Frontier reasons why we need a proper social hub or clan system and CQC in the main game.

Muzz UK · Mar 31, 2017

I'm a long term Elite player I've played all the titles and lost a lot of teen years and hours to Frontier Elite II and First Encounters. However as much as this game is multiplayer I find myself playing mostly on my own which I do enjoy but I'd love a way to interact with other commanders. Wings were fun early on but my friends grew bored of bounty hunting in groups and doing missions as the missions they want like taking on big motherships, attacking bases and doing group stuff just aren't in the game. CQC isn't available in the main game so my friends and I do not bother.

You cannot really trade or explore very well in a Wing yes I know there's trade dividends but there's no sense of group work, maybe change with Multicrew! My mate CMDR Ezzo managed about 4,000lys of wing exploring over 2 weeks of sessions before going home as an example. My friends do not wish to PvP because of the cost, but they would play CQC loads and loads if it was available in game to a bigger audience.

We see a lot of posts about the game being empty, grindy and nothing to do. If Frontier add a social hub or clan system I feel these posts would reduce quickly.

Here's my reasons:

1. Players who play together and interact tend to find more things to do, plus playing together and being social kills time and some people do just log onto MMOs to play with eachother. It's easier to meet online friends in a proper party system or global chat system.

2. A big percentage of MMO players love to PvP.... now in Elite PvP is fun but a lot of people combat log or get put off by the cost and rebuy. I think having CQC in the main game would allow more people to play CQC and with a social hub or guilds more clans and proper PvP groups would form. It might make the main game safer!

3. In game criminals are currently a problem because as much as there is a WANTED status this is easily removed by a death and rep effects are minimal. Until we get a good crime & punishment system something like guilds and social hubs would reduce the number of random acts of murder as clans would be more able to respond to say a couple of commanders killing people at Farseer and blockades would be arranged and work properly for those who like to pirate. People who like to PvP and fight would have a way to do this in groups. There is no way of warning people in game if a system is dangerous or players ARE out to murder randomally so a chat/guild or social system would allow people to post.

4. This is an MMO I'm not saying people should be forced to use a social hub or guild system as some people are sole traders or solo commanders who single player but give players the tools and they'll make things happen themselves.

5. The guild or social hub system could be made available only in the bubble or certain systems if Frontier are worried it makes the game too World of Warcraft/Dungeon Queue'esk/Like every other MMO!!!

Just my thoughts

Spatial · Mar 31, 2017

Agree with the sentiments here.

For an MMO game ED is a very isolating experience.

I'd like to see gameplay for groups. Everyone benefits from this and it only adds to the sense of community when you meet and play with people online.

Steve50 · Mar 31, 2017

Have you seen global chat in ALL mmo's? it's a total cesspit, a toxic dump of idiots.

No thank you ohh and CQC needs to simply die off. it was a silly idea that doesn't fit Elite in the least.

DNA-Decay · Mar 31, 2017

Placeholder for a longer post.

But key points.
In game organization enforces group structure / hierarchy and play style.
Current external organization allows variety of group structure and purpose.

Yes would like better identification of CMDRs by their faction.
Yes would like player group write access to news feeds at ruled systems.
Yes would like deployable player beacons that can be scanned for text.

Do not want common group assets.
Do not want "leaders, secret comms channels, and hierarchy enforced by game mechanics"

Sergio Smegolia · Mar 31, 2017

Ok, it's late and therefore the creative juices are not flowing but...

Clans, fair enough. Social groups that can chat from anywhere, can organize events, pull people together, yeah; good idea. But no special gameplay features. If you don't want to join a guild you should still have the same benefits as everyone else, don't turn this into Eve please.

And never, no, not ever, at all, any global chat.

Xae · Mar 31, 2017

Social interaction is one of the primary factors in player retention.

If people log in and interact with other people they are much more likely to keep playing.

Elite needs a much better set of social features.

Flimley · Mar 31, 2017

Re-2, I have never played CQC, but can imagine how interesting it would be to see it added into the main game. Select areas of space where you can park your ship and enter the arena via telepresence (or whatever). With persistent score boards and all that. Anyone could then drop in to break up their normal routeen.
Its not incomprehensible for a future galactic civilisation to hold such events.

Flimley

smiths121 · Apr 1, 2017

DNA-Decay said:
Placeholder for a longer post.

But key points.
In game organization enforces group structure / hierarchy and play style.
Current external organization allows vaariety of group structure and purpose.

Yes would like better identification of CMDRs by their faction.
Yes would like player group write access to news feeds at ruled systems.
Yes would like deployable player beacons that can be scanned for text.

Do not want common group assets.
Do not want "leaders, secret comms channels, and hierarchy enforced by game mechanics"

Somes up my view much better than I could.

