Make Elite an MMO again !!

[Vedmo]

A lot of people denying the "fear of open" argument, fear of being blown up by a powerful player ship. Actually it's what moves the majority of those who switch to solo I reckon - red faced pram toy-ejection. A bad experience (especially if early on) that characterises the mode for them. Maybe not the vets here, but the average player pootling around or newb. The same edgy feel is something that attracts others to stay in open. Balancing the "bad" experiences with smoother opportunities for positive ones would improve the game for everyone.

We can all try to do that for ourselves too (the "ED way"...). Since new year I've spontaneously given big wing shares to 4 CMDRs I randomly encountered flying in open, 2 resulted in really fun coop play sessions (and future ones) - there's your open bonus and the solo suckers can't do anything about it!

What about the "fear of solo" argument? Is that not what moves a majority of people to open, red faced pram toy-ejection over their failure to find success without the aid of others, or maybe just a crippling fear of being alone? Maybe not the vets, but the average player pootling around or the newb that can't face the mountain of progression without a helping hand (carry) from someone who's already made it. Those squadron member types who can't fly around without the safety blanket of a wing, mortified of making it on their own.

Those who don't care for exploration are obviously mortified by the chance they might fail at it too, right? The idea of calling the fuel rats because they couldn't chart a path, or god forbid a rebuy screen because they couldn't scoop a white dwarf, truly paralyzed by fear to the point they just won't explore at all. Certainly it has nothing to do with them just not enjoying it.

It's all quite absurd, isn't it?

 

[Starshot_Jigawatts]

Is it though?
I have probably spent in excess of 3,000 hours flying in open...
In the past 3 years I've lost at most 6 ships to human players.
I have probably seen less than 100 players (hollow squares / triangles) over all of those hours
In the same 3 years I have probably lost in excess of 15 ships not to humans..

Where is all that obvious risk again?

Think of the shockingly bad ratio of scumbaggery in Open you just described. No really think about it.

You've run into less than 100 players, and six of those ~100 killed you. I'm guessing another number of players tried killing you unsuccessfully.

1 in 6 players you've run into have murdered or tried to murder you.

Not even in the most violent prison on earth would one face odds that horrible. And they wonder why people play in solo? Really??

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

Nice to see you back!

Thank you.

 

[Rat Catcher]

Nor to complain about a buff for people who like PvP and playing in open

So why should they need a buff for doing things they like doing?

 

[aRJay]

Nor to complain about a buff for people who like PvP and playing in open

As long as that buff doesn't have a negative effect on the rest of the playerbase.

 

[Rat Catcher]

You've run into less than 100 players, and six of those ~100 killed you. I'm guessing another number of players tried killing you unsuccessfully.

Ummm... 3 of those losses were to the same player... It happens...

I'd guess that quite a few others have tried (I don't keep count) but that is to be expected with the squadron my main is in
Excluding the (reasonably) closed community that is Colonia, even the bubble is only hazardous for the unprepared in & around engineer bases and the 'big' gatherings CG's & systems such as the recent 'clue' one, because there will be players looking for some 'light relief'...

I'll openly admit that the last few hundred hours I've played have mainly been in PG just because I've gotten bored with the predictability of 'events' in these systems and prefer to get things done with a select group rather than waste my valuable time in pointless encounters with randoms - but as long as they are having fun without me that is fine, and I always make the point to thank all participants in system chat for the entertainment before I depart as it is invariably good fun to read!

 

[Mormo]

Nor to complain about a buff for people who like PvP and playing in open

This buff wont make me play in open especially in hotspots like deciat or any CG system but would give me a reason to search the way to exploit open play buff. And that will give me more headache but not fun.

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

I really must get my PS4 CMDR sorted out, perhaps you can help?
I don't want my screen name (that insists on being my CMDR name) but another to be my PS4 player, is there an easy way to get around this?
(Yes, I paid Sony for a year of PS-Plus in November )

I think the only way around is to change your psn name sadly. I know games like eso let you have a different handle but I dont think elite gave me the option or I would have dropped the 420

 

[Robert Maynard]

See how convoluted the discussion becomes. Not taking the concept to heart is one thing. Destroying it with misinformation like solo is as risky as open...how does a cmdr come to that conclusion?

There are c.12,000,000 copies of the game - split between three platforms. The vast majority of those copies are on PC (8M alone joined after the Epic Games giveaway) - so a significant number can reasonably be expected to be duplicate accounts. Disregarding that for a moment, simply taking 400 billion systems and a maximum of 12 million players, that's an average of 3 players per 100,000 systems - if they all played on the same platform at the same time.

A tiny fraction of the 400 billion systems are significantly more popular than others - which further pushed down the average for the other systems.

The risk is obvious hence the bonus.

The risk due to players is non-zero in a very few systems - and actually zero in the rest.

 

[znôrt]

I play in a wing of 4 regularly.. must be multiplayer

yeah, well, the mushroom whatsapp group with my buddies is multiplayer too, then

 

[zombieapocalypse]

There are c.12,000,000 copies of the game - split between three platforms. The vast majority of those copies are on PC (8M alone joined after the Epic Games giveaway) - so a significant number can reasonably be expected to be duplicate accounts. Disregarding that for a moment, simply taking 400 billion systems and a maximum of 12 million players, that's an average of 3 players per 100,000 systems - if they all played on the same platform at the same time.

A tiny fraction of the 400 billion systems are significantly more popular than others - which further pushed down the average for the other systems.

The risk due to players is non-zero in a very few systems - and actually zero in the rest.

