A fresh take on passenger missions post-"balance"

[SavingPrincess]

This does a few things:

1. Let's you fill up your cabin like you would your cargo hold (like an airliner would)
2. Gives you clear "per passenger" payout based on station distance
3. Gives a "fair" payout based on time-to-station (based on Ls), passenger danger type (high interdiction, wanted, etc.)
4. Allows you to build and USE the type of passenger ship you like

Thoughts and critiques people, let's go!

EDIT: VIP and "tour" missions can remain as is, this is for air-liner (air bus?) style bulk passenger missions.

EDIT AGAIN: Elaborate on #4 -


When I say the type of passenger ship you like, this will let you build "smuggler" passenger ships (low volume, low energy signature, high-risk) and get rewarded proportionately... or you can build yourself an AFK-SPACEBUS with super low risk (no interdictions) for a much lower per-passenger payout, but you can take a poop/shower while you do the run... etc.

 

[CptXabaras]

https://i.imgur.com/AiMw6ef.png

This does a few things:

1. Let's you fill up your cabin like you would your cargo hold (like an airliner would)
2. Gives you clear "per passenger" payout based on station distance
3. Gives a "fair" payout based on time-to-station (based on Ls), passenger danger type (high interdiction, wanted, etc.)
4. Allows you to build and USE the type of passenger ship you like

Thoughts and critiques people, let's go!

Well, that would be nice indeed.

Cool concept. Like it!

 

[Oktusha]

I like it!

 

[fabittar]

Cool. +1

 

[Jmanis]

How would this work with the BGS?

To elaborate more:
- Not all passenger types are relevant for all BGS states
- One group of <passenger type> has a fixed impact on the BGS, so 20 protestors in one mission will have the same influence/state effets as 2 protestors in one mission.
- How do rep gains work?
- Who is the source faction?
- Who is the destination faction?

Not saying it can't work with the BGS, just so many proposed "Resolutions" only ever consider the credit component.

 

[GJ51]

Won't help, now that the nerf bat has swung, but I've been advocating for that for some time. I suggested they cut the profits in half and eliminate the station camping so that you would make about the same amount in profits but do so by flying instead of camping.

It doesn't matter, if it becomes too much fun, FD will kill it

 

[SavingPrincess]

How would this work with the BGS?

To elaborate more:
- Not all passenger types are relevant for all BGS states
- One group of <passenger type> has a fixed impact on the BGS, so 20 protestors in one mission will have the same influence/state effets as 2 protestors in one mission.
- How do rep gains work?

Not saying it can't work with the BGS, just so many proposed "Resolutions" only ever consider the credit component.

I'd say if you took out BGS for bulk passenger missions or reduced it significantly, it would have a less-adverse effect on the BGS than what was currently happening in places like Allen and Rhea, and less of an impact than board-flipping for sure (which this solution would eliminate). So you could tune the BGS I supposed to equal "one" of the equivalent passenger missions previously (i.e. a full cabin of protesters would = 1 "22 protester" mission previously). This would have a significantly less negative impact on BGS than me board-flipping to stack 20 "22 protester" passenger missions... and you could also tune the BGS to fluctuate payout based on the "need" of the station you're travelling to (similar to commodity trading).

This type of change would also help fuel CG's of "we're building a station, bring us 1,000,000 refugees," that sort of thing.

All in all, with this model, they would have to rethink certain aspects of BGS when it comes to bulk movement of people, but I think it would end up with a more REALISTIC BGS than what is in place currently.

Right now we have a BGS/mission system where there is a station on fire, and people won't fill your cabins... they'll wait until you get back, because... you know... legroom or whatever.

 

[Frankymole]

Is it true that in Beta you won't be able to fill a ship, as you can't stack passengers any more?

Surely passenger stacking is how real ships and planes work!!!!

 

[SavingPrincess]

Is it true that in Beta you won't be able to fill a ship, as you can't stack passengers any more?

Not sure where you heard that one... I don't think that's the case. This would eliminate an entire class of ships from the game.

 

[CMDR Endincite]

Nice concept. Certainly more in line with what I originally thought when they said passengers would be a thing.

How would this work with the BGS?

