[DW2] Fleet Mechanic Role Discussion & Idea Melting Pot

[Whitmann]

Good to hear. If I remember correctly, last I heard - before their recent update on Q4 - was that they had yet to reply to the DW2 questions and plans, most importantly the megaship. So after the community update now, they've gotten in touch with the organisers then?

Yes, Frontier have been in touch with Erimus since Zac's announcement.

 

[The-DemonWolf]

Hi Demon.
I'm quite surprised at your opinion on this. Bearing in mind that this is the single largest endeavour in the history of the game, I would have thought that you might have been more on board than this, especially as you appeared to be interested in volunteering for the lead repair job on psn on Friday.

yes, when I first heard about it it sounded like a lot of fun. But the reality is I’m a fuelrat and when I rescue clients I also fix them. I’ve done repair case before and it won’t be the last. bean a lead fuelrat or lead mechanic doesn’t change the job. Both could be more than capable of doing either in a ship build. Especially with the upcoming changes in the explore ships. I don’t see a job difference, that we need specific players for repair only. The reason it’s so big is only because the game is available on all platform now. We are a bigger community naturally it’s going to make events bigger.

I agree that not having fleet carriers is a blow, but certainly not one that challenges the expedition, which can easily evolve to accommodate this situation.

I don’t see it like that actually, I see a huge hole in the project that can not be replaced. It’s not going to evolve the project it’s going to stunt it. like I said we lost a lot of jobs because the carriers are gone. till we get carriers the jobs won’t come back or be worth doing.

Most of the expeditions I've been on (Which admittedly is fewer than I'd like at this time), have required a devision of roles. And having dedicated repair ships is important, just as it is with having fuel rats. To say that anyone can have a repair limpet is as accurate as saying anyone can have a fuel limpet. By that logic, why have fuel rats? I think you'll agree how difficult it would be not to have them.

What roles ? You have like three rolls to fill in an explorer expedition on the game ? organizers, group leaders, and the players following. there not much else in these kinds of trips. we have fuelrats cause we need them. The game at one point didn’t have or didn’t support that job. And it didn’t go well for the game. People make mistakes with fuel far more than they do with repair. And yes anyone who has a repair limpet can have a fuel limpet. Like said most fuelrats have ships that can do both. There a re groups that supposedly specialize in repair “they who shall not be named” Idk if that group is even still alive. It was a rip off of fuelrats and they didn’t get far. so having a separate group for the job fuelrats are capable of doing I don’t see as need now. If that is any indication of it.

Not having fleet carriers actually increases the need for such dedicated ships, as you won't have an opportunity to change modules or ships along the way.

Like I’ve posted about most player can build an average ship to do two jobs currently. I don’t see how we need to dedicate a specific job to another group when the fuelrats can do it. I kinda feel like you repeated yourself here patch.

Anyone can synthesize limpet. I 100% agree without there. Do you want to spend your days gathering 10 iron and 10 nickel for each set of 4 limpet, 3 of which are going to be spent on repairing one conda?
Are you sure we don't need logistics?

I’ve done it for rescues. Many fuelrats have. It’s part of our job to be able to handle any situation to best of our ability. If we can’t do by our selves we seek help from our fellows to help us. There nothing wrong with exploring a planet surface for mats. It’s part of the game and I do it a lot exploring because it’s a break from the monotonous jumps scan jump. It won’t be often we need to do a major fix on a play. one every few days probably. Landing on a planet for not reason other than to spent the night is a risk the players chose to take and is unneeded in such a game like ed. Unless you really want to. All your doing is risking ship damage and your data should you mess up bad enough. On long trips like this the fewer risks you take the better. So I don’t see a need for logistic still.


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@The-DemonWolf
As for the "need" to create a supply chain, I've crunched a few numbers:

Given that there are currently 3108 signups, with 204 primary and 380 secondary mechanics enlisted, that means at least 584 ships are capable of repairs. That leaves 2524 ships that might not be capable of repairs. That would theoretically equate to each Mechanic being responsible for 4-5 ships. Assuming the worst case scenario and each ship (excl. the mechanics themselves) had to be repaired with one limpet after each waypoint of ~5000 Ly during a ~200000 Ly journey, the total number of limpets used per mechanic would be a maximum of 200, or 1 limpet/1000 Ly.

