This. All problems solved.Just one change will improve the situation immensely. You know how certain missions give you Biotech Conductors? Yeah ... so just spread around all the grade 5 data/manufactured materials into different types of missions. This will provide lots of motivation (beyond credits) to do different types of missions.
Other than that, I actually like the engineering aspect. Unlocking the engineers was fun (seriously)
Right now the emmissive effect is far too strong, it lasts too long and doesn't have a cooldown. This makes hulltanks and cold running builds even more disadvantaged in the current shield meta. It could do with being toned down.Feel free to respond with other ship Engineering balancing feedback and suggestions that go beyond the ideas mentioned above
Really is that simple. Vary the missions by material type - combat missions net you things like Core Dynamics, Military Alloys, Supercapacitors. Aid/rescue missions get you Pharmaceutical Isolators and Biotech Conductors. Covert/sneaky missions net you various classified datas.Just one change will improve the situation immensely. You know how certain missions give you Biotech Conductors? Yeah ... so just spread around all the grade 5 data/manufactured materials into different types of missions. This will provide lots of motivation (beyond credits) to do different types of missions.
Other than that, I actually like the engineering aspect. Unlocking the engineers was fun (seriously)
I honestly keep trying to pick this game back up because it is gorgeous and flying is fun, but every time I get the itch to say, go try exploring or get more into PVE combat, I spec out a build, look at the amount of engineering materials I need to grind, think of the 12+ hours I will have to spend grinding the materials for that ship, and just not log in instead. I did the grind, I have billions of credits and a fleet carrier with enough bank to stay afloat while I do other things. Shame it takes about the amount of total playtime of a AAA game just to get a ship ready for a task it's meant for. Mining ships don't need nearly so much engineering. This is specific to exploration and combat paths. If we could get the grind per build down to <2-3 hours I could get back into this game again, but until then it just feels like a job.Greetings Commanders
Now that Update 8 for Odyssey is live, we'd like to reignite the series of balancing changes that started before Odyssey's release. Now, it's time to turn our attention to ship Engineering. We recognise there has been significant feedback for on-foot Engineering too, but we'd like to approach these one at a time due to the number of aspects involved. Specifically, we'd like to look at the balancing of the Engineering grind, which largely relates to...
Material Gathering
Availability and Time Required
To obtain them as fast as possible, materials within Grades 1 to 3 are typically traded down from Grade 4 and 5s. To make them worthwhile to gather by themselves, should their availability and the rate at which they are obtained be increased?
Similarly, Grade 5 materials can be traded down into 3 Grade 4 materials within the same category. However, Grade 4 and Grade 5 materials take similar amounts of time to gather. Should the number of materials picked up per instance be increased to account for this?
We're also aware that some materials are much harder to find than others as they are tied to rarer BGS states. Let us know which materials ought to be made more readily discoverable.
Any estimates regarding how long it took to earn a given Engineered module by gathering materials will also be helpful in addressing this aspect of balancing.
Alternate Gathering Methods
We appreciate that the repetitive nature of material gathering may not be for everyone. Some have called for ways to earn materials while engaging in the specific types of content they already enjoy.
We'd like to hear your feedback on the idea of unique missions offered by Engineers themselves. These could be repeatable and offer materials specific to the upgrades offered by the Engineer who issues them. Let us know what you think of this idea and how many materials this might offer relative to gathering the materials manually.
Another idea is to allow materials to be "bought" with items that are not obtainable at Commodities Markets. This could include things such as Exploration Data, Bounty Vouchers, Void Opals and Thargoid Hearts and would allow players to earn materials while playing within their chosen disciplines.
Rolling for Engineering Improvements
Some time ago, Engineering was changed so that some improvement was guaranteed with each roll. However, the amount by which your progress towards the next module grade is still random. This means sometimes the same number of materials will produce a minimal increase. Should this be changed so that the same number of materials are always required to reach the next tier? This would allow Commanders to know exactly how many materials are needed.
Other Feedback and Suggestions
Feel free to respond with other ship Engineering balancing feedback and suggestions that go beyond the ideas mentioned above. To keep the conversation on-topic and help us collect the feedback, this thread will be closely moderated. Please only reply with responses to the topics mentioned and keep feedback constructive. Unrelated or unhelpful posts may be removed during clean-up. If you find this has happened to your post, consider raising your points in another thread within the Dangerous Discussion section.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
O7