Modes Switching to Solo - am I alone?

Old Duck

Old Duck
I may be "bandwidth-restricted" in a few weeks, and this could potentially last until late spring / early summer. It's a complicated story that I won't burden you with, but let's just say I'll be likely be restricted to solo for the next few months.

So I'm just curious, how many of you regularly play in solo mode? Do you ever miss seeing other CMDRs? I normally play in Open because I enjoy chance encounters with other players (it makes the game feel "alive"), but I rarely do any true multiplayer stuff like wings or multicrew these days. However, I have a little bit of FOMO, so somebody please comfort me, LOL :)
 

Garix

G
Mainly Solo these days.

Can't be bothered with Open as I have no interest in providing content for other people. Still have Mobius access but the holier than thou attitude of so many I met started to grind as well.
 

m0rl0ck

M
I normally played in open (past tense as im not sure i will like the new content enough to keep playing), would sometimes visit engineers in mobius or solo if i was in a particularly vulnerable ship, but a lot of what i did in game was bgs related and i think i would feel less than honorable playing the bgs in solo.

Having said that, if i were facing a situation where limited bandwidth or a sub par connection were forcing me to play in solo, i wouldnt alter my play style.
 

dayrth

Volunteer Moderator
dayrth
I always play in open or group. My hours in game are a bit restricted at the moment, but I always make time for a regular meetup with friends. What I'm trying to say is, it's more fun with other players about. Having said that though, if it were a choice between playing solo or not playing at all then solo it would be. :D


Hope you get your internet issues sorted soon Old Duck.
 

JonesTheFilm

JonesTheFilm
I'm always Solo now.

I'm on PS4 & I only really play single player games so I never got a PS+ subscription. I had one for a short while when ED first launched on PS4. There was a deal on and I thought ED might be a game I'd like to multiplay but I was wrong so I didn't renew the PS+ subscription.

I'm an original 1980s Elite player and I guess I just prefer being a lone-wolf in the galaxy. I play ED like it's a modern version of Frontier: Elite 2. I'm not remotely interested in competition against other humans in games, I like immersing myself in game worlds and generally I find other human players ruin that for me. I don't mind a bit of co-op occasionally but not enough that I want to pay extra for it.
 

[VR] Frank_G

[VR] Frank_G
I like finding things in the game by myself and nothing beats the creepy feeling, when you are actually exploring alien ruins or Thargoid bases alone. I tend to play in a private group, together with some friends i know from RL though. Much better experience than in Open mode. If PGs would not exist, i would definitely go into Solo mode.
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
JonesTheFilm said:
I'm on PS4 & I only really play single player games so I never got a PS+ subscription. I had one for a short while when ED first launched on PS4. There was a deal on and I thought ED might be a game I'd like to multiplay but I was wrong so I didn't renew the PS+ subscription.
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That's part of my "complicated story", that I'll likely let my PS+ subscription expire in December. I actually enjoy a couple of multiplayer games like Overwatch and Star Wars, but between the limited bandwidth and my mood swinging to solo games (of which I have a bunch and will soon be adding RDR2), it just doesn't make sense for me to pay for something I won't be using.

Frank_G said:
I like finding things in the game by myself and nothing beats the creepy feeling, when you are actually exploring alien ruins or Thargoid bases alone. I tend to play in a private group, together with some friends i know from RL though. Much better experience than in Open mode. If PGs would not exist, i would definitely go into Solo mode.
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Lately when I do CGs, which isn't that often, I prefer doing them in Solo because it Open is just too crowded. That's the irony of Elite's multiplayer, it actually harms the game in some ways. A RES crammed full of CMDRs is no fun because it's "overfished", and the glitches that come with instancing (slow SC transitions, rubber-banding, framerate drops, and crashes to blue screen on PS4) ruin it. However, I do enjoy running into another CMDRs in remote parts of the Bubble. My alt CMDR has been living out at Lagoon nebula, and I'm surprised at how many CMDRs I've encountered making their way to Colonia or back. That's what I'll miss (and events like the Hutton Run) when I switch to Solo.
 

Flimley

Flimley
You will be alone when you switch to solo. [noob]
I use solo for best performance. Open when I feel sociable.

Flimley
 

JonesTheFilm

JonesTheFilm
I should add that an element of group play I do enjoy in ED is being part of Canonn. That 'multiplay' just takes place on the Canonn website and Discord rather than in-game. I may play and explore in Solo on my PS4 but I still feel part of an organisation.
 

wrmiller

W
I play in solo exclusively lately.

The lousy server connections are a big part, but I also have grown tired of having to deal with other people in my game. Waiting for them to get out of the way when ingressing/egressing a station, pad hogging, and having to deal with the occasional idiot who just wants to shoot at my ship for reasons only they can justify.

