Surely that would make "stuff" great and not trading?
Explain to me the Joy of Trading?
- Thread starter Anopheles
- Start date
Surely that would make "stuff" great and not trading?
Trading as you describe it IS boring. I don't do the grind variety unless I am specifically looking for money, and I quit as soon as I get the amount I need. I am still more likely to REShunt for money, unless my fighter is too far away for convenience.
Otherwise, when I am trading, which hasn't been for a while since I am enroute to Beagle Point, I used it as a touring mechanism. I will freely admit that I used a trading website, but what I did was to let the site tell me where to go to make a lot of profit on walkabout. That way, I got to see new star systems; eye candy is a large part of the allure for me. Add to that one of the previous poster's comment about relaxing out for a bit, and that about sums up the enjoyment of trading.
My love of Trading faded very fast the Moment Long Distant Smuggling came into the game. Now i can never see me going back to A-B-A or A-B-C-D-E-A or any letter of the damn alphabet! There is just no desire, excitement in it!
Don't get me wrong, not dissing it and others do enjoy it and i wish them well. This is MY HUMBLE OPINION.
Don't get me wrong, not dissing it and others do enjoy it and i wish them well. This is MY HUMBLE OPINION.
I'm trading stuff besides doing missions, without using any help from outside the game, for extra bucks. With two or three running missions I need to figure out a proper route which connects all this together in some way. This requires a deeper look into all those star systems, a deeper knowledge of how to use the galaxy map etc. You get to know the whole game in this way which is in fact something I like to do.
And it actually makes the whole tour tougher because it leads to more trouble in space (missions & pirates & jumping between more stars), I'm simply more busy for a longer while and I might just don't make it (alive or in time). After finishing such a tour I often feel the need for a little break - so I sit down, pull new missions and figure out new routes ... ;-)
ATM I just have one jack-of-all-trades-Viper MKIV with 24T cargo space, so I'm not getting rich by trading, I'm just having more to do which yes, leads to more fun (at least for me). When I get my hands on some real trader ship later I'm going to try long range routes, I like the idea of getting around a bit. Maybe trading becomes more complex and demanding in the future, I would like to see that.
And it actually makes the whole tour tougher because it leads to more trouble in space (missions & pirates & jumping between more stars), I'm simply more busy for a longer while and I might just don't make it (alive or in time). After finishing such a tour I often feel the need for a little break - so I sit down, pull new missions and figure out new routes ... ;-)
ATM I just have one jack-of-all-trades-Viper MKIV with 24T cargo space, so I'm not getting rich by trading, I'm just having more to do which yes, leads to more fun (at least for me). When I get my hands on some real trader ship later I'm going to try long range routes, I like the idea of getting around a bit. Maybe trading becomes more complex and demanding in the future, I would like to see that.
I traded a lot in the beginning, using the ingame tools to find trade routes. But then switched to delivery (and smuggling) missions. Sometimes trading rares or if I see something for cheap and have some cargo space left.
i have played mainly strategy games for many years, civilisation and them like.
i love scouting routes and optimizing them, for exampel a 50 stop circle connecting the three capitals alioth - sol - achenar.
flying these routes, i love the visuals. approaching a station regularly, seeing the different lights, checking the states of the minor factions.
i pick up "fetch cargo xy" or legal salvage or mining missions, which i deliver later, so i get interdicted.
also i throw in rares.
a-b-a trading i mainly do to manipulate the backgroundsimulation - often not a-b-a but a-b-a-c-a-d trading, or a-b-c-a-d-a ... i pick up missions for the faction i back during that trade runs, and finish them later with a non-trading ship.
at the moment i like to combine trading with pirating pirates that interdict me.
i love scouting routes and optimizing them, for exampel a 50 stop circle connecting the three capitals alioth - sol - achenar.
flying these routes, i love the visuals. approaching a station regularly, seeing the different lights, checking the states of the minor factions.
i pick up "fetch cargo xy" or legal salvage or mining missions, which i deliver later, so i get interdicted.
also i throw in rares.
a-b-a trading i mainly do to manipulate the backgroundsimulation - often not a-b-a but a-b-a-c-a-d trading, or a-b-c-a-d-a ... i pick up missions for the faction i back during that trade runs, and finish them later with a non-trading ship.
at the moment i like to combine trading with pirating pirates that interdict me.
