There are ways around it for example the way the Arma series works is if they release a expansion that has the potential to divide a player base they make a basic version of it available for free, however the basic version has low res textures and low poly count models.
Why boarding of ships is unlikely to ever happen.
- Thread starter orfeboy
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If I remember rightly in the old Elite of the 80's you could board a ship if the shields were down to about 10% but that was only for IA crew so it could be done..
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Yeah if I was them I'd make walking around the interiors of your own ship free to everyone, but you can't leave it.
It gets around the boarding problem, and makes for a playable demo of the expansion.
I'd also expect them to sell cosmetic interior items like they sell skins now - and it would maximise the number of people who could buy those which helps pay the bills.
It gets around the boarding problem, and makes for a playable demo of the expansion.
I'd also expect them to sell cosmetic interior items like they sell skins now - and it would maximise the number of people who could buy those which helps pay the bills.
There are multiple ways to do this. The simplest way to do this is that for you to be able to board a ship you need specialist tools, such as a hacking computer, specialist airlock, grappling hooks. Only those with the expansion get the new modules.
This is how Frontiere has built the game already with activities requiring special tools being put onto ships to be able to carry them out, exploration requires a discovery scanners, mining requires a mining lasers and a refinery and so forth.
All the pilots I seen in the game all wear ev suits full time in their vessels, flooding it with a toxic gas able to penetrate the ev suit would likely destroy most of the ship internal systems. cutting the life support would have the same effect. How you Frontiere stop exploits, for example switching to solo mode will be interesting to see.
This is how Frontiere has built the game already with activities requiring special tools being put onto ships to be able to carry them out, exploration requires a discovery scanners, mining requires a mining lasers and a refinery and so forth.
All the pilots I seen in the game all wear ev suits full time in their vessels, flooding it with a toxic gas able to penetrate the ev suit would likely destroy most of the ship internal systems. cutting the life support would have the same effect. How you Frontiere stop exploits, for example switching to solo mode will be interesting to see.
They mentioned it is coming at the premier as well. And it would be related to the expansion.
I very much want boarding, but its not about combat.
The gameplay possibility's to me would be more around espionage.
Sneaking a bug onto a ship?
Messing with their computer data?
Stealing their cargo?
Copying some vital file plans?
Maybe you could have scenarios where your wingman engage the (presumably bigger) craft in battle, while you (in a small, black,cold ship) latch on unnnoticed to carry out your mission.
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And ideally this should be multiplayer possible and player to player - but its still cool even if it isn't.
Even restricted to your own craft, theres nice potential to looking around;
Random ideas;
- you hear a noise from behind you...you see movement. Whats that? did something sneak aboard? That cargo you picked up did seem suspicious.....
- your ships been damaged and your airs running out, can you make it to the backup supply in time?
- someones trying to open your cargo hatch remotely, perhaps you can jam it with something?
- your ships cat needs feeding
The gameplay possibility's to me would be more around espionage.
Sneaking a bug onto a ship?
Messing with their computer data?
Stealing their cargo?
Copying some vital file plans?
Maybe you could have scenarios where your wingman engage the (presumably bigger) craft in battle, while you (in a small, black,cold ship) latch on unnnoticed to carry out your mission.
===
And ideally this should be multiplayer possible and player to player - but its still cool even if it isn't.
Even restricted to your own craft, theres nice potential to looking around;
Random ideas;
- you hear a noise from behind you...you see movement. Whats that? did something sneak aboard? That cargo you picked up did seem suspicious.....
- your ships been damaged and your airs running out, can you make it to the backup supply in time?
- someones trying to open your cargo hatch remotely, perhaps you can jam it with something?
- your ships cat needs feeding
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This is how it goes (and from what I have understood from forums/devs from beginning of Alpha, what this game and partly even it´s funding were based on):
All major expansions need to be bought, or you cant continue playing the game (these are expansions like free move/planet expansions). This is how expansion based games work/fund themselves.
Lesser expansions one can skip maybe, with not getting benefits from them.
Naturally, all who backed enough or bought in Beta Expansion pack, will get it all for free.
END OF DISCUSSION.
All major expansions need to be bought, or you cant continue playing the game (these are expansions like free move/planet expansions). This is how expansion based games work/fund themselves.
Lesser expansions one can skip maybe, with not getting benefits from them.
Naturally, all who backed enough or bought in Beta Expansion pack, will get it all for free.
END OF DISCUSSION.
Just think about it a bit, from points already mentioned here...
ED player-base would just split too much with each expansion.
Legal problems?All ED players, just like WoW players, agreed to play expansion based game (sure it is mentioned somewhere nobody reads it anyway).
People seem to be assuming that "boarding" of ships has to be some sort of FPS activity. I'm not so sure. Some of the original ideas I saw for boarding were aimed at getting into a destroyed or disabled ships' cargo area. The implication being that instead of trying to coerce a pilot into releasing cargo, or blowing away the ship and hoping some cargo came free, a pirate could heavily damage a ship and go in and forcibly remove the cargo.
