Can only speak for myself, of course, but being mainly an explorer, it's obvious to me that Carriers are absolutely, completely, utterly useless to explorers, despite the fact the would provide access to systems that were previously out of reach. But when I see that, I think FDev doesn't really know what explorers actually do :
"Q. How might an explorer fund their Fleet Carrier's upkeep costs?
A. Whilst Elite Dangerous' top traders might want to turn their Fleet Carrier into a trading post that turns a profit, we expect most Fleet Carriers to be fitted in ways that help players do what they enjoy in the game. For example, explorers who have accrued large sums of cash, they'll be able to take a Fleet Carrier and ferry it out to the remote regions of the galaxy and explore never-before seen locations. Equally, explorers could set their Fleet Carrier up as a trading post in a convenient location to turn a profit while they engage in other activities. "
Well, no, that doesn't work. An explorer doesn't care about a mobile trade station, and an explorer will be out there in the dark, where most likely no one will visit anyway. Unless you call travelling between a few popular locations "exploring". Sheesh.
For proper exploration, an explorer will need several optional modules :
Shipyard
And still, the carrier offers no way to sell exploration data. That is a major letdown.
So, what would exploration be with a carrier for someone intending to explorer the far outer rim of the galaxy :
Then we reach the faraway places, where stars are scarce and sparse, and we can finally boldly go where no one has been able to go before before it exceeded the jump range of any ship. And there, one more issue arises. What if you land in a "rubbish system", with a star and nothing else ? How will you mine for fuel ? Nearby systems ? What if the systems are far and wide so much you CAN'T get there with a mining ship ? What if every system you can reach, and that might be only the system you're in, has no ice asteroid ? So, you need to stockpile fuel and pray to RNGesus. I hope you like mining, explorer !
Also, all this is going to take a while. A dedicated player would probably take a few weeks out there in the dark to reach the outer rim, or way up or way below the galaxy. But let's say it's only a few days, once you get there you'd better make your trip worthwile and explore every system. And, I can't stress that enough, there will be no way to earn credits until we get back. Someone who plays only a few times a week, or not regularly, will need to grind even more credits before setting out, because the cost increases even if you don't play, and every jump will increase it too. And on an exploration trip, the carrier is expected to jump ALOT.
And, if the carrier is decommissionned, because you hadn't grinded enough before you left, because you had real life issues and couldn't play for a while, you won't only lose the carrier, you lose everything on it. Sure, you get credits for it, but you'll have to re-buy, re-engineer EVERY SHIP.
As they are, they are mobile trade stations, entirely useless to exploration, and as such, I have no interest in them at all.
On top of that, even if they were awesome for exploring, I generally frown upon upkeep mechanics. I have no issue with maintenance cost, paying for the wear and tear that happens as we use the ship. But having to pay for something, whether I play or not ? Nope. I play other games too. I play with my wife, and she doesn't play Elite, so I don't play Elite daily, sometimes I'm raiding a dungeon or something with her. So all objective considerations of the dubious utility of a fleet carrier for an explorer aside, on a strictly personal point of view a weekly recurring cost is a major annoyance, as I have less time than expected to manage that, and generally speaking won't make use of mechanics that have an upkeep in games. It's been over 10 years since the last time I even tried to maintain an upkeep mechanic up and running, which I ultimately ditched because it was annoying, and I have no care or will to even try again.
So, to sum up my two cents :
And as a bonus, on ways to procure tritium, a quick physics lesson : tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, with a half life of roughly 12 years, so digging it in asteroids is an extremely inefficient way to get some, better scoop planetary stratospheres were tritium might actually form due to cosmic radiation, instead of being trapped and slowly decaying in chunks of ice that would be thousand, if not millions, of years old.
It's a rough estimate because radioactivity isn't a periodic phenomenon, but on volumes, it kinda works. If you have 1 ton of tritium trapped in ice in an asteroid, after 12 years you will have roughly 500 kg. After 24 years, 250 kg. 36 years, 125 kg. It takes only 120 years to have less than 1 kg of tritium left inside the asteroid. How old are the asteroids ? How much tritium will the carrier need ? After 240 years, 0.95 g remains. Let's round that to 1 g. That's 1 million times less than 240 years before. Basically, any asteroid that formed more than 240 years ago is not worth mining unless the carrier requires only a few grams per jump. And I suspect it's gonna need several tons. I hope you like mining, explorer !
On the other hand, tritium is formed by cosmic rays interacting with stratospheres. So its decay is irrelevant because it's constantly formed, albeit at a very, very low rate. There won't be much in the first place, but decay is a non factor. So, scooping high atmospheres would be a reliable way to get tritium, even though it would likely require a specialised scoop to be efficient.
"Q. How might an explorer fund their Fleet Carrier's upkeep costs?
A. Whilst Elite Dangerous' top traders might want to turn their Fleet Carrier into a trading post that turns a profit, we expect most Fleet Carriers to be fitted in ways that help players do what they enjoy in the game. For example, explorers who have accrued large sums of cash, they'll be able to take a Fleet Carrier and ferry it out to the remote regions of the galaxy and explore never-before seen locations. Equally, explorers could set their Fleet Carrier up as a trading post in a convenient location to turn a profit while they engage in other activities. "
Well, no, that doesn't work. An explorer doesn't care about a mobile trade station, and an explorer will be out there in the dark, where most likely no one will visit anyway. Unless you call travelling between a few popular locations "exploring". Sheesh.
