Modes Can we get more players into Open Play?

[Bill Clement]

Hey guys,
I noticed that the Elite playerbase is not very large compared to most "mainstream" games (people are missing out!) and it would be nice to get more people to play in open. Here is my question: Whay mode do you play in? What are your reasons for playing in that mode? If you decided to venture into open, What changes would you like to see to make your gametime more enjoyable?

I always play in open myself. Reason behind my decision? I enjoy human contact regardless if its friendly or hostile! It's what makes this game so enjoyable and challenging. Sure you can be in solo mode and have 1,000,000.000 credits and a A rated cutter, but what is the fun in that? NPC's are really no challenge. Even the Thargoids pose no "great" threat.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards

The Running Man

I don't agree that 'people are missing out'- the people who play solo or in PGs seem to be enjoying themselves, from what I read on the forum and from discussions I've had with players in real life, at ED meets. A common point with many/most of them is they left open mode because of negative experiences. Having a different mode to play kept them interested enough to keep on playing Elite. Since their initial experience made them chose another mode, I think your belief that it would be 'nice' to get more people to play in open is incorrect.

Assuming you're not just trolling...

I play in open. I do it because I live in hope that someday I'll actually meet a real pirate. I enjoy bumping into other players and having a chat, if they're up for it. But it's not a particularly pleasant experience to actually meet real players in open, most of the time. Anyone in a lesser build tends to run or even high wake away from me. Turning up at a CG in anything other than a battleship is suicidal. That would make sense at the events that have a combat focus or some kind of conflict as their rationale, but in the ones which are purely about moving materiel it's beyond stupid. My experience of CGs is that the usual suspects turn up in wings of heavily armed combat ships with the sole intention of blasting weaker opponents to bits. When vigilante groups form up to combat them they just run- I've yet to see them stand their ground in their main murderwagons, presumably they're not confident they can defeat similarly armed opponents? The rebuy on an engineered 'Vette must sting a bit...

A decent crime and punishment system would help. A scaled response by system defences with competent AI would be a great start; persistent, multi-system bounties and powerful AI bounty hunters would also be a good idea. Having player killers show on the galaxy map, allowing human bounty hunters to chase them down would allow human players to join the hunt. Having the galaxy map marker dissapear if the murderer jumps into an anarchy system would let the miscreant hide until the heat dies down a little... you get the idea. If there were real, serious consequencies for player killers then CGs could take on their intended character, some focused on combat, others focused on other aspects of the game.

Things might change in 2.4 and if they do you might see fewer new players uninstalling or chosing other modes. Griefers will still find ways to be a pita, but if they're less lethal or expensive to other players their presence would be a lot less irritating.

Hth, man.












.

 

[wrmiller]

I play in open. I do it because I live in hope that someday I'll actually meet a real pirate. I enjoy bumping into other players and having a chat, if they're up for it. But it's not a particularly pleasant experience to actually meet real players in open, most of the time. Anyone in a lesser build tends to run or even high wake away from me. Turning up at a CG in anything other than a battleship is suicidal. That would make sense at the events that have a combat focus or some kind of conflict as their rationale, but in the ones which are purely about moving materiel it's beyond stupid. My experience of CGs is that the usual suspects turn up in wings of heavily armed combat ships with the sole intention of blasting weaker opponents to bits. When vigilante groups form up to combat them they just run- I've yet to see them stand their ground in their main murderwagons, presumably they're not confident they can defeat similarly armed opponents? The rebuy on an engineered 'Vette must sting a bit...
.

Oh, but earlier in this thread I was ASSURED that if someone showed up with a 'wing of vettes' to take on the gankers that they would fight to the death! Maybe the person making that claim was one of them? Usually the loudest voice...

 

[Asp Explorer]

Does this mean given ED is 64 bit, one should see more than 32 in an instance?

Not if you've got a potato for a router and your internet connection is delivered via wet string.

 

[Jockey79]

Are they not aware of CQC mode?

Ah, but you see there is a fatal flaw with CQC when it comes to "certain" PvP types.
It's a fair fight (for the most part). They don't want that, they want a 100% chance to win.

Hence things like a fully engineered combat ship going after an unarmed trader.
Or when someone sat at Sag A* in a combat ship, killing the unarmed explorers that turned up.

No "challenge", no "value".

 

[edgepixel]

No it isn't. There are plenty of non-pew oriented players that like being there for the sheer sense of naturalism and risk.

Yeah, my words exactly, Option C: "people who like the challenge of open and have the time for dealing with it". Did I diss the way you like to play your game? By all means, bask in all the risk you need to. I'm not even saying you're wrong about open. But understand that other people may not have the time, the inclination, or the gaming skills for it.

Having player killers show on the galaxy map, allowing human bounty hunters to chase them down

This is a great idea. Live by the sword, die by the sword. It makes being an outlaw meaningful. And we would see outlaws of better quality this way. Not everybody would be able to pay the price for this lifestyle choice.

