How's the multiplayer in this game?

harisund · Post by **harisund** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:47 pm

I believe I downloaded this game through Steam, and I was provided with a demo version. I have had a lot of fun playing the demo (albeit not making much progress).

I am just curious about the multiplayer aspect (which I believe wasn't available in the free demo).

How active is the online multiplayer community in this game? Can I find people easily? I generally only play games that have some form of multiplayer component, be it co-op or head to head.

If I understand this correctly, this game's multiplayer experience is not a seperate block in itself and you can use multiplayer to get assistance from folks to finish your single player quests, yes? That's what excites me most about the game...

So .. simple questions. Can I find online servers easily for multiplayer? Are they some what "active"?

Thanks!

SeeJay · Post by **SeeJay** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:44 pm

Hi and welcome.

Your profile(s) carry over from SP to MP and viceverse.
You can say that MP is just like SP but you have
real people to fight with or against if you want.
Or just carry out hour business as usual while
talkkng to others.

And yes, we can all help you with any quest or
contract if you need it. Racing in MP is only
player vs player, not against AI. For a quest race
you need to do that step in SP.

We can also fill you up if you run out of fuel.
You can even hire another player to kill someone.

The only thing that does not carry over is stations
you build. They stay on the server you build them or
in SP if you build there. Keep in mind that build trade
stations can be destroyed when you store your stuff.
You loose everything you had on a destroyed station.

Lots of info on my website if you need it.

See you out there.

PaulB · Post by **PaulB** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 4:23 am

From post: 168189, Topic: tid=11295, author=SeeJay wrote:Hi and welcome.

{snip}

Keep in mind that build trade
stations can be destroyed when you store your stuff.
You loose everything you had on a destroyed station.

See you out there.

I think there should be some kind of "safe haven" for storing stuff in MP.

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 5:59 am

There is. Store your items in hard-coded stations.

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 2:39 pm

Is your money spend in MP taken from your SP pilot?
What happens when you die in MP? Where do you get re-spawned?
I guess there's no saving in MP, isn't it?

Just curious. I'm not all too keen about multiplayer, kind of sick of it after spending too much time in various MMOs.
I would also need a European server, too much lag in oversea connections.

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:46 pm

Saving in MP is the same as in SP ... use Alt+F9 to quick-save. When you re-spawn, it will be in the location where you last saved. As for your money, it's part of your profile ... it goes where you go ... from SP to MP and back again.

Space Cowboy · Post by **Space Cowboy** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:39 pm

The save system in this game is frankly a master-stroke, for a free form space sim especially, and without wanting to get off topic Mr. Roberts would be wise to sniff around the idea while SC is in dev.

Being able to play with the stressor of real people as well as the relaxing feel of a very forgiving quicksave encourages PvE I find but also encourages people to take risks and have more fun!

x

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:41 pm

From post: 168211, Topic: tid=11295, author=Marvin wrote:Saving in MP is the same as in SP ... use Alt+F9 to quick-save. When you re-spawn, it will be in the location where you last saved. As for your money, it's part of your profile ... it goes where you go ... from SP to MP and back again.

So if you Alt+F9 in MP your current pilot is saved on the MP-server and when you come back, maybe weeks later, you continue where you left no matter what happened meanwhile in SP?

Space Cowboy · Post by **Space Cowboy** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:06 pm

From post: 168387, Topic: tid=11295, author=picommander wrote:So if you Alt+F9 in MP your current pilot is saved on the MP-server and when you come back, maybe weeks later, you continue where you left no matter what happened meanwhile in SP?

You got it Tex.

x

Post by **Marvin** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:22 pm

MP changes. The planets continue to rotate and other players can continue to build ... and, in some cases, destroy.

SeeJay · Post by **SeeJay** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 7:17 am

From post: 168388, Topic: tid=11295, author=Space Cowboy wrote:
From post: 168387, Topic: tid=11295, author=picommander wrote:So if you Alt+F9 in MP your current pilot is saved on the MP-server and when you come back, maybe weeks later, you continue where you left no matter what happened meanwhile in SP?
You got it Tex.

x

Not exactly true.
If you play with that same profile in SP and save you'll pop up in MP at THAT save location
when you jump on MP.

So, if you save in Sapphire in MP then fly around in SP saving at Pearl.
You will be in Pearl when joining MP with that profile.