So going off the responses basically nobody really enjoys it. They do it when they want to do something mind numbing.
I'm sure that's exactly what FD wanted when they developed the trading aspect.
In the 10 year plan
Trading - Make it boring (Tick)
Why people defend it boggles my mind. Almost everyone should be telling FD that trading is boring and needs development but we can't have that can we, we can't admit something isn't perfect about our darling so it never gets improved as all FD hear is "Trading is great, don't listen to those nasty people saying otherwise, there there, it's all ok now". Cray cray.
I'm sure that's exactly what FD wanted when they developed the trading aspect.
In the 10 year plan
Trading - Make it boring (Tick)
Why people defend it boggles my mind. Almost everyone should be telling FD that trading is boring and needs development but we can't have that can we, we can't admit something isn't perfect about our darling so it never gets improved as all FD hear is "Trading is great, don't listen to those nasty people saying otherwise, there there, it's all ok now". Cray cray.
No your getting it wrong _ I DO enjoy it not because its mind numbing but because I want to let my brain relax - its the same reason we dream - occasssionally you have to do an activity that allows your brain to reorder itself - Im not trying to get my brain numb Im trying to get it reordered
Your problem is you see that as a disadvantage, I see it as the exact opposite. I can do something to let my brain reorder itself before my evening meal when I get in from work - After that evening meal I may go off and do something seriously intensive in the game.
The fact that you can do both easily with the same commander with no issues whatsoever isn't a disadvantage for this game - its a massive advantage
i think you have misread the responses of people trading very much, and suggest to re-read them.
Your first line made me chuckle, OP - as I have literally no idea who you are.
Fun aside, if you don't find it fun now, you'll probably never find it fun. Some people enjoy making credits, and use 3rd party tools to be efficient. I'd argue that's not fun - from my vantage point - and not how the game is intended to be played.
The way it's intended to be played is that players scour the galaxy map for clues to good trading routes, then scout ahead to confirm the goodness of the route, and trade on it knowing that they found something special. So really, exploration/discovery is supposed to be a big part of it. Most ignore that aspect and simply resort to the forum for clues, or the aforementioned tools: no skill required, other than evading a potential interdiction. And that's only fun if you're in a lightly armored or gunned trading ship, which again most people won't fly. So: trading, as played by most players, is a mind-numbing grind where interdictions are more inconvenient than scary. But it's self-induced.
You can make it more fun and exciting, but you'd have to be willing to sacrifice credits in the process.
Fun aside, if you don't find it fun now, you'll probably never find it fun. Some people enjoy making credits, and use 3rd party tools to be efficient. I'd argue that's not fun - from my vantage point - and not how the game is intended to be played.
The way it's intended to be played is that players scour the galaxy map for clues to good trading routes, then scout ahead to confirm the goodness of the route, and trade on it knowing that they found something special. So really, exploration/discovery is supposed to be a big part of it. Most ignore that aspect and simply resort to the forum for clues, or the aforementioned tools: no skill required, other than evading a potential interdiction. And that's only fun if you're in a lightly armored or gunned trading ship, which again most people won't fly. So: trading, as played by most players, is a mind-numbing grind where interdictions are more inconvenient than scary. But it's self-induced.
You can make it more fun and exciting, but you'd have to be willing to sacrifice credits in the process.
I do have bursts of trading every so often, the latest being in my corvette and having found a reasonably well paying and close imperial slaves / beryllium route. So i did a few thinking that i might get closer to that elite trader rank. After several rounds of this, my percentage had gone up from 52 to 53% and i realised that i still have about 500 million to go. I gave up and haven't touched ED for a couple of days now...
I quite like trading.
But then I quite like truck sim too
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But then I quite like truck sim too
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Do I enjoy trading? Yes.
Can trading be improved? Yes.
Some examples would be:- The addition of more complex economics to do with supply & demand, barter, second hand ships and modules, improvements to piracy (a quick menu for comms for example) & crime and punishment all all areas that can be improved.
