Elite Dangerous Blocking System: A Call for Change

[Agony_Aunt]

Here I would simply point out that Elite players are anyone who is or has been playing Elite for almost a decade now. In all that time, engineering aside, Open was always a place where surprise PvP could happen. So while Elite players may be more casual, Open has never provided a totally carefree PvE experience. We all knew that when we signed up.


Well, you do. I quite like risk.


We can agree that early PvP was better, but it could still happened even if you were weren't looking for it, right? That's kinda my point. It was never optional in Open. It just used to be more accessible. Those unable or unwilling to defend themselves were always, as they are now, potential victims.


Well, you also lose all the danger that makes shared open worlds so, to borrow a word from you, visceral.

Of course I do me, and a lot of people do, which is why we have this issue in the first place, some people like PvP, some people don't.

Early PvP was much more fun in my opinion, which is why i brought it up. It could happen of course, but a lot less one sided most of the time.

Not everyone wants or cares about danger, they just want to chill, which is again, why we have this disparity.

So, once again, what is the problem with having a separate PvE Open mode?

 

[nemolomen]

...
It adversely affects instancing, but lots of things affect instancing. I would play an Open only, no blocks game but it would be a different game to what we have now, and one a lot of other people would not want.
...

 

[nemolomen]

Blocking is vital in CGs like one we have now. I want to play in online, but when is one player blocking only L pad there is for 25 minutes, blocking is only solution

I disagree...when working CGs and I don't want to be bothered by gankers or pad hoggers I play in PG.

However, when my CG work is done, as much as I want or can do without it becoming a grind, I may switch back to Open to play with the gankers so that other players don't "have" to...

 

[Northpin]

I am a long-time player of Elite Dangerous and would like to express my concern regarding the current blocking system in the game. While I understand the need to protect players from harassment and unwanted communication, the current system of unlimited blocking is causing more harm than good.

As a game with a strong emphasis on player interaction and open-world exploration, Elite Dangerous is unique in its genre. However, the current blocking system has created a divide between players and has the potential to severely damage the player experience. With the current system, players can effectively disappear from each other's game world entirely, making it difficult to engage in player-vs-player combat or even participate in player-run events and activities.

I would like to suggest a more reasonable solution to this issue. Given that the game already has a solo mode, which essentially blocks all player interaction, I believe that the blocking system should only affect communication, rather than the entire player. This means that blocked players would still exist in the same game world, but communication between the blocked and blocking players would be restricted.

I strongly urge you to consider this proposal, as I believe it would help to maintain a healthy player community and prevent further division among players. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Hard NO from me
if anything the Block system should be improved even more and made even more effective.

With the current system, players can effectively disappear from each other's game world entirely, making it difficult to engage in player-vs-player combat or even participate in player-run events and activities.

With the current system player can always disappear from each other's game in Solo or PG.
The Block feature allows me to play with effectively random players, while removing from my gaming experience the players that are not adding anything beneficial to my gaming experience.

I believe that the blocking system should only affect communication, rather than the entire player.

Absolutely not.
Blocking is here to prevent ALL kind of griefing, not only griefing over the comms
Lets not forget that ED has no active CSR in game and Block is the only way to deal with griefing in game.


And... did you just made a new account specifically for this thread?

 

[Darrack]

O7

 

[nemolomen]

PvP requires 2 willing players

I disagree...PvP only requires that one player shoot at another player, period...but that's not the focus of this thread.

The creators, FDev, made the game they made so that as many different player types as possible "would" play the game. There are benefits & consequences to how we choose to play, by both game mode choice and the use of blocking/friending. Many, many players are happy with this arrangement and use the modes, and other available tools to tailor their experience into something suitable to themselves.

There's no one "right way" to play the game...

ETA: Now I'm channeling someone else...LOL

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Ah, apparently we went too far off topic for the mods liking, so need to focus on the blocking system, so i'll simply say, no, there must always be a way to avoid meeting toxic players in games. The fact it can be used for people to block anyone they don't like is just a side affect, which is still beneficial for the blocker, if not for the blocked person, and results in overall less conflict between players (i mean personal conflict, rather than in-game conflict).

As I understand it, on consoles, when you block someone on PSN or Xbox Live, you block them from matchmaking with you across all games, and i think that is a nice system.