No thanks.

If I want to talk to strangers, I can step out into the real world for a bit. :)
 

Han Zulu

Han Zulu
Old Duck said:
So I'm just curious, how many of you regularly play in solo mode?
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Yes. I have some issues with my computer that I haven't dealt with and when I play in Open/PG the game crashes more often. Even in Solo I do get the occasional freeze, but it's less.

Do you ever miss seeing other CMDRs?
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Not a bit. I always like solitude and being left alone. MMO's never attracted me. I'm not on social media anymore either. My family is large enough to cover all the needs of social engagement, so when I play computer games, is to escape and get some alone time.

I normally play in Open because I enjoy chance encounters with other players (it makes the game feel "alive"), but I rarely do any true multiplayer stuff like wings or multicrew these days. However, I have a little bit of FOMO, so somebody please comfort me, LOL :)
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It does come alive a bit playing in Open, just the though of other real people being there, but the rubber-banding is just extremely annoying.
 
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Nagual

Nagual
Mainly solo, sometimes PG. For me there is a noticeable delay when changing instances in open, where in solo it's faster.
 

Iskariot

Iskariot
Old Duck said:
I may be "bandwidth-restricted" in a few weeks, and this could potentially last until late spring / early summer. It's a complicated story that I won't burden you with, but let's just say I'll be likely be restricted to solo for the next few months.

So I'm just curious, how many of you regularly play in solo mode? Do you ever miss seeing other CMDRs? I normally play in Open because I enjoy chance encounters with other players (it makes the game feel "alive"), but I rarely do any true multiplayer stuff like wings or multicrew these days. However, I have a little bit of FOMO, so somebody please comfort me, LOL :)
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I prefer my games solo, all games.
I do not care for meeting others in the ED galaxy (or any game world) and if I had a choice I would want any trace of others meddling in my elite game removed.
The day Elite would get a solo off line version would be the happiest day in my gaming existence.
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
JonesTheFilm said:
I should add that an element of group play I do enjoy in ED is being part of Canonn. That 'multiplay' just takes place on the Canonn website and Discord rather than in-game. I may play and explore in Solo on my PS4 but I still feel part of an organisation.
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I'm very much looking forward to Squadrons for this reason - the feeling of being part of a group while not having to deal with all the hassle of coordinating wings or multicrew. I see myself joining an exploration group were we "fan out" to explore a region of space, sharing our discoveries via bookmarks and the other tools Squadrons should bring. IIRC, Lloyd said this will be available in Solo!

Han Zulu said:
Not a bit. I always like solitude and being left alone. MMO's never attracted me.
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I was into a couple of MMO for a short period of time, the latest being ESO. I liked ESO more for the solo side of it - exploration and doing quests and such. However, it started to feel like "The Amazing Race", where all the other players are not part of the world, but rather tourists running through it quick as can be to get to the next "route marker", with the "mobs" (AI enemies) resetting for each participant. I realize I much prefer solo games for immersive worlds, because while the NPCs are not real, at least they pretend to be. The world of Skyrim feels more real than the world of ESO, even though Skyrim is full of NPCs and ESO is full of real people.

Elite is a bit different because the game is full of people "writing their own stories", thus it's not the Amazing Race like an MMO. As I mentioned earlier, it's thrilling to me to meet someone thousands of lightyears from the Bubble on their way to Colonia. That's a real person with a real story and purpose. Meanwhile, NPCs in Elite are depressingly robotic, like animatronics at Disney World. I would love to see NPCs in ED given "narrative AI" that makes them feel real and persistent, even if it were just a subset of the ships we encounter. Perhaps scenarios will at least add to the illusion of this.
 

Han Zulu

Han Zulu
Old Duck said:
Elite is a bit different because the game is full of people "writing their own stories", thus it's not the Amazing Race like an MMO. As I mentioned earlier, it's thrilling to me to meet someone thousands of lightyears from the Bubble on their way to Colonia. That's a real person with a real story and purpose. Meanwhile, NPCs in Elite are depressingly robotic, like animatronics at Disney World. I would love to see NPCs in ED given "narrative AI" that makes them feel real and persistent, even if it were just a subset of the ships we encounter. Perhaps scenarios will at least add to the illusion of this.
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I'd like to see ways of having a "dialogue" with the NPCs, kind'a like Mass Effect and other story games, where the scenarios develop and more complex than just "I need fuel", "Here's some fuel", "Thanks". A series of things developing. Like a mystery. Sent to find, scan derelict ship, follow a thread of clues, and discover some dark hidden secret.
 
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