The maximum storage capacity for iron and nickel is 300, which equates to 120 synthesized limpets. Assuming each mechanic maxed their storage prior to the journey, they would only have to gather a maximum of 200 iron and nickel respectively to make up for the remaining 80 limpets, or prospect a single ore of iron & nickel every 3000 Ly (as the yield is always 3 units).

ok first math, might be a little off. You get 4 limpets for every synthesis. But I’m sure it’s close to the actual so I’ll roll with what we have. I feel like you did a lot of good work with this. I don’t really bother repairing my own ship much. I dorm have ocd about 100% hull or anything like that. I could go through the whole trip and come back with 50% and I’d still be ok. players on this trip will make mistakes, but many will be season explorer. A lot of us are more than happy to teach those who are not. most wont need a major repair. A few % here or there will all that we need. At meet ups there be plenty of rats to cover all the repairs. Not everyone will want or need a repair each time. We will not be fixing the whole fleet at once.

When you look at it that way, of course there's no need for a supply chain to go gather materials for limpet synthesis, nor anyone to haul limpets throughout the expedition. That said, it's also very boring if every mechanic were to just do that. The entire point of the event is that it is eventful (excuse the pun). That requires some kind of (inter-)activity between players aside from just getting to the destination, because the game mechanics here are actually quite mundane and tedious tasks. Creating a supply chain counters that by giving people a purpose and working together along the journey.

Regarding Fleet Logistics, you're right, there's no actual need for us to gather every known rare in the galaxy and haul them out to BP. Yet it brought a whole range of players together to gather them, help manipulate the BGS to unlock the hidden ones, and coordinate storage until the expedition starts. It has been a lot of fun and I've enjoyed being a part of it thus far. You say the fighter escorts have no purpose without the miners taking part, but I say I'm certainly glad they're tagging along when my hold (and that of many other fellow truckers) is stuffed with several tons of valuables.

If we were to limit what we do based on what the game dictates is most efficient, then we'd all be doing the exact same. How uneventful.

I’m glad you are with me here. That being said there no reason for a supply chain. We can make one yes, but what the point ? Your not doing anything with the supplies. it would be boring yes but now at this time is any different from dw1 ? Look at it! Without fleet carriers it is literally become the same as dw1. The only change is more platform and people going. look at the other small expedition we have done. We don’t have all the different jobs. We still had fun, well I know I did. Meeting up, playing with srvs. Look at the dove enigma trip. Look at all the fun players had just meeting up in that. Look at lawman, we had fun just firing flack at each other. We don’t need jobs in the end to have fun.

I also feel like you repeated yourself here with the first bit. I’m going to sound mean here sorry. But without fleet ships or the “unknown “ cg we might have. You wasted your time. Plain and simple. I understand doing it is a lot of fun and I’m sure you had a good time. I applaud off of you who have done it cause I sure am not lol. but it come down to the fact at this effort currently has no meaning. all you did is make your self npc pirate bait. this event is mostly going to be held in a big pg for each platform. If let in a bad player (it happens) yea we may lose a player or two before they kicked. But we’re not going to let him sit there so the escort group get there fix it be too risky. I’m sure losses would be much higher if we didn’t kick them soon as the went on attack. Your just asking to get blown up by npc for no reason hauling all that stuff. If you want to haul it that’s fine that your choice. But I want to hear I’d deal with the whinnying when they get blown up at an event meet outside a black hole 10kly from beagle. because the npc will show up and some one may get killed.

So why do you want someone to baby sit you ? If you chose to bring useless rares to beagle. Why would some one less be held responsible to protect you? I understand there will be plenty of happy players will to do this but what happens if you die before the escort shows up; or he doesn’t save player in time? What if a player with a data package get taken out because you brought that into the instance and a shieldless explorer dies? your to get mad and it’s going to cause fights and rifts. all of which are unnecessary created because someone wanted to bring something unneeded to the point.

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(Edits to add to this)

DW2 is NOT on "thin ice". Frontier have been in touch with the DW2 organisers and will be discussing soon how to make the expedition as fab as possible. Obviously everyone is waiting for more info on the exploration changes due in Q.4 but DW2 will be different to originally conceived, not abandoned.

