2.2's Instant Ship and Module Transport - Yay or Nay?

[Kintch]

So, it has been revealed in the 3rd day Gamescom morning stream that we will be able to transfer ships and stored modules between stations (HURRAY!) -- and that it will happen instantaneously (hmmm...).

While I am super-glad we're getting those features, I sort of feel bummed out that they are tossing aside the "believeability" part of it and, thus, taking away a bit of (as much as I hate using that word) immersion, by doing so. Elite prides itself as game that's plausible and rooted in science (even if, for the most part, it still remembers it's very much a game) and this instant zapping of hundreds of tons of stuff, across many many light-years... well, it just doesn't fit.

Personally I would prefer some waiting time added, based on distance (and perhaps other factors, such as size, etc.); could also possibly be argued that it's healthy to do so for balancing reasons (the mail delay in MMOs comes to mind).
Plus, I would love to see this as a player activity -- missions generated to transport (anonymous) ships and modules, as cargo... even perhaps a dedicated "tug"; looking at you Hauler...

In closing -- please, don't take me wrong, I am quite excited this is coming, I'm just somewhat bummed out by how it's handled...

What do you think, forumites?

 

[Toumal]

Modest delay would be great. Not hours but minutes.

 

[askavir]

Transport: Major YAY!!
Instantaneous: Nay, but I can live with it...

 

[Joe Akeem]

Ouch...Why not have a ETA based on LY. I'm with mrsanders on this.

 

[CMDR Redcrest]

Yes and Yes/
If we can 3d print fighter drones then surely stations can 3d print ships. (i.e. directly copy the layout of your owned ship)

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Really appreciate the transfer - but instantaneously is right back into the "magic insta-repair/refuel of the SRV" area.

I'd prefer at least a minimal delay, plain based on Range.
You know, keeping it at least a tiny bit realistic. Something as little as having your ordered stuff appear as "Enroute - ETA X : XX " with a moving Timer in the Shipyard or Outfitting.
Tiny, dirt cheap detail to implement - big effect on realism and whatever is left of immersion in our gamey world.

Because let's face it, Players docking at Jaques and instantly "beam" their entire fleets there or something?
Dunno, Range is still Range. I'd like the Game to still respect and show that, even if the actual time is kept rather on the low side for practical/usability/gameplay reasons.

 

[Maruun]

Transport - YAY
Instantaneous - We will see

The prices were subject to change...but depending on what ship and what equipment it has...the distance ect. So it could cost several 100 million to get big combat ship transfered to jaques.

The instantanous thing is okay...so it doesnt break gameflow if i had to wait several hours to arrive at a given destination + the high cost there wouldnt be a point into it at all. Its a giant money sink.

 

[Von Elsner]

Yes but nay

 

[h347h]

It would be nice to have to plan a bit ahead and get to have a ship ordered some where and it take roughly what would take a 20 LY jump route to achieve plus 5 minutes for docking undocking it ect.

 

[salad]

If they added any delay people would complain about time sinks, I personally don't mind but I understand the decision.

 

[HailVectron]

I sort of agree with "transport, yay, instant, boo" but then, there are lots of places the believability has been removed. Food, toilet, sleep, materials kept after death but exploration data not, etc. One more makes little difference, but the plusses outweigh the minusses to me...

 

[2plex]

Instant transfer? No!

 

[Kris]

Maybe add a poll?

I would prefer if it would have a little time added. Not much, but maybe sort of 5k ly per hour so you don't have to wait long if your ship is maybe 300 ly away in other areas of bubble. I would be against longer waits (unless your ship is in the other side of galaxy). Buf it is is instant, then be it, it is not dealbreaker for me.

 

[GrimThara]

Yeah, instant is a bit of an odd choice.

You take your cheap little long jump exploration ship all the way to Jaques for example and instantly teleport over your battle-hardened corvette. Kind of odd.


I think a wait time based on distance would be more acceptable. Minutes for short distances, something like Jaques should take considerably longer in the likes of hours at the very least.

