I went on a pretty lengthy hiatus from E
a couple years ago because it felt like the progress being made on the game was sluggish at best, and there's only so much patience to be had with endgame content that has no tangible benefits in a timeframe less than a month. FDev seems to have addressed this properly, with a permanent address towards tangible progress in the form of system colonization, powerplay 2.0, and more.
However. Those new additions come much, much later than the existing systems, notably engineering, which remains a grind that seems like it simply doesn't need to be. Several improvements can be made to streamline the process, but not remove its core identity. I have thought of several additions, ranging in scope from simple mechanical changes to large scale changes that involve the utilization of the newer systems. I would like to appreciate in that regard FDevs decision to include high grade materials as a part of the care package for powerplay, and would like to highlight that this improvement point should be seen as an example of streamlining early content to be integrated into newer systems.
Small changes, such as QOL or mechanical tweaks:
- Materials should be able to be collected while on foot, with a limited personal capacity to address the fact that these materials are actually decently sized.
- All raw materials should be able to be mined/located in any location. This is a remarkably simple address that I'm unsure why FDev hasn't looked at yet. Forcing the player to an activity/location that they may have a vested interest in avoiding doesn't make sense. This ONLY refers to the acquisition method of materials, not the specific material available from the acquisition source. For example, Antimony should be able to be acquired from asteroid mining as well as planet surfaces, as opposed to the current system where it can only be found on planet surfaces. The actual availability of Antimony from one location to another is a good system that should remain in place to enforce player to resource interaction, effectively reinforcing an active and involved playerbase.
- Material traders should become universal. This I expect to be controversial, but it serves to streamline the acquisition of materials that are harder to locate/a player does not have a vested interest in locating. This in particular could serve as a temporary salve to a larger problem when it comes to material acquisition: certain materials of higher grade are disproportionately easier to acquire than others, for example, it is infinitely easier to acquire imperial shielding than it is to acquire Antimony. This would be a pseudo-bridge to that difficulty gap, while a more in depth solution can be found after more research into the subject (more on this later).
- Materials of the same category should be able to be synthesized into their higher grade counterparts. This would be strictly limited to the category that material belongs to, so while imperial shielding and core dynamic alloys are both grade 5, they don't belong to the same category and as a result can't be synthesized from the same materials.
Large changes, such as new modules and integration into newer systems:
- The addition of a new mining laser that doesn't mine minerals at all but has a MUCH higher rate of material generation. This specialized module allows for players to otherwise catch up in a system that has been out since the games infancy, while ensuring that there is a tradeoff for prioritizing doing so.
- A new limpet type that mines asteroids. This would NOT replace a collector limpet. Add a variation that acts similar to the previous suggestion, rapidly generating materials but no minerals.
- The new system colonization system already has a mining outpost designation. With limited effort, a new feature would allow the outpost to offer methods of providing raw materials as well. Military outposts can provide encoded materials. Industrial outposts can provide manufactured materials. They can be set to target a specific material, given that it is available in the location they are operating. Given that system colonization is a late game activity, this system would likely be used to serve as a method of topping up supplies of pilots who already have a reasonably engineered fleet.
Highly controversial:
- Materials should be able to be bought with credits. Before you jump on me for heresy here, there could be several ways to limit the effect this would have on the entire system. Firstly, each faction only has certain materials, and perhaps only a limited supply of those materials. In order to actually buy their materials you must be allied with them. Extraction economies provide raw materials, industrial/military economies provide manufactured materials, etc. The system can be further limited by enforcing that these materials are limited by the server tick, and in order to gain access after the new tick the player must complete at least one new mission from that faction. There's room for this system to exist, but not without very careful implementation.