Didn't FDev state a while back (maybe a couple of years ago?) that most people actually play in Open anyway, or did I dream that?

 

[[VR] Bulbulunufus]

The big deal being it would effect some players ability to maintain the status quo. Again, (for like the 1000 time) ps4 cmdrs require ps+ to play any mode other than solo. Why should their efforts be lessened because they don't want to pay Playstation a monthly/annual fee to play elite?

Console CMDRs are in a minority and likely to remain so, why can't they just be excepted from the rule? You can't have everything. I'm still not advocating this specific OP proposal wrt the BGS, but in general, the whole console thing needn't be the deal-breaker everyone makes it out to be.

 

[znôrt]

In these uncertain times, it's always nice to dip back in to the forum and see familiar things, like another request to make the game open to people who choose the single player mode.

who would have thunk, eh? some things will never change ... as long as the false advertising doesn't change!

welcome back.

 

[znôrt]

Didn't FDev state a while back (maybe a couple of years ago?) that most people actually play in Open anyway, or did I dream that?

yes they did. of course, there are no transparent figures. you'll just have to trust the company.

anyway, i wouldn't be surprised if a vast majority of elite players:

• plays in open and still believes this is a mmo
• still doesn't meet anyone for years, and is unaware that solo offers almost the same experience without the lag and stutter
• has no idea that this forum exists

 

[GloatingSwine]

Didn't FDev state a while back (maybe a couple of years ago?) that most people actually play in Open anyway, or did I dream that?

I wonder how much the stats would change if they swapped Open and Solo in the menus? I suspect a lot of people play Open because it's the default and they don't care enough to choose a different one on the menu.

 

[Robert Maynard]

.... but in general, the whole console thing needn't be the deal-breaker everyone makes it out to be.

The console issue is one reason - the other, and I would suggest main, reason is that every player bought a game where we all equally affect the galaxy regardless of game mode - and only a subset of the player-base wants a bonus to be applied to their preferred mode due to their preference for a completely optional play-style.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Didn't FDev state a while back (maybe a couple of years ago?) that most people actually play in Open anyway, or did I dream that?

Sandro did, in a stream not long after the Powerplay Flash Topics - while he stated that the majority of players play in Open (with no mention as to whether they do so exclusively) he also stated that both Solo and Private Groups are used by significant portions of the player-base.

The fact that he didn't specifically say that players in Open outnumbered players in Solo and Private Groups combined leaves one to wonder did he really mean plurality rather than majority.

 

[Starshot_Jigawatts]

Ummm... 3 of those losses were to the same player... It happens...

I'd guess that quite a few others have tried (I don't keep count) but that is to be expected with the squadron my main is in
Excluding the (reasonably) closed community that is Colonia, even the bubble is only hazardous for the unprepared in & around engineer bases and the 'big' gatherings CG's & systems such as the recent 'clue' one, because there will be players looking for some 'light relief'...

I'll openly admit that the last few hundred hours I've played have mainly been in PG just because I've gotten bored with the predictability of 'events' in these systems and prefer to get things done with a select group rather than waste my valuable time in pointless encounters with randoms - but as long as they are having fun without me that is fine, and I always make the point to thank all participants in system chat for the entertainment before I depart as it is invariably good fun to read!

Oh I want to be clear I agree with your premise about special cuddly things just for playing in Open, not for that at all.

But still....to me your experiences when it comes to player interactions are shockingly bad. I mean that's a huge ratio of peaceful vs hostile players. I can't think of any game I've ever played outside of explicit PVP shooters where such a high percentage of random encounters could lead to violence.

 

[[VR] Bulbulunufus]

What about the "fear of solo" argument? Is that not what moves a majority of people to open, red faced pram toy-ejection over their failure to find success without the aid of others, or maybe just a crippling fear of being alone? Maybe not the vets, but the average player pootling around or the newb that can't face the mountain of progression without a helping hand (carry) from someone who's already made it. Those squadron member types who can't fly around without the safety blanket of a wing, mortified of making it on their own.

Those who don't care for exploration are obviously mortified by the chance they might fail at it too, right? The idea of calling the fuel rats because they couldn't chart a path, or god forbid a rebuy screen because they couldn't scoop a white dwarf, truly paralyzed by fear to the point they just won't explore at all. Certainly it has nothing to do with them just not enjoying it.

It's all quite absurd, isn't it?

Clever. I fear solo as it would make me quit the game if open wasn't there. I guess. And I'd miss the game. But there's nothing hard about it, with NPCs as they are, opposition of any kind is trivial (thargoids and elite wing assassinations aside) and avoidable. Exploration would interest me much more if it were more hazardous. Making NPCs selectively harder is one of the more feasible solutions to evening up hazards between modes.

Anyway, for instance try doing powerplay on your own in a sea of random CMDRs with no direction and a UI that presents incorrect numbers. You're probably hurting your power more than helping. Teaming up gives a required competitive edge against opponents who will do the same. Similar goes for any substantial BGS faction project. Of course if your opponents' soft targets all hide in solo/PG while their PvPers are happy to eat you for breakfast in open in your T9, then yeah, a bit of PvP cover from your own guys is always welcome.

So you see, the mirror argument is absurd, but the original one is a simple appraisal.

 

[Rat Catcher]

The fact that he didn't specifically say that players in Open outnumbered players in Solo and Private Groups combined leaves one to wonder did he really mean plurality rather than majority.

This is one of the questions that crossed my mind too...
But if one has an agenda to forward, the obfuscation of fact is to be expected, so he may have 'lied by omission' in his presentation