How's "open" gameplay?

[Itharus]

I was told you have to basically enable full MP when you load up this game, followed by a warning about getting blasted a lot.

So I'm curious: is playing the game in open mode pretty much inviting instant pvp-death or nah? How "friendly" is the game when in full MP mode? Are you just going to get blasted by anyone and everyone that's been playing longer than you and thus has better stuff constantly?

How bad *is* the grind, anyway? Does it take days, weeks, months -- or years -- to get the "good" stuff? I saw there's an in game currency you can buy, so... pay to win?

Anyway, thanks for any serious answers provided.

[Merkenjian]

The answer to all your questions is: it depends.
Firstly, you don't have to play in open, you can play in solo or private groups, some of which have hundreds of players.
Playing in open, you still might not see another commander, depending on where you are. In a busy system you will probably get picked off, especially as a new player, but there aren't that many busy systems, and you can just use private/solo if you need to go to a busy system.
The game is quite friendly for a multiplayer game to be honest, most people won't be actively trying to kill you, and a lot of players are quite willing to give advice or even help. There are the usual bad actors, but there are ways to avoid them.
As for getting the good stuff, it depends what you want to do. There are plenty of guides or tutorials online that will show you how to get the "best" stuff quite quickly, but by following them you will miss out on the journey of learning how to put it to use. Essentially experience trumps quality gear. There are plenty of people in game and some on this forum with thousands of hours who still fly small ships, as they find them more fun.
And as for the pre-built jump-start ships, some are alright, but they are a jump-START.

[Itharus]

Originally posted by Merkenjian:

The answer to all your questions is: it depends.
Firstly, you don't have to play in open, you can play in solo or private groups, some of which have hundreds of players.
Playing in open, you still might not see another commander, depending on where you are. In a busy system you will probably get picked off, especially as a new player, but there aren't that many busy systems, and you can just use private/solo if you need to go to a busy system.
The game is quite friendly for a multiplayer game to be honest, most people won't be actively trying to kill you, and a lot of players are quite willing to give advice or even help. There are the usual bad actors, but there are ways to avoid them.
As for getting the good stuff, it depends what you want to do. There are plenty of guides or tutorials online that will show you how to get the "best" stuff quite quickly, but by following them you will miss out on the journey of learning how to put it to use. Essentially experience trumps quality gear. There are plenty of people in game and some on this forum with thousands of hours who still fly small ships, as they find them more fun.
And as for the pre-built jump-start ships, some are alright, but they are a jump-START.

Thanks for the detailed answer. Most my 'space game' type experience was the old Privateer games back in the day, various editions of Evochron, and some X3/X4. Is this game along those veins? Is it "busy" or is it a chill and grind for hours on the weekend kind of game? Was a huge fan of Privateer's gameplay balance, and I know it was based on the original Elite (which I never played).

Is Odyssey something that's useful to get right at the start?

[Merkenjian]

Again, it depends. Of the games you mentioned, I've only played the X series. This is both larger and smaller scale than those. Elite is a 1:1 representation of the galaxy, but you will never see battles as large as you can in X4. Currently in Elite the largest ships you can fly are maybe equivalent to corvettes, and you can't control fleets. But on the other hand things never grind to a halt like they can in X4 either.
As for busy or chill, it can be both. Trading and mining can be quite chill, especially in solo, or you could bounty hunt pirates or rival factions ships, which is more hectic. If you want a better idea, I'd suggest looking at a few videos on YouTube.
Odyssey gives you access to exobiology, currently the best money maker, and to ground based on foot missions. Personally I'd recommend it, but it's not required, and you don't need to start a new save if you get it later.

[Erei]

ED have 3 ways to play the main game. Open (full multiplayer), solo (alone but you can still do everything and your actions still impact the background of the game) or private (as the name imply).
Open is obviously where multiplayer happens. Elite is big so the odd of meeting someone outside of the main hub is low. On the other hand, where people go in large amount, you take a risk to get ganked.

If you don't want PVP, play solo.

[Itharus]

Originally posted by Erei:

ED have 3 ways to play the main game. Open (full multiplayer), solo (alone but you can still do everything and your actions still impact the background of the game) or private (as the name imply).
Open is obviously where multiplayer happens. Elite is big so the odd of meeting someone outside of the main hub is low. On the other hand, where people go in large amount, you take a risk to get ganked.

