Are NPCs Essential for Multicrew?

[Darkfyre99]

NPCs are absolutely essential.

It is hard enough to coordinate with my friends, none of whom play Elite: Dangerous, as it is. I need to take whatever ED I can get, when I can get it. Attempting to coordinate with others, watching precious game time be consumed trying to get everyone together, waiting for the inevitable late comers, has never been something I enjoyed in past video games, and I have no desire to do that to "enjoy" multi-crew, anymore than I tried to "enjoy" Wings.

Maybe if I was 16 again, without a job or the need to take care of children, and having friends who are don't have to worry about any of those either things either, I might be able to muster up some enthusiasm for human multi-crew. But as it stands right now, this will be another unused feature.

 

[Mengy]

NPCs are absolutely essential.

I think the majority feel this way, but I also think the majority are expecting a lot more out of multicrew than we will most likely get. Myself included. If this feature ends up being purely about combat and manning weapons turrets, then honestly NPC crewmembers become kind of pointless, as they’d just be combat stat modifiers that you buy and maintain with credits. Not very inventive or interesting if that’s all they’d be.

Actual NPC crewmembers could be a great new feature for the game, but they’d have to be much more than just bland combat bonuses.

 

[lifeschool-amiga]

I imagine multi-crew will be just like existing wings, with an icon to show they are there, with tag info under it, and fuel level. They would shadow your ship always in HS and SC, just like any other NCP comet floating about. When you drop out of SC into normal cruise, they drop out after you, and take on pirates like system authority vessels do. Only this time you can issue attacks by voice, or the cumbersome way of selecting the centre console and selecting your wingman and selecting a commend. Guard, Attack, Wait, Defend, with them automatically in 'defend' mode. Unlike drone ship launched fighters, they wont have a remote-tether mind uplink system to hot-swap between ships.

Perhaps they need time to fuel scoop when near a star. Or time to engage the auto docking sequence when landing at a space port. Upon landing, the ships appear in the shipyard, and can be swapped like normal, with the NCP being sent back to your store, or swapped into your previous ship.

The only difference in player wings to real wings now, is that you would give them access to one of your ships, so they fly your ship in a wing instead of there's. If they die in your ship, you pay the insurance, because its your fleet; so who you hire is important.

Yes I am looking forward to the day when I can but 2 FDLs to wing with my ship, but I cant afford anything right now with 30M in the bank, so that dream will have to appear later. At least it would give me the option to train NPC pilots for something other than pea-shooting.

 

[Mengy]

I imagine multi-crew will be just like existing wings, with an icon to show they are there, with tag info under it, and fuel level. They would shadow your ship always in HS and SC, just like any other NCP comet floating about. When you drop out of SC into normal cruise, they drop out after you, and take on pirates like system authority vessels do. Only this time you can issue attacks by voice, or the cumbersome way of selecting the centre console and selecting your wingman and selecting a commend. Guard, Attack, Wait, Defend, with them automatically in 'defend' mode. Unlike drone ship launched fighters, they wont have a remote-tether mind uplink system to hot-swap between ships.

Perhaps they need time to fuel scoop when near a star. Or time to engage the auto docking sequence when landing at a space port. Upon landing, the ships appear in the shipyard, and can be swapped like normal, with the NCP being sent back to your store, or swapped into your previous ship.

The only difference in player wings to real wings now, is that you would give them access to one of your ships, so they fly your ship in a wing instead of there's. If they die in your ship, you pay the insurance, because its your fleet; so who you hire is important.

Yes I am looking forward to the day when I can but 2 FDLs to wing with my ship, but I cant afford anything right now with 30M in the bank, so that dream will have to appear later. At least it would give me the option to train NPC pilots for something other than pea-shooting.

Um, no, multicrew is not NPC wings, not at all! Multicrew is going to be other people manning stations and seats inside your own ship, most likely weapon stations. Inside your ship, or you can man a seat in someone else’s ship. Not multiple ships, or wings at all.

 

[sam445]

Elite: Dangerous does not play as a multiplayer game, which is either good or not, it really depends on your inclination. However, given how there are no planned incentives to share ships, multicrew with only players will most likely be a functionality which will see little-to-no usage beyond the first month of excitement for a new feature. The only way I perceive multicrew to have a future is for players to be able to use NPC crew members to fill the purpose of player crew members,

 

[Obsidian Ant]

Its a bit like saying pancakes are essential for a burger restaurant because you dont like burgers...

It's more like some people like a bun and dressing with their burgers, but this particular burger restaurant is selling burgers on their own.

 

[Monk]

For FDev's vision of multicrew (a checkbox ticker that makes great looking trailers while ignoring the playstyle of a significant portion of the playerbase)? No, NPCs are not essential.

For a feature that will be enjoyed by a larger portion of players? Yes, NPCs are essential.

Either way, 2.x is finished for me...onwards to 3.0

 

[JMars]

I'm sure a lot of cmdrs will be disappointed because of multi-crew.... if it will be rly combat related and without npcs then i hope 2.3 has something else to offer

 

[IndigoWyrd]

It really does all boil down to what function Multi-crew will serve.

Right now there are only a few things I can think of:

1. Filler : They'll fill in empty seats, fill in a content update, but not really contribute much of anything to actual game play. We'll likely have to hire them, making them a credit sink, and/or perform some task to otherwise recruit them, making them a time sink, but not make any real contributions.

2. Buff : They'll add some minor bonus to some ship attribute, perhaps increase the accuracy of gimballed weapons or turret weapons, decrease reload times, decrease fuel consumption or the like. Likewise, they will likely be hired and or recruited as above.

