crazy idea #48, remove the rebuy cost!

[Jukelo]

I'd like to ask everyone to take a step back and just go into introspection mode for a few seconds.

While you're all at it (yeah, I know; I might as well ask for the moon on a stick) I'd enjoin you to consider this:

How often has the rebuy cost actually ever been a serious concern for you over the length of your engagement with the game? I'm not asking you if you think risk/reward is a thing, or whether you think ships should be disposable or indestructable. I'm asking you to reflect on the actual validity of the arguments you've put forward in defense of the rebuy, and whether you actually, really really believe what you're writing.

In my case, I came close once, back at 1.2 release when I'd just bought a Fer de Lance (at full price too) and managed to destroy it boosting into an asteroid on my first visit to the local RES. I jumped back into my Viper Mk. III in short order and ground -- ground - you know how low the cr/hr ration was back then -- until I had enough rebuy to take my folly back out into the wild again. That's well over a year ago.

Risk... Come the flubber on!

I don't pay attention to the rebuy as I haven't had to fear dying in a long time. It's a problem with the game's difficulty though, not the rebuy system and is what has lead me to restart a game in Ironman this time, so that what little risk exists at least has some consequences if it ever crystalizes into an actual death.
As for rebuys forcing you to play conservatively, that's a good thing in my mind. That's how I like it, when games force me to take calculated risks and punish me when I fail to plan ahead and prepare for the worst.

 

[the100thmonkey]

the setback can be an annoying nuisance.

I'd add to this that the rebuy isn't even a nuisance (which implies some kind of consistency); it's just a potential annoyance that no one in their right mind would ever actually contemplate invoking.

I'm going to start.... a poll!

 

[Andovar]

I'm going to start.... a poll!

just make sure bacon and ice cream are among the choices.

 

[the100thmonkey]

just make sure bacon and ice cream are among the choices.

I'll try to work them in, but I'm actually going to think about the poll before posting it, so I can't promise anything!

 

[Archvillain]

While I firmly want to keep the rebuy cost, I would be OK with an experimental test of whether waiving rebuy costs when destroyed by a CMDR resolves combat-logging issues and discourages griefing (it diminishes players seeking enjoyment from knowing they caused another person to lose their time/assets (grief), while leaving intact all the enjoyment of winning/losing/learning-from a battle of skill against a clever or powerful adversary (PvP) )

My multiplayer interactions have been overwhelmingly positive and I am happy with the status quo, but various people have big problems with things like combat loggers and griefers, and it might get two birds with one stone to try out an "insurance clause" that Pilots Federation will waive (or greatly discount) the deductible in cases where another of the same category of pilot (a CMDR) caused the destruction.

It would affect how people approach PvP, possibly including in some bad ways, but there would be some up-sides too, like encouraging people to try crazier builds against the meta because you can keep trying new things and perfecting unexpected/unusual/long-shot tactics without the disincentive of "playing it safe" to avoid asset depletion.