Multicrew for Explorers - an alternate take on things

Erimus Kamzel

Erimus Kamzel
So multicrew has precious little for explorers, gameplay-wise. Maybe we'll get something useful as the mechanic is fleshed out over time.

In the meantime, those who have a spare account can still get some use out of MC when out and about exploring. By using your spare account as a co-pilot, you can at least make use of the freecam mechanic.. it gives an extra perspective to exploring in so far as giving you an extra perspective of the scenery around you while controlling your ship via your pilot. Obviously works best with 2 monitors.

Using a spare account as extra 'eyes' is about as much as thats on offer at the moment for explorers. MC ships can't deploy an SRV, although you can deploy a fighter, so friends crewing up can at least explore worlds via one flying the fighter and the other flying the ship.

Or if you're a solo player with a spare account, you can have a bit of fun with the cameras....

[video=youtube;9ER0G_9Cjh4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ER0G_9Cjh4[/video]

FD, please throw us a bone....

  • Full helm control and galactic map navigation for a nominated co-pilot.
  • Simultaneous SRV and Fighter deployment for all crew, including the ship owner.
  • Instead of fighters - scout craft designed for in-system and planetary exploration via specialized discovery scanners.

Some of this would lay the foundation for explorers to get the best out of the MC mechanic.
 
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marx

marx
Personally, I like that I'll be able to join friends in combat back in the bubble even if I'm out exploring.

Before multicrew: "Hey, want to join in on killing some Feds? - Can't, I'm 20,000 ly out. Maybe two weeks later?"
After multicrew: "Hey, want to join in on killing some Feds? - Got turrets or a fighter bay? If so, then sure!"

Unpopular opinion here, I guess.
 

Erimus Kamzel

Erimus Kamzel
marx said:
Personally, I like that I'll be able to join friends in combat back in the bubble even if I'm out exploring.

Before multicrew: "Hey, want to join in on killing some Feds? - Can't, I'm 20,000 ly out. Maybe two weeks later?"
After multicrew: "Hey, want to join in on killing some Feds? - Got turrets or a fighter bay? If so, then sure!"

Unpopular opinion here, I guess.
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That's not really the same argument. Having a temporary short cut home has nothing to do with the multicrew mechanics as they relate to actual MC exploring. Surely for MC to be of a benefit for explorers it has to offer more than shortcuts around the galaxy and the ability to look out of the window when there, or in the example I posted - using a spare account to make more interesting videos?

Specialized discovery craft instead of fighters, SRVs that can be assigned to any and all crewmates - including the ship owner, the ability to have SRVs and fighters deployed at the same time... etc. Helm control for co-pilots so players can take turns flying the mothership along its journey. Those are possibly the kind of basic mechanics that would encourage players to go exploring together aboard MC ships.
 
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marx

marx
Erimus said:
That's not really the same argument. Having a temporary short cut home has nothing to do with the multicrew mechanics as they relate to actual MC exploring. Surely for MC to be of a benefit for explorers it has to offer more than shortcuts around the galaxy and the ability to look out of the window when there, or in the example I posted - using a spare account to make more interesting videos?
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Ah, my bad. I thought you meant that the multicrew update added little for explorers, and I missed the edit.
Well, of course then. Current multicrew mechanics focus on combat roles, so of course there are no explorer roles yet.
However, the update itself does offer advantages to explorers. I'd say that then it is a benefit for explorers, even if it doesn't introduce new exploration gameplay, and it's not something for everyone. But this first version of multicrew is for setting up the basics, and once they do (it is pretty buggy right now), then we'll see if they add more exploration to it or not.
Personally, I'd rather they added more solo exploration mechanics first, rather than stuff that you mentioned which could only be taken advantage of in multicrew. So, solo version of new mechanics first, then see if they can be extended to multicrew too - not the other way around.


One more thing about your wishlist:
Erimus said:
Helm control for co-pilots so players can take turns flying the mothership along its journey.
Click to expand...
I'm fairly certain Frontier have opted not to allow helm control switching because of two reasons:
- you'd pretty much have to transition everything network-wise to the new pilot then, which could cause all sorts of issues (especially with more than three players present in your instance)
- it would also be open to abuse, with your crew member destroying your ship
The latter alone would generate many support tickets and conflicts, while not adding enough to offset it.
As such, I'd say that if we're not getting helm control switching now, it's unlikely we'll ever get it. (Feel free to quote me later if I'll be wrong.)
 
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Major Klutz

Major Klutz
If another player could take the helm, they would have their own set of materials and could use their mats for synthesis.
Imagine if Chiggy didn't have to travel all that way to rescue Macedonica. He could just beam in, take the helm and use his own Jumponium mats to get the ship out of there.

If you landed and other players were using your SRV to gather materials, the mats would end up in their inventory, not yours.

These issues are fixable and I think they will be if Frontier sees that's what players want.
I never liked the way the materials inventory worked anyway. The mats should be in the ship, not on the person. If your ship is destroyed, you lose the mats. That's life. Or simulated life anyway.
 

Macedonica

Macedonica
Good idea, Erimus - I hadn't twigged to using the alt-account like that. Thank you.

As for multi-crew in general, I agree. It is very limited for explorers. As someone addicted to surface exploration, I would love to see players able to crew multiple SRVs and also wonder if FD will ever implement bigger and more varied surface vehicles. I for one would love to be able to deploy a large surface expedition vehicle with deploy-able SRVs for long-range mining and summit attempts. Not in the near future, it seems, which is a shame.
 

GregMalcolm

GregMalcolm
I'm just sad I won't be able to multicrew in my sidewinder when it goes out into the beyond in 2.3. But that's what I get for making bad choices... :)
 

Caliber_az

Caliber_az
Major Klutz said:
These issues are fixable and I think they will be if Frontier sees that's what players want.
I never liked the way the materials inventory worked anyway. The mats should be in the ship, not on the person. If your ship is destroyed, you lose the mats. That's life. Or simulated life anyway.
Click to expand...

[video=youtube;KIiUqfxFttM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiUqfxFttM[/video]
 

BaldEagle

BaldEagle
Cmdr Frawd Digger said:
I especially like this idea...maybe with different types of scanners.

That would be cool!

Frawd
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Yes, I agree. I have a vision of an autonomous Airborne Recce Vehicle (probably ground launched and recovered) which can follow a pre-loaded search pattern without human intervention here we call it a drone ... :rolleyes:
 

marx

marx
Supermoose said:
Can the player in the gunner role scan stellar bodies? And do scans and discoveries apply to all players in the ship in the way bounties do?
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I think you can't use the gunner interface in supercruise, but I'm not sure - entering the role has been a bit buggy for me in normal space as well. (Kinda weird that others seem to struggle with fighter con, but I do with the gunner.)

No idea if you can scan different bodies after you drop down though, haven't found anyone with a D-Scanner to test that with. But even if you can, that's of limited use if you're outside of supercruise.
 
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