Modes The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread [See new thread]

[Snowdog]

With the new death by limpets in the station .. I have not given up on open play. I lost about 6 our of play time due to the station killing me for no other reason that a griefer finding a way to get me killed.

BTW, use Reddit instead of posting here.. at least there your not forced into some arbitrary rules on how, where and what to post by.

 

[Dave1235]

What is the point of this thread? This has been posted a million and one times already! Open doesn't need fixing; those that want to play open do, those that don't, don't. Not everyone needs pvp in their gaming life, deal with it.

The modes are fine as they are.

I agree with your sentiment 100%, and I have read every single post in this thread, over many days, and responded to more posts than on any other subject ever, been here since PB.

The only real "point" of this thread is to have a "blackhole" where those nice Mods (who work for free, and have stated earlier in this thread was their decision not FD's) decided was the best way to deal with the "whack a mole" threads on this subject (or a million & one times as you slightly overstate ), it was a subject people wanted to discuss (but most started a new thread) and to be fair if the mods have a copy & paste "this subject is already being discussed here _link_ thread closed" then fair play to them, every session they are modding here they are not playing, gotta respect that.

The other point is that its been discussed to death here & I think most people realise it's not likely to change.

 

[Daffan]

They should of made a whole seperate open server. Keep the 3 options you have now but make a 4th

The whole simulation is borked, cant even stop people taking over systems and stuff cause u cant even see them. Some game for the open players.

 

[Dave1235]

They should of made a whole seperate open server. Keep the 3 options you have now but make a 4th

The whole simulation is borked, cant even stop people taking over systems and stuff cause u cant even see them. Some game for the open players.

Raise it in the suggestions forum, if you (and the other ~50 players that agree with you offer to pay for it FD might consider it, although doubling the infrastructure won't be cheap).

How can you stop me if I am in open (with 31 of my mates , OK one day maybe), even see us?, instances are limited to 32 by the p2p netcode, you could be surrounded by 10,000 players, all at the same station and the same time & you will never see any more than 31 (+ you), its by design.

You say "borked", FD would say design feature since kickstarter, I would say I saw that it was part of the game that I bought (after researching a little) and I am happy with it.

Gotta love opinions

 

[Stewart_]

Hi all,

The Problem

There is no problem with open / solo / group play.

Leave people to play Elite how they want to and switch between modes as they want. This is a great part of Elite. You can play which ever mode you wish depending on mode etc. Don't have great internet access at the moment? Fine, switch to Solo which is low bandwidth.

People don't need to be encouraged to move into "Open" play. Open play is an equal mode of play to Solo and Group. Open isn't somehow superior.

Don't know what you have against trading. Sure, its the best way to make money fast. Isn't particularly interesting either.

Hi all,
The Solution

Keep as is.

Your "solution" (1) has been proposed many times and the reaction is the same from the majority of people, which is "No".

 

[ianstrauss]

Yeah, leave the ability to switch between open play and solo offline and in the next few weeks, see more " im bored " threads on the forum.

shortsighted people just wants this feature to stay and trade in relative safety, and when they get the biggest ship on the game quickly, they are the first one to cry " im bored"

game is only a month old and people are getting bored already due to the fact that this broken mechanic is allowing players trade in relative safety

 

[OldSalt]

Yeah, leave the ability to switch between open play and solo offline and in the next few weeks, see more " im bored " threads on the forum.

shortsighted people just wants this feature to stay and trade in relative safety, and when they get the biggest ship on the game quickly, they are the first one to cry " im bored"

game is only a month old and people are getting bored already due to the fact that this broken mechanic is allowing players trade in relative safety

I don't trade, at all, and I still think chopping up the game would be a mistake. What it needs is more content to make the open mode more attractive to more players.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Yeah, leave the ability to switch between open play and solo offline and in the next few weeks, see more " im bored " threads on the forum.

shortsighted people just wants this feature to stay and trade in relative safety, and when they get the biggest ship on the game quickly, they are the first one to cry " im bored"

game is only a month old and people are getting bored already due to the fact that this broken mechanic is allowing players trade in relative safety

I do not expect the existing features to change, no. Yes, of course we should expect "I'm bored" threads - some people will not "get" the game - it's not mindless pew pew at every turn with no setback or consequence.

The game may have only been launched for a month but has been in Beta for seven - players who bought into Beta (or significantly before) are still playing. Again, it's not a broken mechanic - it's a feature - that you do not agree with.

