There are people cheating at CQC.

[Schmack]

The BSG influences or controls:

• The prices and stock of commodities and outfitting.
• The availability of certain station services.
• Missions.
• System states, security, and NPC spawns.
• Contents of USSes.
• Access to permit locked systems.
• How much of a system is revealed with a ping and how much you have to scan to fill in.
• Probably quite a few things I'm missing.

The whole reason there is a Solo mode, but no offline mode, is that there are no mechanisms in place for a dynamic setting without CMDR input. You cannot play the game without affecting the setting in some way for everyone, and you'd have to be completely oblivious to not notice everyone else's impacts on your experience through the BGS.

I show up to a system, check out the statistics and the missions and I take what's available. It's indistinguishable from a normal player-driven BGS. In fact I would say the hand of God is much worse since in certain systems we had really great payouts for passenger transport, but because it was affecting the factions of that station those transport prices were nerfed. That did not require any player driven BGS manipulation or influence changes, cheating or otherwise. It was simply a hand of God movement. If the BGS was in play there then the sheer number of trips available should have lowered the price automatically.

I've played for years in solo and, minus the radical hand of God changes, the overall feel of the systems has been about the same during that time.

Granted though, if you do power play then people who aren't really putting in the required time, but are still able to counter everything you do, are causing issues. If I was trying to influence a system to change to another state and someone was countering that through cheating even in another mode that would be detrimental to my efforts. That's not what I do though. So I'm not saying that cheating cannot affect other modes, I'm saying that it doesn't affect my game. At least it doesn't affect it in any way I can tell.

In fact I was talking about cheating in CQC which doesn't affect any of the modes. People can cheat in solo just as easy as they can in open, probably easier. I'm sure it's been done for years. I just think it's counterproductive, if you are a solo player, to go into a multiplayer mode and deal with the same amount of nonsense you would see if you played in open. The only caveat to that would be the fact that you don't actually lose your own ship.

 

[Helvellyn]

I pop in to CQC occasionally. If I can get a game at all there are usually one or two very high level players who wipe the floor with me, one or two I stand an OK chance against, and one or two who don't seem to have played before. I've not noticed any huge ship disparity - getting destroyed almost instantly seems to be the result of there being a good pilot who times keeping control of the weapons boost. Suppose just not enough people to get decent matchmaking.

 

[GraXXoR]

Too bad but I can understand... CQC is terribly unbalanced. Higher ranks got very strong ships and outfittings. There's no real competition if someone sucks in dogfighting but he got a ship ten times better. It turns out that in cqc the stronger ships win

Really, I found the higher ranked stuff underwhelming TBH... Just shifts stats around rather than giving any outright boosts.

 

[Morbad]

I've played for years in solo and, minus the radical hand of God changes, the overall feel of the systems has been about the same during that time.

From my perspective, much of the bubble has been radically altered since I started my CMDR, mostly due to other CMDRs who are conciously or otherwise, working through the BGS. Even a few of the changes are my CMDR's fault. Factions my CMDR had a vested interest in have been marginalized, systems that once had a certain tone are now wholly different, etc. I still see the "Rise up now, never surrender" that's painted on the entrance to Freeport as a haunting reminder of what was.

I notice the more tangible changes as well, but they are less dramatic due to other issues.

Granted though, if you do power play then people who aren't really putting in the required time, but are still able to counter everything you do, are causing issues. If I was trying to influence a system to change to another state and someone was countering that through cheating even in another mode that would be detrimental to my efforts. That's not what I do though. So I'm not saying that cheating cannot affect other modes, I'm saying that it doesn't affect my game. At least it doesn't affect it in any way I can tell.

I don't actively participate in Power Play, but I think I'd have quit the game a long time ago if I felt my CMDR had no agency, or I couldn't notice when other CMDRs exercised theirs.

In fact I was talking about cheating in CQC which doesn't affect any of the modes.

CQC still impacts the main game. The credit rewards and discounts available in the CQC permit system used to have some relevance, but now the main impact is how the squadron leaderboards alter CMDR particpation.

People can cheat in solo just as easy as they can in open, probably easier. I'm sure it's been done for years.

The only reason why Open is given more focus with regard to cheating is that some forms of cheating are more obvious. In other modes cheating may be out of sight and out of mind, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have an effect.

