Suggestion: (Tech Broker) Advanced FSD- Explorer's badge of honour!

[Jaylem]

Introduction:

In terms of ongoing content, Elite is pretty much endless, with gameplay/ game quality ultimately up to the player to figure out for themselves. while this is certainly an exiting and wonderous feat, there (I imagine) are players like me who have done pretty much everything content wise the game has to offer. it is at this point that grind is more essential as it occupies players and gives them a goal to strive towards. for this suggestion I would like to put forward the idea of extremally time demanding and challenging modules that reward players for their efforts. something that they can not only use themselves for any future content, but also use as a memento of their efforts. The first of these suggestions is the Advanced FSD.

Suggestion:

-A new item is available at Human Tech Brokers, The Advanced FSD.

- A HUGE amount of new data materials is added to the game, in fact for just about every unique type of Stellar objects of interest ( Braintree data, Bark Mounds, Barnacles, Void hearts, ALL space organisms, crystalline structures, Anomalies and so on...…) This unique data will be essential for this module. (data is also a bit more simple than tissue samples as it is not commodity restricted so people don't have to travel around looking for research probe controllers for sale, or worry about loosing all cargo if somehow they are destroyed)

-Beagle Point also will have a beacon that will provide data is scanned, this data will be essential to unlocking the module as well.

-To Unlock this module, players will have to acquire a single data sample with the composition scanner (which will now provide data) for EACH Stellar object of interest...and there will be MANY. Forcing players to go out there and explore!!

-The Module itself is worth the effort, with +50% performance overall over it's basic predecessor, this includes charge rate too (so you will not only jump further, but faster as well) and a slight reduction in weight as a cherry on top. this is one sophisticated bit of hardware. but the catch is that it will take players a very long time to get. And given it's requirements this is not exactly a huge gamebreaker.

-This module takes on same traits as regular FSD, it can be engineered as well as being FSD booster applicable (otherwise this thing would be another junk asset like the 'advanced' Multi-cannon.... "junk" was perhaps even too kind of a word it.

Conclusion:

In order to occupy players we need greater challenges for as many fields as possible (not just Thargoid combat as the only real challenge out there) it is for this reason I suggest this new concept of time consuming and effort based gameplay to reward players and occupy them until more content is added.

 

[MK Regular]

It's certainly an interesting idea. I agree that more end-game challenges should be added to the game, especially for non-combat playstyles.

The module you propose is basically the embodiment of power creep, but if the unlock requirement are as high as I think they are, it may actually be warranted.

I have played around with the idea of adding improved FSDs to the game, but the focus was on increasing the range of smaller ships to make them competitive with the current top-jump range ships. The current iteration of the idea has a ~20% range increase (before engineers or FSD boosters) with a few drawbacks, and the FSD only being available for sizes 2, 3 and 4. Again, I was attempting to introduce new modules for a different purpose.

Could you expand on the exact requirements to earn the FSD you are proposing? While there will be some people who will oppose the increased FSD range on principle, I suspect that the exact unlock requirements will make or break the idea for many people.

 

[Jaylem]

It's certainly an interesting idea. I agree that more end-game challenges should be added to the game, especially for non-combat playstyles.

The module you propose is basically the embodiment of power creep, but if the unlock requirement are as high as I think they are, it may actually be warranted.

I have played around with the idea of adding improved FSDs to the game, but the focus was on increasing the range of smaller ships to make them competitive with the current top-jump range ships. The current iteration of the idea has a ~20% range increase (before engineers or FSD boosters) with a few drawbacks, and the FSD only being available for sizes 2, 3 and 4. Again, I was attempting to introduce new modules for a different purpose.

Could you expand on the exact requirements to earn the FSD you are proposing? While there will be some people who will oppose the increased FSD range on principle, I suspect that the exact unlock requirements will make or break the idea for many people.

Ah yes, I too wanted to avoid the power creep, the game is fine now in terms of jump range . however considering I only intended this module to be endgame content (or super time consuming to get) I believe it can be justified a bit more. while the new traits are certainly potent, for someone who has completed the criteria it will suffice as a decent reward (a +20-30% boost would be touching on the "is this really worth my time" mark ) because at present there is a LOT of super redundant and useless modules for Tech brokers.

The criteria I would like to see would be extensive, while Beagle Point is a requirement it is but one of many (hence the unique data provided at the beacon I suggested ) there may also be a number of other unique points that provide new data like Sagittarius A for example. but on top of this players will also have to scan a large range of objects and organisms to provide data, I am thinking almost a Noah's Ark type deal with every existing unique object ( within reason) being required, so everything from Void Hearts, Space organisms found in LaGrange clouds (and as an option to make the challenge EVEN harder, perhaps even all their sub species!!!) surface organisms ( Bark mounds, tube worms, brain trees etc, with a Thargoid Barnacle thrown in ) and non organic anomalies such as crystalline structures and energetic 'Anomalies' found in LaGrange clouds too!
As an option too Geological sites may also provide the new data to unlock this module.

So as you can see, the requirements could very numerous! and even more numerous than that!

