And we have both played in Open? If so, that kind of proves the point doesn't it, that the game mode doesn't really matter.
- Status
And we have both played in Open? If so, that kind of proves the point doesn't it, that the game mode doesn't really matter.
Why exactly are you playing a pirate? I've read a lot about how low the profits form piracy are. I get the impression that it's not about income and efficiency - and for other players it's the same way.
In my opinion it's about having fun and doing what you (not the you you, the general universe you) want to do.
And we have both played in Open? If so, that kind of proves the point doesn't it, that the game mode doesn't really matter.
Have said this before and it is always ignored..
Daffan.. why don't you delete your character and "do it all in open" the ONLY thing stopping you is you and your worrying about what everyone else is doing and how they got their ships. And I wonder why that is..
As for records staying up.. College.. bronculators and caffeine.. I think we were hallucinating in the end and we think it was 3 to 5 days.. Military.. coffee and soda only.. 3 days marathon loading and unloading chalks from cargo planes
That is more down to profession though isn't it.
Pirates suffer in any mode from lack of income
True enough. Poor career decisions can mean a distinct lack of cash. Simple solution is to not make poor career decisions.
This and get FD to bring piracy in line with other professions by doing something about the loot NPCs carry.
After all, no one in their right mind would move 10T of biowaste or scrap in a T9 - that's just stupid.
The most money I ever made was from one of those "Seeking" T9s... it had 20T of nice stuff. That's once, in a year of playing
If pirates could get subsidies from NPCs to make up for the infrequent times they get something from a human - it would be a valid profession.
Definitely - if NPC cargo load and drops could be a bit more juicy for the genuine pirate types, it might go some way to improving their income, and that would get no complaints from me.
"How much marriage urges a windmill to pinch infinity?
Is a magic hid-a-bed the final home of Spanish fire?
Is firm corn merrier under gifts of less important love?"
sorry; couldn't resist
- - - Updated - - -
CMDR #819 DID A BAD THING.
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I loved the "comms chatter" in Freelancer - I wish FD would add more of it; it really helped with immersion even though the responses were repetitive. You would hear:
"Yeah, we're moving this biowaste to the XSYSTEM; hope our profits are in."
"I've got a load of XWORTHLESSCARGO from the Z System."
etc
The Pirate NPCs were also quite amusing.
"What's that? .... COOLANT LEAK!!!!!"
"This fool's actually taking me on!"
"Any more damage and I'll be sucking space!"
Ahem*cough* OK. But sometimes, the only cargo on a lap might be biowaste; I've moved enough of it... pays the gas/repair bills. Now hydrogen is truely worthless...
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My record is 72 hours (Army exercise, stuff kept breaking down) and I was not a well bunny after that. Awesome hallucinations at night though.
Yeah, I had a very similar experience on exercise in Canada, glad we were only using blanks, my hallucinations were far from awesome, the sleep after was though.
I played the game a while before I even tried piracy. I still do other professions even now, I just tend to focus on piracy since it's the most fun.
Generally speaking the combat roles, pirates and bounty hunters, do better in open. Players have juicier cargo and bounties than npcs. Also escorts is a role only possible in open/group.
It's the non combat roles that suffer the most in open. Traders, miners, and explorers, have no way to make extra money from players, it's only loss. I think therein lies the problem with professions across the modes.
Npc piracy has been getting better, but it's still less than player piracy, at least on a per ship basis. You can still potentially make more money with npcs if you can't find a good spot with a lot of players.
The main difference between players and npcs is, players carry a more realistic amount of cargo. Players usually fill their ship up ccompletely, npcs don't. I can't tell you the number of times I stop an npc type 9 only for it to only have 20 tons of gold. If it was a player, they'd have around 450, then I could ask for and potentially get ~80 tons.
Another problem is npcs carry the crappy cargo players don't bother with, basic meds, food cartridges, and in some cases literal crap cargo with biowaste. That wastes your time, whereas a player is almost always carrying good cargo.
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I completely agree with you there. NPC's should be ferrying cargo as per the systems needs, and I seem to recall MB saying that NPC activity didn't determine system needs, but that systems would generate NPC's that fitted their needs for transporting cargo. This was a long time back though, so someone with a better memory than me can probably find the quote
NPC's should be hauling stuff to make systems work. Pirates (both NPC's and players) should be able to get some of their stuff, and the systems should be able to react with either force or capitulation, and the whole and PP tying into that.
