Elite Dangerous | System Colonisation Beta Details & Feedback

[Sighman]

Well I guess I have to correct myself here. From another discussion I've learned that the data feeds are showing over 30,000 systems colonized (with several thousand more pending primary port construction). So the "8,000 systems" number was if anything an underestimate!

That's probably a bit faster than the devs planned on the land rush going. I wonder how much more difficult they'll make it when they turn it back on.

8000 might have been 'claimed and then successfully finished' with the first station completed, as they also said 13,000 structures had been completed.

It probably wasn't the number of claims, not with over 13k peak players on steam (which probably means 4-5x that in total throughout the day) which in itself is probably only 1/3 the actual players who logged in to grab a system.

To slow it down they only have to disable the colony contact on new stations until the following thursday.

 

[EliteTribes]

That should not happen. That whole idea of "incentivize other players by giving them a cut" can and will be abused. Where do you know that an architect is guaranteed a certain amount like its a fixed number and not in integer based on functions and arrays?

Dont like that someone took a claim you wanted. Complete the project and take away their X% cut right after they started the claim. Got a large number of FCs? Great the more resources you have vs them the better. It creates a hybrid war that pushes the player that was excited about that claim out just because the bigger fish was mad it didnt get the minnow. This is one example. Exploiters/cheaters will have many more.

I would never touch a game system like that because it will cater to the hostile nature people will have against what i have. The non-architects can get upto 50-80% as you suggested out of MY work because I'm solo? Hell no. Trillions of systems out there. That would only disincentivize me in the game play.

There is also the serious backend issue, not BGS, part of this. That creates a different type of data collection and calculation the live servers have to do on ALL claimed systems at a given point. That means more servers, more drives, more processing, more power costs. All for possibly very little benefit.

Edit: Im not building my system for YOUR benefit. Its for mine, my enjoyment, goals and if I want to share that with people (outside of paying a massive AUX for a system permit). Thats the reason I am the architect in my system.

I agree its not a good idea.

I think instead it would be better to allow a discount on the next system you claim if you help someone else build their stations. This could be a reduction in claim fee and resources needed to build the claim station and indeed all stations in that system. That way it would encourage cooperation between architects and speed up helpful people's system colonization efforts.

 

[Xenia_K]

I agree its not a good idea.

I think instead it would be better to allow a discount on the next system you claim if you help someone else build their stations. This could be a reduction in claim fee and resources needed to build the claim station and indeed all stations in that system. That way it would encourage cooperation between architects and speed up helpful people's system colonization efforts.

I like your proposal personally, as I rotate the claims in my daisy-chain betwenn my four characters.
As for the game I completely dis-agree with that kind of approach. It would just result in Commaders filling up their T-8 with, lests says 350 tons of steel and contribute 1 ton to each system in colonization-status to get that discount in case there in future is a claimable system around they´d like......

 

[EliteTribes]

I've built some Installations, but the construction platforms are still after wards. Shouldn't they dissappear now?

I am waiting to confirm this after todays maintenance.
However, I think this is an intended game mechanic because I built one station before last weeks maintenance and this weeks its been without the construction platform and shows proper orbit lines.
This to me suggests once a station is completed it is not fully deployed until the maintenance window, I am not sure if that means it works at a reduced functionality until it is fully deployed, which is why I am waiting to confirm today to see if the stations I completed this week do the same thing.

 

[EliteTribes]

I like your proposal personally, as I rotate the claims in my daisy-chain betwenn my four characters.
As for the game I completely dis-agree with that kind of approach. It would just result in Commaders filling up their T-8 with, lests says 350 tons of steel and contribute 1 ton to each system in colonization-status to get that discount in case there in future is a claimable system around they´d like......

Sorry I should have said you'd need to contribute x % before you'd get a bonus to avoid what you describe and also the % discount could also be scaled based on the amount, you contributed to someone else's system.

Also I would not make the discount stack up, because you could end up getting paid to claim a system if you implemented it that way xD.

Basically the idea would be to reward those working in cooperation with each other who significantly help out another persons system constructions by providing a discount on their next claimed system only.

The devs would simply balance this with various mechanics like the ones I have described above and a few others they might think of that I have not thought of here.

Hope this makes the way you read my original suggestion a little better.