Simon

DNA-Decay · Apr 1, 2017

I won't bang on, but compare the organization and intent of:
SDC - Smiling Dog Crew
Fuel Rats
Cannon
Communism Interstellar
SEPP
Dark Armada
AOS - Alliance Office of Statistics

All radically different in what they do and why. And how.

Here's an example:
SEPP ran a succcessful and well loved RP and exploration oriented group entirely out of a thread on this forum.
Part of their appeal was their complete openness and transparency.

On the other hand AOS are in a direct competitive race with ten other powers and that only works because of cloak and dagger.

So let's say you bring organizational tools into the game.
The moment you ask the question: "Who gets access to the private comms channel?"
You have already framed a bunch of stuff about the purpose and organization of the group.

SEPP didn't have a 'manifesto' around openness and transparency. It's just what they were like.

Having said all that - there IS a lot that Frontier can do for groups.
Everybody wants greater VISIBILITY.
Faction tags.
Decals.
Signs that a station of system is ruled by a player faction.

I'll leave out the arguments around station rulership vs station ownership and player economic assets.
Chardonnay socialists like myself have a very different view of how Markets work from Tory MBA economics theorists.

I'd have to step out of making that case and hope one of the harder core left like Apos could weigh in. (Gotta love a Greek anarchist for left theory).

The main thing that would help the sense of "ownership" that so many people are wanting with the Player Minor Factions - is write access to the news feeds.
Keep the existing procedurally generated feeds, but have a feed that is clearly marked as CMDR content. Standard profanity filter and "Report this News Article".

But give the ruling groups write access.

You want to stimulate competition and use of the BGS?
Give a tangible reward: VOICE.

Asp Explorer · Apr 1, 2017

Guilds? No thanks

Add an option to block any and all players with matching silly pre or post nametags or symbols.

Allow players to rename their Private Groups to whatever they like, and offer merging of Private Groups (for lets say 5 quid a pop) so that they can instance preferentially with each other, and whomever gets to cram the most players into their instance wins

Scoopy Doopy · Apr 1, 2017

Steve50 said:
Have you seen global chat in ALL mmo's? it's a total cesspit, a toxic dump of idiots.

No thank you ohh and CQC needs to simply die off. it was a silly idea that doesn't fit Elite in the least.

When you get good at CQC and get a lobby full of other good players, there is nothing like it. It is fast, intense, funny and exhausting all at once. Don't knock it until you have been through the CQC noob mill and emerged out the other side.

Hooplah · Apr 1, 2017

Some great ideas but there will never be guilds in ED. It is not that type of game nor will it ever be. Maybe I'm wrong as we have a long way to go for the 10 year plan.

MickyG1982 · Apr 1, 2017

I would like to see CQC integrated into the main game, bored with exploring (or anything else) -jump into CQC & have a play, you should also be given the option of starting a game with bots however, if you can't / dont want to find human players however.

Limoncello Lizard · Apr 1, 2017

MickyG1982 said:
I would like to see CQC integrated into the main game, bored with exploring (or anything else) -jump into CQC & have a play, you should also be given the option of starting a game with bots however, if you can't / dont want to find human players however.

I think you shouldn't know whether an opponent was a bot until after the match.

Jaiotu · Apr 1, 2017

Asp Explorer said:
Guilds? No thanks

Add an option to block any and all players with matching silly pre or post nametags or symbols.

Allow players to rename their Private Groups to whatever they like, and offer merging of Private Groups (for lets say 5 quid a pop) so that they can instance preferentially with each other, and whomever gets to cram the most players into their instance wins

Some nice ideas there regarding renaming and merging private groups. I'd like to take that a step further and allow sorting players in our Friends list into specific groups. When you're friends list starts reaching the 100s it's nice to have a reminder about WHY they are in that list.

What, in your opinion, is the difference between Player Minor Factions and Guilds?

Dbrn47 · Apr 1, 2017

DNA-Decay said:
Do not want common group assets. Do not want "leaders, secret comms channels, and hierarchy enforced by game mechanics

Indeed

I'd like incentives to play with people, but they don't involve traditional guild like systems from other games.

X-Terminator · Apr 1, 2017

This plus Player Transactions will allow us to agree on our own Hire Missions.

Jaiotu · Apr 1, 2017

Dbrn47 said:
Indeed

I'd like incentives to play with people, but they don't involve traditional guild like systems from other games.

I'm all for shared rewards ... and the current method of dropping cargo to be picked up by other players is fine (and required thanks to long-haul CGs like the Colonia ones). Direct transfer of credits between players ... no thanks.

Itaki · Apr 1, 2017

Steve50 said:
Have you seen global chat in ALL mmo's? it's a total cesspit, a toxic dump of idiots.

So is the ED forum.

Itaki · Apr 1, 2017

Frontier reasons why we need a proper social hub or clan system and CQC in the main game.

...

I would like to see some new gameplay content but I doubt we'll see anything but new and different ways to do the same old stuff (i.e. multicrew, slf, Dolphin).