I was just sitting thinking about it.
Part of the reason why the Play Modes are controversial are because of other issues within the game. However, to make Open-Only really work for the best, a lot of those problems would need to vanish. In this sense, Open Play is actually the best future that the game has, assuming that certain things change.
An ideal Open-Only scenario would look like this:
These things aren't strictly missing from the game, but to make Open-Only work without having half of the community rage quit will require a lot of work. But if FDEV could pull it off, I'd never log out. Some things that aren't included in this list are the grinding time, credits-per-hour, and such. When a game is balanced so that players feel rewarded for playing, people don't complain about "the grind". At the moment, the game rewards time spent in-game over skill, and it doesn't offer any incentive to participate in riskier activities. For example, a guy in an Eagle could potentially earn only a few pennies for managing to take down an Anaconda, but if he loses, he loses EVERYTHING. Thus the Meta is to turtle-up or run from any dangerous activities. Which then leads to people doing things to get credits to avoid losing everything from fruitless encounters. And That's reinforced by the flowchart-like meta in the ship progression. And it goes on and on and on.
I honestly doubt that any of these will happen, though. I haven't seen any indication that the experience in-game is ever going to change from what it is today.
But, hey, it'd be nice, right?
Part of the reason why the Play Modes are controversial are because of other issues within the game. However, to make Open-Only really work for the best, a lot of those problems would need to vanish. In this sense, Open Play is actually the best future that the game has, assuming that certain things change.
An ideal Open-Only scenario would look like this:
- Combat Logging No longer exists. Instancing issues are mostly non-existent. Dedicated servers allow large numbers of players to be in the same instance.
- Progression through the game is balanced and fair. Skill determines progression rather than time spent in-game. There are meaningful rewards for every profession and playstyle, and players earn greater rewards as they go along.
- PVP and Combat are balanced. The rewards and losses associated with PvP and Combat fit the skill level of a player. No loss or victory feels easy.
- The ship roster is balanced. There are no seemingly perfect or "must buy" ships. There are ships at nearly every price point. No ship ever feels invincible.
- Player groups and Multiplayer actions have a huge impact on the game. Players are rewarded sufficiently for all multiplayer activities. Unique rewards can also be found in playing alone. There's a functioning and useful multiplayer element for each playstyle and profession.
These things aren't strictly missing from the game, but to make Open-Only work without having half of the community rage quit will require a lot of work. But if FDEV could pull it off, I'd never log out. Some things that aren't included in this list are the grinding time, credits-per-hour, and such. When a game is balanced so that players feel rewarded for playing, people don't complain about "the grind". At the moment, the game rewards time spent in-game over skill, and it doesn't offer any incentive to participate in riskier activities. For example, a guy in an Eagle could potentially earn only a few pennies for managing to take down an Anaconda, but if he loses, he loses EVERYTHING. Thus the Meta is to turtle-up or run from any dangerous activities. Which then leads to people doing things to get credits to avoid losing everything from fruitless encounters. And That's reinforced by the flowchart-like meta in the ship progression. And it goes on and on and on.
I honestly doubt that any of these will happen, though. I haven't seen any indication that the experience in-game is ever going to change from what it is today.
But, hey, it'd be nice, right?