General Multicrew is an unfinished mechanic that needs to be reworked!

badfellowman

badfellowman

➡️Who am I?​

Just a usual cmdr. I'm a big sci-fi fan and Elite Dangerous is one of my favorite games. There are several reasons: there is no colorful space of No Man’s Sky, the design of the ships is believable, the battles are deadly, and control requires skill, but allows you to finely control the movements of the spacecraft. It lacks the ability to get out of the chair, but it doesn't really impact the gaming experience.

➡️What's wrong?​

I recently invited my best friend to play my favorite space simulator. Since the game has the ability to control one ship, I bought Python and we started flying. After two hours of playing, I was completely disappointed with Multicrew.

maxresdefault.jpg

Pay attention to the co-pilot's interface: the gunner does not know which target is selected and where the ship is flying. The HUD on the cockpit glass is completely absent. In addition, there is no radar and clear indication of shields.​

The role of the co-pilot has been curtailed so much that there is no room for role-playing. In fact, the only thing the co-pilot can be responsible for is turrets and external equipment. The rest of the time he misses. Here is a list of what the co-pilot cannot do, but logically he should do:
  1. See the ship commander interface
  2. See the target of the commander when selected
  3. Manage ship energy and fully distribute it between subsystems
  4. Enable and disable ship modules
  5. Enable silent running
  6. Open the cargo scoop
  7. Request docking permission
  8. Drive SRV
  9. Mark targets
  10. Make notes on the galactic map
  11. Take control as needed
maxresdefault (1).jpg

This is what the gunner's interface looks like when controlling turrets. The gunner does not see the target of the ship commander, and the ship commander does not see the target of the gunner. As a result: shooting at different targets.

➡️Why is that bad?​

The correct distribution of functions between the commander and the co-pilot is a separate meta-game that would contribute to better player cooperation and more enjoyment of the game. The absence of these elements makes Multicrew mode useless and boring, although the very idea of joint control of the ship is intriguing. I haven't talked about the numerous Multicrew bugs here yet, but they are not important if the mechanics themselves are broken.

I really hope that Frontiers will pay attention to this issue in the future, because apart from Elite Dangerous, no game can offer such an immersive experience of space adventures. Perhaps this is not a problem at all, and I am making mountains out of molehills. Multicrew is useful for farming credits in wing missions, but is that really the only thing players want from that mechanic?


P.S.​

Sorry for mistakes. English is not my native language.
Thank you for reading this!

Reddit discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/ludrbj Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/ludrbj/multicrew_is_an_unfinished_mechanic_that_needs_to/
 
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Taifu

Taifu
Yep. I refer to FDev's Multipew implementation regularly when the subject of "minimum viable products" comes up in conversation.

I was talking to a friend of mine recently about a project he is going to be working on, when he turned round and said "Yeah, basically we're just going to Frontier it", and I knew exactly what he meant.
 

Darkman Returns

Darkman Returns
How many commanders only use this unfinished feature (Multicrew) to sit an alt account CMDR next to them because another unfinished feature (Crew) will not let us sit our NPC crewmembers in our empty cockpits?

Is it budgetary constraints that lead to so many promising ideas for new features being abandoned? FDev are either happy that these features are working as intended, or just don't have the money or will to continue development of them to realise their potential.
 

badfellowman

badfellowman
Darkman Returns said:
How many commanders only use this unfinished feature (Multicrew) to sit an alt account CMDR next to them because another unfinished feature (Crew) will not let us sit our NPC crewmembers in our empty cockpits?

Is it budgetary constraints that lead to so many promising ideas for new features being abandoned? FDev are either happy that these features are working as intended, or just don't have the money or will to continue development of them to realise their potential.
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Frontiers' main income comes from other franchises, and they can even make Elite at a loss. So I think it's not just about money.
 

Phoenix_Dfire

Phoenix_Dfire
I don't think any multi-crew 'Crew' should be able to pilot the ship but they've got to give the commander more control over what the crew can and cannot do. Most of those activities will easily allow trolls to hijack and sabotage the ship's commanders. I know that SRV driving is coming Odyssey, so that's at least one off the list but I would ask that Multi-crew gunners be able to sub target Thargoid hearts, otherwise they're pretty much useless in a Bug Hunt.
 

