Elite - Would it be better as a single player?

ITZC0ATL

ITZC0ATL
In another thread, there was a discussion about respawning and other features that were implemented into Elite Dangerous differently from the original Elite games because of MMO playability.

Now, I'm a young 'un and wasn't even alive in the '80s, so I have no opinion on this topic per se, but from those that have played the originals - would you have preferred Elite to be a normal single player game in keeping with the originals, or do you like how it's evolved into an MMO?

I do think there are two sides to this. There are undoubtedly a lot of features in Elite that are designed around it being an MMO that could otherwise be designed much better from a PvE point of view, were it not for online play and (among other reasons) the potential for exploits.

On the other hand, some of the best aspects of this game revolve around player interactions and us all living in a persistent universe, and I think the community is probably all the more active for this conectivity.

Now, I know the PvP crowd will obviously not be very amused at the idea of single-player Elite, but considering that most of the playerbase is supposedly PvE, I thought it would be interesting to hear everyone's opinions.

Would Elite Dangerous have been been better as an offline, single player game? Has Elite as an MMO provided a better experience than it could have if it hadn't made this evolution?
 
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Deleted member 110222

D
Single player equals mods (generally), no need to worry about other people's reactions to what you do, and basically, is the only way to truly let you "blaze your own trail".

Yes, I love Elite as is. I would love a single player game even more.

And I was born in '94!
 

Bigmaec

Bigmaec
I'm having a blast at Mobius with lots of cool people, and enjoy the few ventures into open I do - even if getting ganked once or twice, so no, it wouldn't have been better as solo game.
It wouldn't have been better as a pure online game either, it's rather perfect as it is imho.
(Elite '84 veteran here)
 

GeneralIdea1964

G
SOLO! If you don't want to be sociable.
Or download original for free and play as originally designed.
I like the game in its current guise it's much better. I tend to play in open or group.
I avoid fighting other players.
 
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Clumsywordsmith

C
I wouldn’t have even downloaded the game if it were single player only. And I played tons of the earlier single player space sims.

But the world has moved on since then. Multiplayer is here to stay. Elite is rare in allowing people the option to switch from one mode to the other at a whim.
 

GG7

G
Never been a fan of the MP focus most games have adopted over the last 10-15 years. The reliance on an internet connection to even be able to load up most games to me is B S!

I tend to play ED as a single player game in SOLO primarily because the MP performance in this game is so lackluster and unreliable.

When you can see a significantly superior experience between Solo and Open in terms of dropping out of SC at high traffic areas, you know that a good chunk of the ED community is playing behind the "8 Ball" if they insist of using the OPEN mode.

Private groups offer a somewhat mixed experience which straddles the line between the superior performance of SOLO mode and the typical hiccup ridden reality of Open.

So yeah. :)

A truly dedicated SINGLE Player version of ED would be most welcome. And would likely appeal to everyone who is sick and tired of having their gaming experiences held hostage by their internet connection/ISP.
 

ITZC0ATL

ITZC0ATL
Un1k0rn said:
Not quite. We're discussing the idea of a game which is 100% isolated from other players.

Solo is not offline. Not even close. It's more indirect multi player.
Click to expand...

Yes, a step further than solo mode.

Offline would be mods, have as many saves as you want, no need for time/money sinks, etc.

... but no other human players :p
 

Meric

Meric
I generally play my own game, but love the occasional interaction with other players. I wouldn't want it any other way, I've dreamt of MMO elite since I saw my first online games.

I'm very interested to see how wing missions screw with things (in a good way?!).
 

[VR] Mad Mike

[VR] Mad Mike
HAL- 9000 said:
In another thread, there was a discussion about respawning and other features that were implemented into Elite Dangerous differently from the original Elite games because of MMO playability.

Now, I'm a young 'un and wasn't even alive in the '80s, so I have no opinion on this topic per se, but from those that have played the originals - would you have preferred Elite to be a normal single player game in keeping with the originals, or do you like how it's evolved into an MMO?
?
Click to expand...

sadly i am old enough to have played the original on launch (ish) platforms :(

to your answer, talking selfishly, personally i would have MUCH preferred ED to have been a primarily single player game, but where we could take our cmdr into other players game universe for a session (and stayed there permanently if we wanted) kind of like games like payday2 or torchlight 2 or borderlands 1/2.

it could have supported private servers etc, although STILL connected to the galaxy sim to download any data needed from the servers, but once downloaded that data was on our machines and we could interact with it from then on..

WHY?

well imo it would have meant we could truly have had proper persistance, actual npcs to build relations with and help build bases etc etc and still have been able to play with friends = or even randoms if they had an open private server = it could even have had configurable rules for the game server.

So long as the game is as it is, i cannot see how we will ever have destructible environments or persistent characters unique to our own journey because how can FD store that kind of data for every player?, and also because 1 group of players could ruin so many peoples game.

but that is my purely selfish view.

its an interesting question imo.
 
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fabittar

fabittar
Yes, definitely. A single-player Elite would be much, much better. For starters, MODS. Mods give a game longevity. Second, tailored difficulty: you'd set the difficulty to your liking and make it a challenge rather than an exercise in frustration. Third, an over-arching storyline. Be the hero and all that.

And Elite Dangerous is NOT a massively multiplayer game. The online stuff is too shallow to call it that. It is obviously a layer of DRM poorly disguised as a feature.
 

Riverside

Riverside
When I played the original Elite, and Elite +, and Oolite & other stuff, one of the things I wondered about was how cool it would be to meet another player, join forces or fight each other to find out who's best.

In ED, I can now choose to do this if I want, and it's awesome. If it had been single player only (even online solo as it is now) there would be calls to be able to instance with one another, maybe using peer to peer, doesn't even need an expensive client/server system.

And so here we are.

The BGS is an often used excuse to complain that if players can compete with other players it should be face to face, but it really doesn't need to be. I like the idea that we are all sharing the same 'universe', and that we can have rivalries & 'battles' without ever needing to actually meet one another in the game. Direct PvP is just the cherry on top.
 

Jenner

I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
Jenner
Un1k0rn said:
Single player equals mods (generally), no need to worry about other people's reactions to what you do, and basically, is the only way to truly let you "blaze your own trail".

Yes, I love Elite as is. I would love a single player game even more.

And I was born in '94!
Click to expand...

ERMAHGERD..... I was a sophomore in high school when you were born. I feel old.

Regarding Elite as a single player game - Yes and no. Yeah, that's a totally non-committal answer. Sue me! It's true, though. I'm more of a single-player kinda gamer, so I gravitate towards those experiences. In that respect I'd love it if Elite were offline/single player.

That said, there are a lot of cool possibilities for social gaming and player interaction that comes from an online experience. I've had a lot of fun meeting people in the game. Playing multi-crew can be a real engaging experience, too. Even though I don't PvP much I can totally see how people can really get into that as well. I hope that future updates like the wing mission stuff will only improve the game and its social aspects.

So yeah - it depends. :p
 

Wyaston Hypatia

Wyaston Hypatia
As an '84 I say probably not, at least not for what I want from the game. I'm not social in the game, whichever mode I'm in. I do however think the game benefits from having multiple commanders all in the same galaxy (even if some are pillocks)
 

Dutchman141

Dutchman141
I'm considering ED a single player game most of the time.
I play 90% of the time in solo and do my own thing, mods would he nice though.

I must say however that the mp time I do spend in ED is great and the interaction with group members (DRX) is fantastic.

I'm happy with the different options ED offers, solo for my sp gameplay, open or pg for the mp experience.

I'm from '66 and have played the original '84 Elite and many other sp games, I do like ED's model with different modes better though.
 
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