Modes The Solo vs Open vs Groups Thread - Mk III

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I think the most FRUSTRATING thing for people that only fly in OPEN is simply that people have the ability to drop out into SOLO mode at will.

And the most FUSTRATING thing for people who actually know what they were buying into and who like the modes as they are are the people demanding game breaking changes from what were promised since the start of the KSer

I sometimes have access to good internet, i sometimes do not. DB explained to us that this is no worry as we can just swap to solo whenever we need and carry on as normal.

Why should i receive a 24 hr ban (or week ban if tied to PP cycles) because my internet is not good enough for open? (before you say tough, such is life, as i said bear in mind I bought a product specifically designed to get around this issue and advertised as such)

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

I think the most FRUSTRATING thing for people that only fly in OPEN is simply that people have the ability to drop out into SOLO mode at will.
Fix that and 99% of the complaining will go away.

Examples:
- Separate CMDR saves / career mode.
- Limit ability to switch from OPEN to SOLO (vice verse) once every 24 hr period.... or once every Powerplay Cycle

What is so frustrating about knowing that other players can switch modes?

And for your "fix" examples:
First "fix" would result in my not playing the game anymore or maybe just in SOLO. So you would lose at least on CMDR that occasionally plays Open Mode.
Second "fix": It would annoy me a lot if I can't play the way I want whenever I want. I don't participate in PP, why should I get punished for that? Why should I have to wait 24h to switch modes? It has absolutely no effect on anybody else beside me.

It's simple. I bought the game because I can switch modes and because it has one shared galaxy. If FD changes anything about this two things I will never buy anything from FD again and I would stop playing the game.

Anything that removes or reduces my ability to switch modes anytime I want it will result in me complaining and I guess a few other players would complain too. The difference is, I would complain about something that was advertised to be a fundamental aspect of the game. Those who complain about mode switching complain about something they want or don't like but is a fundamental part of the game.

…It would also make which mode to play a conscious decision rather than, "I'll play open when I'm ready and solo/group when I'm not".
…

Whenever I start Elite Dangerous I make a conscious decision if I play Solo or Open Mode. I consciously choose the mode that I want to play. I don't make an unconscious or forced decision. Being ready or not has nothing to do with what mode I chose. Everybody is ready for Open mode or Solo mode from the second in the basic Sidewinder.

It's really bizarre and absurd to think that all those players who switch between Open Mode and Solo Mode do so just to gain an imaginary advantage or reduce some imaginary value from playing Open or do so because of risk or whatever imaginary reason or threat or thing some Open Player come up with.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

oops deleted.

 

[Arindor]

Forcing a player into one mode or the other (i.e. you start a commander in open, you stay in open) isn't the right solutiuon (even if you have multiple commander slots). It's about freedom of choice and giving them the opportunity to enjoy ED how they want. Needless to say, there will be players who will "exploit" the ability to switch, but that's FD's problem: they have to make the environment just as punishing in solo as it is in open to make switching questionable. If the AI aren't up to that (ATM), so what? Don't take solo away from me, I never play open ... well, not that often (and only when exploring).

 

[DarkWalker]

I think the most FRUSTRATING thing for people that only fly in OPEN is simply that people have the ability to drop out into SOLO mode at will.

Which, for many of us, varies between a deciding feature in getting us to purchase the game and the single best feature of the game

Besides, firewalls. Double-NAT. Artificial lag. I could easily come up with a dozen different ways to guarantee that I will never meet any other player even after selecting Open, many of which can never be reliably detected by Frontier. The very network architecture of the game isn't meant to enforce Open, trying to use it like that would be like trying to re-purpose a sieve to hold water.

 

[Lestenio]

I think the most FRUSTRATING thing for people that only fly in OPEN is simply that people have the ability to drop out into SOLO mode at will.


Fix that and 99% of the complaining will go away.

Examples:
- Separate CMDR saves / career mode.
- Limit ability to switch from OPEN to SOLO (vice verse) once every 24 hr period.... or once every Powerplay Cycle

What you mean is 99% of the PvP crowd will stop complaining while the players no longer able to play their way will simply find another game to play. Net result is open is still empty and FD have less customers.

