So.....that Tech Broker

[Winterwalker]

Well, the fact that there was at least ONE ( ) item in that list that wasn't a weapon makes me think it'll be a varied selection of goodies.

What I gathered was not all Tech Brokers are equal. The economy type where you find them apparently affects the type of tech they offer. Steve Kirby has posted about this (please don't ask me to find it) but the Tech Broker and Tech types already vary, and offer FD lots of options to vary them further in the future.

 

[S3B4ST13N]

What I gathered was not all Tech Brokers are equal. The economy type where you find them apparently affects the type of tech they offer. Steve Kirby has posted about this (please don't ask me to find it) but the Tech Broker and Tech types already vary, and offer FD lots of options to vary them further in the future.

I like it.

Looks some 3rd parties will need to update their sites.

 

[Winterwalker]

I like it.

Looks some 3rd parties will need to update their sites.

<shakes fist>

Hi,

Tech brokers are distributed based on system stats across human inhabited space.
In general terms they should appear in lawful, fairly high security and decently populated systems with certain economy types. I'm not going to go into more specifics as we want you to explore and find these guys.
The broker system can support different types of Tech Broker which would have some correlation to the economy they are available at and there would also be correlation between the type of broker and the blueprints they will offer.

I hope that answers your question

Thanks

Steve K

Hi Alec,

We have had lots of thoughts about new modules, however none I can share at the moment.

Thanks

Steve K

Hi,

Thanks for your question,

Selecting one item to unlock will not block you from buying any other item. We felt this would restrict players too much. You are free to unlock any and all items at your own pace.
That said unlocking certain items is linked to certain types of gameplay. What we showed yesterday was just a taster.
The best thing about the sytem is it is very expanable giving us and you plenty of flexibility.

At the moment the tech brokers have types which each have a pool of things they can offer. We decided on this approach to make the system as acccessible as possible with larger numbers of brokers in the galaxy rather than just X number in specific locations. But if we decide to we want to make unqiue specilist tech brokers in specific locations we can.

Thanks

Steve K

 

[S3B4ST13N]

Awesome.
Wish I knew how to make websites; I'd already get started on www.TechBork.com - unfortunately I have no idea what I'm doing there; so maybe I'll just write a small desktop app for myself until someone comes up with something better. xD

 

[Winterwalker]

Awesome.
Wish I knew how to make websites; I'd already get started on www.TechBork.com - unfortunately I have no idea what I'm doing there; so maybe I'll just write a small desktop app for myself until someone comes up with something better. xD

This could be your lucky day!

Hi,

Thanks for the question.

I can confirm that there will be a new By Services option in the Map view Configuration and you will be able to search for starport services including the tech brokers in the galaxy map with a 40LY radius of your current location (similar to the trade data system shown in the live stream) so that you can see where the nearest ones are to you as long as you have discovered them.

thanks

Steve K

note; disabled services won't be displayed, you'll need to check that by other means in game.

 

[S3B4ST13N]

This could be your lucky day!

Woo! [up]

 

[Commander Regel]

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Tech Broker. More gameplay choices are always good, assuming the balance is right.

I'm slightly confused about the comment that once unlocked, you can buy the same item at other Tech Brokers. This doesn't make sense to me.

One of the difficulties I have with ED is that the sheer size of the populated galaxy is so big that having meaningful points of reference is hard. Sure, there are a handful of major locations (Sol, Shinrarta, Merope etc.), but for most places, one system is the same as another.

If you were reliant on the same Tech Broker for an item, it would help create your own "personal narrative" by establishing your own little part of the galaxy as "home".

IMHO, ED needs more personalities in the game for players to build relationships with and the Tech Broker could be one of such example.

 

[Zeeman]

a narrative is just a collection of events that led to where you are. That's collection is summarized on the right panel and in the ship you're flying. All those stats and modules and upgrades are moved by things you do in the game. The personal narrative in Elite starts with the first spawn with 1000 credits and a Sidewinder. Every choice you made from that point became your narrative.

