Elite Babysitter...

Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
.... they'll move down the food-chain. From Ironman - All Group (Transponder On) - All Group (Transponder Off) - SP Online.

Now that might actually be a good thing, as people drop down rather than dropping out.

Your use of "down" in the context of "food-chain" seems to be a bit demeaning - implying moves to a lesser grouping. Shows a little bias....
 
I've read all the way through this thread (90 more posts than the DDF thread). It's good to see people trying to bring different positions together, so I'll have another go at asking the same question I asked last year:

And thanks Andrew there have been a few snipes at the necessity of this thread, but I've found it to be one of the better discussions I've had. And I haven't been intractable about my position. There's been some real food for thought and it was nice to get a fresh perspective on the issues. Even from those who disagree with me ;)
 
I'm exactly the sort of person Togg identified as the weak-point in the ED food chain.

...

all the little compromises have created a smooth gradient for me to slide up into a more social game.

steadily as losses mount, bad experiences continue, they'll move down the food-chain.

Your use of "down" in the context of "food-chain" seems to be a bit demeaning - implying moves to a lesser grouping. Shows a little bias....

I think he was just reusing two words I used about myself, talking about up/down in terms of behaviour that is more/less helpful to the wider ecosystem.

EDIT: ninja'd!
 
Getting back on topic because who really cares about goons.

This debate is rather volatile so a simple solution that should completely satisfy both camps in this debate. I realize this will be more fracture for the community but that is already so bad I really don't see a big impact.

Two completely separate galaxies divided by an "iron curtain" with separate events, histories and developments within the galaxy along with of course separate economies.

One side with all the safety nets and security of the hiding mechanics and grouping mechanisms to render an mmo basically a corpg or solo online experience.

The other side runs a "all" and "ironman" group only without any "ignore", "group" and any other features that we all know will offer cloaking to some degree for an advantage. This will be more to a true mmo experience.

Sounds fair to me and would get my money no questions asked. If the only option is the grouping setup as I understand it now it will not result in my purchase of the product.
 
Last edited:

Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
Two completely separate galaxies divided by an "iron curtain" with separate events, histories and developments within the galaxy along with of course separate economies.

This would double the back-end server requirements for Frontier - that will have a financial impact.
 
This would double the back-end server requirements for Frontier - that will have a financial impact.

It takes money to make money.

Actually it is not that much money. I know firsthand by working for a indy dev team on an mmo project and one of my research projects is cost analysis of U.S. server options for hosting.
 
Last edited:

Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
It takes money to make money.

Having first justified any changes to the cost-base - having two completely separate galaxy simulations running simply because a percentage of the tiny PC population of the galaxy (in relation to the NPC population) is not seen by the other PCs does not seem to be a strong justification.
 
Having first justified any changes to the cost-base - having two completely separate galaxy simulations running simply because a percentage of the tiny PC population of the galaxy (in relation to the NPC population) is not seen by the other PCs does not seem to be a strong justification.

This can probably be done on the same server cluster already paid for as user demand as you state will be minimal as the rest of the galaxy is basically a simulation if no players are present. You argument is weak at best and the increase in sales and player retention would far outweigh any additional server costs.
 

Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
This can probably be done on the same server cluster already paid for as user demand as you state will be minimal as the rest of the galaxy is basically a simulation if no players are present. You argument is weak at best and the increase in sales and player retention would far outweigh any additional server costs.

While the players would be split between the two simulations, the NPC simulation would be doubled - that's going to require more horsepower.

You really think that players are going to leave because of the effects on the economy of players they can't encounter? That's an interesting theory.... What about players in other timezones - they have an effect on the economy and you will probably not encounter them.
 
Andrew. I only used the word Prey as a way to denote who was hunting who in each example.. its wasn't to denigrate anyone.

But yes.. Pirates hunting Merchants/miners does actually have a positive side to the merchant/miner group. the loss (And even if a Pirate scoops all the goods from a destroyed ship there will only be a percentage. and I doubt a Pirate could scoop all the goods that a Merchant could drop) will have a backend effect of keeping material and good prices higher.

i'm not sure if FD has made a decision on whether or not ships that are purchased in game are actually constructed in game, (which would use materials and items in a system) if so, that in itself would cause markets to soar just due to building ships lost in PvA.
 
i'm not sure if FD has made a decision on whether or not ships that are purchased in game are actually constructed in game, (which would use materials and items in a system) if so, that in itself would cause markets to soar just due to building ships lost in PvA.

As far as I know there is no player crafting in E D (vs. say EVE) so ships are spawned at locations by the AI for players to purchase, plus presumably player to player sales?
 
While the players would be split between the two simulations, the NPC simulation would be doubled - that's going to require more horsepower.

You really think that players are going to leave because of the effects on the economy of players they can't encounter? That's an interesting theory.... What about players in other timezones - they have an effect on the economy and you will probably not encounter them.

No. I think players will not buy in at all as there are better single player options out there than this.

Quite clever completely changing the topic but it remains that this is a sound option for all parties involved. I am sure Frontier has a handle on their finances.

This debate is rather volatile so a simple solution that should completely satisfy both camps in this debate. I realize this will be more fracture for the community but that is already so bad I really don't see a big impact.

Two completely separate galaxies divided by an "iron curtain" with separate events, histories and developments within the galaxy along with of course separate economies.

One side with all the safety nets and security of the hiding mechanics and grouping mechanisms to render an mmo basically a corpg or solo online experience.

The other side runs a "all" and "ironman" group only without any "ignore", "group" and any other features that we all know will offer cloaking to some degree for an advantage. This will be more to a true mmo experience.

Sounds fair to me and would get my money no questions asked. If the only option is the grouping setup as I understand it now it will not result in my purchase of the product.

 
I didn't mean player created.. but that the game uses local materials when IT creates a new ship for either a AI or a Player ship.

as a function to keep the economy going.. a star system would need a constant supply of parts (which could be delivered to it via player or NPC transports)
 
I didn't mean player created.. but that the game uses local materials when IT creates a new ship for either a AI or a Player ship.

as a function to keep the economy going.. a star system would need a constant supply of parts (which could be delivered to it via player or NPC transports)

I don't know if this is being rude or just oblivious but you do realize your discussion in this thread has absolutely nothing to do with the topic right?
 
maybe I am missing the point here (wouldn't be the first time btw) but I cannot see the issue for single online players inhabiting (but not seen) by other players in the same universe.

Yes they cannot be shot at by other players but so what? the universe is supposed to be massive so there will be plenty of other things and presumably players to shoot at if that floats your boat

Yes their actions (in terms of trade/missions and who knows what else) will have some impact in the total playing universe but the impact will be alot more unpredictable and interesting than an AI algorithm presumably doing the same thing and also never interacted with

For my two cents, I think the playing options available as outlined by the Devs so far make sense to me and offer the widest choice of gaming styles to accomodate the widest range of playing styles.
 
Hopefully that shows I'm open to argument, but my fundamental question about the "all" group remains: what's in it for me?

Can't speak for you but I've always wanted to play Elite MP. Most of my friends played the original and we all shared stories about making a great trade run, winning a tough fight, escaping Thargoids or just doing the missions. I've always thought it'd be great if we could have done the same things as a group working together and getting that feeling of camaraderie.
 
Back
Top Bottom