Solo play 1.5

[Mo Ronik]

Just a basic idea to build on and no idea what kind of code implementation it would take but here goes...

You have found a nice station to call home. You built your fleet. You use the stations services all for free. You play in solo game mode because.. well just because. Now, you have to actually work for the station. You go into a solo 1.5 mode where you fly a station police ship and protect the commanders going in and out or you fly patrol around a planet if your home is a planetary base. You would have to have a minimum rank to be considered so someone brand new wouldn't be thrown into the fray. Maybe once a month you have to give 2 hours of service to your home station, maybe more if you like doing it. You can interact with solo players via the comm screen and target NPC pirates aiming to get their cargo or destroy them but solo players can't interact with each other of course. You can also scan for illegal cargo or criminals and either take action or turn it over to the station defense. Once your two hours of service have been logged you go back to your own solo game for the rest of the month. Suggestions for improvement please...

 

[Mo Ronik]

To add to a solo play 1.5. When you enter a system that is owned/controlled by a player faction you immediately go into a solo 1.5 mode where you can interact with the player faction members. You still can't interact with other players not in the faction. This way the faction can monitor what is happening with their system. (current mechanics of the game of course means they have to be on the same gaming platform) If you are doing work for another faction to try and increase their influence the controlling faction can intervene. They can destroy your ship but it would mean an influence hit on them which is self limiting or they can just communicate with you maybe trying to gain your friendship or offer up a better deal than what you got from a competing faction. If you are doing work for the controlling faction they can see who you are and offer up thanks and/or better ways to help them. When you leave the system you revert back to solo mode.

 

[Mo Ronik]

You have found a nice station to call home.

To improve on this, there could be a way to officially make a station your home. Right now when I go to my home port I get the welcome message saying "Welcome to bla bla bla, enjoy your stay" or something similar. I'd like it to say "Welcome home commander" and maybe add some cheerful greeting like they hope you had a profitable adventure or the like. The only thing currently saying my home port is my home is I store my ships there.

 

[Misty_Dark]

To add to a solo play 1.5. When you enter a system that is owned/controlled by a player faction you immediately go into a solo 1.5 mode where you can interact with the player faction members. You still can't interact with other players not in the faction. This way the faction can monitor what is happening with their system. (current mechanics of the game of course means they have to be on the same gaming platform) If you are doing work for another faction to try and increase their influence the controlling faction can intervene. They can destroy your ship but it would mean an influence hit on them which is self limiting or they can just communicate with you maybe trying to gain your friendship or offer up a better deal than what you got from a competing faction. If you are doing work for the controlling faction they can see who you are and offer up thanks and/or better ways to help them. When you leave the system you revert back to solo mode.

So what makes this different from Open? You either choose Solo or Open. how hard can this be? here you are suggesting that player choosing open would all of a sudden be placed with other players.


Then we have the faulty logic behind why pew, pew on players for the sake of BGS is needed, it is't, you have already figured out that the controlling faction takes a hit when you kill another clean player, regardless on what faction their action might support. And this is the key, most of the time you cannot know what faction a player support if any. You do not now for who I run missions for, you cannot link my actions with changes in influence, as I might actually be contributing to your faction, and it is another player group that you cannot see, due to time zone difference and/or platform difference.



I do not like this force other players onto players who have choosing SOLO. Why not take your suggestion and remove the SOLO 1.5 stuff?

 

[Iskariot]

Just a basic idea to build on and no idea what kind of code implementation it would take but here goes...

You have found a nice station to call home. You built your fleet. You use the stations services all for free. You play in solo game mode because.. well just because. Now, you have to actually work for the station. You go into a solo 1.5 mode where you fly a station police ship and protect the commanders going in and out or you fly patrol around a planet if your home is a planetary base. You would have to have a minimum rank to be considered so someone brand new wouldn't be thrown into the fray. Maybe once a month you have to give 2 hours of service to your home station, maybe more if you like doing it. You can interact with solo players via the comm screen and target NPC pirates aiming to get their cargo or destroy them but solo players can't interact with each other of course. You can also scan for illegal cargo or criminals and either take action or turn it over to the station defense. Once your two hours of service have been logged you go back to your own solo game for the rest of the month. Suggestions for improvement please...

