Engineers This game needs difficulty settings urgently

[Cmdr Aeries Hunter]

No matter what "balance" Frontier eventually put in place, there will always be people who will find it too easy or too hard. Please Frontier put difficulty settings in so players can play the game the way that they find enjoyable. Here is one possible way.
In the menu under settings. Allow people to choose the spawn rate of NPC's.
For example there could be a slider that you can select how often Elite rated ships appear. 0 on the scale would mean none will spawn, while a 10 on the scale would be wings of Elite Anacondas.
There could be a slider for each level of npc rank. Each player can then select what rank(s) and the number of npc's spawning for each rank that will spawn.

Players that want a challenge can dial it up to the max and live in a world of pain, if that is their thing, while players that want to just have fun shooting fish in a barrel can do that. It should not matter to you how another player enjoys their game. In this manner it wont affect your game as you can select your own settings. If players wing up or play open and enter an instance with another player, the game will automatically go to the default mode, or match up players with similar settings. This also would not affect the BGS or anyone else that plays the game, in any negative way.

I am sure smarter people than me can work out the fine details and make it work if they wanted to. That way Frontier can finally stop trying to "balance" the game which I am sure is taking away many talented people and valuable resources (time and money) from doing other tasks like making more content for us to enjoy.

 

[Krait_79]

I have mixed feelings about that idea. Whilst it makes a lot of sense why should someone be able to call themselves Elite when all they've faced is hapless nooby AI, compared to someone who's done it the hard way?

I can't stand this everyone has to be a winner mentality which seems so prevalent these days and not just in gaming.

 

[X-Terminator]

Only needs NPC to match same MODs as any player has - SOLVED.

 

[Cmdr Aeries Hunter]

I have mixed feelings about that idea. Whilst it makes a lot of sense why should someone be able to call themselves Elite when all they've faced is hapless nooby AI, compared to someone who's done it the hard way?

I can't stand this everyone has to be a winner mentality which seems so prevalent these days and not just in gaming.

Eventually everyone will get Elite if they play long enough. How does that make you feel? Angry that a player not as good as you got to Elite not because they are good, but because they just played the game long enough. Silly reason not to introduce difficulty settings.

 

[ShimEnki]

Aweome idea CMDR

But then...that would neuter the gang that loves pushing FDs easily pushed buttons it seems to impose this and that level on other players...Their minimum git good daily word count could never be met!

 

[Nitek [pl]]

No matter what "balance" Frontier eventually put in place, there will always be people who will find it too easy or too hard. Please Frontier put difficulty settings in so players can play the game the way that they find enjoyable. Here is one possible way.
In the menu under settings. Allow people to choose the spawn rate of NPC's.
For example there could be a slider that you can select how often Elite rated ships appear. 0 on the scale would mean none will spawn, while a 10 on the scale would be wings of Elite Anacondas.
There could be a slider for each level of npc rank. Each player can then select what rank(s) and the number of npc's spawning for each rank that will spawn.

Players that want a challenge can dial it up to the max and live in a world of pain, if that is their thing, while players that want to just have fun shooting fish in a barrel can do that. It should not matter to you how another player enjoys their game. In this manner it wont affect your game as you can select your own settings. If players wing up or play open and enter an instance with another player, the game will automatically go to the default mode, or match up players with similar settings. This also would not affect the BGS or anyone else that plays the game, in any negative way.

I am sure smarter people than me can work out the fine details and make it work if they wanted to. That way Frontier can finally stop trying to "balance" the game which I am sure is taking away many talented people and valuable resources (time and money) from doing other tasks like making more content for us to enjoy.

No it does not need the settings.

 

[kilvenny]

Due to the way the rankings are calculated they are effectively a measure of game time and not ability. However they are used to decide the profile of NPC's a player experiences. What is needed are additional locations where the npc's are generally easier. ie the spread is much more towards the lower ranks even if you are highly combat ranked. This would give poorer skilled commanders cannon fodder.

Then what I would is introduce an additional ranking. For each ranking level you are also ranked among commanders of your level Combat Elite(1) would be that you are the top ranked combat commander in game. Combat Elite (2) you are the second ranked combat Elite commander. Combat Deadly (5) you would be the 5th ranked Deadly commander in game. You could have leader boards but it would give people a carrot to aim for.

 

[Loetmichel]

I have mixed feelings about that idea. Whilst it makes a lot of sense why should someone be able to call themselves Elite when all they've faced is hapless nooby AI, compared to someone who's done it the hard way?

