Blackcompany
Banned
Flying a Vulture has to be the most fun I have had while playing Elite. Or almost any game. Ever. The maneuvers I can pull. The devastation I leave in my wake. Its an absolute blast.
And I almost didn't make it here. See, before I got here, I needed enough money to buy the ship. So, I traded rare goods. And god was I bored. So bored, I almost quit. So bored that when two friends asked me about Elite, I advised them to wait 3-6 months at least before even looking at it again, due to a lack of ships and too much grind. So bored, Frontier almost lost me as a customer, and did lose two more.
But now? I am having an absolute blast. A genuinely fun time. My only question is...why?
Why did it take this long to get here? Why the boring hours of grinding out trade missions in order to fly a combat vessel? This makes no sense and drives players away in droves.
And here is how we stop it from happening - Fly it Now, and Earn it as you Go:
So you want to fight? Great; sign here. Every military in the world does it. And then, they give you the guns and the training and the tools necessary to perform your task. Except, of course, for militaries in Elite.
So lets change that. You sign up to fight for a faction. They give you one combat ship, of your choosing, and a 90% discount on insurance buy back. Oh, and they actually outfit the ship for you with good gear. Not top of the line; but adequate and the correct size for the mounts or internal slots.
Then they send you on missions in your chosen ship. Depending on the cost of the ship you chose, you must complete a set number of missions for this faction, within an allotted (and generous) time frame. Perhaps if choose Eagle or Viper, its 5-10 combat missions in a week. For a Cobra or Vulture, perhaps its 15-25 combat missions, with some additional specifics, over two or three weeks.
During this time, you receive a small portion of your pay. For expenses and future insurance. But the majority of your take goes to the provider of the ship and its fittings. Say, 80/20% split, with the smaller going to you. Then, once you have completed your missions, you get the ship - free and clear. You own it; do as you like, commitment fulfilled. But you also assume the full insurance buyback cost effective immediately. And, if you fail to complete the jobs in the allotted time frame, you lose the ship and 50% of your earnings, too, to compensate the faction for their wasted time.
The same setup could go for Explorers and an Asp (agreeing to Explore so many systems or sectors and return the date to a specific faction) or traders (agreeing to haul so much freight to and from certain stations over a certain period).
This system would accomplish a couple of goals:
First, players get to fly the fun ships much, much sooner. I recommend that any player could sign up for this system once they have more than, say, 2 hours of time spent playing. Maybe 4-5 tops. This lets players have fun with the ship of their choice far sooner.
But this also means the player still has to earn that ship. And its not a risk free proposition. The player will earn their ship without paying much - at least, up front. But they will also earn only a fraction of a normal income during the time they serve with their chosen faction. This means players will need to be very careful, as even a small insurance payment while in service will hurt, and that they could end up assuming ownership of vessel with an insurance cost they might struggle to pay if something bad happens.
Some will say this is still grinding. And that may be true. But this lets you choose the type of grind you want, in the ship of your choice. Sure you get to fly your chosen ship sooner than some of us did. But you still have to earn it, with some risk inherent therein.
Lastly, I think some ships should be off limits for this system, such as:
-Python and Anaconda: No right minded general is going to let you fly these in exchange for a promise. Nice try.
-Type 9: A new player is as likely to crash this into a station as land it there. No corp is going to lend this on your oath alone.
-Asp*: For now, I think its in, for pledged Explorers. As soon as smaller, lest costly dedicated Explorer is in, that takes its place here.
-Drop Ship/Clipper: Do I need to elaborate here? They're the pride of their respective factions. Good luck getting one on your word alone.
So...what do you think? I say we stop driving new players away with grind and instead, let them choose what to fly from the get go, and earn it in a little different way than we did. Why begrudge newer players getting to have the same fun we're having now? I certainly would not.
And I almost didn't make it here. See, before I got here, I needed enough money to buy the ship. So, I traded rare goods. And god was I bored. So bored, I almost quit. So bored that when two friends asked me about Elite, I advised them to wait 3-6 months at least before even looking at it again, due to a lack of ships and too much grind. So bored, Frontier almost lost me as a customer, and did lose two more.
But now? I am having an absolute blast. A genuinely fun time. My only question is...why?
Why did it take this long to get here? Why the boring hours of grinding out trade missions in order to fly a combat vessel? This makes no sense and drives players away in droves.
And here is how we stop it from happening - Fly it Now, and Earn it as you Go:
So you want to fight? Great; sign here. Every military in the world does it. And then, they give you the guns and the training and the tools necessary to perform your task. Except, of course, for militaries in Elite.
So lets change that. You sign up to fight for a faction. They give you one combat ship, of your choosing, and a 90% discount on insurance buy back. Oh, and they actually outfit the ship for you with good gear. Not top of the line; but adequate and the correct size for the mounts or internal slots.
Then they send you on missions in your chosen ship. Depending on the cost of the ship you chose, you must complete a set number of missions for this faction, within an allotted (and generous) time frame. Perhaps if choose Eagle or Viper, its 5-10 combat missions in a week. For a Cobra or Vulture, perhaps its 15-25 combat missions, with some additional specifics, over two or three weeks.
During this time, you receive a small portion of your pay. For expenses and future insurance. But the majority of your take goes to the provider of the ship and its fittings. Say, 80/20% split, with the smaller going to you. Then, once you have completed your missions, you get the ship - free and clear. You own it; do as you like, commitment fulfilled. But you also assume the full insurance buyback cost effective immediately. And, if you fail to complete the jobs in the allotted time frame, you lose the ship and 50% of your earnings, too, to compensate the faction for their wasted time.
The same setup could go for Explorers and an Asp (agreeing to Explore so many systems or sectors and return the date to a specific faction) or traders (agreeing to haul so much freight to and from certain stations over a certain period).
This system would accomplish a couple of goals:
First, players get to fly the fun ships much, much sooner. I recommend that any player could sign up for this system once they have more than, say, 2 hours of time spent playing. Maybe 4-5 tops. This lets players have fun with the ship of their choice far sooner.
But this also means the player still has to earn that ship. And its not a risk free proposition. The player will earn their ship without paying much - at least, up front. But they will also earn only a fraction of a normal income during the time they serve with their chosen faction. This means players will need to be very careful, as even a small insurance payment while in service will hurt, and that they could end up assuming ownership of vessel with an insurance cost they might struggle to pay if something bad happens.
Some will say this is still grinding. And that may be true. But this lets you choose the type of grind you want, in the ship of your choice. Sure you get to fly your chosen ship sooner than some of us did. But you still have to earn it, with some risk inherent therein.
Lastly, I think some ships should be off limits for this system, such as:
-Python and Anaconda: No right minded general is going to let you fly these in exchange for a promise. Nice try.
-Type 9: A new player is as likely to crash this into a station as land it there. No corp is going to lend this on your oath alone.
-Asp*: For now, I think its in, for pledged Explorers. As soon as smaller, lest costly dedicated Explorer is in, that takes its place here.
-Drop Ship/Clipper: Do I need to elaborate here? They're the pride of their respective factions. Good luck getting one on your word alone.
So...what do you think? I say we stop driving new players away with grind and instead, let them choose what to fly from the get go, and earn it in a little different way than we did. Why begrudge newer players getting to have the same fun we're having now? I certainly would not.