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:02 pm

From post: 168408, Topic: tid=11295, author=SeeJay wrote:
From post: 168388, Topic: tid=11295, author=Space Cowboy wrote:
From post: 168387, Topic: tid=11295, author=picommander wrote:So if you Alt+F9 in MP your current pilot is saved on the MP-server and when you come back, maybe weeks later, you continue where you left no matter what happened meanwhile in SP?
You got it Tex.

x
Not exactly true.
If you play with that same profile in SP and save you'll pop up in MP at THAT save location
when you jump on MP.

So, if you save in Sapphire in MP then fly around in SP saving at Pearl.
You will be in Pearl when joining MP with that profile.

Ah, now that's the interesting (and AFAIK truly unique) part. I would also assume that in this case I'd come back not only at Pearl but also with the current state of my SP pilot (money, ship, parts, inventory and reputation, though the latter seems a lot more complicated according to what I've started to read about) so a free flow of attributes would be insured at any times between SP and MP and in both directions!

And here comes my problem due to an old and die-hard habit of mine with the way I organize my save files. It's something like A1, A2, A3... A8, then I overwrite with B1, B2, B3...B8 (all in chronological order) until I start with A1 again (at which point it would be clear that A1 is the most recent file since meanwhile all A-files were overwritten with B files). Since there is no "save as" function in EM (I wish it was, why else would we need 100 profile slots?) I have to leave my current game, rename my current pilot, then reload this pilot. Pretty awkward I know, but this way I can always and immediately see where my current and last saved pilot(s) are in case I need to go back a few more pilots if something went wrong in the past. I could click all pilots and compare but that's even more awkward in my book.

But how would this work with MP, does the MP server recognize a profile just by name? As for instance "picommander" would have been my pilot's name when I arrived the first time in MP, I would have to rename my current pilot in SP that I want to use in MP from say "C3" to "picommander" as well and can I do this anytime? Or could I also create as much different new profiles on the MP server as well?

Hope it doesn't sound more complicated than it was meant to be, I'm just a bit confused as yet.

Post by **Marvin** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:37 pm

Reputation is one of those things which is ... and is not carried over from MP to SP and back. Global reputation in MP is set ... hard coded. But you can change your faction reputation in MP ... and that carries over into SP. Sometimes negatively: depending on your percentages, it might result in a slip backward in your efforts to advance in global reputation.

As for saves and quick-saves, they always update the profile you're currently playing. If you want to save to a different slot, use the corresponding option available with the ESC key. The newly saved profile will carry the name of the old one ... but, after you exit either SP or MP, you can then rename your pilot profile(s) as you like.

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:22 pm

So you also got different slots in MP, not only quicksaving with Alt+F9, right?
But say, is there a mandatory reason why we don't have a "save as" option as common in so many other games?
Something I might have overlooked due to the unique requirements of EM's SP to MP connection perhaps?

PaulB · Post by **PaulB** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:55 pm

From post: 168418, Topic: tid=11295, author=picommander wrote:So you also got different slots in MP, not only quicksaving with Alt+F9, right?
But say, is there a mandatory reason why we don't have a "save as" option as common in so many other games?
Something I might have overlooked due to the unique requirements of EM's SP to MP connection perhaps?

You can if you press Esc then on the menu (2nd item down I think) you can save as a new Profile - then go back to the game and when you do a Quick Save then it will save to the New profile you created - if I'm remembering correctly

Paul

[Edited on 4-1-2014 by PaulB]

Post by **Marvin** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:02 pm

When you save a new profile using the ESC option, you are now flying that new profile. Which is why you save in a new slot. Your original profile isn't saved at that point.

I don't play many other games ... ergo the only time I see "Save as ..." is when I'm saving a file ... screenshot, text, or whatever.

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:21 pm

My point is that in this case your new profile has the same name than the former one. If you want to change the name of your new profile you need to go to pilot manager (hence leaving your current pilot!), change your new profile's name and then re-load this profile. That's what I find somewhat laborious and could easily be solved with a "save as" function. And if you save often, you surely want different names for your save files, didn't you?

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 9:58 pm

Pilot profiles are saved in your games folder on your local computer as pilot0.sw-pilot99.sw files and it is the same profile you use for SP and MP. That is why you can use the same profile and save between SP and MP without losing anything.

If you have in the game your first profile as 1. picommander than pilot0.sw is your profile in the games folder for picomander!

