Modes The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread - Mk III

[Robert Maynard]

heh dont afraid coz most players will have better ships in open - there they can play with friends or have some fun - lets be honest ppl go to solo just to do things (trade,PP,or sth else) in easy mode where they cant meet others cmdrs, and when they have more credits than god they appear in open in anaconda full load. I mean ok if they want play solo no problem but why it affect open play world ? Power play or CGs dont have a point anymore other that stacking credits.

Fear has nothing to do with it - we're talking about a video game here....

Why would players have better ships in Open?

Open is not the only mode in which players can play with friends.

The "Solo is easy mode" trope has been going for a while. Why is playing in a Wing in Open more difficult than playing in Solo?

All players affect the same shared galaxy state regardless of game mode or gaming platform - this is by design - Frontier chose at the outset to allow every player to experience and affect the same galaxy.

Powerplay (and Community Goals before them) were implemented so that, again, all players in all modes (and now all platforms) can participate - Frontier made this decision based on their vision of the game.

 

[XYZ]

The "Solo is easy mode" trope has been going for a while. Why is playing in a Wing in Open more difficult than playing in Solo?

Ok one question - when was the last time you have been killed by NPC ? I was killed 2 times in my early game when i was trying to do mission - kill elite anaconda while i was flying viper.

edit: btw. didnt kill conda heh

edit 2 :

Powerplay (and Community Goals before them) were implemented so that, again, all players in all modes (and now all platforms) can participate - Frontier made this decision based on their vision of the game.

This vision is just wrong - and to be clear this game is not for Frontier team but for us players, sure they can make a game for Frontier Dev team... and around 200-300 copy will be sold.

edit 3 : one more thing - yes i am going strait to the point but i dont want to offend anyone - i mean ppl on the forum.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Ok one question - when was the last time you have been killed by NPC ? I was killed 2 times in my early game when i was trying to do mission - kill elite anaconda while i was flying viper.

Not for quite a while. There was a bug-fix announced for 1.4 regarding high-rank NPCs:

- Fixed high ranked AI ships not being able to fire due to empty WEP capacitor!

Taking them on in future may well be more challenging....

As well as this, Sarah Jane has inferred that she will be back working on the NPC AI at some point (hopefully in the not too distant future) so we should expect improvements in NPC AI capability and difficulty - my "not for quite a while" may change sooner rather than later.

 

[Bomba Luigi]

If its about fear why should People play solo? Going to Mobius where you still meet other People without the PvP stuff seems like the obvious choice then.

But I'm not playing in Mobius for the same Reason I don't play Open: Don't wanna meet other Players. Not to mention that getting blown up has hardly any meaning once you got a certain amount of Money, dunno why I should be afraid of it.

To sum it up: I know why I play Solo, people who think they know it better are just... well, seriously, you don't know me you got no clue why I do what and what my motives are. I mean, seriously, what the hell are you thinking who you are?

 

[XYZ]

As well as this, Sarah Jane has inferred that she will be back working on the NPC AI at some point (hopefully in the not too distant future) so we should expect improvements in NPC AI capability and difficulty - my "not for quite a while" may change sooner rather than later.

my last post here - this is nice - better NPC - but still we will have the same NPC in solo and in open , only one thing, there will be human cmdrs in open and for sure they are more deadly than whatever NPC.

 

[ianw]

Ok one question - when was the last time you have been killed by NPC ? I was killed 2 times in my early game when i was trying to do mission - kill elite anaconda while i was flying viper.

edit: btw. didnt kill conda heh

edit 2 :

This vision is just wrong - and to be clear this game is not for Frontier team but for us players, sure they can make a game for Frontier Dev team... and around 200-300 copy will be sold.

edit 3 : one more thing - yes i am going strait to the point but i dont want to offend anyone - i mean ppl on the forum.

You might want to revise your prediction for units sold;

"8th September 2015 RNS likely to be in the range 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 units (!)"

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=179295

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Then perhaps our solo commander profile should be saved for solo play and our open play commander be saved for open play.

or perhaps not!!!.

Do you know how many hrs it takes to get to Elite? I dunno about you, but I have a job, a wife and soon a kid, I barely have enough time to rank 1 character (and triple elite is my long term aim) but, as already mentioned countless times, Sometimes i want to play with mates, some of whom tend to play solo, some who tend to play open.

if you had your way we would never get to play together (thanks for that, very kind of you!)

Also, ED was advertised as a game you could play on a train using 3G tethering using only a few MB per hr... try that in open!. if your way was implemented you can forget playing outside of your main abode (again people who work away from home would thank you for your suggestion if you stopped them playing).

We all knew, or had the ability to know, the features of the game we were buying, the 3 modes along with the ability to swap depending on your mood was there in black and white if you bothered to read. Rather than take away content maybe suggest the creation of an open only group for those who want to start again in a locked in mode, but do not force your nonsence on everyone else thanks!. (evben that mode should come after the creation of the ironman modes however which were part of the initial plan)

my last post here - this is nice - better NPC - but still we will have the same NPC in solo and in open , only one thing, there will be human cmdrs in open and for sure they are more deadly than whatever NPC.

open is only harder if you view the game as a "must attack all hollow square boxes".

DBs vision of the game was that the vast majority should play co-operatively, and he did say the security forces in the game would be balanced such to encourage this (this has clealry not happened yet)

IF however you look at elite in the spirit of how it was advertised then Solo is potentially way harder than open.

In solo if you want to kill an elite anaconda with a wing protecting it, you are on your own. In open you can have 3 other ships on your wing to protect you.

 

[Muetdhiver]

So, you want to remove my ability to switch game modes depending on mood/level of drunkeness/etc, and require me to maintain two saves? Sorry, i've only got time for one and have no desire to play two commanders.

