How is it pay to win? What are you winning exactly? How would people trading ships/modules/ore/commodities between each other affect the game in the way you're implying?
It is pay to win though. In other games, people who don't own expansions aren't instanced with people who do and are therefore not subject to any disadvantage that might bring. In ED they are. A player who is able to engineer their ship can be instanced with another player who isn't able to engineer their ship. The player who spent £20 on Horizons has an advantage that the other player can only even out by paying £20. If they were instanced seperately, fine, but they're not, so it's pay to win.
Untrue IME - Both GW1 and GW2 expansions introduced new features that were exclusive to them and applicable to existing areas as well as old ones (even in common PvP areas).It is pay to win though. In other games, people who don't own expansions aren't instanced with people who do and are therefore not subject to any disadvantage that might bring.
Pretty innovative idea. Some people might want to non-exploitatively give/loan stuff to a friend, but it's not essential, and your system would work pretty well otherwise.Yes. It would have to be done carefully to avoid exploit though.
Do not let sellers choose a buyer. Items get auctioned for a set time that is set by the seller. Seller can also set a minimum price. Time has a minimum of 12 hours (no instant gratification). No option to end early or "buy it now" available. Anything a player can own should be auctionable: ships, materials, data, commodities. Once an item is up for auction it is no longer available to the seller (held in escrow). Auctions that fail to receive a bid are returned to the seller.
Odd – do you really mean to suggest that engineered ships are balanced with non-engineered ships, by din of their upgrade's disadvantages? I'd rebut that idea but... you can't possibly believe it, can you?In any case - the so called advantages of "combat related" engineering upgrades typically also come with disadvantages too (most upgrades involve some form of trade-off even at L5). The main balancing issues are with at least some of the randomised experimental benefits but FD have been trying to make sure all the benefits are not too OP and have nerfed/tweaked them at least a couple of times in the past year.
I am sorry, but while I may agree to a degree that the Horizons add-on is worth the investment I do disagree with the general stance that it is a pay to win situation. I kind of agree with the principle that Horizons and non-Horizons owners should perhaps be segregated but it not being the case is far from a clear Pay-to-win situation.
Go to first new post In your opinion, do you think this game needs a player market?
No
I would expect that the lack of a means of transferring materials / data between players is entirely deliberate and therefore Engineering requires each player to gather their own.
Player-to-player trading was discussed in the DDF:
.... so it is possible that it may happen, eventually.
I think it does. This game needs a credit sink in my opinion. Buying & selling engineering materials would surely be a good solution, no?
Apologies for the rant to follow but, after thinking about it a bit more, I need to get this out of my head.
When I said NPC's I could have been more specific; a lot more specific.
Galactic Materials Economy Model:
Legal framework:
All materials salvage is legal removing the need for black market interactions, lawful interdiction above the normal game requirements of system authorities and fines etc.
Valuation:
Values across the board could be kept very shallow and non-competitive. Turning over 20 shield emitters for a couple of credits each isn't going to unbalance the overall galactic economy game mechanic. It's just a way of offloading your excess.
Channel(s):
Channel is sell to market only. This prevents players buying into Engineers perks. If you want the mats you go search for 'em.
Framework(s):
1. Engineers (of course). As mentioned above perhaps percentage offsets of a few points against RNG rolls if you have excess materials to trade.
2. Commodities sub-market. Platforms, starports and landfalls. Values are small credit returns.
3. Faction missions. Donate 20 shield emitters to our war fleet program. Values are in Rep+ and Inf+
4. CG's. It is what it is. Faction is building a war fleet this week. Bring shield emitters quick! Civil war. Protect our borders etc.
5. Seeking Materials ships. Values are small credit returns.
6. Powerplay. Values returned are a small merits boost (against the weekly cycle).
7. Alien civilisation(?) All of the above with a translator?
Game mechanic:
Since the model uses and returns to the player very low values the overall impact of this mechanic may be a viable alternative to storage? Keeping materials flowing in and out of inventories means that harvesting them in space, or on the ground, never gets old.
If storage keep inventories "static" (except for Engineers usage) a rudimentary materials market place would "cycle" inventories a bit and create some inventory management choice that is not available with storage (storage being, in effect, an extended inventory).
I haven't yet reached the inventory limit but what happens then? I get my interstellar girlfriend to continually give me inventory full messages?
In saying all this I haven't even touched the Engineers so I don't know how this economic model affects the depth of that mechanic and the ongoing demand for materials works at all.
No IMO.Does the game need an expanded market system?