- Joined
- Mar 7, 2022
- Messages
- 40
Last time, we talked about how Starbase should enable PvP, PvE, and mixed playstyles. That’s all well and good, but there’s another factor that has caused division in the playerbase. That factor is group vs solo play. When I say group play, I mean players that are part of companies or other power structures that enable multiple players to collaborate on a regular basis to accomplish common goals. Solo players may still interact with other players, but they usually set their own goals and use their own time and resources to accomplish them. How should Starbase handle these two different playstyles?
In the last article, I argued that Frozenbyte should accommodate both PvP and PvE, and while I’d like to argue that they should also equally accommodate both solo and group players, I recognize that some sacrifices may have to be made. I think that the game should be expansive and allow for truly large-scale stations and ships, and the sheer consumption of resources that requires will likely price the “end game” content outside the easy reach of solo players. However, I think that attention to the needs of solo players should still be present when considering the design of game features.
A good example of a field where group players have received a lot of attention but not necessarily solo players as much is social and auction tools. Company and alliance social tools do need a lot of work, but some tweaks can help solo players as well. A good example is the friends list. Right now, the only way to check if someone is online but outside of your station chat channel is via sending a message. If the friends list would accurately update when your friends are online or offline, it makes it a lot easier to talk to people. Another good example is auction tools. If players could see all the public auctions, whether this is Origin Stations, Arma, or even public auctions hosted at player owned stations, then they can plan out trade routes. Without the ability to have someone else check around the different markets, solo players lose out on valuable pricing information. If they can check all the public auctions at once, they can plan hauling or capital ship transport routes to take advantage of price differences like companies can.
These two articles have been a bit broad, but I wanted to establish the “big picture” themes first. This way, people can know what goals I have in mind as I start going through various game systems and ideas. Next article, I look forward to going into ship design and construction and how Frozenbyte can improve that area of the game.
In the last article, I argued that Frozenbyte should accommodate both PvP and PvE, and while I’d like to argue that they should also equally accommodate both solo and group players, I recognize that some sacrifices may have to be made. I think that the game should be expansive and allow for truly large-scale stations and ships, and the sheer consumption of resources that requires will likely price the “end game” content outside the easy reach of solo players. However, I think that attention to the needs of solo players should still be present when considering the design of game features.
A good example of a field where group players have received a lot of attention but not necessarily solo players as much is social and auction tools. Company and alliance social tools do need a lot of work, but some tweaks can help solo players as well. A good example is the friends list. Right now, the only way to check if someone is online but outside of your station chat channel is via sending a message. If the friends list would accurately update when your friends are online or offline, it makes it a lot easier to talk to people. Another good example is auction tools. If players could see all the public auctions, whether this is Origin Stations, Arma, or even public auctions hosted at player owned stations, then they can plan out trade routes. Without the ability to have someone else check around the different markets, solo players lose out on valuable pricing information. If they can check all the public auctions at once, they can plan hauling or capital ship transport routes to take advantage of price differences like companies can.
These two articles have been a bit broad, but I wanted to establish the “big picture” themes first. This way, people can know what goals I have in mind as I start going through various game systems and ideas. Next article, I look forward to going into ship design and construction and how Frozenbyte can improve that area of the game.