I can't stand this everyone has to be a winner mentality which seems so prevalent these days and not just in gaming.

If the combat rank actually would have something to do with combat capabilites i would say you are right. But as it is its just improves by time. even if you only kill an NPC pirate one in 10 times you will eventually be elite. For the combat rank to work as a "difficulty setting" it should degrade over time to compensate or be only coupled to the NPC ranks you kill and not to the amount of NPCs at all.

I doubt that FD would change the ranking system that radically tho. So the next best thing would be a Difficulty setting to satisfy either the hardcore Combat veterans AND the casual "i want a nice evening playing a relaxing game" type of player.
(the ones that solemly prey on the latter will never be satisfied by anything, so we can easily ignore them. Also they usually dont deliver any arguments aside from stomping at the floor and screaming "NO!". As seen above by some grinning canine.)

 

[CMDR Valleys]

I agree no settings please. If u want to fly a big expensive ship get a wing together as escort. If you want to wind dog fights.. Learn to fight as befitting your rank...

The game is meant to be dangerous to encourage cooperation so use the wing system and don't be shy in asking strangers to fly the same rout and when FD intergrate the wings into the mission system do missions together.

On a positive note though there's no hiding in solo any more

 

[Athan]

You won't get to Combat Elite by only killing Competent and below AI. Once you're Deadly you need to be killing at least Expert AI to progress at all. The higher the rank of the AI you kill the more progress that kill counts for.

But back to the OP's original idea... really all that's needed is for 1) system security level to really, REALLY actually mean something, and 2) What security level a system is be decided by how far it is from a superpower capital, or somesuch. Think of onion layers of decreasing security as you get further away from the super secure systems. Then players could choose the level of risk by where they go. Obviously the greater rewards, be it through combat, trading or mining, should involve the lower security systems.

Basically make it an in-game method of choosing the risk that is reliable, not an artificial options slider.

 

[Faded Glory]

The best way for 'difficulty settings' to be implemented in the game are to incorporate them into choices the player makes about what they do, or where they go.

Missions have a ranking, not a gated one, so players can decide if they want easy missions or hard ones. This obviously is already there. Areas of space should be clearly identified as safe or unsafe, and a player chooses to go there or chooses to avoid it. Rewards can be tailored to be greater for high ranked missions (they already are) and in dangerous parts of space.

Random NPC interactions should be just that, random, but the likelihood of meeting very high ranked NPCs should be much less than seems to be the current level. Proportionally, there would likely be far fewer genuinely tough Elite pilots around than there seem to be currently. When you do, the obvious choice is to run (if you don't think you will survive). Players shouldn't have to run from every engagement, and if you are just flying around a relatively safe area minding your own business, there's little reason why you should encounter lethal Elite NPCs.

Players would still be able to progress their own ranks, you still get a little combat progression from killing an Expert ranked ship when you're heading for Elite, but it will be slower than if you are able to take on and destroy higher ranked ships. Seems fair. Risk and reward and all that.

And if FD must keep farming in the game, well comp nav beacons and HazRES should be very very hard, and scale down in difficulty in other instances, perhaps the same with CZs.

 

[Krait_79]

Eventually everyone will get Elite if they play long enough. How does that make you feel? Angry that a player not as good as you got to Elite not because they are good, but because they just played the game long enough. Silly reason not to introduce difficulty settings.

Not really. I just think it's sad that people can't rise to a challenge. Makes me wonder how these people cope out there in the real world where there isn't an "easy level" setting.

 

[GluttonyFang]

People can either cooperate with one another or try to become a solo ace pilot. Otherwise why should all NPCs bend over in one's journey in ED?

 

[Loetmichel]

You won't get to Combat Elite by only killing Competent and below AI. Once you're Deadly you need to be killing at least Expert AI to progress at all. The higher the rank of the AI you kill the more progress that kill counts for.

Even the worst trader pilot can kill an elite NPC here and there. Not every time. Maybe not every 10th time. But eventually even they will rank up. And at the moment the NPCs arent even that tightly coupled to combat rank for that to work at all.
Last i have seen anyway.

But back to the OP's original idea... really all that's needed is for 1) system security level to really, REALLY actually mean something, and 2) What security level a system is be decided by how far it is from a superpower capital, or somesuch. Think of onion layers of decreasing security as you get further away from the super secure systems. Then players could choose the level of risk by where they go. Obviously the greater rewards, be it through combat, trading or mining, should involve the lower security systems.

Basically make it an in-game method of choosing the risk that is reliable, not an artificial options slider.

That would totally fine with me also. The point is RELIABLE tho.