Had someone say they were going to shut my trade route down and I laughed.. because it is usually food cartridges, biowaste and such. Yes I will carry Imp slaves sometimes as they chose slavery (will never take full on slaves), and sometimes illicit cargo, but for me it would be a crapshoot for a human pilot.
It's all completely circular anyway, that's why all discussion of it is consigned to this particular pit. Every mode, every way to play, has aspects to it that will appeal to a particular group of players. Those groups of players that have fun in a particular mode will play in that mode, the others probably less so. Personally, I have fun (albeit in slightly different ways) in all three modes - so I play whichever one I'm in the mood for when I fire up the game.
All this talk of "incentives" for me to bias my play in favor of one or another of the three modes that I currently enjoy just fine thank you very much, it's total hogwash as far as I'm concerned, what you really mean is make one or more of the modes I currently like to play in less fun for me, so thank you kindly for your suggestion but no thank you.
All this talk of "incentives" for me to bias my play in favor of one or another of the three modes that I currently enjoy just fine thank you very much, it's total hogwash as far as I'm concerned, what you really mean is make one or more of the modes I currently like to play in less fun for me, so thank you kindly for your suggestion but no thank you.
Elite: Dangerous: His future, my questions
Well, first of all, I am really sorry for my English, I'll do my best.
Today I have a huge problem with this game (Elite: Dangerous)
Elite dangerous is a good game, but a lot of side are fully forgot and don't take a lot of time to do I think, with simple menchanicsand without destroy the actual problems (solo/private)
The Solo/private huge mistake:
Well, after300hours, I have see much problems, like Powerplay and trade 100% on Solo/private.
Today a trader only trade on solo, cause he don't have reward for playing on Open, and he can't give money to friends for escort him. (And don't try to talk about the comm'dividendes, it's a joke, nobody will do this job for that.)
It mean all military escort and piratery are destroyed.
For the powerplay, there is a BIG problem, nobody care. Yeah, your PP win or lose, you're doing an actually done obj or something useless you don't care, you'll earn money.
And there is a ridiculous PvP reward (like +20 points?), It mean, nobody will really do PvP for an objective (cause there is no objectiv and nobody care).
How patch it?
Traders will gain +50% for doing a trade 100% (more less?) on Real World (open) IDK how we can see it, but I hope we can. And with this option, you want SPLIT benefits to your team "10K for you, 20 for you" IDK. But we need something to force players to go on real World, and if you don't want nerf/Destroy solo, you have to up Open.
PowerPlayer need to be on a gate (Like they're capital) for switch solo/private=>Real World. Else they don't have influence (why don't do that for everybody all the time?), a LOT of rewards for all systems annexed, or a "contract of the Week" to complete. And ALL USELESS objective give Z.E.R.O. It's done, it's done.
SandBox is Only for Braben?
When I buy this game, it wasn't on Steam but I really WANT, sorry if I fail my purshase, a SandBox MMO SpaceOpera. ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/359320/ )
And actually, All I see is a REALLY good fight "Simulation" with good dogfight against NPC (cause there is no real pvp, and CQC Is a joke, but it's an other topic.)
We have a HUUUUGE world, a good background ect ect ect
But actually, we cannot call that a sandbox, cause ONLY BRABEN can call that a SandBox and he is lonely inside.
Actually, we can't build (Stations, Base, OutPost ect) we can't conquer, can't do a Team with all stats register to be proud.
No actually, we watch.
It's really sad but, we can't be on a faction (only mercenary, and PP is broken) the "Gamers groups" are a joke, they ONLY rename/edit a small faction, they don't do anything else. Seriously FD, how you can do that to your fan? If it's for do this huge joke, do Nothing, seriously, when I explain to my friends, and when they understand how it's done "So, the group have nothing more than other players? And they ONLY edit this faction? Yeah..."
On a sandBox, we can build, create conquer, do OUR politics, OUR history on the world.
Why don't do after the human Bubble a "No Law area" where players can build/Destroy/trade/Pimp"? And Braben can still play to his sandbox with CG by annex on the bubble players lands, why not, it's on the BackGround, it's on the game !i And all solo fan's can continue to play solo alone...
What this type of gameplay will add?
Fun, politics, History.
If players can build they're own "house" together, with a Farming Planet, and etablish a trade to this station, and this to this... It's only a panel gameplay with huge influence and money management (you'll see)
Why don't allow players to GIVE they're money to build (cause actually money is useless after 500M+) and pimp Police/Military.
I don't mean players will lead fleet, nope, I mean a team of players will spend money each Day/Week to set a concentration of police, a stuff to police, and same for army.
