Blockades - AKA How to kill the game

[CMDR Derrida]

Blockades would actually make this game a lot of fun. It would mean that there were actually more than a couple of players in a system with which to fight. That's not being aggressive, that's looking for combat from those who want combat.

 

[deathmagnet]

All you need is a Blockade Breaker

 

[Julissa Silver]

So I say, focus not on breaking up blockaders. Focus on giving them something more entertaining to do.

"I'm bored. So I'm going to set fire to someone's things because the fire amuses me."

Sorry, but that kind of logic is bizarre. We don't cater to people who think that's quite a normal, civilised progression. We remove them from our experience using community, building laws and rules to stop them from continuing to inflict their brand of ill-conceived, amoral destruction on other people. If they are ordinarily pleasant people they wouldn't go about doing what they do without considering a thought for anyone on the other end of their antics. I *DO NOT CARE* that they are bored. Anyone doing this sort of thing just displays how disassociated from reality they are, mentally distancing themselves from repercussions and responsibilities of their own activities and expecting other people to cater to their whims. I am not here to babysit or pander to destructive trolls and bored children.


So, no. Let's not focus on giving them entertaining things to do. Let's just focus on breaking up their sort, scattering them into shadowplay and then give everybody that didn't resort to mindless, antisocial, destructive abuse more fun and entertaining things to do.

 

[sam445]

Blockades are an effective tool for Powerplay to prevent expansion, preparation or to undermine.

 

[Kastor]

so players have to change in order for the game to survive? that's a very unrealistic plan.

i'd recommend fixing the game instead.

this is a known issue. one of many, actually, caused by forcing solo and open into coexistence. several viable alternatives have been brought up by the community, but frontier indeed seems to be betting on social change. pick a chair.

This^
Frontier is sticking to their promises long past those promises being viable.

 

[Arry]

All you need is a Blockade Breaker

Are those the best thrusters for the job? I have no idea, what the inside of an Anaconda looks like.

 

[Kastor]

Blockades are an effective tool for Powerplay to prevent expansion, preparation or to undermine.

Exactly, in fact it's a important part of the Powerplay... except people just solo/group mode to do all those things. Making protecting you own systems from being undermined impossible. That's the problem.

Personally I think solo/group mode should have no effect on Powerplay beyond getting the rewards.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Blockades are an effective tool for Powerplay to prevent expansion, preparation or to undermine.

This would be efficient only if players were forced to play Power Play in open.
Same for CGs.
(but let's not talk about Power Play...let's not talk about power Play...)

I'm not against what blockades are, but for the fact they drive players to solo. If solo would not be an option, blockades would be way more interesting.

Right now, it just kills the game, as intended:

For a group of players I've been following from a certain website, their goal is to kill the game. They say they want FDev to "fix multiplayer" and their way to force FDev to do something is to camp newbie spawn systems, CG systems and kill every new player they find in the hopes of pushing players into asking for refunds to hurt FDev.

 

[Arry]

This would be efficient only if players were forced to play Power Play in open.
Same for CGs.
(but let's not talk about Power Play...let's not talk about power Play...)

I'm not against what blockades are, but for the fact they drive players to solo. If solo would not be an option, blockades would be way more interesting.

What about setting up said blockades with the local faction? By this I mean, if the system is at such a state; for whatever reason, then solo or open; could be the same. Running the blockade, has to be done, be it with NPCs or NPCs+real players.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

What about setting up said blockades with the local faction? By this I mean, if the system is at such a state; for whatever reason, then solo or open; could be the same. Running the blockade, has to be done, be it with NPCs or NPCs+real players.

That would be nice, but for this, NPCs should first learn how to interdict and chase players properly.
SJA (Developper) confirmed that this is work in progress and soon, these Elite (and hopefully Dangerous and so) ships interdicting you will become a threat you cannot escape by simply boosting away if you are in a slower ship.
I can't wait for this to happen!

 

[Lord_Crazy]

Well blockade as such does not kill anything. Giving people a reason to switch to solo does. But since whatever one does not like with real players is an incentive to go solo, solo switching by itself my be the underlying issue.
Don't misunderstand me: I am glad we are given the opportunity to play solo and it is a legitimate choice. Yet I think we should have 3 save slots: one solo only, one group only, one open only. Solo is ok, but jumping from multi to solo is not in my opinion.

 

[Morbad]

Why would you do a blockade rater than piracy then???

Because blockades and piracy aren't remotely the same thing and don't have the same goal.

Don't play fool, you know that they are here to score at the CG and reap the reward, and if they cannot do it in open, they will do it in solo.

I only play Open. If I can't run a blockade in Open, I'm not able to contribute to trade CGs.

Of course, I usually can run blockades, and when I can't, I switch to a warship and get people to waste so much time and resources chasing me around that plenty of other people can.