Not sure how that benefits you or the game.

 

[Phosphora]

I think the most FRUSTRATING thing for people that only fly in OPEN is simply that people have the ability to drop out into SOLO mode at will.


Fix that and 99% of the complaining will go away.

Examples:
- Separate CMDR saves / career mode.
- Limit ability to switch from OPEN to SOLO (vice verse) once every 24 hr period.... or once every Powerplay Cycle

I like being able to switch. People will want different things from the game on different days. Hard day at work? Relax with some simple trading, where you can control things and know what is coming. Off work today? Have a blast in Open.

People aren't just different from eachother, they change from day to day. Frontier have recognised this.

Cheers, Phos.

 

[Faded Glory]

Without a connection everything would be frozen in place. Nothing would move or change...that's why they had to give up on the idea.

When FD said they would implement an offline mode, I think I recall DB saying it could possibly sync occasionally with the main game.

That's rather how I assumed an offline mode would work.

 

[Soulstain]

I can't believe this thread is still going on. Just give me three commander slots. One for open, solo and group or one for solo and group combined. I'm ok with that. This game series was always a single player game. I bought it thinking I was getting an offline single player game. No, I don't want to start that discussion. It's just if you bought this game, thinking it was really about multiplayer I think you were misled. First off, p2p is not really conducive for this. It works, but not well. Secondly, who would release a game boasting multi-player without even the ability to group up. This wasn't released until 1.2. You have the ability to play with others in this game but it was never truly about that as the typical mechanics just aren't there. Those mechanics may come, but my point is they weren't there from the start, which is kind of odd for a so-called multiplayer game. You can spin it all you want but just look at the proof. I don't mind moving from mode to mode when I feel like it, but I wouldn't care if I couldn't. I don't really think most solo players care to be honest with you. Some will, but most won't. Over the past 5 or 6 days I played in all three of the modes, more for lag issues then anything else. I never saw a commander in any mode that I played in. I don't play PP or take part in community goals so I'm not affecting your efforts any. I'm here to relax and go about my own business. It's a break from people for me. When I want to socialize, I get out of my computer room and socialize in the real world. So after all that, all I wanted to say was, make them separate and it won't matter to most of us solo players anyway.

yeah and this series was always vector graphic game, i cant believe it is not anymore ... View attachment 60099

And your point is? You have multiplayer now. I still have solo. Why are you unhappy, because you can't make me unhappy?

 

[Roybe]

That's rather how I assumed an offline mode would work.

There would be no story...as that is a live feature. Think of it this way...it would have less in it than it did at release...with no way to add anything in after the release.

 

[Soulstain]

Updates folks, updates, patches, those things they do with all other offline games. The game would have had more not less. Trying to make an amazing single player game into an MMO tends to have these issues. Elder Scrolls online comes to mind. Not even remotely close to the enjoyment of Skyrim.

 

[DarkWalker]

Updates folks, updates, patches, those things they do with all other offline games. The game would have had more not less. Trying to make an amazing single player game into an MMO tends to have these issues. Elder Scrolls online comes to mind. Not even remotely close to the enjoyment of Skyrim.

On Steam, Elder Scrolls have over 27K players currently playing (as in, at this very moment), while ESO has a bit less than 4K players. This isn't the whole figure, there is no way to know how many players are playing those outside Steam, but it does show how insanely popular Skyrim is even nearly four years after launch.

(And, just for kicks, Euro Truck Simulator 2 is in 28th place, and thus above most of the combat focused games on Steam. Yeah, there are a lot of people that enjoy playing truckers, including space truckers.)

