Multiplayer Features and Wishes

Wed Feb 26, 2003 6:48 pm by Draugr

Ok,
I had some thoughts and ideas on how the Multiplayer aspect should be. I spoke with a few people on IRC and they have the full release already. Probably sone illegal copy or something. Anyway, I am a BIG fan of multiplayer gaems so I asked if they would mind answering a few questions. I'll list the questions and answers below. I searched a while to try and get these answers from the official site or the web and couldn't find anything. Anyhow, here it goes.

1. In multiplay what are the servers like? Is there Pk, Max # of players, rules?

Ans: There is PvP allowed. The max number of players per server is 128. Character data is stored on the server not locally. Some other features are that the Server op can ban, kick players or enter a Universe News feature so everyine in the universe can read about happenings on the server, not within the gameworld mind you.

2. Is there character creation and what is it like.

Note, I was a little disapointed with this answer, but its not too bad.

Ans: There is very basic creation for multiplayer. Basically create a name and thats it. No stats for the player, no different models to pick from. The only character model is the main character. There is no sex like Male or Female, (and NO I'm not talking about intercourse dummy) All players are male.

My thoughts on some multi player features: The creation of your character is kind of disapointing. You should at least be able to select your characters sex and maybe pick from a few models. Then again, I don't know. The game screenshots seem to have surface world areas. I'd think that if you can walk about the surface and meet other players its gotta suck to have everyone look 100% the same. Then again maybe there is no interaction between players on the surface worlds. That would suck.

Now a few other points he touched on. Each player starts at the first planet in the game. There is no picking of race (Human, Alien, etc...) and then choosing which planet or star system to start in. That is kind of sad. Would be cool to have large servers where a player can pick their Homeworld and start from there. Would better distribute the population istead of having 20 or more players all in one section at once.

I think Microsoft/Digital Anvil should have taken a little more time to add some minor touches to the game. I mean it sounds great the way it is, but the ability to pick a character model, maybe have some sort of stats to pick or at least different races. Also, the ability to choose which world you wish to start on would be cool. Maybe you couldn't pick any world, but maybe a certain amount like 10 would be designated started worlds. Sort of like Everquest. In EQ you could pick certain towns to start out in, but not any town, only certain ones.
Another thing. Does anyone know about this? I never got an answer. Lets say there are 30 people in a specific server game. I have a bigger ship. Cargo type maybe, that has multiple guns/turrets. It would be cool if me and a few friends could all board my ship and take off. This way in combat I might be flying the ship, friend 1 would be firing the front guns, friend 2 might be firing missles and friend 3 might be firing rear turrets. That would be DAMN cool. Again I don't know if this is possible or not, but if it isn't Microsoft should have allowed that feature. Maybe a space version of your typical fantasy type party or group. You know where a group of 5 or 6 players team up and share experience during their kills and looting.

Well, thats all for now. I'm sorry for the long message. I'm just very excited about this game and can't wait till release day. Actually over a month ago I was talking to a friend and describing a game idea that would be great. It would be like a modern day Elite or Privateer where things are all random in the universe. Who knows what lies beyond! Alien races, things un-thought of by man, etc.. hell, other livable and settleable worlds. That would be great. I didn't even bother to think of multiplay because I knew a game like I was dreaming of would not come out anyway. At least not anytime soon. Well, MS fooled me! They did/are going to release a game very much like the one I imagined. I just don't know why there hasn't been much hype about this game. I just stumbled upon it recently by accident. What a miracle. Great idea and the idea of multiplay is AWESOME!

Wed Feb 26, 2003 6:48 pm by Draugr

Its me again. I have another thought. Maybe someone here might know the answer. Can players interact on the planets and cna they trade with each other? Lets say I have a ship I want to unload to get another. Is it possible to sell my ship to anotehr player? Hmmm, here I go the ideas are coming to me now.

Also, can a player own more than one ship? Would be cool if you could have multiple ships. A few ideas might be.

1. You could have a cargo tpye ship and a fighter. Lets say you wish to do some trading. You might DOCK your fighter at a local space station and take out your cargo ship. To be fair the player should have to pay docking and parking space fees per month or something. This way you cant just park your ships anywhere for nothing. Maybe certain areas might charge more for parking. Like here in NY. Parking in a smaller town is less money than parking your car in Manhattan. Maybe if you are near a stable world that has good trade routes or is far from trouble would charge higher docking fees, since the chance of theft, or damage to ones ship would be less, than if you parked it at a space station on the edge of no where, where a pirate could shoot it up or steal it. Good idea huh?

2. Perhaps if it is possible to get ships big enough you could have a large cargo type ship and a small fighter ship that can dock ithin the larger cargo ship. This way if you have to abandon ship you could jump into the fighter and leave the cargo ship to fight enemies or flee from certain destruction. Also, if you are allowed multiple players on a team like described in my other post, perhaps one of the other players can get in and fly the fighter attacking enemy ships, while the rest of the team is in the bigger ship firing guns/turrets/missiles at the enemy.

