With the beta 5 of the patch 2.3 a certain problem became apparent - people don't want to let new players earn more Credits than they did when they were new to the game. The question is why?
I believe it is because the current structure of the game offers ships as the rewards, and the gameplay itself is actually means to getting new ships.
Let's start at the beginning though. You're in your trusty Sidewinder, and you open the Starport Services.
The low-paying missions, the low cargo of starting ships, it's all designed in a way to make you feel weak. You keep completing the same missions over and over again, you keep hauling low amounts of cargo for mediocre profit, all to get to that next ship that will allow you to... Right, to do what exactly? That's right, grind faster. Bigger cargo, more credits per haul. Next rank, higher paying missions.
Note that the gameplay is actually the hardest in the beginning. You're struggling to outfit your ship, because you have little to no Credits. If you lose a cargo to a pirate, you're left without money, because most of it went into buying your merchandise.
As you progress, you get new ships, BETTER(In every possible way) ships. The game becomes easier, suddenly you can afford to lose the cargo because you've made enough to buy it twice on your last trade trip. The combat becomes easier, you can outfit stronger ships, stronger weapons. You feel accomplishment, the game is easier! But not because you got better at the game, you simply grinded your way to the easier part.
Did you buy an Anaconda? Your range is now the biggest in the game. Your trading capabilities are quite silly, and no pirate will come for your haul, not with all those weapons and a Ship Launched Fighter. You can finally play the game without worrying about getting to the next ship to grind faster. You can enjoy the gameplay, but it turns out the gameplay is rather shallow once you have no new measurable goals(ships) to achieve.
Did the missions change? No, not really, I've been doing the same missions for the past few months. Ship after ship, the missions stayed the same. Deliver this cargo, deliver this data. Kill this target in system, kill that target in the system next door. Just be sure to get back here for your reward, we don't have the technology to send messages to you.
Maybe you'd like to do some non-mission activities? You start seeing that Bounty Hunting is not much of a bounty hunting, it's just shooting every other ship in the Resource Extraction Site. Of course it's fun, but for how long? Maybe do some trading then? Right, but you have no use for Credits anymore, and the tools for trading are just mediocre. Exploration then, it's still fun. It's probably the only gameplay element where tediousness feels like an important part of the experience. Apart from the infinite loading screens, where you're idly waiting for the jump to complete.
To get to my point... Once you've grinded your way through the game you realise that the gameplay itself is rather shallow. The game is not challenging, and the ships are the rewards.
Frontier, please rethink your design. I'd love challenging missions that get harder with my rank. A challenge to overcome, to make me want to play the game for the gameplay, not just for the fact that I'm flying a spaceship.
With time-sinks you're only delaying the time players will get bored. Design fun, engaging gameplay and people will come back to the game again and again to play just a little bit more. People wouldn't be mad that someone's getting to the ship they're flying faster than they did, because the gameplay would be their reward for playing, rather than Credits they managed to grind.
I believe it is because the current structure of the game offers ships as the rewards, and the gameplay itself is actually means to getting new ships.
Let's start at the beginning though. You're in your trusty Sidewinder, and you open the Starport Services.
The low-paying missions, the low cargo of starting ships, it's all designed in a way to make you feel weak. You keep completing the same missions over and over again, you keep hauling low amounts of cargo for mediocre profit, all to get to that next ship that will allow you to... Right, to do what exactly? That's right, grind faster. Bigger cargo, more credits per haul. Next rank, higher paying missions.
Note that the gameplay is actually the hardest in the beginning. You're struggling to outfit your ship, because you have little to no Credits. If you lose a cargo to a pirate, you're left without money, because most of it went into buying your merchandise.
As you progress, you get new ships, BETTER(In every possible way) ships. The game becomes easier, suddenly you can afford to lose the cargo because you've made enough to buy it twice on your last trade trip. The combat becomes easier, you can outfit stronger ships, stronger weapons. You feel accomplishment, the game is easier! But not because you got better at the game, you simply grinded your way to the easier part.
Did you buy an Anaconda? Your range is now the biggest in the game. Your trading capabilities are quite silly, and no pirate will come for your haul, not with all those weapons and a Ship Launched Fighter. You can finally play the game without worrying about getting to the next ship to grind faster. You can enjoy the gameplay, but it turns out the gameplay is rather shallow once you have no new measurable goals(ships) to achieve.
Did the missions change? No, not really, I've been doing the same missions for the past few months. Ship after ship, the missions stayed the same. Deliver this cargo, deliver this data. Kill this target in system, kill that target in the system next door. Just be sure to get back here for your reward, we don't have the technology to send messages to you.
Maybe you'd like to do some non-mission activities? You start seeing that Bounty Hunting is not much of a bounty hunting, it's just shooting every other ship in the Resource Extraction Site. Of course it's fun, but for how long? Maybe do some trading then? Right, but you have no use for Credits anymore, and the tools for trading are just mediocre. Exploration then, it's still fun. It's probably the only gameplay element where tediousness feels like an important part of the experience. Apart from the infinite loading screens, where you're idly waiting for the jump to complete.
To get to my point... Once you've grinded your way through the game you realise that the gameplay itself is rather shallow. The game is not challenging, and the ships are the rewards.
Frontier, please rethink your design. I'd love challenging missions that get harder with my rank. A challenge to overcome, to make me want to play the game for the gameplay, not just for the fact that I'm flying a spaceship.
With time-sinks you're only delaying the time players will get bored. Design fun, engaging gameplay and people will come back to the game again and again to play just a little bit more. People wouldn't be mad that someone's getting to the ship they're flying faster than they did, because the gameplay would be their reward for playing, rather than Credits they managed to grind.