ANNOUNCEMENT Fleet Carriers - Content Reveal Announcement

[LanceLord]

View attachment 166868

​

Greetings Commanders,

Squirming in your cockpit chair wanting to know more details? Here is some key information on Fleet Carriers - but for the entire content reveal, tune in to our Pre-Recorded Stream on YouTube, on 2 April at 18:00 (UTC). Although we won't be live, our team will be there in the chat to answer any questions that you may have.

My Holo Me Cmndr is still a certified paraplegic suffering from space hemorrids. So unfortunately no. However

• One of your most frequent questions about Fleet Carriers was: How much do they cost? Fleet Carriers will be a lucrative investment, costing 5,000,000,000cr at launch.​
• Fleet Carriers are individually owned and feature 16 landing pads (of varying sizes) for other players to dock at.​
• Fleet Carriers use a new fuel, Tritium, to jump from system to system.​
• Fleet Carriers have a max jump range of 500LY at one time, with the ability to jump whenever the owner wants, however, they will have a build up and cool down period between jumps.​
• You can manage your carrier's finances by setting tariffs and adjusting the buying and selling prices for commodities traded in it's market.​

As it currently stands, we're aiming to launch the Fleet Carriers update in June and will be calling all commanders to experience Fleet Carriers (as both visitors and owners) in two upcoming public betas before the update is live! The first beta will begin on 7 April for PC only, and the second beta which will be launched on PC, Xbox and PlayStation, will take place in May. Please note that there is a chance that these time frames may change slightly in the coming weeks, but we'll keep you up to date on the specific times, dates and instructions.

See you there, Commanders.

THANK YOU for NOT making that capital cost 5 Billion Arx. Me and my Holo Me would've had to commit murder-suicide if that was the case

With that jump range, Colonia is only some 44 jumps away. Now my Holo Me can finally space Uber there as a frequent tourist in a real digital lifetime. However, please don't make mining the new fuel a mind numbing grind the way it's been for other mining resources in the galaxy.

And stellar job at finally giving us a solid foundation for player economies like EVE at long last!

With this DLC, the under rated trader career is finally BOSS. Screw the other career tracks. Piracy, Black Market smuggling, rigging neighboring star system economy markets, hustling contraband, taking asylum from law enforcement, hiding out with criminals in your space Uber etc. etc. just became the new size 2 in the galaxy. All from the security of your own capital ship Death Star. Where you, as your crime oligarch Godfather/Black Market entrepreneur, can set your own market exchange and profit margins in the galaxy. C&P will never be the same again in the ED universe

 

[theothersteve7]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but I would like to provide honest feedback on a matter that may be urgent.

One of the things I like about Elite is the ability to set the game down and come back months or years later.

If you add a passive tax to fleet carriers, which means that I can no longer do that and keep my carrier, I am significantly less likely to return to the game after leaving. Such a model will incentivize me to instead quit the game for good.

I do not mean to sound dramatic, I just wanted to inform you, since I do enjoy this game quite a bit. This sort of model directly causes me to not play the game. I would honestly prefer the entire content be cut than done in such a manner.

I hope my feedback is useful. Thank you.

 

[Oddy-B]

Can we expect any news of the new era in this livestream?

I doubt it very muchly

 

[VR jefranklin18]

Oh no I only have 1.2billion, how dare Frontier?! Or maybe I will just check out someone else's (I guess I should join a player faction or squadron) until I have the money, if I choose to buy one.

I am actually interested in how the demand side of the internal market will work. To keep the traders moving the LTDs from a mining FC, presumably there must be something that needs to be sold to the FC itself (provisions, material to make the limpets, etc.)

 

[r3per]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but I would like to provide honest feedback on a matter that may be urgent.

One of the things I like about Elite is the ability to set the game down and come back months or years later.

If you add a passive tax to fleet carriers, which means that I can no longer do that and keep my carrier, I am significantly less likely to return to the game after leaving. Such a model will incentivize me to instead quit the game for good.

I do not mean to sound dramatic, I just wanted to inform you, since I do enjoy this game quite a bit. This sort of model directly causes me to not play the game. I would honestly prefer the entire content be cut than done in such a manner.