Well, I'm not sure if any of these ideas are featured or not, but I hope they are. If they aren't what do any of you think about submitting them to Microsoft or Digital Anvil. Do you think they might like these ideas and perhaps release them as an add-on?

Wed Feb 26, 2003 6:50 pm by Draugr

BTW, is there anyway to contact the developers and forward these ideas to them? I think it would mak this game a lot better and from what I hear its really great already.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:00 pm by McTurbo

player mounted turrents was suppose to be in the game along with docking on player run stations and battleships. but i guess all that went the same way as the neural net. out the door no explanation.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:07 pm by Draugr

There has got to be a way to contact these guys via email or an official forum. Hell, Neverwinter Nights was a much bigger project and had a lot more people anticipating that game. Hell, I found out about Freelancer by accident. I never even knew it was out there. Anyhow, the point I'm trying to make is that the NWNs developers were able to answer questions or concerns on the forums directly. The Freelancer team should also be able to do this.

I mean why make a game that is 90% perfect when a few small additions could make it 100% better? We need multiplayer teaming and ability to share ships together like I describe above. I'd love to have my brother and two other friends all man the same ship with me as we fight the enemy.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:21 pm by WingC3

Umm....none of that was EVER in the door at all. this is not an MMORPG it is the successor basically to privateer. There are no stats or skilll points for the game has only a hint of rpg like style. it is not supposed to be one. the majority of the focus on freelancer went into the single player campaign which is very well done. the multiplayer does add a whole new aspect to the game and yes you can trade with other players and even share and fly missions with them much as you would in a multiplayer game. However, although i agree that player run ships/stations in multiplayer might be cool, it was not ever the focus of the game development so don't feel like you're being cheated out of something that you were promised because that was never promised by DA. It sounds like you're looking for a game that is more along the line of eve online. if u're also looking to pay the monthly fee to get it instead of free multiplayer on freelancer...then perhaps that game is for u. Freelancer is not for everyone..but if you are a fan of the space sim genre with some slight RPG elements then the game is definitely for you.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:47 pm by Draugr

Freelancer is exactly what I'm looking for and I never claimed to feel cheated! All I was saying is that it would be cool if these ideas were part of the game. If you read the entire post, you'd see that I was A) Asking if certain features were part of the game and

that I had some ideas of cool features that might be fun to have. Perhaps an add-on or such might include some of the ideas, perhaps not. Either way, I'm not complaining or feeling cheated, I was just asking about the possibilites of some of these ideas. Again, this game hasn't been hyped much and I couldn't find much info on the game. This is the first site where I feel there is some adequate information. As for the MMORPG, YES I do like those, but there is one problem. You can't run your own server. I like running my own server for people to play on. Therefore Freelancer and its multiplayer concept is GREAT! I was just curious if it was a little more robust when it came to player interaction. Its ok if its not. I just hope that maybe they will listen to the ideas of the fans and perhaps make an add-on that could incorporate most of the ideas. Hey, just like Neverwinter Nights did with its soon to be released add-on.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:56 pm by Stinger

Does anyone read the FAQ Section on the first page anymore? Maybe we should just scrap it. I mean some time was invested in that section, and yes it does need some work, but when the questions asked on the forums are clearly covered in the FAQ then why do we even have it?

Wed Feb 26, 2003 8:11 pm by Intimidator#3

Good Point Stinger!

Wed Feb 26, 2003 8:15 pm by riven1128

Ahhhh crap .. I was just about to ask FAQ questions 2-10 ..

Foiled again!

Wed Feb 26, 2003 8:57 pm by Droniac

Flying with 3-4 people in the same ship is all fun and good... but it's still the same ship, same guns, same shields and same hull... just more people in it...
It's far better (strategically speaking) to fly in a convoy of 3-4 people, all in their own ships...
It makes for more potential targets and a way higher total shield/hull value... and lots more firepower

A convoy of 1 cargoship and 3 heavy fighters is a way thougher target then a cargoship controlled by 4 players...

I won't say anything else about the multiplayer, since i might be saying something that isn't true (after all, i dont have the full version, just the (singleplayer) demo) so i really dont know anything about the multiplayer other then stuff i heard from people on this forum or read about in previews.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 9:03 pm by |707th|Zaccix

Draugr does have an important point: the minor touches often make a good game into a great one. On the one hand, it good that MS and DA saw fit to allow player-run servers this time (instead of having to play on the Zone like in SL), but some of the stuff Daugr mentions would really buff MP to a shine, if they haven't already been included. (I have to wait until April 11th to check MP out for myself).

A good example is Half-Life. Sure, Valve could've started off the game with a lengthy FMV intro, but instead they chose to let the player control Gordon throughout the entire intro sequence, which immerses you in the game from the start. Granted, this has nothing to do with either game's multiplayer, but it's one of those little things that just makes something that much better. That intro is legendary among gaming circles.

