ANNOUNCEMENT Fleet Carriers - Content Reveal Recap

[Jaylem]

I can see something potentially very negative about this, fleet carriers appear to be centered around the actions of other players only, so in order to make the most of them you will need to always put them in areas of population or have them neglected entirely and loose credits.

furthermore with the mention of taxes and such, why is any player going to use these ship's facilities when they could just go to a starport and it would be cheaper?!

next issue is that the populated systems in question will naturally attract more fleet carries, the more fleet carriers the more options players have to choose, the more options players have to choose the less traffic the carriers will receive.

It would of been wiser to allow AI interactions with these vessels too, just so players don't have to worry so much on the actions of other players.

otherwise, after this update goes live you will see a bunch of people buy these things who have the funds, then when they see just how little they earn in general they will quickly decommission them as soon as the buy them, loosing a large sum of credits in the process and being very dissatisfied at the same time...and Fleet carriers will slip into the same category as CQC or Powerplay.

Whilst I have enough credits to buy one of these things as well as over 2 years worth of upkeep for bank investment ( with stock beta value of 10M per week upkeep) I am no fool, I won't simply buy something because I can and have it chew through my credits as nothing more than a large trophy because it is solely dependant on player traffic. If this thing was an 'investment', then yes. it would be worth it.

 

[Otharious]

One thing I want to see is more control over market tariffs
I want to set taxes to friends/squadrons differently then to public commanders (without having to restrict it to ONLY squadron and then set things at very very low taxes if any at all, my group will more then likly just donate whats needed to keep the carrier running)

 

[SlendyMcTendies]

Something I'm genuinely curious about, if UC was available and they jumped faster (let's say 30 minutes), how would that make FCs useful for exploration?

Sure you could luck out and find somewhere really close to mine more fuel, but let's go with the far more likely scenario of that not happening. What now? Sure you can sell your data at the FC, but now your FC is stranded hundreds or thousands of LY away from a fuel source. It would be way more tedious to go all the way back to the bubble to get fuel, or even make upwards of 15 jumps one-way (or more if it's really bad) to try and mine more fuel.

Wouldn't that be just as annoying, if not more, compared to making one return trip to sell your data and then go back to your route or starting a new one?

I ask because the vast majority of people that are angry seem to be exploration players. I understand that you guys were excited for the original concept of having FCs dedicated to different roles, and I understand the disappointment that what you were hoping to get isn't happening anymore, but still, what real benefit could a FC offer?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or condescending. If there's something I'm missing, please let me know. I've been away from the game for quite a while and I'm a trader. This announcement has revitalized my interest in the game and I'd simply like to understand the issue.

Fly safe.
o7

 

[Calteru]

Something I'm genuinely curious about, if UC was available and they jumped faster (let's say 30 minutes), how would that make FCs useful for exploration?

Sure you could luck out and find somewhere really close to mine more fuel, but let's go with the far more likely scenario of that not happening. What now? Sure you can sell your data at the FC, but now your FC is stranded hundreds or thousands of LY away from a fuel source. It would be way more tedious to go all the way back to the bubble to get fuel, or even make upwards of 15 jumps one-way (or more if it's really bad) to try and mine more fuel.

Wouldn't that be just as annoying, if not more, compared to making one return trip to sell your data and then go back to your route or starting a new one?

I ask because the vast majority of people that are angry seem to be exploration players. I understand that you guys were excited for the original concept of having FCs dedicated to different roles, and I understand the disappointment that what you were hoping to get isn't happening anymore, but still, what real benefit could a FC offer?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or condescending. If there's something I'm missing, please let me know. I've been away from the game for quite a while and I'm a trader. This announcement has revitalized my interest in the game and I'd simply like to understand the issue.

Fly safe.
o7

Explorers being able to sell their data at the FC would enable explorers to finance longer excursions into the black without the need to dump more cash into the FC bank, though it's been pointed out that keeping a Buckyball 'Conda in the hangar and/or pre-financing excursions can be viable workarounds. A notable concern about the latter is, of course, making sure you can get back before the bank runs dry on maintenance money, so adhering to a schedule would take on greater importance (this is something most explorers have difficulty doing, esp. if they find lots of Cool Stuff™ to poke at in the black).

 

[Otharious]

I plan to use the FC to allow my exploration data to be sold at the Powerplay power dude that gives me 2x the data costs.

Basically getting my in an area of unexplored space to have fun in scanning then getting back easily. Selling to a FC might not be worth it. but then again keeping the rank in the PP faction also is a pain :/

 

[Orvidius]

Sure you could luck out and find somewhere really close to mine more fuel, but let's go with the far more likely scenario of that not happening.

Why less likely? Mining opportunities are ubiquitous throughout the galaxy, technically speaking, it's just that it's usually not worth the effort since the further you go, the further you have to return to sell it.

Having UC on board would create the possibility of not needing to return to the bubble for a long time. It can serve both as a money maker among explorers who would like to find a convenient place to secure their tags, as well as serve as a hub for doing sector surveys and the like. UC sales would allow for covering the upkeep cost while also giving explorers a reason to visit it, away from the bubble.