I think it need not be more complex than trade: owners of the respective ports benefit. It certainly has a more organic or fluid feel to it than missions, so trade seems a good analog with comparable influence effects and probably state effects tied to passenger type, as currently. There's only a few 'categories' of BGS effect really, each sharing the general nature of the rest of its category.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Is it true that in Beta you won't be able to fill a ship, as you can't stack passengers any more?

Surely passenger stacking is how real ships and planes work!!!!

We are not flying real ships and planes and FD sees you not being to fill your ship as balancing act.

We just need to fix flipping to get over this charade.

Also it is not a fresh take - people have offered take your own missions approach since when grinding missions become a thing.

Not gonna happen.

 

[SavingPrincess]

We are not flying real ships and planes and FD sees you not being to fill your ship as balancing act.

We just need to fix flipping to get over this charade.

Also it is not a fresh take - people have offered take your own missions approach since when grinding missions become a thing.

Not gonna happen.

Thanks for your constructive feedback...

FD sees you not being to fill your ship as balancing act.

Then why have passenger ships at all??

 

[two quiet suns]

Very nice idea OP

 

[Jmanis]

I think it need not be more complex than trade: owners of the respective ports benefit. It certainly has a more organic or fluid feel to it than missions, so trade seems a good analog with comparable influence effects and probably state effects tied to passenger type, as currently. There's only a few 'categories' of BGS effect really, each sharing the general nature of the rest of its category.

Who in their right mind would do trading then? Especially over such a long haul?

Considering your max profit margin on cargo is =~ 6000cr/t one-way (ignoring rares) and you get 700ish tonnes of cargo on a cutter, total profit on a full ship of passengers could never be more than 4-5m credits, regardless of if you take them to Smeaton or some 50ls place. I don't think this is what the OP would hope profit margins on these runs would be.

Of course, you could overhaul trading to reflect this, but this just knocks on right? It'd be a complete overhaul of the trade system to factor distance in the regular market commodity rates. Sure not everything needs to be exactly balanced, but would you take a full load of passengers all the way to Smeaton for just 10m credits? I don't think many would.

Making them just like commodities would be a big backpedal too, the knock-on in the BGS of source and destination effects results in interesting scenarios... it'd turn it quite bland to do that.

 

[Frankymole]

We are not flying real ships and planes and FD sees you not being to fill your ship as balancing act.

As a friend of mine put it:
nah man the airlines just take 7 passengers out of 200 and call it good
(wouldn't even cover cost of fuel)
like airlines cancel and delay flights if they aren't full enough lol

 

[Random Chaos]

Agree

That's the best idea for how to change it that I've seen. Certainly better than what we got.

 

[jasonbirder]

This does a few things:

1. Let's you fill up your cabin like you would your cargo hold (like an airliner would)

Do you even catch a plane regularly???? Most flights I get are always less than half full...and I remember once coming back from Belfast...Flight Crew, Attendants and JUST ME!

 

[askavir]

I like it +1.

I would like "regular A->B" passenger transport being based on things like you describe, with some kind of passenger hub with "supply" for each route depending on origin and destination BGS states and economies.

 

[Miklos Atreides]

Good Concept to make passenger hauling more like it should be, beside those special missions. Even more if you can see it that way where it comes to

Destination Sol: 124 passengers waiting 1500 CR/p
Destination Leesti 56 passengers waiting 2566 CR/p
Destination Colonia 22 passengers waiting 16855 CR/P

(Take your choice whom you are willing to haul and how many of them)

For a todays airline it doesn't matter if passenger is protestor, businness man, tourist, refugee, .... It's about the ticket they sell.
Clearly price is influenced by offer and demand and local situation. Prices will be higher in a conflict status than in a boom.
BGS algorythms to calculate the politics are very unclear how they work exactly and can therefore get adjusted under the hood.

Special Missions (Smuggle this guy to a specific location)
Exclusive Trips for VIPs, etc. are not part of this liner attitude and can stay more or less as they are.

Regards,
Miklos

 

[Certacito]

All I know now is that my Cutter full of passenger cabins can be re-purposed for a different task now, because the previously worth it payout of passenger missions is not there. I am NOT interested in taking demanding, wanted ats thousands of Ly for 20p!