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

[lefty1117]

stimulate more trading in Open play

In order to stimulate and support some of the player interaction elements of the game, I suggest there should be either a tax on trading profits while in Solo mode, or some form of bonus on trades made in Open mode. Either will serve, but the point being there needs to be more incentive for traders to fly their routes in Open play. Right now they will simply duck into Solo, and they aren't shy about admitting it either, and for a primarily online game that can't be a healthy thing.

 

[Loetmichel]

Yes, they do. And i see nothing wrong with that. If you run out of targets: thank the gankers for that.
And to punish the traders for the actions of the Gankers is just wrong. You want more Traders in open:
Dial down your Cargo requirements if you are a pirate, get lost if you are a Ganker.
And soon Open will fill again with Traders.

 

[veelckoo]

To me, some of the design decisions are just crazy.

We have a game where you can always have a private army to help you kill ships. It's like nobody even bothered testing this stuff.

Why are the designers such wimps? Why is the enemy AI so bad? It's comical how they sit there and let themselves die. This game is unbelievably easy and there's no challenge to be found anywhere other than pvp, which doesn't work well because the game is for people who hate any kind of risk apparently.

The game really bends over backwards so nobody has to ever die, which is why ghost mode exists.

1. Solo is there because Frontier decided not to implement offline mode. All the backers that wanted offline would be REALLY agitated if they were FORCED to play ED as MMO. That is the reason for solo.
2. Not everyone enjoys DayZ's style of multiplayer games where only fun aspect of the game is killing others (preferably playing with friends outnumbering victim 3:1).
3. Thankfully this is not competitive twitch shooter so most people playing ED don't care if there 'is no challenge to be found anywhere other than pvp'. Can you imagine that for some flying and seeing different stars is FUN? Unbelievable isn't it?

 

[lefty1117]

So the question is, what does FD want this game to be? Game mechanics support open PVP but it does nothing to incent or encourage it. Do they want it or not? They could have saved time and complexity by simply requiring people to flag themselves for PVP; in effect that's what they are doing with open vs solo. The best bet might have been to have stronger game mechanics that support open pvp but punish griefers, like the CONCORD response in highsec in Eve - but that also means that there has to be incentive to go into lower security areas for traders and then it's easy to see how it's a bit out of scope.

 

[Distance]

As someone who's played in open pretty much exclusively for 800 hours and traded up to an anaconda I don't think there needs to be incentives. We need a proper consequence and criminality system in place, even the pirates are crying out for it. Some players will never come to open and that's fine but the players who want to are put off by the lack of consequences and bounties on players.

It's pretty much impossible to die in this game if you know how the game mechanics work. You can negate masslock by jumping to a new system, you can submit, boost and then jump an interdiction. You can fit bigger shields and shield boosters and sacrifice a bit of jump range so you can last longer when running. If it's a pirate you stop, listen to them and drop a couple of tons and you're on your way with no shots fired. There's always the odd psycho but as I said you can run away.

I've just shifted 15000t in open in a community goal and been shot once by an inept pirate who stopped as soon as I messaged them. The rest of the times I was pirated I lost between 10 and 30 imperial slaves. Most decent pirates will allow you to haggle and they also ignore the smaller ships. Open isn't the hell hole it's made out to be if you know the game mechanics and are willing to play the game.

 

[Nereus]

Or perhaps let people play the game the way they want, since both solo and open are valid and allowed game modes?

If you like open, go for it. If you don't, play private or solo.

No reason to punish people because they don't like the same mode you do.

Would you like if someone proposed doubling the insurance costs of combat ships in open to penalize non consensual combat?

 

[lefty1117]

Would you like if someone proposed doubling the insurance costs of combat ships in open to penalize non consensual combat?

If it was there intention of removing piracy from the game, then I suppose that would be OK. But that's the larger point ... do they want it or not, the ruleset and the intent seems fractured right now.

 

[W0OCQCK]

i just have to say over the battle of lugh i was playing in private group because thats where my whole group was, i prefer open so finally i got a wing mate to come with me to open for some pvp and the entire system was dead, at a time of war during a slot in the day alot of people are online, so for me solo/ group play is killing the game, i took a break after that and switched to a more competitive game. my group is setting up pvp tournaments, but im not really into that. im looking to fly through space and encounter dangers, and not hard npc g\dangers. its more fun random and theres just something about seeing other people in your game that make it more interesting. and trading in solo they made wings so you can hire people to escort you but if everyone trades in solo what is the point in that. im a combat pilot and i have not once been asked to escort someone.its sad and unfortunate and i would really like to see solo mode become just that, a mode that affects nothing in the universe where other people are doing things. the game was entitled elite dangerous, and it doesnt feel very dangerous without running from pirates or having random encounters with players that you have to ask yourself friend or foe.

I just do not need or want what ever content you would like to provide. I'm actually having a ton of fun in my own way, and the game just seems great, just finished playing it for about 8 hours. Love it!

 

[Dave1235]

1. Solo is there because Frontier decided not to implement offline mode. All the backers that wanted offline would be REALLY agitated if they were FORCED to play ED as MMO. That is the reason for solo.
2. Not everyone enjoys DayZ's style of multiplayer games where only fun aspect of the game is killing others (preferably playing with friends outnumbering victim 3:1).
3. Thankfully this is not competitive twitch shooter so most people playing ED don't care if there 'is no challenge to be found anywhere other than pvp'. Can you imagine that for some flying and seeing different stars is FUN? Unbelievable isn't it?

