Calling on the community to play in Open Play

[Underhook]

No No and NO. There is no give me more because I play in open play. Get a grip on yourself. The whole point to open play is the risk and tension that it gives not because it holds your hand and throws credits at you. FD is goin to die a slow and painful death because it doesn't have an online community to support it. Single player games do not get a lot of updates compared to online games because the online communities is what helps them grow. Solo/single players will not help this game grow and seeing any more future updates and content will slowly dwindle and eventually ED won't be able to afford it's only craptacular server.

I see your point. I was trying to present the point of view of "the solo player". If people currently playing solo craved the risk and tension that YOU enjoy, they'd be playing open. But they are not.
I have attempted to present a couple of possibly solutions.
20 years working in sales has taught me that Stating what YOU (open players) want over and over again wont make other people (solo players) want it to. You have to find out what THEY (solo players) want.

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Answers in orange.

Thank you for answering those fears

 

[DarkWalker]

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/?

The derp is strong with this one.

Precisely. By going always-online Elite also deprived itself of a strong modding community that would undobtedly appear otherwise.

Or, even more relevant:
http://www.oolite.org/oxps/

If a freeware, open source clone of the original decades old game can get that kind of support, imagine what the official successor could get if it only supported modding.

 

[Cosmos]

If it makes a difference to anyone.. I only play in the Open..

 

[MagmaiKH]

I think the best experiences in game will come from interaction with other people. You can't talk to the NPC's as far as I know. I had a nice conversation with someone while waiting to dock at a busy outpost in one of the starting systems and got a 120cr bounty for accidently shooting another player while bounty hunting last night, must have crossed paths into my gun sights.

You have a funny notion of the word "best".

 

[Jex =TE=]

It's a shame that more people can't get over the thought of being blown up by another person when, if the AI do it, it's perfectly ok. This seems to me to be the main issue here but it's not an issue because the game is playing exactly the same way. The only interaction I had with another human was when I was trying to dock at a crowded station and asked some chap if he was having issues getting docking as well.

I also think that once they sort out MP, there will be more people in OP. Currently, my friends and I play private group because we want to play together but even then, the MP aspect is so poorly done it doesn't really feel like MP.

 

[Atonnis]

Just a thought: Why not have a vague population 'census' map over the galaxy map showing where people are actually playing the most? You wouldn't have to make it personal, or specific, just another 'population of ships incoming/outgoing' colour-degree filter on the map. The stations record incoming/outgoing already, and you could even add in player-reported player-piracy areas as well. (I just made it to the station, 3 vipers were swarming over everything out in the extraction zone around FD-812B!).

 

[Atonnis]

Addendum: At the moment you can't team effectively, the voice chat is abysmal, and you really don't have time to type to someone who may be set-ready to blow you to pieces. The system for following/staying with other players just doesn't work a lot of the time. Sometimes you can follow someone in, sometimes you can't. My brother can never follow anyone through whereas I can always follow him - and he's doing the same things I am doing.

At the moment people playing together just doesn't work. There should be auto-channeling when you pick a side in a combat zone. There should be a feeling that if you're going to have open play you need to be able to ally together with people as effectively as you can blow people up. Until that is implemented the game is not going to encourage people to play in Open. I do, by the way, play in Open, in case anyone asks.

I look forward to the day I can fly my over-shielded Lakon into a potential hotzone, have a player-pirate or two pop up and start chasing me, and then 5 seconds later, thanks to the beacon I have tied to my friends' ships, 4 of my friends jump in together and smash the pirates to dust.

 

[All-a-Mort]

Just a thought: Why not have a vague population 'census' map over the galaxy map showing where people are actually playing the most? You wouldn't have to make it personal, or specific, just another 'population of ships incoming/outgoing' colour-degree filter on the map. The stations record incoming/outgoing already, and you could even add in player-reported player-piracy areas as well. (I just made it to the station, 3 vipers were swarming over everything out in the extraction zone around FD-812B!).

Or just add a line into the existing system traffic window in station services? It already gives the number of each ship type seen recently, just need to add something about how many were human controlled. That said, your idea might be nice if you could produce graphs showing player distribution over time. I'd quite like to see how far out there people have gotten on their exploration runs.

 

[Maiakaat]

Well done to the OP very interesting and well presented.
I purchased the Merc Package and started playing on 16th of December.
Here are my fears about "open play"
1. I have only played solo but intend to "go open" once I have enough cash to replace the countless ships I expect to lose trying to get my combat skills up to beating other human players.
2. Since a lot of players have been playing since beta. I assume that almost everybody will be much better at combat than me. I have visions of my ship being defeated in almost every encounter.
3. Also I have a very old joystick. The stick does not twist and it has no sensitivity adjustment so its a bit like using keyboard controls and I have to use an on/off approach so I dont overshoot. This makes it impossible to use fixed weapons. I do plan to get another Joystick and maybe use the old one for vertical/horizontal thrusters. So any decent human player will defeat me in seconds.