Dw2 is on thin ice and your not accepting it. As I said all the jobs all that stuff revolves around the fleet. Carrier. We are not getting them. you can’t make an anymore fab now. You lost all the fab when fleet carriers were removed. As stated above dw1 is no different than dw2 now. You get some new exploring stuff hooray. Your still only exploring or fixing ships. Nothing new. you should understand how bad off dw2 looks without carrier.

P.s sorry if it sound harsh. But some had to be the the bad guy and spell all the problems. I’m still trying to be constructive, I want to open you guys eyes to the current situation from the outside.

 

[Whitmann]

I hope this eases your troubles a little:

Although DW2 was hoping to incorporate Carrier gameplay into some of its peripheral events, the fact that they're no longer available does not significantly effect the core plans for this expedition. At its heart, DW2 hopes to incorporate the community goal proposals we posted in January, and to make use of a megaship acting as the fleet flagship during the journey. These two proposals are what the majority of the events and accompanying gameplay projects will be built around, should they be implemented.

What we don't want is DW2 to be re-run of DW1. These events need to evolve, there has to be more diverse gameplay opportunities for participants to enjoy - either via the player created events and projects we've written, and/or via the game mechanics themselves. So we're hopeful FD will see the merit in what's being proposed and will help with integrating the ideas they've been presented with. We're keen to incorporate as much of the Q4 content as possible into this event, but crucially have practical reasons for using it in accomplishing the expeditions mission goals. So despite the loss of Carrier gameplay, we're still keen to incorporate prospecting, mining, deep core blasting, and logistical support for the megaship, along with the new discovery techniques that have been alluded to.

We hope to hear something back from FD in the next few weeks regarding the submitted proposals. If there is a need to postpone, we'll announce it here, but for now DW2 is still scheduled to launch after the Q4 update has been released.

 

[Valen Zendaris]

[M]ost wont need a major repair. A few % here or there will all that we need. At meet ups there be plenty of rats to cover all the repairs. Not everyone will want or need a repair each time. We will not be fixing the whole fleet at once.

You're absolutely correct, which is why I worded my calculation as a "worst case scenario" based on the event that we would have to repair the entire fleet regularly (which won't happen). In other words, there really is no need for this role as the 383 sign-ups as Fuelrats (assuming half of them are doubling as mechanics) should indeed be easily able to cover the actual need for repairs during the expedition.

If the mining CGs to refuel the mega-ship are implemented, mining does become a dangerous occupation as of Q4, plus there is no restock & repairs available on the mega-ship, then this might change and the role of mechanics could actually become "necessary". Once again, that will depend on what (and if) changes are implemented to the way limpet controllers and other modules work/are equipped. As Alex pointed out, we won't know until the update drops.

But without fleet ships or the “unknown “ cg we might have. You wasted your time. Plain and simple. I understand doing it is a lot of fun and I’m sure you had a good time. I applaud off of you who have done it cause I sure am not lol. but it come down to the fact at this effort currently has no meaning. all you did is make your self npc pirate bait. [...]
So why do you want someone to baby sit you ? If you chose to bring useless rares to beagle. Why would some one less be held responsible to protect you? I understand there will be plenty of happy players will to do this but what happens if you die before the escort shows up; or he doesn’t save player in time? What if a player with a data package get taken out because you brought that into the instance and a shieldless explorer dies? your to get mad and it’s going to cause fights and rifts. all of which are unnecessary created because someone wanted to bring something unneeded to the point.

Got to be honest with you here, I'm not on the expedition because I want to explore with other people. I currently see no point in that as there is no advantage, only the risk of getting rammed due to an instancing issue. The risk that some griefer or other player-vagabond made it into the PG? Just as high a risk whether I got cargo aboard or not. As for the NPC pirates... avoidable.

I joined Fleet Logistics because it offered a challenge, and it required people to work together to complete. I do hope that FDev acknowledge the efforts that have gone into it at some point. I'm not expecting them to though, nor do I need them to: I enjoy it all the same. That's why I'm doing it. If you think anything in this game actually has a purpose, I'm sorry to say that I have yet to see such happen. What the Fuelrats do is amazing, but is it necessary? No. Is the entire DW2 event necessary? No. Is it necessary to play ED? No.

