Elite Dangerous | System Colonisation Beta Details & Feedback

[Greasetrap42]

Literally, you can see the percentage built through the system map, and through the galaxy map, you can understand which direction they’re building. A random player can notice this and quickly scout why they’re building there.

Agree. But as I said, if the build stops for an hour because the architect goes for lunch, I find it really hard to believe Cmdr McSneaky just sits there, with no idea when the architect is returning..... unless maybe stuff was said in chat.

If the entire outpost was being built in an hour... same situation. How does Cmdr McSneaky know when you are doing this 1-hour build? Were they waiting around for the last 14 hours eyes glued to the computer monitor knowing and waiting that at 10:30 the architect is going to show up and make a 1-hour build? How?

Everything you are saying in your posts is from YOUR point of view. Not others. Nobody knows when you are going to logon to play the game. And for how long. And how long you will be logged off or AFK. Unless you tell them.

 

[GKhan]

Why you ignore my questions? Nothing to say? Faster at what? That he didn't have an NPC blocking the docking option? What's his skill here? Luck? So, are we playing slots or a MULTIPLAYER space game? Or true skill be a solo game where you can't be caught and prevented from doing such actions?

Yeah, the guy got lucky, and he was able to get there faster than you or anyone else in your group. If he had been in the same instance as you, what could you have done? Nothing. Maybe you could have got his ship before he was able to land, or who knows - you can sit in here ranting all day demanding answers, or you can move on. I vote - move on. At least take a break and gather yourself together.

 

[MrFlokiG]

Yeah, the guy got lucky, and he was able to get there faster than you or anyone else in your group. If he had been in the same instance as you, what could you have done? Nothing. Maybe you could have got his ship before he was able to land, or who knows - you can sit in here ranting all day demanding answers, or you can move on. I vote - move on. At least take a break and gather yourself together.

Thanks for the concern, but I’m perfectly gathered — and I’m not “ranting,” I’m raising a legitimate issue with game design.


You keep saying “he just got lucky” — but it’s not luck when someone is in Solo Mode, invisible, and untouchable, and uses that to bypass any possible interaction, interception, or defense. That’s not luck. That’s design failure.


If he had been in the same instance, we could have done something.
That’s the whole point of multiplayer — interaction, diplomacy, conflict, resolution.
But Solo Mode bypasses all of that. You’re not faster, smarter, or better — you’re just hidden. Like a ghost. That’s not skill. That’s not strategy. That’s not competitive.


So no, I won’t “move on” — not until this core flaw in the system is acknowledged and addressed.
And if that makes you uncomfortable, maybe ask yourself why you're defending a mechanic that rewards isolation over cooperation in a so-called shared galaxy.

 

[Vlad PL]

Agree. But as I said, if the build stops for an hour because the architect goes for lunch, I find it really hard to believe Cmdr McSneaky just sits there, with no idea when the architect is returning..... unless maybe stuff was said in chat.

If the entire outpost was being built in an hour... same situation. How does Cmdr McSneaky know when you are doing this 1-hour build? Were they waiting around for the last 14 hours eyes glued to the computer monitor knowing and waiting that at 10:30 the architect is going to show up and make a 1-hour build? How?

Everything you are saying in your posts is from YOUR point of view. Not others. Nobody knows when you are going to logon to play the game. And for how long. And how long you will be logged off or AFK. Unless you tell them.

You don’t need to sit there for an hour or more — it’s enough to check in from time to time while watching a show, YouTube, or doing anything else, and only start actively tracking when the station reaches 80% or more. If the squadron is large, they can build a station in less than an hour, making it even easier for those just waiting and watching. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened — my friends experienced the exact same thing, and I’m sure many others have too. It would be much fairer to give limited access to architecture for at least an hour so that the efforts of those who did all the work aren’t taken by those who did nothing. This way, others would be more motivated to build their own path instead of just sitting and waiting

 

[MrFlokiG]

Can't you just build off of his to "expand your bubble"? Why is it the end of the road?

Are you seriously being this disingenuous or are you just pretending?

We built a path from two completely irrelevant systems, on our own, using our carriers, hauling materials and resources to establish a colony. This guy you’re defending? He just sat there at the right time, got lucky the NPC slot wasn’t taken, and snatched the system we were preparing.

And you’re trying to say that’s somehow equivalent to the effort we invested in colonizing it?

Come on.

And no — “just build off his expansion” is not an answer.
Why would I spend more hours building a path to the next system only to have another rat in Solo Mode snipe that one too?
What’s the point of participating in colonization if your progress means nothing and anyone can bypass it without consequence?

This isn’t salt — this is a warning sign.
A system that rewards isolation and opportunism over teamwork and planning is broken at its core.

