I've read and participated in a few of the contentious debates and arguments concerning this issue. I have also listened to Sandro's discussion on the Lave Radio podcast.
I think the arguments, all but a few, have missed the point of what all of us, FD and the player community are trying to accomplish with ship and module transfers.
I think the issue could be solved by understanding that ship transfers are trying to solve two distinct problems with one solution.
Sandro mentioned two major issues to be solved by ship and module transfers. One was fleet management and the other was the desire of the players to grab a ship suitable for some activity when the ship you are flying won't work.
As has been discussed, and I hope most would agree, fleet management is not an immediate need, i.e. Instant would not be required. If you have dozens of ships and you want to move them around as a tactical measure or to migrate to a new home base there really is no need to instantly transport them all at once.
The need to get a certain purpose-built ship to a desired location could be time sensitive which is why I think a number of players feel they need ship transfers to be instant.
Now please don't think my solutions are the only viable ones. I would like to hear from the community why it why not the following ideas can't work or if you have alternative ideas.
I've taken ideas from some others so if an idea sounds familiar please understand I'm not trying to steal ideas, I'm just collating and adding my own tweaks.
1. Fleet management:
a. Mass transport of multiple ships (cheap and slow); if you have multiple ships and want them picked up and dropped off at one or more locations you want to hire a ship moving service. The time and cost to do this will be based on distances travelled and ship value. These will be your ships and modules with all mods attached. Short range ships would want this if they can make the trip themselves.
b. Courier delivery (faster but more costly): if you have a single ship and need it delivered quickly. You go to the crew lounge, hire an NPC pilot of your choosing to make the delivery. It's a one shot deal, we ignore the round trip requirement for simplicity. Cost is based on distance, ship value and NPC pilot rank. If a ship can't possibly make the trip due to range limitations even on economical route you can't hire the pilot.
2. Situational needs (I need a ship now): if you are flying your Type-9 and see a CZ, CG, or want to wing up with friends, you need another ship. Why not rent? In a real galaxy, rental services are much more believable than instant transfers or building a new spec ship that has engineered mods.
So I propose that you would be able to go to the shipyard of your choice and for a fee based on ship value and a selection of rental times you get the ship you want. If destroyed you insurance covers the cost as normal but there's no rebuy, you simply go back to the ship you stored.
Obviously not every ship is available but there will be a selection of ships and you can request custom outfitting for extra fees. There should be ships for various roles such as combat, exploration, mining, etc. this would also allow players with limited funds to try a ship before committing to a purchase.
So, what do people think?
Sorry for any typos, I typed this all out on my phone.
I think the arguments, all but a few, have missed the point of what all of us, FD and the player community are trying to accomplish with ship and module transfers.
I think the issue could be solved by understanding that ship transfers are trying to solve two distinct problems with one solution.
Sandro mentioned two major issues to be solved by ship and module transfers. One was fleet management and the other was the desire of the players to grab a ship suitable for some activity when the ship you are flying won't work.
As has been discussed, and I hope most would agree, fleet management is not an immediate need, i.e. Instant would not be required. If you have dozens of ships and you want to move them around as a tactical measure or to migrate to a new home base there really is no need to instantly transport them all at once.
The need to get a certain purpose-built ship to a desired location could be time sensitive which is why I think a number of players feel they need ship transfers to be instant.
Now please don't think my solutions are the only viable ones. I would like to hear from the community why it why not the following ideas can't work or if you have alternative ideas.
I've taken ideas from some others so if an idea sounds familiar please understand I'm not trying to steal ideas, I'm just collating and adding my own tweaks.
1. Fleet management:
a. Mass transport of multiple ships (cheap and slow); if you have multiple ships and want them picked up and dropped off at one or more locations you want to hire a ship moving service. The time and cost to do this will be based on distances travelled and ship value. These will be your ships and modules with all mods attached. Short range ships would want this if they can make the trip themselves.
b. Courier delivery (faster but more costly): if you have a single ship and need it delivered quickly. You go to the crew lounge, hire an NPC pilot of your choosing to make the delivery. It's a one shot deal, we ignore the round trip requirement for simplicity. Cost is based on distance, ship value and NPC pilot rank. If a ship can't possibly make the trip due to range limitations even on economical route you can't hire the pilot.
2. Situational needs (I need a ship now): if you are flying your Type-9 and see a CZ, CG, or want to wing up with friends, you need another ship. Why not rent? In a real galaxy, rental services are much more believable than instant transfers or building a new spec ship that has engineered mods.
So I propose that you would be able to go to the shipyard of your choice and for a fee based on ship value and a selection of rental times you get the ship you want. If destroyed you insurance covers the cost as normal but there's no rebuy, you simply go back to the ship you stored.
Obviously not every ship is available but there will be a selection of ships and you can request custom outfitting for extra fees. There should be ships for various roles such as combat, exploration, mining, etc. this would also allow players with limited funds to try a ship before committing to a purchase.
So, what do people think?
Sorry for any typos, I typed this all out on my phone.
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