IMHO one is better advised to let Solo Players play Solo and Open Players their Open Play...
It's not like they're excluding or harming each other or something (exceptions exist though, i.e. Community Goals).
Hint :
You want to give an incentive for Players that left Open Play to return to it?
- Make the fine/bounty for killing a Clean Player 10% of the ship value that was lost or 50000 Cr, whichever is higher
- depending on Rank/Reputation of the destroyed Player, make the governments/Faction run assassination-missions
- alternatively, let the destroyed Player issue System-, Faction- or Government-wide assassination-Missions onto the recorded Killer
- make Governments/Systems remember Killers of their Allies for a 24h cooldown period, indicating them Hostile to all Players w/ Friendly/Allied Status
You get the drift. Put some balance into this critical area that currently has none at all.
I'm sure that would help getting people consider and appreciate Open Play better.
I play solo simply because computer games is something I like to do when I can't be bothered with dealing with people. When i want to meet people, I'll go to the pub or something. It really is that simple. Nothing to do with playing an "easy" mode. Not that anyone should really care if it was.
OK, here's a relatively simple solution for anyone worried about "solo exploits"-
The game economy is already tied to main server. It also, I believe keeps track of who is doing what where. So if a large group of high level player pirates is operating in a given area, it should be possible for the server to generate similar levels of NPC activity for players in solo or group.
I really like these ideas as they seem to answer alot of concerns. They make it more dangerous for the true pirates and the wannabe pirate griefers, yet also make it more dangerous for the solo mode players by scaling the NPCs up in areas where there is alot of pirate activity in open.
This isn't a bad idea. I don't yet play in solo but I might do in future. Unfortunately this idea won't appease the people complaining, remember they don't think it is right that solo players influence the open play universe so logically they don't think it is right for the reverse to happen.
People in solo/group already effect open players game play and vice versa.
1. When you make trades you are affecting the prices no matter which mode you are in.
2. When you do missions or go bounty hunting or act in conflict zones, you are affecting the balance of who has control of the system for players in all modes of play.
So I believe scaling the NPCs to make them more aggressive for solo/group in systems where the danger exists in open would be a way to make it more balanced between the modes. As I said I have played in both solo and open and solo is to safe in comparison.
Not sure why the following concept seems lost on so many people.
There are four main roles that exist within Elite.
Trading, Pirating, Bounty Hunting, Exploring. (there is also mining but its hardly worth a mention)
Now two of those four roles Pirating and Bounty hunting, CANNOT EXIST if there are no traders in the game.
The irony is that whilst people who want to play as either a pirate or a bounty hunter absolutely NEED traders to support the food chain, Traders can actually progress quicker by avoiding multiplayer and sticking to solo.
Why this is beyond anyones comprehension is beyond me.
The more irony is that I suspect that if traders did not have the option of hiding in solo mode then they would not actually enjoy the game any less. They would probably have more fun, but human nature is to take the easy route so they do.
I agree with this more so with the last statement. If going the easy route wasn't the preferred method then hack sites and pay to win games would not be as popular as they are now. +1 Rep to you
In closing I will add this
People in open have a point in saying that why should someone who trades in solo mode which can be alot safer as all you have to deal with is AI Pirates (speaking as someone who has played in both) get the same benefit as someone that faces all the same AI Pirates as well as the human pirates. Either the solo/group AI should be scaled based on the activity occurring in an open system like suggested above, or there needs to be a bonus for playing in open as it is the most dangerous. Right now this game should basically be called "Elite Dangerous For Those That Don't Play Solo/Group".
I am not saying to make them play open but it needs a balancing to make it as dangerous for solo/group as it is for open or open bonus need to be implemented.
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