Now story is another thing...

I think some of us are remembering the original Elite. The mission that got you (if successful) the cloaking device, four eggs ample.. Remember, this is the 1980's, and it was a very interesting and exciting mission.

No, sure, you need to make adjustments to allow for the fact that this is a game with tens of thousands of participants, all int he same Universe (to one degree or another, anyway). Rather than

"Hey, yo, go getz me 30 dis, 20 dat, and 40 of the really rare this'n'that"...

It would be far more interesting if:

"Greetings, Commander, your reputation as an "insert rank here" "insert talent here" precedes you, and I have a personal request for you. One of my staff has stolen a "thingamajig", and I have heard rumours he was last seen headed to Pand. If you could track the traitor down, and return my Thingamajig, I'd be very greatful, and would also be willing ot offer you a small rewards"...

CMDR goes and finds said traiter by following hints from USS's/in station Galnet posts etc (much like an advanced version of "Where in the world is Carman San Diego", and then either steals/ land base assault/ pirates/ finds hidden on a planet thousands of lightyears from the bubble/bounty hunts (whatever skill the player happens to have the highest rank at when meeting said broker), then returns said thingamajig, to be rewarded with access to Teh Awesome™ Shock Cannon®!

A bit more entertaining than brain dead mats grinding for even more hours...

Mats farming can be fine for a small part of the process, but it shouldn't be the be all and end all, as it seems to be now.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect that it's easy. I'm not about to suggest they can do this with just a few lines of code, but the Dev's have achieved a lot, it takes hundreds, if not thousands of hours for people to get sick of the game for many. Adding more depth could possible double, even triple the lifespan for many, which means more sales in the shiny stuff store, and more profits for FD, more people participating in game, and more win for all.
Z...

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I think some of us are remembering the original Elite. The mission that got you (if successful) the cloaking device, four eggs ample.. Remember, this is the 1980's, and it was a very interesting and exciting mission.

No, sure, you need to make adjustments to allow for the fact that this is a game with tens of thousands of participants, all int he same Universe (to one degree or another, anyway). Rather than

"Hey, yo, go getz me 30 dis, 20 dat, and 40 of the really rare this'n'that"...

It would be far more interesting if:

"Greetings, Commander, your reputation as an "insert rank here" "insert talent here" precedes you, and I have a personal request for you. One of my staff has stolen a "thingamajig", and I have heard rumours he was last seen headed to Pand. If you could track the traitor down, and return my Thingamajig, I'd be very greatful, and would also be willing ot offer you a small rewards"...

CMDR goes and finds said traiter by following hints from USS's/in station Galnet posts etc (much like an advanced version of "Where in the world is Carman San Diego", and then either steals/ land base assault/ pirates/ finds hidden on a planet thousands of lightyears from the bubble/bounty hunts (whatever skill the player happens to have the highest rank at when meeting said broker), then returns said thingamajig, to be rewarded with access to Teh Awesome™ Shock Cannon®!

A bit more entertaining than brain dead mats grinding for even more hours...

Mats farming can be fine for a small part of the process, but it shouldn't be the be all and end all, as it seems to be now.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect that it's easy. I'm not about to suggest they can do this with just a few lines of code, but the Dev's have achieved a lot, it takes hundreds, if not thousands of hours for people to get sick of the game for many. Adding more depth could possible double, even triple the lifespan for many, which means more sales in the shiny stuff store, and more profits for FD, more people participating in game, and more win for all.
Z...

They have already stated that we will have to do specific gameplay to get open up specific items. While some will be material gathering some others I think will be tied to other forms of gameplay.

I think the best thing is to wait until beta/release to see how it works before jumping to conclusions.

 

[Ignition]

Grind is a choice. Don't like It, don't grind. There is tons of content, how you use it is your choice.

Sorry but there isn't tons of content because all "tons of content" revolves in doing the same few simplistic tasks.

