Got sent 900kls for a sub 1m Assassination, not for the first time. Please can this be addressed?

[Aashenfox]

In the last patch, missions had their payouts updated based on target body distance from main star. How come nobody thought to apply this to assassination missions? Or at least ensure that assassination missions wouldn't send you a million ls from an entry point?

9 times out of ten, you get sent to a perfectly reasonable body within 2kls of the main, but sometimes, you get sent to hutton orbital (figuratively speaking). I fell asleep in my chair last night waiting for my arrival, then when I woke up, I was 800k on the other side of the body, fortunately I was already doing 1435C, so turning round I arrived in 5 minutes (and JUST as I was dropping into the mission target USS, I got the message that my window had elapsed). The Pirate was there and tasted space, I completed the mission by the skin of my teeth. This particular mission had bonus kills, which I completed both of, BEFORE I was informed how far I would have to travel, so combined with the reputation hit, I did not want to abandon. I only get a couple of hours a night, and while I don't begrudge a grind, I felt this particular gut punch halfway through the mission, was cruel and unusual.

It's a very glaring oversight and I would greatly appreciate if someone could look into fixing it please, I do mostly pirate assassinations lately and it's really starting to grate. Thanks in advance!

 

[Jukelo]

At the start of the mission they don't know precisely where in the system the target is. That the target might be at a body 900k ls away is a risk you accept when taking that mission (check the system map beforehand). Also it's entirely fine to abandon a mission you belive is no longer worth your time.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Yeah, basically, the game will troll you.

If the system has 572,388 planets within 10ls of the star, and just 1 planet 482,838,291ls from the star, it'll send you there. Every time.

Best thing to do is check the system, and see if it's big. If it is, weigh up the chances of it being a long haul.
Once you've lived in a system long enough, you'll learn the surrounding systems, and won't even need to open the map.

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

 

[Aashenfox]

At the start of the mission they don't know precisely where in the system the target is. That the target might be at a body 900k ls away is a risk you accept when taking that mission (check the system map beforehand).

I don't accept this as a valid justification in a video game where other missions have been adjusted for exactly this reason. Where the mission could easily be programmed with the target body beforehand (and payout skewed appropriately, AND that info be hidden from the player). As for checking the system map, I really hope you aren't suggesting that I need to check the system map of every assassination mission BEFORE I take it, to ensure that there is not a body more than 10kls out? And then not take missions to systems which have those, on the off chance that there's a 1 in 20 chance I get sent to the most distant body? That's a solution? lol. It's already difficult enough to stack 5 assassination missions, let alone adding criteria that would lead to acceptance of 1 in 10.

Currently, if you see 2 delivery or data missions to Alpha Centauri, you can easily tell which is the one to Hutton Orbital, as it pays 100 times the other. Why was this balance applied to one type of mission and not others? We are talking about a technical rebalance for reasons of fairness, not some excuse why this isn't immersion breaking, cos I admit it's not immersion breaking, in reality it would be perfectly feasible, but not in a video game.

Also it's entirely fine to abandon a mission you belive is no longer worth your time.

This particular mission had bonus kills, which I completed both of, BEFORE I was informed how far I would have to travel, so combined with the reputation hit, I did not want to abandon. I only get a couple of hours a night, and while I don't begrudge a grind, I felt this particular gut punch halfway through the mission, was cruel and unusual.

 

[Terry Bruge-Hiplo]

Narks me off when this happens, but can easily be mitigated by checking the destination system. If it has bodies over 20K Ls, avoid...

The ones that really irk me since 2.4 are the ones that send you to the destination system, then give you an inbox notification to go meet a contact back in the system you got the mission from...

 

[Aashenfox]

Yeah, basically, the game will troll you.

If the system has 572,388 planets within 10ls of the star, and just 1 planet 482,838,291ls from the star, it'll send you there. Every time.

Best thing to do is check the system, and see if it's big. If it is, weigh up the chances of it being a long haul.
Once you've lived in a system long enough, you'll learn the surrounding systems, and won't even need to open the map.

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

Yeh, it seems that way, but it really is just bad luck at times, usually they are quite reasonable. I think it's fair to ask why some mission types were balanced for exactly this reason, but Assassinations got no love.

I would love for it to be a more immersive mechanic, for example a bonus applied after scanning nav; "Due to the target's remote location, we are offering you the chance to take a bonus payment or abandon the mission without prejudice, please choose an option".

Narks me off when this happens, but can easily be mitigated by checking the destination system. If it has bodies over 20K Ls, avoid...

The ones that really irk me since 2.4 are the ones that send you to the destination system, then give you an inbox notification to go meet a contact back in the system you got the mission from...

