They could have made rares as drops from npc from certain locations, "boom" you have a nice place to grind some kills and make some money, furthermore, these locations could only appear in open play so now you have some risk vs reward mechanic going, more devious players would go there to grind them, people who want to pirate might wanna hang around there too, sadly that would probably exclude a lot of people from that content, me being one of them them probably at the moment.
Patch Notes Update Elite: Dangerous 1.02 change log
- Thread starter Edward Lewis
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You said it best.
Well the answer is:
1) to find a normal A to B, B to A trading route and play the game. IE running this route, which probably wont be much more than 500k per hour (if you're lucky), over and over and over until your eyeballs fall out. This is what I did up to getting my Type-6 and mods, and the grind almost killed me.
2 ) Bounty hunting, but it's simply not worth it. It is very fun though, but that fun wears off very fast when you realise how little money you actually make. Getting a decently kitted out ASP or higher is going to take you a very long time this way.
3) Exploration. Not worth it.
For me at least, rares were the only viable way of progressing in this game and I was enjoying it simply because, although it's very slow, it is a big earner (eventually) and doesn't require any soul destroying grinding. Basically, I would play E
in a window while sat in a rares station waiting for supply to appear, and play Hearthstone or watch a movie or something as I waited. Definitely not the way the devs want me to play their game I'm sure, but what alternative do I have? And for quite a few people with very little time, according to this thread, this way of playing actually suited them fine.In my opinion these nerfs need to stop right now, and the opposite needs to happen. Sitting in stations for 2+ hours waiting for my cargo slots to fill up is NOT fun, but you give us no choice. I see no reason why knee-jerk reaction nerfs to rares was the only option you had on the table. Just revert it back to 1.01 and let people play that way, if they want to.
Bounty hunting, normal commodity trading and exploration all need to be made much more lucrative than they currently are, to close the gap between those and rares trading.
Regarding "rare" goods, I think people need to recalibrate their definition of rare. It's only rare in the sense that it only comes from one planet, not that there's a production limitation at that planet. Think of it like some local cheese or microbrew. It's thick on the ground in the vicinity, on tap at local bars, the corner quickie-mart sells it in the cooler. Across the country people have never barely of it, or it's hard to ship, or whatever.
That's my understanding of "rare" goods, anyway.
That's my understanding of "rare" goods, anyway.
Minor Faction Rep Discrepancy
When I complete a mission for a particular faction associated with the Fed the summary screen states that I am Allied with them but the Rep screen in the HUD still reports my status with them as Friendly.
My Fed rep is Neutral.
Anyone else seeing this sort of discrepancy between the mission summary and the HUD?
When I complete a mission for a particular faction associated with the Fed the summary screen states that I am Allied with them but the Rep screen in the HUD still reports my status with them as Friendly.
My Fed rep is Neutral.
Anyone else seeing this sort of discrepancy between the mission summary and the HUD?
This, so much this +1
Any word on when the vanishing dock bug might get fixed? It's not funny any more. Entering a coriolis after they tell you dock 35 and all the docks are unlit until some random event happens has lost its charm.
The problem is, trading in general does not support a distance travel model.
The most efficient way to trade is to find two stations either in the same system or within LS of their stars, who sell goods the other demands, and shuttle back and forth between the two. Repetitively. Ad nauseum.
If the profits die on that one, you just find another pair of stations...
Jumping 160LY over and over will give you zero profitability, that was solved with rares.
Since I can't edit my post for some reason, I'll shamelessly reply to myself and correct the sentence to read "Across the country people have barely heard of it, or it's hard to ship, or whatever."
Sorry if I'm being thick about the rares and you assumed that to begin with.
Warning, :words:.
I started out in Gamma running mission for faction rep, it was easy money (and good money at that point) but I realised it was only a start. There was lots of space to explore and I had to get out there, so I saved up for a Cobra and then pointed my new ship in a random direction. Eventually, I came across a system with a Pristine belt, so I thought, why not try some mining? My Cobra was still stock, so I fitted a mining laser and refinery and hoped that shooting rocks wasn't like it was in Eve.
Well, it was a bit more involved, but it wasn't exactly exciting. I made enough to fully upgrade my Cobra, but then decided it was time to find something else for a while. Elite's a trading game, right? So I load up Slopey's BPC and try and find some good trading routes. After a few trades, I realise I need a bigger ship, so I buy an Asp and fit it with all cargo holds. The money starts coming in, but after a few dents and bumps I realise the expense of repairing this ship isn't worth the extra cargo space, so I re-fit a shield and grind more trade runs. It's good money - I found a route giving me 2460cr/ton profit so if I just grinded for a bit I could upgrade my Asp. Station to station, dock, load up, undock, hyperspace, dock, sell, load up, undock.... I can handle this for a while, but it's soul-destroying, and not what I remember "space trading" being like from back in '84.
I'm starting to wonder how to make enough to afford a bigger ship, or even just enough to afford the repair bill if I do a bit of combat. I've heard about rare trading but it seems a bit complicated, but nothing's for free, right? So I do a bit of research and decide to do a round-trip of Fed stations to test the water. I load up with some rares and head off across the Galaxy. This is exciting! I'm out of my comfort zone, no Friendly ships around, loads of new systems to explore as I make my way to the next stop. Sure, I'm not making as much money taking the scenic route like this, but damn is it fun! This is what I remember from those late night huddled over my BBC B. A purpose, not just a grind.
So then the nerfbat hits. Now I have to wait for the stock to refresh at each port. After an initial outcry, I realise this isn't so bad. Now I can run some missions while I wait, make some new friends in each port I visit, and as long as I don't take too many risks I can fly around with a hold half-full of rare goods (I can't buy a separate ship to do combat in because you can't store a ship with cargo...). It's not so bad though, I'm making less money - much less than I was making trading even, but I don't care so much, there are still systems to explore and new friends to make.