It's like powerplay, but more interesting. They can "Pimp" planet/station/Armed force against money, money producted by system/Trade or gift. And why don't allow the military attack against a huge cost?
This system (own by players) will attack an other (Players only, if Braben want keep his sandBox) against like 500M of money. And the military strike will apear after 2/3/4Days. And density of "friendly" or "enemy" force, and size/Weapons will depend of the money invested in this attack.
With this SMALL option of panel management and players management, we keep the actual system, and something new apear, the real Mercenary (but, we need money gift...).
If you start an attack, you'll need players farming, and you'll need mercenary and you're own players. Why not create contract to a players mercenary organisation like a CG, to earn X money they need to kill X enemy NPC/Players. It will help the military Strike and the conquest.
This is simple (like PP) to do, and give to Elite: Dangerous a HUGE gameplay for everybody. And, In ALL SITUATION, the global BackGround and Braben (Don't worry ) keep hand an can "By RP" annex players conquest ect... And It give new CG, can give to players occasion to fight against the Empires ect ect.
I Hope I wasn't rough, cause it's really simple.
Problems? Not size, if every players have 100 systems, we will be on 1% of systems and we need to be 20/30 to keep 2/3 systems
Inactivity? If players leave the faction/stop connection, the station became inactive, the colonist comeBack on Empire (Why don't do RP/CG) and after somedays if fall in ruins (And IDK, you can pay for reparation for 1/2 weeks and after it's 100% dead.)
Huge players organisaiton? YEAH GOOD ! You don't want see Elite with huge Organisation? And Braben with the Empire still can fight them with RP/CG ect, and if the system is well think, you can't do that.
And Explorer: With this gameplay, your exploration became usefull, not just RP. Why don't sold the "dream Systems" against 200M? ect ect
The univers is aliiiiive! (Thanks to trade) :
When I Start Elite, it was a fact for me, the univers was alive, planet produce, same for stations, but against food/Materials, and Players AND NPC do the transport job due to Ask/Offer. And if 10.000 players have fun to farm ALL NPC on a system, the stations will starve. But no.
Actually, station produce from a blackHole, and when you sell, it go on a BlackHole.
Why you don't do a real trade system with Procuction and free market?
This planet produce X food, and they need X medics.
All days 25.000 NPC transport X Tons of this Station/Planet, if they're all intercepted, it starve. Same for stations ect. You can keep your Solo/private and just check the stats of NPC dead.
This station have X tons of Gold due to planet (X K Transport a day) and Y tons due to the space mining (Y K) and Npc will do the trade to neighbor system against Food ect
With this system, without players it's like actually, price are stable, NPC do they're own daily job. And the market are stable.
But with players, we can gank NPC and intercept a small % of supply (And why not add it to the NPC pirate stats IDK) and the price of the intercepted ressources will up ! And why don't apply the next day, due to the interception more trader (due to better prices ) and...Escort with them (Cause **** Piratry ! )
With a real market of NPC production/consumption (I never talk about Players production !) you can see new REAL jobs with fun:
Real traders, cause they'll check blockade systems and help it to don't starve (and make money.), and escort ect (with the Online reward describe before !)
Miners, cause with consumption, price will be better for them (ACtually nobody mine nope?)
Smuggelers: Yeah, I LOVE this job but we can't do it actually, I talk about the REAL job, not the "LOL boring missioning", I mean buy goods where it's legal, and sell where it's not. Cause yeah, with this system, Pirate Stations will became full business stations for dishonest people.
ACtually, you can't cause "Real Price (legal) - Illegal(BlackmarketTaxe) = LOW % of benefitcs for hard job", you can trade scrap, it's better.
Better influence between players :
Yeah, our "paralel univers" are linked nope?
Why don't link stats and activity? I mean, don't wait a fall of governement for change something. If there is a HIGHT pirate kill on this system the last hour, ALL PRIVATE AND SOLO will have less pirates.
If there is a lot of (NPC or players) act of piracy the last hour, in all solo and private, it will have more pirates.
It mean a huge band of evil pirates can attack ALL NPC for 1hours and influence in all univers (it mean for real) all gamers. Is this not a good idea? More linked with the respect of Solo/private error ! (Cause it was.)
Well, all Idea can evolve or picked alone, but OFC for me it's linked. A huge players influence on all systems are linked to the real market life, and players constructions/Conquest/Management is linked to real market ect.