 

[Spook]

PC/MAC Solo - PC/MAC Groups
PC/MAC Solo - PC/MAC Open
PC/MAC Solo – CQC ?
PC/MAC Solo - X Box Solo
PC/MAC Solo - X Box Groups
PC/MAC Solo - X Box Open
PC/MAC Solo - X Box CQC ?
PC/MAC Solo - PS4 Solo ?
PC/MAC Solo - PS4 Groups ?
PC/MAC Solo - PS4 Open ?
PC/MAC Solo - PS4 CQC ?
PC/MAC Groups - PC/MAC Open
PC/MAC Groups - PC/MAC CQC ?
PC/MAC Groups - X Box Solo
PC/MAC Groups - X Box Groups
PC/MAC Groups - X Box Open
PC/MAC Groups - X Box CQC ?
PC/MAC Groups - PS4 Solo ?
PC/MAC Groups - PS4 Groups ?
PC/MAC Groups - PS4 Open ?
PC/MAC Groups - PS4 CQC ?
PC/MAC Open - CQC ?
PC/MAC Open - Instance greater than (X-1) Number of players
PC/MAC Open - Any player without a valid matchmaking connection
PC/MAC Open - X Box Solo
PC/MAC Open - X Box Groups
PC/MAC Open - X Box Open
PC/MAC Open - X Box CQC ?
PC/MAC Open - PS4 Solo ?
PC/MAC Open - PS4 Groups ?
PC/MAC Open - PS4 Open ?
PC/MAC Open - PS4 CQC ?
X Box Solo - PS4 Solo ?
X Box Solo - PS4 Groups ?
X Box Solo - PS4 Open ?
X Box Solo - PS4 CQC ?
X Box Solo - X Box Groups
X Box Solo - X Box Open
X Box Solo - X Box CQC ?
X Box Groups - X Box Open
X Box Groups - PS4 Solo ?
X Box Groups - PS4 Groups ?
X Box Groups - PS4 Open ?
X Box Groups - PS4 CQC ?
X Box Open - Instance greater than (X-1) Number of players
X Box Open - Any player without a valid matchmaking connection
X Box Open - PS4 Solo ?
X Box Open - PS4 Groups ?
X Box Open - PS4 Open ?
X Box Open - PS4 CQC ?
PS4 Solo ? - PS4 Groups ?
PS4 Solo ? - PS4 Open ?
PS4 Solo ? - PS4 CQC ?
PS4 Groups ? - PS4 Open ?
PS4 Groups ? - PS4 CQC ?
PS4 Open ? – PS4 CQC ?
PS4 Open ? - Instance greater than (X-1) Number of players
PS4 Open ? - Any player without a valid matchmaking connection

Come on, own up, tell your Uncle Spook which nasty mode combination has been upsetting someones Powerplay again and I'll send it to bed with no supper - Bad MODE, bad BAD MODE. No chocolate milkshake and you won't get to see the elephants next time we go to the zoo.

? = not confirmed/not known - just a complete SWAG (Scientific Wild Guess)

 

[-Pv-]

"I don't really think most solo players care to be honest with you. Some will, but most won't."

What is the deception?
A well crafted game lets every person get what they want out of the game regardless of what that is within the limits of the technology, programmer skill and genre.

For me, I don't have the chops and hand-eye coordination to pound on human players with 1000 hours of combat experience in ships I'll not be able to afford even six months from now.
To be "honest" I like the idea of learning the mechanics and UI of the game where the AI plays by the rules while I ramp up without the chaotic human element (people who don't care attacking me makes them criminals.)
Group play gives myself and friends at the same level who don't particularly enjoy pounding each other back to the ship replacement menu learn together and just enjoy chatting with each other about
life, the universe and everything while sharing an experience and sharing what we've learned with each other. One of my best friends I met while playing online over 20 years ago.
Open lets me spread my wings, increasing my risk after I've discovered a little about how to operate the game at some basic level giving the potential of making new friends. I cannot think of a
better way to add people to my group or have multiple groups to play in.
Like most games of this nature, Elite places new players in a generally similar portion of the galaxy. I've seen plenty of videos of players encountering each other for the first time in the game
so I know it happens, especially for those who want to make it happen. There are features in the game to make this likely. Continued growth also makes this more likely.
Last, making all three modes share data means I can move from mode to mode seamlessly. Except for the humans, the modes don't represent alternate universes with disrupted economies and politics.
The same war or peaceful locations going on for all of us. Very nice.

-Pv-

 

[askavir]

On Steam, Elder Scrolls have over 27K players currently playing (as in, at this very moment), while ESO has a bit less than 4K players. This isn't the whole figure, there is no way to know how many players are playing those outside Steam, but it does show how insanely popular Skyrim is even nearly four years after launch.

