Engineers If AI is too much for you, you can always find a friend.

"If AI is too much for you, you can always find a friend"

No. This is not a solution. I've never winged up before and won't do so now. There is a reason why solo play also exists, and probably half of the player base is to be found exactly there.
 
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"If AI is too much for you, you can always find a friend"

No. This is not a solution.(BTW it IS, it just isn't one you want to do) I've never winged up before and won't do so now.(<== see) There is a reason why solo play also exists, and probably half of the player base is to be found exactly there.

Read the full OP please.

This forum has the smartest dumb people I have ever seen.
 
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verminstar

Banned
Or they just fly better than you? Have you considered the chance of you being a subpar pilot? As harsh as it may sound. I had issues maneuvering around larger ships after the update, but after spending an hour in a RES I got the hang of it, I can now hug the cockpit of the enemy ship and high five the pilot while unloading PA rounds in his face (in my FAS). All my issues prior to that (during last weekend) came from underestimating the NPC ship. I am in a 90 mil FAS, what can go wrong?
I think that we all need to adapt a bit.

Well then this is the perfect solution...spread the wealth around a little so a newcomer can sit and pass judgement on others from their shiny new 90m cred ship. How's that for adapting?
 
I typically fly an A-rated python rigged for bounty hunting and some occasional piracy or short range slave trading. I prefer to play alone because I deal with real people all day every day, and this game is my escape from that. I have absolutely no desire to engage real people in any way while playing this game.

Prior to 2.1 release I could kill any NPC ship in the game, usually taking on multiple ships at once. The difference between a competent NPC pilot and an elite NPC pilot was almost negligible. So I agree that the AI needed tweaked. It very seriously needed it.


HOWEVER


After the 2.1 upgrade I fought a competent npc python in a HI REZ. I expected an easy fight, but was horrifically surprised. It decimated me in seconds. The only reason it didn't kill me was that I managed to boost through the asteroid belt and high wake away before it finished me. I had 15 seconds of air and 12% hull when I docked. I can't remember the last time I got my tail kicked so hard or so fast.

I swapped to an ASP explorer rigged for maximum jump range so that I could go after the meta-alloys and relics on the other side of the galaxy. (The reason I needed to do this is a bug discussion for another thread.)


When I arrived in the destination system, I was interdicted by an elite pilot in a sidewinder who wanted to kill me for something.... I guess it was the single unit of sulfur I was carrying, because I wasn't carrying anything else. I had never been interdicted for sulfur before. Anyway, that scoundrel was carrying twin plasma accelerators. I didn't know a sidewinder could equip/power two of those, but he had them, and they reloaded faster and hit harder than any plasma accelerator that I ever shot. He somehow lowered my shields and broke my canopy with a single shot while I was flying away from him. (How can someone give you a black eye by punching you in the back?) For that matter, how can you use a fixed mount weapon to shoot a Asp that's nearly over 3Km away doing evasive maneuvers?

No matter how many times I jumped away, he interdicted me again within TEN SECONDS after I jumped to super cruise. No matter how well I played the interdiction game, he drug me out of super cruise again and again. He hounded me like a demon dog, and I self destructed when I got down to 30 seconds of air and realized I had no chance of reaching the outpost I was running to.

Better AI is one thing. I'm 1000% in favor of smarter/better AI, but there is NO WAY he could have fired those guns as fast as he did without causing his ship to melt into slag from the heat buildup, and there is no way he could have hurt me so badly with a single hit. The NPCs are obviously not bound by the same ship limitations as we are, and that is not OK with me. It isn't fair, and while I fully realize that life is not fair, this is not real life. It is a game. Games have rules, and the NPCs are breaking those rules. Therefore, the game is broken.

In the aftermath of the slaughter I was furious. I have not been that angry at a video game in decades. I've been playing this game almost every evening since October 2015. I've logged about 800 hours. But I won't play it again until the NPCs play by the same rules as the rest of us. After the way I was cheated last night, I don't feel a bit of loyally to FD or ED. If/when another procedurally generated space sim is available, I'll gladly give it a try. If it is only half as fun as ED, but doesn't cheat me, I'll gladly jump ship (pun intended).
 