My problem is seeing players switching to solo / group because of blockades.

People will play the mode they want to play.

I want to play Open, and there is nothing any CMDR, or group of CMDRs, could possibly do that would make Open less than the best mode for me.

 

[PavelKCZ]

Hmm, what will be next more stupid thing invented by those Open griefers ?

Maybe, when almost all players will be in Solo/Group, FD finally will see that PvP is a totally stupid idea in computer games and will make the whole game PvE only, maybe with some kind of PvP duels out of main game.

As a Solo/Group player, I should be glad that there are peoples who are pushing more and more players to Solo/Group

 

[Surly_Badger]

Easily, some people here have no clue what Elite is about and are only interested in Pew-Pew action. They are running out of stupid prey in open and then whining here. It has been going since the launch. They claim it "kills the game" for them, but apparently it doesn't or they would be long gone by now

Even if it did "kill the game" and they all left:
a) I wouldn't notice
b) I wouldn't care even if I did notice
c) The game would probably continue to function

The forums would have more complaining. But, again - so what? As far as I can tell there are a plethora of bored, no-life goobs who've decided that since they aren't being adequately entertained in-game they're going to entertain themselves by whining in the forums. Aaaaaaaaand, it's working for them just as well as their in-game activities. They'll go somewhere else, but apparently only when I show them my tonsils in a jaw-wrenching yawn of uninterest in them and their lives.

(Edit: I have only ever played open)

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

I want to play Open, and there is nothing any CMDR, or group of CMDRs, could possibly do that would make Open less than the best mode for me.

Yes but you are a pure pirate in your soul, freedom runs through your veins, you face death for breakfast!
I do know that blockades do not drive your kind to solo, I talk about the other people, those who like to fly in a tinbox, favorite prey of the blockaders.
Ah, if only every players would be pirates! mhhh...I'm wondering how Elite would look like actually :0)

 

[Jordan Cobalt]

You're not wrong. when I did blockade a goal, it was for RP reasons. In the beginning, there was a ton of players to be seen and blockaded. At the end, the only players I ever saw were the other blockaders. It's pretty pointless to even attempt to stop a goal, RP is the only take away. It also didnt help that the cargo being transported was copper, not exactly a piratable material. 200 cr/ton, no thanks, that's not even worth the effort to scoop.

 

[Morbad]

Yes but you are a pure pirate in your soul, freedom runs through your veins, you face death for breakfast!
I do know that blockades do not drive your kind to solo, I talk about the other people, those who like to fly in a tinbox, favorite prey of the blockaders.
Ah, if only every players would be pirates! mhhh...I'm wondering how Elite would look like actually :0)

I'm not a pirate!

 

[CMDR Pugwash]

I like to play open but have dropped to Solo/Group when faced with a blockade. I run it a few times but once it starts to cost me, I take the easy option. I don't get to play much due to work and family. I am only doing the CG to earn credits to build up my ship to the point when I can just stand and fight or take the loss.

Just like in real life, it's about the money. The solution is simple... Make it less profitable in solo.

+rep for the Avatar Marvin.

 

[Geldonyetich]

"I'm bored. So I'm going to set fire to someone's things because the fire amuses me."

Sorry, but that kind of logic is bizarre. We don't cater to people who think that's quite a normal, civilised progression.

I can understand how you would feel obligated to smack down rude dudes lest they feel incentivised to be rude.

However, the standpoint I am taking here is, "It is better to treat the cause of the illness than the sympoms."

Truth of the matter is, I wager very few of these blockaders initially intended to be rude dudes. They play the game to have fun, just like the rest of us. But, when the game gets boring and they still have a stake in it, they will resort to stupid rude behavior, griefing, because they do not take the game as seriously as you or I, and just figure whatever is fun to them is a successful way to enjoy the game, even if that method us griefing.

So treat the cause. Provide more fun things to do than blockade, and the illness will be cured.

 

[PavelKCZ]

I like to play open but have dropped to Solo/Group when faced with a blockade. I run it a few times but once it starts to cost me, I take the easy option. I don't get to play much due to work and family. I am only doing the CG to earn credits to build up my ship to the point when I can just stand and fight or take the loss.

Just like in real life, it's about the money. The solution is simple... Make it less profitable in solo.

+rep for the Avatar Marvin.

If CGs will not be profitable in Solo and there will be blocades in Open, players simply will not play CGs. It is quite simple. CGs are fun without griefers and they are also a good source of money for newbies. But for more seasoned players, they are lost time, if you remove the fun factor of helping the common good.
For me, they are pure loss when it comes to Cr/hour because if I will play 20 hours per week and I will be in top 5% in BH CG, I can receive something like 20-25 MCr.
If I will instead trading in my Conda, I will have the same amount of Credits during one evening.