Multicrew Beyond Combat

[Essential NPC]

Turreted mining lasers. Announced in the stream today, they represent a huge undertaking. Not just for miners, but for the future of Elite. You see, they represent a new era of Elite where the gameplay shifts entirely from the one-pilot, one-ship model that has existed for decades. The game feels more like a living universe than ever before. We have faces, and friends, and we're going to bring those friends with faces onto our ship to go blow up some spaceships.

What else, though? Sure, combat has always been many peoples' bread and butter for games, especially Elite; but Elite has a special community where players like Obsidian Ant, CMDR Josh Hawkins, Chaos Wulff, Dr. Kaii, and many others probe the limits of the other areas of Elite like exploration, trading, PvP, ship building, et cetera. With the latest 2.3 update, it's hard not to imagine how the community will change the game as the game changes the community. Already CMDR Hawkins has announced a YouTube series called "Three Guys One Ship" with co-creators Turjan Starstone and CMDR Shabooka. Not only is it an exciting announcement for fans of their individual productions, but I think it will be exciting to see them push the limits of the game itself in unexpected areas. The new camera system Frontier is introducing in 2.3 seems like a direct result of Elite content creators' wishlists. Which begs the question- how will we the players change the game next? What new exciting features will come for those exploration and trading crews? I don't know about you, but I'm anxious to find out.

 

[RagingxPenguin]

Very meh with multicrew. Never needed it before. Fun gimmick but not overly excited

Just me though. I'm certain others feel different.

 

[Dutchman141]

The way you bring it makes it sound realy nice and intriguing but I'm a bit anxious about the possibility of being pushed into multiplayer.
There are a lot, and I mean a LOT of players who like to play ED their way and the game is well suited for that.
They said it themselfs that they want the player to get more involved in multiplayer, why? because they think it's great.
They're wiping a lot of players and the way they think ED is great in right off the table and tell them to play it FD's way.

A lot of people will end up in solo because they don't want to compete with the multiplayers. If I would play in open and come up against a Conda with three crew members and they launch two SLFs then I'm toast by definition, well thanks but no thanks.

I'm glad there's solo or private groups and I hope I'm wrong about FD trying to push the players into multiplayer.
I loved the way ED was a hybrid between multi and single player, I just hope it won't become another mmo like Eve.

Maybe I'm just to negative about it I don't know........

 

[Rafe]

The way you bring it makes it sound realy nice and intriguing but I'm a bit anxious about the possibility of being pushed into multiplayer.
There are a lot, and I mean a LOT of players who like to play ED their way and the game is well suited for that.
They said it themselfs that they want the player to get more involved in multiplayer, why? because they think it's great.
They're wiping a lot of players and the way they think ED is great in right off the table and tell them to play it FD's way.

A lot of people will end up in solo because they don't want to compete with the multiplayers. If I would play in open and come up against a Conda with three crew members and they launch two SLFs then I'm toast by definition, well thanks but no thanks.

I'm glad there's solo or private groups and I hope I'm wrong about FD trying to push the players into multiplayer.
I loved the way ED was a hybrid between multi and single player, I just hope it won't become another mmo like Eve.

Maybe I'm just to negative about it I don't know........

You are not alone, As I said elsewhere, I too am worried that Elite is becoming increasingly 'not' Elite. The whole thing worked and it worked brilliantly well. Well enough that for decades we have loved this game and everything that went with it.

There have been many pretenders over the years but nothing has ever come close until ED. And even the pretenders 'after' ED have just hit the wall, not knowing how Elite actually does what it does and how the people with fond memories and love for the game have kept it alive and, reinvented it. Without those people, the kickstarter would never have worked. We wouldn't have what we have now.

I like the ideas that are coming forward and the ability to get out of our ships and walk around and all the rest 'could' be great, but are they stepping away from the sheer simplicity that made everything mesh so well.

We can only wait and see and I hope things go well for the future, but will always be a little apprehensive

 

[Reina Kaede]

I'm interested in the Exploration aspect too. Bringing a friend or two along. I'm not talking about just getting to Sag* A, but actual exploring, landing on planets because they look cool and doing canyon runs or races in fighters. I tried going dual Exploring with a friend a year ago and it was horrible since we were in different ships with different Fuel Tanks and FSDs and it was just a nightmare to keep organized. That was back when opening the Galaxy Map alot led to memory leaks and since I could travel farther without opening it, he would crash CONSTANTLY and I'd be fine. We'd have to constant wing up and re-plot and everything. It was just a hassle. This way though, we can go together in one ship and have a blast, especially with the new camera options.

Plus the combat options aren't limited to just Bounty Hunting, CGs, and Pirating. You can come home from that Exploration trip and the additional players would make you feel less defenseless. Trade Runs will be more fun than just 1) Get interdicted. 2) Submit. 3) Flee. You'd actually want to fight back because you have more of a fighting chance. Still combat, yes, but in other areas.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

I was going to create a thread just like this one. People have been saying MC is just for combat, but i see it as a boon for multiple careers, as well as video making and RP.