(And, just for kicks, Euro Truck Simulator 2 is in 28th place, and thus above most of the combat focused games on Steam. Yeah, there are a lot of people that enjoy playing truckers, including space truckers.)

The Elder Scrolls / Fallout series are truly outstanding games, but TES Online was a big shot in the foot.

Bethesda failed to understand why their player base plays those games for so much time after release, it definitively isn't about PvP. The same can be said about Bioware games. People play those games for the immense freedom and sandboxing (Elder Scrolls / Fallout) and for the amazing storytelling and compelling characters (Bioware's Mass Effect and Dragon Age series). Throwing multiplayer and PvP at those games would just ruin them, not improve them. That's why Elder Scrolls online flopped so hard, and although Bioware tried to insert multiplayer content in their games, it never stuck. Bethesda and Bioware are all about lore, immersion, and storytelling. Multiplayers ruins those things. There are lots of other titles far more suited for multiplayer gaming. Bethesda and Bioware should use their strenghts and stick with what they already do so much better than most other companies.

 

[Cody]

ED could have been a real humdinger of a single-player game! <sighs>

 

[ianw]

ED could have been a real humdinger of a single-player game! <sighs>

I would love to have seen what they could have done without MP considerations - as well as the MP version.

 

[Faded Glory]

I would love to have seen what they could have done without MP considerations - as well as the MP version.

They could have done exactly what they wanted without us pesky humans spoiling it.

 

[DarkWalker]

The Elder Scrolls / Fallout series are truly outstanding games, but TES Online was a big shot in the foot.

Bethesda failed to understand why their player base plays those games for so much time after release, it definitively isn't about PvP. The same can be said about Bioware games. People play those games for the immense freedom and sandboxing (Elder Scrolls / Fallout) and for the amazing storytelling and compelling characters (Bioware's Mass Effect and Dragon Age series). Throwing multiplayer and PvP at those games would just ruin them, not improve them. That's why Elder Scrolls online flopped so hard, and although Bioware tried to insert multiplayer content in their games, it never stuck. Bethesda and Bioware are all about lore, immersion, and storytelling. Multiplayers ruins those things. There are lots of other titles far more suited for multiplayer gaming. Bethesda and Bioware should use their strenghts and stick with what they already do so much better than most other companies.

I really agree. TESO is the first Elder Scrolls game I haven't purchased, and I've already said in other forums that making a single-player version of TOR, without all the MMO gimmicks, would have me lining up to purchase it at launch. I can't get behind those MMO versions of those franchises; in both cases, the restrictions needed to make them MMOs basically killed the things that made the earlier games from those studios enjoyable for me.

I feel the same about ED. I would have enjoyed far more an offline version of the game, where the galaxy was mine and mine alone to shape and I could mod the game to my heart's content.

 

[DaveB]

I think the most FRUSTRATING thing for people that only fly in OPEN is simply that people have the ability to drop out into SOLO mode at will.


Fix that and 99% of the complaining will go away.

"Fix" that and this player goes away. I like being able to play on my own or with others, with or without the possibility of PvP, with or without the expectation that other players I meet will be RPing etc. As for why your suggestion would kill that, see below.

Examples:
- Separate CMDR saves / career mode.
- Limit ability to switch from OPEN to SOLO (vice verse) once every 24 hr period.... or once every Powerplay Cycle

ok, so I've been one of the staunchest posters on here saying E: D is "only a grind if you make it one" - and in its current configuration that's true, as soon as it starts feeling like a grind, I go do something else and it's not a grind any more. Limit mode switches and/or implement separate saves for each mode? At that point my response is fork(that) (overriding the standard c "int fork(void)" function with "void fork(int pid)" that stabs the referenced process through the eyes repeatedly with a dining fork)

So, for each of my "career" paths I need a different save.. so theres this guy doing whatever he wants in open, this other guy doing whatever he wants in a PvE group, a third guy doing whatever he wants in a RP group and one more off doing whatever he wants in solo.. umm.. NO. ALL the No. Not even I could fail to call it a grind when I've got to progress 4 characters in parallel to maintain my current ability to take MY character into any mode I want whenever I want.