Yet we do it, because we enjoy it. (If you're not enjoying it, what are you still doing here?:O)

As for the risk fleet logistics poses on others... there is none. If an NPC pirate shows up, the trucker is at risk, no one else (unless another player is wanted or carrying cargo themselves, in which case they pose the same "risk" as well). I should probably also mention that I do not expect to make it to BP and back in one piece, but I will most certainly try!

Back on topic though: I continue to be more than welcome (well, maybe a tad reluctant) to reserve some of my 640t of space aboard my type-9 to help store limpets and aid in hauling cargo for the refueling of the mega-ship should that come to fruition. 'Cause you know, I like working together...

 

[The-DemonWolf]

So I don’t want to repeat self makes for bad discussion. So I’m not going to quote or prove anyone wrong, because I’d tryin to be constructive. And we just start chewing each other out even with irrational or illogical thought which no one to debate with that type.

Here the facts

Dw1
Route - saw some pretty stuff and came back
Jobs- Explorer, fuelrat, “mechanic”

Dw2- currently
Multi platform
new route- see some pretty stuff come back
Jobs- explorer, fuelrat, “mechanic”
Additions- horizons ( hooray we drive on planets )
Beyond ( hooray new explorer stuff)
“Possible mega ship flag ship”

What do you really see as a difference? The dlcs? The extra explore stuff? or perhaps the useless mega ship ? Why is it useless? Because a mega ship in the current game max jump is 500ly a week. Do you know at that jump range it would take two years to get to the other side of the galaxy ?!? And this based of current game mechanics ok. You can not have a mega ship flag ship that will even be worth using unless you break the current standard of of the game. So a mega ship flag ship is not currently possible. And it really doesn’t fix role play job problems. There at this time is no serious difference between dw1 and dw2.


So here it is and you won’t like it

Fdev and the leader of the dw2 need to seriously decide if they want do a near exact copy of dw1 for dw2 Or suspended, postpone or even cancel dw2 until the fleet carriers come out.Please seriously put this on the table. Without them, you will not have the dw2 you want, I want or anyone will probably want. if you wait for the carrier you will get all your jobs and role play back plus the new content. A bonus is it instantly sucks 5000+ players into buying the new dlc to to support the game fdev. Yes I know you need money to keep game going and people happy at company. But it has nailed a big nail into the coffin of current dw2 project.

so I’ve said my piece there not much more to say. Please understand I want dw2 to succeed, that why I’m so against going without fleet carriers.

P.s valen liked your posts.

 

[Whitmann]

Did you read what I posted from Erimus upthread?

 

[marx]

@ The-DemonWolf: I understand that you've pinned all your hopes on fleet carriers, but don't forget that we barely know anything specific about them so far. Depending on their implementation, they might even turn out to be useless for large expeditions.
Bear in mind that it looks like Frontier also want the expedition to be a success, so they and the organisers should be able to come up with something that'll be good for everyone.

Speaking of which, about "sucks 5000+ players into buying the new dlc to to support the game fdev": Frontier have said that fleet carriers won't require DLC either, as they were originally slated to be part of Beyond. They did say that there's an expansion coming, and also that all of Beyond's postponed features won't become part of that paid package, but will stay free.

Also, the megaships' 500 ly weekly jump range isn't set in stone. FD could just handwave it and say that they can now jump X ly, because they've equipped new Guardian boosters or whatever. I don't think many would complain about this, heh.

 

[Dr. Nagi]

I doubt that the player controlled fleet carriers would be able to keep up with the expedition.
Anyways, even without that whole community goal thing the expedition will a lot of fun, just like the others are. And if people want to role play as mechanics, just let them do that and don't complain "that's and rats job, we don't need you". Geez.

 

[Qohen Leth]

So I don’t want to repeat self makes for bad discussion. So I’m not going to quote or prove anyone wrong, because I’d tryin to be constructive. And we just start chewing each other out even with irrational or illogical thought which no one to debate with that type.

