Exactly. So either they should fix the bad system - or remove it. But claiming that it's perfect, defending FD and blaming players for being "unreasonable" is not a solution.
ARX and exploration
- Thread starter Edwyndham
- Start date
From Frontier's point of view, all they're doing is throwing a bit of free stuff to the players and saying, "Hey guys, thanks for playing. Have a contribution to your next cosmetic purchase". They have to set a line somewhere of how this is earned as the vast majority of people would surely agree that you shouldn't earn the full amount for just logging in and sitting on the pad for two minutes. Not everyone will ever agree with where that line is set though.
Players are potentially being unreasonable in this instance as if they are only interested in doing things in the game that generate Arx, they are asking Frontier to feed an addiction not provide gameplay.
I'd be interested in asking players angry at not hitting their full weekly quota of Arx a hypothetical question: It's Wednesday night and it's time for bed. You go to the main menu to close the game and notice that your total is 395 Arx. Do you go back into the game to quickly earn that last 5 Arx before the reset, or do you shut the game down, because you decided to go to bed.
If FD creates a system that doesn't reward all players equally, thus can be considered unfair, you can't blame people for being upset.
People are feeling left out because FD created a bad system - thus it is FD's responsibility to fix it.
PS: next time you guys have issues, just don't get upset and remember "just be happy" and "get over it". Being unhappy and upset is unhealthy and also unjustified, no matter what. If something bothers you and you get emotional, it's your inability to deal with things properly. So be a good citizen and keep your complaints to yourself
I would say it is not a bad system (well, it is but thats a whole different thread). FD don't owe anyone anything when it comes to arx balance. Just because somebody feels something is unfair doesn't make it so. Does every activity give the same rewards in other ways? Do we earn the same amount of credits per hour for everything? How and why they "balance" things is a mystery to me but they do lots of mysterious things. Why is it so easy to make credits mining but so difficult bounty hunting? Arx are just another type of credits and if they made it a flat rate of say 1 arx for every two hours spent in game then personally that would mess with my immersion. It makes sense to my head cannon that combat is more rewarding, as is trading even though it disadvantages me towards having very little arx. Consider it danger money.
The problem with awarding more ARX for exploring is - what do you award it for? Exploring is mostly a subset of actions that people do in the bubble so if you aware more ARX for jumping / scanning / mat gathering / synthesis then you would make earning the max in the bubble even more trivial (and it is pretty trivial as things stand).
Only thing I can think of is awarding more ARX for 'first scanned'/'first mapped', as that would avoid the Road 2 Riches type exploits associated with the simpler 'scanned' / 'mapped' rewards. I think that would work
Only thing I can think of is awarding more ARX for 'first scanned'/'first mapped', as that would avoid the Road 2 Riches type exploits associated with the simpler 'scanned' / 'mapped' rewards. I think that would work
But Frontier also has to be aware of how their implementation of the current ARX system (or any mechanic for that matter) is capable of fueling addictions etc.
They didn't invent this stuff, other studios have done it for at least a decade and we all know that this isn't the first discussion on this topic either. So either they simply ignored any negative impact their system might cause or they are actually aware of it and try to exploit that.
Developing games is a business - and I'm also not here to judge. But when there is a problem, it has to be discussed with honesty and objectivity which hopefully results in a constructive, positive solution. Frontier needs money - if ARX is all about getting people wet, feeding addiction and spending more money, it's not a great move in my book. If ARX is about giving something back to the community and they underestimated the negative effects it creates, then they have to deal with that. Either way, they should try to come up with a better system that reduces or removes those downsides. Even if this is all about capitalism and "giving something back" is marketing , there are still better ways to do it.
I also don't think the problem is not hitting the weekly cap. I just used it as an example to illustrate that there is an actual difference regarding the rate of ARX accumulation (which is the issue here), depending on where a player is currently experiencing content and what type of content that is in particular.
If I play for 10 hours in the bubble, I will earn more ARX than someone exploring the galaxy 5000+ ly away. Why should they get less? Why should I get more?
A well-designed system aims to balance such things out so that players feel treated equally.
They didn't invent this stuff, other studios have done it for at least a decade and we all know that this isn't the first discussion on this topic either. So either they simply ignored any negative impact their system might cause or they are actually aware of it and try to exploit that.
Developing games is a business - and I'm also not here to judge. But when there is a problem, it has to be discussed with honesty and objectivity which hopefully results in a constructive, positive solution. Frontier needs money - if ARX is all about getting people wet, feeding addiction and spending more money, it's not a great move in my book. If ARX is about giving something back to the community and they underestimated the negative effects it creates, then they have to deal with that. Either way, they should try to come up with a better system that reduces or removes those downsides. Even if this is all about capitalism and "giving something back" is marketing , there are still better ways to do it.