I would be very happy if we couild assign a "Home System"

My proposal:


Marking a system as home system.
---------------------------------
- Commanders can mark a system as a home system.
- Cmdrs can only mark a system as a home system when they are allied.
- You can only mark one at a time and only change home systems once per 3 months (just throwing it out there, could also be 6 months or 12).
- A system that is marked as a home system will always stay allied.
- A system that is marked home system will get a special marker in the star map.

Possible Advantages:
--------------------
- You get discounts there (perhaps 10%). People know you. Like you. Treat you better.
- You get better missions, better pay-outs, better rewards. People know you. Like you. Treat you better.
- Moving ships to your homesystem costs much less. Perhaps 50% less.
- Your fines are lower (perhaps?).
- If you are attacked in a homesystem the authorities will respond much quicker to help you out.
- Bounty pay-outs are 10% higher.
- Exploration pay-outs are 10% higher.

Other stuff:
-----------
- When you commit crimes in your home system, you will lose your special status and you will have to work to get it back.

- Also commanders are greeted with lines to make you feel like you are returning to you home "Welcome home cmdr". "Long time no see", "Glad you are back", "Let's have a drink soon", "Shall we hook up tonight" and stuff like that.

- When you arrive in your home system the ship's voice will say so.

 

[Mo Ronik]

So what makes this different from Open? You either choose Solo or Open. how hard can this be? here you are suggesting that player choosing open would all of a sudden be placed with other players.


Then we have the faulty logic behind why pew, pew on players for the sake of BGS is needed, it is't, you have already figured out that the controlling faction takes a hit when you kill another clean player, regardless on what faction their action might support. And this is the key, most of the time you cannot know what faction a player support if any. You do not now for who I run missions for, you cannot link my actions with changes in influence, as I might actually be contributing to your faction, and it is another player group that you cannot see, due to time zone difference and/or platform difference.



I do not like this force other players onto players who have choosing SOLO. Why not take your suggestion and remove the SOLO 1.5 stuff?

What makes it different is you choose to be in solo mode and you choose your missions to do. If you choose to go to a player faction controlled system you can interact with them.. only. You don't interact with anyone else. If you are running missions for them they can help you pick what is best for the faction. If you are running missions against them they can communicate with you about it. Yes, someone from the player faction needs to be online and playing for this to work. No it's not open so you don't interact with everyone else. Just the controlling player faction. Not an NPC faction in control.

 

[Misty_Dark]

What makes it different is you choose to be in solo mode and you choose your missions to do. If you choose to go to a player faction controlled system you can interact with them.. only. You don't interact with anyone else. If you are running missions for them they can help you pick what is best for the faction. If you are running missions against them they can communicate with you about it. Yes, someone from the player faction needs to be online and playing for this to work. No it's not open so you don't interact with everyone else. Just the controlling player faction. Not an NPC faction in control.

Not very convincing arguments for why this non Solo mode.

So we have a large group, almost 500 players, with a mix of murdering hobos and PVE player, they run a successful player faction, that is controlling ~100 systems.... now all the murdering hobos have "access" to players that EXPLICITLY have opted out of seeing other players.


Just this flaw alone should be enough stop pushing for this kind of changes.




I fail to see the logic why ANY solo player should care about what your or mine player faction cares about? I would expect any solo players to take missions that are important to them, most likely
they will pick missions based on the rewards, most notably credits and/or data/material.

And you have still not addressed that you have no idea what players are doing for missions.




Another flaw is that several player groups are already supporting existing factions, and they had invested alot of time in that already, and did not want to start over with a new player minor faction.





So this just appears as just another call for having open only.