:eek: A bit guilty here, I read the OP but somehow the final sentence didn't sink in as much as much as the rest.

Then again the Title could have been a bit less... assertive ;)
 
Where are the in-game tools to find players to wing with then?

Valid point. Currently there are only forums to find groups or simply playing in open and making friends. An option to find like minded players needs some attention indeed. Look up stuff like Oque FD and take a page from that perhaps.
 
Well then this is the perfect solution...spread the wealth around a little so a newcomer can sit and pass judgement on others from their shiny new 90m cred ship. How's that for adapting?

Maybe it wasnt clear what I mean. I thought that a relatively expensive ship with a decent fit will guarantee me an NPC kill. Underestimating your targets and looking at them as if they are only an income source - this is how you shouldnt play the game. You know, this is maybe what causes issues to people that got shiny big ships with smuggling robigo runs and cant fly them (or many other ships) properly.
Rookie pilots in sidewinders that just started the game shouldnt be punished, I agree. But everyone who thinks that his huge expensive ship is enough is wrong. Credits dont buy skill, if you cant fly a ship you should go back to a smaller one maybe.

I really dont get the whole problem. Sure, there are instances in which the AI is very punishing. Especially against big immobile ships. Maybe the solution is not to fly these ships until you are comfortable?

Oh and also this - I have an 'Expert' combat rank. I've been playing casually for close to a year and a half now. Am I some fighter pilot ace or what? I find the new AI brilliant. Never had so much fun doing PvE in Elite.
 
"Wing up" is the new "Git gud".

How on earth is earnest friendly advice anything like dismissive elitism?

The whole reason I posted the suggestion is that my friend was having issues with collecting system security/military dropped loot. I told him to head over to a conflict zone and he could get plenty in almost no time. However he was having issues with collecting it due to being attacked. SO I went and helped him by killing NPCs that were attacking him. End of story was that he was able to craft several high roll mods simply by asking me for 15 minutes of my time.
 
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Just because AI might be a bit tough for some pilots does not mean they need to out right quit. There are pve centric player groups out there that enjoy helping each other and playing together. I suggest looking into some of them.(I also appreciate that there are those who only want to solo and obviously this is not aimed at that crowd.)

This is the wrong answer. First Players should NEVER be forced to feel the need to wing up unless there is a direct reward to going to that extra effort which there isn't. maybe if the bounties were higher or something. Second you have something called the "grind" you know that thing that takes hours depending how far out you are from the bubble and such. if someone has to wing up that means now they also need to make sure there are near other players which causes another major flaw. I could go on but the fact is the AI is broken. Does it need to be tougher than it was. Yes. But it also needs to be manageable and never make players feel forced do what others are doing for the simple fact they may need a wingman. I haven't had any issues killing ships myself minus there is no way anyone in say a python or a assault/gunship can take on 2-3+ elite or dangerous ships. Unless they implment someway to make it easy for people to join up without being forced to stay close to each other than there should never be a mission or a scenario that give a player the mentality that they need to be near other players. it is counter productive to the heart of the game which is exploration. I know of some VERY VERY good 1v1 peeps who dominate CQC and have even struggled with some of these ships not because the AI is so hard but because the AI has an unatural advantage and nothing to lose. Players have millions to lose if a ship decides to go suicidal.
 
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This is the wrong answer. Players should NEVER be forced to feel the need to wing up. First that is just a flaw in itself. Second you have something called the "grind" if someone has to wing up that means now they also need to make sure there are near other players which causes another major flaw. I could go on but the fact is the AI is broken. does it need to be tougher than it was. Yes. But it also needs to be manageable and never make players feel forced do what others are doing.
It is an mmo, ED like other mmo has content designed for both group and solo participation.

While the game does indeed include a solo mode that does not mean all content should be handled solo. Haz res were introduced at the same time as wings with the intention that groups would be needed to tackle them, and while that goal clearly failed that was the developers intent. Just liker Higher level conflict zones introduced at launch were balanced around group play. Perhaps you need someone to point you to the search function so you can find the developers threads stating as much.
 