 

[nemolomen]

Lets not forget that ED has no active CSR in game and Block is the only way to deal with griefing in game.

CSR?

 

[Darrack]

O7

 

[Northpin]

CSR?

Customer Support Representative.
There are none in the game and so the smartarxes can pull of stunts like blocking the mailslot at Jamesons for an entire Saturday evening using hacks that made their Beluga invulnerable

Block, the real one that we have now, is the only solution for such cases

 

[nemolomen]

Customer Support Representative.
There are none in the game and so the smartarxes can pull of stunts like blocking the mailslot at Jamesons for an entire Saturday evening using hacks that made their Beluga invulnerable

Block, the real one that we have now, is the only solution for such cases

And other games have live CSRs to handle stuff like that?

 

[rootsrat]

And other games have live CSRs to handle stuff like that?

Quite a few online multiplayer games have hired moderators in game as god-like characters. World of Warcraft for example.

 

[Morbad]

Blocking is here to prevent ALL kind of griefing, not only griefing over the comms

One cannot use block to remove players that are 'not adding anything beneficial' to one's gaming experience without becoming a negative experience to someone else and the effects of a block cannot be countered with a block.

It's a paradox.

Block, the real one that we have now, is the only solution for such cases

Leaving the area, or the mode, are solutions to instancing with such individuals.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Personally, since destruction is not wrong in itself, blocking language seems a good compromise in things like Powerplay where being in Open can materially change the cycle.

If FD choose to go down the curated BGS route (like they have done with Goids and hypothetically Powerplay) then its largely moot, since its groups of players interacting via the BGS (so in essence the abstraction of play) can't be materially challenged in the same way.

 

[nemolomen]

Quite a few online multiplayer games have hired moderators in game as god-like characters. World of Warcraft for example.

Interesting...

 

[BDelacroix]

I think we can rely on in-game punishment system to provide more severe penalties instead of having a harsh block system that lacks responsibility. In fact, many anti-gankers have been blocked by gankers, which leads to even more rampant behavior, but that's also a part of the game.

You have to work with the army you have, not the army you wish you had.

 

[Northpin]

And other games have live CSRs to handle stuff like that?

Quite a few online multiplayer games have hired moderators in game as god-like characters. World of Warcraft for example.

DAoC had too and they were employees, but it was a game with payed subscription and very tight on rules - like no cheating, no exploiting geometry bugs, no afk skill leveling, no taking turns at dying with an opponent from another realm to farm yourself (and the opponent) realm points etc
A message to the CSR and within minutes they'd be on the case investigating and banning the offender it they were cheating.

 

[Northpin]

Leaving the area, or the mode, are solutions to instancing with such individuals.

And you may get back in the same instance as it happened to me in several ocassions

Block is also useful - as in extremely useful - in the new AX CZ which sometimes gets bugged, people dont leave or they're afk, and you keep relogging and you keep getting in the same bugged instance.
A block (even temporary) on a player in a such instance is the easy and fastest way to make sure at next relog you DONT get that instance.

 

[rootsrat]

And you may get back in the same instance as it happened to me in several ocassions

Block is also useful - as in extremely useful - in the new AX CZ which sometimes gets bugged, people dont leave or they're afk, and you keep relogging and you keep getting in the same bugged instance.
A block (even temporary) on a player in a such instance is the easy and fastest way to make sure at next relog you DONT get that instance.

That's actually a very good use case, thanks! Didn't think of that and I've had this issue a few times recently.

 

[BDelacroix]

No, ganking, griefing and seal clubbing isn't PvP, PvP requires 2 willing players, the moment you have one unwilling player it isn't PvP, because one player isn't versing the other player, they are just trying to escape. None of my ships have weapons, would you class that as PvP if I were attacked? I have no weapons, I can't fight back. Basically new players, the ones that are suffering the seal clubbing are essentially the same, they have no chance, any weapons they have may as well be water pistols. Let's also be clear here, if the PvP players only wanted to fight each other, and indeed did so, then there would be no complaints regarding them, but that's not the case.

Not only that but for every veteran (and I know there is at least one that still tries to gank and he's a famous named one, too) there are 10 more new kids raring to be the fastest gun in the west.