Multicrew is actually much more boring than in the picture.

Who am I?

Just usual cmdr. I'm a big sci-fi fan and Elite Dangerous is one of my favorite games. There are several reasons: there is no colorful space of No Man’s Sky, the design of the ships is believable, the battles are deadly, and control requires skill, but allows you to finely control the movements of the spacecraft. It lacks the ability to get out of the chair, but it doesn't really impact the gaming experience.

What's wrong?

I recently invited my best friend to play my favorite space simulator. Since the game has the ability to control one ship, I bought Python and we started flying. After two hours of playing, I was completely disappointed with Multicrew.

Pay attention to the co-pilot's interface: the gunner does not know which target is selected and where the ship is flying. The HUD on the cockpit glass is completely absent. In addition, there is no radar and clear indication of shields.

The role of the co-pilot has been curtailed so much that there is no room for role-playing. In fact, the only thing the co-pilot can be responsible for is turrets and external equipment. The rest of the time he misses. Here is a list of what the co-pilot cannot do, but logically he should do:

See the ship commander interface
See the target of the commander when selected
Manage ship energy and fully distribute it between subsystems
Enable and disable ship modules
Enable silent running
Open the cargo scoop
Request docking permission
Drive SRV
Mark targets
Make notes on the galactic map
Take control as needed

This is what the gunner's interface looks like when controlling turrets. The gunner does not see the target of the ship commander, and the ship commander does not see the target of the gunner. As a result: shooting at different targets.

Why is that bad?

The correct distribution of functions between the commander and the co-pilot is a separate meta-game that would contribute to better player cooperation and more enjoyment of the game. The absence of these elements makes Multicrew mode useless and boring, although the very idea of joint control of the ship is intriguing. I haven't talked about the numerous Multicrew bugs here yet, but they are not important if the mechanics themselves are broken.

I really hope that Frontiers will pay attention to this issue in the future, because apart from Elite Dangerous, no game can offer such an immersive experience of space adventures. Perhaps this is not a problem at all, and I am making mountains out of molehills. Multicrew is useful for farming credits in wing missions, but is that really the only thing players want from that mechanic?

If you are worried about this problem, then like this post on the Frontier forum: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/multicrew-is-an-unfinished-mechanic-that-needs-to-be-reworked.566183/