I got a tip for you for those, which works for me about 50% of the time... Stay in the original system for a few minutes and look for a weapons fire detected USS, head for it. If you are not interdicted by your target on approach, there is a strong likelihood that after initiating combat in the USS, your target will drop in and try to take advantage by killing you while you are busy with someone else. If that sounds like somehting you would rather avoid, fair enough, but for me, the more the merrier, I love it when that happens, gives a good fight and speeds things along no end!

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Yeh, it seems that way, but it really is just bad luck at times, usually they are quite reasonable. I think it's fair to ask why some mission types were balanced for exactly this reason, but Assassinations got no love.

I would love for it to be a more immersive mechanic, for example a bonus applied after scanning nav; "Due to the target's remote location, we are offering you the chance to take a bonus payment or abandon the mission without prejudice, please choose an option".



I got a tip for you for those, which works for me about 50% of the time... Stay in the original system for a few minutes and look for a weapons fire detected USS, head for it. If you are not interdicted by your target on approach, there is a strong likelihood that after initiating combat in the USS, your target will drop in and try to take advantage by killing you while you are busy with someone else. If that sounds like somehting you would rather avoid, fair enough, but for me, the more the merrier, I love it when that happens, gives a good fight and speeds things along no end!

I had a similar mission to assassinate a pirate about 400,000ls away.

I only got about 5,000ls and he announced he wanted to interdict me.

So I just waited.

Very quick mission. Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

 

[Aashenfox]

I had a similar mission to assassinate a pirate about 400,000ls away.

I only got about 5,000ls and he announced he wanted to interdict me.

So I just waited.

Very quick mission. Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

Yeh, since 2.4, this happens A LOT more often and I'm very happy for it too. I imagine my mission giver being a two faced greedy git and after offering me money for the mission, offers the target a chance to buy my location and try to get me first! Before setting off on my 900kls journey, I hung around near the main star for at least 10 minutes hoping this would happen, and popping into weapons fire USSes, hoping for the effect I describe above, but noooo, it made me sleep in my chair and feel about 100 years old. lol.

 

[Jukelo]

I don't accept this as a valid justification in a video game where other missions have been adjusted for exactly this reason.

Other missions have been adjusted for distance where it makes sense. Your are thinking of various missions where the target's coordinates are known in advance by the mission giver, this isn't the case for assassination missions. You could argue for the removal of incertitude regarding the target's position, but then that's less a QOL issue than purely a mission design one. It could be nice to have *some* missions where the target's location is already known for people who don't feel like taking any chances, but ultimately you still want missions that have a degree of incertitude as it forces the player to take calculated risks.

Where the mission could easily be programmed with the target body beforehand (and payout skewed appropriately, AND that info be hidden from the player).

How would that make any sense in context though? Surely if the minor faction knows where the target is (and therefore takes distance into account when setting the price) they should tell you. If they can't tell you because they don't know, the price can't be adjusted for distance either.

As for checking the system map, I really hope you aren't suggesting that I need to check the system map of every assassination mission BEFORE I take it, to ensure that there is not a body more than 10kls out? And then not take missions to systems which have those, on the off chance that there's a 1 in 20 chance I get sent to the most distant body? That's a solution? lol. It's already difficult enough to stack 5 assassination missions, let alone adding criteria that would lead to acceptance of 1 in 10.

Well I don't believe in farming and grinding and stacking missions and I don't believe that's what the devs had in mind when they designed the game either, so I'm just telling you how to address your issue with missions sending you to places you consider too far in a way that doesnt require the devs to alter the context of the game in a way that wouldn't make much sense. If abandonning a mission that is no longer worth your while is too much, don't take missions that could potentially waste your time, and for that the system map is your friend. I don't see what is the issue with checking the system map before you take a mission, it should be common sense. Neither do I see a problem with the player having the responsibility to decide whether a mission fits their personal and arbitrary criteria of worthyness.

 

[Aashenfox]

Other missions have been adjusted for distance where it makes sense. Your are thinking of various missions where the target's coordinates are known in advance by the mission giver, this isn't the case for assassination missions. You could argue for the removal of incertitude regarding the target's position, but then that's less a QOL issue than purely a mission design one. It could be nice to have *some* missions where the target's location is already known for people who don't feel like taking any chances, but ultimately you still want missions that have a degree of incertitude as it forces the player to take calculated risks.



How would that make any sense in context though? Surely if the minor faction knows where the target is (and therefore takes distance into account when setting the price) they should tell you. If they can't tell you because they don't know, the price can't be adjusted for distance either.



