Newcomer / Intro Multiple Saved Games?

[King Drax I]

I am just about to jump in to this game, and I am wondering if it's possible to run multiple characters/saved games? So for instance I might want to have one 'in-game personality' that is a Pirate, another who is a simple trader, another who is a bounty hunter. Can I save all these different characters and play them at different times?

This also has a bearing on other family members playing this game. My daughter might want to play it, so can she have her own saved character or does she have to play my character?

And what about online play; can I have multiple personalities in that scenario too?

Please forgive my ignorance on this; it is the first time I have made a foray into anything even resembling online gaming since Age of Empires, and I know things have come a loooong way since then!

Thanks in advance

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

You are one player with one save only. ED doesn't have multiple personalities you can use.

The one caveat is that it's one per account i.e. if you had ten copies of the game you could have ten "characters".

Having said that, you can set up different roles by using different ships - vulture for fighter, T6 for trading etc.

 

[Ethaidan]

Actually, it depends on what platform you play on.

On PS4, every account on the PS4 has full access to the game (parental permissions pending), so you can have as many Cmdrs as you please. Each Cmdr, however, is a completely different account with Frontier, so there is no cross-Cmdr access to ingame assets (ships, stored weapons, rank, engineers, etc.) or any cosmetics purchased - these are locked to each Cmdr account registered with Frontier.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Actually, it depends on what platform you play on.

On PS4, ever account on the PS4 has full access to the game (parental permissions pending), so you can have as many Cmdrs as you please. Each Cmdr, however, is a completely different account with Frontier, so there is no cross-Cmdr access to ingame assets (ships, stored weapons, rank, engineers, etc.) or any cosmetics purchased - these are locked to each Cmdr account registered with Frontier.

So, on consoles, you only need to buy the game once, and you can have as many commanders as you like, effectively having multiple game saves?

That I didn't know and it seems PC owners are poor relations in that regard!

 

[King Drax I]

Hmm, interesting replies, thanks.

Could it also be done with different Windows user accounts on the PC? (it's the PC that is my platform, yeah) So, for example, if my daughter logs in as herself on her Windows account, could that work as a new character since it appears that the characters are saved into the user directories...

But yes, this is a major flaw with the PC system. This has either not been thought through properly, or it's been thought through properly but by complete jerks. Why in Space would s company want to limit the players like ths, especially a) if it is not a problem on the PS4, and b) when players have been asking, as far as I can see, for years for this feature.

Cone on, FD - fingers out, lads!

 

[pzykozomatik]

So, on consoles, you only need to buy the game once, and you can have as many commanders as you like, effectively having multiple game saves?

That I didn't know and it seems PC owners are poor relations in that regard!

It's due to how user management and online access have been implemented by Sony. I don't think FD had a say in this.

Hmm, interesting replies, thanks.

Could it also be done with different Windows user accounts on the PC? (it's the PC that is my platform, yeah) So, for example, if my daughter logs in as herself on her Windows account, could that work as a new character since it appears that the characters are saved into the user directories...

But yes, this is a major flaw with the PC system. This has either not been thought through properly, or it's been thought through properly but by complete jerks. Why in Space would s company want to limit the players like ths, especially a) if it is not a problem on the PS4, and b) when players have been asking, as far as I can see, for years for this feature.

Cone on, FD - fingers out, lads!

Doesn't work on PC. You get to create one Frontier account per license bought and connect to it when launching the game. A different Windows user wouldn't change that fact.

The difference on PS4 is that per Sony, every (online) player first needs to have a PSN/SEN account. For ED this account is then linked to a newly created Frontier account. Once bought and installed, any PS4 game can be started by every user account on that console, so any PSN user is able to create and link to a unique Frontier account. On the main user's "primary" console they can even share his PSN+ subscription and play ED in Open Mode.

 

[SMcA]

So, on consoles, you only need to buy the game once, and you can have as many commanders as you like, effectively having multiple game saves?

That I didn't know and it seems PC owners are poor relations in that regard!

That is not how I read Ethaidan's reply.
You need to buy an account from FD for each commander.
But on PS4 you can select which account to play, I think.
On the PC you would need to log out of the launcher then re-logon with the new account. This would involve authorisation each time. (Again I think.)