And now this. Rare trading is now literally pointless, unless you're a new player in a small ship, and even then it's just a stepping stone to a larger ship, which you then won't be able to afford to run. I've championed this game, defended it from the trolls, been called a fanboy, but now I'm starting to wonder what direction the devs are taking. Getting a bigger ship (and being able to afford upgrades and repairs) is a goal most players aspire to, yet that goal is being moved further and further away. I'm sorry to say, but this may be a turning point for me, when I start to lose hope that this game will actually be a keeper.
FD, I'd love to hear some reasoning from you behind the changes to rare trading. So far, there's been no word at all. In Gamma, the changes you made went from one extreme to another, but now they just seem to be heading progressively south.
I started out in Gamma running mission for faction rep, it was easy money (and good money at that point) but I realised it was only a start. There was lots of space to explore and I had to get out there, so I saved up for a Cobra and then pointed my new ship in a random direction. Eventually, I came across a system with a Pristine belt, so I thought, why not try some mining? My Cobra was still stock, so I fitted a mining laser and refinery and hoped that shooting rocks wasn't like it was in Eve.
Well, it was a bit more involved, but it wasn't exactly exciting. I made enough to fully upgrade my Cobra, but then decided it was time to find something else for a while. Elite's a trading game, right? So I load up Slopey's BPC and try and find some good trading routes. After a few trades, I realise I need a bigger ship, so I buy an Asp and fit it with all cargo holds. The money starts coming in, but after a few dents and bumps I realise the expense of repairing this ship isn't worth the extra cargo space, so I re-fit a shield and grind more trade runs. It's good money - I found a route giving me 2460cr/ton profit so if I just grinded for a bit I could upgrade my Asp. Station to station, dock, load up, undock, hyperspace, dock, sell, load up, undock.... I can handle this for a while, but it's soul-destroying, and not what I remember "space trading" being like from back in '84.
I'm starting to wonder how to make enough to afford a bigger ship, or even just enough to afford the repair bill if I do a bit of combat. I've heard about rare trading but it seems a bit complicated, but nothing's for free, right? So I do a bit of research and decide to do a round-trip of Fed stations to test the water. I load up with some rares and head off across the Galaxy. This is exciting! I'm out of my comfort zone, no Friendly ships around, loads of new systems to explore as I make my way to the next stop. Sure, I'm not making as much money taking the scenic route like this, but damn is it fun! This is what I remember from those late night huddled over my BBC B. A purpose, not just a grind.
So then the nerfbat hits. Now I have to wait for the stock to refresh at each port. After an initial outcry, I realise this isn't so bad. Now I can run some missions while I wait, make some new friends in each port I visit, and as long as I don't take too many risks I can fly around with a hold half-full of rare goods (I can't buy a separate ship to do combat in because you can't store a ship with cargo...). It's not so bad though, I'm making less money - much less than I was making trading even, but I don't care so much, there are still systems to explore and new friends to make.
And now this. Rare trading is now literally pointless, unless you're a new player in a small ship, and even then it's just a stepping stone to a larger ship, which you then won't be able to afford to run. I've championed this game, defended it from the trolls, been called a fanboy, but now I'm starting to wonder what direction the devs are taking. Getting a bigger ship (and being able to afford upgrades and repairs) is a goal most players aspire to, yet that goal is being moved further and further away. I'm sorry to say, but this may be a turning point for me, when I start to lose hope that this game will actually be a keeper.
FD, I'd love to hear some reasoning from you behind the changes to rare trading. So far, there's been no word at all. In Gamma, the changes you made went from one extreme to another, but now they just seem to be heading progressively south.
Now that the game has been released, the sledgehammer nerf-bat tactics used in the beta and gamma is not going to work anymore. The sooner they realize that, the less criticism they will get and the happier the players will be. There is a lot of very annoyed and disillusioned players around today, and this could all have been avoided.
Great post.
Nobody wants a tedious game.
With this nerf, the ONLY thing that isn't tedious now is combat, which isnt even in the consideration for game progression for anyone but a no-lifer who plans to spend there life on this. Exploration is OK, but its not fun to me unless it can be combined with a way to progress. Which is what rae trades where.
I have a job. I am looking for a game. I thought I found one. Seems more like another job.
With this nerf, the ONLY thing that isn't tedious now is combat, which isnt even in the consideration for game progression for anyone but a no-lifer who plans to spend there life on this. Exploration is OK, but its not fun to me unless it can be combined with a way to progress. Which is what rae trades where.
I have a job. I am looking for a game. I thought I found one. Seems more like another job.
We can't expect every Ticket to get a personal reply can we? Frontier need our continued support to help develop this and iron out early imperfections.
The guys are doing such an amazing job! Patience and continued ticket logging are the best suggestions if you want to see things improve.
If more people put effort into logging tickets rather than venting, perhaps the forums & deep space would be better for us all?
P.S. nothing wrong with Cambridge but I wouldn't want to live there either
Ben 'ol buddy, (firstly, don't take this as a rant, I mean in a friendly way) but you've been banging on about rep for days and days now. Why don't you bite that lil old bullet and give yourself a damn good wiping? you'll feel better for it, I promise!
It looks like the dev's disapprove of any money making and want to nerf the hell out of it. Which is pretty damn bizarre for a "Space Trading," game. Mining pays only until you have a Cobra III, Trading will take you forever to get into a Python let alone an Anaconda, Bounty hunting stops making money pretty much after a Cobra III (getting a 40k bounty with 38k repairs is idiotic so I quit that.) So much for playing the way you want.
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