I have eighty or so profiles all called Maarschalk. You can easily see in the profile manager what each of the profiles have for ships weapons credits rank, status.....etc! This is done so you can use a call sign like a calling card that every on knows that it is you picomander who is online. If you would save with a different name profile each time than your friends and enemies do not know who you are!.....Also if you are in a clan you would use your same call name at different saved levels to show your progress from rookie to whatever!.....

Also Saving as would open up the game for exploits and cheats and create clutter and take up more disk space!....

Hi and welcome to the game and forum!......

[Edited on 4-1-2014 by Maarschalk]

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:14 am

Thanks for your answer and the warm welcome!

Basically I agree (with the MP part, makes sense of course) but I just don't like up to hundred picommander for my SP games. As it is now, I would just rename one of my local profiles and rename it to picommander if I wanted to play MP, which seems perfectly legal if I understand this correctly. And yes, of course you CAN see the states of all your 80 or so Maarschalk but just not at a first glance, even mouseover doesn't work so you need to click every single profile if you are looking for a specific file.

When it comes to abusing, the current way seduces me all the more into abusing since if I want it my way I need to reload my current (just renamed) profile which leads to new contracts for instance. With a "save as" funktion I wouldn't need to leave my current profile. See what I mean? Though the main reason to me is not so much about abusing or not (though now I'm curious what a "save as" function could do that would be impossible in the current state) rather than about convenience. It's not like a "must have" or something that would keep me from playing though.

PaulB · Post by **PaulB** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:46 am

There might be some issues to be careful of.
I've 2 instances of lost Pilot Profile data that we (Vice and myself) haven't been able to duplicate or track down.
(1) I had built some Stations in Sapphire (Build Constructor) and then another day I went in MP and was experimenting with Mining, Construct station, and Weapon Lab and I got a connection lost message and prompt to Save - which I did.
I exited and went into SP and all my Stations were Gone.
Fortunately - Iv'e been going into Windows Explorer and making backup copies of my Pilot Profiles so I was able to restore from the backup. So I advise making backups of your Pilot Profiles.

(2) This one is SP related. I have a Starmaster and 4 items stored in one of my Built Stations in Sapphire (Marlowe 2) which of course automatically give me a Station License.
The other day I was planning a Trade trip to Pearl, Hidden Pearl, Rucker, and Lost Rucker. Again I made a backup of my Profile first.
To make a long story short I went to Port Oasis-Pearl and bought the usual stuff and jumped to Hidden Pearl to sell.
On 1st arrival and Hidden Pearl there are no Mantis Drive I had been looking for before - so I exited and relaunched the profile 2 or 3 times and finally got one.
I made several more trade runs then I made one to Lost Rucker and several from Rucker Station (where I bought a License) to Novachron and a Final trip to Port Oasis > Hidden Pearl and Port Oasis to Lost Rucker and then back to Sapphire.

When got back to Sapphire and docked at my Marlowe 2 station - my Starmaster and the 4 hangar items and the Station license were gone.

The backup profile didn't directly help in ths case because if I had restored it - I would have lost the benefits of my Trade Trips to Pearl/Hidden Pearl/Lost Rucker.

So I sent the current and backup profile to Vice and explained the problem and so far can't track the problem or dupilcate it and I tried a couple more trips (to Lost Rucker only - not Pearl - and tried do the same things - best as I coujld remember - but could not duplicate it either.

Anyway, Vice was kind enough to pull the lost data out of my backup Profile and paste it into the Current Profile and email it back to me so I'm back in good shape for now.

So my word to everyone is: Caution if you are building Stations or storing stuff in Hangars (Built or Hardcoded) and backup your Profiles if they are important to you. If nothing else they hold your Rating and Credits.

Paul

Post by **Marvin** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 4:30 am

From post: 168430, Topic: tid=11295, author=PaulB wrote:The backup profile didn't directly help in ths case because if I had restored it - I would have lost the benefits of my Trade Trips to Pearl/Hidden Pearl/Lost Rucker.

The is probably the main drawback to any kind of cloning (our local term for saving to a different slot) ... when you leave your original profile for a clone, you no longer build reputation or credits for the original. Basically, you're splitting your winnings ... and, the more often you clone, the more times you split.

P.S.

You're also more likely to lose track of which profiles built stations or bought a station license.