For proper exploration, an explorer will need several optional modules :
- Advanced Maintenance - Comprised of three separate facilities that allow visiting Commanders to repair, refuel and rearm (restock) their ships, respectively.
- Repair Crews
- Refuel Station
Shipyard
- Allows visiting Commanders to purchase, sell, and store ships at the Fleet Carrier.
And still, the carrier offers no way to sell exploration data. That is a major letdown.
So, what would exploration be with a carrier for someone intending to explorer the far outer rim of the galaxy :
- Make money. Hundreds of thousands of credits will be required for the upkeep alone, because once you set out in the dark, there will be no way to earn any credit until you get back. You need to prepare accordingly, so spend hours, days, weeks maybe, depending on your playstyle, to prepare for the exploration trip itself. I hope you like mining, explorer !
- Load your exploration ship onto the carrier, load your mining ship onto the carrier, and at this point why not all ships, just in case. Probably not a good idea considering what happens if the carrier gets decommissionned, though.
- Jump.
- Explore around the system where you arrived, get valuable data, or don't because exploration is random, find a spot to mine tritium.
- Mine tritium. I hope you like mining, explorer !
- Jump.
Then we reach the faraway places, where stars are scarce and sparse, and we can finally boldly go where no one has been able to go before before it exceeded the jump range of any ship. And there, one more issue arises. What if you land in a "rubbish system", with a star and nothing else ? How will you mine for fuel ? Nearby systems ? What if the systems are far and wide so much you CAN'T get there with a mining ship ? What if every system you can reach, and that might be only the system you're in, has no ice asteroid ? So, you need to stockpile fuel and pray to RNGesus. I hope you like mining, explorer !
Also, all this is going to take a while. A dedicated player would probably take a few weeks out there in the dark to reach the outer rim, or way up or way below the galaxy. But let's say it's only a few days, once you get there you'd better make your trip worthwile and explore every system. And, I can't stress that enough, there will be no way to earn credits until we get back. Someone who plays only a few times a week, or not regularly, will need to grind even more credits before setting out, because the cost increases even if you don't play, and every jump will increase it too. And on an exploration trip, the carrier is expected to jump ALOT.
And, if the carrier is decommissionned, because you hadn't grinded enough before you left, because you had real life issues and couldn't play for a while, you won't only lose the carrier, you lose everything on it. Sure, you get credits for it, but you'll have to re-buy, re-engineer EVERY SHIP.
As they are, they are mobile trade stations, entirely useless to exploration, and as such, I have no interest in them at all.
On top of that, even if they were awesome for exploring, I generally frown upon upkeep mechanics. I have no issue with maintenance cost, paying for the wear and tear that happens as we use the ship. But having to pay for something, whether I play or not ? Nope. I play other games too. I play with my wife, and she doesn't play Elite, so I don't play Elite daily, sometimes I'm raiding a dungeon or something with her. So all objective considerations of the dubious utility of a fleet carrier for an explorer aside, on a strictly personal point of view a weekly recurring cost is a major annoyance, as I have less time than expected to manage that, and generally speaking won't make use of mechanics that have an upkeep in games. It's been over 10 years since the last time I even tried to maintain an upkeep mechanic up and running, which I ultimately ditched because it was annoying, and I have no care or will to even try again.
So, to sum up my two cents :
- Fleet Carrier bring one solution and a zillion problems to explorers, so being mostly an explorer I have no interest in them. BUT if it were possible to sell exploration data to the carrier, then it might change.
- Upkeep, and even more so, increased upkeep because of optional modules that an explorer will need, is a personnal pet peeve. I have a life outside the game and don't want to be forced into dedicating some of my game time to making money just so I can play the game.
And as a bonus, on ways to procure tritium, a quick physics lesson : tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, with a half life of roughly 12 years, so digging it in asteroids is an extremely inefficient way to get some, better scoop planetary stratospheres were tritium might actually form due to cosmic radiation, instead of being trapped and slowly decaying in chunks of ice that would be thousand, if not millions, of years old.
It's a rough estimate because radioactivity isn't a periodic phenomenon, but on volumes, it kinda works. If you have 1 ton of tritium trapped in ice in an asteroid, after 12 years you will have roughly 500 kg. After 24 years, 250 kg. 36 years, 125 kg. It takes only 120 years to have less than 1 kg of tritium left inside the asteroid. How old are the asteroids ? How much tritium will the carrier need ? After 240 years, 0.95 g remains. Let's round that to 1 g. That's 1 million times less than 240 years before. Basically, any asteroid that formed more than 240 years ago is not worth mining unless the carrier requires only a few grams per jump. And I suspect it's gonna need several tons. I hope you like mining, explorer !
On the other hand, tritium is formed by cosmic rays interacting with stratospheres. So its decay is irrelevant because it's constantly formed, albeit at a very, very low rate. There won't be much in the first place, but decay is a non factor. So, scooping high atmospheres would be a reliable way to get tritium, even though it would likely require a specialised scoop to be efficient.
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