Please reconsider fleet carriers for solo players.

[sandkid]

I buy that for a dollar. Or an Arx.. or a billion credits!

I have long advocated for a personal (commander-specific) carrier for a handful of ships (2 larges, 4 mediums, 4 smalls?). As much as I'd like it to have megaship jump range, I'd be ok if it didn't. I just want a means to easily relocate my favorite ships - at a cost of actual gameplay (getting materials or hauling fuel back and forth) rather than wasting credits, which also only gets you to existing stations...not very useful in the black.

I suppose the 'real' reason for a solo-usable carrier (for me) is that Elite just, in general, lacks ways for me to define...well, me! There isn't much in the way of personal narrative building. If you've seen on Beluga Liner you've seen them all - you can't hardly see decals or paintjobs at distance, and the instability of multiple players in an instance makes the social aspects of the game less than desirable. Folks hate seeing comparisons between No Man's Sky and Elite (the two are nothing alike), but there are features of NMS that would greatly benefit Elite...and vice versa. Long have we in the NMS community longed for better flight controls...but let's be honest, NMS was never designed to be a flight simulator just like Elite was never built to be a base builder.

That said, bringing 'base building' like features - even just single-commander mini-carriers for fleet mobilization and maintenance, in the black or just in your favorite corner of the bubble, is very doable and would add great depth to the game. So, I agree with the crowd that wants carrier availability (or some minor form of it) for solo commanders. Not because I don't want to join a squadron, but because I genuinely believe it would be a great addition for all players.

 

[Captain Willard]

I fly solo and some pg and after reading all these posts. I still see zero reasons for solo to own a carrier, while I see many reasons for FD to have them for MP and squadrons only.
Please don't bring up for explorers, that's just a joke.

 

[dxm55]

Please don't bring up for explorers, that's just a joke.

I know right?

If they really wanted to go exploring, I'm really not sure why they would want to bring 10 of their other short range ships along.
All they needed was that 60LY range ASP Explorer right?

Why bring the fully kitted and armored 12LY Mamba to the edge of the Bubble? ROFLMAO......
I mean, other than the strawberry snowflake reply of "Because I want to".

 

[Han Zulu]

I know right?

If they really wanted to go exploring, I'm really not sure why they would want to bring 10 of their other short range ships along.
All they needed was that 60LY range ASP Explorer right?

Why bring the fully kitted and armored 12LY Mamba to the edge of the Bubble? ROFLMAO......
I mean, other than the strawberry snowflake reply of "Because I want to".

I guess you missed Distant World 2 expedition. During it, a bunch of "griefers" wanted to take fully kitted PvP ships along the way. They would've love being able to do it with the help of a carrier. There were some 1000+ explorers killed.

The same would go for deep space exploration to bring combat ships to defend against the same griefers. You know there's been incidents of explorers being attacked far, far, far away from the bubble? (In all fun of course)

Also, it would be useful for deep space mining, if you can store or sell the minerals on the carrier. That's not exploration of course, but still, some explorers would like to be able to do it during the trip.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Well, since they are not squadron carriers, but fleet carriers, and lots of players have fleets, then what you should have to do to get one should not (presumably) involve joining a squadron.

The have already said they are for squadrons when they originally introduced them. To think otherwise will likely lead to disappointment. Their name is irrelevant, it's their purpose that is. My understanding is that they will be a mobile guild/squadron house which will require multiple commanders.

Sure that premise may have changed, but I have not heard or seen anything that says it has. Best to think the original plan is what they intend to avoid disappointment.

 

[Captain Willard]

And if you are in a squadron. You only get to bring one ship.
As for exploring, if you can jump 1000ly per tick. You're a month away from colonia.
Good luck exploring with a mobile home being towed, doing nothing but fueling it up.

 

[Tikanderoga]

I know right?

If they really wanted to go exploring, I'm really not sure why they would want to bring 10 of their other short range ships along.
All they needed was that 60LY range ASP Explorer right?

Why bring the fully kitted and armored 12LY Mamba to the edge of the Bubble? ROFLMAO......
I mean, other than the strawberry snowflake reply of "Because I want to".

Because blaze your own trail?

