See you say you're okay with the other platforms, but I think you might have missed the big issue when the XBox version came out.
Which highlights just how much Frontier will support Private Groups now.
Sorry if you know this, but I'll recap it just in case;
When the XBox version came out, it launched with only 2 modes: Open and Solo.
This lead to a fair bit of speculation in the S.O.G. threads that Frontier may be doing away with Private Groups (by people such as yourself).
Which of course was nonsense, but those folks wouldn't listen (bit like you) and kept gloating that Open was going to be the "best" mode or "only" mode.
Of course they'd been so busy gloating, they'd not been keeping an eye on the XBox forums, or XBox Reddit threads - where all heck was breaking loose over the lack of Private Groups.
After a few weeks (or months? I forget) of silence from Frontier, and a poor rating for Elite: Dangerous on XBox, an announcement was suddenly made.
XBox was getting a big update, one that included adding Private Groups to the XBox mode list. A few weeks later, Frontier was chirping on how XBox sales were really taking off (after PGs were added oddly).
See, I think Frontier learnt a very valuable lesson from that mistake (one they didn't repeat with PlayStation).
One that really should be evident to you as you like to refer back to Sandro.
Sandro had concerns about getting people in to Open - why would he bother if Open had the largest population?
People are more interested in playing their own way, in either Solo or Private Groups with friends / family / selected people.
I mean that really must be the case because no one at Frontier would be "musing" over ways to nudge people to Open if it was the most popular mode.
So you can fight you fight all day long, but Frontier have already had a backlash over not including Private Groups on XBox (which they then added)
And Sandro had backlash over "musing" about incentives for Open (which was shelved to calm the situation).
Frontier have all the evidence they need that Open mode just isn't a priority from the majority of the player base.
So chances are, for XBox at least, that most of them will be in PG (as they did fight to get it).
And as you don't like PGs here, I very much doubt you like them over there either.
On a side note, it does suck for console players having to pay a subscription to Microsoft / Sony to even play multiplayer (PG or Open).
So any console player can still be connected to ED in Solo though, so broke people and tight people will still have an impact on the BGS.
(I hope all this made sense, it's 01:24... my brain isn't quite firing on all cylinders right now)
Okay lets clear a few things up.
#1, I have no problem with solo or private. Ive said this numerous times. I think they are a great addition to this game. Just like WoW PVE servers were. Played on a PVE server for years.
Private groups, such as the Mobius ones should absolutely have a toggle on them that removes any Player DMG. This is something the community created because they just weren't interested in PVP. I respect it, as shown in my video. You wont see me going in there to gank dudes. Although I have some friends that have gone and done it. And it can be kinda funny. At the end of the day its just game. However, I think it would be nice if private groups had the ability for that toggle.
HOWEVER, The thing that fuels Direct PVP in any game is objectives. See Overwatch, World of Warships, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Battlefield. Its all based around objective control. This game allows people to fight over those objectives without ever INTENTIONALLY seeing each other. Removing a part of the game Frontier has intended us to use. But there was also a META created within the PVP community, Mainly Powerplay and BGS. Elite Dangerous has given the ability to OPT of those modes for objective control, and its also allowed people to min/max with 0 risk vs their aggressors.
Its not that people dont want to PVP here. Because they do. Its just not optimal. You have the option not to lose credits, not to be stopped, while ignoring what the powerplay update was supposed to be about. Powerplay took a nose dive. Very few people use it in comparison because of this. Again, the community sees modules. Thats it.
#2 I dont know what they were thinking when it came to the Xbox stuff. This game needs private groups just the same as it needs open. People need those options, I have lots of friends that have disabilities that physically renders them unable to PVP. And they try and ignore combat all together because of it. But they still want to play with friends.
So, what I have seen here in my experiences, btw I know its going to be hard to believe this. I was the biggest carebear of them all. And I streamed EVERY cringy bit of it. I played hard mode, I played in Open only, sat through the stream snipers, learned the game. Learned everything I could do to change my outfittings for Open play, as well as streaming. Then went out and taught all my friends, and streamer friends everything I've learned. Live. I went from getting rekt. To becoming a god. And I did it in front of a pretty big audience, compared to twitch numbers for Elite Dangerous.
Then it hit me, All this griefing people are complaining about why is it? Why is there toxicity in this game. When combat vs other players was indeed intended? Whats going on here?
Well as you know, it turns out. People can just Opt out of it when they face each other for the objective. People wonder why the PVP community is small? Its cause you dont have to do it for those objectives. And in the post Sandro spoke about. He acknowledged it.
You see, if we fix the problem where people can fight over objectives. It will give direct PVP its place. Because right now, it has none. Not even in powerplay. Instead all we have is Griefing and Ganking. Like that guy says in the video, even though hes attacking an objective? See what I mean?
There will still be banter between groups. And PVP always has some sort of toxicity that comes with it. Its the nature of the beast. But it wont primarily against PVE players. Sure there will still be griefing, but hopefully in the form of piracy instead of just murder, murder will be meant for objectives.
There is a bigger picture im trying to achieve here. Not everything has to be a grief. Ive said this before. There can be healthy PVP in this game. Im on your guys' side more than you think. But in order for any of that to happen, something has to change with the way objectives are taken. And give real meaning to player kills and interaction. Otherwise its the same ol grief we've had for years.
Thats why I say you guys fighting against it have 0 experience. Because if you really did. You'd see it will solve multiple problems at once. And the people that arent involved with PVP BGS wars or Powerplay. The game stays the same for you in solo and private.
Eh anyways, hope you can see what im trying to achieve here.
I dont want to be a griefer. Bad guy? Sure. Love that stuff. Griefer? Nope. Huge difference. And this game unless you're at the PVP hub or CG at my time it turns you into a griefer. So people just go with it. Thats all we've got really. Try and play the game like Fdev wants. You're a griefer.