I hope my feedback is useful. Thank you.

I am all for this! I am rich and would Love a tax loop-hole so I don't have to pay! Please FDEV, don't make me pay taxes or actually play your game on a regular basis. I promise to make charitable donations at the nearest needy Empire starport ...

 

[rp198419]

Try earning 5 Billion credits without reaching Elite in something.
It's not E.D. anymore it's E.M. And I never cared much for mining.

I agree entirely. I'm Elite and as a result, also Admiral in Federation and have several billion credits.

I also find mining incredibly boring.

 

[The Nephilim]

if it makes anybody happier maybe we could agree on:
Imperial Cutter 208,969,451 CR x 16 Landing Pads = Fleet Carrier cost: 3,343,511,216‬ CR (I love round numbers)

/this is exactly how I originally estimated the cost after September reveal/

Fair enough but what about station services. Shouldn't they be factored into the equation too?

5bn is actually less than I was expecting.

 

[Darth Ender]

name something in the game that doesn't devolve into a boring repetitive task? You can make the argument as easily for mining, as for exploration, for combat, and for trading.

That's because the sandbox aspect of the game is poorly thought out and devoid of player created content needed to make it not so empty.

Elite has been that way since the beginning. it's always been Elite: We Dont Know What Kind of Game We Want to Deliver. but that doesn't roll off the tongue very well.

 

[CMDR ThePubening]

So, does 16 landing pads mean only 16 ships can be stored there? Like, if I have 15 ships stored there, will there only be one landing pad available? Will it make a difference if I'm offline or not?

 

[rp198419]

I like all of this.

Fleet carriers being mobile space stations with a possible player run economy... Could be fun.

Sure could be...assuming FDev don't turn it into a grind-fest, which is what they have always done in the past.

 

[Darth Ender]

So, does 16 landing pads mean only 16 ships can be stored there? Like, if I have 15 ships stored there, will there only be one landing pad available? Will it make a difference if I'm offline or not?

it's in all game modes and available to other players at it's location so the number of pads only matters with currently instanced players. So you could store far more than 16 in the place ....just like any other station. Though you are limited to the ship cap we already have.

 

[Kekkonshiki]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but I would like to provide honest feedback on a matter that may be urgent.

One of the things I like about Elite is the ability to set the game down and come back months or years later.

If you add a passive tax to fleet carriers, which means that I can no longer do that and keep my carrier, I am significantly less likely to return to the game after leaving. Such a model will incentivize me to instead quit the game for good.

I do not mean to sound dramatic, I just wanted to inform you, since I do enjoy this game quite a bit. This sort of model directly causes me to not play the game. I would honestly prefer the entire content be cut than done in such a manner.

I hope my feedback is useful. Thank you.

Why does this bother you? If you like playing the game the way you are you can continue to play the game.

No-one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to buy a Fleet Carrier.

 

[Libluini]

Let's get real. If even having 1+ billion is a tiny subset of players, 5+ billion just for the basic carrier plus upkeep costs will end up with something ridiculous like maybe a dozen players operating and owning a fleet carrier.

Obviously Frontier didn't put all this effort in their next content patch just for twelve players, that would generate tons of bad publicity and tick off the entire rest of the playerbase when it dawns on them that only the grindiest grognards will be able to stomach this.

Sooner or later, Frontier will be forced to dial this awesomeness back down by several orders of magnitude. The price will at least drop by half, and the stupid upkeep idea will be deleted.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Just in (in another thread):

Greetings Commanders,

While Fleet Carriers require a weekly upkeep for crew and enabled Fleet Carrier services, there are a number of options which will allow owners to earn credits and cover the ongoing running costs of a Fleet Carrier. There's more to the debt and decommissioning of a Fleet Carrier, and it's not something that should happen if the player hasn't incurred a HUGE amount of debt. We understand there's a fair bit of concern about this but rest assured, we'll be going over this in quite a lot of detail in the upcoming Content Reveal livestream next week.
There are also going to be two public beta periods where you'll be able to test this for yourselves and share with us your feedback.

Thanks for your understanding!

