What do the player base think of the multiplayer element of Elite Dangerous?

[Old Duck]

The reason for my post is I've sat here for the last few weeks TRYING to drag friends back into the game to play together they aren't biting. There are so many other single player space games available I just feel like my time would be better invested there at the moment. Maybe just a mumble jumble of random sunday morning ranting but wanted to voice my opinion.

I'm in a similar but different boat where I want to get back into Legacy, but my large list of friends haven't logged in for 5 months. I think they are all over on Live, or they just quit. For me personally, Elite is most fun as a multiplayer game, especially when a good community goal is running that brings players together for game loops I particularly like, such as combat (regular, not AX).

As for "other single player games", look me up (previous posts) if you want my opinion on this. The caveat is that Elite brings something that these single-player games don't, and that's the awesome multiplayer experience (when it's available). I'm kinda surprised so many people in this thread don't see it that way, but I'm also speaking from nostalgia from multiplayer events gone by (Interstellar Initiatives and good CGs, Distant Worlds, Borann 2, etc). I can't say if anything like this exists anymore. It apparently doesn't in Legacy, so like you I'm leaning to other games that do single-player better.

 

[CMDR-AD]

I've always sort of enjoyed the "loner" feel of Elite when I play single player. As though I wasn't really part of anything around me. The stations and contacts say pleasant things, but really they don't know me, nor really regard me as any one special among the countless other space pilot sorts they deal with daily. The lack of hand crafted, player guiding, single player story elements just suited this well for me.

Odyssey did sort of create a sort of disconnect with that feeling, however. Suddenly, I was surrounded by other NPC people. The world suddenly felt like even among my CMDR's sort, there was social structure everywhere. Even if half of them were just sleeping on a bench. Interacting with NPCs for missions and such has been an interesting change from what I usually have done in Elite. And how often I log off sitting on the bench, now.

That said, it's been a while since I played through a nice "open world" type single player game with deeply hand crafted story elements. These play design elements can be fun for me, and I'm decently eager for "September". Bought a new XBox, in fact.

 

[Riverside]

True, and there's very little reason to do anything with them, most things are better done alone. The obvious exception is killing space flowers. They don't even have mechanics for MP exploration but that's not surprising since explo barely has any mechanics at all.

If you are teamed up and in the same supercruise instance you can DSS a system together (and share the tags if you are in your own ships). Salad hunting works well with physical multi-crew too and of course if you all travel on the same carrier it keeps the group together even when they aren't online as long as they are docked on the carrier when it moves.

The larger the group the more difficult it is to coordinate everyone but if everyone is in the same squadron their current location (or last location if they are not in the game) is shown on the squadron management page, so it's easy to see who is docked on the carrier and who isn't, and the social menu friend list will show you who is currently online & the system they are in if they are in the same mode as you (Open or the same private group). If they are not on your friendlist it will still tell you whether or not they are currently online. System chat can be useful for giving notifications about carrier jumps too.

 

[metatheurgist]

If you are teamed up and in the same supercruise instance you can DSS a system together (and share the tags if you are in your own ships). Salad hunting works well with physical multi-crew too and of course if you all travel on the same carrier it keeps the group together even when they aren't online as long as they are docked on the carrier when it moves.

The group tag is not really mechanics, it's just a very minimal shared discovery. And while you can work together to do a lot of stuff it's not really required. If the salad hunting didn't have the terrible artificial constraints on it you wouldn't even do that.

 

[Riverside]

On the whole I enjoy it.

Coop is fun mostly from a social perspective. Mining, for example, doesn't really entail cooperation so much as just all mobbing together and magically extracting extra rocks from the rocks. Combat in most cases is total overkill with more than about 2 players and very rapidly goes from easy to comically easy.

Multicrew is more fun, since it actually takes some semblance of cooperation and teamwork. Unfortunately, it's not designed very well, so actually using turrets is a pretty challenging endeavor. Still the most fun though, and the easiest to coordinate on the whole.

PVP is the one thing I don't really care for, on account of it being completely pointless. There is nothing gained or lost, the skills are almost entirely specific to exclusively pvp and don't have broader applicability, and I really don't understand why people care for it. But to each their own, I suppose.

What I would really like is content that would allow us to manually scale our difficulty to the desired level. Let me spawn in more NPCs to fight, for example. That way getting more than 2 people isn't a total waste.

The thrill of PvP is more about not getting caught for me, but I have done a lot of diplomacy, meeting others who may initially be hostile & reaching agreements over territory boundaries & sharing. IMO a faction conflict played out by both sides in open is the game at it's best, where PvP is meaningful.