Exploration gets a nice boon in that people can jump into friends ships to see sights, to go exploring from a single ship (for those that don't like doing trips into the black themselves) and for people out in the black, who just want to get away from it for a while and MC up for some combat back in the bubble.

 

[hunvagy]

I was going to create a thread just like this one. People have been saying MC is just for combat, but i see it as a boon for multiple careers, as well as video making and RP.

Exploration gets a nice boon in that people can jump into friends ships to see sights, to go exploring from a single ship (for those that don't like doing trips into the black themselves) and for people out in the black, who just want to get away from it for a while and MC up for some combat back in the bubble.

Too bad MC so far doesn't extend into giving your extra SRVs to your copilots, but maybe later down the road. The chat in the livestream was too busy so couldn't get a few questions seen, so probably will have to wait for the beta to find out what happens if I as the helm land and deploy and SRV. Will the others be sitting in their chairs watching me drive off? Though I guess if I take a Class 6 fighter bay along, both can take off and explore the planetside with those until we get SRV support.

 

[mung0]

The way you bring it makes it sound realy nice and intriguing but I'm a bit anxious about the possibility of being pushed into multiplayer.
There are a lot, and I mean a LOT of players who like to play ED their way and the game is well suited for that.
They said it themselfs that they want the player to get more involved in multiplayer, why? because they think it's great.
They're wiping a lot of players and the way they think ED is great in right off the table and tell them to play it FD's way.

A lot of people will end up in solo because they don't want to compete with the multiplayers. If I would play in open and come up against a Conda with three crew members and they launch two SLFs then I'm toast by definition, well thanks but no thanks.

I'm glad there's solo or private groups and I hope I'm wrong about FD trying to push the players into multiplayer.
I loved the way ED was a hybrid between multi and single player, I just hope it won't become another mmo like Eve.

Maybe I'm just to negative about it I don't know........

You are not alone, As I said elsewhere, I too am worried that Elite is becoming increasingly 'not' Elite. The whole thing worked and it worked brilliantly well. Well enough that for decades we have loved this game and everything that went with it.

There have been many pretenders over the years but nothing has ever come close until ED. And even the pretenders 'after' ED have just hit the wall, not knowing how Elite actually does what it does and how the people with fond memories and love for the game have kept it alive and, reinvented it. Without those people, the kickstarter would never have worked. We wouldn't have what we have now.

I like the ideas that are coming forward and the ability to get out of our ships and walk around and all the rest 'could' be great, but are they stepping away from the sheer simplicity that made everything mesh so well.

We can only wait and see and I hope things go well for the future, but will always be a little apprehensive

Agree & disagree. If you don't want to use mc you don't have to, and the game doesn't change for you. It's still the same game you love (if you love it).

Far as being ganked goes, today it happens with 2+ murder ships, if tomorrow it happens with 1 murder ship + slfs there's not really any functional difference here, you're toast either way. Meanwhile npc's don't get mc so it really is an opt-in thing in principal.

As for the whole 'it's not really elite anymore' thing, that's going to be more & more the case as we go further down the line, with additions such as spacelegs™. When it's for features that people want, they don't seem to mind about that. When it's for a feature you don't really want but aren't really affected by either, no reason to wind up the klaxons.

 

[CMDR Delta Lima]

I'm looking forward to it, although I'm a little bummed that you can't earn Powerplay merits with multicrew. Also unless I missed it in the livestream it sounds like crew members can't do anything with plotting jumps, which is the one thing I was hoping to have crew members do.

 

[lokvette]

Very meh with multicrew. Never needed it before. Fun gimmick but not overly excited

Just me though. I'm certain others feel different.

Nope your not alone.

 

[DustyArne]

I am really excited about it. Even though i play Elite mostly on my own.

MC is an extra feature i "CAN" use if i want to. And if i want to, they made it very easy to do so. There are no real benefits besides the extra pip you have when having other pilots in your ship, and the rockets that have now 360 degrees lock on. But Turrets are still just turrets, only now controlled by other players. They can't shoot through your ship, so you still have situations turrets can't shoot another ship because there is no line of fire.

It's purely for the fun, and i get the feeling some people are forgetting that Elite is a game, and it needs to be fun, for everyone.

Besides bountyhunting, what is really fun with MC. Think of Exploration, how cool is it you can invite a holographic CMDR so you are not entirely alone any more. Its the phone call of the year 3303.

Recruitment, now if a rookie pilot has a hauler or adder, (the cheapest 2 seaters), you can actually come over and help him, show him all the aspect of the game, teach him trading, bounty hunting, mining.. Show him the good stuff of Elite.