My main 'dream' with this is that by the end, players can safely say they have seen almost all the best Elite has to offer to explore, providing them with the biggest adventure yet as well as a nice final reward that remains the best of it's kind forever (would be sad for Fdev to add somethin like this and then 5 years later add a better one for everyone to use ) this means after this adventure players will still be able to use the Advanced FSD for any and all future content to come

 

[MK Regular]

The criteria I would like to see would be extensive, while Beagle Point is a requirement it is but one of many (hence the unique data provided at the beacon I suggested ) there may also be a number of other unique points that provide new data like Sagittarius A for example. but on top of this players will also have to scan a large range of objects and organisms to provide data, I am thinking almost a Noah's Ark type deal with every existing unique object ( within reason) being required, so everything from Void Hearts, Space organisms found in LaGrange clouds (and as an option to make the challenge EVEN harder, perhaps even all their sub species!!!) surface organisms ( Bark mounds, tube worms, brain trees etc, with a Thargoid Barnacle thrown in ) and non organic anomalies such as crystalline structures and energetic 'Anomalies' found in LaGrange clouds too!
As an option too Geological sites may also provide the new data to unlock this module.

So as you can see, the requirements could very numerous! and even more numerous than that!

So, literally, "find one of everything in the codex" and visit some notable exploration locations. That's what I thought you were trying to communicate, although I certainly hope that the "find one of everything in the codex" isn't actually "find one of everything in the codex in every region it exists in" which would increase the KNOWN requirements by a factor of 30-40 or so (there are probably a few codex entries for particularly rare stellar bodies that are still missing in some regions).

One thing I may suggest though would be to change the unlock requirements from data to having the tech broker unlock read directly from the commander's Codex and tourist beacon entries. It may be easier to do this than to add a new data type for every type of planet, star, stellar phenomena, biological life, geological phenomena etc.... It would probably also make the unlock screen look better with only a few items listed (Find one of every codex entry, scan the tourist beacon at Beagle Point, etc...) rather than a list of 100+ data types.

My main 'dream' with this is that by the end, players can safely say they have seen almost all the best Elite has to offer to explore, providing them with the biggest adventure yet as well as a nice final reward that remains the best of it's kind forever (would be sad for Fdev to add somethin like this and then 5 years later add a better one for everyone to use ) this means after this adventure players will still be able to use the Advanced FSD for any and all future content to come

I can certainly agree with this. I also agree that it would be rather unfortunate if FDev were to add this to the game and then add a new module that made it obsolete in a few years' time.

Ah yes, I too wanted to avoid the power creep, the game is fine now in terms of jump range . however considering I only intended this module to be endgame content (or super time consuming to get) I believe it can be justified a bit more. while the new traits are certainly potent, for someone who has completed the criteria it will suffice as a decent reward (a +20-30% boost would be touching on the "is this really worth my time" mark ) because at present there is a LOT of super redundant and useless modules for Tech brokers.

The idea behind the ~20% range increase was to give small ships just enough jump range to be competitive with larger ships in that respect. As it currently stands, the ships that have the highest jump ranges in the game with a full exploration loadout all have size 5 or 6 FSDs, with the ships that have size 2, 3 and 4 FSDs (i.e. AspS, FDL, Type-6, Keelback, Mamba and every small ship bar the DBX) having at least 20 ly less jump range than the Anaconda. The idea would be to make a new type of FSD for smaller ships in order to make their jump ranges competitive with their larger brethren and to add a larger element of choice in selecting which whip to use for exploration. The new FSDs would be available fairly easily, would be engineerable, and would have a few drawbacks that would make them less suitable for use on combat ships (FDL, Mamba, Vulture, Viper III, etc...). I'll probably need to go over the range calculations again to ensure that the new FSDs will actually make the smaller ships properly competitive without having the Dolphin make the Krait Phantom, AspX, and DBX obsolete.

 

[Jaylem]

So, literally, "find one of everything in the codex" and visit some notable exploration locations. That's what I thought you were trying to communicate, although I certainly hope that the "find one of everything in the codex" isn't actually "find one of everything in the codex in every region it exists in" which would increase the KNOWN requirements by a factor of 30-40 or so (there are probably a few codex entries for particularly rare stellar bodies that are still missing in some regions).

One thing I may suggest though would be to change the unlock requirements from data to having the tech broker unlock read directly from the commander's Codex and tourist beacon entries. It may be easier to do this than to add a new data type for every type of planet, star, stellar phenomena, biological life, geological phenomena etc.... It would probably also make the unlock screen look better with only a few items listed (Find one of every codex entry, scan the tourist beacon at Beagle Point, etc...) rather than a list of 100+ data types.

