You can explore in a FC and mine your H3 if you are patient

[Ching Dai]

"This pace works for me, why doesn't it work for you"

SIGH. Ok, man. Good on you. In your personal carrier, with no one else to worry about, and no immediate goals except wheeee. Ominously missing from your post was ANY comment addressing what a GROUP of people out exploring are supposed to do. My group, for example, is comprised of folks from across the globe, with many time zones involved. Now we've got to throw a whole new layer of logistics and scheduling if we want to continue our voyage, far beyond what we'd already included. Our trip isn't a race, but as anyone who has planned a group activity knows, you've got to keep folks engaged and entertained enough to logging in. It'd be one thing if the Tritium situation was the original concept when we started the expedition, but it's not.

There are multiple groups of people who don't have countless hours to play every week, that now have to take a really hard look at whether the expedition they've been on is feasible to continue, and how long that time frame may be elongated by this situation. The expectations just changed on us, period. And I'm not seeing much thought by Fdev about these folks at all.

Carriers were sold for many uses, including charting bigger and better expeditions into the black. Period. What's going on right now es all over any feasible motivation for a group like mine to continue. It'll primarily just be single Commanders, out flying gigantic fleet carriers by themselves. wheee.

TO THOSE SAYING 'SHOULD'VE PLANNED BETTER': You're acting like the teams of people who put HOURS into planning expeditions with carriers were somehow supposed to know that the Tritium economy that had been consistent for weeks if not months suddenly took a complete crap. Take your "should've planned better" attitude and take a walk. What a joke. What a stupid thing to say after the fact. That's some know it all nonsense right there.

 

[ChipStar65]

No, it's not LTD - it's that FC were dumped into the game as solo content when they were designed to be squad play content. Now solo players have to try and figure out what would normally done by groups.

Which took me about 1 day's play in Beta 2. It isn't rocket science.

 

[rhiz]

No, it's not LTD - it's that FC were dumped into the game as solo content when they were designed to be squad play content. Now solo players have to try and figure out what would normally done by groups.

How much development time was there between deciding that FCs were to be a solo asset and their release?

Why allow the mining bonanza to remain unchecked for months on end (basically since the new mining mechanics were introduced), and then apply a fix long after the damage has been done in a way that significantly undermines the useability of a long-awaited feature? None of this makes much sense to me.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

How much development time was there between deciding that FCs were to be a solo asset and their release?

Why allow the mining bonanza to remain unchecked for months on end (basically since the new mining mechanics were introduced), and then apply a fix long after the damage has been done in a way that significantly undermines the useability of a long-awaited feature? None of this makes much sense to me.

It doesnt - but unlocking / buying a FC is a different thing than operating it.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Which took me about 1 day's play in Beta 2. It isn't rocket science.

We're in the live game now.

 

[catanonia]

I don't really understand this argument. Unless I'm wrong, any good exploration ship (using the Neutron Highway) will be many times faster than any FC regardless of how abundant Tritium is. Is that not the case? It's less effort arguably if you don't enjoy jumping, but sitting in front of a wall for hours on end seems like fair punishment for insulting the grind God.

The point I was trying to get across is that using a FC is not the most efficient way of moving large distances due to the time in jumps / mining and costs if you buy the H3 and not mine it. Some people seem to want to fill their FC up and jump to say Colonia the same way as a normal ship. Perhaps for trading large sums, but the mechanics and the purpose of a FC was not really this. It is a moveable station for cmdrs, not a long distance trader (without effort)

 

[MVBanks]

It's not the problem of Fleet Carriers or Tritium, but exploration itself is the main problem! It's empty and boring. There's nothing really new or important or exciting to discover!
To scan always the same systems, rings, bodies, millions of them, again and again - why? To earn the credits? No - there's faster way to do it. To be elite in exploration? Why?
There's no reward. To scan water worlds, earthlike worlds - again, why, you can not even land. After visiting Colonia and SagA I made suicide.
I hope they can improve it with Odyssey.

 

[catanonia]

i guess if this is the only game you play rhen the artificial scarcity works for you. other people dont however want to see elite as a 9 to 5 job. have families. other hobbies. other games. which means if you have a FC. all you play time will be mundane boring tasks.