[Edited on 4-2-2014 by Marvin]

PaulB · Post by **PaulB** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:36 pm

From post: 168431, Topic: tid=11295, author=Marvin wrote:
From post: 168430, Topic: tid=11295, author=PaulB wrote:The backup profile didn't directly help in ths case because if I had restored it - I would have lost the benefits of my Trade Trips to Pearl/Hidden Pearl/Lost Rucker.
The is probably the main drawback to any kind of cloning (our local term for saving to a different slot) ... when you leave your original profile for a clone, you no longer build reputation or credits for the original. Basically, you're splitting your winnings ... and, the more often you clone, the more times you split.

P.S. You're also more likely to lose track of which profiles built stations or bought a station license.

[Edited on 4-2-2014 by Marvin]

All true but that's not quite what I meant. I meant that there are basically 3 situations where I make a backup of my Profile -not in a slot but in Windows Explorer -aka Copy pilot1.sw and Paste Copy of pilot1.sw.
(1) when I'm doing something I haven't done or is risky - like a trip to Pearl or making drastic changes to my Mammoth or Starmaster.
(2) when I want to go into MP (now I do anyway since I lost all my build stations in SP - Sapphire due to a lost connection and Save in MP - but Vice emailed me that he's tracked down that problem and will be fixed in this upcoming update).
(3) trying out a trip to Olympus and my 1st real combat (I did have just 1 prior kill - now I've got 7)
I'm still shy about taking on Waypoint contract with up to 4 hostiles per waypoint (if I understand it correctly).
And I guess I should look into just how to hire and use Wingmen - I tend to be more the lone wolf type though.

That way if something goes wrong and can replace the pilot1.sw and be back where I was or in the case of the last problem - Vice could take the two copies and fix the one I'm using (where the Hangar items and Starmaster vanished) with the data in the backup.

Actually I do have some other slots that I need to delete later - but right now I'm using one earlier one to test my Racing configuration and abilities before I start doing any with my main Mammoth Profile and risk failing the contracts and lowering my Crew's loyalty.
Racing isn't really my thing at all but I figure I should practice so I can beat the AI pilots if I do need to and now that I'm up tot he 400+ million credit range a lot of the regular contracts are more lucrative when I've nothing better to do.
I can better stand the time to mine 200k to 400K+ worth of Platinum than the 30k-80k it used to be.
I really like the special effects in this game.

Paul

[Edited on 4-3-2014 by PaulB]

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 2:27 pm

From post: 168431, Topic: tid=11295, author=Marvin wrote:
From post: 168430, Topic: tid=11295, author=PaulB wrote:The backup profile didn't directly help in ths case because if I had restored it - I would have lost the benefits of my Trade Trips to Pearl/Hidden Pearl/Lost Rucker.
The is probably the main drawback to any kind of cloning (our local term for saving to a different slot) ... when you leave your original profile for a clone, you no longer build reputation or credits for the original. Basically, you're splitting your winnings ... and, the more often you clone, the more times you split.

P.S. You're also more likely to lose track of which profiles built stations or bought a station license.

[Edited on 4-2-2014 by Marvin]

I don't understand your concept of cloning (or your term of saving). Creating multiple save files is a quite common practice in computer games and usually not meant for hopping between the various save game slots. In general I use the most recent file of course, all the "clones" (as you call them) are meant as backups in case I've made a bad long time decision where rolling back, with all its consequences, would be the smaller evil. Or in case of a file corruption (that's what seemed happened to Paul's) I easily can roll back one or too save files as long as I save often in different slots and rotate them in a logical way so I do NOT lose track. Losing track perhaps about certain events (like stations build) but not track of the chronological order (if done right). If that would have helped Paul in his certain case is debatable though, at least there would have been a chance if he had chronological save files in say 16 or 24 slots.

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:31 pm

Well, here's how I do it:

(1) I always quick-save (Alt F9) after completing a contract, moving into a new sector (to save from having to make the trip again should I get killed) or before doing something foolish (like jumping into a black hole to see if it has a wormhole at the center). If I die, quick-saving puts me back in the same profile, at the point where I last saved (as discussed in great detail in the H2GE Quest Part I).

(2) I clone whenever I've been exploring and want to keep a profile near a newly discovered star system which is way off the beaten path (otherwise, it's another 20 minutes or more every time I want to get back to the new location).

(3) After every critical step when testing a new quest script, I'll clone, then save at the new point ... sometimes this results in a long string of clones, which I rename later.

picommander · Post by **picommander** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:31 pm

Ok to each his own. Seems you bank on one single save file for all your main game progress. I'd say good luck to you, or maybe I'm just too pessimistic here. But did you never made the experience of a slowly dying harddisk (SSDs also don't last for ever) with random data loss/corruption?