Team play is not the way !

[Daeedor]

I am totally against all forms of team play in Elite. My first play hours of the original game on my C-64 way back in time - gave me the feeling that it was I , and only I - against the whole universe.
Of course , the game was offline, but it managed to give that feeling anyway - that the universe I was in was made just for me. The mysterious feeling of beeing alone against all odds is in some way lost when you suddenly get favours by playing with other human beeings. In my terms - this is NOT what I think this game should be all about.

I should be ME against ALL.

Of course I understand that someone think it would be commercially smart to make groups and so on - but hey then we have the money people up front. Is is probably a plan developing here , to make use of groups in the future to make money on the customers in some way. First they have to make people join groups , and for this to be done , they have to make it favourable. So you will get a type of game bonus to play with other people. I have seen this strategy in other games. Then they start a market with Real Life Money and here we go ...


The persons in game industry who want to squeeze more money out of the customers should never be at the helm of game development in my view. They should be sitting in the back seat , cause we need them - but not in full control of the navigation.

Thank you for reading this ( and - discussion is open ! )

 

[Vi.king]

you are not forced to participate in a wing.

 

[Luponator]

Why dont you get a C64 emulator and play 84 style while those of us who like to include progress enjoy features not possible 84? And if you want better graphics, OOlite is free and does what you want- just better than ED for solo.

 

[Daeedor]

I have never said that anybody is forced to team play. You have misunderstood me completely. Please read my text one more time and if you still think I am talking about what you want personally or not , then you still do not get it.
To clarify : I am talking about the concept of team play !

Is it good for the game or not ?

 

[Retu81]

Solo mode still remains an option.

 

[Luponator]

I have never said that anybody is forced to team play. You have misunderstood me completely. Please read my text one more time and if you still think I am talking about what you want personally or not , then you still do not get it.
To clarify : I am talking about the concept of team play !

Is it good for the game or not ?

Yes, it is. Because it gives choice. One of the very few advantages of the oversized galaxy is thatbif you dont ever want to see a soul you can find spots where you are alone. Even in open play. Choices for play style are good, choice for teamwork are good too.

 

[CaptainKremmen]

I have never said that anybody is forced to team play. You have misunderstood me completely. Please read my text one more time and if you still think I am talking about what you want personally or not , then you still do not get it.
To clarify : I am talking about the concept of team play !

Is it good for the game or not ?

It is very good for the game, for those who enjoy sharing their game experience with others.

You, of course, are under no such obligation, and can block it out of your entire game experience with a single click.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

-- Deleted --

 

[Flappers]

You have a choice. Participate in wings or don't.

You also have the option to play solo.

If you want it, you vs everyone, then don't get in a wing... you don't have to.

Fact is, this isn't '84 anymore. This game has multiplayer.
If you don't want that, and you want the '84 experience, then play solo.

If you want to play against other players, then don't compare the game to the '84 version.

You can't have it in both worlds.

 

[CMDR Dirk]

I recognize the feelings op the OP. Being alone and making your own decisions is for me the essence of playing elite. Of course that will stay possible, but I fear that lot of new content will be aimed at groups. Think about missions, community goals etc. Will there be more content also for the lone wolves or will they be forgotten for commercial reasons? I fear the last.

 

[Feldspar]

Most of the time I play games alone, I'm fine with that and resent most attempts to force me into playing with others. But, there is a certain thrill in being able to work closely with others to obtain a shared goal that no amount of NPC wingmen will ever come close to. I'm not into PvP, but co-operative multiplayer can be a lot of fun.

Is it purely a money decision? No, it is something that has been discussed from day 1, the game has been built with it in mind. Sure, the thought of team play has attracted many people to the game, it is a big selling point, but the game was always going to be that, there was no point in just remaking Elite the way it used to be.

Is it good for the game? Yes, it adds another layer, a fun layer. You can still play misanthropic Elite if you want, it does not take away from that.

 

[Lobstris]

Yep - that should solve it.

Although I'm waiting to soon encounter NPC Wings attacking me there (the Devs warned that they'd form Wings on their own as well).
Since I can't form my own Wing w/ NPCs for reasons unknown (I could equip them with everything they need) - I'll see how that turns out, possibly then running 1v4 encounters.

