Right now, if you want to actively use multiple characters at the same time (for scouting, hauling, boosting, etc.), you’re effectively pushed into running multiple accounts and having a second or third client running alongside your “main” client. While Multi-Pilot Training allows multiple characters to train, it doesn’t let you actually use them concurrently.
Suggestion:
Allow accounts with active Multi-Pilot Training to log in up to 2 or 3 characters simultaneously on the same account, with the ability to switch between them using hotkeys (for example: CTRL+F1 / CTRL+F2 / CTRL+F3).
Why this would help:
Reduces the need for multiboxing and multiple clients
Lowers the barrier for newer players and makes them feel less constrained
Makes common gameplay tasks smoother (scouting, hauling between systems, industry/logistics support, etc.)
Improves overall usability without changing core mechanics
Examples of use cases:
Scouting gates while moving a main ship
Managing a hauler alongside a mission runner
Coordinating mining + boosting without multiple clients
Industry/logistics characters supporting a main
Why this could benefit CCP:
Makes Multi-Pilot Training more valuable beyond just skill training
Encourages more players to activate it regularly
Provides a middle ground between single-account play and full multi-boxing setups
This wouldn’t replace multi-account gameplay entirely, but it would offer a more accessible and streamlined alternative for many players.
Curious what others think - especially those currently multi-boxing.
I personally can see the benefits and I think it has been suggested multiple times before.
The drawback is, you then can’t have multiple of those characters on different screens to control them “at the same time”. With 2 clients you currenly can do that. Unless the Interface is programmed in a way that you can max-out the one client over all monitors and assign each of the characters a part of the screen space. Not sure if CCP would be able to program that
CCP could do this, however you will be paying Omega for each separate character. They’re not going to lose the income from those two extra Omega accounts you’ll no longer need. I mean technically, they could just remove multiboxing multiple accounts altogether and remove the character limit on one account, charging for each character you wish to multi.
lets think about this.. 1 acct…account…hotswap between 3 charsd on 1 acct…you still only have char on grid, or in station…etc…
you will never have more than 1 char per acct in space or active at 1 time…and the hot swappuing will still take the usual 10 seconds or so each time…just like logging in and out…
My reasoning is that currently you have one character in space which you control.
To have multiples, you need additional clients, as we already know.
Your change, while technically feasible (and quite a fun idea) would be implemented (if I were making it) as follows:
A character is an “agent” you control, an extra list in your Overview has a list of your currently connected characters, you click/right click and “take control” of anothehr character. When you do, you switch to the other character, and your first character goes to “idle”; a player would have options to set up (ahead of time) default “idle” actions, so that when a character goes “idle” they will Orbit, or Warp away, or follow the active character. The player could warp the characters about like a fleet, but only “lead” with the current active player.
I believe it would too radically change the tone of the game, leaning towards RTS type things; for that reason, I am out.
What you just wrote has absolutely nothing to do with what he suggests.
He simply wants to remove the need to start the Client Software 3 times, basically everything else stays absolutely the same. Just instead of 3 Omega Subs you now have 1 Omega + 2 MCTs running to be able to run 3 different chars in 3 “windows” (or then: tabs).
It will be a bit less powerful than 3 full Omegas, but also a bit cheaper. 3 Omegas would give you 9 Chars with Omega capabilities (like Industry and PI that you usually don’t need to be online at the same time as other chars, working full-power in the background). And you can log in these 9 Chars in many differet combinations at once, as long as only 1 per Account is online. His - slightly cheaper - version would only let you use 3 chars at the same time with Omega Power and thats it. Could really be an alternative for people who want to triplebox but have no use for 9 chars. Currently those may only sub 2 accounts, then they might sub 1 account + 2 MCTs, giving CCP the same money and have less hassle doing it all with just 1 acc.
Ok, genius. It wouldn’t take 10 seconds first off, it’ll be as fast as an ALT-TAB. Second, did you know you can execute tasks (such as mining) and multi-task with another character while it’s doing its thing. You can even queue up actions for 3 characters that execute simultaneously.
Not my fault you don’t have the brain capacity to multi-task.
Syzygium summarized it completely and accurately. It would be an ALTERNATIVE to a multi-client / multi-monitor setup that would be intuitively baked into the game. If the characters are in the same area of space they can share or preload assets (cache) to make hot swapping faster. As a game that is more than 20 years old, my computer can easily sustain 20+ separate clients but I personally don’t prefer multiple monitors. This would be a solution and would allow people to have simple scouts or other assets that boost/burst/enhance what they’re already playing.
