Modes The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread - Part the Second [Now With Added Platforms].

[Robert Maynard]

The problem with open vs solo is simple: open has more difficulty, yet both yield the same reward, which is not fair especially in activities like community goals. In CG's, traders in open face player pirates, bounty-hunters have to share targets with other players, making it harder to get to top tiers, while solo players enjoy a walk in the park and the reward is the same.

Only those bits of Open that contain players who oppose you are potentially more difficult - the vast majority of Open is exactly the same as Solo.

Again, it is vaguely amusing that players who prefer to play with other players then complain that other players affect their game.

 

[PavelKCZ]

I have a brilliant idea, which I suppose will make all those "Open only" advocates happy.

Let's have an "Open Only" mode, but either completely PvE (shooting or ramming other CMDRs simply do nothing) or selectively each CMDR can set his own "Non PvP" switch/flag and his ship cannot be shot by another player and will be totally resistant to ram etc.

 

[kryptic57]

Very well said.. boiled down their entire argument is them upset because they can't shoot others anytime they please. That we should all be available for destruction at their whim.





Sorry, but a chart from Steam is inaccurate data, for the hugely important fact that many of the core players and others, never bought it through Steam, They got it through the kickstarter or from the company directly. As was stressed before the only people who have data like that is FD. Not steam, not reddit, not polls on these forums. Also how many of those Steam numbers are those that bought the game and realized how complex it was and got their money back, which you can do now on Steam and it started in May if I remember correctly or left?

I'm sorry but only someone who lives with their head buried in sand could claim that data showing a 50% peak user drop on the most widely used PC gaming portal is irrelevant.

 

[Don Alvarez]

I have a brilliant idea, which I suppose will make all those "Open only" advocates happy.

Let's have an "Open Only" mode, but either completely PvE (shooting or ramming other CMDRs simply do nothing) or selectively each CMDR can set his own "Non PvP" switch/flag and his ship cannot be shot by another player and will be totally resistant to ram etc.

I've an even more brilliant idea. How about we just leave things the way they are.

 

[PavelKCZ]

I've an even more brilliant idea. How about we just leave things the way they are.

Of course, this was only joke. I am 100% for let it be as it is now.

 

[Don Alvarez]

Of course, this was only joke. I am 100% for let it be as it is now.

There are no jokes in this thread. There is nothing funny about this thread, except that encroaching upon 20k cumulative posts on the topic,
It
has
gone
absolutely
nowhere

 

[Ving]

I love this thread

500 pages of people saying...
- It's not fair
- But this is the way FD designed the game
- It's not fair, <sports example>, it's not fair!
- But ppl can choose to play the way they want
- It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair!!
- ad nauseam

Daily entertainment ^^

 

[askavir]

Only those bits of Open that contain players who oppose you are potentially more difficult - the vast majority of Open is exactly the same as Solo.

Again, it is vaguely amusing that players who prefer to play with other players then complain that other players affect their game.

I do not complain that other players affect my game, as I lvery much like that other players affect my game. I just don't think that, in the CGs case, players with a lot easyer job get the same rewards.

As for the rest of the game, I really don't care if people hide in solo or not.

 

[Robert Maynard]

I do not complain that other players affect my game, as I lvery much like that other players affect my game. I just don't think that, in the CGs case, players with a lot easyer job get the same rewards.

Players get the same rewards for the same cargo delivered, etc. - it is only the opposition of other players that makes a player less effective - other players that the player in Open has chosen to play with.

 

[Brian of Earth]

Take a look at this http://steamcharts.com/app/359320#All

Claiming retention is not an issue is just plain wrong. Why do you think they are spending so much effort to push out CQC and Xbone version? They are hugely suffering player loss.

Unfortunately thinking CQC is going to keep around people is a misstep. Player Agency and interaction is the only thing that will give longevity to this game and for some unknown reason FDEV are completely against it. Solo mode will kill this game in the long run, and ironically that's what those players want.

Let's put this one to rest:
Date GTA V ED
---------------------------------------
April 18 360,761 7,216
April 27 194,041 4,901
May 6 142,808 4,526
May 16 158,099 5,844
May 27 80,432 3,731
June 7 81,522 7,685
June 20 67,501 7,520
July 2 51,599 5,238

That's from the Steam link.

I played open, moved to solo due to unprovoked harassment, originally until the CG I was playing was over, found no reason to go back since I don't interact with other players for anything. I paid full price for two copies (me and my son), and the Beta price for xbone, will probably buy the full version too. When other content is available for purchase I will probably buy it too..

One day, when the servers go dark, if I'm still playing, I'll find another game to obsess over.

 

[CMDR Derrida]

You are aware that players are not allowed to tackle anyone in Soccer, and that a single intentional tackle means being expelled from the game, right?

---

Er, I don't think you've watched or played very much football (soccer) You're thinking of a 'foul'.

 

[KaizoMK]

The way it stands, the death penalty is too much in scenarios where at least one pc is going to die. And I mean, I like the death penalty. But I think it's way too ruthless in open. I don't think both can really exist together though...dying in an mmo to PK'ers is frustrating and the only thing you lose there is time. There's so much more to lose now....who wants to be forced into that? I can tell you who doesn't.

