Abandon P2P and replacement by a real Client / Server for the whole game

[CMDR Carbo]

This would be a nice idea as the P2P instancing can be really bad at times. However, I'm sure it would never fly due to increased costs on their part. For them to do it, there would probably have to a monthly charge to play. Not something I, or others, really want to deal with.

Also, if were going "Open Only" then they need to add some king of PvP flag system like WoW has. You are never going to win over people to Open without it.

Finally, they would also have to fix issues that the other modes existence actually solves - e.g. being able to switch modes so that you can land because all the landing pads are being hogged/blocked at a station in Open. I suppose they could have multiple instances, that you can choose from (until filled), much like STO and other games have done. Though that would undo some of the reason for this Open only/server based system you propose.

It would also be completely bonkers because at any give time, > 95% of all the players in game are likely alone or with 1-2 other players in an instance and a dedicated server would be a complete waste.

A game this size is designed for a p2p network architecture and anything else doesn't make any sense at all.

 

[Faded Glory]

In fact I wanted to see if Cmdrs who play only solo could change their minds

I can only speak categorically for myself, but no, it wouldn't.

There seems to be a peculiar belief that players who choose solo do so for any number of excuses or reasons. I'd suggest that the primary reason that players who play solo do so is simple.

They don't want to play Elite with other people.

 

[babelfisch]

It would also be completely bonkers because at any give time, > 95% of all the players in game are likely alone or with 1-2 other players in an instance and a dedicated server would be a complete waste.

A game this size is designed for a p2p network architecture and anything else doesn't make any sense at all.

You could use some kind ohne hybrid systems that still uses P2P but switches to servers when we have large instances.

 

[Patrick_68000]

You could use some kind ohne hybrid systems that still uses P2P but switches to servers when we have large instances.

An interesting idea

 

[CMDR Carbo]

You could use some kind ohne hybrid systems that still uses P2P but switches to servers when we have large instances.

Could probably be done, I'm not denying whether it makes sense technically, rather whether it makes sense economically to implement a separate networking code plus server infrastructure for a few percent of the players in game.

 

[babelfisch]

Could probably be done, I'm not denying whether it makes sense technically, rather whether it makes sense economically to implement a separate networking code plus server infrastructure for a few percent of the players in game.

Absolutely agree with that. As pointed out earlier, it's more of a hypothetical question.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

I definitely think expeditions/joint things would pay like DW2, can you imagine 1000 ships all together on one mega instance? I also think wing battles would happen. Real Eve like epics with sides squaring off at each other.

Remembering what happened to the framerate the last time I was in an 80-person instance [1], I'm guessing by "Eve like epics" you mean "seconds-per-frame".

[1] Down to about 20 for me. People with low-end PCs would occasionally crash to desktop if someone deployed an SRV. There are far bigger problems with mega-instances than just the network topology of communicating people's positions to each other.

 

[Brrokk]

If all the network part would be rewritten by Frontier, would accept you more easily that the game is in mode "OPEN ONLY" ?

I don't see the connection. There are reasons to think that the game would work more smoothly if all the network code was revised. But then why not just carry on with Open/PG/Solo modes in the new code? That design has IMO proved itself to be fairly good: most people are happy with it and find the home they want, all in the same galaxy.

 

[Nero Tacitus]

Yeah - all AAA mmos use regional central servers. WOW, GW, GW2, ESO, etc. etc. Elite is not a AAA mmo.

Destiny 2 doesn't, and it's the worst MMO I've ever played. Coincidence!? I think NOT!

But seriously, no. Larger overheads, regions, redesigning the entire networking infrastructure of the game etc; all so Open can remain an empty void. As for its impact on the Open Only debate: "[They] got 99 problems, but networking ain't one."