Here is what I think the biggest issue is regarding open play and why more are not doing it. The following is my perception, maybe I'm wrong .... but..... maybe a lot of people think as I do.

THE SINGLE BIGGEST ISSUE
Other than the fun of combat what exactly are the rewards for "open play"? I don't see any.
If you are a miner, trader, explorer then why would you play open. When you take a risk (playing open) you should get a reward. But people playing this way dont get a reward. they get a penalty
Penalties I hear about = time wasting interdictions, loss of cargo, damage to ship, loss of ship, financial ruin (some to keep spare cash) etc.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
1. All activities earn double in open play: commodities = double, mined ore = double, exploration = double, bounties = double, black market = double etc.
Now all those people are being rewarded for the risk. This way we can still choose to play solo but now we have a real incentive to play open.

2. FREE ship insurance 90%, FREE insurance against damage 100% and FREE cargo insurance 80% in open play

So 2 ideas there. One is a reward and the other is a protection. One or both could be implemented.

Unfortunately the people who want an offline game will only ever play an offline/solo game, the problem becomes those who want to do the hard work in a safe environment and then start shafting people when they feel safe, these people will always radically fight against any system to stop this, and as a result open play will (if these people get there way) never ever have any compelling reason to join open play. It is a no win situation (not to mention those who just want the option of switching for purely honest reasons/mood).

My preferred solution would have been 2 saves, one for open and one for solo, but again this has been received with hostility, despite the unfairness, if this lead to a "be careful what you wish for" scenario) of nobody re-joining open play - so be it, those who want a solo game should be entitled to a solo game, but then it would allow the open game to deviate as a slightly different experience.

Frontier have taken the solution that they will match people against like minded players on the servers, but this failed miserably at launch of Dappa's experience is anything to go by, and may mean friends have to opt into group play to play together.

Frontier may well make Elite primarily a solo experience, what their platform suggests is that Elite is the first step in a world-based sandbox, expanding the experience with distinct products and addons that take place in the Elite world but are completely different in who and what they provide, Destiny, Eve, Marvel, and numerous others are doing this, and one look at the directory structure shows Elite are using the launcher as a similar platform, which would explain why the Online part is so important.

It would allow Elite to become something which is primarily single play with some player versus player and player versus environment elements, but also deliver stronger MMO content without upsetting Elite fans. This would also net them some huge profits and would see Elite being a long haul experience, would fund the servers, and pay back investors.

I hope so anyway, I don't game much but I like what this could become.

Thanks for the compliment

 

[Caboose187]

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/?

The derp is strong with this one.

The only derp here is you. When was Skyrim last updated? Mods are not updates.

 

[Dabba]

Yes I should have anticipated that I would have to spell it out very slowly and concisely for you to understand.

The derp was you saying that online communities don't support single player games, which obviously is a completely ridiculous thing to say based on the enormous online communities and their ongoing support for single player games like Skyrim, and X3, and ooLite, and many more, but thats ok, my comment was mostly for the benefit of the people that got the joke without having it explained to them as if they were a small child, so its all good.

 

[Caboose187]

Yes I should have anticipated that I would have to spell it out very slowly and concisely for you to understand.

The derp was you saying that online communities don't support single player games, which obviously is a completely ridiculous thing to say based on the enormous online communities and their ongoing support for single player games like Skyrim, and X3, and ooLite, and many more, but thats ok, my comment was mostly for the benefit of the people that got the joke without having it explained to them as if they were a small child, so its all good.

You seem to be confusing online communities with website communities. Also I never said online communities don't support single players games so now you just straight out lied.

Also, Version 1.9.32.0.8 for Skyrim

Patch 1.9.32.0.8 was released as a Steam beta update on 19 March 2013 and was released to all PC users on 20 March 2013, nearly three weeks before the 1.9.31.0.8 patch for Xbox 360 and PS3.^{[URL="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Patch#cite_note-0"][1][/URL]}

 

[terminatahx]

Ask FD to fix the multiplayer experience, then maybe this top evaporates......

 

[Commander Silex]

Unfortunately the people who want an offline game will only ever play an offline/solo game, the problem becomes those who want to do the hard work in a safe environment and then start shafting people when they feel safe, these people will always radically fight against any system to stop this, and as a result open play will (if these people get there way) never ever have any compelling reason to join open play. It is a no win situation (not to mention those who just want the option of switching for purely honest reasons/mood).

I don't think it's going to be as bad as you imagine. Whilst it stands to reason a certain subset of solo players will later go open, to do to pirates pretty much exactly the thing they claim pirates will do to them in Open from some misguided sense of vengeance or justice, I doubt they'll be the norm. Generally I think players who do come into open with little or no PvP combat experience are going to find the step up a big issue. Sure, one on one they're going to give smaller vessels a hard time, but the moment a handful of their foes motivate against them, they'll find themselves facing considerable difficulty compared to the AI they're used to.

 

[Caboose187]

Ask FD to fix the multiplayer experience, then maybe this top evaporates......

