I've only read 5 pages so firgive me if this brought up before, but what about being able to set up payment plans or lease the more expensive ships? You need a minimum of say 10-25% down plus a minimum payment every week or it's repossesed. You can also get discounts on future leases or payment plans buy paying more than minimum down payment and futher discount's for paying before payment deadline and paying more than minimum.
Imbalance of Progress in Elite Dangerous
- Thread starter Drakedge
- Start date
Trading does need to be the most profitable thing in the game (on average) because that is what trading is for. The issue with balance two fold.
First off it's the gap. Trading is a 10, everything else is a 2 or less. Just as an example in a viper I made ~800,000 in 11 hours hunting USS'. I made ~1,800,000 in just over an hour trading. Granted that was a good run it's still way too high.
The other issue is the profit ceiling for other jobs. Take combat. It should pay less at first, but as you get stronger it should pay at least about the same as trading because it takes skill and carries with it real risk. With trading all you need is the ability to boost and you are safe. People should not be rewarded for taking the easy route. As it stands however getting better and better ships past the first few has no real impact on how much you make with the other professions (save to some extent pirating). Through rank or rep harder and more challenging content needs to exist for other jobs.
It's supposed to be a fun open ended world that can appeal to many people. As it stands it is a trading game and little else.
First off it's the gap. Trading is a 10, everything else is a 2 or less. Just as an example in a viper I made ~800,000 in 11 hours hunting USS'. I made ~1,800,000 in just over an hour trading. Granted that was a good run it's still way too high.
The other issue is the profit ceiling for other jobs. Take combat. It should pay less at first, but as you get stronger it should pay at least about the same as trading because it takes skill and carries with it real risk. With trading all you need is the ability to boost and you are safe. People should not be rewarded for taking the easy route. As it stands however getting better and better ships past the first few has no real impact on how much you make with the other professions (save to some extent pirating). Through rank or rep harder and more challenging content needs to exist for other jobs.
It's supposed to be a fun open ended world that can appeal to many people. As it stands it is a trading game and little else.
Oh please, arena shooters. And more mandatory game play requiring PvP and other players. Be still my beating heart. [/sarcasm off]
Please skim the thread as it's been said many times before it's not an issue of making the other professions earn the same as trading it's about other professions having some scaling and progression.
Trading you buy a bigger ship, you have more cargo space you earn more money. This is a progression people can see (it's not about the money). With combat roles you get a bigger ship and you still have the same missions and bounties etc as you would in a sidewinder as you would in an anaconda.
Trading you buy a bigger ship, you have more cargo space you earn more money. This is a progression people can see (it's not about the money). With combat roles you get a bigger ship and you still have the same missions and bounties etc as you would in a sidewinder as you would in an anaconda.
Well using your way of thinking Trading shouldn't at all be more profitable then let's say mining or exploring.
Who do you think earns the most, the people mining the gold or the people shipping it somewhere else?
Same with exploration, if we look back in history, who do you think earned the most, the guy moving goods from one country to another or
Columbus discovering "New world" for instance?
You can't just compare it with go hiking. Since it's discovering whole new worlds we're talking about.
That would be like comparing the worlds biggest mining operation with someone moving garbage in a Wheelbarrow and then saying mining is clearly better...
Same with illegal activities such as Smuggling.
Do you think drug smugglers would do it if they earned more driving a truck, importing / exporting things legally?
No they're smuggling illegal things because they can make a bigger profit, even though they risk prison or worse...
Columbus
If you're gonna start comparing things like you just did, don't compare things like artists etc. You gotta compare the actual work tasks in the game with the real life counterparts and then make a statement. Sure I can say a stock broker makes SO much more money than a garbage collector, but what would that have to do with the game?
I agree that real world comparisons are not valid for a fictional game. I never use them.
I base all of my opinions on making the game more fun and also keeping things generally balanced.
Combat would be more fun for me if it had a natural progression model like trading has. I don't particularly subscribe to the idea that trading must have the highest profit potential because there's nothing logical to back that up. But it appears to be heavily ingrained to the community as a construct of law so I avoid upsetting that apple cart by stating I don't need combat to pay more than trading. Just more than it does and much more over time.
I've actually made a few threads on the topic of credit generation (at great length and depth). I feel and have always felt that credit generation should be encouraged and lucrative no matter what you do. There will always be a best or most efficient way to make money. As I have stated before, money in this game is like experience in RPG's. There's always a fastest way to get that experience, but it's up to the developer as to how quickly they allow for progression through the game.
Luxuries used to be the super power level, then it got nuked. Trading is currently the best still, though it has been heavily nerfed. I wouldn't mind seeing all professions being boosted 10 fold. I don't think it should take a bounty hunter 1,000 hours to afford an anaconda. In the end it's a game, let people fly the ships they want to fly and do the things they want to do. Makes it fun.
I say this as a person who can afford any ship I want. I like flying vipers. Having millions of credits doesn't affect that I like the ship. I also like eagles, I take them into conflict zones and bounty hunting occasionally. I see nothing wrong with credit generation increases across the board. The "fear of bankruptcy" is a silly mechanic. Though I like that you have to think about potential losses with your ship and death means something, I don't think it should be more than a couple hours work to recoup losses. Currently it's more like weeks of progress for casual players.
