NPCs are too simple

[SergMx]

I see a lot of questions about open play, playing against human criminals, etc.
But maybe it's actually a problem in single player game ? The difficulty level of the single player game is so low it's even embarrassing.
I think that if they made the level of NPC opponents very decent, people would choose open game to team up with other pilots to win.

If a person when trading in the single game will be afraid of NPCs and improve the defense of his ship, then after that he will also fly in the open game without problems.

 

[Darrack]

then after that he will also fly in the open game without problems.

1) many don't want Open play (see the Hotel)
2) No NPC will ever be as good as a player so it isn't really training
3) NPCs scale with your rank
7) I still cant count

O7

 

[GroG79]

Blame engineering

 

[Rubbernuke]

1) many don't want Open play (see the Hotel)
2) No NPC will ever be as good as a player so it isn't really training
3) NPCs scale with your rank
7) I still cant count

O7

NPCs scale to a point at which they become fodder.

If NPCs (especially Powerplay NPCs) had random fits, wing sizes and scaled far further than today you'd have far less calls of NPCs being crap.

 

[Walter2]

If memory serves, NPCs once reached a skill level that almost no player could achieve and NPCs were hobbled.

 

[SergMx]

1) many don't want Open play (see the Hotel)
2) No NPC will ever be as good as a player so it isn't really training
3) NPCs scale with your rank
7) I still cant count

O7

You don't get it, people don't want an open game mostly just because they've been spoiled by the single player game. You fly at zero risk.

 

[SergMx]

Blame engineering

So maybe we should let them engineer their own ships too ?

 

[Ozric]

Open play conversations have only one place. And this isn't it.

Even mentioning it in the OP was a bad idea, so let's just drop it entirely.

 

[Rubbernuke]

So maybe we should let them engineer their own ships too ?

This is what needs to be in past Elite rank, really. Having a wing of 4 G3 Sidewinders would be nastier than a pirate Corvette as they are currently.

 

[SergMx]

Open play conversations have only one place. And this isn't it.

Even mentioning it in the OP was a bad idea, so let's just drop it entirely.

All right. Uh-huh. It's not in the thread title, let's not bring it up at all.
But really NPCs are not any danger at all now !

 

[SergMx]

This is what needs to be in past Elite rank, really. Having a wing of 4 G3 Sidewinders would be nastier than a pirate Corvette as they are currently.

I don't remember when it was, but nowadays any merchant on t9 flies even without a shield since he knows he's in no danger.

 

[Ozric]

I don't remember when it was, but nowadays any merchant on t9 flies even without a shield since he knows he's in no danger.

That has everything to do with how easy it is to evade NPC interdictions, and nothing to do with how dangerous the NPCs are. If you can evade an interdiction in a fully laden T-9, then you literally never have to worry about thinking of NPCs.

 

[Rubbernuke]

That has everything to do with how easy it is to evade NPC interdictions, and nothing to do with how dangerous the NPCs are. If you can evade an interdiction in a fully laden T-9, then you literally never have to worry about thinking of NPCs.

Its more to do with missions- for example top end pirate lords who fly identical corvettes firing identical weapons. If each was random you could not anticipate anything.

If you had a flock of engineered Sidewinders firing cytos and packhounds you'd have to approach the fight differently.

 

[Cmdr Snuffler]

But really NPCs are not any danger at all now !

now??? They've been too easy since alpha, 9+ years ago.
Have you tried soloing wing assassination missions? They at least offer more of a challenge than your general run of the mill muppet NPCs...or taking on spec ops in a high CZ.

 

[Ozric]

Its more to do with missions- for example top end pirate lords who fly identical corvettes firing identical weapons. If each was random you could not anticipate anything.

If you had a flock of engineered Sidewinders firing cytos and packhounds you'd have to approach the fight differently.

Oh yes I'd agree with that for combat. But the idea traders fly shieldless because NPCs aren't strong enough is completely incorrect.

The only time NPC difficulty has any impact is if you go looking for them.

I'm Novice Combat rank and Elite in the other two, so I get hunted by Deadly NPCs. Ironically the only ship that I have shields on is my Exploration one because I fear planet surfaces far more

 

[SergMx]

That has everything to do with how easy it is to evade NPC interdictions, and nothing to do with how dangerous the NPCs are. If you can evade an interdiction in a fully laden T-9, then you literally never have to worry about thinking of NPCs.

Prohibition, too, is essentially a level of difficulty.

 

[SergMx]

now??? They've been too easy since alpha, 9+ years ago.
Have you tried soloing wing assassination missions? They at least offer more of a challenge than your general run of the mill muppet NPCs...or taking on spec ops in a high CZ.

There used to be no special ops, the wing special ops added almost no complexity to CZ and the only trouble there is running out of ammo.
As for the lords for the wing, I used to do only them, as they at least paid something for them (I think it was 5 million) and the only problem there was - it was necessary to kill FDL quickly so that he did not have time to run away, if you do not have time to instantly kill FDL, he usually ran away

 

[Darrack]

Blame engineering

Pretty much this, threads over.

O7

 

[Robert Maynard]

If memory serves, NPCs once reached a skill level that almost no player could achieve and NPCs were hobbled.

It was when 2.1 launched, in May 2016, introducing engineering. It was not helped by bugged weaponry on NPC ships, e.g. rail guns that fired as fast as multi-cannons as one example, and the need to carry particular commodities for engineering recipes (that draw engineered NPCs like flies) - it was reverted very quickly (although there were those who revelled in the unhappiness of other players who didn't find the enhanced NPCs to be much fun to play among). Commodity requirements in engineering recipes were also removed quite quickly.

 

[Robert Maynard]

I think that if they made the level of NPC opponents very decent, people would choose open game to team up with other pilots to win.

If a person when trading in the single game will be afraid of NPCs and improve the defense of his ship, then after that he will also fly in the open game without problems.

Noting Zac's comments on a recent stream on the Type 8, and noting the use of "at all" in relation to how often "a lot of players" engage in combat, it's doubtful that making NPCs more of a (presumably unavoidable) challenge would be either well received by those players nor make them more inclined to play among other players than they already are:

.... we made the python as a combat ship, we know a lot of players are into combat however Elite dangerous is very much a sort of right yeah "blaze your own trail" so there's a lot of players that don't engage with combat at all and we want to make sure that we're listening to you guys as well and providing content for you, and that is where the type eight is going to come in as a really good trade ship - so we'll talk about some of the key features....