 

[Riverside]

The group tag is not really mechanics, it's just a very minimal shared discovery. And while you can work together to do a lot of stuff it's not really required. If the salad hunting didn't have the terrible artificial constraints on it you wouldn't even do that.

If a teammate DSSs or maps a planet in the same system as you it updates your own data too. Salad hunting data isn't shared but you can follow each other around or if there are only a couple of Cmdrs they can all pile into one ship & get taxied around the planet between scans. What terrible artificial constraints did you have in mind that make multiplayer unviable for you?

 

[Northpin]

I'm not really interested in the direct multiplayer component, but the indirect multiplayer (shared galaxy, bgs) makes it very interesting and lively in the long run
Co-op multiplayer can be really nice and fun at times, however it's not really necessary for the skilled player (can even be a drag sometimes)

Edit: i'm not interested in multiplayer as PVP since ED is not designed around PVP (which is an optional component, disconnected from the main game objectives, basically an add-on slapped over the PVE game)

 

[metatheurgist]

If a teammate DSSs or maps a planet in the same system as you it updates your own data too. Salad hunting data isn't shared but you can follow each other around or if there are only a couple of Cmdrs they can all pile into one ship & get taxied around the planet between scans. What terrible artificial constraints did you have in mind that make multiplayer unviable for you?

I'm not saying MP salad hunting is unviable, I'm saying there's no real MP component to it. Anyone can do something in a group and call it MP, it's just larping. If salad hunting didn't have the 3 scan and arbitrary distance requirement you probably wouldn't even bother with that.

 

[Riverside]

I'm not saying MP salad hunting is unviable, I'm saying there's no real MP component to it. Anyone can do something in a group and call it MP, it's just larping. If salad hunting didn't have the 3 scan and arbitrary distance requirement you probably wouldn't even bother with that.

The DSS and mapping mechanisms actively support multiplayer, they work differently when Cmdrs are teamed up to when they are not. You can still use things like low wake signatures to follow Cmdrs who are not in your team if you want to meet up in one location but the team beacon is more helpful & doesn't time out.

If salad hunting didn't have the three scans requirement there would still be some benefit to jumping onboard another Cmdrs ship & travelling around the planet from scanpoint to scanpoint, that there is a requirement for three scans per plant is separate from that because even with only one scan per plant you may be scanning multiple plant types anyway, and even with only one if one Cmdr finds an example others can track their location (with a wing beacon) to scan it themselves.

They don't even have mechanics for MP exploration but that's not surprising since explo barely has any mechanics at all.

I don't think you make a very good point here, and I think the three scan requirement is unrelated to that point. Exploration supports multiplayer pretty well.

 

[angusmadmac1]

Thing is I never looked at elite as a multiplayer game ? Consoles and PC couldn't instance and even with the correct setting trying to instance with friends in open was a laugh unless it was PG . Unless you do BGS or powerplay it's basically a NPC background thingy . I have had some random encounters in open ( mostly good) but mostly it's quiet.

 

[CMDR Astraea Astralis]

I like it. I know human interaction is meant to be sparse, but I wish it was just a bit more streamlined and less prone to bugs; not a jab at Frontier, I know they're working P2P-related bugs and I will add I think they're making great progress with it.

It's why I love CGs so much, just being able to hang out in the same IRC channel as other CMDRs while doing whatever. Hauling, AXCZ, mining etc.
Makes me wish there was a proper LFG feature. Some sort of quick way to find CMDRs to join your team. Put up a message up on whatever the "LFG board" might be called in-game, "Looking for CMDRs to do AXCZ with in X system near Y maelstrom", other CMDRs can see that and just jump into your team via it.

Another thing I personally want, a way to see which AXCZ's have active CMDRs in them. Without having to use external communication.

 

[Rebel Yell]

That reminds to me what I do feel like it's the most lacking feature of the game... a big bulletin board (galnet like) where "activities" and not lore things (or CG-stuff) are listed.

I mean, the biggest flaw we're talking about is the fact that the game gives litterally none (or very basic/cryptic) information regarding "galaxy activities"... so players are forced to rely on external resources i.e. Inara, EDMC etc to find things to do or where they can do what they're trying to do.

Why do we have to check Inara to find where to best sell something? Or to buy something at a very cheap price?

They can just advertise all of that in the big board and provide details/traffic information etc. as well as providing "special" wing missions... not different from the current ones but way much rewarding (i.e. a ton of engineering math or credits, or special badges whatever to the players?) not mini-CGs but simply advertised like "faction ZYZ in system XYX is spawning 20x G3-G4 raw maths wing mission rewards for this time window" and same can be done basically for each type of wing mission or even scenarios (megaships etc).

Bottom line: once the wing missions are adjusted, what the game lacks is just proper communication/advertise ways to capture players' attention and push them to play together with the exception of CGs and the recent AX lore (which not everyone likes).

