Why is Oolite so addictive?

[ADCK]

The inescapable conclusion is that Elite is addictive because it attracts insane people, like moths to a flame.

I blame Fibonacci!
THIS SUBLIMINAL ADVERTISEMENT WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: "Public Holding Firm ADCK Incorporated

His pseudorandom numbers are actually a form of hypnotic mind-control.BUY COMMODITIES FROM POOR AGRICULTURES & SELL TO THE RICH INDUSTRIALS.
and since Elite used his pseudorandom number generation we're all now mind-slaves to Oolite.OBEY!

[RyanHoots]

The inescapable conclusion is that Elite is addictive because it attracts insane people, like moths to a flame.

I blame Fibonacci!
THIS SUBLIMINAL ADVERTISEMENT WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: "Public Holding Firm ADCK Incorporated

His pseudorandom numbers are actually a form of hypnotic mind-control.BUY COMMODITIES FROM POOR AGRICULTURES & SELL TO THE RICH INDUSTRIALS.
and since Elite used his pseudorandom number generation we're all now mind-slaves to Oolite.OBEY!

Oh, great. I hate mind control. I can't stop playing? Ever?!

[Makara]

I've got to say that the work folk have put into the AI gives Oolite that edge over Elite (was always more of a Frontier fan, anyway ). Because you only get to see what the ships get up to, it's pretty much impossible not to find yourself fleshing out the stories from the cockpits.

• Yelling "You sick puppies" as pirates attack a workers commuter
• Thinking about all the spilled drinks as a pirate cove wandered next to a space bar just as Thargoids attacked - bounty hunters all racing to their ships (that was a complicated firefight)
• Luring a Thargoid battle group towards a space gulag for a little extra police backup - only to see the poor prisoners getting blasted in droves

So it becomes addictive as it gives the imagination full reign

[Steve]

Oh, great. I hate mind control. I can't stop playing? Ever?!

You don't hate mind control. You just think you do.

Or do you?

[drew]

Other people want to immerse themselves in it, and from that has come a battery of really really good fan fiction that kicks the ass of most of the tripe that comes out of official publishing houses (yes, I'm looking at you, Wagar).

I thank you, and will credit you with the timeline, honest guv.

Cheers,

Drew.

[RyanHoots]

Oh, great. I hate mind control. I can't stop playing? Ever?!

You don't hate mind control. You just think you do.

Or do you?

I AM LOOSING MY MIND!!!
Or am I?

[Oathbreaker]

Exploration
Sandbox - freedom to do anything
Secrets - find the missions, find the "special" stuff that's not just random and not just the same old stuff.
See new ships.

Rewards for hard work.
Slow, moderate pace of gaming rewarding planning and effort as opposed to just twitch-based shoot, kill, die, respawn.

[Makara]

And part of the fun is when random events combine to create something epic you just couldn't script.

Such as today's "Battle of Hermit Rock" - 3 Rock Hermits in a cluster, although the middle one was a Pirate Cove. An escorted Anaconda wanders in & then the tussle starts dragging in anyone nearby: spare pirates (fairly plentiful in a Dictatorship), traders, annoyed rock hermits (their Cobby 1s had a rough time in that food blender), yours truly At the height of things the scanner was solid white with cargo, debris, rocks and rock hermitage debris in which a few glimpses of colour could be seen. Great fun, and all the result of random entities doing their own thing.

[XB7]

For some reason, I thought the Pirate's Cove changed all the Rock Hermits. Thanks for the clarification, Makara. I'll have to load that one up.

[CmdrGumbo]

I'm one of these 80s kids who, back then, were just impressed by what Elite made possible on a homecomputer. To me, being a newbie to Oolite (but not Elite) the stories provided a great background when, after 25 years, starting all over again with an Mk III and an empty cargo hold. I read Status Quo and all the other stories mentioned in the wiki on a rainy weekend, while cashing in the first credits between Zaonce and Lave. And it felt kind of natural, because I remembered reading the dark wheel when I got my box version of the game 'round 86. The community that formed due to the forum is also something unique. An example: nobody here wonders when you come up with a rant against these ignorant idiots in GalCorp management who keep you from posting here due to their latest budget cut-offs regarding the maintenance of trans-galactic communication facilities and the resulting silence on all trans-galactic com channels. Damn those bureaucratic bastards!

[XB7]

An example: nobody here wonders when you come up with a rant against these ignorant idiots in GalCorp management who keep you from posting here due to their latest budget cut-offs regarding the maintenance of trans-galactic communication facilities and the resulting silence on all trans-galactic com channels. Damn those bureaucratic bastards!

A malcontent? Caught GalCorp secreting trillions of credits to the Thargorn to extend the reach of the galactic oligarchy? Yet another use for an Oolite career to spin out your new found free time!