That sounds infinitely more logical yes And no I certainly did not mean for every region, could you imagine how messed up that would be hahaha, I just meant in general one of each type of 'thing' just so players ca nsee whats really out there! even if it is in the same region or in many it doesn't matter. using the codex would be a more sensible approach to this as you stated

The idea behind the ~20% range increase was to give small ships just enough jump range to be competitive with larger ships in that respect. As it currently stands, the ships that have the highest jump ranges in the game with a full exploration loadout all have size 5 or 6 FSDs, with the ships that have size 2, 3 and 4 FSDs (i.e. AspS, FDL, Type-6, Keelback, Mamba and every small ship bar the DBX) having at least 20 ly less jump range than the Anaconda. The idea would be to make a new type of FSD for smaller ships in order to make their jump ranges competitive with their larger brethren and to add a larger element of choice in selecting which whip to use for exploration. The new FSDs would be available fairly easily, would be engineerable, and would have a few drawbacks that would make them less suitable for use on combat ships (FDL, Mamba, Vulture, Viper III, etc...). I'll probably need to go over the range calculations again to ensure that the new FSDs will actually make the smaller ships properly competitive without having the Dolphin make the Krait Phantom, AspX, and DBX obsolete.

Sorry, the stats i used were not a jab at what you said, now reading back through it may seem so ( I just used the figure range to justify a better FSD for the effort this will require ) your idea is great! and i agree for that module size restriction it would help spice some things up. in fact there is already a Enhanced Thruster module you can get from Farseer which follows the same priceable you suggested (i think it comes in sizes 3 and 4 only, cant remember too well sorry ) so a 'enhanced FSD' could quite easilly be feasible also!

 

[Lestat]

Thing is Exploration is the amount of system explored not How far you jump.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I find jump ranges are far too high already. I went through the abyss to beagles point with no issues, it was very easy. I don't want things being made easier.

 

[Jmanis]

I'd rather see military engines put in the game. I thought this might be coming when refuelling turned into the "Fuel Store", but all that gave was a whole extra UI for refuelling yourship in whatever % increments.

Basic implementation of Military Drives would be really simple. +50-100% FSD jump range, cannot be refuelled with a fuel scoop; must be refuelled at a station. This was basically the same restrictions in place back in FE2/FFE. If you wanted to keep the focus on smaller ships, make military drives not come in larger than Class 4 or something like that. That way, you get:

• Standard Drives: Unlimited exploitation range when combined with a fuel scoop, smaller jump range = takes longer to get from A-B
• Military Drives: Limited exploittion range, tethered to FCs/Stations, but can get from A->B much faster.

Especially with FC's and their 500LY jump range coming, there's really not much need to add further range, and as Lestat points out, Jump Range is not the king^ stat of exploration; it just increases the amount of galaxy you skip.

Focus now shouldn't be "more range", rather "alternate strategies", otherwise you're just setting a new bar of "standard", rather than increasing diversity fitting arrangements.

^ With the exception of fringe-exploration when there's literally only one option, but that's a whole other challenge which shouldn't be wrecked.

 

[Jaylem]

Thing is Exploration is the amount of system explored not How far you jump.

I know that haha, in fact if you REALLY want to explore you'd want to jump to as many systems as possible (so very short jump range)

I find jump ranges are far too high already. I went through the abyss to beagles point with no issues, it was very easy. I don't want things being made easier.

I am not saying just give it out I do intend for this to be some ''endgame content" as I too agree, jump range is on a bit of a creep at present

I more so want this to be an excuse for players to get out there and explore all the sights and wonders Elite has to offer! then come home with something neat to show for their efforts!

For me, I can't usually be stuffed to go any further than the Pleiades (yeah laugh it up, I am one of THOSE players ) and the absolute furthest I have been from the bubble is 5kly (for Palin). I did do a personal adventure before Beyond where I went to different geological sights but that was it. in current days I find it hard to find 'engaging' content in Elite unless there is a motive involved. if there was some massive challenge like I suggested above to get something like the 'Advanced FSD' then it might just be enough to convince me to get jumpy.... lower than that it would be pretty eh and not worth my time.

I'd rather see military engines put in the game. I thought this might be coming when refuelling turned into the "Fuel Store", but all that gave was a whole extra UI for refuelling yourship in whatever % increments.

Basic implementation of Military Drives would be really simple. +50-100% FSD jump range, cannot be refuelled with a fuel scoop; must be refuelled at a station. This was basically the same restrictions in place back in FE2/FFE. If you wanted to keep the focus on smaller ships, make military drives not come in larger than Class 4 or something like that. That way, you get:

• Standard Drives: Unlimited exploitation range when combined with a fuel scoop, smaller jump range = takes longer to get from A-B
• Military Drives: Limited exploittion range, tethered to FCs/Stations, but can get from A->B much faster.

Especially with FC's and their 500LY jump range coming, there's really not much need to add further range, and as Lestat points out, Jump Range is not the king^ stat of exploration; it just increases the amount of galaxy you skip.

Focus now shouldn't be "more range", rather "alternate strategies", otherwise you're just setting a new bar of "standard", rather than increasing diversity fitting arrangements.

^ With the exception of fringe-exploration when there's literally only one option, but that's a whole other challenge which shouldn't be wrecked.

That is an interesting concept, I really do like these unique ideas! anything that adds 'flavour' to Elite would be greatly welcomed!

 

[GonzTheMalificent]

My 2 cents;

I was really surprised (DBX 70Ly range) how quickly I got to Sag A stopping to honk and FSS every system on the way:

It would only have seemed much longer if I scooped and honked and moved on - "grinding" - my way there. 20 more Ly capacity wouldn't do it for me!