What if you find a nice planet you would want to do some canyon racing? But you are 15k LY away from your 12LY Mamba that was fitted just for this purpose. So why not have your micro-carrier jump closeby somewhere and you can take your mamba here for a run?

Because personal narrative and because blaze your own trail.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

The have already said they are for squadrons when they originally introduced them. To think otherwise will likely lead to disappointment. Their name is irrelevant, it's their purpose that is. My understanding is that they will be a mobile guild/squadron house which will require multiple commanders.

Sure that premise may have changed, but I have not heard or seen anything that says it has. Best to think the original plan is what they intend to avoid disappointment.

While you're absolutely right, given what happened with the last issue, we know for a fact once frontier have announced it, its too late. There's no 'listening to community feedback' b s. Its locked in, fixed and probably mostly finished implementation.

By speaking up now, before they've come out to promote it and with 6 months before they've committed to releasing the feature.. this is the only realistic chance to feedback for an outcome which might not be disappointment.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

While you're absolutely right, given what happened with the last issue, we know for a fact once frontier have announced it, its too late. There's no 'listening to community feedback' b s. Its locked in, fixed and probably mostly finished implementation.

By speaking up now, before they've come out to promote it and with 6 months before they've committed to releasing the feature.. this is the only realistic chance to feedback for an outcome which might not be disappointment.

The basic mechanic is fixed yes. But they have acted in feedback to make that mechanic better. And my reply was directed at a specific reply. I understand what you are saying, but I would hazard a guess that six months is not enough time for them to completely change how fleet carriers work and their main use. Feedback should be there to change the little bits to make that mechanic better, like they did with the FSS.

Feedback is not there to make the game you personally want. It's there to make the mechanics Fdev introduce better. That's how it works.

 

[Captain Willard]

By speaking up now, before they've come out to promote it and with 6 months before they've committed to releasing the feature.. this is the only realistic chance to feedback for an outcome which might not be disappointment.

FD delayed it once how long ago?
Thinking FD will change it's course now is just wishful thinking.
FD is in the polishing stages now. No more changes to be made.
Hopefully not any community changes.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

The basic mechanic is fixed yes. But they have acted in feedback to make that mechanic better. And my reply was directed at a specific reply. I understand what you are saying, but I would hazard a guess that six months is not enough time for them to completely change how fleet carriers work and their main use. Feedback should be there to change the little bits to make that mechanic better, like they did with the FSS.

Feedback is not there to make the game you personally want. It's there to make the mechanics Fdev introduce better. That's how it works.

Yes it is. What are you doing by disagreeing with everyone elses feedback.. The point is though thats not your decision, or mine, its Frontiers. That's the concept of feedback. There is nothing more here than an opportunity for frontier to make people happy.

I disagree with needing change. All they would have to do is add another one in the appropriate way. I don't think any solo player is going to complain about not getting the huge one from the trailer. The panther clipper though is a different story, heheh.

 

[dxm55]

The same would go for deep space exploration to bring combat ships to defend against the same griefers. You know there's been incidents of explorers being attacked far, far, far away from the bubble? (In all fun of course)

Also, it would be useful for deep space mining, if you can store or sell the minerals on the carrier. That's not exploration of course, but still, some explorers would like to be able to do it during the trip.

In short.... "Because I want to..."
Nevermind if it was meant for a different purpose or target audience.

 

[Robert Maynard]

The have already said they are for squadrons when they originally introduced them.

..... and every Squadron necessarily starts with a single member.

.... and a multi-CMDR Squadron may only consist of one player.

To think otherwise will likely lead to disappointment.

Any player (subject to owning Horizons?) can create a Squadron - for a mere 10M Cr.

Their name is irrelevant, it's their purpose that is.

What is their stated purpose?

My understanding is that they will be a mobile guild/squadron house which will require multiple commanders.

Other opinions vary.

Sure that premise may have changed, but I have not heard or seen anything that says it has. Best to think the original plan is what they intend to avoid disappointment.

The premise isn't particularly clear to begin with - given the lack of detail from Frontier.

 

[dxm55]

Because blaze your own trail?

What if you find a nice planet you would want to do some canyon racing? But you are 15k LY away from your 12LY Mamba that was fitted just for this purpose. So why not have your micro-carrier jump closeby somewhere and you can take your mamba here for a run?