[dedward]

Old thread, but just had to chime in.
Others said it - I'd love to say it's because it brings back memorys of my youth and playing the original on my C64 and all that - but that's really not it, though that's a nice side benefit.

It's the imagination factor - as it was in the original (though the nice graphics and some well thought out OXPs are most welcome now)

If you look at what makes a good game, one that lasts, becomes legend, it's most often not graphics - it's the overall game design itself, and in the end, what it leads the end user to in terms of imagination.

There is a goal, of course - to become Elite - but man that's far off. There's no shortcut. The fun is in the journey - however you wnat to get there.

It's so easy to cheat - we've all tried it for fun right, just to see a couple of ships? It's interesting for a minute, but it takes away the fun of the game.... because you really, truly are only cheating yourself.

Multiplayer would be neat, but in the spirit of the game, only cooperative - I'd love to be able to sign in with an old buddy and have the two of us run missions together. A multiplayer persistent universe would become too hostile and too much to take care of - but I digress. My point is....

I can hop on Oolite this morning, make the last few hops to where I was going in the wee hours before work because I couldn't sleep - kill a few pirates just because it seemed like the thing to do, and then drop out. No need to stay in the persistent world to gather points.

I can save a few different characters and play them differently if I want.

The OXP concept and community is great - I know at some point if I ever feel the game is "missing" something that fits nicely in with my mental image of it, I can look for it and/or build it.

But really it's the imagination. Like a good book, the lack of detail in the game lets your imagination fill in the blanks. "I just helped a ship and blew up some pirates" - didn't make a dime off it relatively speaking, but in my mind I just did something good. now I'm off to carry someone halfway across the universe.

And being able to bail out at any time and pick it up a week later if real life gets busy? priceless.

Being able to screenshot a galmap route and throw it up on my other PC so I can see where I'm going, that's good too.

ooh, and hwen I find a local place that can print large-format vector maps for me to plaster on my office walls with something I can use dry-erase on... THAT will be cool.

[DaddyHoggy]

Old thread, but just had to chime in.
Others said it - I'd love to say it's because it brings back memorys of my youth and playing the original on my C64 and all that - but that's really not it, though that's a nice side benefit.

It's the imagination factor - as it was in the original (though the nice graphics and some well thought out OXPs are most welcome now)

If you look at what makes a good game, one that lasts, becomes legend, it's most often not graphics - it's the overall game design itself, and in the end, what it leads the end user to in terms of imagination.

There is a goal, of course - to become Elite - but man that's far off. There's no shortcut. The fun is in the journey - however you wnat to get there.

It's so easy to cheat - we've all tried it for fun right, just to see a couple of ships? It's interesting for a minute, but it takes away the fun of the game.... because you really, truly are only cheating yourself.

Multiplayer would be neat, but in the spirit of the game, only cooperative - I'd love to be able to sign in with an old buddy and have the two of us run missions together. A multiplayer persistent universe would become too hostile and too much to take care of - but I digress. My point is....

I can hop on Oolite this morning, make the last few hops to where I was going in the wee hours before work because I couldn't sleep - kill a few pirates just because it seemed like the thing to do, and then drop out. No need to stay in the persistent world to gather points.

I can save a few different characters and play them differently if I want.

The OXP concept and community is great - I know at some point if I ever feel the game is "missing" something that fits nicely in with my mental image of it, I can look for it and/or build it.

But really it's the imagination. Like a good book, the lack of detail in the game lets your imagination fill in the blanks. "I just helped a ship and blew up some pirates" - didn't make a dime off it relatively speaking, but in my mind I just did something good. now I'm off to carry someone halfway across the universe.

And being able to bail out at any time and pick it up a week later if real life gets busy? priceless.

Being able to screenshot a galmap route and throw it up on my other PC so I can see where I'm going, that's good too.

ooh, and hwen I find a local place that can print large-format vector maps for me to plaster on my office walls with something I can use dry-erase on... THAT will be cool.

Hi dedward, an excellent first post. And of course, "Welcome to the friendliest board this side of Riequat(tm)"

[onno256]

I played Elite+ in the 90's till I saw rotating stars in my dreams...

And then a friend of mine sent me the link to Oolite.org. Haven't stopped playing since.
The fun of this game is that it is adaptable to your gaming needs, since the expansions are not commercial, there is no need to stick to a specific consumer segment, like you see in most commercial games.
Anything and anybody can work on this game, limited only by the engine and his or hers imagination.

For me that means mostly adding eye candy and missions (most of which are brilliant!).

There is always something more to do, and there is always a new surprise at the next starsystem.

Thanks everybody for making this game a wonderfull timesink!

Greetz,
Onno.

[Alex]

Oolite and Elite are addictive for very simple reasons

It's fun.

Addaptive to game play.

No end to Game. No real point system.

Oh, did I mention It's fun?