Totally agree. I try as hard as anyone to shorten my travel time through space. But the fact that it takes effort to cross those distances is what makes the distances meaningful, and makes the immensity of the galaxy meaningful. So I wouldn't want to cheapen that.
***POLL NOW CLOSED*** IMPORTANT, OFFICIAL SHIP TRANSFER POLL
- Thread starter Sandro Sammarco
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Totally agree. I try as hard as anyone to shorten my travel time through space. But the fact that it takes effort to cross those distances is what makes the distances meaningful, and makes the immensity of the galaxy meaningful. So I wouldn't want to cheapen that.
He logs off obviously. He hasn't played since he bought another ship and left the station.
The one thing that would absolutely change my mind is if solo and private mode was removed from the game and it was no longer possible to log out during combat to disappear from the game world to avoid consequences.
Otherwise, this is a single player game and it should be made more convenient, not less.
Some may feel that way .. I can only hope they never actually vote in any real elections because they'll be all kinds of messed up when their choice doesn't win.
I'm not a fan of the log into any ship option because that's not "Elite" if that makes sense? Too .. gamey. Like instant transfer. :>
Thank you! I seemed to have missed that fact. I like the delay idea. Immersion is a great thing. I'm addicted to the game regardless of the outcome ill still love flying my ship and reading posts.
I have voted but it was a little weird - I signed in with my xbox login as it wouldn't accept my forum login, then didn't give me the correct username - just a generic XBOX ONE. It took my vote tho, that's the important thing.
Anyway - I'd have liked more options, I'd prefer a 24 hour countdown for ship transfer. This would be in-line with the rough times I'm seeing for haulage missions and to me would feel more realistic eg: would take time to find a pilot to take the job on, then they'd be at leisure, same as we are to take it to the wire.
Seems to me that if it was such a short delay then it might as well be instant.
Kudos for putting it to the players, it's appreciated
Anyway - I'd have liked more options, I'd prefer a 24 hour countdown for ship transfer. This would be in-line with the rough times I'm seeing for haulage missions and to me would feel more realistic eg: would take time to find a pilot to take the job on, then they'd be at leisure, same as we are to take it to the wire.
Seems to me that if it was such a short delay then it might as well be instant.
Kudos for putting it to the players, it's appreciated
If you were in charge of the game, one wouldn't even need to dock manually, and the planets would have a 10m safe altitude.
Ian Phillips
Volunteer Moderator
Please keep this thread only on the topic of ship transfer. This post is off topic. Thank You.
Here’s a random and underdeveloped thought, regarding the arguments for instant transfer: would the fee for this service necessarily need to be paid with in-game credits?
Instead, what if it functioned like an Engineer’s blueprint, one available to all players? Simply combine the correct components, and you’re eligible for one instant transfer. There might even be grades to this blueprint, such that a G1 or G2 could get you across the Bubble, while a G5 could cover the distance to Jacques.
I realize that this runs the risk of even further exposing the playerbase to the whims of the RNG gods. However, if implemented effectively, it could allow for situational ship recall, without penalizing players with limited in-game budgets.
Instead, what if it functioned like an Engineer’s blueprint, one available to all players? Simply combine the correct components, and you’re eligible for one instant transfer. There might even be grades to this blueprint, such that a G1 or G2 could get you across the Bubble, while a G5 could cover the distance to Jacques.
I realize that this runs the risk of even further exposing the playerbase to the whims of the RNG gods. However, if implemented effectively, it could allow for situational ship recall, without penalizing players with limited in-game budgets.
Instant ship transfer is akin to Khan transporting himself to Cronos.
People asked after STID, what's the point in starships if you can just transport around the galaxy.
If we get [instant] ship transport, what's the point in putting an FSD in anything bigger than an Asp X?
Edit: Since FD seem insistant on ship transfers, maybe ship transfers should run like public transport. Only certain systems are on the route, and there are only a few Lynx Bulk Carriers doing the routes. You have to wait for one to turn up at your system, then wait while your ship is transported around the route.
Also means you might still have to jump some LY in the transferred ship.
People asked after STID, what's the point in starships if you can just transport around the galaxy.
If we get [instant] ship transport, what's the point in putting an FSD in anything bigger than an Asp X?
Edit: Since FD seem insistant on ship transfers, maybe ship transfers should run like public transport. Only certain systems are on the route, and there are only a few Lynx Bulk Carriers doing the routes. You have to wait for one to turn up at your system, then wait while your ship is transported around the route.
Also means you might still have to jump some LY in the transferred ship.
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IMHO this make sense. I always thought that ship transfer, when it will be implemented, will be something what will be used rarely, maybe twice or four times per year, when player will need to move his/her fleet to some new home.
I never thought that ship transfer should be some tool for shuffling ship positions three times per day or every evening.
That would be logical and require one millipea of effort. Something Frontier is dropping from the agenda.
I voted for a delay, because if you're going to add implausible instant ship transfers that mess up the scale of the galaxy and ruin the ship's balance, it would better to just add a couple of jump gates between popular places and avoid all the headaches.
Wow, I'm awful late to this party...but *thank* you for taking the time to reconsider transfers being instant! Whatever the outcome is, the fact you went and made an official thread and official poll and are reaching out to players to get as clear a picture as possible of what we would like, means a lot!
