I'm not sure - I know it will be tuned as the beta goes on. One thing I do know is that the price of ships at the moment is a LOT lower than they will be in release as the idea is it takes a while to upgrade to another ship and you need to work for it so that it feels like an achievement.
Will it always be this easy to earn money in game?
- Thread starter Obsidian Ant
- Start date
I'm not sure - I know it will be tuned as the beta goes on. One thing I do know is that the price of ships at the moment is a LOT lower than they will be in release as the idea is it takes a while to upgrade to another ship and you need to work for it so that it feels like an achievement.
Not sure how much input those with DDF access have in the moulding of the game, but I have concerns that those who will naturally find the game way too easy (after having had a LOT of access and practice from alpha stage) will steer it in a direction that's too much about suiting them, as opposed to the masses who will be purchasing the game on main released.
And before any of the neckbeards start shouting 'COD generation' at me, I've got over 30 years' worth of gaming experience, and in all that time one of the biggest turn-offs has been a vertical learning curve. I have never ever known such a game to be sustainable outside a core fan base.
And before any of the neckbeards start shouting 'COD generation' at me, I've got over 30 years' worth of gaming experience, and in all that time one of the biggest turn-offs has been a vertical learning curve. I have never ever known such a game to be sustainable outside a core fan base.
FD basically propose some ideas, we kick them around in a discussion and see if we can add anything or poke holes in them etc But FD will then decide what happens, they have the final opinion and say on the proposal. If the entire DDF were to react badly to an initial proposal then FD may reconsider (e.g. the initial travelling proposal that turned into Supercruise) but generally they only need to tweak things here and there.
If you want to get a taste of the discussions etc. They are all posted in the archive, see links in my sig.
As for what I think.. there will be severe initial ships that a new pilot can get into easily and then the other, better ships will cost a lot more.
The idea will be that Commanders can buy better modules and upgrade their ships, reconfigure them for a purpose that they want - e.g. less cargo space, more fuel space for an explorer. etc. The ships are just base starting points and can be made what the commander wants them to be.
So when a player/commander does finally upgrade to a whole new ship type it will be a major thing. And players can have more than one ship in final release, but you can only fly one at a time.
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As I understand it, there will be some really cool ships that you will only be able to get if you attain sufficient rank with the federation or imperial military.
Also you can't become elite without making kills
So trading is just how you pay the bills, not a main objective of the game. In that light I don't think it needs much balancing - just better combat missions.
Also you can't become elite without making kills
So trading is just how you pay the bills, not a main objective of the game. In that light I don't think it needs much balancing - just better combat missions.
Trading breaks the game's MP balance structure... essentially the entire mechanism as its currently designed will always mean that you earn more money the more money you have.
Problem with this is that the game becomes easier the more you play, rather than providing players with consistent challenge to test their mastery.
Add to that the lack of general game structure - a defined starting point (pick up this mission to start your combat career, pick up this mission to start your trader career, etc), and the problems of the inverted difficulty curve are exacerbated such that one you pass the inflection point of your first couple trader ships, the game just stops presenting significant novel challenges.
Except for maybe actually trying to dock the larger ships.
As the post above mentions - gating access to services and goods based on ranking is a decent way of building up difficulty, value and meaning beyond just making things more expensive.
e.g. Viper only accessible to pilots that have achieved a competent status... or trading licenses to this system is only provided once you have acquired X trader status (built up through trader missions at a faster rate than simple normal trading).
Problem with this is that the game becomes easier the more you play, rather than providing players with consistent challenge to test their mastery.
Add to that the lack of general game structure - a defined starting point (pick up this mission to start your combat career, pick up this mission to start your trader career, etc), and the problems of the inverted difficulty curve are exacerbated such that one you pass the inflection point of your first couple trader ships, the game just stops presenting significant novel challenges.
Except for maybe actually trying to dock the larger ships.
As the post above mentions - gating access to services and goods based on ranking is a decent way of building up difficulty, value and meaning beyond just making things more expensive.
e.g. Viper only accessible to pilots that have achieved a competent status... or trading licenses to this system is only provided once you have acquired X trader status (built up through trader missions at a faster rate than simple normal trading).
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Honestly, the only way I can see to keep this game indefinitely interesting on the trading-exclusive front are......
Leaderboards. Leagues and Leaderboards.
Similar to....(wait for it)
....
Clash of Clans.
Seriously
If they can implement leagues and leaderboards without injecting "Pay to Win" elements *coughgemscough*, I could see a large amount of players continuing on with their trading careers just to progress through the bronze, silver, gold leagues etc., fighting off pirates and reaching into the deep unknown to bring back that precious commodity that shoots them up the leaderboards.