It's complicated, not a simple either/or.
Nope, but I guess I do now.
Anyway modesty aside
I agree with the dude who said trading was fun before all the Press button to find trade web sites popped up.Most of the thrill came from finding your own little routes.
I guess it may come back if Fdev make a Trading computer module and stop sending info to the .logs.
That route doesn't sound very good.
I've raised my hourly gains from about 10-11mio to about 14-15 mio from a T9 to a trade Vette. Would take about 35 hours total (can spread over 2-4 weeks) to gain those 500 mio and be Elite.
Well, yea. Trading - like piracy, if done right, it actually works .. just not the way people seem to think it does.
The trade tools only help with the gathering of data. Ingame meta data is unfortunately flawed - have ended up more than once in some station that was importing goods from the station I got them at .. and it showed me a loss. Yay.
Calculation has to be done by youself to maximize profits.
Hauling the goods is the relaxing part and can be used to check your number crunching in "real game" application.
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The best part of trading is finding the trade route. People who use 3rd party tools to bypass this step are having the same amount of fun they would licking envelopes
[video=youtube;2Pbywpi64Tg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pbywpi64Tg[/video]
Although, the the rare trade convoy we did about a year ago was pretty fun. 3 of us winged up, and followed a route we got off the forums.
[video=youtube;2Pbywpi64Tg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pbywpi64Tg[/video]
Although, the the rare trade convoy we did about a year ago was pretty fun. 3 of us winged up, and followed a route we got off the forums.
They joy I get from trading, or exploring for that matter, comes from the joy of flying my ships (I love my ships--won't ever sell them.) Someone carving a figure out of wood is technically just making a pile of wood shavings, but if they enjoy the carving, it will bring them joy. That said, I never do either (mining also!) for too long--burnout is a thing no matter what you're doing. My favorite thing about this game is that no matter what mood I'm in there's something to do to compliment it.
But it can be pretty exciting also, like a few nights ago a wing-mate found an amazing route, so we got a caravan together and got to work. It's fun flying in wings no matter what you're doing (especially if you have voice comms). And watching the dividends just stack up was a hoot, as well. I went from 45% Merchant to Broker overnight. But as fun as it was I don't trade regularly, and probably won't strip my Clipper back down until the Dangerous Games start (or as needed for faction/BGS reasons.)
To answer your question more succinctly, I think it's about living in the moment instead of meta-analyzing what you are doing. That's ultimately what the point of simulators-as-a-game is. One of the reasons why RP and immersion is so important to this game. Anytime you have to step back and actively reinsert yourself in the game it gives you a chance to wonder... "why am I just making a pile of wood shavings?" instead of just enjoying the carving.
But it can be pretty exciting also, like a few nights ago a wing-mate found an amazing route, so we got a caravan together and got to work. It's fun flying in wings no matter what you're doing (especially if you have voice comms). And watching the dividends just stack up was a hoot, as well. I went from 45% Merchant to Broker overnight. But as fun as it was I don't trade regularly, and probably won't strip my Clipper back down until the Dangerous Games start (or as needed for faction/BGS reasons.)
To answer your question more succinctly, I think it's about living in the moment instead of meta-analyzing what you are doing. That's ultimately what the point of simulators-as-a-game is. One of the reasons why RP and immersion is so important to this game. Anytime you have to step back and actively reinsert yourself in the game it gives you a chance to wonder... "why am I just making a pile of wood shavings?" instead of just enjoying the carving.
I was looking into trading again last night. I am in a vulture res hunting currently. So I decided to check market prices for where I was at and if I'd buy a T7 or something to trade with to change up my gameplay. I looked to see the max profit I could make from 1 run and it was about 100k. If I did about 5 runs in about an hour I'd make 500k. I can make 3mil in an hour bounty hunting so ... whats the point of trading?
It helps the minor factions I'm interested in helping (BGS), puts a few CRs in my coffers (not millions of 'em) when my game time is limited, and slowly moves my Trade Rank bar to the right. I don't use the out-of-game tools, though. For me, the fun of trading is in finding the routes in-game. Yes, I'm weird that way... and I've found resistance to be futile.