 

[pzykozomatik]

That is not how I read Ethaidan's reply.
You need to buy an account from FD for each commander.
But on PS4 you can select which account to play, I think.

Wrong, once bought you can freely create a new ED account for every PSN account on the console(s), no extra charge. Even the Horizons add-on is shared, just not the cosmetics from the store.

 

[King Drax I]

Ok then, as an expansion to the original question, here's another. And I think I know the answer already but hey.

I suppose that playing on the PC account, and then playing on the PS4, these are entirely separate and each FD 'universe' is separate for each platform? So there are like three separate Universes, one for PC, one for PS4, one for X-Box etc.? And while you're playing on your PS4, your'e therefore not going to meet someone else who's playing on X-Box?

 

[SMcA]

Wrong, once bought you can freely create a new ED account for every PSN account on the console(s), no extra charge. Even the Horizons add-on is shared, just not the cosmetics from the store.

Excellent! I did not know that. Thanks for the info.

 

[Para Handy]

Wrong, once bought you can freely create a new ED account for every PSN account on the console(s), no extra charge. Even the Horizons add-on is shared, just not the cosmetics from the store.

Glad that F D are not implementing support for the PSVR then - freeloaders!

 

[Ethaidan]

Wrong, once bought you can freely create a new ED account for every PSN account on the console(s), no extra charge. Even the Horizons add-on is shared, just not the cosmetics from the store.

Correct. When I said you need to register each Cmdr with Frontier... I'm sure I needed to create a separate Frontier account (not buy a copy) for my son's Cmdr on our PS4.

Edit: yes, just tried to open Elite on my other sons user profile - "You will need to link your SEN to a free Frontier Store Account to play Elite Dangerous. You can either log into an existing Frontier Store Account or create a new one."

I expect this is to register unique Cmdr names and/or keep store purchases separate... but I wonder what would happen if I linked it to my Frontier Store Account? Would he have access to my ship skins?

 

[Ashnak]

If you play on PC (see above for PS4, no idea about XBone), you'll need to get one account for each character you play. If you buy at the right time, these are cheap (usually 40..50% off at the usual occasions).

Again, on the PC, everything in game, and all cosmetic items that specific CMDR bought from the store, are only accessible to that specific CMDR. However, if you have multiple CMDRs and a sufficiently powerful PC, there are reports from people running two CMDRs simultaneously on one machine. You don't need multiple installs, either. The easiest way is to set up multiple launchers (one for each account) and use them to switch between accounts.

However, there are no save games in the conventional sense in ED. The Galaxy and everyone else in it goes on, no matter whether you play or not. So if you (think you) make a mistake, there's no going back to previously saved game and retrying. What's done is done. If you blow up your ship, it's gone (although you can claim a new one, at 5% of the origial cost, from the pilot's federation insurance, so never fly without rebuy).

Online: as there is no offline in ED, that question is essentially non-existant. ED is always online. The only thing you can choose, through your selection of gaming mode, is who you may encounter out there:
solo: you'll only encounter (directly) computer generated players (NPCs)
group: you can encounter both NPCs and human players (CMDRs) that belong to (and play in) the same private group
open: you can encounter NPCs and any CMDR who also plays in open

I am one of those people who (only ) have two accounts. One of them is operating in the bubble (currently trying to maintain his 10% status in the CG - I want that decal) and usually playing in open (not in this CG, though). The other is an explorer, currently around 30,000 ly from Sol, and is usually playing in one of the non-player combat exploration groups.

 

[pzykozomatik]

I expect this is to register unique Cmdr names and/or keep store purchases separate... but I wonder what would happen if I linked it to my Frontier Store Account? Would he have access to my ship skins?

AFAIK Frontier accounts for PC and PS4 CMDRs don't mix, and once an SEN account is linked to a Frontier account, you can't just unlink and link to another one.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/459449-Linking-two-Frontier-accounts-on-the-same-PS4-to-a-different-user-on-the-same-PS4

Also, the store for PS4 is completely separate from the PC one and can only be accessed through the browser in-game.


What I forgot to mention in my previous post is that you can even play together with two accounts on only one game purchase and one PS+ subscription. Player 1, who needs to own the game and have a PS+ sub (without it you can only play in Solo Mode), runs the game on a secondary PS4, while Player 2 logs into the game on Player 1's main console (other accounts that lack PS+ can only share online multiplayer functionality on the particular console that's marked as "primary" in the main user's account settings).