For example to use this Tech Broker you need to collect materials. The problem is the material collection needs more gameplay, mechanics, ways to collect such materials. FD will implement a material trader but is the fastest and laziest way to address this.

The wave scanner was the only real new interactive gameplay we had since 2015 (in the whole game, not just planetary), all the content we have revolves in the same OLD stuff, there werent any NEW interesting interactions.

Beyond seems to address some of this issues but with little baby steps. I thought the update was going to be way bigger.

 

[Ignition]

You are getting pathetic yes I agree with that. There is lots of content. Just play the game. As to you repeating the same task again and again, that is your choice.

The problem is I cant blaze my own trail doing every single activity.

Thats the problem with this game, you need to do everything because you cant specialize in anything because the prefessions are very short.

The game needs to be more complex in all the core activities.

 

[Ignition]

Neither am I a white knight or Fdev disciple. I play the game in a way that makes it fun. If people choose to play the game in a way that makes it a boring grind that's on them and not the game. Sorry you struggle to understand such a simple thing. As to content, yes there is tons of content, what the game lacks are tools to experience and play with that content in a good way, which looks like it is very much changing this year.

I am not blind to EDs short comings. The new trade tools are superb and can't wait to play with that. I am sure the new mining and exploration tools will be just as good.

Combat already has enough tools, so what combat needs is more fleshed out combat scenarios, like better combat zones and the awful res sites which I hate with a passion.

Does that answer your question.

I agree with you. But still as I said above, you need to do everuything in this game to feel you did something beause the core activities are way to short and simple.

 

[nigeljk]

What might be nice is if some of the new 'characters' (e.g. Tech Broker) could be attainable by players.

 

[Martian Successor]

I think some of us are remembering the original Elite. The mission that got you (if successful) the cloaking device, four eggs ample.. Remember, this is the 1980's, and it was a very interesting and exciting mission.

No, sure, you need to make adjustments to allow for the fact that this is a game with tens of thousands of participants, all int he same Universe (to one degree or another, anyway). Rather than

"Hey, yo, go getz me 30 dis, 20 dat, and 40 of the really rare this'n'that"...

It would be far more interesting if:

"Greetings, Commander, your reputation as an "insert rank here" "insert talent here" precedes you, and I have a personal request for you. One of my staff has stolen a "thingamajig", and I have heard rumours he was last seen headed to Pand. If you could track the traitor down, and return my Thingamajig, I'd be very greatful, and would also be willing ot offer you a small rewards"...

CMDR goes and finds said traiter by following hints from USS's/in station Galnet posts etc (much like an advanced version of "Where in the world is Carman San Diego", and then either steals/ land base assault/ pirates/ finds hidden on a planet thousands of lightyears from the bubble/bounty hunts (whatever skill the player happens to have the highest rank at when meeting said broker), then returns said thingamajig, to be rewarded with access to Teh Awesome™ Shock Cannon®!

A bit more entertaining than brain dead mats grinding for even more hours...

Mats farming can be fine for a small part of the process, but it shouldn't be the be all and end all, as it seems to be now.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect that it's easy. I'm not about to suggest they can do this with just a few lines of code, but the Dev's have achieved a lot, it takes hundreds, if not thousands of hours for people to get sick of the game for many. Adding more depth could possible double, even triple the lifespan for many, which means more sales in the shiny stuff store, and more profits for FD, more people participating in game, and more win for all.
Z...

That sounds really cool and is what I see when I read "personal narrative". I feel that FD certainly try to give us cool things but their predilection for seeing everything through a single one size fits all lense of "do the same task repeatedly" really gets in the way of their ability to make genuinley compelling gameplay. It's like FD has a self imposed mental block which severally limits their creativity when it comes to the implementation stage.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

A flechette is quite an unpleasant weapon, designed to do penetrative damage using small projectiles. A remote release flechette probably allows the player to fire off the munition and detonate it when they wish, releasing flechettes to do damage.

Unpleasant is a very mild word for it.