I couldn't agree more. So for the record:

- DW2 is not on thin ice.
- The DW2 org team is on top of the matter and in touch with FD.
- You don't have all the information.

What we should or should not do, is not for you to worry about. Moreover, it's a pretty obvious statement that doesn't need mentionning. With this out of the way, please resume Fleet Mechanic discussion as before...

Edit: Horizons was around during DW3302, it was one of the points of the expedition.

 

[The-DemonWolf]

I couldn't agree more. So for the record:

- DW2 is not on thin ice.
- The DW2 org team is on top of the matter and in touch with FD.
- You don't have all the information.

What we should or should not do, is not for you to worry about. Moreover, it's a pretty obvious statement that doesn't need mentionning. With this out of the way, please resume Fleet Mechanic discussion as before...

Edit: Horizons was around during DW3302, it was one of the points of the expedition.

Psst it’s in title “and idea melting pot” my posts involved both no need to get salty.

 

[Qohen Leth]

Psst it’s in title “and idea melting pot” my posts involved both no need to get salty.

Just advising you to check the facts you're so eager to use to defend your opinion, before you insist and try to shove said opinion into someone else's throat A lot of us have taken part in expeditions or organized one or several, so trust me, we know the drill. As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm, you don't need to ring the alarm on the state of DW2 just to brainstorm ideas on the Fleet Mechanic role. That's all

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Hi, mainly a reply to The-DemonWolf because they deserve a response from me with my personal thoughts but I'm appending other bits to the bottom too . I'm late back to this and people have said most of what I was going to say but not everything so I'll keep it succinct as possible but I do have a tendancy to ramble so appologies in advance for the essay!


I've read everything and I think the key difference is that you seem to be thinking of things from a very practical cut-dry point of view whereas I've approached it more from a roleplay/fun point of view. Sure we could just lump the Fleet Mechanic role in with Fleet Logistics or the Fuel Rats and remove it entirely and it'd work fine, but that'd be boring. Yes we could just do a dispatch and repair service and nothing else like the Fuel Rats, again I find that a bit boring for what is meant to be an entire role of the fleet.

I will also at this point add that I was approached to do this by a friend on the organisational team, I did not propose it or volunteer, this thread is what I could come up with based on the outline/role I was given. I'd very happily drop it and walk away right now given my IRL situation but with the sign-up numbers and effort everyone else is making I owe it to the people to try and deliver what I can and make the role at least somewhat more interesting than "I carried a limpet controller and cargo rack to Beagle and back". If people don't want what I offer then thats fine but I will do my best to offer things they can join in with if they wish and organise things that other people suggest.


General Expedition:

As others have said there's tons going on in the background and also in the background of the background that even the Role Leaders don't have visibility of.
What I will say is this won't be a rehash of DW1, the organisers have said if FD cannot meet the proposals put to them or if the Q4 update is not as extensive as hoped the expedition can be delayed. Pretty much what Erimus said here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...gn-Up-Thread?p=6971206&viewfull=1#post6971206
If you are lobbying for us to form a movement to postpone DW2 until fleet carriers come out then this is not that place and that feedback is not going to get passed on simply because it's not my place. I would also advise you wait until the proposal to FD has been answered and we know what will occur as well as the Q4 update being finalised and put into beta. At that stage we know what we are dealing with rather than a lot of "if's/but's and maybe's" that we currently have. I'd disagree with you on this point alone because you are arguing there is no change to DW1 when we don't know what DW2 will look like yet. Lets wait and see the final proposal before calling it a failure!

Yes fleet carriers is a blow and a big one, lets not beat about the bush that was a big part of DW2. However, it wasn't everything, the primary goal of distant worlds is exploration as you say. Exploration and mining are getting an overhaul in Q4, we should also have a bunch of developer bits for us if they work with the proposal.

For numbers needing repairs there's a ton who need it even before the Q4 changes, lots of people have "incidents" when landing. I was on DW1 and saw myself what happened even to some of the veteran explorers and organisers of the event, very few made it with full hull to Beagle. I imagine with repair limpets most people will also feel safer doing things like canyon running etc. As I said before mining changes may make us a necessity for those guys if explosives become a thing.
Short and honest answer, I don't know what will happen between now and then, I don't even know where we are exactly at present since this has never been done before especially on this scale. It's being played by ear but I don't think it'll be silent on our channel when we launch.