 

[Mo Ronik]

I guess I see it differently than you. I don't play this game just to get credits or rewards. Just a few days ago I went to help a player faction gain back control of their system. It got boogered up with the BGS issues and they ended up losing control of it. They are working to regain control so I offered up my assistance and ran a bunch of missions for them only taking influence for the faction. I didn't do it for rewards or credits or anything like that. I just did it to help other folks out. I play in solo or a player group. They didn't have a player group so I stayed in solo. It would have been great to be in communication with them via the comms screen.

Someone else coming into their system carrying 100 tons of some commodity and when it gets delivered the influence goes to a competing faction. The controlling faction can contact them to talk about it. They can ask that the commander not do that. The commander can in turn tell them to get stuffed. They can ask that the commander run some missions for the faction and obtain a reward beyond the credits earned like dropping them some gold. The commander can in turn consider or listen to the offer or tell them to get stuffed again. It just adds to the game play. Not every player in ED is self centered and greed driven. The Fuel Rats come to mind. They do what they do to help others and never expect any rewards for doing it. A solo 1.5 mode gives players a way to assist others if they so desire yet does not take away from the solo mode they wish to play in, other than communication.

And in no way would I call to have open only in ED.

 

[LanceLord]

Just a basic idea to build on and no idea what kind of code implementation it would take but here goes...

You have found a nice station to call home. You built your fleet. You use the stations services all for free. You play in solo game mode because.. well just because. Now, you have to actually work for the station. You go into a solo 1.5 mode where you fly a station police ship and protect the commanders going in and out or you fly patrol around a planet if your home is a planetary base. You would have to have a minimum rank to be considered so someone brand new wouldn't be thrown into the fray. Maybe once a month you have to give 2 hours of service to your home station, maybe more if you like doing it. You can interact with solo players via the comm screen and target NPC pirates aiming to get their cargo or destroy them but solo players can't interact with each other of course. You can also scan for illegal cargo or criminals and either take action or turn it over to the station defense. Once your two hours of service have been logged you go back to your own solo game for the rest of the month. Suggestions for improvement please...

2nd this 1000%. Would work the same way engineers work to upgrade your ship. Except now you're having them help you build your base from ground up.

Would be great if we could purchase a plot of land somewhere on a earth type or any solid planet you can already land on. Explore/trade/mine and source the construction mats you need to build your base in modules. Depending on where you build your base e.g. inhospitable ice planet, inside an asteroid mine field, near a solar star, or inside a gas giant etc. your blueprints may require special materials. Or you could stumble across rare materials during trade sessions at random stations throughout the galaxy.

Player would have a choice of

A DIY build your own customized base. Be able to choose from a modular set of container options e.g.

1. living quarters (which grants the player a spawning point),
2. A kitchen (gives player a stomach/bowels). Basically adds (a completely OPTIONAL) survival mini game. Where health meters exist for food (player needs to eat at least 1x per day), thirst, health, and oxygen need. Oxygen meter already exists for the ship environment. So adding these health meters to player would work same way.
3. A medical clinic (gives player new tactical modules for survival like health boosts, or oxygen tanks if they're stranded in their ship. Allows player to survive a bit longer if waiting for extraction/help when stranded on a planet or in space.
4. A bathroom module (gives the player a timed charisma boost over a certain period of time). This comes in handy when interacting with NPCs in missions. Especially power play scenarios and ranking up in a faction i.e. it adds a temporary charismatic influence boost. Makes player more likeable to a faction NPC leader for a short period of time.
5. An optional slave holding pen facility module. Works same way as WH but needs climate control because of biological cargo being smuggled.
6. A mining refinery module. This would allow players to refine ore and sell them at higher value/price at trading stations. Or the ability to try and cheat the economy by encasing cheaper materials/ore in a coating of highly valuable material/ore. Then trying to trade/sell this at a station (or from their base). If successful, they make a lot of credits. If not, it triggers a raid on their base from law enforcement in the sector. Also based on how well the refinery unit was constructed, there is a chance of failure in refining materials/ore or making fraudulent high valued materials etc. This chance of failure is the same way mining works.
7. A hangar & docking bay (givens player a refueling/repair station free of charge whenever docked). This is handy for fuel scoop/fuel strategy planning long hyper jumps
8. A command center (which does the comm stuff with other players and/or NPCs like tracking bounties, etc as mentioned)
9. A black market warehouse storage module (where black market privateer players can temporarily store their black market commodities). This gives players the option to directly trade with NPC smugglers, who can land at their base if a docking bay is present.

