Unfortunately, at the moment, the outfitting and shipyard facilities at Fleet carriers are not a very practical choice. This is because of their relatively large size, combined with their relatively low profit potential. You are almost always going to be better off using the zero size and high profit potential Commodities Market, rather than attempting to sell ships.
While I don't think the current system should be removed, as it is good to allow players the option if desired, it would be nice to have an alternative option that is more in line with long-term profit, exploration, and Personal Achievement.
So here's the idea. Carriers could buy a "manufacturing" module. This module would allow players to create - from raw materials - any module in the game. When a player docks, they can go to the outfitting menu, and if the necessary materials are available on the carrier, they can buy it like normal. If the necessary materials are not, it will display the required materials, and, once supplied it will allow the player to manufacture that module.
The required materials would be minerals, especially minerals that are not currently commonly used. This would be primarily so that players out in the black can acquire a different module if necessary. If you want a new heat sink, for example, you can buy a mining laser, go out to the nearby rings, and mine a few tons of gold, bauxite, and Bromellite, and produce it. Of course, players can also buy the necessary materials from certain production shipyards. This would be a new, high-cost commodity. However, the high cost of those materials would generally limit potential profits.
Where Personal Achievement comes into the mix is the licensing fees. Players could not produce these modules free of charge; they would need to buy the rights to produce them from the owning company. For example, if they wanted to produce a beluga, they would need to own the license from saud Krueger.
This license would be extremely expensive. Generally speaking, it would be 100 times the standard price of ships, and 1,000 times the price of modules. Acquiring the rights to produce every ship and module in the game would be extremely expensive - on the order of 500b -, but would be a major achievement and source of Pride for the owner of the fleet carrier.
Once owned, the player could then potentially make profits off of them. In the long-term, it would end up paying for itself, but only with extreme long-term play.
Taken together, this would allow Fleet carriers out in the black to supply players with an unlimited supply of ships and modules, allow the sale of ships and modules as meaningful profit margins, and allow players a nearly Unlimited amount of progression and investment in their Fleet carrier.
Everybody wins!
While I don't think the current system should be removed, as it is good to allow players the option if desired, it would be nice to have an alternative option that is more in line with long-term profit, exploration, and Personal Achievement.
So here's the idea. Carriers could buy a "manufacturing" module. This module would allow players to create - from raw materials - any module in the game. When a player docks, they can go to the outfitting menu, and if the necessary materials are available on the carrier, they can buy it like normal. If the necessary materials are not, it will display the required materials, and, once supplied it will allow the player to manufacture that module.
The required materials would be minerals, especially minerals that are not currently commonly used. This would be primarily so that players out in the black can acquire a different module if necessary. If you want a new heat sink, for example, you can buy a mining laser, go out to the nearby rings, and mine a few tons of gold, bauxite, and Bromellite, and produce it. Of course, players can also buy the necessary materials from certain production shipyards. This would be a new, high-cost commodity. However, the high cost of those materials would generally limit potential profits.
Where Personal Achievement comes into the mix is the licensing fees. Players could not produce these modules free of charge; they would need to buy the rights to produce them from the owning company. For example, if they wanted to produce a beluga, they would need to own the license from saud Krueger.
This license would be extremely expensive. Generally speaking, it would be 100 times the standard price of ships, and 1,000 times the price of modules. Acquiring the rights to produce every ship and module in the game would be extremely expensive - on the order of 500b -, but would be a major achievement and source of Pride for the owner of the fleet carrier.
Once owned, the player could then potentially make profits off of them. In the long-term, it would end up paying for itself, but only with extreme long-term play.
Taken together, this would allow Fleet carriers out in the black to supply players with an unlimited supply of ships and modules, allow the sale of ships and modules as meaningful profit margins, and allow players a nearly Unlimited amount of progression and investment in their Fleet carrier.
Everybody wins!