 

[W0OCQCK]

Yeah, leave the ability to switch between open play and solo offline and in the next few weeks, see more " im bored " threads on the forum.

shortsighted people just wants this feature to stay and trade in relative safety, and when they get the biggest ship on the game quickly, they are the first one to cry " im bored"

game is only a month old and people are getting bored already due to the fact that this broken mechanic is allowing players trade in relative safety

Ya know your have an interesting point of view there. I've been playing this game since beta. I didn't play it as much then, mostly because of the wipes, didn't want to waste a lot of time for nothing. Nothing is broken here, just because you don't like it, doesn't make it broken, broken for you maybe, but very much not broken for me. The game is deep, the universe is huge, and I haven't even scratched the surface. I'm totally and completely not bored!! I think many many others feel the same way.

This is your opinion I get it. Thankfully your opinion doesn't carry any more weight than mine. I think there doing a fine job, I like the game as it is very much, I like my choices, and options.

It's my opinion, that the days of gaming companies feeding you a feast of new players to pick on is over. You see this is why the never ending "Dogma" will never end. There is much more at stake here then just "Elite". As this type of game really starts to get a head of steam. The "Griefing" style of player is going to become a thing of the past. Our past, your past, everyone's past.

I'm putting you on notice, you sir, or anyone like you will never limit my choices in anything I do. Get use too it.

 

[Trixi]

shortsighted people just wants this feature to stay and trade in relative safety, and when they get the biggest ship on the game quickly, they are the first one to cry " im bored"

game is only a month old and people are getting bored already due to the fact that this broken mechanic is allowing players trade in relative safety

And THIS is the real problem - that the "Solo Mode" means effectively "Safe Mode". If only FD made the AI attackers more numerous and harder to escape from, there would be no more shieldless Lakons flying around. "Safe trading" should be an option only in the most secure systems, and they should be crowded by NPC traders (and these simulated in background) so the trade profits would be minimal. We don't really need even smarter AI - AI in previous Elite games wasn't brilliant, but trading was never safe, and trading in defenseless ship was simply suicidal (except of infamous Sol-Barnard's Star route in E2 and E3, of course - now EVERY route is just like that). With some effort to make Elite DANGEROUS in solo mode too, there will be much less boredom and the whole "grind in solo to play in open later" strategy will be no more encouraged.

 

[Rivka]

There is no problem with open / solo / group play.

Leave people to play Elite how they want to and switch between modes as they want. This is a great part of Elite. You can play which ever mode you wish depending on mode etc. Don't have great internet access at the moment? Fine, switch to Solo which is low bandwidth.

People don't need to be encouraged to move into "Open" play. Open play is an equal mode of play to Solo and Group. Open isn't somehow superior.

Don't know what you have against trading. Sure, its the best way to make money fast. Isn't particularly interesting either.

THe Open/Group/Solo freely switchable mechanic is actually a pretty elegant solution to a long standing problem that PvP/PvE combined games have. There's a game mode out there for everyone, and we're all playing the same game...no artificial sharding that would mess up dynamic, player driven stories. It lets the player stories and activities become canon lore within the game. With separate sharding, you run into problems like "In PvE Lave is owned by Faction X. In PvP it's faction Y. Which is the "official" faction for future event building?"

It's also good for advocates of open PvP, even if some of us don't realise it yet. There's less a reason for FD to make massive nerfs to open PvP, when there's an equally valid, equally "official" game mode to send people to who dislike PvP. Retaining PvP averse people is just a matter of directing them to solo or PvE group play, rather than gutting Open PvP to retain them.

There will of course be outliers on both sides of the fence who totally disagree, but for the vast majority of players, it's a good solution to a thorny problem that's plagued multiplayer games like this for forever.

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

game is only a month old and people are getting bored already due to the fact that this broken mechanic is allowing players trade in relative safety

The mechanic is not broken, your line of reasoning is.

We all should agree that NPCs in solo or open represent the same level of challenge to the individual so it does not matter where you are. However with the addition of wings (soon) that will change if you fly with someone else (Safety in numbers) and as a result the hardest PvE mode will become solo.

From a PvP perspective (which I believe is your argument here) yes I understand that playing in solo / group eliminates this risk and makes it safer for the individual but you dismissed the fact that unless you hang around the core you're not going to meet anyone else - Where I am right now on the fringe of habitable space I am in open but rarely meet other commanders. I might as well be in solo for all the good MP brings. I accept that playing in the core worlds is more difficult due to other players being psychotic and escaping to solo / group will make trading easier in those core worlds - however the mechanic isn't broken from the fact I can just move off to an edge system in open and that risk has been removed.