Well I don't believe in farming and grinding and stacking missions and I don't believe that's what the devs had in mind when they designed the game either, so I'm just telling you how to address your issue with missions sending you to places you consider too far in a way that doesnt require the devs to alter the context of the game in a way that wouldn't make much sense. If abandonning a mission that is no longer worth your while is too much, don't take missions that could potentially waste your time, and for that the system map is your friend. I don't see what is the issue with checking the system map before you take a mission, it should be common sense. Neither do I see a problem with the player having the responsibility to decide whether a mission fits their personal and arbitrary criteria of worthyness.

I'm not farming or grinding and I don't board swap either. I just like doing assassinations. In fact this is what I do when I don't want to grind. Everything else you said ignores the justifications I already provided. It doesn't need to make sense contextually, it needs to make sense inside the framework of the game. As for risk, going out to kill people isn't risky enough? Please. I know how the game works now and I think payments should be skewed with distance appropriately. What do you think about my idea of offering a bonus for long distance, once said distance has been identified?

Or let me put it another way, if this can happen, there should be less of a penalty (or none) for abandoning. It is obviously unreasonable within the framework of the game to be expected to travel 900kls for a half million, while most other times you'll get 3 times as much for a target next to the main star. THAT'S what makes no sense. The NPCs expecting us to subsequently complete such missions without extra pay is more out of context than anything in my posts.

 

[DocLooshkin]

Hello, Aashenfox.

Sounds like a pain. I'm glad I've never had a bounty mission that far out.

Suggested fix for FD: "Cmdr, we've now identified the target's location and the annoying little fudger's hiding <more than 45 mins away> at <xyz>. There's a pile of extra money the size of Zemina Torval's head waiting for you, if you can still complete the mission."

 

[Pumabear8]

Narks me off when this happens, but can easily be mitigated by checking the destination system. If it has bodies over 20K Ls, avoid...

That works right up until you're directed to meet a contact, I'm loathed to take assassination missions anymore, and if I do, I'm now now more than willing to abandon the mission when the contact indicates the target is some stupid distance from the main star.

 

[Aashenfox]

Hello, Aashenfox.

Sounds like a pain. I'm glad I've never had a bounty mission that far out.

Suggested fix for FD: "Cmdr, we've now identified the target's location and the annoying little fudger's hiding <more than 45 mins away> at <xyz>. There's a pile of extra money the size of Zemina Torval's head waiting for you, if you can still complete the mission."

I could live with that

There are a couple such systems near Sol, my happy hunting grounds, I might change area soon actually, but gaining a little extra fed ranking has suddenly become so much easier with all the data and donation missions, I thought I'd stick around a bit longer. Trouble is all I feel like doing lately is pirate lord assassinations. I guess I must be angry about something deep inside and taking it out on the pirates. lol.

 

[Aashenfox]

That works right up until you're directed to meet a contact, I'm loathed to take assassination missions anymore, and if I do, I'm now now more than willing to abandon the mission when the contact indicates the target is some stupid distance from the main star.

They have seemed to increase (dramatically) the chance of the target interdicting you or otherwise finding you on their own in 2.4, to be fair, those do mkae up for the occasional 'find contact' one and/or a long distance. But 900k. Sheesh, it's enough to consider changing profession.

 

[Jukelo]

I'm not farming or grinding and I don't board swap either. I just like doing assassinations. In fact this is what I do when I don't want to grind. Everything else you said ignores the justifications I already provided. It doesn't need to make sense contextually, it needs to make sense inside the framework of the game.

Let's agree to disagree here, I'm less interested in the game than I'm interested in the consistency of its world. I play ED because it offers a representation of the Elite universe, and it is a universe I love to immerse myself into.

As for risk, going out to kill people isn't risky enough? Please. I know how the game works now and I think payments should be skewed with distance appropriately. What do you think about my idea of offering a bonus for long distance, once said distance has been identified?

Or let me put it another way, if this can happen, there should be less of a penalty (or none) for abandoning. It is obviously unreasonable within the framework of the game to be expected to travel 900kls for a half million, while most other times you'll get 3 times as much for a target next to the main star. THAT'S what makes no sense. The NPCs expecting us to subsequently complete such missions without extra pay is more out of context than anything in my posts.

I believe both options would be acceptable, although I'd be more interested in separate mission templates, one with accurate intelligence that tasks you with going directly to the target's known location, the other leaving things more open (and once the game supports it better, allow for a bit of actual hunting that involves more than just scanning the nav beacon, although that is a good start) but forcing you to take a chance with the hunt taking potentially longer than you'd have initially liked for the pay offered.