play all the user generated content and there is millions of levels made by fans. Unlimited playability here... why can't this be the model for space/scifi games as well. I think this genre of gamers are a bit more creative and could really make some good content when motivated and have the right tools
Mods and UGC (User Generated Content) in anything that goes online can be a very tricky issue. And, tbqh and taking the danger of seeming quite unfair, too much "modding and branching attention" and too few of "deliver a solid product" has plagued this genre in the past 20 years - namely in the OS community. Problem is not so much that people are able to mod the game, issue is that they seemingly start doing it before a "staple edition" is done. Obviously, being individual pursuits and on their own time they are more than free to do so (do not want to sound ungrateful ^^). Maybe a case of "over ability" :)I think an pure perversive MMO is limited in this genre - at least in the traditional sense. EVE is - by most accounts - a great example of a very good space based MMO. Not to say that UGC could not play a major role in "Elite 4" - I'm really warm to the idea - but user created content would have to be validated by the developers, and so forth. Maybe an instanced mission universe would function well. After consolitation, UGC could be the main drive in keeping the "game alive".

It will get even getter with simplified mooding toolls like mission makers and something like that, if you remove the expertise that requires to mod, and leave only to criativity, you will get great UGC of course you will get a lot of garbage also, but thats why rating exists

I really can’t see them doing an online version of the X games as I don’t think they have the financial resources to do it and as I have said before I still don’t think a MMO of the X games would bring anything new to the table.As for Elite 4 it looks like Frontier are just not willing to do anything after all they have a successful studio doing kiddie games. So why spend x number of millions making Elite 4. If they get it wrong it would probably take the company down.

Looks like egosoft are announcing what The Next Boring Thing is.http://www.egosoft.com/news/current_en.php
Quote:
Koch Media will be holding a press conference at FedCon XX in Düsseldorf, Germany on Thursday 28 April 2011 at 15:15, at which the project known as TNBT will be officially unveiled. There will be a brief preview of the game for the media. All of the relevant information given at the event will also be simultaneously released right here at Egosoft.com.
If in the unlikely event of it being anything interesting will some one please wake me up.

Pinback But you never know, they might surprise us and bring out something great..............but I am not holding my breath

Geraldine wrote:
Pinback But you never know, they might surprise us and bring out something great..............but I am not holding my breath
You never know stranger things have happened, but we are talking about Egosoft the one trick pony.Still at least we know what they will be doing for the next ten years. :lol:Bit strange that they are not turning up to there own announcement.

Could be worse Pinback, turning up and announcing.........nothing, like a certain Mr Braben did at the 25th anniversary of Elite party.

Egosoft will announce TNBT over a month, so I am very curriouss. I hope it is within the same genre but better.And with that I don't mean a Elite like real physics stuf kind of thing. That's preference some extrimist must have.But a well polished and most of all finished game. Because that is the problem with there X series games.

Probably will be just more of the same. But if they want the game to a bigger hit then the previous ones then they will have to make it more accessible to players who may not play this sort of game.

It's going to be... more of the same! Looks shiny as ever, but they haven't announced if they will get rid of the static backgrounds or the room-based universe.

Just seen that, looks like more of the same could almost be Darkstar 2. Here’s the blur.
Quote:
In the distant future, the X universe faces a period of profound and irrevocable change. While the universe stumbles towards an uncertain future, countless adventures await as new enemies rise in search of power.Enter a young adventurer and his unlikely female ally travelling in an old, battered ship with a glorious past - two people alone against the galaxy, playing a key part in the events to come.The fate of the universe rests in the hands of the player...X Rebirth represents a spectacular new beginning for the X series, offering loyal fans and newcomers alike a vast, vivid and extremely detailed universe to explore throughout the game.Varied gameplay elements such as action-packed space combat, detailed trading mechanics and high-speed space exploration with fast travel allow players to experience a truly unique space saga that will keep them hooked for dozens of hours.X Rebirth for PC is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2011.

I'll try to not be too disappointed until the 28th - if nothing promising comes from that presentation, the only remaining hope for the genre will be infinity... but at least i'm going to have enough time to play that, since i probably will be long retired when it finally is released. If ever.

So after all the wondering, postulation and dreaming...Egosoft are going right back to what they've always done: another iterative update to a game series that reduces the wonder of space to a tedious business simulator with pretty backgrounds and glacial pacing. :(I understand that they're making some changes this time around, and 'ooh, look at the new shinies', but unless they address the fundamental problems this series has then I won't be getting excited. I'll probably end up buying it - it's a space game, after all - but it'll end up like X3:TC, played for a week then uninstalled to sit lonely and unloved on my shelf with all the other 'also-rans'.

I hope they have got rid of that idiotic north gate south gate nonsense along with their cube systems and the crawl to all the corner to see what there.