Kissamies

Kissamies
Yes, it's best not to expect big sweeping changes at once and hope for baby steps at first with Frontier. Odyssey bringing SRVs and hopefully consolidating Wings and Crew is a nice start. Giving the gunner an ability to go for subtargets would be excellent addition. Main problem, though, is that there is nothing for the crew to do outside combat. You can FSS, but only if the pilot is going slow enough. That really needs fixing, IMO. There are numerous little things that hopefully wouldn't be too exploitable by trolls that other people and I have suggested over many posts in this forum. For example, scan the other ships even in supercruise to see if they are wanted, or selecting a nav target that will get highlighted and put on top of the pilot's nav panel.
 

Sunyavadin

Sunyavadin
fu9ar said:
I just want to fly in my 'conda with two fighters and six dang pips let me tell you what.
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Honestly I'd just take them fixing the way the broken system won't allow my NPC to launch a fighter from my 2-bay hangar if a friend is flying one, and my multicrew friends are locked out of launching if my NPC is out in one.
Also some consistent means of getting my friends paid for their time in multicrew with me, that'd be handy.
Also letting us BOTH deploy in SRVs from my twin SRV bay. I hope at least this is getting fixed in Odyssey but I doubt it.
 

Taifu

Taifu
Fake Newts said:
Guide to devving: launch half-baked, janky update that is not stable, rewarding nor fully functional. Players barely use it because it's not stable, rewarding nor fully functional. Declare that you won't work on it to improve stability, rewards or functionality because players aren't using it.
Click to expand...
ahh, the reverse field of dreams methodology of development.

If they come, we might build it.
 

Gendo Ashina

Gendo Ashina
badfellowman said:

➡️Who am I?​

Just usual cmdr. I'm a big sci-fi fan and Elite Dangerous is one of my favorite games. There are several reasons: there is no colorful space of No Man’s Sky, the design of the ships is believable, the battles are deadly, and control requires skill, but allows you to finely control the movements of the spacecraft. It lacks the ability to get out of the chair, but it doesn't really impact the gaming experience.

➡️What's wrong?​

I recently invited my best friend to play my favorite space simulator. Since the game has the ability to control one ship, I bought Python and we started flying. After two hours of playing, I was completely disappointed with Multicrew.

View attachment 210644
Pay attention to the co-pilot's interface: the gunner does not know which target is selected and where the ship is flying. The HUD on the cockpit glass is completely absent. In addition, there is no radar and clear indication of shields.​

The role of the co-pilot has been curtailed so much that there is no room for role-playing. In fact, the only thing the co-pilot can be responsible for is turrets and external equipment. The rest of the time he misses. Here is a list of what the co-pilot cannot do, but logically he should do:
  1. See the ship commander interface
  2. See the target of the commander when selected
  3. Manage ship energy and fully distribute it between subsystems
  4. Enable and disable ship modules
  5. Enable silent running
  6. Open the cargo scoop
  7. Request docking permission
  8. Drive SRV
  9. Mark targets
  10. Make notes on the galactic map
  11. Take control as needed
View attachment 210645
This is what the gunner's interface looks like when controlling turrets. The gunner does not see the target of the ship commander, and the ship commander does not see the target of the gunner. As a result: shooting at different targets.

➡️Why is that bad?​

The correct distribution of functions between the commander and the co-pilot is a separate meta-game that would contribute to better player cooperation and more enjoyment of the game. The absence of these elements makes Multicrew mode useless and boring, although the very idea of joint control of the ship is intriguing. I haven't talked about the numerous Multicrew bugs here yet, but they are not important if the mechanics themselves are broken.

I really hope that Frontiers will pay attention to this issue in the future, because apart from Elite Dangerous, no game can offer such an immersive experience of space adventures. Perhaps this is not a problem at all, and I am making mountains out of molehills. Multicrew is useful for farming credits in wing missions, but is that really the only thing players want from that mechanic?


P.S.​

Sorry for mistakes. English is not my native language.
Thank you for reading this!

Reddit discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/ludrbj Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/ludrbj/multicrew_is_an_unfinished_mechanic_that_needs_to/
Click to expand...
Perfect write up detailing what multicrew should be more like
 
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