- Hiring NPC pilots to perform tasks. This is extremely controversial, as expected, but could also be balanced through the BGS. Simply to maintain consistency with the topic at hand, I'll focus on the usage of NPC pilots to generate materials. You can hire an NPC pilot to mine a location, and deposit it in a station inventory. The security of the system (and location) you send them to can determine whether or not this operation is completed, or maybe they get destroyed by pirates/hostiles. You can hire an NPC to salvage wrecks, bound by the same rules as before. And lastly hire an NPC to run scans. This system has a LOT of potential, but it also houses the potential to rapidly unbalance existing systems. Again, careful implementation is important here.
a couple years ago because it felt like the progress being made on the game was sluggish at best, and there's only so much patience to be had with endgame content that has no tangible benefits in a timeframe less than a month. FDev seems to have addressed this properly, with a permanent address towards tangible progress in the form of system colonization, powerplay 2.0, and more.However. Those new additions come much, much later than the existing systems, notably engineering, which remains a grind that seems like it simply doesn't need to be. Several improvements can be made to streamline the process, but not remove its core identity. I have thought of several additions, ranging in scope from simple mechanical changes to large scale changes that involve the utilization of the newer systems. I would like to appreciate in that regard FDevs decision to include high grade materials as a part of the care package for powerplay, and would like to highlight that this improvement point should be seen as an example of streamlining early content to be integrated into newer systems.
Small changes, such as QOL or mechanical tweaks:
- Materials should be able to be collected while on foot, with a limited personal capacity to address the fact that these materials are actually decently sized.
- All raw materials should be able to be mined/located in any location. This is a remarkably simple address that I'm unsure why FDev hasn't looked at yet. Forcing the player to an activity/location that they may have a vested interest in avoiding doesn't make sense. This ONLY refers to the acquisition method of materials, not the specific material available from the acquisition source. For example, Antimony should be able to be acquired from asteroid mining as well as planet surfaces, as opposed to the current system where it can only be found on planet surfaces. The actual availability of Antimony from one location to another is a good system that should remain in place to enforce player to resource interaction, effectively reinforcing an active and involved playerbase.
- Material traders should become universal. This I expect to be controversial, but it serves to streamline the acquisition of materials that are harder to locate/a player does not have a vested interest in locating. This in particular could serve as a temporary salve to a larger problem when it comes to material acquisition: certain materials of higher grade are disproportionately easier to acquire than others, for example, it is infinitely easier to acquire imperial shielding than it is to acquire Antimony. This would be a pseudo-bridge to that difficulty gap, while a more in depth solution can be found after more research into the subject (more on this later).
- Materials of the same category should be able to be synthesized into their higher grade counterparts. This would be strictly limited to the category that material belongs to, so while imperial shielding and core dynamic alloys are both grade 5, they don't belong to the same category and as a result can't be synthesized from the same materials.
Large changes, such as new modules and integration into newer systems:
- The addition of a new mining laser that doesn't mine minerals at all but has a MUCH higher rate of material generation. This specialized module allows for players to otherwise catch up in a system that has been out since the games infancy, while ensuring that there is a tradeoff for prioritizing doing so.
- A new limpet type that mines asteroids. This would NOT replace a collector limpet. Add a variation that acts similar to the previous suggestion, rapidly generating materials but no minerals.
- The new system colonization system already has a mining outpost designation. With limited effort, a new feature would allow the outpost to offer methods of providing raw materials as well. Military outposts can provide encoded materials. Industrial outposts can provide manufactured materials. They can be set to target a specific material, given that it is available in the location they are operating. Given that system colonization is a late game activity, this system would likely be used to serve as a method of topping up supplies of pilots who already have a reasonably engineered fleet.
Highly controversial:
- Materials should be able to be bought with credits. Before you jump on me for heresy here, there could be several ways to limit the effect this would have on the entire system. Firstly, each faction only has certain materials, and perhaps only a limited supply of those materials. In order to actually buy their materials you must be allied with them. Extraction economies provide raw materials, industrial/military economies provide manufactured materials, etc. The system can be further limited by enforcing that these materials are limited by the server tick, and in order to gain access after the new tick the player must complete at least one new mission from that faction. There's room for this system to exist, but not without very careful implementation.
- Hiring NPC pilots to perform tasks. This is extremely controversial, as expected, but could also be balanced through the BGS. Simply to maintain consistency with the topic at hand, I'll focus on the usage of NPC pilots to generate materials. You can hire an NPC pilot to mine a location, and deposit it in a station inventory. The security of the system (and location) you send them to can determine whether or not this operation is completed, or maybe they get destroyed by pirates/hostiles. You can hire an NPC to salvage wrecks, bound by the same rules as before. And lastly hire an NPC to run scans. This system has a LOT of potential, but it also houses the potential to rapidly unbalance existing systems. Again, careful implementation is important here.