The level of challenge an individual wants to accept determines where they play (core / fringe) and in what mode (solo / open) - but simply stating the mechanic is broken is false.

ETA:
They're more likely bored due to the lack of features and content.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

And THIS is the real problem - that the "Solo Mode" means effectively "Safe Mode".

Why is it? I can get killed by an NPC just as easily as by a PC. FD had to tone the NPCs down during beta because they were too good. There could be some tweaking here required still. Perhaps Elite NPCs could do with a little boosting, although those in bigger ships quite often send me running for the nearest starport with my hull shredded.

The only difference in danger between Open and Group for me is that I don't have to worry about people deliberately using whatever mechanic possible to spoil my enjoyment of the game.

What are the problems with Open? Hmm... logoffski types. Those who look for exploits, like shooting missiles at people in stations with point defense. Pirates who are not pirates because they don't give a damn about cargo, they just want the kills, even against clean targets.

What are the problems with Group/Solo play? Hmmm, can't think of a single one.

If anything, its open play that is the problem, not group/solo.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I do not do that log off exploit, its a bit lame if you ask me. Instead, becasue I have no interest in gankers I play in group mode. Its a loss to me as I bought into elite looking forward to a mostly co-operative experience where ganking would be discouraged due to severe penalites for mindless ship destruction.
Right now this mechanic is not running as advertised, so I am forced into group. Yes the game suffers thanks to a few people as I did like seeing CMDRS and looked forward to wings where we could co-operate together but until it is fixed so be it.

IF people like you got your way however, people like myself who bought into this largely co-operative game where piracy happens but killing a clean CMDR will be a meaningful decision with repercussions so not taken lightly, not shooting fish in a barrel multiplayer game would get doubly screwed...... I have never done a logoff "cheat" but, force me into open play when I am not in the mood and I will do, and I will not feel guilty doing it.

I am not the only one either.

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

And THIS is the real problem - that the "Solo Mode" means effectively "Safe Mode". If only FD made the AI attackers more numerous and harder to escape from, there would be no more shieldless Lakons flying around. "Safe trading" should be an option only in the most secure systems, and they should be crowded by NPC traders (and these simulated in background) so the trade profits would be minimal.

You are confusing the level of difficulty of the AI with the choice of mode : It does not matter if you are in open or solo the level of NPCs are the same.

That said I 100% agree with you that the challenge presented by the NPCs are not strong enough in some areas. It used to be (in Elite) that travelling into an Anarchy system was extremely dangerous, more so for a beginner ship, but in ED that risk is non existent. I only want to know about Anarchy systems when I need some cash from bounty hunting otherwise I just go where I want without fear.

 

[DarkWalker]

There will of course be outliers on both sides of the fence who totally disagree, but for the vast majority of players, it's a good solution to a thorny problem that's plagued multiplayer games like this for forever.

The only thing missing, IMHO, is an official PvE group. But Mobius seems to be filling the gap nicely.

 

[CMDR Sheehy]

The only thing missing, IMHO, is an official PvE group. But Mobius seems to be filling the gap nicely.

Over 3500 pilots worth of nicely... to be precise... Feel free to add to their number. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38362 just in case anyone... you know...

 

[Dave1235]

The Problem

The problem is people not researching a bit before they bought the game.

That's a problem with the buyer, not the game.

 

[petax]

Yes!
I have not yet bought any new ship. But I kept the progress and money from my initial solo mode days.

Thank you for the answer to the question I wished to ask. So in principle one can hone one's skills in solo mode, do a decent bit of trading, build up a few credits... maybe even upgrade one's ship, then take the lot into the open multiplayer game? That is very cool.

Although I am not new to Elite, I played it for many many hours on a BBC Micro, it has got hellish complicated and knowing other completely unrelated MP games I can think of, being a n00b can be soul destroying on a basic load out.

 

[Derpster Frey]

Thank you for the answer to the question I wished to ask. So in principle one can hone one's skills in solo mode, do a decent bit of trading, build up a few credits... maybe even upgrade one's ship, then take the lot into the open multiplayer game? That is very cool.

Although I am not new to Elite, I played it for many many hours on a BBC Micro, it has got hellish complicated and knowing other completely unrelated MP games I can think of, being a n00b can be soul destroying on a basic load out.

You can also join a pure PvE group, like Mobius, if that's your thing.

You can switch between these modes without a hitch, not losing anyting.