Atm the system security level is A) not very visible at all. And B) still not saying THAT much. Even in major factions capitals you can get an NPC pirate attacking you and the Police showing up when you are a cloud of drifting dust.

 

[Oh Seven Commander]

No matter what "balance" Frontier eventually put in place, there will always be people who will find it too easy or too hard. Please Frontier put difficulty settings in so players can play the game the way that they find enjoyable. Here is one possible way.
In the menu under settings. Allow people to choose the spawn rate of NPC's.
For example there could be a slider that you can select how often Elite rated ships appear. 0 on the scale would mean none will spawn, while a 10 on the scale would be wings of Elite Anacondas.
There could be a slider for each level of npc rank. Each player can then select what rank(s) and the number of npc's spawning for each rank that will spawn.

Players that want a challenge can dial it up to the max and live in a world of pain, if that is their thing, while players that want to just have fun shooting fish in a barrel can do that. It should not matter to you how another player enjoys their game. In this manner it wont affect your game as you can select your own settings. If players wing up or play open and enter an instance with another player, the game will automatically go to the default mode, or match up players with similar settings. This also would not affect the BGS or anyone else that plays the game, in any negative way.

I am sure smarter people than me can work out the fine details and make it work if they wanted to. That way Frontier can finally stop trying to "balance" the game which I am sure is taking away many talented people and valuable resources (time and money) from doing other tasks like making more content for us to enjoy.

This has to be one of the worst ideas I have read about the new patch. Look at the system info. If you are flying into a system with WAR as its state, then there are probably a lot of Elite war ships flying around. If its a corporate in BOOM, then there will be lots of traders and police. In a Low Sec system there are lots of bounty hunters and a few pirates. In a high sec there are large police vessels and Mobius players. Does this make sense? Elite is now making you adapt. Learn to adapt instead of saying "this is too hard and I havent even given it a few weeks to try and learn." This would affect the BGS because if you wanted to undermine you would just turn the difficulty down and undermine a system to oblivion. It would ruin Powerplay and make PvP piracy super easy. The trader would have the difficulty down, because he's a trader, and the pirate would turn it down so the cops are chumps. Did you think this through?

 

[Agrar Therenus]

There are difficulty settings.

It's called picking the easier missions, and you get less credit for them, as you should.

The other easy settings is running away if you don't think you can take on the odds; also only flying into easy resource sites and conflict zones.

This is not comparable to a single player game where difficulty settings make sense, because you HAVE to complete linear events to win the game.

 

[Enderby]

Are there any mmos with difficulty options?

I can't see now it could be done. Except... in solo mode.

 

[sbdags]

It's rare for games to be hard these days. Try completing Manic Miner with only 3 lives, no saves and losing everything if the power is turned off.

Those were the days when games were proper hard.

I think the difficulty is just about right at the moment. Maybe a tad tough for newbies but it's balanced pretty well.

 

[sequ]

Game difficulty is now ok, keeping in mind that it is not a children playground - its an open space. There just should not be any bugs like sudden assassination with 1 shot kill NPC.

"Keep your feet on the ground, if you are afraid to fly". J.J. Rabrams

 

[Susanna]

No matter what "balance" Frontier eventually put in place, there will always be people who will find it too easy or too hard. Please Frontier put difficulty settings in so players can play the game the way that they find enjoyable. Here is one possible way.
In the menu under settings. Allow people to choose the spawn rate of NPC's.
For example there could be a slider that you can select how often Elite rated ships appear. 0 on the scale would mean none will spawn, while a 10 on the scale would be wings of Elite Anacondas.
There could be a slider for each level of npc rank. Each player can then select what rank(s) and the number of npc's spawning for each rank that will spawn.

Players that want a challenge can dial it up to the max and live in a world of pain, if that is their thing, while players that want to just have fun shooting fish in a barrel can do that. It should not matter to you how another player enjoys their game. In this manner it wont affect your game as you can select your own settings. If players wing up or play open and enter an instance with another player, the game will automatically go to the default mode, or match up players with similar settings. This also would not affect the BGS or anyone else that plays the game, in any negative way.

I am sure smarter people than me can work out the fine details and make it work if they wanted to. That way Frontier can finally stop trying to "balance" the game which I am sure is taking away many talented people and valuable resources (time and money) from doing other tasks like making more content for us to enjoy.

My apologies but I have not read the whole thread. I've lost interest. But you might care to read the posts made here:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=257709

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"Keep your feet on the ground, if you are afraid to fly". J.J. Rabrams

Done.