CQC rank should be renamed to "Arena Rank", add moreactivities like racing, allow PvE and solo play.

CMDR Astraea Astralis

CMDR Astraea Astralis
Oops, this is embarrassing, not only did I make an enormous (now fixed) typo in the title (Qlose Cuarters Qombat eh?), I also kinda just made the same thread as CMDR Evolution has earlier this month. This is what I get for not using the search function before posting. Here is a link to their thread, I recommend you check that one out too.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/cqc-5-5-years-old-update-1-due-yet.580503/
That being said, I do like my own gamemode concepts (if I may say so myself) and I'd like to keep them available for consideration :D
Sorry Evolution, it was not my intention to steal your idea.


Hey FDev! So this might be a bit lengthy, but I'll try not to go overboard. I'm not a concise writer :D
Before I begin, I just want to say I fully acknowledge there are more important matters to work on at the time of writing, and these are only suggested as things to consider much further in the future of ED: Odyssey's service.

The issue​

Without further ado, I've been thinking about the CQC rank and the arena mode as a whole.
I gotta admit it's a bit hard to rank up in it, when the only way to do so, is to matchmake in a rather deserted PvP mode.

The solution?​

So here's what I've got in mind, it would be really cool to: 1) Rename CQC Rank to Arena Rank (I will refer to it as Arena Rank from here on), 2) Have more diverse activities in the Arena portion of the game allowing players a way to play and rank up in Arena cooperatively, or solo.

The core concept of Arena is great. By providing even more modes, you add variation in activities which can be enjoyed in a low-risk environment, where ship destruction or loss doesn't negatively impact you outside of Arena. I think this could be beneficial to both Arena and the quality of the game as a whole.
I'll list a few modes I'd like. Anyone reading, feel free to add your own ideas below!

Racing​

As you're very aware of, many players enjoy finding spots on planets suitable for racing, and arrange their own racing events. As a huge fan of racing games in general, I can imagine it'd be even more fun as an official mode, with human spectators and pre-made tracks officially sanctioned by the Pilots Federation 😀
Personally I'm not entirely sure if enabling hardpoints for races would be feasible, but can definitely be worth looking into.
I would say not to have it as an option, to avoid fragmenting an already small niche and keep it purely racing oriented at the same time, but if it were to be available as an option, the premade racing ships you can select before a race, could have a suitable non-lethal hardpoint for its style, and you'd need to collect weapon "pips" in the track to fire them.
  • Planetary Racing (PvP & PvE with solo option)
Think, for example, tracks on planet surfaces named after the planet they're on. Mercury Speedway (Sol), Robigo Run (Robigo), Lucifer's Path (Sirius), etc.
For near-surface racing, there could be props which in-lore is placed around tracks by the Pilots Federation, and help players stay on course. How to keep players from going too far off course I'm not sure, COVAS could definitely remind you tho 😉
  • Zero-G Racing (PvP & PvE with solo option)
Almost the same as "Planetary Racing", but this time it's in space, with aforementioned props being floating tracks and of course, no gravity. Like the new pilot's tutorial where you fly through rings, but faster and with less hand-holding! 😁 Track naming could be after systems, and even factions and nearby stations.
Track examples: Shinrarta Orbital (Shinrarta Dezhra), Currie Highway (Fionn), Farseer's Ring (Deciat)
  • Time Trial Mode (Solo only)
As another alternative to allow ranking up Arena Rank and sharpen your skills, every track should have a solo Time Trial mode.
Playing Time Trial and beating Bronze, Silver or Gold times should award some Arena Rank XP, and proportional XP rewards when improving your own time and climbing the leaderboards for a specific track.

Additional combat modes​

Here are some modes that wouldn't necessarily be sanctioned by the Pilots Federation, so lore-wise I admit these are a bit dubious, but would be a fun way to increase Arena Rank nonetheless. For on-foot combat, Mercenary Rank would NOT count, as that's a rank you have to increase with the risks outside of Arena involved.
Those concerned about lore, these could be "VR simulations" - I can imagine VR is very advanced in the 34th century.. Holodeck, anyone? 😊
  • FPS Matchmaking (PvP and PvE, multiplayer only)
What it says on the tin. Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch and Capture the Flag are mainstays in classic FPS games like Unreal Tournament and similar. Essentially just Conflict Zones with the same respawning through dropships, but on premade static maps.
  • Outpost Survival (PvE only, solo or coop)
A "survival-type" mode not unlike Left 4 Dead survival mode. With up to 3 other CMDRs, you fend off increasingly difficult waves of enemies. For Outpost Survival, your goal is to defend a planetary outpost from sabotage, and the game ends only when your team runs out of lives, or the outpost is taken offline. Very arcade-like, score is measured in amount of waves completed. In "Boss Waves", you could be tasked with defeating a Sidewinder and progressively more difficult ships - these can't take the outpost offline, but they'll sure as heck eat your team's lives if you're not careful.
  • Station Defense (PvE only, solo or coop)
Like Outpost Survival, but this time you're in space, defending a station from Thargoids! As a much more difficult survival mode, players will have to pick ships that synergize with each other if they want to reach a meaningful amount of waves survived. Thargoids arrive a fair amount of distance away from the station, and will only start attacking it once they're close enough. Heftier Thargoids can arrive on so called "Boss Waves". The game ends when your team runs out of lives, or all the station's health is depleted / station defenses are eliminated.

If you managed to read all of that, then uuh, thanks! :D I hope it makes sense and that others might find this as interesting as I do. Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for gamemodes Frontier could add!

And again, to wrap up this post I just want to say again that I know this is a TON of work to implement, and would need a considerable amount of time to do. Therefore I don't expect this anytime soon, but would be awesome to see in some kind of form eventually.
 
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Para Handy

Para Handy
I'd rather they just bit the bullet - calved it off as a totally separate game, removed completely from Elite and offered as free to play to entice people to Elite proper.
 
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