The I would argue that FC's are not for the casual 1 hour here and there players.
If everything was tailored to the casual player, then a lot of the game would disappear and it would be like any other space game, say Starwars Squadrons that is catered for the casual gamer.

 

[ChipStar65]

We're in the live game now.

Read with comprehension -- learning to use the FC effectively takes little time regardless of whether it's beta or live. I have not changed my operational methods in the least since beta2 and have never experienced even a slowdown in my exploration due to patch screw-ups or any other conditions.

 

[catanonia]

Yea, thanks, but no. I already have a job. I also earn money with it. I don't need another one where I don't earn anything. Especially if I pay money for the activity, lol. You just can't make this up - it's prime nonsense.

Then why are you playing ED. It is a time sink
But this is about exploration with a FC and no-one is asking / forcing you to do it.

The argument of "I have no time as I have a RL" is always bought up. It is bad argument to use with ED as it game in its manta is a time sink.
FDev tried to "fix" this with CQC and make everyone have the same tools with the same quick fix kills and wins. Unfortunately, the vast majority of ED cmdrs like the ED time sink and the relaxing nature of it.

 

[rhiz]

The point I was trying to get across is that using a FC is not the most efficient way of moving large distances due to the time in jumps / mining and costs if you buy the H3 and not mine it. Some people seem to want to fill their FC up and jump to say Colonia the same way as a normal ship. Perhaps for trading large sums, but the mechanics and the purpose of a FC was not really this. It is a moveable station for cmdrs, not a long distance trader (without effort)

Yeah, I see you're saying, but I don't really see the harm in enabling players to use their creativity in this way, and without soul-destroying levels of effort. Player driven initiatives like the DSSA, shuttle services to Colonia, player driven bubbles etc are more interesting than anything that FD have added to the game for a while, and it desperately needs this kind of player agency and engagement to bring life to the galaxy.

The whole argument that FCs were designed for squadrons is null and void in my view. As soon as the decision was made to allow them for individual players, then they should be made to function in that way - otherwise they're just a failed feature.

 

[ChipStar65]

It's not the problem of Fleet Carriers or Tritium, but exploration itself is the main problem! It's empty and boring. There's nothing really new or important or exciting to discover!
To scan always the same systems, rings, bodies, millions of them, again and again - why? To earn the credits? No - there's faster way to do it. To be elite in exploration? Why?
There's no reward. To scan water worlds, earthlike worlds - again, why, you can not even land. After visiting Colonia and SagA I made suicide.
I hope they can improve it with Odyssey.

Yep, like almost every other endeavor Commanders undertake in ED, earning credits is a goal. But for exploration, there is also:

Stellar Screenshots

And here, at last, upon the shoals of distant vast oceans, we discover that which we cannot see from the shorelines of our tiny island, the true measure of our selves, atoms of atoms of atoms, encompassing all. Karla Jannyx, Traveler's Songs Amber Interstellar Press, 3309 © 2020 K.G...

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Stellar Screenshots

And here, at last, upon the shoals of distant vast oceans, we discover that which we cannot see from the shorelines of our tiny island, the true measure of our selves, atoms of atoms of atoms, encompassing all. Karla Jannyx, Traveler's Songs Amber Interstellar Press, 3309 © 2020 K.G...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Stellar Screenshots

Wyrd (20200628-043158) by Mathias Shallowgrave, on Flickr

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The Official Explorers Photography Thread.

My most beautiful images

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The Official Explorers Photography Thread.

My most beautiful images

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Show us your interesting discoveries!

I havent posted here for a long time too. Now have couple of interesting things to share. 1. A group of pumpkin hippies celebrating July Morning. It is hard to miss the sunrise when the sun is taking most of the horizon. To celebrate the occasion the star is saluting the audience with a truly...

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and much, much more.

If you find space so boring, why are you playing a game that simulates an entire galaxy?