I just think it's counterproductive, if you are a solo player, to go into a multiplayer mode and deal with the same amount of nonsense you would see if you played in open. The only caveat to that would be the fact that you don't actually lose your own ship.

I don't really deal with any more or less nonsense in Open than I would in any other mode. Essentially all of the problems caused by or as a reaction to other players have very little to do with what happens in direct encounters.

 

[Schmack]

From my perspective, much of the bubble has been radically altered since I started my CMDR, mostly due to other CMDRs who are conciously or otherwise, working through the BGS. Even a few of the changes are my CMDR's fault. Factions my CMDR had a vested interest in have been marginalized, systems that once had a certain tone are now wholly different, etc. I still see the "Rise up now, never surrender" that's painted on the entrance to Freeport as a haunting reminder of what was.

If I stayed in one system and paid any attention to the factions then I'd see the effects of influence missions I turn in. I don't stay though. I've never been stuck in one system longer than a few days. Even in Colonia I only stayed a few weeks and even then not in the same system.

So for me that's how being a worthless vagabond for hire goes. I see changes as a change of scenery, so to speak. If a system I have visited many times, like Shinrarta or the engineer systems suddenly changes, I'll see it as something interesting (except for the goids which are like bird poop on the windshield).

I notice the more tangible changes as well, but they are less dramatic due to other issues.



I don't actively participate in Power Play, but I think I'd have quit the game a long time ago if I felt my CMDR had no agency, or I couldn't notice when other CMDRs exercised theirs.

I don't expect a gain or loss of anything except A) entertainment/time and B)credits (which ties in with entertainment sometimes). Entertainment just means a micro goal that I can abandon quickly if I feel it's too demanding vs the reward (sometimes you discover that as you're getting into it). Obviously much of this game is based on the credit reward system. It's a number I can watch increase. Since most if not all of us work for a living, it's very relateable whereas faction influence, to me, feels more like a board game with cartoon characters who have cookie cutter story lines in every inhabited system. This is why I said (in another thread) that I could get on board with running missions for certain engineers. To me they are the true anti-hero leaders who could likely gather a large following.

Elite Dangerous - Rise of the Engineers

CQC still impacts the main game. The credit rewards and discounts available in the CQC permit system used to have some relevance, but now the main impact is how the squadron leaderboards alter CMDR particpation.

To re-iterate my point: Many who stick to Solo might venture into CQC then be turned off by the antics of real human players. Whether or not cheating affects all modes really has nothing to do with how cheating effects those who see it happening or who have it happen to them and their squadrons. The OP isn't complaining about the BGS being affected by cheaters but about himself and his squadron haven't their work nullified by what he perceives to be cheaters. You could make the same argument that in game cheating affects the BGS which in effect nullifies in-game activities by non-cheating players, but that's not a counter argument to the fact that plenty who play Solo do so because they don't want to deal with human antics, to see and feel the immediate effects of cheaters. As far as you can go away from that, in this game, is to avoid contact with them since you cannot avoid the BGS if you play with it in mind. Playing CQC therefore thwarts the Solo effort to avoid it.

 

[Zeeman]

Really, I found the higher ranked stuff underwhelming TBH... Just shifts stats around rather than giving any outright boosts.

Which is how it should be, and how Engineers in the main game should have been, making sacrifices in some areas, for gains in other areas that played to your strengths.

Z...

 

[GraXXoR]

Which is how it should be, and how Engineers in the main game should have been, making sacrifices in some areas, for gains in other areas that played to your strengths.

Z...

100%. When I meant underwhelming, I was just contrasting the poster who said they were overpowered.

I was a fan of CQC and managed to get myself nearly up to champion. But it’s impossible to find any games any more so I gave up.

 

[Zeeman]

100%. When I meant underwhelming, I was just contrasting the poster who said they were overpowered.

I was a fan of CQC and managed to get myself nearly up to champion. But it’s impossible to find any games any more so I gave up.

Fair point - it is interesting to see people's views on CQC, though, and kinda shows that some people's negatives, are other people's positives.

Z...

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

The thought you're giving me is, conscience I guess. If I were walking in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none. While you and your friends are worrying 'bout them, their having lots of fun. Who care if one is counting flowers on the wall; Playing solitaire 'til dawn with a deck of fifty one. And or smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo.