On Improving The Safety of Commanders In Game

[Phisto Sobanii]

There's an incredible way to improve the safety of our fellow Pilots Federation members in game right now. In fact, it doesn't even require any action on the part of Frontier!

Use foresight and plan ahead.

Let's take this past weekend as an example. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to encourage thousands of explorers in ships not Bubble ready to converge on a Low Security System and not provide any protection whatsoever beyond, 'Sure hope you signed up for the Private Group!' I love what folks are trying to do with Distant Worlds 2 but leadership has got to stand up and accept responsibility for their role in yesterday's shenanigans. Lots of you have been playing Elite for ages. It's known for players finding all kinds of creative ways to get at each other. This is hardly a new thing. How did you screw this up so badly?

Like I've said before there's shooting fish in a barrel and then there's the fish building the barrel.

Elite is what it is. Way past time we all recognize that fact and plan accordingly. If you don't through either neglect, entitlement, or some other foolishness and pay the price you've got no one to blame but yourself.

 

[Asp Explorer]

Use foresight and plan ahead.

Heavy lulzbunny activity online? - check.
Usual posturing of supiority? - check.
Usual moaning about lack of targets? - check.

Let's apply foresight and plan ahead.

<clicks Solo>

<enjoys game>

 

[jasonbarron]

There's an incredible way to improve the safety of our fellow Pilots Federation members in game right now. In fact, it doesn't even require any action on the part of Frontier!

Use foresight and plan ahead.

Let's take this past weekend as an example. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to encourage thousands of explorers in ships not Bubble ready to converge on a Low Security System and not provide any protection whatsoever beyond, 'Sure hope you signed up for the Private Group!' I love what folks are trying to do with Distant Worlds 2 but leadership has got to stand up and accept responsibility for their role in yesterday's shenanigans. Lots of you have been playing Elite for ages. It's known for players finding all kinds of creative ways to get at each other. This is hardly a new thing. How did you screw this up so badly?

Like I've said before there's shooting fish in a barrel and then there's the fish building the barrel.

Elite is what it is. Way past time we all recognize that fact and plan accordingly. If you don't through either neglect, entitlement, or some other foolishness and pay the price you've got no one to blame but yourself.

Well, to be honest it really was a very good idea, just not for the explorers.

 

[Bigmaec]

Heavy lulzbunny activity online? - check.
Usual posturing of supiority? - check.
Usual moaning about lack of targets? - check.

Let's apply foresight and plan ahead.

<clicks Solo>

<enjoys game>

But he's right. Everyone in open got it coming.
We all know the state of the game. Go in open, build for open or get ganked - sometimes even then.
And that's ok.

Denying that is as dishonest as crying foul that there are alternatives to open.
Although, Phisto, we also all know that doing it in high sec wouldn't have mattered a bit.

 

[Slange Lands]

Pallaeni was chosen because of historical precedent, other expeditions had started there.

The leadership of DW2 is completely voluntary; there were upwards of 8000 commanders signed up. Mistakes and oversights will be made because of extreme lack of manpower.

All of us are certainly responsible for our actions and in an ideal world, we would never procrastinate, never err and always be properly prepared.

Let me stress the Ideally part.

I try to give others slack and the benefit of the doubt, others may not.
I try to forgive and recognize the equality of everybody, others may not.

It's their right to be bullies.
It's my right to commiserate with those who got blown up.

Unfortunately, I am still too judgemental and pubescent, and I will decry the fact that the gankers chose to blow up the harmless instead of say the Thargoids, simply for notoriety and cheap thrills.

Maybe I will grow up.

Actually, I really don't need to defend the innocent. True beauty, love and light will never be vanquished.

It's just a game? Your thoughts are more powerful than you think. Isn't it exactly your thoughts that make you miserable?

o7

 

[Mag1cMushrum]

Goods points raised.

Frontier wanted players in the open to play "together". They also knew that there would be gankers - maybe not as many as they thought, but they knew.

Nothing was done about it.

A capital ship from all major factions should have been in the system, sorting out the gankers. Not just an immediate wanted but shoot-to-kill and with heavy firepower.