 

[rhiz]

I can’t agree with the OP's argument, even though his suggestions are quite close to my own approach. After careful planning I’ve settled my FC as a sedentary base-of-operations in a region around Sag A* and it’s working out very well. I’ve found more earth-likes and other high value finds than I ever did with my previous “random walk” approach, spent a bit of time charting previously unreachable systems above/below the core, generally enjoying having roots established somewhere etc. I topped up in Colonia en route from the Bubble (when Tritium was still available there), so I still have 9000t in my tank should I wish to travel, but none of that negates the fact that an FC should be refillable in a sane amount of time out in the black. I don’t expect an easy mode, but why does every feature in the game have to have such a nasty sting in its tail? If a game makes you want to tear out your eyes out in response to the sheer tedium of playing it then something is amiss.

 

[ChipStar65]

.... an FC should be refillable in a sane amount of time out in the black.

Excellent exploration methodology, but I don't recall anyone saying the OP's plan or something similar is the only way to go. It just works for some. It's an invitation to try it if so inclined. If not, like you, other Cmdrs can develop their own solutions.

RE: the quote segment above -- I don't see how mining for an hour or two to recover fuel costs for a jump is not sane. If by "refillable" you mean an entire 1000T or (as some insist is the only way to go) upwards of 20,000T of Rocket Tea, then I see those expectations as insane.

 

[Rat Catcher]

what are you gonna do if you go on vacation or start playing less ect

Decommision the carrier then buy again when you return?
How long are your vacations?

If supporting a FC looks like financial stress may be an issue - get rid of it and save yourself some worries

 

[Riverside]

Perhaps the issue is more about the changes & once it settles down (tritium availability for example) players will be able to make a better informed decision whether a Carrier is for them or not.

The Krait MkII is a great ship but I can't stand the sound it makes so I don't fly one. I may change my mind, but it's just a choice based on how I play & others love it. I haven't bought a carrier (or gone exploring). I don't mine (I have tried it). I may do once the situation clears up.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Then why are you playing ED. It is a time sink
But this is about exploration with a FC and no-one is asking / forcing you to do it.

The argument of "I have no time as I have a RL" is always bought up. It is bad argument to use with ED as it game in its manta is a time sink.
FDev tried to "fix" this with CQC and make everyone have the same tools with the same quick fix kills and wins. Unfortunately, the vast majority of ED cmdrs like the ED time sink and the relaxing nature of it.

You need not concern yourself about the whys and whynots. I'm just stating what I do not like here.

 

[rhiz]

Excellent exploration methodology, but I don't recall anyone saying the OP's plan or something similar is the only way to go. It just works for some. It's an invitation to try it if so inclined. If not, like you, other Cmdrs can develop their own solutions.

RE: the quote segment above -- I don't see how mining for an hour or two to recover fuel costs for a jump is not sane. If by "refillable" you mean an entire 1000T or (as some insist is the only way to go) upwards of 20,000T of Rocket Tea, then I see those expectations as insane.

My original objection was against the argument that Fleet Carriers with easier Tritium somehow trivialises the scale of the galaxy, whereas a good exploration ship using neutron boosts does that to an even greater degree already (pretty sure that I could easily destroy a Fleet Carrier in my Krait Phantom in terms to distance/time). Of course, you can’t haul large amounts of goods long distance in that way, but that just strikes me as an interesting prospect rather than something to be prohibited, and the ability to haul huge cargos is more of an “unfair” advantage in the bubble where Tritium isn’t an issue anyway. The argument against making Tritium less painful to source during exploration just doesn’t stack up in my view.

I guess that our tolerance is dictated by how much we enjoy mining - personally, I can only take limited stints (I didn't mine all that much before FCs arrived, having already made the bulk of my money from haulage).

In any case, isn’t the current situation still just a bit of a mess, rather than by design?

 

[ChipStar65]

In any case, isn’t the current situation still just a bit of a mess, rather than by design?

No argument there! But coping with messes is my spesheealitee, I guess

 

[DaveB]

with physics, tritium CANNOT be mined, it should be scooped!

Actually, with physics we are getting tritium from EXACTLY the right place. It isn't made by stars or found in association with other Hydrogen isotopes in stellar or gas giant atmospheres. Cosmic ray bombardment of Lithium (which IS made in stars) is how almost all of the naturally occurring 3H in the universe came about. There's way too much of both lithium and tritium in the icy rings for "real" physics to explain, but finding tritium in the same place as lithium is exactly right. Atmospheric tritium in planetary environments was generated on the planet and mostly by this same mechanism.