General Remove private Lobby and single Player

[[VR] Bulbulunufus]

Do you ever asked a player what he is interested in or do you automaticly asume no one doesn't fit your playstyle? When I meet someone and I am up for that, I ask that person via in-game chat what he is doing right now and if he wants to wing up. Sadly most people don't respond but if, it can be a lot of fun and making new friends as I described with the Guardian site. I'll never understand, why people want to play multiplayer games (Elite or any other game) alone, it's always more fun with more players.

What I said earlier about "wrong side of town" - I'm of the opinion that there are people who like to interact in-game and those who like to interact on the forum, with not too much crossover . The former have a habit of rolling their eyes and staying away from the forums. Which is a shame since these are the official forums.

But that aside, the game is clearly designed to have the play mode option. It gives it a bit of a split personality and waters down its MMO credentials, but it is by design. The real question you should be asking is "should there be features in the game that support engagement in open mode?" which I think is a resounding yes, because for many of us, it's a unique and addictive thing when two sides play off against each other in good faith, in direct conflict. Or when co-op play emerges spontaneously. You might say powerplay is the perfect candidate on both of these counts, and commence the open-only PP merry go around. And I might agree, but why stop there? Why not have exclusive play that caters for all preferences? What if there was solo-only gameplay that was so cool (and made sense to be solo-only) that it made me, as a career open player, want to log into solo to do it (and not just as a chore for some form of grind)?

Can we have our cake and eat it? Can the split personality of the game be embraced rather than devs closing their eyes and going "la la la la la" about it? A couple of CMs have uttered the words "open" and "powerplay" in the same sentence in recent months - perhaps the hands are unclamping from their ears at least.

As to what you can do, engage on the forums to represent your outlook, sure, but moreover get the word out on what everyone is missing by assuming open is a dragon-infested maelstrom of fun-kill.

 

[Black White]

My entire collection of boardgames are ones that include solo gameplay modules, which are terribly good fun when my long-distance gaming group cannot meet (which is most of the time for me being distanced from them).

In the same vein people with poorer internet connections, or who can’t/don’t pay console tax, or just don’t plain like a lot of random people choose to play games, even MMOs (and I’d argue that Elite isn’t really a ‘pure’ MMO anyway) on their own. Elite is wonderful in providing you with a filter in the form of the modes for each and every gameplay session.

The difference is these types of boardgames are made for Solo gameplay. Question is: Is Elite to be intended as a Solo game? I don't think so, from a certain point of view. No multiplayer game is intended to be played alone (even if you can) hence why it is called multiplayer.

 

[Gwyther]

It's multiplayer by choice. What is so hard to understand?

Even if ED was open only, with no cross play, bad instancing, different player time zones, players leaving, etc... I doubt you would see many other players anyway.

The few times that I have gone into open, I have seen zero players.

 

[Robert Maynard]

The difference is these types of boardgames are made for Solo gameplay. Question is: Is Elite to be intended as a Solo game? I don't think so, from a certain point of view. No multiplayer game is intended to be played alone (even if you can) hence why it is called multiplayer.

Yet the game design, published at the start of the Kickstarter (nearly 9 years ago), included the three game modes where players in all three experience and affect the shared galaxy state.

 

[Zieman]

To OP:
read these threads:

Modes - The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread [See new thread]

There have been several threads on the topic of switching between solo/private groups/open. This thread is going to be the merge target for all other threads on the topic, no matter how 'unique' the thread creator may think their thread is. Creating a poll is not unique. Posting in here has...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Modes - The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread - Part the Second [Now With Added Platforms].

Elite Dangerous is an online game that allows players to play in three potential 'modes': Online ALL group (called open play) where the player is in the same universe as all other players and can see and be seen by all others in open play Online PRIVATE GROUP play where the player is online in...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Modes - The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread - Mk III

Elite Dangerous is an online game that allows players to play in three potential 'modes': Online ALL group (called open play) where the player is in the same universe as all other players and can see and be seen by all others in open play Online PRIVATE GROUP play where the player is online in...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Modes - The Open v Solo v Groups thread IV - Hotel California

Elite Dangerous is an online game that allows players to play in three potential 'modes': Online ALL group (called open play) where the player is in the same universe as all other players and can see and be seen by all others in open play Online PRIVATE GROUP play where the player is online in...

forums.frontier.co.uk

It's all been said in those, over and over again.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

The difference is these types of boardgames are made for Solo gameplay. Question is: Is Elite to be intended as a Solo game? I don't think so, from a certain point of view. No multiplayer game is intended to be played alone (even if you can) hence why it is called multiplayer.

Elite's very much the other way round. The normal number of players around in any system at any particular time is - even if restricting to just the inhabited systems, since this is obviously true of the vast majority of uninhabited ones - either zero or one ... and most of the game's systems are designed around that being the case.

So since you can't assume there's anyone else about, almost all the content is designed to be playable single-player. Some of it you can team up to make it easier ... quite a lot of it doesn't even really benefit from having another person along: you can explore in a wing but it mostly just slows you down, you can mine in a wing but three of the four mining tools don't benefit from it, you can trade in a wing but they had to patch in 5% extra profit for doing so because there's no actual reason arising from the game mechanics to do so.