 

[Greasetrap42]

It would be much fairer to give limited access to architecture for at least an hour so that the efforts of those who did all the work aren’t taken by those who did nothing. This way, others would be more motivated to build their own path instead of just sitting and waiting

I don't disagree with the idea of disabling the colonization contact for an hour. It is a good idea.

However the story provided here just doesn't make any sense. Fearing that Cmdr McSneaky is going to swoop in and snipe the system I am building towards... I would employ a moderate amount of strategy to prevent this from happening. Especially if it already happened to me before! If the architect (or team) simply log off for 15 minutes...or do something else in the game... go reload the fleet carriers...whatever... Cmdr McSneaky has no idea what the schedule is.

If everything is done in a super-predictable manner, then yes Cmdr McSneaky can swoop in.

 

[GKhan]

You keep saying “he just got lucky” — but it’s not luck when someone is in Solo Mode, invisible, and untouchable, and uses that to bypass any possible interaction, interception, or defense. That’s not luck. That’s design failure.

Not design Failure, that is HOW it was designed. You knew this fullwell when you started playing and learned what was what.

So no, I won’t “move on” — not until this core flaw in the system is acknowledged and addressed.
And if that makes you uncomfortable, maybe ask yourself why you're defending a mechanic that rewards isolation over cooperation in a so-called shared galaxy.

Why should someone be forced to have to deal with you OR your group if they want to play solo. Its not a "core flaw" its a core mechanic. Baiting and ripping on people attempting to engage you in normal civil discussion about this also isnt helpful.

I colonized an awesome system as soon as I was able to get to it from someone else's newly constructed outpost. I watched and waited until someone got close enough for me to get it. Imagine if some try hard and his group got all bent out of shape about that... so what.

 

[MrFlokiG]

Not design Failure, that is HOW it was designed. You knew this fullwell when you started playing and learned what was what.



Why should someone be forced to have to deal with you OR your group if they want to play solo. Its not a "core flaw" its a core mechanic. Baiting and ripping on people attempting to engage you in normal civil discussion about this also isnt helpful.

I colonized an awesome system as soon as I was able to get to it from someone else's newly constructed outpost. I watched and waited until someone got close enough for me to get it. Imagine if some try hard and his group got all bent out of shape about that... so what.

Ah, so that’s why you’re defending this so passionately — because you’ve done the exact same thing yourself.


Thanks for the honesty, I guess.


You literally admitted to watching and waiting for someone else to build a path, then swooping in the moment it became available — and now you’re acting like that’s perfectly fine because “that’s how it was designed.”


That’s not playing the game. That’s leeching off the work of others, while hiding behind Solo Mode to avoid any risk or interaction.


You say it's a “core mechanic” — well, maybe that’s the problem.
A mechanic that actively punishes coordination and effort while rewarding opportunistic ghosting is bad design, no matter how long it’s been in the game.


And if calling that out makes people uncomfortable — good. It should.

 

[Greasetrap42]

Ah, so that’s why you’re defending this so passionately — because you’ve done the exact same thing yourself.

No. What YOU are saying is that if a player or team starts building a chain of colonies in some direction should inherently "own" any system they like in its path.

Before hastily replying.... remember that from OTHER players point of view, people have no way of knowing what YOUR intentions are. They have no way of knowing where you are taking this path and for how long. Or if you have already arrived at your destination and you are just expanding out a bit. Nobody else knows this.

This is a different conversation than evil Cmdr McNasty swooping in to snipe a system. But remember that there is typically several thousand players online with ED. Many of those players are looking for a great system. And some are using 3rd party tools to find good candidate systems. They aren't trying to be evil nasty people. They aren't swooping in at the exact moment... but they will take a system that looks really great.

 

[MrFlokiG]

No. What YOU are saying is that if a player or team starts building a chain of colonies in some direction should inherently "own" any system they like in its path.

Before hastily replying.... remember that from OTHER players point of view, people have no way of knowing what YOUR intentions are. They have no way of knowing where you are taking this path and for how long. Or if you have already arrived at your destination and you are just expanding out a bit. Nobody else knows this.

This is a different conversation than evil Cmdr McNasty swooping in to snipe a system. But remember that there is typically several thousand players online with ED. Many of those players are looking for a great system. And some are using 3rd party tools to find good candidate systems. They aren't trying to be evil nasty people. They aren't swooping in at the exact moment... but they will take a system that looks really great.

You're clearly not reading what I’ve actually said — instead, you're creating your own imaginary version of events and arguing with that.


Nowhere did I say we “own” anything in advance. What I did say is that we built a clear, active, visible expansion path — and immediately after finishing the final station, the system was taken by someone who had been scouting us and the target system, and waited for the exact moment to swoop in.