Maybe you should also have to pay maintenance for the trip. A ship flying 22,000ly is going to need some maintenance after its long voyage. Also fuel costs.

In fact, what about fuel? If the ship has no scoop on it then teleporting it across vast distances in an instant is going to be even more odd.



Hm... I mean, I'm glad we're getting it, but there's got to be a better way to implement it. Perhaps they'll look into it at a later time.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Begrudgingly, yes. It's a necessarily evil and will increase gameplay opportunities for people. If you have to sit and wait 10 mins for it to arrive, what do you do? 'why are Frontier wasting my time?'

 

[Yaffle]

Modest delay would be great. Not hours but minutes.

I'd quite like it done 'real time' with an update flag of its current location so you could fly alongside and escort it. Oh, and a small % chance of damage/destruction en-route.

I don't like instant, if I can move my empty ship inside a nanosecond why do I have to fly my actual ship?

Anyhow, here's the DDF on it, which I quite liked:

• Players can store ships they are not currently piloting
  • Initially the player will have nowhere to store a ship
  • The player will be able to rent (or buy) hangar space – for an initial fee, and then a rental. Not all stations will have storage space, and some will be cheaper than others. Storage spaces will come in a range of sizes (s,m,l). There isn’t a cap to the number of ships a player can store this way, other than the drain on their cash
  • A number of different facilities can offer ship storage, with a range of different prices
    • E.g. functional - shipyard storage, luxury – High end Storage attached to high end residencies in central locations, cheap – warehouses in remote locations
  • Storage fees are deducted daily from their account, and there is an additional fee in some locations (generally the cheap ones) to retrieve the ship from storage, when the player wishes to pilot the ship again
    • The fee increases over in-game time only (i.e. if you’re logged off it won’t increase)
  • Players can store their ships at multiple locations
    • Registering a new location for ship storage costs a fixed one-time fee
    • Once registered a player can visit that location or any other registered storage location they have to arrange ship transfers between them which costs a fee to transport them, based on distance and law level of the intervening route (though the transfer happens magically – perhaps on a giant freighter).
  • Players can only swap their current ship whilst in a registered storage location
    • If the desired ship isn’t present then the player must arrange a transfer which costs a fee and takes time based on the distance the transferred ship needs to travel to get to the current storage location
      • The same restrictions and pricing as above are applied here too
    • Once the transfer is complete the player is notified and is able to dock and swap their ships putting their old ship in storage at that location providing they can also pay the storage fee accumulated for the transferred ship since it went into storage (including all previous storage locations it’s been at and transferred from since last flown)
    • Cargo and equipment can be transferred for a fee, as with ship purchase.
• Players can buy a new ship without trading in their current one but must choose which of the two ships they would like to pilot afterwards
  • The ship the player chooses not to pilot will have to be sent to any of the player’s registered storage location (possibly including the same station they’re at)
    • If no storage location is registered then the player is forced to register one
    • If a storage location is available (or has just been made available as above) it can be selected for the ship to be sent to without needing to pay a transfer fee as this is included in the price of the new ship (i.e. ensures that the player can transfer their ship despite having no money left after the purchase)

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/6753-Elite-Dangerous-Multiple-Ship-Ownership

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

Yeah, I think there should be a delay based on distance and jump range of the ship in question. With the mechanic that you are able to request a ship be transferred to your current location, but continue to do other things during the countdown period.

 

[Hell Razor5543]

I do like the ability to have your ships moved (but I will NOT have all of my ships in one location, in case something happens to prevent access), but I do agree that there should be a reasonable delay (distance and transport pilot skills related), as there is no way a ship can teleport. Printable ships would not work (for me, anyway), as how would modded ships be handled (only the engineers can create and fit the mods)?

 

[GaryII]

Definitely YES, very good changes !
For those who hate instant delivery - simple solution you can log out for 10 minutes, to get your immersion back

 

[Cmdr Cheese Wedge]

Transport - Yes indeed and overdue.
Instant Transfer - No, time delays based on ship type size cost and distance.