Multiple ships in use simultaneously?

[LuckyVanDine]

Is the only way to explore with multiple ships to team up with another player? Is there any way of hiring NPCs to fly another ship that you own alongside you?

[TheARate]

You can form a wing or "team" as the game calls it post-Odyssey with up to three other players. They have to use their own ships, they cannot use yours. You can see where each of you are, and you will both show up in the same instance, meaning you'll appear for each other at the same location. This is contrary to how players are sometimes handled, where you and someone else could be at the same station or whatnot, but cannot see each other due to server instancing.

You can hire an NPC crew member to fly a fighter for you, provided you have a fighter bay. NPC crew eat into all money that you would receive, regardless if you are using them or not. You can only use one NPC at a time, and they are useless in every endeavor other than deploying a single fighter craft.
You can initiate a multi-crew session(which tends to be buggy) to allow another player to appear in your ship's passenger seat regardless of where the player was initially. Multicrew players can aim and fire with turreted weapons, use mining weapons, and the detailed surface scanner module, in addition to flying a fighter.

I wish, but you cannot:
-Get NPC crew members to fly ships for you,
-Get NPC crew to autopilot your active ship while you get a sandwich,
-Deploy multiple NPC fighter craft.

[Planewalker]

Originally posted by TheARate:

I wish, but you cannot:
-Get NPC crew members to fly ships for you,
-Get NPC crew to autopilot your active ship while you get a sandwich,
-Deploy multiple NPC fighter craft.

That is not entirely true; you can switch to the SLF (ship launched fighter) and have your crew take over the helm of your ship. An NPC ranked up to elite is a force to be reckoned with.

If you hire them at the lowest level, their pay will be lower compared to hired at higher level.
-ie, it pays dividends to rank them up yourself, and yes it will also deduct from your combat rank.
Ranking up slower in combat isn't necessarily a bad thing..

They are good at drawing aggro, something that is quite effective when doing difficult missions.

And the only way to have two fighters out is indeed to have another player in multicrew.
(telepresence works really well; physical multicrew can require port forwarding to work well)

[LuckyVanDine]

Super - thanks for the clarity.

where you and someone else could be at the same station or whatnot, but cannot see each other due to server instancing.

I'd not realised this - thanks.

[TheARate]

Originally posted by Planewalker:

That is not entirely true; you can switch to the SLF (ship launched fighter) and have your crew take over the helm of your ship. An NPC ranked up to elite is a force to be reckoned with.

Sorry, I meant autopilot as in taking you from station to station and whatnot like the Apex passenger service added in Odyssey.

[Weaver]

Fleet management would bring an entirely new level to the game, and many players would complain it's unfair...despite everyone gaining equal access to the feature. I'll never understand modern gamers.

Given how they make us fight for every inch, I seriously doubt FDev would ever implement it in Elite.

[Lucius Confucius]

Would love to be able to have npc pilot my other ships or go on ground with me.