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My guess is that this could be added as a simple new game functionality, or maybe could be sold as an expansion pass. (The "Blackbeard" expansion.)
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I would expect that the real, large expansions would be things like planetary landings and moving around space stations / outside on worlds.
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However, this is something I tend not to worry about, as I leave it to FD to figure out how to solve these technical issues. That's why we pay them the big bucks.
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My guess is that this could be added as a simple new game functionality, or maybe could be sold as an expansion pass. (The "Blackbeard" expansion.)
.
I would expect that the real, large expansions would be things like planetary landings and moving around space stations / outside on worlds.
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However, this is something I tend not to worry about, as I leave it to FD to figure out how to solve these technical issues. That's why we pay them the big bucks.
Rather easy to solve IMO.
Boarding needs to happen through an airlock (because of reasons)
When hacking that airlock there is always a chance of failure thus making boarding impossible.
If both players have the expansion this chance is dependent upon what security measures the prey has installed and what attacking modules the attacker a has, coupled with some skill based gameplay.
If the prey does not have the expansion then the hacking attempt always just happens to fail every time.
Done.
Boarding needs to happen through an airlock (because of reasons
)When hacking that airlock there is always a chance of failure thus making boarding impossible.
If both players have the expansion this chance is dependent upon what security measures the prey has installed and what attacking modules the attacker a has, coupled with some skill based gameplay.
If the prey does not have the expansion then the hacking attempt always just happens to fail every time.
Done.
Prove it.
I haven't even come across this term "expansion based game" anywhere. Let alone seen it mentioned anywhere in the kickstarter or on the purchase page.
Hell, I Havant even heard the term in my whole gaming experience. For anything. Ever.
Not to say it doesn't exist - maybe WoW does use it in their advertising. I never played it.
But none of the multiplayer games with expansions I have played have ever demanded such a thing, or used the term.
If you expect all gamers to take this for grantage, I think your on your own.
But perhaps I am the weird one here. Has anyone else here came across this idea? Has anyone else bought Elite knowing that they HAD to buy the expansions else lose the ability to play?
(also "from the points mentioned here" people have listed quite a few ways for expansions to work without all players needing them.)
*edit*
According to Wikipedia WOWs expansions are optional anyway;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft#Expansions
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It sbeen done already in SE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cfDx-9dr-Q
STO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcebNPdRWNg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glr71X-cr84
STO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcebNPdRWNg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glr71X-cr84
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No just no, The player who has not bought the expansion will not be able to board anyone however when being boarded will be able to leave his seat and defend against this, just not allowed to leave the ship. Easy.
/thread
I'm seeing a lot of armchair quarterbacking about how some future feature is impossible or will somehow require the game to be broken or something. Not just in this thread, but in general.
There are plenty of games that have expansions but don't require everyone to own the expansions. Crusader Kings 2 has done a brilliant job with additional DLC, MMOs commonly add expansions that are optional and don't break the game (Guild Wars is entirely based on this model, with no subscriptions even). Just because you can't think of a way to do it doesn't mean it can't happen.
Now, that doesn't mean there won't be problems, but to my mind it makes more sense to cross that bridge once we're absolutely sure that the bridge even exists.
There are plenty of games that have expansions but don't require everyone to own the expansions. Crusader Kings 2 has done a brilliant job with additional DLC, MMOs commonly add expansions that are optional and don't break the game (Guild Wars is entirely based on this model, with no subscriptions even). Just because you can't think of a way to do it doesn't mean it can't happen.
Now, that doesn't mean there won't be problems, but to my mind it makes more sense to cross that bridge once we're absolutely sure that the bridge even exists.
Funny things to see that some people are saying that separate player with expansions from the others.. Like we have open game, private game and Solo online. I mean, they are already separate.
Easy. Either you have to paye to insure your ship BEFORE you leave the station, a system like EVE I would say, you pay your insurance before and not after you are dead. And when you get shot or kicked out in an escape pod, you will land on the nearest planet (with cities I would say, or not if you have a suit). So you deploy a distress beacon (npc or player coming to pick you up (like missions, so you get a rewards blablabla)) while visiting the planet or if you find a civilisation, you buy a new ship and get the hell out.
I mean, the FPS expansion is going to be a HUGE game changing anyways, so they will have a huge amount of possibilities to deal with that.
Easy. Either you have to paye to insure your ship BEFORE you leave the station, a system like EVE I would say, you pay your insurance before and not after you are dead. And when you get shot or kicked out in an escape pod, you will land on the nearest planet (with cities I would say, or not if you have a suit). So you deploy a distress beacon (npc or player coming to pick you up (like missions, so you get a rewards blablabla)) while visiting the planet or if you find a civilisation, you buy a new ship and get the hell out.
I mean, the FPS expansion is going to be a HUGE game changing anyways, so they will have a huge amount of possibilities to deal with that.
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