Mining, just invite a buddy, mine together, (i would be surprised if Frontier wouldn't made it so that you share profits in the future. Or maybe this is already a thing?? i forgot how selling commodities goes when in a wing), and have a cool chat, give him controls of limpits and mining turret, and just sit back relax, make pictures, or mine your self, and let your buddy patrol the area with your SLF.

I dont fear this is the end of Elite how we know Elite, i think this is the "real" beginning of how David Braben pictured Elite, and told us about it, with the introduction video back in when it was on Kickstarter.


And agian, EVERTHING you saw, and will see in future 2.3 content video's, is OPTIONAL. If you not use it, you loose nothing, you only miss out the fun of having it. ( i thought we xbox players, that are used to ease of access regarding multiplayer and party chat, the ease of jump in jump out in with ALL games on XboxLive, would love this new feature..)

And one more thing, i am not sure if you got it in the stream, but there is something even more cooler to be announced in upcoming weeks that they haven't talked about yet.. Dont judge MC just yet, watch, try, think, complain.

 

[Godnamedthor]

Have mixed feelings with multi crew.
I'll have a look at it and decide then if it's for me or not.
Now I tend to say rather no, but who knows..

 

[Mr Cynical]

The tagline will need changing for a start.

Blaze your friends trail...?

I'm being cheeky, sorry. I have nothing against Multi-crew, I have a friend who will jump in when it hits ps4 so will be good to give him a hand learning the ropes.

It is a shame that the SRV is not confirmed yet for Multi-crew as that is something that could be a real laugh for friends just to tool around on low grav moons, or scan base missions etc.
Or one in a ship/slf and one in srv for attack missions too.

Another idea for non combat Multi-crew missions could be for search and rescue missions in asteroid fields. This might be where the signal is not precise and the ship you are looking for needs visual confirmation. It could be half buried in the side of an asteroid for example.

Either way, it does look good, but the effective triple earnings for bounties, will also easily be exploited by those using the sidewinder bounty clearance. Instead of one of their mates collecting their bounties, three of them can collect it too.

- - - Updated - - -

And one more thing, i am not sure if you got it in the stream, but there is something even more cooler to be announced in upcoming weeks that they haven't talked about yet.. Dont judge MC just yet, watch, try, think, complain.

Cross play...?

 

[stormyuk]

I guess with multi-crew mining what's the point? The player who owns the ship will get all the stuff, and the guys along for the mining ride probably wont come away with anything?

It all looked very impressive but it seems like a combat gimmick really if you just want to mess about in the same ship for an hour or so. This is probably intentional.

I don't think I will actually use the feature much.

 

[Mr T]

I'm trying hard not to be negative about multi-crew but I can't help think there's going to be a multitude of connection / matchmaking errors and issues with instancing. I don't know if the issues with Wings have been sorted out, but if they haven't been what's to say multi-crew won't suffer in the same way? Am I just being a pessimist or do I have a valid point?

 

[Armholeeio]

Not looking forward to 3 guys one ship, means even less content from turjan it already took 3 months just to get the last video out of the , now imagine him 4r5ing about with josh bird boy more instead of knuckling down to do some work for a change

 

[BulletTrev]

I'm trying hard not to be negative about multi-crew but I can't help think there's going to be a multitude of connection / matchmaking errors and issues with instancing. I don't know if the issues with Wings have been sorted out, but if they haven't been what's to say multi-crew won't suffer in the same way? Am I just being a pessimist or do I have a valid point?

I can confirm Wings work brilliantly now that FDev 'Aggressively' prioritise party/wing members in 'instancing', this patch up has been a game changer ( see what I did there ? ).

''I dont fear this is the end of Elite how we know Elite, i think this is the "real" beginning of how David Braben pictured Elite, and told us about it, with the introduction video back in when it was on Kickstarter.''
DustyArne 2017

Well said Arny [up]

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

Besides the Multi Crew Gunner gameplay looking very cool, i am not so hyped for multi crew combat, but i am looking forward to do some exploration together with friends (so i hope, they will integrate multi crew SRVs in one of the next updates).

However, i was totally blown away by Holo-Me and i like the new chat features, ship naming and that NPCs now get faces (or helmets) all over the game, instead of being just a name and a ship.

And with the "coolest thing yet to come", i am really looking forward to the 2.3 The Commanders update.

 

[Gaxel]

The problem with MC is that they want you to play with other people, but instead they're making the Open harder for Solo players, forcing them to stay in Solo.

 

[DustyArne]

I can confirm Wings work brilliantly now that FDev 'Aggressively' prioritise party/wing members in 'instancing', this patch up has been a game changer ( see what I did there ? ).

''I dont fear this is the end of Elite how we know Elite, i think this is the "real" beginning of how David Braben pictured Elite, and told us about it, with the introduction video back in when it was on Kickstarter.''
DustyArne 2017

Well said Arny [up]

lol. thanks.. besides the spelling error, that was one hell of a one-liner eh??