Combat can be fun! In a game where you're effectively risking potentially millions of credits, however, it's something many might be actively avoiding.
Likewise, wouldn't manufacturers of various components and modules want you to try them out to see what all the fuss is about? Have you ever spent thousands/millions on an upgrade, only to discover you were better without?
Solution: At any station or outpost you dock at, there will be an on-line simulator which represents a single system. Game-wise, it would be no different to the mechanic of swapping ships around, but would effectively enable you to fly un a small sandbox mode, complete with resource site and an optional combat zone - risk-free.
Whatever you do would have zero impact on your 'real world' status. You can't trade, would get no bounty for destroying criminals and would receive no wanted staus for attacking legitimate patrol craft.
What you could do within it, however, is the ability to fly any ship presently in the game with all classes and ratings of weapons/utilities/modules in a pre-flight outfitting session.
This provides several much-needed elements...
Firstly, it lets you get a feel for all different craft and experiment with all the various weapons and modules you like, without needing to risk actual funds on ourchasing them. You don't know whether to get an Adder or skip it and head straight for a Cobra? Wondering if an Asp would do a better job of mining than a Type X? Want to compare combat ability between a Python and Anaconda? This lets you do that and plan your future upgrades accordingly. Same goes for if you can't decide between various sets of weapons or if you're wondering whether downgrading shields for the sake of cargo soace wuld let you get shot up by a pirate if you took that gamble for real.
Secondly, it gives us something to aim for. Grinding away for credits has extra meaning if you realise a certain ship or module combination is the one for you - or if downgrading from one ship to a cheaper one might actually give better results than what you have. You think you want a particular ship or outfitting selection, but what if it turns out it doesn't perform how you assumed? What if you're trying to decide between upgrades and can't figure out what the trade-offs are for your chosen situation?
Thirdly, work can be boring! Why not let us take a break from the credit-grind, every once in a while and just blow stuff up for the heck of it? We're using this very product, after all, as a form of escapism. People in the future would do that, too! If you get to a point where you need to do something you find boring, because you need the money, that can turn people away from this game. Allowing them a risk-free sandbox for stress relief would stop fatigue setting in. If they ever got bored in future? They could simply dock their 'real' craft in the nearest port, turn on smulator-mode to have some fun and remember why they're trading/whatever. It'll reinvigorate them, remember their fictional sense of purpose and give them a taste of maybe even a change in career... What if they haven't risked bounty hunting, piracy or smuggling, for fear of the consequences? And what if they turned out to be really good at it? They might never find out unkess they had this availabke to them.
Lastly, for thise who do indulge in combat, think of this as away to keep your skills against random NPC opponents fresh. See if you learn the flight tactics being used by the AI in particular situations. See if alternating your strategies makes a difference.
Likewise, wouldn't manufacturers of various components and modules want you to try them out to see what all the fuss is about? Have you ever spent thousands/millions on an upgrade, only to discover you were better without?
Solution: At any station or outpost you dock at, there will be an on-line simulator which represents a single system. Game-wise, it would be no different to the mechanic of swapping ships around, but would effectively enable you to fly un a small sandbox mode, complete with resource site and an optional combat zone - risk-free.
Whatever you do would have zero impact on your 'real world' status. You can't trade, would get no bounty for destroying criminals and would receive no wanted staus for attacking legitimate patrol craft.
What you could do within it, however, is the ability to fly any ship presently in the game with all classes and ratings of weapons/utilities/modules in a pre-flight outfitting session.
This provides several much-needed elements...
Firstly, it lets you get a feel for all different craft and experiment with all the various weapons and modules you like, without needing to risk actual funds on ourchasing them. You don't know whether to get an Adder or skip it and head straight for a Cobra? Wondering if an Asp would do a better job of mining than a Type X? Want to compare combat ability between a Python and Anaconda? This lets you do that and plan your future upgrades accordingly. Same goes for if you can't decide between various sets of weapons or if you're wondering whether downgrading shields for the sake of cargo soace wuld let you get shot up by a pirate if you took that gamble for real.
Secondly, it gives us something to aim for. Grinding away for credits has extra meaning if you realise a certain ship or module combination is the one for you - or if downgrading from one ship to a cheaper one might actually give better results than what you have. You think you want a particular ship or outfitting selection, but what if it turns out it doesn't perform how you assumed? What if you're trying to decide between upgrades and can't figure out what the trade-offs are for your chosen situation?
Thirdly, work can be boring! Why not let us take a break from the credit-grind, every once in a while and just blow stuff up for the heck of it? We're using this very product, after all, as a form of escapism. People in the future would do that, too! If you get to a point where you need to do something you find boring, because you need the money, that can turn people away from this game. Allowing them a risk-free sandbox for stress relief would stop fatigue setting in. If they ever got bored in future? They could simply dock their 'real' craft in the nearest port, turn on smulator-mode to have some fun and remember why they're trading/whatever. It'll reinvigorate them, remember their fictional sense of purpose and give them a taste of maybe even a change in career... What if they haven't risked bounty hunting, piracy or smuggling, for fear of the consequences? And what if they turned out to be really good at it? They might never find out unkess they had this availabke to them.
Lastly, for thise who do indulge in combat, think of this as away to keep your skills against random NPC opponents fresh. See if you learn the flight tactics being used by the AI in particular situations. See if alternating your strategies makes a difference.
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