If you don't want PVP, play solo.

Do the private games not impact background stuff? Are they limited in some way? Cuz selectively with friends sounds pretty nice.

[Merkenjian]

Private groups mean you will only ever encounter people in that group. There are no current (or planned, as far as I know) other limitations.

[Erei]

Originally posted by Itharus:

Do the private games not impact background stuff? Are they limited in some way? Cuz selectively with friends sounds pretty nice.

Only people who are invited in that group can be encountered. Some people use to play with friends, but you also have groups with similar views playing together. Arguably the largest and best known is "moebius" which forbid non consensual PVP altogether. Essentially, a PVE only "open".

Do note that you can switch the mode any time, unlike most MMO servers. Go back to main meny, and pick the one you want and done. You are not locked in one mode at all.

[Itharus]

Originally posted by Erei:

Originally posted by Itharus:

Do the private games not impact background stuff? Are they limited in some way? Cuz selectively with friends sounds pretty nice.

Only people who are invited in that group can be encountered. Some people use to play with friends, but you also have groups with similar views playing together. Arguably the largest and best known is "moebius" which forbid non consensual PVP altogether. Essentially, a PVE only "open".

Do note that you can switch the mode any time, unlike most MMO servers. Go back to main meny, and pick the one you want and done. You are not locked in one mode at all.

How's solo play impact the background stuff then? I guess I'm confused.

I just realized the game's only $10 rn, so I'm prolly gonna grab it, but I'm curious to know more of how that works going into things.

[Overlord]

Open play is pointless and should be removed, the only people that actually exist there are the ones looking to kill others or each other.

[Overlord]

Originally posted by Itharus:

Originally posted by Erei:

Only people who are invited in that group can be encountered. Some people use to play with friends, but you also have groups with similar views playing together. Arguably the largest and best known is "moebius" which forbid non consensual PVP altogether. Essentially, a PVE only "open".

Do note that you can switch the mode any time, unlike most MMO servers. Go back to main meny, and pick the one you want and done. You are not locked in one mode at all.

How's solo play impact the background stuff then? I guess I'm confused.

I just realized the game's only $10 rn, so I'm prolly gonna grab it, but I'm curious to know more of how that works going into things.

All 3 modes have the same background systems, the only difference is who you see or if you're alone (in the case of solo)

[Itharus]

Originally posted by Overlord:

Originally posted by Itharus:

How's solo play impact the background stuff then? I guess I'm confused.

I just realized the game's only $10 rn, so I'm prolly gonna grab it, but I'm curious to know more of how that works going into things.

All 3 modes have the same background systems, the only difference is who you see or if you're alone (in the case of solo)

Right on. What *is* the background stuff, though? I see there's some kind of something going on with earth right now. Does what players do actually IMPACT that event? Will it change anything? Or is it just some sort of seasonal thing for people to enjoy for a minute and the universe will move on along a preplanned course or what?

[Merkenjian]

The entire galaxy is persistent. Even while in open, there is a limit to how many players can be in an instance, so even in open you might be at the same station as someone else, but in a different instance. Solo is just an instance with a single player. All effect the background simulation equally.

[Itharus]

Originally posted by Merkenjian:

The entire galaxy is persistent. Even while in open, there is a limit to how many players can be in an instance, so even in open you might be at the same station as someone else, but in a different instance. Solo is just an instance with a single player. All effect the background simulation equally.

Ahhhh OK. I remember instances from assorted MMOs. So making a group session is just an instance you control access to? How many people can be in the open instance? Is there only one open instance or does it clone it if there's a bunch of people in one area? If it clones it, can you swap between instances of the same place? Are there limitations on that (to avoid insta-fleeing pvp or whatever)?

Edit: Also, snagged it.

[Merkenjian]

Kind of, but not exactly. In a group session it's possible to be in several instances, though they would be in different locations. If you get attacked, by player or npc, there is a 15 second cool down before you can log off. As to the other questions, not a clue.

To answer the background stuff question, each system has economic states political states and controlling factions. And probably some other stuff I don't know about. By doing certain things players can manipulate these states, and even which faction controls the system.
https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Background_Simulation?so=search
To be honest I don't know the details, but this might help.

[Itharus]

Question, if I know someone who bought this game years back, not on steam (but on pc), can we play together or do they need a Steam copy?