Conclusion:
For me, it's not hard to pass Elite from a solo game less than skyrim (Thanks NPCs, quests ect ...) to a BIG multiplayer experience despite the solo / private. And we can call that a SandBox and a MMO, actually, excuse me but no.
ACtually, we have no sandbox, no MMo, no real solo (cause it's boring to just watch and do stupid mission and continue to farm money when you're already rich, or invest to PP when it's useless, or farm mission to help a minor faction... LOL.)
I have chekc the Horizon Stream, and Like Elite: Dangerous, I preorder it. But I really feel that Elite wants to be a solo game without sandbox and only be 100% custom for fans of the 80s.
I have check Horizon, and yeah, it's incredible, you do a linked game (GG, CCP fail it with Dust514, you do it !) but for what? All I see is "Land, Exploroe a auto-generated world, do "dungeon"/exploration and back".
I mean, it's all? You sold us an auto generated world with a small car? Not a buildable area, a feudal system between players ect? (Keep this planets, export this against that ect) If Elite: Dangerous want to be a solo auto generated world without real NPC without real RP, without all i've say, well, how getting refunded Horizon, we are some interested, cause dogfight is cool, but only against NPC in a frozen world...
For me the lone problem is server maintenance without subscription, nope? (I think we can found together a solution if it's only that.)
Well, thank you very much for taking the time to read, I had that on the heart for a while, it feels good to express in the only important board , the official. If somebody want correct me, I can edit.
Well, first of all, I am really sorry for my English, I'll do my best.
Today I have a huge problem with this game (Elite: Dangerous)
Elite dangerous is a good game, but a lot of side are fully forgot and don't take a lot of time to do I think, with simple menchanicsand without destroy the actual problems (solo/private)
}--------------------------{
The Solo/private huge mistake:
Well, after300hours, I have see much problems, like Powerplay and trade 100% on Solo/private.
Today a trader only trade on solo, cause he don't have reward for playing on Open, and he can't give money to friends for escort him. (And don't try to talk about the comm'dividendes, it's a joke, nobody will do this job for that.)
It mean all military escort and piratery are destroyed.
For the powerplay, there is a BIG problem, nobody care. Yeah, your PP win or lose, you're doing an actually done obj or something useless you don't care, you'll earn money.
And there is a ridiculous PvP reward (like +20 points?), It mean, nobody will really do PvP for an objective (cause there is no objectiv and nobody care).
How patch it?
Traders will gain +50% for doing a trade 100% (more less?) on Real World (open) IDK how we can see it, but I hope we can. And with this option, you want SPLIT benefits to your team "10K for you, 20 for you" IDK. But we need something to force players to go on real World, and if you don't want nerf/Destroy solo, you have to up Open.
PowerPlayer need to be on a gate (Like they're capital) for switch solo/private=>Real World. Else they don't have influence (why don't do that for everybody all the time?), a LOT of rewards for all systems annexed, or a "contract of the Week" to complete. And ALL USELESS objective give Z.E.R.O. It's done, it's done.
}--------------------------{
SandBox is Only for Braben?
When I buy this game, it wasn't on Steam but I really WANT, sorry if I fail my purshase, a SandBox MMO SpaceOpera. ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/359320/ )
And actually, All I see is a REALLY good fight "Simulation" with good dogfight against NPC (cause there is no real pvp, and CQC Is a joke, but it's an other topic.)
We have a HUUUUGE world, a good background ect ect ect
But actually, we cannot call that a sandbox, cause ONLY BRABEN can call that a SandBox and he is lonely inside.
Actually, we can't build (Stations, Base, OutPost ect) we can't conquer, can't do a Team with all stats register to be proud.
No actually, we watch.
It's really sad but, we can't be on a faction (only mercenary, and PP is broken) the "Gamers groups" are a joke, they ONLY rename/edit a small faction, they don't do anything else. Seriously FD, how you can do that to your fan? If it's for do this huge joke, do Nothing, seriously, when I explain to my friends, and when they understand how it's done "So, the group have nothing more than other players? And they ONLY edit this faction? Yeah..."
On a sandBox, we can build, create conquer, do OUR politics, OUR history on the world.
Why don't do after the human Bubble a "No Law area" where players can build/Destroy/trade/Pimp"? And Braben can still play to his sandbox with CG by annex on the bubble players lands, why not, it's on the BackGround, it's on the game !i And all solo fan's can continue to play solo alone...
What this type of gameplay will add?
Fun, politics, History.