I also think you underestimate the community. You say "I went on DW2 and only carried limpets", I say "I went on DW2 and supplied an entire army of guys from miners to fuel rats to repair rats, I kept the fleet ticking and helped it get to Beagle". Look at the Hutton Truckers for example, since when has something so mundane been made so awesome. Similar with the miners. I don't think the fleet carriers being knocked out the Q4 update will provoke a mass exodus as you seem to be hinting at.
I take it you were not on DW1 by your comments. Back then there were no fleet carriers, no SLFs, no megaships, no POI tourist beacons, no repair limpets etc. We did it because we could and because we wanted to and the event itself made the event awesome. DW2 does need to evolve and as above will not be a re-hash, however, you seem to see it again as a very practical thing like to set-up shop at Beagle or whatever. It's so much more than that and until it happens it probably won't make sense, even then it may not make sense to you but for a lot of us it's not the practical elements that matter.

Who said megaships can only jump 500ly a week? The ones in the bubble yes but this is DW2 and the developers are directly involved with the organisers. Just because there are rules for the player groups in the Bubble/Colonia does not mean they apply to us. If there is a megaship with DW2 rest assured the organisers will have spoken with the developers and made sure it's got it's route pre-set from the start to keep up.

Who said the escort role won't have other things going on, after-all the fleet mechanics role has more going on than just repairing and the logistics role has more going on than just carrying stuff from A to Beagle! <- Again there's tons more here than people know about and no I will not spoil it. Let me just end with I have probably done the least out of the organisational team.
Also to my knowledge NPCs no longer spawn outside the bubble except if you have missions or powerplay, even then they are much rarer now.


The ideas themselves:

Fuel Rats link:
Not everyone that needs repairs needs fuel, not everyone that needs fuel needs repairs.
I was on DW1 as a Fuel Rat and I've ratted through some of the busiest times like Horizons Launch, DW1 and PS4magedon! DW1 was a bit chaotic since new cases came through on teamspeak, discord and the IRC with everything inbetween. Also the Irc had to co-ordinate with new cases coming in from the bubble, from DW and from random explorers as well as the usual flurry of other stuff. Finally the rats were still learning back then, it was by no means straight forwards and smooth.

There were experiments with multiple channels, experiments with multiple dispatchers and experiments running things through other methods than the IRC.

I will say this quite clearly now as it's been discussed extensively elsewhere behind the scenes since I raise the OP: The Fleet Mechanic will not use the Fuel Rats IRC, there's no need to clog up the rats with non-urgent repair cases. No need to roster up 600 new sign-ups for DW2 mechanics (i'm sure i'd be getting a few choice swear words and adverbs from the rat ops team if I proposed this!).
If DW2 repair cases end up in the Fuel Rats irc it will be up to them if they dispatch people or advise them to contact the Fleet Mechanics. Up to them at the time and how chaotic it is.


Limpet Tag:
Yes I made it up, I was completely unaware you had made something similar, I'm not everywhere. Yes I'm aware its flawed and relies on everyone taking part but If you have any suggestions to make this idea better as the "creator" of the original idea then please float them. Again it's all I could come up with to try and inject some fun into the proceedings. If it fails then so what. If people lie about having the "special limpet" or drop it or use it or whatever then so what? Part of the fun for me would be seeing just how badly it goes, Chinese Whispers style.
Yes we could use a rare-goods item or something for this purpose but that'd lower the chances of it all messing up.

The way I envisaged it was a bit of fun, nothing more, no prizes or penalties. As above suggestions are welcome for improvements but it was created intentionally flawed. I believe other roles are doing a more structured pass the parcel type deal anyhow.


Logistics:
Nothing confirmed yet, too soon to say what will happen exactly.