It takes far less than 10 seconds and no menus / less steps to do the (CTRL+F1 / CTRL+F2 / CTRL+F3) method I suggested. My suggestion is the equivalent of an ALT-TAB to another client without having to have another client and/or window open. Great for people who just want to have one account or people who don’t want to multi-box and/or have multi-monitor setups.
Now open two clients with a character signed in on each and alt-tab between them. Now imagine this is baked into the game without requiring the second client in addition to a second account.
I would love to see you on a development team to say things like, “It hasn’t been done before.” and “Other [insert genre here]'s haven’t allowed it” so they don’t do anything new.
Did you know we are in the “Player Features & Ideas” section in a post titled “[Feature Request] Hot-Swap Characters on the Same Account” ??? I know it’s an insane concept where the developers allow players…to request features…or put forward their ideas. I’m sure there has been features and ideas that have been implemented that - wait for it - …
haven’t been implemented on other games.
Lastly, other MMOs have allowed people to log in to different characters on the same account using different clients. Runescape being the most well known example - which is 2 years older than Eve Online.
Jagex Accounts FAQ:
"Will we be able to log into multiple characters at once?
Yes, the launcher lets you run multiple game clients simultaneously. Simply choose a different character for each client and you can play them at the same time."
My feature request is going a step further and allowing up to two or three characters with one client via a hotkey - which is technologically feasible.
So why wouldn’t I want to just pay for and use the three characters on my one account at once instead of needing three separate accounts to run 1 character on each? I’dmuch rather be multiboxing from one account, only needing to keep one account safe and it’s details remembered, than multiple accounts. If CCP still gets the same money for every character played, and I get the extra convenience of not having to track multiple accounts, everyone is happy. Of course, they won’t do this because then MCT’s would be worthless.
We can already multibox, if we pay multiple subscriptions.
I do not see the advantage for CCP to spend a whole lot of work to allow players to multibox at a lower cost.
What is in it for them?
This suggestion seems like a lot of work for negative returns.
For me there’s little in it either, I planned and trained my secondary and tertiary characters such that I don’t need to multibox them together with other characters on the same account because I knew the rules CCP has for multiboxing. I still multibox those characters, but in various combinations with an additional account.
My suggestion is obviously not the same thing, hence why you’re consistently confused… Let me break it down for a peon like you to understand:
One account.
One login.
One password.
Up to 3 characters accessible via Hot-Swap (Omega) 2 characters accessible via Hot-Swap (Alpha).
Infinite or a high cap like 25-50 characters per account.
Technological Implementation: Embedded Client within Client with separate instances that allows hot-swapping. Cache buffer to accommodate, shared asset resources where possible.
So MCT’s are exclusively used to train skill points so that would still be valuable.
Great point, & I completely understand the concern. A possible fix to balance both accessibility & revenue would be:
Alpha Accounts:
No character limit or high cap of 9-36ish characters; Alpha accounts can hot-swap only up to a TOTAL of 2 (one primary and one secondary) characters at a time.
Alpha accounts retain all current restrictions, only one Alpha character can be trained per account without MPT. Just like it currently works.
MPT can be used on Alpha accounts to provide extra training slots, but it does not grant Omega benefits or hot-swapping. Just like it currently works.
Omega Accounts:
No character limit or high cap of 9-36ish characters; allow hot-swapping among up to a TOTAL of 3 (primary or secondary) Omega characters or Alpha characters at a time.
Omega (primary) is redeemed per character (e.g., 12 months for 1 character, or 3 months for 4). When Omega is redeemed for a character, two (secondary) characters are tied to it (which maintain the current restrictions implemented in game - i.e. can’t train without MPT, etc.)
MPT provides extra training slots but does not include Omega benefits or hot-swapping. Just like it currently works.
Once Omega expires, the (primary) and (secondary) characters revert to Alpha status.
Alpha accounts retain all current restrictions, only one Alpha character can be trained per account without MPT. Just like it currently works.
The ultimate goal of all of this (which I’m obviously open to constructive feedback / suggestions) would be to allow hot swapping without breaking the game. Still allow the multi-monitor / multi-client people to do their thing while making certain tasks and parts of the game more easily accessible for new players and people who don’t want to use multiple clients / multiple monitors.
Apologies, I didn’t see your post until after I addressed Anna’s feedback. Would this make more sense? I tried to keep pretty much all the finances the same but with hot-swapping incorporated:
just admit…
you are ignorant
you are a bot lover
you want pets that do stuff…
you suck at the game
you have no clue wtf you talking about
you need to uninstall and go touch grass