If players can build they're own "house" together, with a Farming Planet, and etablish a trade to this station, and this to this... It's only a panel gameplay with huge influence and money management (you'll see)
Why don't allow players to GIVE they're money to build (cause actually money is useless after 500M+) and pimp Police/Military.
I don't mean players will lead fleet, nope, I mean a team of players will spend money each Day/Week to set a concentration of police, a stuff to police, and same for army.
It's like powerplay, but more interesting. They can "Pimp" planet/station/Armed force against money, money producted by system/Trade or gift. And why don't allow the military attack against a huge cost?
This system (own by players) will attack an other (Players only, if Braben want keep his sandBox) against like 500M of money. And the military strike will apear after 2/3/4Days. And density of "friendly" or "enemy" force, and size/Weapons will depend of the money invested in this attack.
With this SMALL option of panel management and players management, we keep the actual system, and something new apear, the real Mercenary (but, we need money gift...).
If you start an attack, you'll need players farming, and you'll need mercenary and you're own players. Why not create contract to a players mercenary organisation like a CG, to earn X money they need to kill X enemy NPC/Players. It will help the military Strike and the conquest.
This is simple (like PP) to do, and give to Elite: Dangerous a HUGE gameplay for everybody. And, In ALL SITUATION, the global BackGround and Braben (Don't worry
) keep hand an can "By RP" annex players conquest ect... And It give new CG, can give to players occasion to fight against the Empires ect ect.I Hope I wasn't rough, cause it's really simple.
Problems? Not size, if every players have 100 systems, we will be on 1% of systems and we need to be 20/30 to keep 2/3 systems
Inactivity? If players leave the faction/stop connection, the station became inactive, the colonist comeBack on Empire (Why don't do RP/CG) and after somedays if fall in ruins (And IDK, you can pay for reparation for 1/2 weeks and after it's 100% dead.)
Huge players organisaiton? YEAH GOOD ! You don't want see Elite with huge Organisation? And Braben with the Empire still can fight them with RP/CG ect, and if the system is well think, you can't do that.
And Explorer: With this gameplay, your exploration became usefull, not just RP. Why don't sold the "dream Systems" against 200M? ect ect
}--------------------------{
The univers is aliiiiive! (Thanks to trade) :
When I Start Elite, it was a fact for me, the univers was alive, planet produce, same for stations, but against food/Materials, and Players AND NPC do the transport job due to Ask/Offer. And if 10.000 players have fun to farm ALL NPC on a system, the stations will starve. But no.
Actually, station produce from a blackHole, and when you sell, it go on a BlackHole.
Why you don't do a real trade system with Procuction and free market?
This planet produce X food, and they need X medics.
All days 25.000 NPC transport X Tons of this Station/Planet, if they're all intercepted, it starve. Same for stations ect. You can keep your Solo/private and just check the stats of NPC dead.
This station have X tons of Gold due to planet (X K Transport a day) and Y tons due to the space mining (Y K) and Npc will do the trade to neighbor system against Food ect
With this system, without players it's like actually, price are stable, NPC do they're own daily job. And the market are stable.
But with players, we can gank NPC and intercept a small % of supply (And why not add it to the NPC pirate stats IDK) and the price of the intercepted ressources will up ! And why don't apply the next day, due to the interception more trader (due to better prices
) and...Escort with them (Cause **** Piratry ! )With a real market of NPC production/consumption (I never talk about Players production !) you can see new REAL jobs with fun:
Real traders, cause they'll check blockade systems and help it to don't starve (and make money.), and escort ect (with the Online reward describe before !)
Miners, cause with consumption, price will be better for them
(ACtually nobody mine nope?)Smuggelers: Yeah, I LOVE this job but we can't do it actually, I talk about the REAL job, not the "LOL boring missioning", I mean buy goods where it's legal, and sell where it's not. Cause yeah, with this system, Pirate Stations will became full business stations for dishonest people.
ACtually, you can't cause "Real Price (legal) - Illegal(BlackmarketTaxe) = LOW % of benefitcs for hard job", you can trade scrap, it's better.
}--------------------------{
Better influence between players :
Yeah, our "paralel univers" are linked nope?
Why don't link stats and activity? I mean, don't wait a fall of governement for change something. If there is a HIGHT pirate kill on this system the last hour, ALL PRIVATE AND SOLO will have less pirates.
If there is a lot of (NPC or players) act of piracy the last hour, in all solo and private, it will have more pirates.
It mean a huge band of evil pirates can attack ALL NPC for 1hours and influence in all univers (it mean for real) all gamers. Is this not a good idea? More linked with the respect of Solo/private error ! (Cause it was.)