You misunderstand my vision/idea though, nobody will carry 50,000 limpets.
Rock Rats/Miners/Logistics gather resources and craft limpets -> Give spares to Fleet Logistics carriers who store say e.g. 50 at a time -> We resupply from the carriers therefore we don't need to mine resources or prepare synthesis materials in advance. I know I will be setting off in both my ships with nothing stored and nothing in the synthesis banks.
Again you are approaching it from a very practical point of view. Sure it's easier to synthesise yourself, but it's not as fun or as involving/interconnecting with the fleet. As I said in the OP and follow-up posts this will be an optional roleplay element, don't like it then don't do it


Misc:
The following 4 bullet points are written a bit more directly than I would like but I'm tired from work and don't have the energy to reword them. It's my honest thoughts:

-You've torn into the ideas a fair bit with valid points, but I don't see any suggestions or ideas of your own other than to mothball the whole thing into other roles or postpone the whole expedition. Easier to destroy than create Cliché. What would you do to make the Fleet Mechanics role more than a Fuel Rats side-arm, how would you run it if they'd asked you not me?

-I feel you've been disappointed by the carriers announcement and are now looking to replace it with something. Bluntly put I don't think the mechanics role is that something. It's a player built role compared with a new developer made content, it will not fill the gap and was never intended to. It'll be everything I can make it but I'm just a player who was asked to help out.

-Given Carriers are out and it's very important for you personally why are you going on DW2? You said it's because you are a Fuel Rat but you also said there are plenty of other rats going. If the event no longer holds interest why not do something you'd enjoy more and wait for the carriers to come in later?

-Also on an aside note: I dislike that you are telling people things like "you wasted your time" (Post #22) when they are not in charge of the things you are arguing about. Simply put: Wrong person, wrong thread, wrong topic.


Topic of discussion:
As for the topics of discussion here the meta topics about the roles, the event and the content of the event are kind of irrelevent. This is simply how to make the mechanics role as good as possible. Yes carriers are out and that changes the proposals/ideas linked to them, but this thread isn't the doom and gloom thread, it needs new ideas and fresh thoughts on what we can do in the absence of carriers.
If the organisers postpone it until carriers arrive the original ideas involving them are back on the table, until that decision is made lets keep coming up with other ideas!

Whether the expedition as a whole needs to change, whether it's on thin ice, thick ice or the new ice planets in production is irrelevant to this topic and can be discussed elsewhere.

Thanks
Alex

 

[Orvidius]

Also, the megaships' 500 ly weekly jump range isn't set in stone. FD could just handwave it and say that they can now jump X ly, because they've equipped new Guardian boosters or whatever. I don't think many would complain about this, heh.

And this is an excellent point. I don't see why they couldn't have an expedition megaship with a 5,000 ly range, with the explanation including the guardian hybrid tech, but also being a specialized expedition vessel that's almost entirely a giant FSD, with some hangar bays bolted on.

 

[Erimus Kamzel]

And this is an excellent point. I don't see why they couldn't have an expedition megaship with a 5,000 ly range, with the explanation including the guardian hybrid tech, but also being a specialized expedition vessel that's almost entirely a giant FSD, with some hangar bays bolted on.

We wrote something similar in the proposals that were sent to FD back in January (before Guardian Boosters were known about)

The (DW2) Megaship would be a deep space variant - the ‘Expedition-Class’. It has sacrificed various heavy armaments and internals to keep its mass as low as possible so that large hyperjumps are attainable. It has a fuel tank capacity that allows it to jump approximately 5,000 LYs per hyperjump per week before it requires refueling by commanders.

“Expedition-Class” Megaships can jump further than the standard class vessel but do require logistical support for them to operate out in the depths, far from human infrastructure. If logistical support comes in the form of refueling via mined ice-based elements, this would give resource gatherers and deep space prospecting teams tangible reasons to ‘play’ further afield. They would become integral roles in any fleet that operates beyond human borders via scouting for resource rich asteroid belts, and extraction via deep core blasting or regular mining, and logistics via ferrying the extracted fuel to the Megaship (which requires a specific amount of fuel to make its next 5K weekly jump).

These Megaship variants could be commissioned by groups for large player-created deep space expeditions; be it for exploration, deep space prospecting, or scientific research.


Now we just have to wait and see if FD see any merit in the ideas!

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Official thread for the mechanics role of the expedition is now up. Please continue discussions over there.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/452349-DW2-Fleet-Mechanics?p=7106183#post7106183

 

[Ian Phillips]

Closed as requested by OP!