Elite Dangerous (In Open) is a lonely game

[salad]

I must be lucky, just yesterday I decided to get away from the populated area, picked a random system to go to far from the PP zone.

When I got there to my surprise the place is filled with Alliance/Independent Players, all very friendly despite being pledged to different powers.

Turns out the game is way more populated than It used to be ^_^, I'm glad I found new friends.

 

[p3nnyw1s3]

I wouldn't compare a MOBA with a Sandbox.
Having an open channel in a MOBA game, between opposing teams, is bad and always has been since DOTA.
Its not the same with ED or any other sandbox, where most people you meet are not your enemies. They would rather collaborate and share experience.

Local chat is used to share information. But I guess its just better to alt-tab and Google simple questions or check the forums if you wanted to wing up.

The fact that this is discussed as a possible bad, useless feature baffles me.

Agree! In an open world game communicating with others, making trade, share intel, making new friends/allies/enemies etc is not a bad thing.
Such features are game enhancing. Not making the game worse.
As long as you are able to select what you want to listen to/read. Being able to mute other players or blocking messages from certain individuals might be worth looking into.
Still, having a sandbox game with limited communications abilities doesnt improve gameplay.