These are small flechettes. They are mainly used in artillery rounds, and are devastating against soft targets. They are also available in even smaller, 12-gauge shells. Aside from making one heck of a mess out of pumpkins, I've never found a terribly practical use for them. In the form of military artillery or tank shells however, they have a tremendous area of effect, though they have been subject of a great deal of criticism due to their very indiscriminate nature.

Enough of the horrible what-is-it though... as for Elite, I'm thinking these will function similar to Remote Flak, but more effective against human targets, not so against Thargoids - sort of a nail-bomb launcher.

 

[Faded Glory]

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect that it's easy. I'm not about to suggest they can do this with just a few lines of code, but the Dev's have achieved a lot, it takes hundreds, if not thousands of hours for people to get sick of the game for many. Adding more depth could possible double, even triple the lifespan for many, which means more sales in the shiny stuff store, and more profits for FD, more people participating in game, and more win for all.
Z...

I also imagined 'personal narrative' meant there might be a 'story' associated with opening up tech broker products, but the way Ed has since described it I think they just mean that tech will be unlocked individually rather than by community effort.

That said, while of course we armchair warriors have no idea how difficult stuff is to implement it would seem to me that there are already a number of things in the game that could be used to create an extended timeline set of variable missions that could be used to unlock things, even if the ultimate currency are mats / data / commodities.

Tip-offs. Currently, these diversions are often dismissed because they don't really lead to anything of interest. They could now be used to guide the player to something they need for a particular bit of tech. (Stays in your inbox 30 days.)

Inbox delivered missions. Just standard missions, again probably not often engaged in now because again, they don't do anything that a standard mission doesn't do, they don't generally pay terribly well, and often they pop up at an inconvenient time. They could now be little missions that again have rewards that we are looking for. (Stays in your inbox 30 days.)

Chained missions. The closest we seem to have to a story currently in the game. Stays on a mission board 7 days.)

All of these devices could, it would seem to me be used to guide players to some or all of the resources they need. Go to a broker, select something you are interested in, the game now knows what you need, so could start to spawn missions / tip-offs that lead you to places where you can acquire things.

Missions would obviously be random, and if one has an aversion to a particular type of mission, in a similar way that rank advancement ones work, simply decline it and a different type of mission could spawn (so instead of pirating a ship, you can do a salvage or mining mission for example). Mission timers start when you accept a mission. Seven to 30 days gives players plenty of time to get the correct ship / equipment to do a particular job and the flexibility to fit them in with real life. Finishing one mission would trigger the next mission to spawn within 24 hours.

This is what I heard when I heard personal narrative... They have said that we will be expected to do different activities to unlock items, but that is true also for engineers, and I just feel it would be an opportunity missed if the way to unlock tech is the same idea as the way we unlock engineers and upgrade modules.

 

[MadDogMurdock]

To be honest this seems like a similar approach to a 'new feature' as the wing missions compared to missions.
Create a parallel system to an existing one and claim it as exciting new content, leaving us with multiple partially developed features.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Hi
So is this instead of the side effects of engineer weapons.... Will we be able to engineer the tech stuff?.

Thanks

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Hi
So is this instead of the side effects of engineer weapons.... Will we be able to engineer the tech stuff?.

Thanks

No I don't think so. It's something not related to engineers and have no real idea how it works. Everyone on here seems to have tried it allready as they seem to already know what it's like though.

 

[Zeeman]

They have already stated that we will have to do specific gameplay to get open up specific items. While some will be material gathering some others I think will be tied to other forms of gameplay.

I think the best thing is to wait until beta/release to see how it works before jumping to conclusions.

I agree, we have not seen it yet, however, what we did see, was again, 30 of some mat, 24 of another, and 40 of yet another. Not incredibly confidence inspiring. Anyway, I will hold out hope, and I do feel that FD have come to realise they need to work on the base game and get some of the place holders sorted out. This was pretty clear from the first snippets of info about Beyond.

Also, remember that my thoughts are coming from a known historical context, not the unknown future. I would think release is the best time to judge though, Beta is still a fine tuning stage.

Z...