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You give a solution for open players, but not really for those like me who just prefer to fly solo anyway (in open or not). Like was mentioned in another post, the addition of a difficulty setting even if it means separating open from solo/private would be nice, but even that would not affect open. Your workaround makes sense though and flying with a friend would be the only way to get me back in the game since it would be more fun regardless(maybe), but my friends no longer play the game anymore. I have played MMOs solo and some of them let solo players get along just fine, while still recommending groups for larger battles. So it is possible, but Elite is an awkward online hybrid that makes it difficult to implement anything like that. Of course, there is one idea that I believe would solve all of these problems, but it has already been discussed.

"Play your way"*


*Does not apply to everyone.
 
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How on earth is earnest friendly advice anything like dismissive elitism?
It isn't, and it's certainly one way to deal with the improved AI.

Another way might be to be aware to not bite off more than you can chew and know when to run. I think the resistance here is that your solution should not be the only way to deal with the new AI. (Something which you never implied btw).

I haven't done combat in a while, not likely to wing up, but when (if?) I do, my plan is to start shooting at small ships first and trying increasingly difficult enemies until I find my threshold.

Anyway, regardless, yours is good advice :)
 
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You give a solution for open players, but not really for those like me who just prefer to fly solo anyway
*Does not apply to everyone.

Any one that is open to playing with other people. I specifically said that I know there are purely solo playing players who want zero interaction with other players and that the suggestion was not for them, nor is it mandatory for them.
 
I clearly don't agree with this statement . I don't have the time i want to play as often as i wish . So when i launch the game , i can't waste time finding someone and reunite to form a wing.
I agree with the fact that beeing alone might prevent me from taking part in some hard action as wing battle or H-Res hunting without caution , but it should not make me feel as a prey everytime.
Moreover I think that many players make a confusion about A.I : better A.I doesn't mean cheated one with plenty of mods everywhere to compensate a lack of programing . And don't tell me "A.I is a complex thing, you know nothing about programing , and so on..."
I agree I don't know a mere little thing about that , but what I know is that I am a player and given what I saw in former space dogfights old games , I have elements of comparison. And nowdays , given the time games programmers had to improve A.I, well the little old trick of putting stuffs in a bot to compensate an average A.I is quite not acceptable.
Moreover , I am a little disapointed by the way engineers' mods have been implanted into the sim ; when we read the description of these special lads , it's clearly stated that they are some underground branch of tweaking a ship; meaning that mods should be seen rather sparcely ; the rng and huge amount of grind developped to improve your ships confirm that in my opinion. We shouldn't see a mod at every corner . And despite that we encounter bunch of npc firing at you with moded ships as if it was a common ressource bought from the first space station.
Well , Elite is a game and as such , without overpowering the player (challenge is good) , should put human pilots a bit higher than npc bots. Mods should be restricted to special npc as high threat target or specific mission entities or perhaps wealthy securoty vessels; and the players.

I am perhaps a bit off topic but all this to say that so far , the game seems to turn into a classic mmo grind to win , and loss its versatility in play styles. I was very impatient to play this "add-on" , and in fact after playing it several hours , i just moved off to other games i've got in the waiting. Will come back when things are a bit more balanced. Perhaps the closure of all season 2 will tell the truth when everything is in place.

I couldnt possibly have said it better then you. I dont have time to . I dont sit at my computer 24 7 i have a job and a family to support and therefore will not have time to grind grind and grind away at these mods and the last thing i want to do is buy season 3 i feel like things are getting too complicated in the combat portion of ed and if we are to have mods i think they should only have a slight effect on performance not the way it was when i played a few days ago(i hear they are doing something about it but havent had a chance to log in) mods = SLIGHT advantage it shouldnt be such a game changer. AI shouldnt have mods at all unless they are like the highest rank possible. I lost like 2 mil fking around on it yesterday for just a few mins.

I wish they wouldve just make the ai smarter not buff the heck out of them.

Add more planetary surface content...i want to get chased by aliens now that would be cool like starflight on sega genisis where you can hunt aliens with your rover collect the carcasses for food so that the orbiting station can feed their people...anyways thats for another thread. More minerals on surface too...dont get me wrong i love dogfighting but it gets boreing to me. Anyway yeah sorry for getting off topic
 
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