Well, all Idea can evolve or picked alone, but OFC for me it's linked. A huge players influence on all systems are linked to the real market life, and players constructions/Conquest/Management is linked to real market ect.
-======================-
Conclusion:
For me, it's not hard to pass Elite from a solo game less than skyrim (Thanks NPCs, quests ect ...) to a BIG multiplayer experience despite the solo / private. And we can call that a SandBox and a MMO, actually, excuse me but no.
ACtually, we have no sandbox, no MMo, no real solo (cause it's boring to just watch and do stupid mission and continue to farm money when you're already rich, or invest to PP when it's useless, or farm mission to help a minor faction... LOL.)
I have chekc the Horizon Stream, and Like Elite: Dangerous, I preorder it. But I really feel that Elite wants to be a solo game without sandbox and only be 100% custom for fans of the 80s.
I have check Horizon, and yeah, it's incredible, you do a linked game (GG, CCP fail it with Dust514, you do it !) but for what? All I see is "Land, Exploroe a auto-generated world, do "dungeon"/exploration and back".
I mean, it's all? You sold us an auto generated world with a small car? Not a buildable area, a feudal system between players ect? (Keep this planets, export this against that ect) If Elite: Dangerous want to be a solo auto generated world without real NPC without real RP, without all i've say, well, how getting refunded Horizon, we are some interested, cause dogfight is cool, but only against NPC in a frozen world...
For me the lone problem is server maintenance without subscription, nope? (I think we can found together a solution if it's only that.)
Well, thank you very much for taking the time to read, I had that on the heart for a while, it feels good to express in the only important board , the official. If somebody want correct me, I can edit.
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That was a long read.
I think I agree with many of your points. I am kind of hoping that the game will eventually mature into something beyond pretty scenery. There are gameplay elements there, but none of them feel like they have much real meaning. They are more "game" (collect/deliver X in Y time for Z reward) than "simulation" (doing X will have Y effect which you then may be able to use to your advantage).
I guess it all really comes down to what is in DB's "vision".
One problem I do see is that FD has gone down the path of selling seasons of functionality. So, for example, you won't be able to land on planet surfaces without Horizons. The problem is that, for Open/Group at least, we're all supposed to be playing together. I think the season/functionality approach will get more and more interesting (read: limiting) in coming years if there are big disparities in what players pay for. It will be harder to coordinate community efforts with new functionality if only a subset of players can actually access it. I would have preferred a subscription personally.
I think I agree with many of your points. I am kind of hoping that the game will eventually mature into something beyond pretty scenery. There are gameplay elements there, but none of them feel like they have much real meaning. They are more "game" (collect/deliver X in Y time for Z reward) than "simulation" (doing X will have Y effect which you then may be able to use to your advantage).
I guess it all really comes down to what is in DB's "vision".
One problem I do see is that FD has gone down the path of selling seasons of functionality. So, for example, you won't be able to land on planet surfaces without Horizons. The problem is that, for Open/Group at least, we're all supposed to be playing together. I think the season/functionality approach will get more and more interesting (read: limiting) in coming years if there are big disparities in what players pay for. It will be harder to coordinate community efforts with new functionality if only a subset of players can actually access it. I would have preferred a subscription personally.
+1 for using the word hogwash. This word is definitely underused these days.
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
All players are encouraged to "play the game how you want to" - if that is with other players, fine - alone, again fine - with friends only, you guessed it, fine.
Frontier may want players to play together (and I think that they do want that) but do not seem prepared to coerce or force players to play together (except for the competitions with RL prizes that are Open Only - and are completely optional with respect to player participation).
There is on problem with making NPCs carry better loot. If I can get good cargo without having to buy it in an easy and reliable way - why should I trade?
Giving NPCs the same cargo like the cargo players usually carry would make piracy the best option to make profit in Elite.
Yes, it should be a bit more profitable to pirate NPCs, but that won't change the fundamental problem - players don't like to get pirated by other players and players wanting to pirate other players.
It's not about profit, it's about dominance. Applying threat and violence to force an other human into submission.
The next problem for me is, that trading in Elite Dangerous is not very realistic. What the NPCs currently carry is more realistic than the cargo players trade. It's not really driven by demand. Trading some valuable metals should be the absolute exception and hauling food, basic consumer goods and other consumable goods should be the norm. An tiny outpost orbiting a dead planet pays more for some stupid metal than for food and water? The problem is that goods are bought by the ton and not by volume.
But that's an whole different story.
- Status