Seriously, what's the point in open play?

[Jack Winter]

My recent experience is that in AX situations Open starts to go wrong with 3 or 4 players. :-(

A single example: I was in a wing of 3. We decided to go to a different attacked surface base. I dropped in, and I could see their two "wing beacons" (I now know that this is a bad sign). I fought the thargoids for a bit until one wingmate asked me, "Where did you get to?" We were a pre-existing wing of three who had already instanced together and the game chose to put us into separate instances!

I have a suspicion that the invisible interceptors and the interceptors which seem to be surrounded by visual black hole effects are also connected with instancing, because I've only seen those in Open too.

I won't argue about this as it's very well possible. Personally I've played quite a few hours teamed up in PG, both on foot and space CZ and even some AX as a team of 3-4 and possibly a few SLFs and we haven't really seen many issues, though I''ve occasionally seen some hints of rubber banding in space and there was this one time on foot where all the NPCs were frozen into place, but started moving as my team mate left the instance.

On planet things seem to start breaking once we manage to get 35-40 commanders landed in the same place, things like you can leave your ship but no longer board it again where you'd just get a braben tunnel and have to relog to get into the game, normally in a different instance to all the rest even though many are in the friend list and same PG. In space I think there have been people managing up to a hundred ships at once.

It's hard to put numbers on it without a lot of people to make many experiments, so I think the conclusion is that there are clear limits on how many people can instance together. The other observation is that several friends can go to the same place in the same PG and they will not instance together, so one has to work with discord and in game team invites to finally get all the people into the same instance. Or maybe this is the problem as we're trying to force players into a single instance where the game clearly wants to split us up, maybe due to network conditions and ping times.

But I think it's fairly clear that if 40 commanders go to SD in open they simply won't all instance together without going through hoops trying to make it happen.

 

[M_Biscotti]

With the current community goal going on, there's a lot of player chatter in the Duamta system. When I was there some time ago a lot of the chatter consisted essentially of people saying that they were ganked (when they were bringing commodities for the CG), and other people suggesting them to switch to solo mode. Quite notably, at least one of the gankers was sending message to the chat, in a rather smug and condescending tone.

I asked him what exact he gains from ruining other player's game and pushing them to solo mode.[…]

The thread seems to be going in a 1048576th thread about Open being full PvP. I have one and only answer to that : If you don't want PvP then join Mobius . This is the biggest PvE group since years. You won't meet as much people as in Open, but you also won't meet ganksters.

regards.
Note : Open is Brazil's favelas or US's "no go" areas. Don't be surprised when you get killed. Because one time or another, you will be killed.

 

[Brrokk]

The thread seems to be going in a 1048576th thread about Open being full PvP. I have one and only answer to that : If you don't want PvP then join Mobius . This is the biggest PvE group since years. You won't meet as much people as in Open, but you also won't meet ganksters.

regards.
Note : Open is Brazil's favelas or US's "no go" areas. Don't be surprised when you get killed. Because one time or another, you will be killed.

OK, many of us have done that. Usually you don't meet anyone in Open though and it's no more dangerous than other modes.

The thread was "What's the point in Open play" though.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Note : Open is Brazil's favelas or US's "no go" areas. Don't be surprised when you get killed. Because one time or another, you will be killed.

And... that's perfectly fine? Nothing wrong with that? Or the cynicism of that analogy?

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

And... that's perfectly fine? Nothing wrong with that? Or the cynicism of that analogy?

I don't think "it's fine", but rather "what r you gonna do about it?", rhethorically speaking. You can talk all day about it, but it doesn't change a thing.

 

[M_Biscotti]

OK, many of us have done that. Usually you don't meet anyone in Open though and it's no more dangerous than other modes.

The thread was "What's the point in Open play" though.

And... that's perfectly fine? Nothing wrong with that? Or the cynicism of that analogy?

Yes, I do believe this is perfectly fine because this is how the game works. Some will jump on this to do what I don't want but I quite don't care as the subject is "law" in E: D/Open.

When I look are to SC's mechanics, we are tracked everywhere we are and whatever we do in secured places while some others are to be like Open in Elite. When I look at sentinels in NMS, tracking us only where they are and see us, everywhere else being like Open (I know it's a solo game, I'm comparing "law" systems). I can't wait to see how "law" will work in Starfield. E : D is an anarchy because the game allows players to do so. So for me, there is no point complaining about a 10 years old game with this design, Open is PvP with stuff grind, whether some like it or not it is designed this way.