This is very much a single-player game (a sequel to the three previous single-player-only Elite games) with an optional multiplayer component, in terms of in-person interactions. There's also the background events and plot which are influenced by all players, but equally any individual player can mostly ignore those too.

 

[tomimt]

I recommend removing multiplayer altogether. It's utterly pointless and as I don't do it no one should do it either.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Elite's very much the other way round. The normal number of players around in any system at any particular time is - even if restricting to just the inhabited systems, since this is obviously true of the vast majority of uninhabited ones - either zero or one ... and most of the game's systems are designed around that being the case.

So since you can't assume there's anyone else about, almost all the content is designed to be playable single-player. Some of it you can team up to make it easier ... quite a lot of it doesn't even really benefit from having another person along: you can explore in a wing but it mostly just slows you down, you can mine in a wing but three of the four mining tools don't benefit from it, you can trade in a wing but they had to patch in 5% extra profit for doing so because there's no actual reason arising from the game mechanics to do so.

This is very much a single-player game (a sequel to the three previous single-player-only Elite games) with an optional multiplayer component, in terms of in-person interactions. There's also the background events and plot which are influenced by all players, but equally any individual player can mostly ignore those too.

And this is why Powerplay fails so badly, in that you have the worst aspects of the BGS coupled with the worst aspects of single player- its a Venn diagram of what not to do really.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

And this is why Powerplay fails so badly, in that you have the worst aspects of the BGS coupled with the worst aspects of single player- its a Venn diagram of what not to do really.

And on top of that, combined with a practical limit of 11 (ish) player communities which can usefully participate.

 

[Rubbernuke]

And on top of that, combined with a practical limit of 11 (ish) player communities which can usefully participate.

The irony is that if Powerplay went partially or totally Open, in theory you'd get the 'Freedom Fighter' mechanic for free, because anyone could mob Power pledges and mess up powers.

 

[Para Handy]

As the title says: Remove private Lobby and single Player. ..........

If I actually wrote what my reaction was to yet another of these whining misconceptions I would get banned.

 

[Juniper]

Feel free to add more ideas to make Open play more enjoyable for everyone.

Remove all the people. Maybe make an Open mode where you don't have to deal with or talk to other players... something like a Solo or Private Group mode maybe...

 

[Robert Maynard]

If I actually wrote what my reaction was to yet another of these whining misconceptions I would get banned.

No need to respond in a manner which contravenes forum rules to make clear ones disregard for the desires of others when those others clearly disregard others when proposing changes that would actively exclude other players from existing mode shared game features.

 

[ZeroAi]

As the title says: Remove private Lobby and single Player. Why? Because right now people are having influences on the galaxy and you can't stop them from having it. Best examples are Community events and Powerplay. My power was expanding into a system and I sat there for over an hour and couldn't find one player, yet the undermining bar goes higher and higher because people are hiding in single Player or private Lobby. This shouldn't be the case, if enemys are undermining a system, we should be able to fight back the undermining (maybe even add Powerplay missions?). Same goes for Community events.

The upside of this would be, that people are getting more encourage and/or forced to interact more with the community, play together and/or thinks twice before they engaging into enemy Powerplay territory or Communty events, having influence while they can't hide in private Lobby or single Player anymore. It would help to make the overall game expierence more realistic; forcing people to equip theier ships more realistic and not going on full cargo racks only. Plus games are much more fun with peoples and achieving things together. No one likes to play or fly alone all day.

The only downside of it, it would give griefers and gankers a bigger play field and newer players an even harder time to get used to the game. But as I always say to developer: The focus should not be on players, who are playing a game for two weeks, leave and never coming back. We simply should not focus on those players for obvious reasons. For griefer/gankers there should be counter measures, for example, that the FSD-Interdictor does not work in systems, where Ingenieurs are placed and/or the security forces are increased (maybe by a lot).

If you want PvP, go play CQC-Arena then!
I do. I've unlocked all achievements and my current rank is "Champion".

But I want to explore and do cargo missions!
You can do this in Open.

But I don't want to get griefed or ganked!
The chances that you find players in this big *** galaxy is super low, as long as you avoid hotspots like Community events, Powerplay systems, etc.. I play in Open for most of the time. Tip: If you find someone out there, send him a wing invite. Is he accepting it, everything is fine. If not and he flys straight to you, you should be becareful. Here is a link to some more tips: LINK. One time I randomly found someone at the Guardian site and I send him an invite. It ended up, that he joined my wing, we did the Guardians together and he gave me some tips about how to get the Guardian blueprints. Remember: Not everyone is your enemy.

You are a griefer/ganker and only want to kill weaker players!
I don't like them either and I am not one of them. I bought this game last year so I don't have the biggest or strongest ships yet. I am all for fair PvP play and realistic piracy, when there is a reason for it.

I have no friends to play with!
Use the ingame chat, ask people you randomly find, join a squadron, (on Xbox) open a multiplayer-post, just generally interact more with the community. They don't need to stay to be your friends, sometimes all it takes is just to play with some peoples together, who have the same goal as you.