On discord, listening for many an hour, there were a LOT of people who bought the game purely to join the exploration - they had no time to prepare, some came in low-jump cheap ships and did not expect their first experience of being in an open multi-player universe to be so harsh - its probably put a lot of them off playing ED full-stop and they will get their money back.

The only people you hurt here Frontier are new gamers and your own wallet. Sort it out. At least have some protection sorted for each major way point along the way. Pretty please.

 

[n4p0l3on]

On discord, listening for many an hour, there were a LOT of people who bought the game purely to join the exploration - they had no time to prepare, some came in low-jump cheap ships and did not expect their first experience of being in an open multi-player universe to be so harsh - its probably put a lot of them off playing ED full-stop and they will get their money back.

The only people you hurt here Frontier are new gamers and your own wallet. Sort it out. At least have some protection sorted for each major way point along the way. Pretty please.

That's a stretch isn't it? I don't believe there was an influx of totally newbie gamers just jumped straight into this game to participate in one of the most daunting activity of the game.

 

[Ouberos]

That's a stretch isn't it? I don't believe there was an influx of totally newbie gamers just jumped straight into this game to participate in one of the most daunting activity of the game.

IKR? It's like they are literally unable to read the OP and accept he might have a point.
Weird.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

I did use foresight. I went into open with the intention of getting blown up.

 

[VR SenseiMatty]

Heavy lulzbunny activity online? - check.
Usual posturing of supiority? - check.
Usual moaning about lack of targets? - check.

Let's apply foresight and plan ahead.

<clicks Solo>

<enjoys game>

Exactly... I've been killed once, switched to SOLO, problem solved!

 

[Arkadi]

I don't even participate in this years Distant World Expedition, but I still was registered in the Fleet Comm Group from the first expedition. Several days ago, I got a strange Friend Request from a commander I have never heared of nor met. This commander didn't react to comms in any way after friend request. Getting no reaction after several attempts to communicate, I planned ahead and deleted this suspicious contact.

Beware of false friends.

 

[Bigmaec]

I don't even participate in this years Distant World Expedition, but I still was registered in the Fleet Comm Group from the first expedition. Several days ago, I got a strange Friend Request from a commander I have never heared of nor met. This commander didn't react to comms in any way after friend request. Getting no reaction after several attempts to communicate, I planned ahead and deleted this suspicious contact.

Beware of false friends.

Happens all the time. I got friend requests in Mobius or open for being in the same star system. Apply Hanlon's razor if you like

 

[Feros-da-Grundig]

Not just an immediate wanted but shoot-to-kill and with heavy firepower.

Might have killed as many explorers trying to futilely shoot back and accidentally hitting the capital ships, turning them aggro. This is a common tactic used by some CMDRs at stations against less thinky opponents.

There's just no substitute for preparation, skill and foresight in open (in the whole game really, just x100 in open) in ED nor will any minor feasible change make it so.

That said, I actually do think there were some new players there, and I think FDev does an atrocious job of teaching even basic survival skills in game. I only became not-vulnerable by way too much thorough use of 3rd party resources, guides and preparation. It's not reasonable to expect players to be as insane diligent as I was in my first few weeks, and I suspect many of the DW2'ers were in that range (could totally be wrong, maybe there is a source on this?).

At least they need to make it much more obvious to very casual players to just use solo. Open is no place for people who just learn the game in game, without eddb and inara and corlioslis and rinzler guides, etc. I don't know if I've ever played as complex a game that did as bad a job explaining how to play well as ED does (in game/official only, 3rd party sources are excellent) .

 

[777Driver]

Been following Rusty dogs stream, I was under the impression the Bulk of DW2 was done in a private group set up for the expedition? The rest was in Solo or personal private groups. Can't imagine that a huge amount of people would have bothered with Open mode. More than enough slots for everyone to fit into the main private group.

Anyway, no cmdrs from this community volunteering to fly escort for the first 1000ly or so in open play?

 

[Feros-da-Grundig]

Can't imagine that a huge amount of people would have bothered with Open mode.

Anyway, where the cmdrs from this community volunteering to fly escort for the first 1000ly or so in open play?