What I don't like is "Open or Solo or nothing". Noope ! There is another way : PvE groups

regards

 

[Zieman]

What I don't like is "Open or Solo or nothing". Noope ! There is another way : PvE groups

Why not just: "whatever mode happens to suit you when you log in".

 

[DjVortex]

The thread seems to be going in a 1048576th thread about Open being full PvP. I have one and only answer to that : If you don't want PvP then join Mobius . This is the biggest PvE group since years. You won't meet as much people as in Open, but you also won't meet ganksters.

Why is this the first time I hear of this?

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Why is this the first time I hear of this?

It used to be mentioned more often in the past. Mobius group (someone needs to admit you to the group) is privately run and used to have a limit of members. That might have put a dent in its popularity.

 

[Phoenix_Dfire]

The problem really is - why is there solo mode?
If solo didn't exist players would be forced to confront gankers in a more organised and proficient manner. As it stands we can just slither off to solo and play virtually risk free.

No. There are times that you just want to relax and play the game, without having to worry about someone who enjoys spoiling other peoples game. That's what solo / pvt is for.

Open is there for when I am in the mood for people that could try and stop me. For example, when I'm playing Powerplay. That game mode needs that human conflict element to make it meaningful (because, lets be honest, there's nothing else in power play).

 

[Robert Maynard]

It used to be mentioned more often in the past. Mobius group (someone needs to admit you to the group) is privately run and used to have a limit of members. That might have put a dent in its popularity.

Private Groups are have a limit of 20,000 members (whether those members are online or not, still play the game, or not) - which is pitifully small in comparison to c.12M copies of the game in circulation.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Private Groups are have a limit of 20,000 members (whether those members are online or not, still play the game, or not) - which is pitifully small in comparison to c.12M copies of the game in circulation.

Yes, imagine you run a group and it takes off like that. You might not be inclined to handle all that.

 

[Phoenix_Dfire]

Yes, imagine you run a group and it takes off like that. You might not be inclined to handle all that.

Especially when ;-

1. Some gankers have infiltrated your group once and started killing the very players who hate gankers, so you've now got to vette every new player.
2. The tools for managing a group are horrendous to use for a small group, but scarely bad for large groups.
3. There were that many people who wanted to join that there are actually three mobious groups covering different time zones.

I don't even know if the people are still looking after those groups anymore but I take my hat of to Liam (Mobious himself who started it) and the various mods who have kept it going.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Especially when ;-

1. Some gankers have infiltrated your group once and started killing the very players who hate gankers, so you've now got to vette every new player

I have heard that story numerous times before. This is one of the factors suggesting that some of the gankers aren't just despicable CMDRs, but actually despicable humans. First they suggest people should use the modes to avoid unwanted PvP, and then they try to ruin the game for them by going after them when people actually do that. This is exactly why so many (yes, I will use the term) victims of ganking feel so much hate towards them and call them psychos, sociopaths or worse. Not all of them are, proboably most of them are not, quite a few are probably nice guys "once you get to know them", but this sort of behaviour suggests there are more sociopaths amongst the ganker community than they dare to admit.

Have the CMDRs in question at least been banned or timed out by Frontier for that?

 

[Kyle Stryker]

The problem really is - why is there solo mode?
If solo didn't exist players would be forced to confront gankers in a more organised and proficient manner. As it stands we can just slither off to solo and play virtually risk free.

Your point is valid. I think a happy medium would be to increase the rewards in open, something like a 10-20% increase in profits or material rewards to make it worth it to participate in open.

 

[Yuri John]

Everyone in this thread is now blocked.

Good day.

 

[Rebel Yell]

If solo didn't exist players would be forced to confront gankers in a more organised and proficient manner.

Good point.

More fishes in the barrel means less risks for the fishes...

And, also... as you said, organisation (winging up, arranging protection in some systems, etc.) probably the whole game would have offered quite a different experience to gankers.

 

[nemolomen]

... but this sort of behaviour suggests there are more sociopaths amongst the ganker community than they dare to admit.
...

Or merely teenagers who are exploring boundaries???

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Or merely teenagers who are exploring boundaries???

I have raised a teenager. That's even worse .

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Or merely teenagers who are exploring boundaries???

also, most of the gankers that go public and reveal their real persons by streaming with a facecam and such are more beyond their 30s, what makes it even weirder.