The first time I tried CQC I thought it was dead then I switched to Death match and got a match within 3 mins of waiting - not ideal but hey it beats waiting 6 or more minutes.
I've noticed fewer people play TDM, which is a shame since I've always found team play the most fun in online PvP games. Capture The Flag has fewer still - I've yet to actually play a CTF match because apparently no one plays it. In my experience DM is the shortest wait (around 3 to 5 minutes roughly) but it gets old very quickly - especially when you get 2 or 3 more experienced players ganging up and just dominating. TDM is more fun because of the team tactics that emerge but it is a lot longer wait (7 to 12 mins roughly) although once you get a group of players they tend to stick around for 3 or more matches so that's cool. CTF is tumbleweed city, which sucks cos I am curious about how that mode is played.
For something that was just introduced CQC feels like the end stages of an online PVP multiplayer mode's life cycle, i.e. not enough numbers of players are playing apart from a dedicated few and eventually it will die altogether. In my opinion CQC just needs to be made relevant to the rest of Elite Dangerous for it to "fill up" - there needs to be a purpose for its existence in the context of the ED universe that we play in Open/Private/Solo.
Better credit payouts are a must as well as rewards and achievements in general that we can take with us into the main game.
Things like:
● CQC specific Paintjobs
● CQC mentions in Galnet - make it like the galaxy's greatest sport with mentions of tournaments, top ranking players, Faction rivalries between "The Empire's best ace vs The Federation's heavy hitter". Think podracing!
● CQC live feeds that you can tune into via a station's bulletin board or your ship's Transactions page - like watching a football game. This will go down well with Explorers, Miners and long haul Traders who will now have something to watch while they crash into a Sun! Well, they gotta be careful of course
● Placing bets on competitors while you watch - spice things up and let not only skilled participants make wads of cash but spectators as well (if their bet wins). The winning/surviving player could even get a better payout because of the bets people placed on him to win. This will add some real spice and excitement like watching an underdog knock out a veteran and being lucky enough to have bet against all odds on the underdog!
This is what will make CQC thrive in my humble opinion.
You shojld post this in the ideas or suggestions for the main game