Because personal narrative and because blaze your own trail.

I don't know... because perhaps the carrier was first pitched for Squadrons? And that it was a feature meant to incentivize players to get together and play as a group?

And because if it was given freely to anyone, it would defeat its original intended design or purpose as a feature in the first place?

Because we can still blaze our own trail with our own single ship out there?

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Yes it is. What are you doing by disagreeing with everyone elses feedback.. The point is though thats not your decision, or mine, its Frontiers. That's the concept of feedback. There is nothing more here than an opportunity for frontier to make people happy.

I disagree with needing change. All they would have to do is add another one in the appropriate way. I don't think any solo player is going to complain about not getting the huge one from the trailer. The panther clipper though is a different story, heheh.

I disagree for a multitude of reasons why I don't want massive personal fleet carriersfor solo players. Much smaller carriers that can hold a few ships, thats fine. But not whole fleets. There is a difference. I have voiced this opinion multiple times, but for some bizarre reason, you ignore it.

Personal carrier: yes
Fleet Carrier: no

What we are getting in December looks like fleet carriers. Don't expect personal carriers. Maybe in the future as I think ty December update is too close for them to do all the 3D modelling etc. Look at how long it takes to build a single ship.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

..... and every Squadron necessarily starts with a single member.

I never said otherwise.

.... and a multi-CMDR Squadron may only consist of one player.

I never said otherwise.

Any player (subject to owning Horizons?) can create a Squadron - for a mere 10M Cr.

I never said otherwise.

What is their stated purpose?
Other opinions vary.

I'm just going by what Fdev have said in the past. Interperate it as moveable guild houses with some kind of utility.

The premise isn't particularly clear to begin with - given the lack of detail from Frontier.

There has already been a lot of detail but that was about a year ago. I except things may change, but to expect them to leads to disappointment.

 

[Robert Maynard]

I'm just going by what Fdev have said in the past. Interperate it as moveable guild houses with some kind of utility.

There has already been a lot of detail but that was about a year ago. I except things may change, but to expect them to leads to disappointment.

I must have missed the "lot of detail" - as we don't even know what services the Carrier will offer.

There's certainly been a lot of assumption making and theory crafting in the information vacuum though....

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I must have missed the "lot of detail" - as we don't even know what services the Carrier will offer.

There's certainly been a lot of assumption making and theory crafting in the information vacuum though....

They have said from the very beginning that they are for squadrons only and they mentioned that there will need to be a set amount of squadron members to get one. That is what they have said. Obviously it may change, but I don't expect it to.

That is not assumption, that is exactly what was said around a year ago. They also mentioned needing to get enough of a type of material to get it to jump.

Of course, that may have changed as that was a year ago. But don't expect it to.

 

[Robert Maynard]

They have said from the very beginning that they are for squadrons only and they mentioned that there will need to be a set amount of squadron members to get one. That is what they have said. Obviously it may change, but I don't expect it to.

That is not assumption, that is exactly what was said around a year ago. They also mentioned needing to get enough of a type of material to get it to jump.

Of course, that may have changed as that was a year ago. But don't expect it to.

Oh - I remember that bit - apart from "material to get it to jump".

Squadrons only = 10m Cr entry fee (probably plus owning Horizons).

Set number of Squadron members = create as many altCMDRs as required on console for free (or purchase more copies of the game in the sales on PC).

AdamBW indicated that the Carrier would require "resources" to be able to make a jump - which may be materials, of course, however it may be hydrogen fuel - or some combination of both. We don't yet know though.

 

[babelfisch]

In my experience with police departments and trucking companies, the vehicles are collectively referred to as a fleet, regardless of how many are in operation at the same time. I think your analogy isnt very accurate. A car collector might have a "collection" of special vehicles. However I feel "fleet" would more apply to vehicles used for work or some function. My ships are working ships, and thus a fleet that needs carrying

I am pretty sure that Frontier isn't referring to car collectors when they say fleet though. There are several definitions of the term and I'd say we go with the one that is most likely.

That's a fleet:

And that's a fleet as well:

But they aren't the same thing. Why does a German guy always need to explain your language (even though he admittedly sucks at it)?