That’s not “just another player looking for a nice system.”
That’s someone intentionally tracking and sniping efforts — twice.


If you don’t want to engage with what’s actually being discussed and instead keep rewriting it to suit your own argument, then this conversation isn’t worth continuing.

 

[Xenia_K]

quick question to anyone who did built a T3 Surface Port - has your market the standerd ~30 commodities or 3 only as the T1 surface ports?

 

[DjVortex]

Fdev really needs to add some 10-60 minutes exclusivity to the colonization contact after a system is completed in order to combat sniping.

However, somehow I fear they will never implement such a thing.

 

[CMDR Abe Andet]

I don’t want this to turn into personal attacks.

My frustration isn’t with you personally, it’s with a system that allows players to bypass everything others worked for, just by being in Solo Mode at the right time.

We put in the effort to build a 400 light-year expansion route to create something of our own — not to have it taken in seconds by someone who didn’t invest anything into that path.

The system is flawed, and we’re calling it out so it can be improved.

No problem. I think you have done that ad nauseam. We get it.

 

[Zador]

quick question to anyone who did built a T3 Surface Port - has your market the standerd ~30 commodities or 3 only as the T1 surface ports?

I have a T3 surface port, all it sells is Hydrogen gas and Slaves... The 3% Anarchy faction somehow managed to claim the highest population installation :s
[edit] There's a refinery hub on the same body, and two mining installations in orbit along with a Coriolis with Extraction economy. None of those appear to have influenced the economy of the surface port.

 

[CMDR Ecaep]

How about this: The colonization contact is only available to the architect for the first (insert time period here) if the architect is in Solo or a PG, but the colonization contact is immediately available to everyone in Open?

 

[MrFlokiG]

No problem. I think you have done that ad nauseam. We get it.

If you “get it,” then great — that’s all I needed.

I’ve said my piece not just for you, but for others reading and for the devs who monitor feedback. When systems like colonization are meant to be collaborative, long-term efforts, it’s important to highlight when mechanics allow them to be bypassed in ways that undermine their intent.

You may be done with the topic — and that’s fine. But some of us aren’t done fighting for a better version of the game we love.

Fly safe.

 

[Darth Ender]

How about this: The colonization contact is only available to the architect for the first (insert time period here) if the architect is in Solo or a PG, but the colonization contact is immediately available to everyone in Open?

what would the point be? anyone motivated enough to go into a mode they don't want to be in would be easily motivated enough to drop connections from other players and it would just look like bad routing.

since fdev believes this mechanic is feature complete, and is only interested in tweaking numbers to 'balance', i don't think anyone should be worried about big changes.

 

[Born Free]

I have a T3 surface port, all it sells is Hydrogen gas and Slaves... The 3% Anarchy faction somehow managed to claim the highest population installation :s
[edit] There's a refinery hub on the same body, and two mining installations in orbit along with a Coriolis with Extraction economy. None of those appear to have influenced the economy of the surface port.

* my ocellus did not start refining until i put a second refinery hub * now it has a bunch of stuff even some tritium

 

[CMDR Abe Andet]

If you “get it,” then great — that’s all I needed.

I’ve said my piece not just for you, but for others reading and for the devs who monitor feedback. When systems like colonization are meant to be collaborative, long-term efforts, it’s important to highlight when mechanics allow them to be bypassed in ways that undermine their intent.

You may be done with the topic — and that’s fine. But some of us aren’t done fighting for a better version of the game we love.

Fly safe.

As if I and others don't love it? Whatever dude. Btw... piracy is a thing in this game.

 

[Darth Ender]

You're clearly not reading what I’ve actually said — instead, you're creating your own imaginary version of events and arguing with that.


Nowhere did I say we “own” anything in advance. What I did say is that we built a clear, active, visible expansion path — and immediately after finishing the final station, the system was taken by someone who had been scouting us and the target system, and waited for the exact moment to swoop in.


That’s not “just another player looking for a nice system.”
That’s someone intentionally tracking and sniping efforts — twice.


If you don’t want to engage with what’s actually being discussed and instead keep rewriting it to suit your own argument, then this conversation isn’t worth continuing.

I'm cool with allowing players to expand wherever, whenever they're allowed. you, a group, me, any player doesn't own any system or has a say in how a mechanic works and nobody is owed anything for any effort they make in the game by any other player.

if you feel cheated then you're playing the game wrong... as wrong as players that min max a game loop and burn out.

I'm not sure how small of a violin other players are supposed to have for those being 'taken advantage of' by their efforts being exploited by others. a very small one i would think.