But my suspicion is that FDev doesn't want explorers to become that self sufficient, and want them to return to civilized space fairly regularly. And to do so without the suicidewinder option.

 

[alexzk]

Something I'm genuinely curious about, if UC was available and they jumped faster (let's say 30 minutes), how would that make FCs useful for exploration?

Sure you could luck out and find somewhere really close to mine more fuel, but let's go with the far more likely scenario of that not happening. What now? Sure you can sell your data at the FC, but now your FC is stranded hundreds or thousands of LY away from a fuel source. It would be way more tedious to go all the way back to the bubble to get fuel, or even make upwards of 15 jumps one-way (or more if it's really bad) to try and mine more fuel.

Wouldn't that be just as annoying, if not more, compared to making one return trip to sell your data and then go back to your route or starting a new one?

I ask because the vast majority of people that are angry seem to be exploration players. I understand that you guys were excited for the original concept of having FCs dedicated to different roles, and I understand the disappointment that what you were hoping to get isn't happening anymore, but still, what real benefit could a FC offer?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or condescending. If there's something I'm missing, please let me know. I've been away from the game for quite a while and I'm a trader. This announcement has revitalized my interest in the game and I'd simply like to understand the issue.

Fly safe.
o7

It is.
When they announced FC in Sept I was thinking this will be a way how players colonize Galaxy itself. Instead they made something like NPC already do ...
Those carriers will need additional DLC later to be used, like, for example, they will build ground bases using ore in cargo.

Trade between players they say ...what for ? There is NO unique items players only. For any other cases you could just dump cargo.

 

[Tori Yamazaki]

All very interesting. But I am struggling with something.

What is the BENEFIT?

All I see is delays and overheads.

Delays:
500LY / 2 HOURS (plus however long it takes to collect another 500 tritium) is pathetic considering a ship with a 50 LY range can do that same distance in like 15 minutes... and earn credits in the process.

Overheads:
Since commodities have to be purchased and nobody in their right mind is going to buy commodities at a FC when it's cheaper at any NPC base, making a profit is going to be impossible. Equally true for selling ships / modules. Jumping is expensive.

What am I missing here? Where is the plus?

Why not have NPCs popping in and buying stuff? At least then the owner might have a chance of some kind of ROI for their 5bn credit investment.
apologies if this has been asked already, I didn't read the 21 pages of comments

 

[alexzk]

All very interesting. But I am struggling with something.

What is the BENEFIT?

All I see is delays and overheads.

Delays:
500LY / 2 HOURS (plus however long it takes to collect another 500 tritium) is pathetic considering a ship with a 50 LY range can do that same distance in like 15 minutes... and earn credits in the process.

Overheads:
Since commodities have to be purchased and nobody in their right mind is going to buy commodities at a FC when it's cheaper at any NPC base, making a profit is going to be impossible. Equally true for selling ships / modules. Jumping is expensive.

What am I missing here? Where is the plus?

Why not have NPCs popping in and buying stuff? At least then the owner might have a chance of some kind of ROI for their 5bn credit investment.
apologies if this has been asked already, I didn't read the 21 pages of comments

There are none. It's just fancy expensive stuff. Just because I can with no real use.

 

[Cageman]

- Is there a way to get around the weekly costs when offline or out exploring? Some explorers are out there for a year or so. If I take the carrier with me (why else would it be able to jump 500ly?) it can't make profit in that time, and paying up weekly is kind of time limit until broke and/or carrier gone. That completely discourages one of the playstyles, and since there was an exploration support vessel announced earlier (which I was looking forward to VERY much), this new idea of paying upkeep doesn't really work.

Upkeep cost: 10.000.000 / week (Basic non-expanded FC)

If you save up 1 billion and put that to the Fleet Carrier, you have enough money to make it last for 100 weeks. There is roughly 52 weeks / year.

Upkeep 20.000.000 / week (fairly expanded FC)

If you save up 1 billion and put that to the Fleet Carrier, you have enough money to make it last for 50 weeks. There is roughly 52 weeks / year.

So, for any explorer, plan ahead and make 2-3 miningtrips / week to Borann with at least 200t cargospace and earn around 800 million / week. Do this for 2-3 weeks, make your goal to put 2 billion to the Fleet Carrier and you will last for a very long time without having to wory about your Fleet Carrier.

Anyway... A Fleet Carrier is way more cheaper than having an NPC Crew member. I have one that takes 8% of all my earnings, and a regular mining trip where I earn around 192 million (takes roughly 1 hour in the rings), 15 million of that goes directly to my Crew Member.

 

[Mengy]

All very interesting. But I am struggling with something.

What is the BENEFIT?

All I see is delays and overheads.

Delays:
500LY / 2 HOURS (plus however long it takes to collect another 500 tritium) is pathetic considering a ship with a 50 LY range can do that same distance in like 15 minutes... and earn credits in the process.