This module provides a dynamic risk challenge to smuggling. If this module is present, then

* disadvantage: the player's home base has a significantly higher risk of being detected and raided by the faction law enforcement ships patrolling their zone. And also vulnerable to NPC bounty hunter and/or pirate raids.

* advantage: the benefit to this module is equally rewarding. It lowers the logistical/security risk of detection of transporting said black market commodities. Players are no longer forced to store these black market goods in their spacecraft cargo and directly transport them to their destination markets. They can now store them in their base (but at security risk as mentioned). This way when a player buys black market goods, they have the option of storing/waiting until socioeconomic and/or political conditions in the sector they're interested in selling improves. This special storage also includes smuggling slaves.

Basically be able to build all of these blueprint modules similar to how Space Engineers allows sandbox construction of structures like here:

Or, for for the less Minecraft/The Sims minded

2. build a base from one of a dozen or so predetermined blueprints. You could purchase these at random at stations around the galaxy.

You also get the choice of

3. hiring one or more new non spacecraft construction engineers to aid you build. Direct them on what modules/aspect of the base you want them to focus on building. So you're free to focus on another part of the design. Or have them build everything.

But basically, the more of these civil NPC engineers you hire, the faster and more efficient your construction project. The less likely it will require maintenance (to avoid safety issues from structural deterioration to the harsh space environment.) So if your base is on a non earth planet (like an all ice planet) odds are it will require a steady supply of energy to maintain ambient temperatures within the structure. And eroison of external structure due to space weather etc.

And finally

4. Taxes. You have to pay taxes aka daily facility fees to the faction controlling your space that your base is located in. This is basically a credit sink for players who complain they have too much money. Or a challenge for the aspiring players who're trying to make credits to acquire their own custom fleet of ships.

But if you don't care for the micro managment, there could be the option to maintain a regular engineer crew hired to do O&M of your base. To keep your landing pads secure from space pirates etc. which frees you to go off doing whatever you would rather be doing than hanging out at your base.

 

[Misty_Dark]

I guess I see it differently than you. I don't play this game just to get credits or rewards. Just a few days ago I went to help a player faction gain back control of their system. It got boogered up with the BGS issues and they ended up losing control of it. They are working to regain control so I offered up my assistance and ran a bunch of missions for them only taking influence for the faction. I didn't do it for rewards or credits or anything like that. I just did it to help other folks out. I play in solo or a player group. They didn't have a player group so I stayed in solo. It would have been great to be in communication with them via the comms screen.

Someone else coming into their system carrying 100 tons of some commodity and when it gets delivered the influence goes to a competing faction. The controlling faction can contact them to talk about it. They can ask that the commander not do that. The commander can in turn tell them to get stuffed. They can ask that the commander run some missions for the faction and obtain a reward beyond the credits earned like dropping them some gold. The commander can in turn consider or listen to the offer or tell them to get stuffed again. It just adds to the game play. Not every player in ED is self centered and greed driven. The Fuel Rats come to mind. They do what they do to help others and never expect any rewards for doing it. A solo 1.5 mode gives players a way to assist others if they so desire yet does not take away from the solo mode they wish to play in, other than communication.

And in no way would I call to have open only in ED.