I also don't think the problem is not hitting the weekly cap. I just used it as an example to illustrate that there is an actual difference regarding the rate of ARX accumulation (which is the issue here), depending on where a player is currently experiencing content and what type of content that is in particular.
If I play for 10 hours in the bubble, I will earn more ARX than someone exploring the galaxy 5000+ ly away. Why should they get less? Why should I get more?
A well-designed system aims to balance such things out so that players feel treated equally.
The trouble building decisions around people who feel the need to generate Arx for the purpose of hitting that 400 weekly cap is that it's the same as banning casinos because people get addicted to slot machines. People need to be aware of and manage themselves, not leave it up to everyone else.
Can we also not forget, the whole argument about weekly Arx earnings is all about an amount of virtual currency that if you saw on the street, you probably wouldn't be bothered to stop and pick up.
The reason for the cap is to avoid obsessing over the ARX. If you want those sweet 400 then it's trivial and you could probably optimise to get it in < 30 mins play. Ok - 5 mins if you really want. Now if that was uncapped it would be an issue.
And regarding balance in ARX - lol - like the balanced CR earnings you mean, or like the balanced weapons / outfitting choices
And regarding balance in ARX - lol - like the balanced CR earnings you mean, or like the balanced weapons / outfitting choices
You are right. That's why we should aim to remove all laws and regulations that protect people and their rights, both as customers and individuals. Those who can't protect themselves don't deserve protection. Companies should do whatever they want without consequences, because life isn't fair. Thanks for opening my eyes.
Every week it's the same dilemma. Reactive armour on the Cutter?The reason for the cap is to avoid obsessing over the ARX. If you want those sweet 400 then it's trivial and you could probably optimise to get it in < 30 mins play. Ok - 5 mins if you really want. Now if that was uncapped it would be an issue.
And regarding balance in ARX - lol - like the balanced CR earnings you mean, or like the balanced weapons / outfitting choices
No, take it off and sell it.
No, buy it and put it back on.
No take it off and sell it...
It's a real issue for me.
I often find myself wondering - do I want my fleet at this system, or this other one? By the time I've decided I have all my ARX for the weekEvery week it's the same dilemma. Reactive armour on the Cutter?
No, take it off and sell it.
No, buy it and put it back on.
No take it off and sell it...
It's a real issue for me.
So your argument is that a badly designed system is ok because of other badly designed systems?And regarding balance in ARX - lol - like the balanced CR earnings you mean, or like the balanced weapons / outfitting choices
My argument is that fdev don't see balance as a priority. Feel free to convince them otherwise - I hear Open Letters work wonders.So your argument is that a badly designed system is ok because of other badly designed systems?
That's another "I don't get paid enough by FD for playing the game"-Thread. Seriously, if ARX is your ingame goal, do things that pay more ARX, but don't explore, period. If you like exploring, be happy about the ARX you get as a SIDE BONUS, and explore. But don't let ARX spoil your game experience, that's just silly.
If people chose not to stand up for themselves and others we wouldn't have those laws and regulations. What's wrong with you? Do you think those laws were always there from the start and no one had to stand up for themselves or fight to get them?
No, life isn't fair. With your attitude, be prepared to have a lot of people walk all over you if you expect others to look after your best interests.
I am happy we get free paints, yes! But I sympathize with those whose play mostly centres on exploration, that they will get fewer paints for free, even if they spend much more time in game. I think it’d be trivial to up the bonus for exploration tasks and nerf the bonus for handing in exploration data to balance this out, given that many dedicated explorers spend months away from port. With an easy solution sitting right there, why not ask for a change to make it more fair?
Agree with you on enjoying the bonus, but there are whole branches of economics and cognitive science dedicated to understanding how rewards motivate behaviour, and also a good deal of understanding that most people find unfairness to be unsatisfactory, especially when they’re the ones getting the short end of the stick. Putting a new reward in the game and then distributing it unevenly is going to cause players to change behaviour, and I think that’s sad that it will motivate some away from exploration.
Perhaps the only answer then is for everyone to get 400 Arx for the week as soon as they log in so no one can say the game is biased against them when they don't hit the weekly target. 
Or Zero - otherwise those on a break lose out....Perhaps the only answer then is for everyone to get 400 Arx for the week as soon as they log in so no one can say the game is biased against them when they don't hit the weekly target.
Maybe backdate so they don't miss out.
Yes, the way arx is currently awarded for deep space exploration game-play really doesn't make much sense.
I sold several hundred million worth of exploration data yesterday that took me months to accumulate. Hit my weekly arx cap... ← These cool shades hide my tears.
I guess I'm supposed to park at stations now for months too to sell the data to get my arx worth out of it.
I'd rather play the game though.
I sold several hundred million worth of exploration data yesterday that took me months to accumulate. Hit my weekly arx cap...
← These cool shades hide my tears. I guess I'm supposed to park at stations now for months too to sell the data to get my arx worth out of it.
I'd rather play the game though.
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