(As to the rest of the thread's members...well, there's at least 1300 posts I haven't read so I hope I'll be forgiven for not going back and reading through it [blah])
edit: So the current official idea is bulk freighters, that's cool!
Also, all these things appeal greatly to my ideas of "What Makes Sense", which makes me feel a bit more at ease about this whole event:
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Or a fuel scoop.
I voted! Thanks for putting this up. I'll put my reasons!
I voted for the delay.
The reason is that because Elite is not inherently a competitive game, it's not a twitch game. It's a game about immersion, #1. Much of this immersion is designed around the idea that this is a dangerous, unregulated universe. As a pilot, we have these huge expensive ships, and we stand apart from the vast majority of the population of the universe. We have a lot of freedom, but a lot of risk. Our lives are dangerous.
It's about choice, and the weight that each choice carries.
It's about the choice of what ship you choose to take, what tool you bring with you to the job.
Ship transfer on its own mostly just means that your choices carry less weight in many situations. With transfers being instantaneous, the choice of ship no longer carries any weight, aside from cost.
Cost is definitely relevant, as weight to be placed on a choice, but it's a bit of a trap. It means that you always have the option of just "waving away" the risk at any point with cash. This does not add to the game. Commanders with loads of cash already have this option largely available. They can just buy more ships.
I'm starting to tangent a little bit, but I'll just wrap up with this. money as an end-all-be-all weighting for the cost of a decision does not add appreciable tension to the immersion of the game experience. It only amplifies the feeling of 'grind'. It doesn't add "character," and every feeling should add character.
I like to reference a statement put forth by Valve back in the earlier days of TF2 when they were doing balancing of the characters and adding new items. Whenever they'd add a new item, like the flare gun for pyro, for instance, they would make sure that they weren't just giving the character a new ability JUST to make them more powerful. The idea was always to add choice to the player, but not necessarily make them more powerful. Furthermore, the choice offered to the player should always be in-line with the character's existing style. They could have given the pyro a regular gun as an option, and just tuned it so it was balanced... but this would be against the essence of his character.
I feel the same way about Elite. Having instantaneous ship transfer WOULD make things easier to the player, but they do NOT fit with the "essence" of the game. They weaken the feeling of the game in general. Yes, you can explain it away with pseudoscience technobabble how you want, but from a gameplay sense, it is anti-elite. It reduces the weight of choice and the feeling that it's just "you and your ship" and the consequences that come with the choices you make.
Adding the time delay means that even the players that have more than enough money are still playing the same game as everyone else, and the players with less money who are making smaller shipping transactions are still playing the same game they were beforehand. It adds convenience, in that you don't have to make the whole jump yourself, you can take a break from the game and come back and your ship is there. It also adds immersion, because you get a feeling that there are things happening even when you're not at the pilots seat. Having the delay ADDS to the feel and immersion to the game, rather than reducing from it.
I voted for the delay.
The reason is that because Elite is not inherently a competitive game, it's not a twitch game. It's a game about immersion, #1. Much of this immersion is designed around the idea that this is a dangerous, unregulated universe. As a pilot, we have these huge expensive ships, and we stand apart from the vast majority of the population of the universe. We have a lot of freedom, but a lot of risk. Our lives are dangerous.
It's about choice, and the weight that each choice carries.
It's about the choice of what ship you choose to take, what tool you bring with you to the job.
Ship transfer on its own mostly just means that your choices carry less weight in many situations. With transfers being instantaneous, the choice of ship no longer carries any weight, aside from cost.
Cost is definitely relevant, as weight to be placed on a choice, but it's a bit of a trap. It means that you always have the option of just "waving away" the risk at any point with cash. This does not add to the game. Commanders with loads of cash already have this option largely available. They can just buy more ships.
I'm starting to tangent a little bit, but I'll just wrap up with this. money as an end-all-be-all weighting for the cost of a decision does not add appreciable tension to the immersion of the game experience. It only amplifies the feeling of 'grind'. It doesn't add "character," and every feeling should add character.
I like to reference a statement put forth by Valve back in the earlier days of TF2 when they were doing balancing of the characters and adding new items. Whenever they'd add a new item, like the flare gun for pyro, for instance, they would make sure that they weren't just giving the character a new ability JUST to make them more powerful. The idea was always to add choice to the player, but not necessarily make them more powerful. Furthermore, the choice offered to the player should always be in-line with the character's existing style. They could have given the pyro a regular gun as an option, and just tuned it so it was balanced... but this would be against the essence of his character.
I feel the same way about Elite. Having instantaneous ship transfer WOULD make things easier to the player, but they do NOT fit with the "essence" of the game. They weaken the feeling of the game in general. Yes, you can explain it away with pseudoscience technobabble how you want, but from a gameplay sense, it is anti-elite. It reduces the weight of choice and the feeling that it's just "you and your ship" and the consequences that come with the choices you make.
Adding the time delay means that even the players that have more than enough money are still playing the same game as everyone else, and the players with less money who are making smaller shipping transactions are still playing the same game they were beforehand. It adds convenience, in that you don't have to make the whole jump yourself, you can take a break from the game and come back and your ship is there. It also adds immersion, because you get a feeling that there are things happening even when you're not at the pilots seat. Having the delay ADDS to the feel and immersion to the game, rather than reducing from it.
Like they did with the "Super" AI with engineered weapons??? Oh... yeah... most people cried a little about that right?
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