Hardcore/Iron Man server

Would you play Hardcore Ironman mode?

  • Yes, I'd play Hardcore Ironman mode

    Votes: 83 41.3%

  • No, I wouldn't play Hardcore Ironman mode

    Votes: 118 58.7%
  • Total voters
    201
  • Poll closed .

TheDayman

TheDayman
Morning (or afternoon/evening) all,

Hypothetical question:

It's December 2019. Elite has been out for 5 years. Frontier has added a new mode to the game - Hardcore Iron Man. All players start in a Sidewinder on equal footing (of course). Dead is dead. The whole PvP vs PvE issue is straightened out (somehow), almost all bugs are gone, and many new features have been added.

They've also added a fresh, separate (starting in 3300, with some adjustments) BGS for this server. Let's assume that the playerbase has grown exponentially to this point due to all the new amazing, ground-breaking, wonderful features Frontier has added, meaning Open Play and Iron Man have roughly equal numbers.

Solo/Group has been merged with Open Play (with some handwavium magic). Credits don't flow like water, and other resources are equally difficult to get. Stepping up to a new ship, even an Eagle, is a major milestone. Many, if not all, of the features you want are in the game but fairly balanced (again, magic handwavium because this is a hypothetical). NPC AI is basically Skynet with MoM at the helm. It's incredibly difficult but incredibly rewarding - not for the faint of heart. When you start the game, you get a warning stating "Do not play this mode if you don't want to be punished. You have been warned"

Would you play this new Hardcore Ironman mode knowing you have to start over from scratch, or would you stick to Open Play? (Let's also assume Ironman itself has been out for a year and thoroughly tested via handwavium).

Edit: I'll add that your Hardcore Ironman save is entirely separate from your Open Play save and the two are inconsequential to each other.

Second edit: Solo/Group play is still present. The choice of mode to play is yours.
 
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Weps

Weps
I'd play Ironman right now if it were possible. The rules explained in the DDA should apply though (being able to eject and lose the ship, but remain alive with the rest of the assets).

Not sure if I would forfeit my current character to play Ironman, but I'd definitely consider doing so if a second Ironman character would not be possible.
 

Bran Tse Mallory

Bran Tse Mallory
So in your vision I get to choose from open or iron man... I guess that's me not playing the game any more due to lack of choice - something FD know they would be stupid to do and have said as much in different words.

If all the modes were to stay and an Iron mode introduced I would play that but not under your terms.
 

Genar-Hofoen

Genar-Hofoen
Voted No.

I'm just not seeing the benefits of an Ironman mode - does it add anything to the game for people playing in that mode? I suppose it's all entirely subjective - perhaps the person playing in that mode is made to feel like they're some kind of "better" player - for subjective definitions of "better" at that :)

Not trying to be snarky in the above. I'm just genuinely curious.

Regards o7
 

TheDayman

TheDayman
Genar-Hofoen said:
Voted No.

I'm just not seeing the benefits of an Ironman mode - does it add anything to the game for people playing in that mode? I suppose it's all entirely subjective - perhaps the person playing in that mode is made to feel like they're some kind of "better" player - for subjective definitions of "better" at that :)

Not trying to be snarky in the above. I'm just genuinely curious.

Regards o7
Click to expand...

Somewhat the point of the poll as I'm genuinely curious myself. You'd have two walks of life (however you want to classify that individuals psychological profile is up to you): those that want a very difficult game who perhaps have a lot of free time, and those that are more casual with perhaps not as much free time and/or want to play this - choice is everything here. Personally, I'm more of a gamer who skips the entire tutorial and fires up X-Com 2 on Veteran/Iron Man mode but that doesn't mean that a player who plays on non-Veteran/non-Iron Man is any better or worse than myself (not the point of the poll). It's more of a hypothetical question to solely gauge interest, and I believe in this particular instance, you'll see almost a 50/50 split of those for and those against.

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Bran Tse Mallory said:
So in your vision I get to choose from open or iron man... I guess that's me not playing the game any more due to lack of choice - something FD know they would be stupid to do and have said as much in different words.

If all the modes were to stay and an Iron mode introduced I would play that but not under your terms.
Click to expand...

I thought long and hard about Open/Solo - I take that back. Solo is still there, so is group. You can play whatever, however you want.
 

ShimEnki

ShimEnki
No thanks Freddie; if anything, PVP will probably have to be dropped if the devs and investors truly want to expand and bring $ viability to this game.
 
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Weps

Weps
Genar-Hofoen said:
does it add anything to the game for people playing in that mode?
Click to expand...

Of course. It creates the possibility to truly kill another player (if the player dies, his character is moved to Open Play and he needs to start a fresh one to join Ironman again). This allows for an eye for an eye type of revenge, which in Open play is not possible. Currently non combat ships stand to lose a lot more than assassin ships (usually higher insurance, lost cargo or exploration data, plus the costs of acting revenge on an attacker, whereas attacking ships usually have to deal just with a lower insurance fee). In Ironman, if you manage to kill another player, you know you would have taken everything he ever had in that mode. Death becomes equally relevant for all players.

I believe this represents a healthier environment for players seeking aggressive interactions with one another. Of course, all other modes should remain as they are, removing them would be stupid.

PS: it also provides a healthier economy. As players inevitably die at some point, those top tier ships are being removed from the mode. Lower tier ships become useful again. Big money makers are evened out: a known PvP player may refrain from that Robigo grind knowing he could be hunted and killed while in a more vulnerable ship. PvP bounty hunters finally have a reason to exist. etc. etc.
 
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goemon

goemon
I'd definetly play an ironman mode, if there'd be a dedicated server to it - would even start a new (third) account for it, if there wouldn't be a second save. would be a great challenge, and also add to the tension playing with or versus other players.

btw.: i see no reason to get a seperate BGS for that.
 

_Fissure

_Fissure
No.

If I have a masochistic urge I play Dark Souls. Elite is where I come to fly around in space ships and engage in some pew pew fun. What you described is a system that would have linger grinds, lower rewards, and higher risks. Not my idea of fun.
 

shadragon

shadragon
You can do it today. I have played Ironman in Open. I did a video series where I show character deletes after each death. Rather simple to do really.

I stopped it because two CMDR's tracked me down and killed me just as I was making progress. They had seen my series and came after me. Other than that, I had no issues with the reset.
 

Ian Skippy

Ian Skippy
Genar-Hofoen said:
Voted No.

I'm just not seeing the benefits of an Ironman mode - does it add anything to the game for people playing in that mode? I suppose it's all entirely subjective - perhaps the person playing in that mode is made to feel like they're some kind of "better" player - for subjective definitions of "better" at that :)

Not trying to be snarky in the above. I'm just genuinely curious.

Regards o7
Click to expand...

Its basically the same as with the 'should insurance be removed' discussions, but more extreme. The more serious the consequences, the more exciting the game becomes for me. You become more careful in what you do, and surviving itself becomes an interesting challenge. It also is more interesting from an RP perspective IMHO. I play hardcore/ironman not to get somewhere, but to make the (sometimes very short!) journey far more interesting. :)

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shadragon said:
You can do it today. I have played Ironman in Open. I did a video series where I show character deletes after each death. Rather simple to do really.

I stopped it because two CMDR's tracked me down and killed me just as I was making progress. They had seen my series and came after me. Other than that, I had no issues with the reset.
Click to expand...

Thats the thing, only ironman only works if everyone is ironman on that server. Otherwise it becomes annoying real fast...
 
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