Beyond either of these functions, I can't fathom what they will actually do for us, but this is entirely speculative at this point.

I would not mind if one of them could take over and sit in The Big Chair to perform some basic navigation tasks (ie: complete this Frame Shift Jump, navigate around whatever star we pop out in front of, and initiate the next jump in a nav chain).

 

[NascentChemist]

My concern with NPC multicrew is how you would pay for it. An elite trained NPC takes a minimum of 10%, all the time. A large ship could take 3 crew and 1 SLF pilot. That's 40% (or 30% if 3 is a hard limit )of your income, whenever you'd have 4 crew on standby.

I mean, there has to be some negative to taking NPC crew compared to going solo, to compensate for the huge benefits. If it's paying crew in the current mechanic, it would be prohibitively expensive. What are you guys willing to pay for crew?

 

[Monk]

It really does all boil down to what function Multi-crew will serve.

Right now there are only a few things I can think of:

1. Filler : They'll fill in empty seats, fill in a content update, but not really contribute much of anything to actual game play. We'll likely have to hire them, making them a credit sink, and/or perform some task to otherwise recruit them, making them a time sink, but not make any real contributions.

2. Buff : They'll add some minor bonus to some ship attribute, perhaps increase the accuracy of gimballed weapons or turret weapons, decrease reload times, decrease fuel consumption or the like. Likewise, they will likely be hired and or recruited as above.

Beyond either of these functions, I can't fathom what they will actually do for us, but this is entirely speculative at this point.

I would not mind if one of them could take over and sit in The Big Chair to perform some basic navigation tasks (ie: complete this Frame Shift Jump, navigate around whatever star we pop out in front of, and initiate the next jump in a nav chain).

It'd be nice if NPC crew could be tied to a trigger and action system. For example, come within 7km of station after leaving SC then NPC crew would request docking...or taking hostile fire, NPC deploy hardpoints, launch fighter and target the offending ship...or if running low on fuel, NPC suggests a reroute to systems with refuel stations or scoopable star....or shields fall, NPC preps ship for evasive and escape

Might seem like easy button to a lot of people but paying the crew would certainly eat at your profits.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

It'd be nice if NPC crew could be tied to a trigger and action system. For example, come within 7km of station after leaving SC then NPC crew would request docking...or taking hostile fire, NPC deploy hardpoints, launch fighter and target the offending ship...or if running low on fuel, NPC suggests a reroute to systems with refuel stations or scoopable star....or shields fall, NPC preps ship for evasive and escape

Might seem like easy button to a lot of people but paying the crew would certainly eat at your profits.

They better damned well not if I'm wanting to spool up my FSD to jump outta there...

 

[Monk]

They better damned well not if I'm wanting to spool up my FSD to jump outta there...

Well...it would be choice. You could select a different profile that initiates the "get the hell outta Dodge" sequence.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

Well...it would be choice. You could select a different profile that initiates the "get the hell outta Dodge" sequence.

Or just say screw having a crew member, and continue on as I have for the past few years

 

[Morbad]

Voted no.

I hadn't even expect NPCs, beyond the one we have now attached to the SLF, to do anything with regard to multi-crew.

 

[Monk]

Or just say screw having a crew member, and continue on as I have for the past few years

Well, in my eyes...adding multicrew without something more than what has been revealed to us is not worth any release at all. I'm perfectly happy staying all manual but for the money I've spent, if FDev is spending time on a new feature, I think it should be rich and not just stop short of being good. Multicrew that is CMDR only will probably get even less play than PP in my gut feeling of it.

Voted no.

I hadn't even expect NPCs, beyond the one we have now attached to the SLF, to do anything with regard to multi-crew.

Indeed, we should not expect anything more because we are getting exactly what FDev have said we are getting in the past. It is just a shame it isn't more ambitious.

 

[Remus]

Essential per se ? No, you can have multi crew without NPC, but would be a great adition to the game nevertheless. Since a lot of commanders here seem to have little to no friends. ( sad come to think of it )

 

[Kemo]

For me, without NPC's in the crew slot, the headline feature of 2.3 is wasted.

The only thing i'm looking forward to in the 2.3 update will hopefully be the little improvements, maybe we can get some colour back into the landable planets, get away from all the beige!

 

[Monk]

Essential per se ? No, you can have multi crew without NPC, but would be a great adition to the game nevertheless. Since a lot of commanders here seem to have little to no friends. ( sad come to think of it )

I have friends, they just don't play Elite. (sad, come to think of it)

 

[Ian Skippy]

It's more like some people like a bun and dressing with their burgers, but this particular burger restaurant is selling burgers on their own.

Lets phrase it like this: Some people like to play on their own. Others like to play with others. Multiplay features are rather limited right now, and havent really been improved since 1.2. 2.3 will give some love to the people who enjoy multiplayer. I understand that not everyone likes multiplayer, but I dont get why thats a reason to say 'its pointless'. I dont mine very much, but the introduction of limpets wasn't 'pointless'. It didnt need improved missile damage (which I wanted instead), nor did it need Planetary Landings (which arrived later). It was a feature for people into that feature.

One of the main headlines of the entire season is aimed at multiplayer. For a game marketed as being a multiplayer game, I dont think thats unreasonably much. To go with the festive seasons: sometimes other people get stuff and thats cool too! Elite is a rather broad game, and attracts people with all kinds of interests. That means we all just have to accept that a fair amount of updates will inevitably cater more to other people. 2.3 will be aimed (at least in part) at people who enjoy multiplayer.