 

[QziQza]

i guess the closest i can come up with is that solo isn't really "solo" play if your effecting everyone else in elite with your actions, therefore its more of a "i'll keep the bad ppl away while you effect the powers" type of mode


a true solo mode would have its own universe on it, like the offline mode that was scrapped

this only makes any sense if you are also suggesting that everyone in solo and group mode are acting together in unison to cause an agreed effect on the background simulation.. is this what you think? in the simplest of terms, using PP as an example, the average distribution of player support per power is not a figure isolated to a single mode.. it will be present, concurrently, in every mode! players opt for the power that best suits them, based on things such as faction, personal gains, ethics or even morality.

the addition of other platforms adds to a better smoothing, or averaging of effect players have on the background simulation. so the more that play the game in its current 'all players matter' system, the more reliant the background simulation can become on player choices, and the less on FD's direction. conversely, reducing the amount of players that can effect the background simulation would actually create a need for FD to be more involved in the process of the simulation so as to avoid gross instability and unpredictability.

even if there was only a solo mode, unless a player could be on-line 24hrs a day, be present and persistent in every instance, within every system, it would impossible for that player, or even a group of players, to block the choices or actions of all other players involved in PP.

 

[askavir]

Players get the same rewards for the same cargo delivered, etc. - it is only the opposition of other players that makes a player less effective - other players that the player in Open has chosen to play with.

So you do acknowledge that in CGs solo players have an easier job... Without opposition they can safely deliver more cargo, or shoot more pirates for bounty, etc.

I think that players should be allowed to play however they want, open, solo, or some new special mode where they can be the only ship in the whole galaxy.

I just think that CGs should not be shared between open and solo, because players in easy mode should not compete for the same rewards as players on hard mode.

 

[Robert Maynard]

So you do acknowledge that in CGs solo players have an easier job... Without opposition they can safely deliver more cargo, or shoot more pirates for bounty, etc.

I think that players should be allowed to play however they want, open, solo, or some new special mode where they can be the only ship in the whole galaxy.

I just think that CGs should not be shared between open and solo, because players in easy mode should not compete for the same rewards as players on hard mode.

Where did you get the idea that there is no opposition in Solo / Private groups? There are NPCs in all modes - NPCs that the talented Sarah-Jane is continuing to improve....

Frontier, unsurprisingly given the freedom of choice that they have afforded players through the mode switching core feature, decided that CGs and Powerplay would be able to be to be played in any mode. This now extends to all platforms - all players, regardless of mode or platform share the same galaxy state - therefore CGs and Powerplay cannot be split between modes.

 

[askavir]

Where did you get the idea that there is no opposition in Solo / Private groups? There are NPCs in all modes - NPCs that the talented Sarah-Jane is continuing to improve....

Frontier, unsurprisingly given the freedom of choice that they have afforded players through the mode switching core feature, decided that CGs and Powerplay would be able to be to be played in any mode. This now extends to all platforms - all players, regardless of mode or platform share the same galaxy state - therefore CGs and Powerplay cannot be split between modes.

Because NPCs dont bounty-hunt so do not affect bounty-hunting CGs, nor do they congregate massively in CG areas, and NPC pirates are easy to escape / destroy compared to human pirates. So it ins't really comparable.

Anyway, like I said before, I think people should be allowed to play how they want, open or solo.

I just don't think it right that people that ride bikes downhill compete for the same medals that people that ride bikes uphill. For the rest, I have absolutely no beef with any of the modes.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Because NPCs dont bounty-hunt so do not affect bounty-hunting CGs, nor do they congregate massively in CG areas, and NPC pirates are easy to escape / destroy compared to human pirates. So it ins't really comparable.

Anyway, like I said before, I think people should be allowed to play how they want, open or solo.

I just don't think it right that people that ride bikes downhill compete for the same medals that people that ride bikes uphill. For the rest, I have absolutely no beef with any of the modes.

Have you added a post to the Vox Populi thread? It was created seeking player opinions on just this topic.

 

[SteveLaw]

There are no jokes in this thread. There is nothing funny about this thread, except that encroaching upon 20k cumulative posts on the topic,
It
has
gone
absolutely
nowhere

Which is an awesome result.

 

[Asp Explorer]

I played open, moved to solo due to unprovoked harassment.

Who/what was harassing you? Not to name and shame, but was it NPC's or players? What system were you in? There are plenty of players out there looking for a good fight!

 

[SteveLaw]

Because NPCs dont bounty-hunt so do not affect bounty-hunting CGs, nor do they congregate massively in CG areas, and NPC pirates are easy to escape / destroy compared to human pirates. So it ins't really comparable.

Anyway, like I said before, I think people should be allowed to play how they want, open or solo.

I just don't think it right that people that ride bikes downhill compete for the same medals that people that ride bikes uphill. For the rest, I have absolutely no beef with any of the modes.

It depends if you see CGs as competitive or cooperative. CG = Community Goal. A goal for the whole community. A shared goal for the whole community. If the community does well - meets the requirements of higher tiers - then the rewards are greater for everyone who takes part. The couple of CGs that I took part in I was grateful that other players were grinding away more than me. I'm not a grinder, I get bored with it, so left to me the Community Goal would not have been met, the rewards for everyone would have been lower and the story would not have concluded.

If players were not grinding away "downhill" in Solo then the Empire may not have completed enough of the CG to reveal who poisoned the Emperor, for example. If more players had been grinding away in all modes, then we may have learned more about the President's mis-jump.

Everyone who works on a Community Goal adds value to everyone else's reward.

Conversely if everyone had to do it in Open with other players blockading then even if you finished in a higher reward tier, chances are you would actually end up with a smaller reward because fewer players contributed to the goal.

Look at it like that.