Luxuries used to be the super power level, then it got nuked. Trading is currently the best still, though it has been heavily nerfed. I wouldn't mind seeing all professions being boosted 10 fold. I don't think it should take a bounty hunter 1,000 hours to afford an anaconda. In the end it's a game, let people fly the ships they want to fly and do the things they want to do. Makes it fun.
I say this as a person who can afford any ship I want. I like flying vipers. Having millions of credits doesn't affect that I like the ship. I also like eagles, I take them into conflict zones and bounty hunting occasionally. I see nothing wrong with credit generation increases across the board. The "fear of bankruptcy" is a silly mechanic. Though I like that you have to think about potential losses with your ship and death means something, I don't think it should be more than a couple hours work to recoup losses. Currently it's more like weeks of progress for casual players.
What it boils down to is this. The game isn't a competition. All career options are open to everybody. Nobody is forcing you to do anything. You make the choice as to which career or careers you want to follow and accept the perks and limitations of each one.
...QFT..
In it's current version, yes; that's an accurate description of what we have now and what we must do - accept the limitations. We're not saying it should be different now, we're asking for it to be improved in future. You must be surely capable of seeing that the game isn't going to stay as it is now, so saying "this is how it is" about a mechanic that hasn't been confirmed as "this is how it is" by the developers, isn't much of a rebuttal to people suggesting things should change and ways that it should change.
We're not asking for a core design feature to be altered beyond FD's stated scope or design philosophy; indeed, FD have suggested a number of times they're looking into making other careers (specifically combat) pay better. It's not about competing, either. I can trade as well as the best and my stats show that. It's about having fun. And making suggestions to make the game more fun. Do you disagree? And do you think adding more to the careers is going to make the game worse?
Last edited:
I can't argue with the quoted statement. No part of that statement is incorrect.
What it boils down to is this. The game isn't the only one in the world. Steam's game catalogue is open to everybody. Nobody is forcing people to stick with the game, recommend the game to their friends, or purchase forthcoming addons. You make the choice as to what games to spend your limited time playing, and accept the limitations of 24 hour days, work life, and family commitments.
Kidding aside, if a large proportion of space sim fans (already a small demographic) are frustrated with the game as-is and quit, or, if they fail to recommend the game to their friends, then I worry about future player population and development. I'm sure there are other features you care about and would like to see implemented too. So, if other playstyles can be balanced, and the effect on your playstyle is minimal, then let's hear people out.
Last edited:
Don't take this personal Joe just thought it fits the bill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQl5aYhkF3EThat's not actually true. You ARE being forced to trade. If you want to fly another ship beyond the cobra mk 3 you have to trade in order to not only afford the next ship, but then afford to be able to fly it in combat. You can't afford the repair bills, and ammunition bills let alone the better modules for a more expensive ship on bounty hunting alone in it's current state.
Not with out grinding out killing 10 - 20k wanted cobras for a gazillion hours to be able to afford the next ship, and then another gazillion hours to afford better modules to then what? Now you have a bigger badder ship that is MORE expensive to fly, but your option for gain is to continue to kill 10 - 20k cobras again?
Oh but you can kill 150k wanted anacondas! Yeah if you can find any.
Oh but you can fight in the warzones! Dude you only get 50,000 credits for forcing a capital ship to Frame Shift out. All other ships you kill in a combat zone, which are ten times harder to kill is 5,000 credits. Spend 10 - 15 minutes killing a 5,000 credit ship, or spend 8 minutes on a trade run and make 300,000 credits?
its funny how only now after we all bought the game we realise that in order to play a game we have to work for it. "come to an exciting 400 billion universe and haul stuff from one place to another. dont want to do that? dont worry we have other stuff for you to do thats WAY more dangerous and your get payd in peanuts. hummm goooood peanuts"
Oh but you have to work hard otherwise you're one of those immature young gamers that want instant gratification. Bounty hunting, PvP, all that stuff is just your in game hobby, a side activity. You have to work in order to get to do them!
PS: this is obviously sarcasm but reflects some of the posters on these forums.
Too much repeat-o-thread in this repeat-o-thread which is missing the whole point of ED as a game. IF you just want a huge ship, you need to make huge money. In real life, explorers and miners aren't rich people, yet traders are. Bounty hunters a bit less so. If simple exploration made 1MCr per hour, how on Sol would Universal Cartographics justify their expenditure? Exactly. The economy isn't perfect by any stretch, but it's at least got a semblance of balance to a type of functional economic system. Just saying "I should be able to do fun stuff and make lots of money" is about as realistic as doing it in real life...
...unless you do my job.
...unless you do my job.
Too much repeat-o-thread in this repeat-o-thread which is missing the whole point of ED as a game. IF you just want a huge ship, you need to make huge money. In real life, explorers and miners aren't rich people, yet traders are. Bounty hunters a bit less so. If simple exploration made 1MCr per hour, how on Sol would Universal Cartographics justify their expenditure? Exactly. The economy isn't perfect by any stretch, but it's at least got a semblance of balance to a type of functional economic system. Just saying "I should be able to do fun stuff and make lots of money" is about as realistic as doing it in real life...
...unless you do my job.
Ok, let's not appeal to real life please. It's a slippery slope. Or would you prefer it take 9 to 12 years to cross Sol? http://www.universetoday.com/119264/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-to-pluto/
The point is, designers make certain allowances to make the game fun and entertaining.
Last edited:
Don't take this personal Joe just thought it fits the bill
*Bottom lip starts to tremble*