Do "purple-haired heroes" scare everyone into Solo?

[Codger]

I find it telling that the OP put the word "scare" into the title. This seems to be a common misunderstanding. People who play in Solo aren't necessarily afraid of Open. I'm certainly not. But I never play in Open for other reasons. My main reason is that I just don't want to see any other players. I prefer my galaxy to be lonely.

I'm the same way in other multiplayer games. I try to avoid teaming up, especially with randoms. I don't enjoy it. I want to play my own way, at my own pace.

I discovered a low-population server in World of Warcraft by accident last month. There is literally nobody playing on it at the lower levels. I started a new character and leveled to 70 without ever seeing another player. No one in my way. No one saying stupid things in chat. No one taking my spawns. It was glorious, having the game all to myself like that.

That said, back in the day I played on a PVP server. It was PVP all the time, everywhere. I had fun with that, but it's a very different kind of fun.

Lately, I prefer more relaxed gameplay.

So let's strike the idea that people in Solo are "scared" there. Ok? It's just not accurate.

 

[Old Duck]

I agree, this can get tedious, if you don't have the intention to fight. But "dancing" in SC can be fun, trying to avoid interdiction.

I learned that one advantage of having a system full of gankers is that it's a bit easier to hide in the mass of hollow squares.

Speaking of, I wish..... I'll make it an official suggestion - stay tuned!

 

[Robert Maynard]

I learned that one advantage of having a system full of gankers is that it's a bit easier to hide in the mass of hollow squares.

Speaking of, I wish..... I'll make it an official suggestion - stay tuned!

Please don't suggest making all targets on the scanner solid, even if they are players....

 

[Old Duck]

Please don't suggest making all targets on the scanner solid, even if they are players....

Nope, this actually goes in the other direction

General - Alternatives and Additions to Friends and Blocking

I'd like to suggest an alternative to blocking players, and an addition to our friends list. It's simple: Have friends show up green on our radar, just like allied NPCs Add a new option to mark a player as an Enemy, which marks them as red on our radar, just as if they are a hostile target...

forums.frontier.co.uk

 

[B1rdy]

Why weren't you prepared to catch me when I was flying in Open?

I don't see your point.

Edit:

Why play their way?

1. It is according to the game rules.
2. Have you ever wondered why there is such a gap between NPCs in Elite and players? Is that a good thing?

 

["Red" the Pirate]

1. It is according to the game rules.

What? How does "Blaze YOUR own trail" and "Infinite freedom" translate to "play THEIR way"?

 

[Robert Maynard]

1. It is according to the game rules.
2. Have you ever wondered why there is such a gap between NPCs in Elite and players? Is that a good thing?

1. So is switching to Solo.
2. Simple - PvP players don't get to set the difficulty level for the game as a whole.

 

[B1rdy]

1. So is switching to Solo.
2. Simple - PvP players don't get to set the difficulty level for the game as a whole.

1. Yes, but it is avoiding the challenge, so they can go on with their shieldless T9.
2. They don't to a degree, because you can always run, you don't have to fight. The issue I see here is, the huge imbalance between NPC and player ships.

 

[Bloodsign]

Sometimes hunting weaker prey is a necessary thing though. Consider that non-combat CMDRs running missions in a system will affect the BGS. For high-level players supporting a faction or manipulating a system, this is actually a threat. There can be justification for shooting fish in a barrel, but such CMDRs often don't take the time to explain themselves to their prey, so they are assumed to be indiscriminate gankers.

I'm a mixed-mode player; the modes are there to optimize my play. If I'm just running cargo missions I typically play in Solo. I can focus my builds on maximum cargo space and still be able to beat any NPC interdiction.

I play in Open for combat, which means my ship will be combat capable. It just makes sense to me to do things this way.

 

[Robert Maynard]

1. Yes, but it is avoiding the challenge, so they can go on with their shieldless T9.
2. They don't to a degree, because you can always run, you don't have to fight. The issue I see here is, the huge imbalance between NPC and player ships.

1. Avoiding an entirely optional challenge, yes.
2. Some ships won't be able to run fast enough to survive. One of the issues for Frontier is that only 1.3M copies of Horizons sold in contrast to 3M copies of the base game - therefore engineered ships cannot be considered as a baseline for NPC difficulty.

 

[babelfisch]

I agree, this can get tedious, if you don't have the intention to fight. But "dancing" in SC can be fun, trying to avoid interdiction.

If you have the intention to fight you don't haul grain. The whole 'come prepared instead of switching to Solo' argument is nonsense.
In an ideal situation there would be pirates (they enjoy stealing things), bounty hunters (they enjoy killing pirates) and traders (they enjoy hauling stuff and the thrill of potential piracy). It doesn't work when you try to force people. If they don't enjoy it, they won't do it.

 

[Bloodsign]

I play in Private Group 100% of the time nonatter what activity I am doing in the game.

I have to deal with people all day at work and I really dislike dealing with random people and their annoying agendas. I used to be a people person but people ruined it for me.

So when I get off work my time is spent exclusively with people I know.

Maybe I’m weird, but I have zero interest in whatever some random string of text in a (any online) game wants to do and consider everything which isn’t a friend I know to be simple A.I. with varying degrees of sophistication.

Completely understand where you are coming from. I have mostly worked service type jobs, some of which required interaction with a couple hundred random strangers per day. It wears on you after awhile. Eventually you get pretty jaded.

