Newcomer / Intro Hi all - newbie questions about solo play

[Isca]

Hi guys

I haven't bought the game yet, and wanted to check out a few things before jumping in.

- Solo play: how solo is it? I see that there is no offline mode, and I absolutely hate MMOs. Is the solo play option exactly the same as playing .. um .. solo - or do you still get repeatedly jumped by a gang of gung ho 14 year olds who know the ropes more than you?

- I have a pretty stable infinity connection most of the time, but playing on the PC in the attic, my router does drop out a few times a night. Will this be a problem, or does the online connection just have to be there to update at the end of the playing session?

- Is the 'perpetual universe' idea safe, or open to exploits as some other MMOs? I mean, I'm not going to dock at a station and find I've downloaded a trojan or anything??

Any help much appreciated. Look forward to flying soon

 

[TUXER]

Hi guys

I haven't bought the game yet, and wanted to check out a few things before jumping in.

- Solo play: how solo is it? I see that there is no offline mode, and I absolutely hate MMOs. Is the solo play option exactly the same as playing .. um .. solo - or do you still get repeatedly jumped by a gang of gung ho 14 year olds who know the ropes more than you?

- I have a pretty stable infinity connection most of the time, but playing on the PC in the attic, my router does drop out a few times a night. Will this be a problem, or does the online connection just have to be there to update at the end of the playing session?

- Is the 'perpetual universe' idea safe, or open to exploits as some other MMOs? I mean, I'm not going to dock at a station and find I've downloaded a trojan or anything??

Any help much appreciated. Look forward to flying soon

I play solo and everything is NPC.

I think there is some shared information but not sure.
For example, on days and times when one would expect a lot of players my stations then have more npcs which is kinda cool actually.

also, the npcs chat when you are in an area like a person but its not a person

 

[cmdr lowest]

Solo mode is just the same as Open mode but with no online players. You still get persistant galaxy, dynamic market fluctuations but minus the potential for griefing.

I think if your connection drops the game may kick you out. I don't think it just runs a check at the start and the end.

If you are having wireless issues maybe you should consider investing in some homeplugs? They won't break the bank and you may find you get a faster and more reliable connection.

 

[Isca]

Thanks very much

Yes I do have an excellent booster, and as said it is fine most of the time. Just drops out for a few seconds at peak times. I haven't tried it on any online games at the moment, because we only moved here about 5 weeks ago. It might not be a problem.

Good to hear that it is NPC without grief in solo play. Sad thing is, when I first played Elite on my BBC electron about 30 years ago, the thought that the idea of playing the game with other "real" people would have been truly fantastic. Sadly, I've got so sick of MMOs and all the trouble they cause that I just can't be bothered these days. Turning into a grumpy old man

Still, this looks like it might be fun ....[starts reaching for credit card]

 

[Starnoob]

The game in solo mode is exactly, right up to the minute, the same universe everyone else is playing in. You just never see them in your bubble so you won't have to interact with them. You need a constant connection because it's constantly updating. It's interesting in the sense that you're playing solo and won't ever have to interact with anyone else in any way, but you're still affected by what they do and the effects they have on the economy and what not. It's not really a great game for a completely solo player though unless you're OK with never having any sort of story to follow and you're satisfied with just grinding to improve your situation. In short, you'll never have to deal with someone trying to "gank" you, but I'm pretty sure if you don't have a constant connection you'll get booted from the game.

 

[EtherDragon]

Hi guys

I haven't bought the game yet, and wanted to check out a few things before jumping in.

- Solo play: how solo is it? I see that there is no offline mode, and I absolutely hate MMOs. Is the solo play option exactly the same as playing .. um .. solo - or do you still get repeatedly jumped by a gang of gung ho 14 year olds who know the ropes more than you?

Solo play is an always connected mode where you get all the updates to what happens in the universe around you, market prices, mission availability, that sort of thing - But you never see another real player; all ships are NPCs

- I have a pretty stable infinity connection most of the time, but playing on the PC in the attic, my router does drop out a few times a night. Will this be a problem, or does the online connection just have to be there to update at the end of the playing session?

Losing connection will kick you from the game until the connection is made again.

- Is the 'perpetual universe' idea safe, or open to exploits as some other MMOs? I mean, I'm not going to dock at a station and find I've downloaded a trojan or anything??

lol you're not going to get space herpies, or anything. It's no different than installing any other game.

Any help much appreciated. Look forward to flying soon

Stay shiny!

 

[Isca]

LOL - thanks, Dragon

 

[kurush]

- Solo play: how solo is it? I see that there is no offline mode, and I absolutely hate MMOs. Is the solo play option exactly the same as playing .. um .. solo - or do you still get repeatedly jumped by a gang of gung ho 14 year olds who know the ropes more than you?

This game was developed with MMO hatred in mind. It lacks most basic MMO features, even no genchat and you can see PvP whining threads popping up at least twice a day So, you should be good, I certainly enjoy this atmosphere. Some way to trade stuff would be good though, but even that is lacking. This is the game where gankers whine all day that their victims have way too many options to make their (gankers) life miserable And that is if you are playing in Open.

A very unstable network connection could present issues though, the traffic requirement for solo is minimal (essentially, it arbitrages all trades and keeps a track of your general position in the universe) but if your connection loses half of packets you might start getting some errors.

On Trojans, I think you can only get them in open mode privided there are some exploits in Frontier code (As long as Frontier won't put them on their servers, unlikely, but you never know after this offline option cancellation debuckle For me the trust is entirely broken )

 

[Isca]

Thanks for the replies - I took the plunge and bought the game.

See you on the other side

 

[SheepKnell]

Regarding solo versus open play, when I first started I played solo exclusively with the belief that, like any other online game with PvP, life would be made miserable by others while I tried to learn the ropes. One day I decided to try open play for the heck of it and found that it was not at all as I expected. The game was entirely the same with the exception that every once in a while I would see another player flying about. Most of the players I've seen simply go about their own business, some of them exchange friendly greetings in passing, others will carry on short conversations. Only once has another pilot fired on me and, in retrospect, I blame myself. He was likely only pirating but at the time I didn't realize that some pirates would be honorable and allow me to drop cargo instead of dying, so by reacting like a field mouse that had just seen a hawk, I left him no choice but to attack or let me run. It was the day I learned that sacrificing shields for more cargo capacity is a poor (dangerous) choice. I haven't gone back to solo play and have had no regrets. Just make sure you've always got enough to cover your insurance costs... you never know.