By the same token, can I suggest that PvP not be allowed in the game? Because I'm not a fan of it?

Think about it

You are right of course, its a Bad Idea. Mainly an epidermal reaction to my frustration with solo mode in powerplay XD.
I guess I should just let PP go and not care about it, though it is infuriating to think what it could have been, and not just an other way to grind credits.

I for one switched to solo while exploring, so...

 

[Arindor]

As I have mentioned elsewhere (and others above), the Elite franchise has always been about the solo player, not PvP. And, because I'm an '84'er (and not fussed about PvP games, although CQC is a blast), I see ED as a solo experience. Also, solo mode satisfies my need for an "offline" version of ED. In addition to that, I don't want to meet other commanders in "my" galaxy.

I don't see why there has to be any hostility towards those that prefer solo to open, or vice versa. At the end of the day, the only person who can dictate to me how I play ED is myself.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

lets be honest ppl go to solo just to do things (trade,PP,or sth else) in easy mode where they cant meet others cmdrs, and when they have more credits than god they appear in open in anaconda full load.

When you say: "Lets be honest" don't you mean: "lets talk nonsense"?

- - - Updated - - -

Ok one question - when was the last time you have been killed by NPC ?

I was killed more times by asteroids and stations than by CMDRs.

 

[bootsam]

Dont you just love the way a few open players big themselves up by calling group or solo 'easy mode'. What part of this game requires an ego?

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

…Mainly an epidermal reaction to my frustration with solo mode in powerplay XD.
…

I bet your frustration would be even bigger if power play was open mode only.
- a lot of things would happen at times you don't play
- a lot of things would happen in other instances
- players would organize to play at "night" so they face less opposition
- you probably wouldn't have a chance to counter that because you probably don't have the time to play at the times the dedicated players play
- you would start to dislike players form other time zones

At first I was confused why PP has nothing to do with PvP until I realized that it makes a lot of sense to make it PvE only. That way it works for everybody everywhere without difference, it removes any problem that could happen because of instancing or time-zones.

It's probably not want most players with a strong interest in PvP wanted and FD could have been much more clearer about that PvE part (or any power play mechanic).

- - - Updated - - -

…

I don't see why there has to be any hostility towards those that prefer solo to open, or vice versa. At the end of the day, the only person who can dictate to me how I play ED is myself.

I think it has something to do with sharing the same galaxy and some strange gut feelings.

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

Ok one question - when was the last time you have been killed by NPC ? I was killed 2 times in my early game when i was trying to do mission - kill elite anaconda while i was flying viper.
…

I can tell you how often I was killed by a CMDR without seeking PvP: once.
I got killed by NPCs twice.

So much for Open mode having more risk.

As for grinding credits in solo and use it in open mode - so what? It's supposed to be a dangerous galaxy, so expect dangerous encounters. It doesn't matter how somebody got the money for the ship that somebody is using. Elite Dangerous is dangerous not fair. OK, actually it is fair as you can grind money in solo too…

 

[Muetdhiver]

Indeed, your points are correct. On the other hand, PP is a strange beast full of asymetrical orthogonal conflicts,
where one side makes money by participating while the other pays some, with nobody ever seeing its opponents, due to a mixture of solo and instancing.

PP being PvE is an overstatement, I think it more PvT, with T for Time. (does chain killing haulers qualify as PvE, hmm... I guess yes...)

OK, lets get off this off topic I guess XD

PS: And yeah, roids are a lot scarier than elite NPC's, esp in FAOFF.

 

[dayrth]

What part of this game requires an ego?

The forums, apparently.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I was killed more times by asteroids and stations than by CMDRs.

Stations are the biggest killer for me in ED. griefing bar stewards that they are

I did get taken down by a deadly AI anaconda with a couple of wingmates (more fool me for trying to take him in my jack of all trades python with no SCBs!

I do wonder how many people saying the AI are unlosable feel that way due to SCBs up the wazzoo however.

I choose to play ED they way it was at the start, and we did not have magic health potions back then

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

…, with nobody ever seeing its opponents, …

I think it would be cool if we could see all the background simulation NPCs flying around - hundreds of space ships in every system. Being able to hide in the constant stream of space ships. Seeing that we are just a tiny drop in a sea of space ships. Insignificant.

To bad that FD is making it easier to change the BGS and allowing more changes to the galaxy.

OK, enough off topic

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I don't see why there has to be any hostility towards those that prefer solo to open, or vice versa. At the end of the day, the only person who can dictate to me how I play ED is myself.

I fully agree... however AFAIK there are no solo players insisting that players who play in open are banned from solo, and there in lies the issue. It is generally the people in open who are trying to spoil the game for those not in open.

(unless of course asking for the consequences and legal repercussions as outlined in dev diaries to be implemented to be spoiling open... in which case I would be guilty of that - but that would be a consequence across all modes)

 

[ianw]

When you say: "Lets be honest" don't you mean: "lets talk nonsense"?

- - - Updated - - -


I was killed more times by asteroids and stations than by CMDRs.

That'll be some pesky hacker PvPer - figured out how to remote control stations and asteroids!

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I do wonder how many people saying the AI are unlosable feel that way due to SCBs up the wazzoo however.

That is actually a good point.

I play open without SCBs. Yeah, sure, I know there are CMDRs opting for the easy SCB mode, CMDRs who like to hide behind their precious get-out-of-any-danger-shieldpills, but I feel the game should cater for these, I wouldn't call them inferiour or cowards, I just think of them that way, CMDRs. It's not their fault they're not as fearless as I am.

Spoiler

The above is clearly not my sentiment on the issue. I'm just kidding!

That'll be some pesky hacker PvPer - figured out how to remote control stations and asteroids!

Yeah! That must be it. Surely it couldn't have been my own stupidity.