Is Engineering Required to Play in Open?

Old Duck

Old Duck
I ask because of the current debate around Drag Munitions and the potential need for everyone to have one DM on their ships to survive a player attack. Here's the thing - a large number of players (at least on PS4) only have the base game, not Horizons. What does this mean for them? What does it mean for new players who haven't unlocked the appropriate Engineers? Is this just another nail in the "Horizons is P2W" debate?

I'm just curious...

ps - Jenny is still working on unlocking Engineers, so she currently doesn't have DM to choose from.
 
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viper666

V
Depends on luck of the draw really. Seal Clubbers, griefers, known to hang around engineer bases etc.
IMHO engineers should have been limited to FSD upgrades, and thrusters. As it stands, with so many special effects, a basic ship has one option in open, run away and high wake. I think private groups are the best option for those wanting a partial open experience.
 

Jole

J
Depends I'd say. If you want to fight other players or accidentally run across players that want to kill you, yeah, I'd say you need engineering.
If you just go exploring outside the bubble or only fly in low-density systems where there are no other players (or very few) and you are able to actively evade those, you're good to go in my mind.

And in my experience the second case is much more common. During the last week, while engineering (=visiting spots where other players were sure to be found) I ran across at most 10 to 15 players (on PC, playing for maybe 20-30 hours). One time I was careless and got shot down, but I really didn't take a lot of precautions and kinda saw it happening a few seconds before the situation turned snafu. Had I been more careful, I could have avoided that.
Apart from that I either saw no other players or just dropped out of SC when I got suspicious and jumped to another system.

On the upside, one of the few players I found (two actually) were guarding "their" station and actually engaged in some conversation with me, giving me hints on where to go in the neighbourhood etc., which was a wholly pleasant experience.

So: I'd say you are fine without engineering IF you don't plan on fighting and fly careful.
 

peteuplink

peteuplink
I think it depends on what you are doing in open. If you're in an area where there are a lot of other players then you'd probably need engineering so you don't find yourself outmatched. If, on the other hand, you're a bit of a nomad and only encounter other players once in a while, it might not be needed.

I do think the engineering shouldn't have included upgrades to weapons and instead should have been about improving FSD range. Or, better still, IMO, not have it at all and just keep upgrades to modules you can buy from stations like in the original Elite and Frontier Elite 2.
 

Krash

Krash
If a "large number of players" on PS4 only have the base game, isn't there safety in numbers? Playing in open must feel like a herd of wildebeest crossing a croc infested river. All you have to do is swim faster than the next guy.
 

babelfisch

babelfisch
Old Duck said:
I ask because of the current debate around Drag Munitions and the potential need for everyone to have one DM on their ships to survive a player attack. Here's the thing - a large number of players (at least on PS4) only have the base game, not Horizons. What does this mean for them? What does it mean for new players who haven't unlocked the appropriate Engineers? Is this just another nail in the "Horizons is P2W" debate?

I'm just curious...

ps - Jenny is still working on unlocking Engineers, so she currently doesn't have DM to choose from.
Click to expand...

I only started engineering my ship last year and played the game just fine from 2014-2018. If you want to fight in PvP I'd say engineering is mandatory, but so are a bunch of other things as well.
 

Triptych

Triptych
Of course you don't need to engineer your stuff in order to play in Open. It's perfectly possible to see no other player for weeks on end, even in the Bubble. You do, however, need to be careful where you go. Hang around Jameson Memorial for a while and someone with malice in his heart is likely to find you.
 

Navigare Necesse Est

Navigare Necesse Est
Engineering is required to play ED after you pass combat ratings and the buffed AI turns your vanilla stuff into ridiculous peashooters that have little effect on them anymore. Is not a question of "open" or not.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
Navigare Necesse Est said:
Engineering is required to play ED after you pass combat ratings and the buffed AI turns your vanilla stuff into ridiculous peashooters that have little effect on them anymore. Is not a question of "open" or not.
Click to expand...

Totally agree, engineered NPCs should have been restricted to CZs and the ATC "Judge Dread" crew. ;)
 
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