 

[Greybeard_LXI]

I suppose that playing on the PC account, and then playing on the PS4, these are entirely separate and each FD 'universe' is separate for each platform? So there are like three separate Universes, one for PC, one for PS4, one for X-Box etc.? And while you're playing on your PS4, your'e therefore not going to meet someone else who's playing on X-Box?

There is only one universe. Any activity in Power Play or the Back Ground Simulation (BGS) (Both advanced topics) is reflected across all platforms. Community Goals are also the same activity across all platforms, and this one is good for beginners to look at.

Unfortunately, there are technical difficulties in meeting players on other platforms in game.

 

[aRJay]

Ok then, as an expansion to the original question, here's another. And I think I know the answer already but hey.

I suppose that playing on the PC account, and then playing on the PS4, these are entirely separate and each FD 'universe' is separate for each platform? So there are like three separate Universes, one for PC, one for PS4, one for X-Box etc.? And while you're playing on your PS4, your'e therefore not going to meet someone else who's playing on X-Box?

Yes and no.

There is only one universe and that is affected by all commanders whatever platform and mode they are playing in, however commanders can only meet people on the same platform (subject to mode of course).

 

[Ashnak]

Hmm, interesting replies, thanks.

Could it also be done with different Windows user accounts on the PC? (it's the PC that is my platform, yeah) So, for example, if my daughter logs in as herself on her Windows account, could that work as a new character since it appears that the characters are saved into the user directories...

Yes and no. You can seperate accounts by using different user accounts on the PC, but still each user has to have their own account at FD. It's the FD account that seperates the user - you can log into any PC that has ED loaded, lock into the game with your account and play as your character.

Ok then, as an expansion to the original question, here's another. And I think I know the answer already but hey.

I suppose that playing on the PC account, and then playing on the PS4, these are entirely separate and each FD 'universe' is separate for each platform? So there are like three separate Universes, one for PC, one for PS4, one for X-Box etc.? And while you're playing on your PS4, your'e therefore not going to meet someone else who's playing on X-Box?

Not yet - mostly due to limitations by Sony and, to a lesser extent, MS. But Sony seems to crack, at least in one other game, so not all hope is lost.
But the universe is the same for all three platforms - if, e.g., a station is emptied of supplies during a CG (Community Goal) by traders on the PC, you won't be able to buy that stuff on PS4.

 

[King Drax I]

Great replies so far and they clarify a lot. Thank you all for your help.

Ok I have just finished my first missions and have 25k credits, which I am quite pleased with.

My question though relates to the version of the game I am playing, and also relates back to the OP. I purchased (for my PC) the Commanders' Deluxe edition which comes with the ED base game, and Horizons too. If I play a character in the Horizons game (there appears to be the choice to launch ED or ED-Horizons in the main launcher client), is he the same character as I'd have in the plain vanilla ED?

 

[Ashnak]

My question though relates to the version of the game I am playing, and also relates back to the OP. I purchased (for my PC) the Commanders' Deluxe edition which comes with the ED base game, and Horizons too. If I play a character in the Horizons game (there appears to be the choice to launch ED or ED-Horizons in the main launcher client), is he the same character as I'd have in the plain vanilla ED?

Yes. Again - your CMDR is related to your account at Frontier. The only difference between Horizons and base game is that Horizons permits you to land on (some) planets, with all that entails (like planetside bases, Engineers, planet side Points Of Interests) - and a few ships. This can be handy if you're planetside and get into a fix you can't get out of (like getting stuck upside down in a crevasse): quit the game, then restart in non-Horizons, and you'll be magically back in orbit on your ship.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Yes. Again - your CMDR is related to your account at Frontier. The only difference between Horizons and base game is that Horizons permits you to land on (some) planets, with all that entails (like planetside bases, Engineers, planet side Points Of Interests) - and a few ships. This can be handy if you're planetside and get into a fix you can't get out of (like getting stuck upside down in a crevasse): quit the game, then restart in non-Horizons, and you'll be magically back in orbit on your ship.

Haven't tried this in beta so fingers crossed it's still an option come next week!