1. Really? I thought solo, groups and open were the original options from day 1, offline was discussed later saying "Solo is there because Frontier decided not to implement offline mode" really shows you missed the earlier stages of the game (the design part is important).

Solo online was always part of the plan, solo offline was discussed later and unfortunately FD couldn't do it. You are wrong.

 

[Tryst]

In order to stimulate and support some of the player interaction elements of the game, I suggest there should be either a tax on trading profits while in Solo mode, or some form of bonus on trades made in Open mode. Either will serve, but the point being there needs to be more incentive for traders to fly their routes in Open play. Right now they will simply duck into Solo, and they aren't shy about admitting it either, and for a primarily online game that can't be a healthy thing.

Why not a tax on Bounty hunting or Mining or even Exploring? Sorry, I am a solo player and I like it that way, I have never played in open since I started. My profits aren't that great now, if they drop any further it won't be worth me playing at all. It will also put off new players who tend to play solo until they get the hang of flying these ships.

How about this? put some pressure on FD to produce the single player offline game, you know - THE ONE BRABEN PROMISED US! Then we won't be playing online to affect your economy and your factions etc. Otherwise, you play the game your way and we'll play it ours.

 

[Amorelia]

Game-balance is why Solo is too-often preferable to Open. I paid to play Elite: Dangerous; too often, Open is Elite: Moronic.

 

[Asp Explorer]

Either will serve, but the point being there needs to be more incentive for traders to fly their routes in Open play. Right now they will simply duck into Solo, and they aren't shy about admitting it either, and for a primarily online game that can't be a healthy thing.

So what are you going to do if I buy another router and double NAT? I'll be playing in Open, and nobody will ever see me, so I get all these lovely incentives for absolutely nothing.

 

[Amorelia]

So the question is, what does FD want this game to be? Game mechanics support open PVP but it does nothing to incent or encourage it. Do they want it or not? They could have saved time and complexity by simply requiring people to flag themselves for PVP; in effect that's what they are doing with open vs solo.

Since when did "Open" equate to "PvP"? You want to tax people for playing the game as it was designed to play, because those who do not play it as designed get away with abuses of the system.

 

[Quineloe]

Yes, they do. And i see nothing wrong with that. If you run out of targets: thank the gankers for that.
And to punish the traders for the actions of the Gankers is just wrong. You want more Traders in open:
Dial down your Cargo requirements if you are a pirate, get lost if you are a Ganker.
And soon Open will fill again with Traders.

There's absolutely no reason to shift the blame here. Most solo mode traders have never been ganked. Also, being pirated also means you lose money, so if maximum profits are the concern, then of course piracy also pushes people into solo mode.

And why should you not demand as much as you can take as a pirate? Threatening with solo mode if you get pirated too much is equal to terrorism.

 

[jpaulwilson1982]

Errr, I dunno if I'd equate "threatening solo mode" to terrorism, but I get what you're saying.

Playing in Open as a trader certainly seems more risky than trading in Solo, so the greater risk should yield greater rewards. Or, as others have stated, the game needs to be balanced better so traders feel the piracy-trader relationship is at least a fairer one than it is now.

Then again, an Offline mode was supposed to be an option for folks who simply prefer to play alone. I'm honestly not sure what the right answer is to this dilemma, as I'm a bit confused about Frontier's aim with this game- must be online even in Solo, economies and politics are affected by Solo and Online inputs, the game promotes both play styles yet a Wing is required for a higher level scan in exploration, and a trader can hire protection and form a wing which promotes multiplayer...

I love Elite to death, and Frontier has mostly impressed me thus far. But they do seem to send out conflicting messages in some regards. I guess it boils down to "nobody's perfect", and can't know everything. I'm sure many issues we face today will be solved relatively soon. We just got to keep giving constructive feedback and ask the right questions. The major updates so far are pretty extensive, and I always look forward to them.

 

[gooddoc]

The OP seems to think that the game was designed & released to be a purely PvP game.
The game was designed to allow each player to go about the galaxy & play the game his/her own way, with an added bonus of switching how you play if you want a change.
Now we see another thread where a player wants FD to penalize players because they dont play the game how he plays it...stupid, stupid post!!

 

[lolanon]

Or perhaps let people play the game the way they want, since both solo and open are valid and allowed game modes?

If you like open, go for it. If you don't, play private or solo.

No reason to punish people because they don't like the same mode you do.

Would you like if someone proposed doubling the insurance costs of combat ships in open to penalize non consensual combat?

Rep for you! Why this obsession about everyone must play open?

 

[Quineloe]

The OP seems to think that the game was designed & released to be a purely PvP game.

Fact is some players are very succesful in playing this almost exclusively as a PvP game.

 

[Zylark]

It's about the experience. If you want a lively living - and at times dangerous - galaxy to roam in, then open is the only way to go. Some may prefer the nice tranquility of solo, or co-op in group. That is fine too.

It is the jumping between them I do not quite support. It should be different careers for open and solo/group. Throw in an extra 5% bonus on all trades done in open just to reflect the added risk, and we're golden.

 

[Swidhelm]

I don't think you know what terrorism is.

That aside, if people want to play in solo, let them. It's there for a reason. I go back and forth between solo and open. I go in solo when I just want to be left alone.