Please Defend The Materials Trader's Exchange Rates.

Stigbob

Stigbob
Exchange rates are fine.

Treat anything you have full storage of as disposable at whatever rate there is keeping 20 or so back just in case gets you most things you'll ever need. You'll also refill those mats very quickly which is why you have a full bay of them in the first place. No need to keep your bins full. Whenever you are fighting scoop a few bits and pieces whilst your shields recover, you'll always have a surplus of things like phase alloys.

If you need a specific G5 mat and you want to trade for it you need 6 x the number of another G5 to do it. Given how easy it is to locate any HGE's now its not difficult at all you don't even need to use the FSS just pop to the nav beacon. You'll get roughly enough for 2 or 3 at each HGE so you need about four HGE's to fully G5 something.
 

fus roh potato

fus roh potato
If the rates are too low:
  • High grade mats will be easily attainable by trading drops from combat and encoded sources.
  • HGE farming will become obsolete.
  • Base, megaship, and facility scanning will become obsolete.
  • Performing difficult missions will be unnecessary if not for good credit pay.

If the rates are too high:
  • HGE farming will be dominant, making encoded sources and combat scooping obsolete.
  • Ship scanning and encoded sources will become obsolete.
  • Basic synthesis will practically be free.
  • Slightly easier missions will become obsolete.

This is really the crux of not having balanced rates, that some activities will become more obsolete than others. In the case for current rates, I see a lot more consequence of rates being too high. The only problem I really have with this is that HGE farming is still not a fun or engaging activity, and missions like wing source and transport allow rapid acquirement of G5s. When two of the game's easiest activities, a single HGE signal or a few runs of source, can produce several hundred other mats, maybe this is a problem.
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
My only complaint is that there is no exchange between the types of mats- I have loads and loads of R5 manufactured 'I found honest guv' but get little time to rove about on the surface for exotic rocks. I know it breaks the need for different markets, but it would be nice to be able to do a deal.
 

Jukelo

Jukelo
The material trader's exchange rate needs no defending. The rates were set to an arbitrary value to fit the Devs' idea of how fast it should help you progress.
 

Riverside

Riverside
Ralph Vargr said:
I'm serious.

It will prove your superb debate skills.

I want to see if it goes as well for the defenders, as it will go for everyone who has defended what's gone on over the weekend, and letting the entire QA staff go for a week. :)
Click to expand...

Challenge accepted:

It's a sellers market.




Now I think the mat traders exchange rate is simplistic but it does work. So I'm only defending the current state for the sake of this thread's original intent as a mental exercise :)
 
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Aashenfox

Aashenfox
Trading down which is currently 3 to 1 should be 2 to 1 (yep, I think it could do with a nerf) and cross trading could do with a buff. 1 to 3 for neighbouring G5s and 1 to 5 for G5s separated by more than one row of the table.

I have no idea if this is a serious thread, but I think that would be a better way to distribute materials.
 

Brrokk

Brrokk
I think the rates are OK. The Traders are a way to get things you really need using stuff you have in plenty, and to make use of full storage. They punish conversion of materials repeatedly up and down the list and make sure it's not efficient to just gather one easy material and trade for all others.
 

-VR- Max Factor

-VR- Max Factor
Ralph Vargr said:
I'm serious.

It will prove your superb debate skills.

I want to see if it goes as well for the defenders, as it will go for everyone who has defended what's gone on over the weekend, and letting the entire QA staff go for a week. :)
Click to expand...

I am fine with the exchange rate. If you make it cheaper it becomes the default way to get rare materials. As it is it means you can exchange at a cost, but it maybe better to get them yourself. Anything that enhances your options instead of diminish them is good in my view.
 

MrFailfactory

MrFailfactory
The ratios are in multiples of 3 because that is how we obtain the materials.

Any other ratios would be less clean, and lead to situations of *almost* being able to make a trade or having leftover mats in useless quantities. No one likes how that tastes.

If anyone is going to suggest different ratios, please make sure that they are in multiples of 3. I would think that obvious, but it seems that is not the case.

Also be aware that narrowing the trade ratios affects them in both directions. I would prefer they leave it as is, to be honest.

Riôt
 

rrobes

R
I get what Ralph is saying, the rates are usurious, but like many things in this game, it is just part of the time sink that poses as game play.

As it is, this is one of the reasons that keeps my fleet to the same five ships for the last couple of years. They are all mostly engineered, I need to finish some modules but I can wait. I do the things I enjoy.

As far as holiday staffing, they've got a captive audience, if they go dark for a bit, it's not a critical need so they act accordingly. We can always play at another time. TBH, I was "discomfited" when the game failed to load a day or so ago but I got over it. It seemed that quite a few others were affected as well.
 

Ralph Vargr

Ralph Vargr
rrobes said:
I get what Ralph is saying, the rates are usurious, but like many things in this game, it is just part of the time sink that poses as game play.

As it is, this is one of the reasons that keeps my fleet to the same five ships for the last couple of years. They are all mostly engineered, I need to finish some modules but I can wait. I do the things I enjoy.

As far as holiday staffing, they've got a captive audience, if they go dark for a bit, it's not a critical need so they act accordingly. We can always play at another time. TBH, I was "discomfited" when the game failed to load a day or so ago but I got over it. It seemed that quite a few others were affected as well.
Click to expand...

Somebody finally understood.

Thank you, Sir.
 

CMDR Karrde Sun

CMDR Karrde Sun
Just like the rest of elite there are infinite ways of looking into the system but only one that is designed to be appealing.

If you change collecting materials to focusing on grade 5 and grade 4 materials the traders are brilliant. If you only work them out when you want the materials it comes across as being harshly punished for doing so.

Unlike exploration however, there is always an alternative to using them, hence criticism makes the voice look foolish rather than the feature.
 

rrobes

R
Phisto Sobanii said:
If it took four pages your original post didn't do a very good job now, did it?
Click to expand...

It may have been 4 pages, but if you distill out some of the derogatory comments that really weren't helpful it wouldn't be 4 pages.

As far as "Pharma" comment, they also have a captive audience, as in sick people that need medicine or they will die. "Pharma" companies have been known to price-gouge as people can't shop around (4.5K US for an Epi pen, which is now a a few hundred after 60 Minutes took them to task).
 
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