We want to know from you how you liked the features, changes and additions in the latest patch! Fill out the form and help us to improve the game even further: Survey #Empyrion #indiegame #indiedev Taelyn Community Manager Eleon Game Studios
I tried but... shoot first, ask later? You've got long threads about what people like and dislike, so... what more do you need? Maybe take some time off your game, play other games and get inspiration from them? I recommend Ghost Recon Wildlands for the visuals, world building and the FPS-mechanics. A topic that often arises in threads is that EGS looks and feels dated. You successfully improved the looks of water, why not continue that path and concentrate on a complete and consistent visual overhaul including the outdated UI? Then planetery variety, then FPS mechanis and so on. EGS already has a sufficient and interesting combination of game mechanics, what it lacks is consistency quality wise. Stop adding new features, start refining and improving your existing game step by step and feature by feature. Prioritize Quality over Quantity.
@Lichtbold A survey has an algorithm and provides results to be used for further improvements of the Game. Entries/postings in the Forum don't.
@Germanicus Your reply reflects the fundamental problem Eleon has (in my opinion): they have no vision for their game which leads to this kind of patchwork we have now and to surveys with algos.
Well you are right that some topics arise regularly, but in order to assess relative importance of each of these topics a survey is an adequate tool, if players use it of course. The difference with opening some thread and discussing is that shy players who don't want to get involved in public can also voice their opinion silently via a survey, hence the numbers arising from the process will be more representative of the player base. And it's also true that Eleon did not "envision" their game getting this far, as they already stated, but they also stated that they relied on our support, suggestions and enthusiasm to continue forward. If the game looks like a patchwork right now, it is mainly because this is what players asked for, and Eleon did their best to try to accomodate everyone.
I made suggestions. My point is that Eleon should not ask what to do next but start to refine and improve what they already have. Like: water effects - I don't understand why they stop here and don't continue their visual improvements in other areas. And continue this process in other technological areas of their game. More successful games don't have more features, more successful games provide a much more consistent experience quality wise.
You just don't know what they're doing, like the rest of us, until they tell us. There is no point in torturing yourself by imagining they are not continuing their visual improvements, like you say. If they want to know what players want they can ask with a survey. We can try telling them what they "should" be doing, but in reality we are mostly allowed to tell them what we "would like them" to be doing. It would be cool if players could see that as an opportunity offered to us, and not an obligation for the developers to do so. "Most successful games" from a player standpoint are the ones we play and like the most, not the ones with the biggest $ale$. Many top AAA titles have lots of bugs, and AAA studios don't even give a damn about what their customers think, unless it is heavily supported by a significant part of the gaming press. Just go check the survey, you might just have a chance to vote for what you want exactly.
Awesome, Thanks @Taelyn! I really recommend taking a huge jab at perfecting the ground combat and space combat. I would love to see better animations and models that give Empyrion a defined Visual style for NPC Factions such as Halo has with the Covenant, Flood, Promethians....or Mass Effect with their various races. Enemies should be able to utilize tactics to flush the player out and into a fight. Instead of being a 90s doom style shooter, I would love to see more improvements and get rid of all the lower quality assets such as the screamers. I would love to be able to assign tasks to my crew members or have them accompany me on raids. I'd also like to see a push for the ability to sell vessels and purchase vessels from vendors, have frigate pilots moving throughout the system frequenting stations and be able to assign npcs to pilot vessels (fleet mechanics) I'm curious whether the walking on ships mechanic is really unachievable in Empyrion since Valheim has mastered it seamlessly. Both games are designed using the Unity Engine. Y'all do an awesome job, thanks for the good times. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy that time with your families!
The water definitely was a good thing for immersion. I would say lighting and special effects are just as important as water. Along with layering vegetation, updating ground textures and view distances. I hate to keep using it but Valheim has some GREAT examples of what can be done to create some epic environments since it runs on the same engine as Empyrion and it uses PS1 Era model Quality!
I did, it's in my first post, what I'd like to vote for is not covered by the survey. Let me word it differently: stop focusing on isolated features and start focusing on the personality of your game as a whole. The overall look and feel and quality level. The way all of this reflects you as a development team and creates or destroys faith in the future of your game and your ability to handle its complexity.
Can't be : there was an " Other " space we can fill in, and even a small comments section. ^^ Water... immersion...