Wouldn't hurt to do something similar for cargo stolen (pirates), pirate kills (bounty hunters), and light years traveled (explorers). The leaders would be real life Jack Sparrows/Van Helsing/ Dora the Explorers.
Alright, bed time.
Leaderboards. Leagues and Leaderboards.
Similar to....(wait for it)
....
Clash of Clans.
Seriously
If they can implement leagues and leaderboards without injecting "Pay to Win" elements *coughgemscough*, I could see a large amount of players continuing on with their trading careers just to progress through the bronze, silver, gold leagues etc., fighting off pirates and reaching into the deep unknown to bring back that precious commodity that shoots them up the leaderboards.
Wouldn't hurt to do something similar for cargo stolen (pirates), pirate kills (bounty hunters), and light years traveled (explorers). The leaders would be real life Jack Sparrows/Van Helsing/ Dora the Explorers.
Alright, bed time.
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Gen-Han-Solo
Banned
God lets hope they make it a little Dangerous at the moment although the game is looking fantastic, they have made it way way to easy the best way to earn cash fast is to get rid of all guns don't get any upgrades and just do high speed trade runs.
Gen-Han-Solo
Banned
WOW there is a leader board you are aiming to be come ELITE and you start from HARMLESS.
It should take a lot of hard work to become ELITE though at the moment it is very EASY.
Lugalbandak
Banned
you got something too for the guys who want silk in their ass(virtual) and golden content fed spoon?
Every Elite game has been about the trade grind. Yes combat (piracy, bounty hunting, whatever) may be more enjoyable, but the need to trade to generate the big cash still underpins everything.
In the second and third games you ground up the ship ladder, with each step up providing an exponential increase in wealth, so by the time you had an Anaconda, or Panther, you were just printing money. And every time I played, I eventually got bored of the big ships and the trade runs, sold up, bought an Asp or Imperial Courier, then buggered off to sight see. I don't see my behaviour in E: D being any different.
You've got the choice - be the entrepreneur and become the Richard Branson of the spaceways, or go the combat route, though, like the real world I'd imagine the average age and wealth of the entrepreneur is going to greater than the average age and wealth of your average mercenary.
In the second and third games you ground up the ship ladder, with each step up providing an exponential increase in wealth, so by the time you had an Anaconda, or Panther, you were just printing money. And every time I played, I eventually got bored of the big ships and the trade runs, sold up, bought an Asp or Imperial Courier, then buggered off to sight see. I don't see my behaviour in E: D being any different.
You've got the choice - be the entrepreneur and become the Richard Branson of the spaceways, or go the combat route, though, like the real world I'd imagine the average age and wealth of the entrepreneur is going to greater than the average age and wealth of your average mercenary.
balance
what most people want is to have the game the exact way they want it . Thats not going to happen. It should appeall to the maximum number of people . There are some features you will not like which most will . if you want to make it more difficult just trade cargo with low profit margins in dangerous system.Do you want to make 1% profit per trade run do you want to be ambushed by pirates 50% Of the time .The game has to be blanced what you find easy others may find hard
what most people want is to have the game the exact way they want it . Thats not going to happen. It should appeall to the maximum number of people . There are some features you will not like which most will . if you want to make it more difficult just trade cargo with low profit margins in dangerous system.Do you want to make 1% profit per trade run do you want to be ambushed by pirates 50% Of the time .The game has to be blanced what you find easy others may find hard
Don't you DARE suggest this is like any other MMO.
the thing for me that differntiates E: D from other MMO's? I enjoy it.
It's great on the Beta that we get to make money easier so that we can try out all the ships, hopefully it won't be so easy on release.
One concern I do have is that players are using the same trade runs to amass wealth but surely the prices should fluctuate if it is a dynamic market and the profit opportunity from each run should eventually shrink???
One concern I do have is that players are using the same trade runs to amass wealth but surely the prices should fluctuate if it is a dynamic market and the profit opportunity from each run should eventually shrink???
Lugalbandak
Banned
yeah thats in the make amongst other things
as we all start in a sidey where we have to grind because of space for cargo
how about having a cheapo u haul trailer option so if we find a route we can lets say double our cargo space so we can carry more if we get shot down we lose the lot but we would anyway
if this was only available on the sidey the newbies once the earned enough can buy a bigger ship
just my 2 p worth
dave
how about having a cheapo u haul trailer option so if we find a route we can lets say double our cargo space so we can carry more if we get shot down we lose the lot but we would anyway
if this was only available on the sidey the newbies once the earned enough can buy a bigger ship
just my 2 p worth
dave