Exploring horizons since returning it would seem that FD has made a design decision force you to engage in certain in game activities to obtain engineering upgrades.
Every aspect of the game must be dipped into, some more than others, in order to engineer your ship. You have to mine, you have to trade, you have to explore and you have to fight.
If someone enjoys each of these at different times then that's fine. But a constant activity which is unfun, to obtain needed materials is a bad design choice. And their is no option around it. If someone preferred combat above all else, there would be indirect ways to obtain something which you could use to get materials. Suppose you could trade combat bonds for materials? Instead of prospecting the tacked on ride a buggy around an airless rock shooting rocks which they call a feature. What about selling or trading exploration data for materials? It gives you an option beside doing something repetitive that you don't like, which is grinding. That way one of each profession which is liked by a wide range of players could still do the one they find most fun gameplay wise, while still being able to stay relevant in a post engineered world.
Someone came up with the brilliant idea that they know how to get players to do every in game activity. You want materials? You will explore. Mine. Trade, fight, prospect etc etc.
As an aside, how is it you can have such awesome spaceships in the 34th century but you have that god-awful buggy which just turns over on the slightest bump or going too fast? Could have used a hover craft or something, seriously? Come on.
Every aspect of the game must be dipped into, some more than others, in order to engineer your ship. You have to mine, you have to trade, you have to explore and you have to fight.
If someone enjoys each of these at different times then that's fine. But a constant activity which is unfun, to obtain needed materials is a bad design choice. And their is no option around it. If someone preferred combat above all else, there would be indirect ways to obtain something which you could use to get materials. Suppose you could trade combat bonds for materials? Instead of prospecting the tacked on ride a buggy around an airless rock shooting rocks which they call a feature. What about selling or trading exploration data for materials? It gives you an option beside doing something repetitive that you don't like, which is grinding. That way one of each profession which is liked by a wide range of players could still do the one they find most fun gameplay wise, while still being able to stay relevant in a post engineered world.
Someone came up with the brilliant idea that they know how to get players to do every in game activity. You want materials? You will explore. Mine. Trade, fight, prospect etc etc.
As an aside, how is it you can have such awesome spaceships in the 34th century but you have that god-awful buggy which just turns over on the slightest bump or going too fast? Could have used a hover craft or something, seriously? Come on.