Modes The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread - Mk III

Do you want a Open PvE

  • Yes, I want a Open PvE

    Votes: 54 51.4%
  • No, I don't want a Open PvE

    Votes: 49 46.7%
  • I want only Open PvE and PvP only in groups

    Votes: 2 1.9%

  • Total voters
    105
  • Poll closed .
Status
Thread Closed: Not open for further replies.
There's rules? When did that happen?
Can't tell you, that's off-topic! <grins wryly> I will take this opportunity to quote the list for the first time though - purely for reference purposes, of course.

Cowardly, cheating, filthy, casual, ignorant, risk-averse, mode-switching, misanthropic, Solo players!
 
1. Online ALL group (called open play) where the player is in the same universe as all other players and can see and be seen by all others in open play
2. Online PRIVATE GROUP play where the player is online in the same universe as all other players but will only ever see and be seen by others in the same private group
But only 32 at a time ;)

3 .Online SOLO play where the player is in the same universe as all other players, but will see no humans (essentially a private group of one).
For those that want the Frontier/FFE experience just requiring a internet connection for some reason ;)

On the whole of it I am still a advocate of a separate save per mode it would stop all the faffing around. Having a Open Save, a group save (thats carried between groups etc) and a solo save would stop mode hopping and make the game more fluid as you wouldnt have pilots hoping to another mode as soon as things get dicey.

You should have a poll how many people play x mode and how many have switched modes when in a risky system
 
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Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
You should have a poll how many people play x mode and how many have switched modes when in a risky system

Polls to try to determine player preference are pretty much meaningless on this forum as there is no requirement to actually own the game to be able to vote in the poll. There's also the slight problem of a small proportion of players actually bothering to register on the forums - I'd guess that it is less than 10% of the population - and a relatively small proportion of them post more than a couple of times.
 
On the whole of it I am still a advocate of a separate save per mode it would stop all the faffing around. Having a Open Save, a group save (thats carried between groups etc) and a solo save would stop mode hopping and make the game more fluid as you wouldnt have pilots hoping to another mode as soon as things get dicey.

That has the potential to fragment friend groups in a bad way.
 
That has the potential to fragment friend groups in a bad way.

In what way, friend groups would still work in the same way. It just would stop players mode hoping this wouldnt stop groups playing together as it does now.

I cannot see what having separate saves per mode would infringe on anyones game in any way seeing as currently you have ONE save for all modes.
 
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Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
I cannot see what having separate saves per mode would infringe on anyones game in any way seeing as currently you have ONE save for all modes.

Someone who normally plays in Open may wish to play with friends in a Private Group.

Someone who normally plays in Solo may wish to play with friends in Open.

etc.

Requiring to duplicate effort to maintain the same progress with more than one commander seems to be an unreasonable requirement to place on those who wish to play in more than one mode.
 
But I also understand the grievances Open players have.

Well I don't. Open affect the BGS, Solo affect the BGS, Groups affect the BGS, everyone affect the BGS ! So where does this grievance comes from ?

When I started playing ED, I did expect separate saves/accounts/instances per mode. It actually surprised me quite a bit to learn that Open and Solo would share the same universe. Back then I immediatly guessed there'll be threads like this one, and even more grief, lamentations, and flaming about it. But the amount of work and infrastructure required for separate universe instancing and open vs solo accounts is probably immense, but it does seem to me like the most valid solution.

The most valid solution to what ?
 
Well I don't. Open affect the BGS, Solo affect the BGS, Groups affect the BGS, everyone affect the BGS ! So where does this grievance comes from ?



The most valid solution to what ?

It seems to me that the most "valid" solution to the situation is to keep the current setup that perfectly matches every statement Frontier have made about it. That matches how the game was intended to act, how it was advertised, and the situation that was prevalent when EVERY current player bought the game.
 
The problem is that Open mode players don't feel rewarded for the extra risk it takes to play in that mode.
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If I'm not mistaken, the '1st Triple Elite Commander' contest had as a sine-qua-non condition that all Rank points should be earned in Open mode. So even the very own game designers/developers did acknowledge that playing in Open is inherently more difficult/has more risk-merit than playing Solo. At least, enough extra risk to award a 'true' or 'valid' 1st triple elite status.
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However, that extra risk component is currently utterly ignored/dismissed in every aspect of the game. Thus, most open players feel not properly rewarded, and if you ask my opinion, for a valid reason. The same underlaying principle which prevented a solo player from getting '1st Triple Elite' still exists, but FD chose to look the other way instead, not acting coherently.
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FD doesn't want to change Open-Group-Solo switchability to give players freedom to chose? fine, it is a valid design choice and one that will attract/make most players happy. But most of the problem will be adressed just by gaving Open mode players that bit 'extra reward-acknowledgement' for taking the 'extra risk'.
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For example, you may earn Rank and Reputation faster while in open mode. Or your missions/cargo may provide extra reward (rank+income) when played/traded in open. Imagine your cargo or your active missions having an 'open' flag attached to them. Likewise, stellar bodies discovered/explored in open also get the 'open' flag. However, if you switch to solo at any point, any active mission in your transaction tab, any cargo in your hatch and any stored nav data permanently loses the 'open flag' and stops providing the 'extra open bonus', even if you reconnect to Open later. You would still get the full reward/Price for your operations as you currently do, only without the extra bonus.
 
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Robert Maynard

Volunteer Moderator
The problem is that Open mode players don't feel rewarded for the extra risk it takes to play in that mode.

Why should players be rewarded for playing in their chosen mode? If a player wants to be affected by other players and, in turn, affect them, they play Open - the "reward" is the interaction with other players....

As to risk, the vast, vast majority of Open is exactly the same as Solo - empty of other players. Why should players who face no more risk receive more?
 
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