 

[Jmanis]

Well I guess I have to correct myself here. From another discussion I've learned that the data feeds are showing over 30,000 systems colonized (with several thousand more pending primary port construction). So the "8,000 systems" number was if anything an underestimate!

That's probably a bit faster than the devs planned on the land rush going. I wonder how much more difficult they'll make it when they turn iit back on

I mean... is that too fast? That's 30,000 in, what was it... two weeks? Thereabouts?

As a contrast, if we colonised 15,000 systems per day, that's 73,000 years to fill the galaxy. To make that more relatable, that rate would populate 20% of the 0.05% of the galaxy we've discovered to-date in 7 years time. That's just 0.01% colonised in 7 years

Of course, within a couple years, there would be "threads" zig zagging all over the galaxy as people want to get to particular places.... it would take 10 players 1 year (or 1 player 10 years) to tunnel from one side of the galaxy to the other at that rate, ignoring the logistics of that... so even then that's fastest-case.

Is that what FD want? No idea.

Personally, if that's not what FD want... they would need to have a linearly- scaling cost based on how many systems you own as to go out, and only by a small volume like 1m credits per extra system, that would cost a player 10 trillion by the time they reached the other end of the galaxy.... so if that cost doubled or became exponential, it could peter-out efforts.... if thats really what FD wanted for an individual player, theyd need to think about just how many systems they want someone to own.... but that just becomes fraught. The claims alone for that without increasing would still be 100b.

So i dunno... i don't think that rate is too bad. It feels worse because its concentrated in one spot. If they unshackled where (rather than how far) you could colonise, the impact might feel much less noticable, except of course in popular locations.

I still think the current system puts too much emphasis on expanding out rather than building up colonies... and would like something like a "you can't drop another claim until 10% of your locations are used in your current claim"... that way you'd still be unrestricted if your system of choice had less than 10 slots as part of a bridge out somewhere... meanwhile a system of up to 50-60 slots only needs one round of installations to go up. Although that doesn't incentivise building up (which tbh, is tricky to solve)... it incentivises people who are bridging to places, to pick systems with less utility, in order to bridge faster without having to build up first.

 

[Archie73]

I experienced a new level of stress today..

Had two more runs to do just as the server "30 minutes to go" maintenance warning popped up!!
Managed to get the goods delivered and the station in a "building state" before the 7am server tick.. (6pm for me)

My word... my palms were sweaty.

 

[Ydiss]

Nope, it unfortunatly doesn´t

Looks like someone during Construction spilled a lot of Carbohydrates
View attachment 420889

That isn't what happens to mine, so perhaps it's a bug. Though that is a small settlement and I only made medium and large so far.

I've got an actual location I can show to confirm, when the game is back up. Placed mine on the lip of a crater and it looked awful during construction (like a huge pimple from a distance) but now it looks perfect, just how I'd planned it to look when placing it.

That said, my build was a larger settlement than this one you made here. It's possible there's some minimum area required anyway and I can easily see a large settlement fitting inside that region within perhaps the darker circles.

 

[Xenia_K]

Sorry I should have said you'd need to contribute x % before you'd get a bonus to avoid what you describe and also the % discount could also be scaled based on the amount, you contributed to someone else's system.

Also I would not make the discount stack up, because you could end up getting paid to claim a system if you implemented it that way xD.

Basically the idea would be to reward those working in cooperation with each other who significantly help out another persons system constructions by providing a discount on their next claimed system only.

The devs would simply balance this with various mechanics like the ones I have described above and a few others they might think of that I have not thought of here.

Hope this makes the way you read my original suggestion a little better.

well, we as a slightly bigger PMF have an easy solution to that - play together and be fair!
If a bunch of peolple help you moving the stuff required, give them the chance to claim from your system (even the next planned in your chain) and help THEM doing their stuff. Easy as that, no coding ingame required.

 

[CMDR Aphrodyte]

Servers up but colonization still locked down

 

[JumpMaster]

No megaships with commodities I guess?!

 

[ConstanceFlux]

Well this is my second update. I claimed my system the weekend after the update and have been playing a ton more than I normally have and I'm just now at 46%. While I am ALL for hard work to be an "owner of a system" it is almost ridiculous for casual players at this point that does not have a capital ship and needs to jump a few systems to get your resoures. I don't think claiming should be simple at all and should be a lot of work but you MUST and I mean MUST give us the ability to extend our build time. I don't think I will make it in 4 weeks because I'm not sure I can play as much as I have. So please allow us to at least 1 more time purchase a claim extension of a couple weeks or something. Then at least I have a chance to get my first system.