 

[Blaggerdy]

I find it a difficult game to play effectively in a team. Partly my own fault (no voice comms) and partly the game (wing arrival and departure timing, and if you are using stealth you are more likely to be spotted).

What I find that works well is more on the MMORPG side. Today for example I am in a maelstrom picking up materials when everything goes hostile. After a few moment I realise another CMDR has arrived and is trading shots with a Glaive. This is more natural behaviour than I would expect in a single player game. I could try to help them but know that this means we'll both be retreating (since the combat has drawn attention of other interceptors) or visiting the rebuy screen. Once the CMDR is gone everything calms down after a minute or two and I can continue to harvest materials.

Yesterday in a wing my companion and I had three goes in a maelstrom and I find it harder than when minding my own business in there for much the same reason - one or other of us draws attention and while the other can help out we soon draw more attention.

Multiplayer against Thargoids is the only other activity I have tried, and that makes it a lot easier than solo combat or with NPC support. I can't see myself doing PVP or non AX multiplayer.

 

[Astaran]

I would really like and enjoy a proper Coop experience in Elite, but unfortunately, the game is most certainly not designed with MP features in mind. First and foremost, there's not much content that requires, rewards or encourages cooperative gameplay (the only notable exception at the moment is AX combat...until someone launches an SLF or has "report crimes" set to on...).

In most MMO games I have easy ways to identify a struggling player (e.g. health bar) and have simple ways to help (e.g. attacking the enemy, offering a heal/resurrection) which in turn promotes coop gameplay.

Most of the time, I simply don't have the tools to support other CMDRs anyway (e.g. Space Legs combat: I can't drop med kits or ammo boxes, I can't revive team mates). Unless I have a purpose built ship (Fuel Rats, Hull Seals) and out-of-game comms channels, there's almost zero reason to even fit fuel and repair limpets as part of my normal game loop.

The chat system is still only rudimentarily developed. Almost 20 years ago games like EVE Online or World of Warcaft already had player made chat channels that allowed for easy communication and new communities to emerge. "Local chat" in Elite is limted to a passing "o7" that's overlooked most of the time anyway. System chat (in CG systems) is Elite's version of Jita Local or Brachland/Barrens chat in oldschool World of Warcraft.

Group/Dungeon Finders are a basic feature in any MMO, Elite doesn't have it (but again, Elite lacks content that requires/enourages me to join a group anyway)

Instancing and network stability are still more of a lottery than a solid multiplayer foundation.

As for PVP: As far as I am concerned, in Elite there is nothing worth to fight over anyway. In EVE, you fight over territory and resources. That's something I can get behind and (to some extent) even enjoyed participating in (minus those crazy nutjobs that schedule a call to arms at 03:00 on a Tuesday and still demand players to show up). You had diplomacy, spies, massive battles, tactics and logistics. Wars in EVE (especially between the huge Null Sec alliances) were a really big thing. PMFs, BGS stuff and PowerPlay in Elite don't even come close to that. And no, I don't consider ganking in either game "pvp" (imo it's just harrassment/griefing, but that's a different can of worms).

Long story short: When I want to play with friends or against ohter players, there are many, many other games that are much more fun and easier to access than Elite.

Elite really is in an awkward spot: It mostly combines the worst parts of Singleplayer and Multiplayer games, while making all efforts to avoid the good parts that could actually improve the game.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

The MP was good in a coop context. Group play did a good part to keep me playing. It was the bright side of MP gaming.

Once they unleashed the loot chase with engineers, they made the PvP sphere inherently unfair. And I hate unfair matchups. I don't buy games with unfair matchups, but ED introduced the unfairness through the backdoor after taking our money.

I regard that as extremely poor business practice.

As a result "live service" and undiscriminating MP are off the table when I consider any game purchases now.

 

[Einar Donarsson]

It would be the best thing in the Game if it wasnt to buggy to use.

Desynced instances, buggy conflict Zones, constant crashes and disconnects in physical multicrew even after port forwarding and so on.

 

[Codger]

I rarely think about it at all. Some people like it.

 

[Darrack]

I occasionally do multiplayer in PG with a few friends, no interest whatsoever in PvP.
Mainly solo.

O7

 

[Darrack]

It mostly combines the worst parts of Singleplayer and Multiplayer games

You can look at that another way, it combines the best of both worlds, a single player game effected by a multiplayer universe.

O7

 

[Sera Scratch]

Only multiplayer elements I could get from Elite was piracy around Borann and the other place when Vopals were hot. But almost everyone combat logged once intradicted so it just wasn't even worth it. That or you'd never find someone because miners ran private/offline.