 

[Captain Willard]

There is no challenge to open, it's for peeps that want people players. I have no need of people players. It's mostly always been a solo game. I will jump into a PG to take part in the Thargoid stuff. 20-30 yrs ago I enjoyed pvp games, to old and slow now.

 

[AnotherVoice]

Im not interested by the "thrill" of having other people around, and Open doesn't change anything about my income rates

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Hey guys,
I noticed that the Elite playerbase is not very large compared to most "mainstream" games (people are missing out!) and it would be nice to get more people to play in open. Here is my question: Whay mode do you play in? What are your reasons for playing in that mode? If you decided to venture into open, What changes would you like to see to make your gametime more enjoyable?

I always play in open myself. Reason behind my decision? I enjoy human contact regardless if its friendly or hostile! It's what makes this game so enjoyable and challenging. Sure you can be in solo mode and have 1,000,000.000 credits and a A rated cutter, but what is the fun in that? NPC's are really no challenge. Even the Thargoids pose no "great" threat.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards

The Running Man

I play in Private Group.... mobius, another one like mobius or my own personal one depending on who I am playing with

I have my reasons for not playing in open.... there was a time i used to only play in open when my internet could cope with it... however my reasons have been listed before and if i put them again it will just derail.

suffice to say it comes down to "immersion" "verisimilitude" and "role play" reasons, and even in PG its not perfect but there you have it.

 

[lokvette]

Play mostly in solo somtimes in PG, main reason, I diddnt buy the game to play with others. Never seen this game as anything but a solo game with flaky multiplayer slapped on the side.

I do play other mmos but there built for the job.

 

[Miklos Atreides]

I play open and group varying in their shares of gametime. I didn't play solo since the 'great wipe' long long ago.
I also suppose that many of us do several game modes depending on mood and purpose.

Mostly this general question is made if it is not fully understood how big space is.
Look at the Systems traffic report, showing up 1000 ships a day doesn't mean 1000 commanders
in the system. Every appearence in every mode on every platform counts.
Once we can get all the platforms on one instance it will grow more crowdy, where the party takes place.
But as long as you are 10 to 20 LY from the spot it will remain as lonely as before.

Regards,
Miklos

 

[Harry Hates Golf]

My "out of the ordinary" PvP experience:


The players: An Anaconda and an Adder (you can guess which one I was driving).

The setting: Could be anywhere, but this time it was around the Eravate general area.


And....action!


The Adder is interdicted by an Anaconda while going out on a 'Located Goods' mission, no cargo in the hold.

Anaconda Comm Text: o7

Adder Comm Text: o7

Anaconda Comm Text: Hey, whacha doing?

Adder Comm Text: Just flying around to the stations.

Anaconda Comm Text: Not anymore.

Adder is sent to rebuy screen in about 10 seconds.

Fade to Black


I say that this is an "out of the ordinary" PvP because of the conversation. Usually, there is no exchange of words. It is simply being pulled out of supercruise and blown up. This is my usual PvP experience. I did have one positive PvP experience, where another commander sent his greetings, but it was because of him remembering my gamertag (MORTradio / Harry Hates Golf) from my TGC Tours days. If seemed to be a friendly conversation without rebuy screen risks, but that was because I was being remembered from another game all together. There was already somewhat of a history behind the meeting.

Like I've said before in this thread, I can understand why some chose Solo or Private/Group Mode over Open Mode. Playing in Open Mode offers no real benefit other than the chance of interaction with strangers. For some, this is important, and I can appreciate that. Social dyads have always been the foundation, whether the outcome is good or bad. For some, if the dyads have been an overall positive experience, players usually tend to lean more towards Open Mode. If the dyads have been negative for the most part, they tend to go Solo or join a private group. Both are reasonable responses to the dyad experiences.

If there are less people in Open Mode (I can't say if this is true or not, just going by what the OP states), perhaps it could be argued that one of the main factors would that the PvP experience is becoming more negative (killing for the lulz, combat logging, etc.). I am in no way suggesting that anything needs to be changed, or that one party's opinion is inferior to another's. I am only offering a possible reason (among the few) as to why there are less players in Open Mode.

As for myself, I still cruise about in Open Mode. Why? I really couldn't tell you, other that I do it out of habit. It was the first choice I clicked on Day 1, and I've just kept doing it. So yeah, I still cruise in Open Mode. Then again, if I see a local player around, flying an Anaconda or some other death cruiser, I leave quickly and quietly, because as my experience tells me, their purpose for being there is to send me (and/or others) to the rebuy screen. And if I see the infamous "o7" pop up on my Comm Panel, I quickly finish up my business at the station and leave.

All three modes have their place, and all three are welcomed.

 

[wrmiller]

I was recently in the neighborhood and decided to drop into Dav's to see if I could pick up some materials on my way back to my home station. I was flying my vette, and in Mobius PvE. As I was landing, I noticed a pretty, white Anaconda sitting close by. I was checking out the other player's ship too much and kinda bumped the landing a bit.

Got settled down and noticed a comm that said something like "nice hotrod". I thanked the other player, commented on his ship, and asked if he was still farming. He said he was done, wished me luck, and took off.