I still play in Open for the challenge though. I'm a combat CMDR, and I'm always looking to push my skills farther. PvP is simply the best way to do that.

But I'm not always in the mood to fight or put up with shenanigans, so thank goodness for Solo.

 

[Mohrgan]

Essentially, people can't handle the idea of multiple layers of players doing their own thing. There are just as many methods of enjoying E|D as there are people playing. This is generally ok, until a segment of the population require other players in order to find their fun. Then you end up with stuffs like this. Periodically we get a new convert or bored veteran who just can't understand why everyone doesn't play just like them. "Come on in the water's fine" they say, we read 'Oh,but the challenge', and/or 'I like the extra threat'. It's tunnel vision, seeing only their interests. We, as a whole, need to just let it go. You, we can only expect to play along side those who are seeking the same experience. Make the best of it.

 

[varonica]

According to FDev: "More people play in Open, it's the majority, more than the other modes by a significant margin" (see 51m30s if link doesn't work)

So in answer to your question, dunno

You see there's a lot of qualification needed there. I fly in Open all the time, except when I am ready to dock with several billion in exploration data, then I drop to solo just for the last few systems. So when they state that do they mean, more people fly in Open only exclusively as compared to people who fly in Solo/PG exclusively? Or are they taking the total number of hours flown by all players and ignoring all instances of players who fly different modes at different times and just saying, because 90% of flying time is Open that means more players fly Open. Because that may equate to two different things. Most players may fly Open and just swap to Solo/PG whenever they feel they may be entering an area where they may be attacked and that claimed majority who fly open really has little meaning in that context because it ignores the fine details of player behaviour.

Basically I fly open when I know I am not going to be attacked by other players and swap to solo when I think I will be or have to much to lose to risk being attacked.

 

[Phisto Sobanii]

Seriously, if you want to survive anything but the trivial lone ganker, you'll need engineered armor, several hull reinforcement modules, 1 or 2 module reinforcements, the biggest shield you can fit, and at least one shield booster. This means that you'll need at least a Python to have anything left for what you set out to do with your ship.

Unless you're looking to build a Swiss Army Knife Python this is utter rubbish.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

1. Yes, but it is avoiding the challenge, so they can go on with their shieldless T9.

Correction, it is avoiding annoyance, so that I can continue to play the game on my terms instead of having to confirm to those of others.

As an example, can you tell me what is inherently wrong with a shieldless T9? A while ago you stated:

1. It is according to the game rules.

Which game rule does flying a shieldless T9 break?

But this game (world) is around combat, one way or another.

It so isn't. Yours might be. Mine isn't.

 

[B1rdy]

If you have the intention to fight you don't haul grain. The whole 'come prepared instead of switching to Solo' argument is nonsense.
In an ideal situation there would be pirates (they enjoy stealing things), bounty hunters (they enjoy killing pirates) and traders (they enjoy hauling stuff and the thrill of potential piracy). It doesn't work when you try to force people. If they don't enjoy it, they won't do it.

But this game (world) is around combat, one way or another. The question is, why people don't have a problem in solo, but do have in open? This should be solved.

Correction, it is avoiding annoyance, so that I can continue to play the game on my terms instead of having to confirm to those of others.

Again, why is playing against players so immensely different than playing again NPCs?

As an example, can you tell me what is inherently wrong with a shieldless T9? A while ago you stated:

Which game rule does flying a shieldless T9 break?

In solo you can pull through with that, if you try to avoid combat. Which you can effectively, since the AI is so bad at interdictions now, even an AI Eagle could not pull you out of SC. In open, you have to have a prepared ship or otherwise be prepared to get blown to pieces.

 

[Phisto Sobanii]

As an example, can you tell me what is inherently wrong with a shieldless T9?

It's a stupid thing to do regardless of what mode you play in.

 

[Mohrgan]

But this game (world) is around combat, one way or another. The question is, why people don't have a problem in solo, but do have in open? This should be solved.

Why? Does open need propping up? People have many reasons for choosing a mode. Getting all focused on your pet peeve is not useful. People that like open, will use open, people who don't, won't. That isn't hard to understand. Make the best of those Commanders with the same mind set as you, and stop fixating on those that play differently.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I play in Private Group 100% of the time nonatter what activity I am doing in the game.

I have to deal with people all day at work and I really dislike dealing with random people and their annoying agendas. I used to be a people person but people ruined it for me.

So when I get off work my time is spent exclusively with people I know.

Maybe I’m weird, but I have zero interest in whatever some random string of text in a (any online) game wants to do and consider everything which isn’t a friend I know to be simple A.I. with varying degrees of sophistication.

Whilst I have had some great random hookups with people in mobius as well as another PvE group I generally agree with you . I too prefer just playing with people I know or sometimes even going it alone if I just want to chill out on my own

Sometimes I want to see hollow boxes and I go into PG. Other times I just want to do my own thing entirely then I go into my own PG

This is the beauty of ED, then with open in there as well for those who want the chance of anything goes.
Open is an option but is not "the" defacto mode and I think of all the decisions I am not that happy with, that one I love and was a cornerstone to the level I backed the game at.
Would I have backed with open only? Probably ... It is elite after all and I would still have hoped DBs pitch about the pilots federation and the game massively being around coop play.

Yeah I would have backed.... To the sum of £20 to get the game and then maybe a life time pass at... Was it £35 right after KSer ended but before launch