Maybe there should be crossplay between different platforms (Xbox, PC, etc.) for population boost, if this isn't the case yet.

I hope this get some attention. This game is designed to be an open multiplayer game and it should treated as such one.
Feel free to add more ideas to make Open play more enjoyable for everyone.

I truly like the option to play in solo mode when I'm not in a position to play with others.

And I always play in with Friends in Private Groups because I don't want to play with random people.

As far as Open, I have no desire to be in the same match as those who play the game most of the day (like Harry Potter and others) - and if they eliminate Solo and PG I'll just delete the game off my hard drive and play some of other games.

And to those who don't like my opinion, I don't care. It's mine - enjoy your own.

 

[Erei]

As the title says: Remove private Lobby and single Player.

Why don't we remove open instead so we don't have those thread anymore ? /s

 

[angusmadmac1]

Until cross platform is instigated the open only question is irrelevant.
PC players , Xbox players and PS gamers are all in their own private groups .

 

[Dragsham]

I live in open out on the edge of the bubble. An anarchy system with others nearby and a Potload of "feeding grounds", where we gorge readily.
Honestly I've never considered solo. It defeats the whole point of the game.

Dangerous.

Solo isn't.
PG is handy for wing stuff. But alot of that is soloable.
Open only is a good idea. Just needs to be implemented properly.
To the naysayers it's a nightmare.
And l truly do not understand why?
Open economy, stricter law n order n consequences, and a raft of other considerations would go alongway to rebalancing the bubble and elite as a whole.
But its a pipe dream. Never happen.
Shame really.

o7

 

[Ian Phillips]

Why don't we remove open instead so we don't have those thread anymore ? /s

 

[MickyG1982]

As the title says: Remove private Lobby and single Player. Why? Because right now people are having influences on the galaxy and you can't stop them from having it. Best examples are Community events and Powerplay. My power was expanding into a system and I sat there for over an hour and couldn't find one player, yet the undermining bar goes higher and higher because people are hiding in single Player or private Lobby. This shouldn't be the case, if enemys are undermining a system, we should be able to fight back the undermining (maybe even add Powerplay missions?). Same goes for Community events.

The upside of this would be, that people are getting more encourage and/or forced to interact more with the community, play together and/or thinks twice before they engaging into enemy Powerplay territory or Communty events, having influence while they can't hide in private Lobby or single Player anymore. It would help to make the overall game expierence more realistic; forcing people to equip theier ships more realistic and not going on full cargo racks only. Plus games are much more fun with peoples and achieving things together. No one likes to play or fly alone all day.

The only downside of it, it would give griefers and gankers a bigger play field and newer players an even harder time to get used to the game. But as I always say to developer: The focus should not be on players, who are playing a game for two weeks, leave and never coming back. We simply should not focus on those players for obvious reasons. For griefer/gankers there should be counter measures, for example, that the FSD-Interdictor does not work in systems, where Ingenieurs are placed and/or the security forces are increased (maybe by a lot).

If you want PvP, go play CQC-Arena then!
I do. I've unlocked all achievements and my current rank is "Champion".

But I want to explore and do cargo missions!
You can do this in Open.

But I don't want to get griefed or ganked!
The chances that you find players in this big *** galaxy is super low, as long as you avoid hotspots like Community events, Powerplay systems, etc.. I play in Open for most of the time. Tip: If you find someone out there, send him a wing invite. Is he accepting it, everything is fine. If not and he flys straight to you, you should be becareful. Here is a link to some more tips: LINK. One time I randomly found someone at the Guardian site and I send him an invite. It ended up, that he joined my wing, we did the Guardians together and he gave me some tips about how to get the Guardian blueprints. Remember: Not everyone is your enemy.

You are a griefer/ganker and only want to kill weaker players!
I don't like them either and I am not one of them. I bought this game last year so I don't have the biggest or strongest ships yet. I am all for fair PvP play and realistic piracy, when there is a reason for it.

I have no friends to play with!
Use the ingame chat, ask people you randomly find, join a squadron, (on Xbox) open a multiplayer-post, just generally interact more with the community. They don't need to stay to be your friends, sometimes all it takes is just to play with some peoples together, who have the same goal as you.

Maybe there should be crossplay between different platforms (Xbox, PC, etc.) for population boost, if this isn't the case yet.

I hope this get some attention. This game is designed to be an open multiplayer game and it should treated as such one.
Feel free to add more ideas to make Open play more enjoyable for everyone.

Well, these suggestions are all original...

Cool thing about solo and private group is not only that folk don't have to become your content if they don't want to but also that you can do exactly the same thing to them and use solo and pg to your advantage.

 

[krm398]

don't you just love people who want to change the world...but don't know how? So then grab everyone by their...(cough) and force them to do ONLY what you want to do? It might surprise you but a lot of people do play open, I do and have since the day I started, and yes I see real players from time to time, its easy to tell them from normal NPC pirates. they give you a fighting chance, real players are high level gankers who one shot miners for free goods...ah yes free play...lol