They can't fix the multiplayer. A peer to peer system is going to limit them in what they can do. The game should have had two different options. A single player universe and a multiplayer universe ran on it's own server clusters and not peer to peer.

 

[Eleuth]

While social tools are lacking, you can play in a team. I've teamed up with friends to do kill missions, done trade runs with friends (waiting at set points and chatting over what cargo to carry etc.) and even gone pirating with friends.
You just need to learn how to drop in on a friends Low Energy Wake when they drop (or are pulled) from SC.
And for kill missions, who ever has the mission needs the last shot, so stop about 10% and let them finish the target.
Multiplay can be done really easily if you want to do it

Hi Jockey,

Thanks I see. So you have to arrange your own missions, if you want to have the points you have to shoot the last shot.

 

[Chummy62]

No No and NO. There is no give me more because I play in open play. Get a grip on yourself. The whole point to open play is the risk and tension that it gives not because it holds your hand and throws credits at you. FD is goin to die a slow and painful death because it doesn't have an online community to support it. Single player games do not get a lot of updates compared to online games because the online communities is what helps them grow. Solo/single players will not help this game grow and seeing any more future updates and content will slowly dwindle and eventually ED won't be able to afford it's only craptacular server.

You are absolutely correct. The problem you are underestimating is just how much risk someone flying around in a 50,000,000 CR (or more) ship is willing to endure when compared to the risk a PVPer faces in a 50,000 CR ship. The risk versus reward ratio goes in favor of playing Solo when you have a ship worth significantly more credits. Your argument supports the logic players in more expensive ships are using when choosing to play Solo. The other side of this equasion is the limited bounty placed on a PVPer when they do kill someone who has a clean record. Simply flying off and depositing 5,000 CR at the nearest station will clear their wanted status. This puts the PVPer in a huge advantage because their loss risk is limited. PVPers commit murder, clear their record (And remove the wanted flag) and go right back out to murder again. If they loose their ship, the loss is so small as to be laughable. I can earn enough CR in one trip to purchase several Eagles. It is the PVPers who are murdering ED, not the players switching to play Solo. A simple solution is to make the bounty un-clearable for a 24 hour period. If you want to be a pirate and murder people, then you should be willing to fly the skull and cross bone flag that goes with it so that bounty hunters can level the playing field. You can't collect a bounty from a PVPer who paid off their offense. It is this mechanic that left uncorrected will kill the game.

 

[kurush]

You are absolutely correct. The problem you are underestimating is just how much risk someone flying around in a 50,000,000 CR (or more) ship is willing to endure when compared to the risk a PVPer faces in a 50,000 CR ship. The risk versus reward ratio goes in favor of playing Solo when you have a ship worth significantly more credits. Your argument supports the logic players in more expensive ships are using when choosing to play Solo. The other side of this equasion is the limited bounty placed on a PVPer when they do kill someone who has a clean record. Simply flying off and depositing 5,000 CR at the nearest station will clear their wanted status.

Now I know how to fix it! The bounty should be the amount of assets destroyed + 25% and transferred by the game to the offended side! I bet traders would be lining up to get destroyed by some of the pirates then

 

[Caboose187]

You are absolutely correct. The problem you are underestimating is just how much risk someone flying around in a 50,000,000 CR (or more) ship is willing to endure when compared to the risk a PVPer faces in a 50,000 CR ship. The risk versus reward ratio goes in favor of playing Solo when you have a ship worth significantly more credits. Your argument supports the logic players in more expensive ships are using when choosing to play Solo. The other side of this equasion is the limited bounty placed on a PVPer when they do kill someone who has a clean record. Simply flying off and depositing 5,000 CR at the nearest station will clear their wanted status. This puts the PVPer in a huge advantage because their loss risk is limited. PVPers commit murder, clear their record (And remove the wanted flag) and go right back out to murder again. If they loose their ship, the loss is so small as to be laughable. I can earn enough CR in one trip to purchase several Eagles. It is the PVPers who are murdering ED, not the players switching to play Solo. A simple solution is to make the bounty un-clearable for a 24 hour period. If you want to be a pirate and murder people, then you should be willing to fly the skull and cross bone flag that goes with it so that bounty hunters can level the playing field. You can't collect a bounty from a PVPer who paid off their offense. It is this mechanic that left uncorrected will kill the game.

I honestly don't see how you can say pvp'ers are murdering this game. I have yet to even have a single pvp encounter and I pay in open mode only. Heck, I even have a 700k bounty in federation space that I go tour around in in hopes to even find any actual pvp. So no, the pvp'ers are not ruining ED.

 

[Jockey79]

I have yet to even have a single pvp encounter and I pay in open mode only.

Other people have posted experiences quite contrary to yours. So what?

The only people saying anyone is "murdering the game" are the PvPers whining about others playing in private groups or solo - we are not forcing you to be alone in space, go make a PvP group or shout up where you will be and ask other PvP minded folks meet you there.