I'm already frustrated that you don't let us select our station location as well as change the type.... But please at least allow us a chance to no ruin weeks of work because of a timer we might not make.

earn the Bucks to get a FC before you start making a claim to colonise a System , then.

 

[VR Morgan Grimes]

Ok. I guess i don't understand why you're saying this in relation to my guide then it's not an endorsement of the UI/UX.

I'm saying it in relation to the game, you offered your guide as a solution and I'm merely pointing out that it doesn't solve the issue.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Although that doesn't incentivise building up (which tbh, is tricky to solve)... it incentivises people who are bridging to places, to pick systems with less utility, in order to bridge faster without having to build up first.

this is a very good point.
i wonder how many people have bagged a really good system (because they could) but with no intention of doing anything with it other than use as a stepping stone?, where as they could have just grabbed a single star system which would have been as good for them but not tied up a decent system that another player would want to actually work with.

 

[EliteTribes]

The fact that everything is blackboxed away from us and left for us to figure out by experimentation also means it's impossible for us to tell what's "working as intended" and what's not.

I actually prefer having to figure out mechanisms in a game but your not wrong the details should be explicitly written down for people to read and check what they are doing is correct. Or more accurately there should be a video or videos (Depending on length to make it bite sized) on how to do things in this day an age with verbal, written and actually examples of the mechanics being used to explain this stuff for all those who do not enjoy discovery of mechanics like myself (which seems to be the majority of players).

Note: I do actually look things up myself when I get stuck too.

 

[Dredgen]

Servers up but colonization still locked down

that's a real bummer

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Well this is my second update. I claimed my system the weekend after the update and have been playing a ton more than I normally have and I'm just now at 46%. While I am ALL for hard work to be an "owner of a system" it is almost ridiculous for casual players at this point that does not have a capital ship and needs to jump a few systems to get your resoures. I don't think claiming should be simple at all and should be a lot of work but you MUST and I mean MUST give us the ability to extend our build time. I don't think I will make it in 4 weeks because I'm not sure I can play as much as I have. So please allow us to at least 1 more time purchase a claim extension of a couple weeks or something. Then at least I have a chance to get my first system.

I'm already frustrated that you don't let us select our station location as well as change the type.... But please at least allow us a chance to no ruin weeks of work because of a timer we might not make.

personally i would not even contemplate colonisation without access to a fleet carrier unless you have a good supply of stuff a single jump away. I see colonisation as fairly advanced game stuff, FD have been doing everything they can to throw credits at us with gold rushes and immensely profitable CGs (I got over a billion credits for 1 CG before xmas and that was ignoring profits made doing the CG).

if you are solo you really need a FC for this... and tbh its good because for me it justified me getting one.

 

[Jmanis]

I actually prefer having to figure out mechanisms in a game but your not wrong the details should be explicitly written down for people to read and check what they are doing is correct. Or more accurately there should be a video or videos (Depending on length to make it bite sized) on how to do things in this day an age with verbal, written and actually examples of the mechanics being used to explain this stuff for all those who do not enjoy discovery of mechanics like myself (which seems to be the majority of players).

Note: I do actually look things up myself when I get stuck too

I think the biggest issue isn't that you need to experiment to work things out... but the the cost of experimentation here is so high.

It's not like the BGS where messing around with levers is fairly low- cost easy to repair.

Experimenting with a whole, unreversible build that might take potentially dozen(s) of hours of play... the cost there is really high, and perhaps impossible to undo.... which is not great.

 

[CMDR WhiteWolf06]

Still no colonization...smdh. I think maybe ED has failed for the final time.

 

[Jmanis]

personally i would not even contemplate colonisation without access to a fleet carrier unless you have a good supply of stuff a single jump away. I see colonisation as fairly advanced game stuff, FD have been doing everything they can to throw credits at us with gold rushes and immensely profitable CGs (I got over a billion credits for 1 CG before xmas and that was ignoring profits made doing the CG).

if you are solo you really need a FC for this... and tbh its good because for me it justified me getting one.

All my efforts are in the middle of the bubble so far, and i definitely don't need an FC for that.

An SCO however has been invaluable, almost mandatory.