I know a CMDR who seal clubbed at least 20 by himself on PS4 USA launch alone. Worldwide cross platform must have had thousands in open, with hundreds of boom booms. I was happily hundreds of ly away from the nonsense.

It's been beaten to death already, but open mode fleet security is an impossible task to start with and also was largely absent in open mode vs aggro CMDRs. It primarily exists to deter NPC pirates in PG.

 

[777Driver]

And hours of jumps just to club some more seals, v not fun for me but to each their own.

It is a bit weird, just read a post from some Rinzler wannabe claiming he'll start killing cmdrs 10,000LY out... Like seriously, they should get themselves a girlfriend, or just a friend.. Maybe leave the house every now and then?

 

[Julio Montega]

A capital ship from all major factions should have been in the system, sorting out the gankers. Not just an immediate wanted but shoot-to-kill and with heavy firepower.

I find it always annoying to read posts like these,
where the parallels to a religion are quite openly visible.

Instead of taking initiative and reacting yourself,
appeals are made for an outside force, FD in this case,
to settle personal problems via interventions.

Don't take it personal, i solemnly aim to show
what is off in open play and multiplayer.
It is the mindset of the people.

 

[Wolf Starslayer]

Been following Rusty dogs stream, I was under the impression the Bulk of DW2 was done in a private group set up for the expedition? The rest was in Solo or personal private groups. Can't imagine that a huge amount of people would have bothered with Open mode. More than enough slots for everyone to fit into the main private group.

Anyway, no cmdrs from this community volunteering to fly escort for the first 1000ly or so in open play?

No that would be a challenge, most would rather shoot unarmed doods.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

There's an incredible way to improve the safety of our fellow Pilots Federation members in game right now. In fact, it doesn't even require any action on the part of Frontier!

Use foresight and plan ahead.

Let's take this past weekend as an example. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to encourage thousands of explorers in ships not Bubble ready to converge on a Low Security System and not provide any protection whatsoever beyond, 'Sure hope you signed up for the Private Group!'

I think that's a good idea. Signing up for the private group is an excellent way to avoid confrontations.

I love what folks are trying to do with Distant Worlds 2 but leadership has got to stand up and accept responsibility for their role in yesterday's shenanigans. Lots of you have been playing Elite for ages. It's known for players finding all kinds of creative ways to get at each other. This is hardly a new thing. How did you screw this up so badly?

Leadership has to take responsibility in case some lying piece of excrement got into the private group? Leadership has been working their behind of organising this. I challenge you to try to get 10,000 CMDRs into an event and see how you fair.

Players who arrived in Open have themselves to blame.

 

[Feros-da-Grundig]

It is a bit weird, just read a post from some Rinzler wannabe claiming he'll start killing cmdrs 10,000LY out... Like seriously, they should get themselves a girlfriend, or just a friend.. Maybe leave the house every now and then?

First sorry for any quote confusion, I edited a post that 777 had quickly quoted. I was discussing to a friend who had seal clubbed at DW2 jump off that he should instead try some roleplay with the explorers, rather than just the pew pew pew due to more fun that way and also less grief for all involved.

Anyway to address 777's point, it's unwise to pigeonhole these people even if you hate them. I don't like the seal clubbing much, but these (mostly) guys aren't monsters any more than the seals are helpless dumb people. They have families, jobs, etc. In the past few days in PvP discords I've heard CMDRs discuss their failed marriages, the deaths of their parents, dealing with illness, medical debt, etc. Of course everyone has these problems sometimes, so you can still be upset at the seal clubbing. But to assume it is only done by some sort of reprehensible basement dwelling creature is not only inaccurate, it's unproductive. (And also as far as I'm concerned it lacks empathy).

And there are indeed players who don't leave the house much. Why do you use that as an insult? Most probably suffer from an injury, or debilitating depression or the like. Acting like this is shameful is part of why disability in general and mental illness in particular carries such stigma. Many of these people are sterling people in game, some others probably quite nasty. But their IRL problems and game behavior don't necessarily mean they deserve such derision.

Except that damned weird green Abe Lincoln pirate, he's a real menace who must be stopped.