Should you be able to invade another players solo mode? I mean, player is part of a group having a minor faction, playing in solo.
Should you be able to invade other player in private group? I mean if a player group want to play togheter in their own group, and all of sudden there you are.

How would instancing work? Take system X
Here we have player minor faction, and there are 2 player in open support this player faction, along with 1 random player doing its own thing.
Now you jump into the system, and by your suggestion, you should now be placed in the same instance as the 2 players, but what should we do about the random player?





And you have still not explained how any players will know what other players do. Take your example with the player with 100 tons of cargo, how should you know what he is up to? he could be heading to the station to sell, he could also be heading there to refuel. OR he might be there to turn in a delivery mission taken in another system. You have no way of knowing. And what makes you believe that player wants to get instanced with a random bunch of other players when specifically choosing to play in solo?




How did you find this player group to begin with? Obviously not by playing in solo. So here you are suggesting that we should be able to choose solo and play with others, do you not see how ludicrous this that sounds? We already have two modes for player to play with other players, Open and Private group.



So why did you not join them in Open? Be careful about this response, because I most likely going to use your own answer back at you, since your suggestion will open up for abuse by the very same players you seems to try top avoid.

 

[Mo Ronik]

You don't like the suggestion and that's fine. If you don't know how to find player factions that need/want assistance then there isn't any need to discuss it further.

 

[Misty_Dark]

You don't like the suggestion and that's fine. If you don't know how to find player factions that need/want assistance then there isn't any need to discuss it further.

You seems totally unable to answer the simple instancing questions. You seems unable to comprehend how this could have huge impact on how players get instanced with each others,. and that you thrown in SOLO here, makes no sense.


Then we have the who is supporting a player minor factions. You need tyo supply a list of player names when you apply for player minor faction, but then we have no tools to add/remove players from this list. There is no ingame mechanics at this moment for individual players to pledge to a faction

Next comes squadrons, these can pledge to support a minor faction, but this is not limited to player minor faction, but they can pledge to ANY minor faction. So we could have several squadrons to pledge tot he same minor faction, and there is no one that can reject any such pledging.



So lets take 4 players.


You, Lisa, Bob and MK



You play in your Solo 1.5 mode, and expect now to be instanced with players pledging support for a minor faction.


Lisa and Bob are part of HappyCampers, that support "SOL Adventurers" in SOL system.

We also have MK, that is part MurdersHobosInc, that have also pledged to support "SOL Adventurers".



Lisa is playing in Solo, collecting material, in SOL system
Bob is playing in Private group waiting for some friend to join later for some bounty hunting, in SOL system
MK is playing in Open, looking for someone to kill, in SOL system



You now enter the SOL system.


How would instancing work here now?

Would Lisa also be in the Solo 1.5 mode? and thus be instanced with others that support "SOL Adventurers"?
What about Bob, is he to instanced with other players that support "SOL Adventurers"
And what about MK? he also "supports" the "SOL Adventurers"


In no way, I can understand why the above 3 players should be instanced together, since they have opted to play in different game modes,. that by design should NOT instance players between game mode.


Now lets take you,. you enter SOL system, and by your own suggestion, you should now be instanced with players supporting the player minor faction "SOL Adventurers", so who exactly should you be instanced with?
Lisa?
Bob?
MK?

How would this work? We already have 3 instances here, or do you suggest that these player are already instanced together to begin with? Lets assume these player are instanced together, based on your suggestion.

Now you will be placed in the same instance, Bob And Lisa can say hi, MK decides to kill you.


MK can also decide to kill Bob and Lisa, since you are in the same instance, despite both Lisa and Bob had choosed to play in a mode that would shield them from MK.




So lets get back the question of why it was not an option for you to play in Open? Since I believe the answer is that you do not want to encounter players like MK. And here you are cluelessly making suggestions that would pull players from SOLO into instances with other players, that can be just out to grief those who end up there. I find this to a really, bad suggestion, and would cause ALOT of chaos and grief, and only empowers the players wanting to kill other players.