Overheads:
Since commodities have to be purchased and nobody in their right mind is going to buy commodities at a FC when it's cheaper at any NPC base, making a profit is going to be impossible. Equally true for selling ships / modules. Jumping is expensive.

What am I missing here? Where is the plus?

Why not have NPCs popping in and buying stuff? At least then the owner might have a chance of some kind of ROI for their 5bn credit investment.
apologies if this has been asked already, I didn't read the 21 pages of comments

You aren't missing anything.

For explorers the benefit was being able to sell data in deep space, but we now know that isn't possible due to no stellar cartography.

Carriers seem mostly pointless to me too. I'm sure a few people will find ways to make using them interesting in the bubble, somehow? I'm not sure honestly.

 

[Orvidius]

Overheads:
Since commodities have to be purchased and nobody in their right mind is going to buy commodities at a FC when it's cheaper at any NPC base, making a profit is going to be impossible. Equally true for selling ships / modules. Jumping is expensive.

What am I missing here? Where is the plus?

I was thinking the same thing. One way to balance this would be to make the ships/modules/etc available at a wholesale price, when stocking the carrier. That way the tariff would function as a retail markup. Otherwise, the economics don't really work, except in cases where people are willing to pay higher prices for convenience, such as pushing the boundaries into Thargoid space (or something) where stations are at least a few jumps away.

 

[Calteru]

You aren't missing anything.

For explorers the benefit was being able to sell data in deep space, but we now know that isn't possible due to no stellar cartography.

Carriers seem mostly pointless to me too. I'm sure a few people will find ways to make using them interesting in the bubble, somehow? I'm not sure honestly.

I'm gonna make mine an RP space bordello orbiting HIP 69420. (Or HIP 80085 -- haven't decided yet.)

 

[alexzk]

I was thinking the same thing. One way to balance this would be to make the ships/modules/etc available at a wholesale price, when stocking the carrier. That way the tariff would function as a retail markup. Otherwise, the economics don't really work, except in cases where people are willing to pay higher prices for convenience, such as pushing the boundaries into Thargoid space (or something) where stations are at least a few jumps away.

And still what I just did tonight - figured I bad engineered ship on Artemis station (400ly from Bubble +/-) . Soo ..6 jumps back on Anaconda, ordered delivery of ship to engee - 68 mins - watching utube - fixed ship, 4 jumps on Anaconda back (bcs NS boost), ordered delivery of ship back. ...now gona to check it.
So it took 136 minutes + 12 millions. Not sure why I would want FC too ...

 

[Hykelion]

Rather have that weekly base upkeep costs dropped by half (5,000,000 credits). How can a carrier earn a weekly profit enough to pay for its upkeep? when stations provide better services.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Well, if this is the official feedback thread for FD then all i can say is very dissapointed with the reveal.

All i wanted from Fleet Carriers is the thing that the name implies, something to carry my fleet around the galaxy. I didn't want a trade hub or almost anything else they have added. I wanted to use it to go out exploring without worrying about whether i've got enough money in the bank to support an extended trip into the black unless there is a way of making money out in the black. I most certainly didn't want to be losing money while not playing the game.

The need to mine for hours as well to make a single jump is rather offputting.

Will i still get a FC? Not sure. I'll take a look at beta. I'll think more about how they work. I'll see if FD make some changes, like adding an option for UCs to be on carriers or reducing the jump cost.

But as i said, all i wanted from Fleet Carriers is a fleet carrier... and its not really much of one from what i'm seeing.

 

[CMDR Kai Zen]

If you are looking for a super in depth breakdown of FC announcement check this out:

Source: https://youtu.be/B4c38NtKe7Q

 

[Spartan181]

Would it be possable in any way to have a fleet carrier perform some predefined tasks on it's own? Frontier says its customisable but all I see is the possibility to make a personal outpost for trading. Would it be an idea to be able to turn over some of the landing pads to operations like mining or resourse aquisition? Something that will help a carrier cover its costs if you dont play the market game. I hoped this would be a big end of game thing to work towards but instead it seems to be a stock trading mini game that you have to pay to run.

My question is: will it be possable to have the fleet carrier perform limited AI actions to either help or completley cover upkeep costs if set up correctly?

 

[Calteru]

Would it be possable in any way to have a fleet carrier perform some predefined tasks on it's own? Frontier says its customisable but all I see is the possibility to make a personal outpost for trading. Would it be an idea to be able to turn over some of the landing pads to operations like mining or resourse aquisition? Something that will help a carrier cover its costs if you dont play the market game. I hoped this would be a big end of game thing to work towards but instead it seems to be a stock trading mini game that you have to pay to run.

My question is: will it be possable to have the fleet carrier perform limited AI actions to either help or completley cover upkeep costs if set up correctly?

No. I mean, have you ever seen an NPC mine? They're completely incapable of doing that kind of stuff. (Also, there doesn't appear to be any kind of capacity for NPCs to trade.)

 

[yianniv]

​

Thanks, Stephen for all the info. If I may ask a question: If a player has docked on a FC out in the black and after a while his/her ship gets destroyed, where will it respawn? to the last base it landed or the FC?