I don't see anything in the aforementioned FAQ about MP starting worlds, or multi-player controlled ships, so to me this thread serves its purpose: as a multiplayer wishlist. Also, just because something may be covered in the FAQ doesn't mean that people can't ask for it. Who knows, maybe the developers read these forums, and if everyone just shut up and thought "well, OK, the FAQ says no, so that's how it is", they'd think that we're all happy and content with the game as it is - that it's perfect.

I agree that mutiple threads on a subject (like the dreaded joystick issue) can be tedious, but there's no harm in a thread like this.

Wed Feb 26, 2003 9:03 pm by Draugr

Hmmm, I Just Re-Read the FAQ and alot of the questions I asked ARE NOT in the FAQ. Quickly I'll mention a few!

1. Can players team together and fight on a single ship. One player steers the ship another fires turret guns, and another might shoot missiles.
A: NOT IN FAQ

No, but we'll add this to the FAQ

2. Can players interact on the surface world?

A: NOT IN FAQ! All it mentions is that there is no first person perspective type play like Quake or Unreal.

No, but we'll add/claifiy this in the FAQ

3. Races/Multiple starting points for MP.
A: NOT IN FAQ!

No, but we'll add this to the FAQ

4. Can you sell your ship to another player?
A: NOT IN FAQ!

No, but we'll add this to the FAQ

5. The majority of my writing above was ideas I had that I thought would be a nice fit into the Freelancer multiplayer game. I wasn't asking if most of these were part of the game, I was only stating that if they weren't it would be cool to see them maybe in an add-on.
A: NO FAQ! deals with player thoughts or ideas, hell even requests, even though I am making NO requests just throwing some ideas about! A FAQ is Frequently Asked Questions. While I DID ask some questions most weren;t in your FAQ and the other points to my post were just ideas. I guess your FAQ can answer a persons thoughts or ideas as well. Hmmmm lets see....

FL would be great if I could land on a planet and have it end up being Norrath from EQ? Britannia from UO? That would be a cool feature.

NOW, I highly doubt that any FAQ will have that answer, then again I'm not asking a question, I'm posting a thought.

you did mention "you can't set up a server," which is inaccurate See here

To clarify, I don't expect FL to allow you to land on a surface and its EQ or UO, I was only making an example!

So your FAQ isn't as robust as you claim! I don't want to knock the FAQ as it seems to have some good answers there, but don't come in here bitching "Wah Wah... Doesn't Anyone Read the FAQ?" "Why do we have it if you don't read it" My answer is....JUNK IT! as it didn't answer the majority of my questions and if your gonna bitch about people not reading the FAQ when we already did and none of the FAQ sections answered 90% of my questions then your FAQ is sadly no answer to my questions and curiosity!

start submitting questions via the link at the bottom of the FAQ page and we'll do our best to add it in

Edited by - Stinger on 26-02-2003 21:44:28

Wed Feb 26, 2003 9:35 pm by Stinger

@Draugr

Yes, I am going to gripe about people not reading the FAQ section because it's impossible for us to think of everything. Why do you feel the need to lash out at me with such vigor? I wasn't being snotty, I was being informative. Yes, I have some dry humor sometimes, but I'm really a nice person once you get to know me.

That's why we encourage people to submit news, and if you look at the very bottom of the FAQ section you will see a link right there to submit your own questions which we can then include in the FAQ section to make it even better for everyone. Please don't knock a part of this web site you haven't fully examined. I did say it needs some work, give us a break okay? The tools are in place and have been for years, people just don't seem to want to spend the time to utilize them, they'd rather lash out at the webmaster an mods. Nothing good will ever come from being mean and obtuse and that knife cuts both way from the users and the moderators.

Rob "Stinger" Lordier
Moderator/Comp Tech Lancers Reactor
Creator Privateer FAQ Competition doesn't create character, it REVEALS it!

Wed Feb 26, 2003 10:29 pm by Draugr

And so am I with regards to being a nice person. From reading the post it does sound like the poster was being arrogant and snotty at the original poster (me) It sounded to me and obviously one other person that the poster was being a little harsh. If you did not intend to be rude or arrogant, then please accept my appology for interpreting the post that way. I am not a rude person either, but when it sounds like someone is being un-necessarily a snott or arrogant, I tend to fire back.
Message boards are there for others to seek help, or share ideas. I was just doing a little of both. Let me explain how I took your message.

Does anyone read the FAQ Section on the first page anymore?

Sounded to me like you were saying "Read the FAQ before posting these messages" I'm sure you've been on various forums before and I'm sure you've seen posts like that and they are 99% of the time being sarcastic towards the initial poster.

Maybe we should just scrap it. I mean some time was invested in that section, and yes it does need some work, but when the questions asked on the forums are clearly covered in the FAQ then why do we even have it?

That seemed very snotty to me. It seemed like you were saying "Hey, if you aren't gonna read the FAQ then why the hell do we have one? huh!

One bad thing about messages is you can't always determine a posters emmotions or intent with regards to their post. Again, I appologize if your intent wasn't mean. I hope you understand my explanation.

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