A pleasant experience that, and I found that I enjoyed it. Had I been in Open, it could have turned out otherwise.

 

[Sebastian Rooks]

The setting: Could be anywhere, but this time it was around the Eravate general area.


Usually, there is no exchange of words. It is simply being pulled out of supercruise and blown up. This is my usual PvP experience.
Like I've said before in this thread, I can understand why some chose Solo or Private/Group Mode over Open Mode. If there are less people in Open Mode (I can't say if this is true or not, just going by what the OP states), perhaps it could be argued that one of the main factors would that the PvP experience is becoming more negative (killing for the lulz

There's part of that particular problem: THAT location. Yeah, could be anywhere, but Eravate is a rough 'hood. That was one of the things I tried to get a grasp of when I started; "Where is the most pvp usually found, and how to avoid the rebuy screen until I can afford to see it more often" Eravate was one of the "STEP AWAY FROM THE MAP" systems, I red flagged during my study. I've been railed 3 times, only deserved 2 of them. One for being wanted and one for carrying an illegal passenger. The other time I got a boot face just because.

The few times I've been promptly disposed of, I've never been questioned, asked why I was wanted, no Hello, no lol, no nothing. Some form of chatted acknowledgement would have been fine, but the total ignore thing...well that just makes my Kitty Coffee a little bitter.

I was recently in the neighborhood and decided to drop into Dav's to see if I could pick up some materials on my way back to my home station.

I've been out to visit Dav quite a few times. I've had some run-ins with many CMDRs there, and never once a bad outcome. In fact, my experiences there have been positive.

To answer the OPs topic, I fly in all modes. I'm always in solo during CG participation for the obvious reasons. I'll go open play if I know I'll be someplace where I'll likely see a commander or two---and the odds are favorable for some good conversation.
(I had a nice brief one with CMDR Baroncrusher in Kongga last night. o7 CMDR BC! )

I also like to fly in open in case I see someone I may know from other games. Some people use the same or similar names across multiple games. Always nice to run into an old friend or frienemy. New groups, guilds and alliances are sometimes forged from such events.

 

[Older Gamer]

What's the o7 thing about?

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

What's the o7 thing about?

Shorthand for a salute . Basically hello!.
I just say Hi!

 

[meusmc]

I feel like my experience must be in the minority. I have never played in a mode other the Open, and the only nasty experience I had was on a CG where I parked on a station instead of doing a drop-and-go and it ends up I was using the only large pad on the station. Some guy took offense and made it clear I was the dumbest piece of garbage blah blah blah. He had a right to be perturbed but since he acted like a 9 year old about it I did it to him again. Lol...yes, like a 9 year old.

Maybe it’s because I’m playing from Japan, so I’m rarely online when the majority of other players are.

 

[Harry Hates Golf]

What's the o7 thing about?

Its a damn Illuminati code, first started back when Sam Walton, of the Walmart Corp., was still alive. If you see it pop up on your Comm Screen, count your days, cause they are numbered.

 

[Sebastian Rooks]

Its a damn Illuminati code, first started back when Sam Walton, of the Walmart Corp., was still alive. If you see it pop up on your Comm Screen, count your days, cause they are numbered.

LOL

 

[ChampN252]

PvPer do it to themselves honestly. I was in maia once thargoid hunting. I knew better than to swap all my weapons. My battle conda was fitted with fly swatters and guess what? Here comes a PvP clipper. I'm no punk, so I didn't run. I knew I was gonna lose and didn't wanna do the run and reinterdict game. I damaged him fairly well, but they knew cmdrs were out there thargoid fitted. That gives PvPers bad names.

 

[Moadeeb]

I have a different angle on this

Hey guys,
I noticed that the Elite playerbase is not very large compared to most "mainstream" games (people are missing out!) and it would be nice to get more people to play in open. Here is my question: Whay mode do you play in? What are your reasons for playing in that mode? If you decided to venture into open, What changes would you like to see to make your gametime more enjoyable?

I always play in open myself. Reason behind my decision? I enjoy human contact regardless if its friendly or hostile! It's what makes this game so enjoyable and challenging. Sure you can be in solo mode and have 1,000,000.000 credits and a A rated cutter, but what is the fun in that? NPC's are really no challenge. Even the Thargoids pose no "great" threat.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards

The Running Man

Actually I would prefer this game did not have an "Open" option at all. Just leave the rest as is. Why have the option to have your game play ruined in the first place. I am a new player. About a month. Got my first Anaconda, made some mistakes, did tons of research, created my own hard copy manual of tips, and just today started my first expedition (modest 2300 LY in Asp-X) and have absolutely zero interest in others playing in my sandbox.

My caveat to all of this is the group play. I can certainly see me joining a group some day or a group expedition. But "Open" play has zero appeal to me.

I am trying to be detailed for you but not mean. Just want to give it straight up. If "Open" play stayed as part of the game that is perfectly fine as its existence has no effect on me. Yes, I am aware of the effects all types of play have on power play.