Might have to retire the Trade ships then and use my Combat ships instead.

Personally I find the lack of 1 vs. many interdiction (and most USS) encounters to be a flaw with the current game. However, I agree that the ability to hire wingmen (as discussed in the DDAs) need to make an appearance at some point to potentially redress the (im)balance.

 

[Armand]

To put it blunty, you and others like you are the reason I quit playing Elite Dangerous. This obsession with recreating the original 1984 game has been destructive. It's ignoring all the advances in gameplay over the course of 30 years.

During premium beta I had high hopes and ideas and the promises in the DDA. Over time, however, I saw how each suggestion for improvement was met with comments "it's not true to the original", "it's immersion-breaking". From the "no outside view" policy to the background "simulation" joke, E: D is full of missed opportunities.

The end result is a game with a shallow & boring gameplay, simplistic missions and limited scope. Many players (myself included) were hoping for bigger wings - 8 or even 16 ships/wing.

With the latest announcement I lost all hope for a game I would enjoy playing. With this track record I doubt planetary landings will be anything more than eyecandy.

 

[Luponator]

Yep - that should solve it.

Although I'm waiting to soon encounter NPC Wings attacking me there (the Devs warned that they'd form Wings on their own as well).
Since I can't form my own Wing w/ NPCs for reasons unknown (I could equip them with everything they need) - I'll see how that turns out, possibly then running 1v4 encounters.

Might have to retire the Trade ships then and use my Combat ships instead.

The NPC wings is a fair point but as you point out a pure FD decision, not a general design question. Me and 3 NPCs against a pure NPC wing? Yes please. And now think a step further: you faction rep influences the skill of NPCs you can hire! Sudden,h rep is making sense, adds another layer of gameplay and so on...

poor implementation is not poor general design IMO.

 

[khaitom]

I'd like the option to occasionally turn off the difference between players and NPCs. That way I can play in open with the odd random psycho killer but not know if they were programmed or real. It'd bring back that feeling of the lonelyness of space.

I never really understood why players and NPCs displayed differently anyway.

 

[natte hond]

I always hoped Elite had the possibility to play together.
its great its here now.
the only thing that's missing is faction loyalty.
any wing arriving must be considered hostile cos you don't know who they support.
this because we can rank on any faction at any time.
that makes it very chaotic also the fact all factions fly the same ships doesn't help here.

maybe we should call the game Elite paranoia cos there's not even a faction skin to choose.
so you never know who you meet.

one would think maritime laws would still apply here and recognition would be advanced.
but no all players are orange all the time.
regardless of your local rep.
I find that a bid odd and don't understand the motivation.
maybe this is why FD sold real time flags in the store.
(something I was firmly against, but that's another subject)
or its something still to come but I don't believe that cos we would have known this by now then.

but if you look at this the way it is right now , then yes its you against all.
a situation that was so because AI wingman was something that couldn't be calculated at that time.
don't forget Elite was made within serious limits so what you felt back then is irrelevant.
there so far apart from each other.
its like comparing the invention of the wheel to a racing car.

 

[natte hond]

This obsession with recreating the original 1984 game has been destructive. It's ignoring all the advances in gameplay over the course of 30 years.

their hardly recognizable from each other.
but your right there is lots to improve on it.

 

[Calico Jack]

For me Elite has always been about PvP and team play. Admittedly, back in 1985 (Amstrad kid), team play consisted primarily of divvying up the keyboard with my brother, and PvP was limited to rock-paper-scissors for who got the button that fires the lasers.

Elite is a lot of different things to a lot of people, and personally I'm rather glad that it has moved with the times, and that I am able to get my multiplayer fix in more meaningful ways. Also, my brother and I are now too big to share a keyboard.

 

[Steve50]

I have to admit I also have no interest in multiplayer or the new wings update but I know lots are so fair enough.

I just hope that after 1.2 hits, frontier can work on some single player content for 1.3+

 

[Odan Brota]

Team play is beneficial to the game, since basically anything is better with friends. The games a bit shallow at the moment, so rolling with buddies is going to help that feeling.