 

[Stephen Benedetti]

Hey Commanders,

We have responded to the discussion around Fleet Carrier upkeep and decommissioning here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...tier-fleet-carrier-upkeep.539568/post-8346813.

 

[Kekkonshiki]

So, does 16 landing pads mean only 16 ships can be stored there? Like, if I have 15 ships stored there, will there only be one landing pad available? Will it make a difference if I'm offline or not?

I was thinking about this.

A Fleet Carrier is essentially a mobile starport in the same way a Coriolis is a fixed starport.

How many ships can a single CMDR store in a Coriolis (is it 32?) and how many CMDRs can use the same Coriolis at the same time?

The way I see it you can have more than 16 ships stored there because you can only have one active at any one time.

If 100 CMDRs all stored 32 ships on the same Coriolis there would be 3,200 ships on the station but only 42 landing pads.

I can't see any reason why the same mechanics wouldn't apply to a Fleet Carrier.

EDIT: Just checked and one CMDR can store 40 ships on a Coriolis so just 2 CMDRs can store more ships on one station than there are landing pads.

 

[Navin'del]

Let's get real. If even having 1+ billion is a tiny subset of players, 5+ billion just for the basic carrier plus upkeep costs will end up with something ridiculous like maybe a dozen players operating and owning a fleet carrier.

Well, this thread alone has a dozen or so people who said they could afford it and multiple more who said they can get money in time. This is long-term goal, I expect a few % of players to get it on launch and more slowly getting there over time now there is reason to accumulate more wealth (before it was just for bragging rights).

 

[rotwhylr]

Care to post screenies of your in-game stats? It's easier to get an objective look at what you've done and how much you got for it. I got the suspicion the essence of your post was that you earned a lot via mining, but also do other things too. If so, that doesn't contradict what I said.

I strongly suspect you did not earn those 5+ billions via "cz, exploration, smuggling and thargoid hunting". Not doubting you do that too, but doubting that is where you earned that money. Would love to be wrong though, so please post screens showing how much you earned via those things.

You can take my post for what it is. I'm not going to debate what I earned or how. For what it's worth, my top earn (over 7 billion) is through trade, and that mostly has to do with maintaining BGS in systems I'm interested in rather than anything else. Guess what, if trading or BGS bores you (like lots of other people) to tears, don't do it.

The fact remains ... you can earn billions of credits however you choose in this game. I wing with someone who routinely earns 300-350+ million in a week doing wing combat missions. Last weekend I made over 60 million in Thargoid bonds. The weekend before that was a slaughterfest, and I came in with around 200 million. At a certain point, worrying about a non-mandatory credit grind just goes away.

What do you play this game for? What interests you? Have you truly found no way to earn big money at it?

 

[Bigmaec]

Hey Commanders,

We have responded to the discussion around Fleet Carrier upkeep and decommissioning here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...tier-fleet-carrier-upkeep.539568/post-8346813.

Another question Stephen (perhaps also for the livestream):

Are fleet carriers able to jump into undiscovered systems?
So are they basically able to open up systems further away then Semotus Beacon?

Or do we have to have explored the system before jumping the carrier there?

 

[Brrokk]

You can take my post for what it is. I'm not going to debate what I earned or how. For what it's worth, my top earn (over 7 billion) is through trade, and that mostly has to do with maintaining BGS in systems I'm interested in rather than anything else. Guess what, if trading or BGS bores you (like lots of other people) to tears, don't do it.

The fact remains ... you can earn billions of credits however you choose in this game. I wing with someone who routinely earns 300-350+ million in a week doing wing combat missions. Last weekend I made over 60 million in Thargoid bonds. The weekend before that was a slaughterfest, and I came in with around 200 million. At a certain point, worrying about a non-mandatory credit grind just goes away.

What do you play this game for? What interests you? Have you truly found no way to earn big money at it?

I have a favourite spot for running delivery missions which I'm a bit secretive about. But when I want to make credits I find myself wondering whether the deliveries or mining are better paid (so I just do whichever I feel like). Deliveries get mats from mission rewards and from foolhardy pirates too. It's not really the case that mining is the only way to get credits. It's a good way, but not far ahead of all the other options because of the time it takes.