Makers & Breakers for Carriers re:Combat Pilots

[60mm]

First let me say that for Explorers, the Carriers with only what we have seen thus far, will be a home run. If the Mining variant can store thousands of tons of ore, it will be a home run for Miners as well. But for Combat pilots . . . I really can't see the point. I'm not being a downer, I really really really want a Carrier. So let me explain why I don't see Carriers, from what we know, as being useful for combat pilots and what we would need to make them work.

First off, I do nothing but combat. Aside from a handful of mining trips, I have made every single credit I have off of someone's corpse. I play with a couple friends who likewise do nothing but combat. As things currently stand in ED, this is our list of activities in PVE;

• Assassination Missions
• HazRes/Comp Nav Beavons
• PP Enemy hunting
• Occasional Massacre Missions (rewards rarely worth the task)

For any of these activities to work, we need access to the Mission Board, Authority Contacts and Power Contacts. It's quite simple to see that if Carriers do not have these onboard, we will be forced to continue playing as we have been and stay at Stations. Parking our Carrier somewhere and operating from it would be just pure awesome sauce. But if we have to travel to Stations to pick up and turn in everything we do . . . why?

So, FDev. Please include these on at least the Combat variant Carrier. Sincerely, all the Combat pilots eager to dump billions of credits into one.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

First let me say that for Explorers, the Carriers with only what we have seen thus far, will be a home run. If the Mining variant can store thousands of tons of ore, it will be a home run for Miners as well. But for Combat pilots . . . I really can't see the point. I'm not being a downer, I really really really want a Carrier. So let me explain why I don't see Carriers, from what we know, as being useful for combat pilots and what we would need to make them work.

First off, I do nothing but combat. Aside from a handful of mining trips, I have made every single credit I have off of someone's corpse. I play with a couple friends who likewise do nothing but combat. As things currently stand in ED, this is our list of activities in PVE;

• Assassination Missions
• HazRes/Comp Nav Beavons
• PP Enemy hunting
• Occasional Massacre Missions (rewards rarely worth the task)

For any of these activities to work, we need access to the Mission Board, Authority Contacts and Power Contacts. It's quite simple to see that if Carriers do not have these onboard, we will be forced to continue playing as we have been and stay at Stations. Parking our Carrier somewhere and operating from it would be just pure awesome sauce. But if we have to travel to Stations to pick up and turn in everything we do . . . why?

So, FDev. Please include these on at least the Combat variant Carrier. Sincerely, all the Combat pilots eager to dump billions of credits into one.

I think you’re missing the point of the Carrier here. They’re not your portable space station base. They’re a means of convayence for a number of you to all go to the same place at the same time. Let’s say you’re all camped out at Jameson, but decide to head over to - oh who cares, somewhere 489 light years away to go blow things up there. Your buddy wants to test out his mamba, but would also like his proven Vulture on hand - without having to transfer it and wait, well now he can.

 

[60mm]

I think you’re missing the point of the Carrier here. They’re not your portable space station base. They’re a means of convayence for a number of you to all go to the same place at the same time. Let’s say you’re all camped out at Jameson, but decide to head over to - oh who cares, somewhere 489 light years away to go blow things up there. Your buddy wants to test out his mamba, but would also like his proven Vulture on hand - without having to transfer it and wait, well now he can.

Groups of Combat pilots never need to go 500ly away to do the things we enjoy doing. No Combat oriented options provided by ED demand travel exceeding ~30ly, and combat 5000000ly away is literally copy paste from the combat 1kls from your home Station.

"Let’s say you’re all camped out at Jameson, but decide to head over to - oh who cares, somewhere 489 light years away to go blow things up there."

I only fly with Combat oriented pilots, none would ever think to say this as it makes no sense when what you care about is combat primarily and not exploration.

Mark my words, if Combat pilots can't go about the Combat activities that ED provides from their Carrier, the Combat oriented Carrier will be a forgotten joke. Which would be a shame.

 

[Ouberos]

I was thinking similar thoughts for the Piracy and Smuggling options. It boiled down to how the new carrier mechanism fits into my gameplay.

Pirates have almost the opposite problem to a combat craft because we need to be mobile. Jumping from Boom state to CG and then off to a Void Opal mining rush system.

Can't do that quickly if I have to grind out 1000 tons of microwave hoses or something

 

[graflex22]

Groups of Combat pilots never need to go 500ly away to do the things we enjoy doing. No Combat oriented options provided by ED demand travel exceeding ~30ly, and combat 5000000ly away is literally copy paste from the combat 1kls from your home Station.

"Let’s say you’re all camped out at Jameson, but decide to head over to - oh who cares, somewhere 489 light years away to go blow things up there."

I only fly with Combat oriented pilots, none would ever think to say this as it makes no sense when what you care about is combat primarily and not exploration.

Mark my words, if Combat pilots can't go about the Combat activities that ED provides from their Carrier, the Combat oriented Carrier will be a forgotten joke. Which would be a shame.

on the other hand this could make mercenary work viable. load up your ships and your friends' ships onto the Carrier and jump to whatever system faction far away that has hired your services.

 

[60mm]

on the other hand this could make mercenary work viable. load up your ships and your friends' ships onto the Carrier and jump to whatever system faction far away that has hired your services.

That would be great, but would first require FDev to add that content to the game, as it doesn't exist currently. The only paid work you can get for Combat will send you ~30ly, tops, and Bounties are always turned in within a few Systems of where you earned them.

Given the fact that Combat missions themselves haven't been touched in a long time, I'm not gonna hold my breath on FDev adding more to make Combat Carriers viable in time for the Carrier update. Giving Combat Carriers access to Authority/Power/Missions is the only realistic way to allow Combat pilots to take advantage of Carriers.

I was thinking similar thoughts for the Piracy and Smuggling options. It boiled down to how the new carrier mechanism fits into my gameplay.

It would be cool if the Carrier geared towards Piracy/Smuggling could act as a laundering base. Transfer all your stolen well-earned goods onto the Carrier, swap into a transport ship, load up the laundered goods and sell them as legal items. Would let Pirates/Smugglers wealthy enough for a Carrier to amass large amounts of goods before making large runs to unload instead of sneaking into Stations with small loads regularly like the low-level Pirates.

 

[Ouberos]

It would be cool if the Carrier geared towards Piracy/Smuggling could act as a laundering base. Transfer all your stolen well-earned goods onto the Carrier, swap into a transport ship, load up the laundered goods and sell them as legal items. Would let Pirates/Smugglers wealthy enough for a Carrier to amass large amounts of goods before making large runs to unload instead of sneaking into Stations with small loads regularly like the low-level Pirates.

But then of course, if Carriers could also hold cargo we would definitely be robbing them too.

 

[60mm]

But then of course, if Carriers could also hold cargo we would definitely be robbing them too.

Carriers holding cargo is all but certain, there being a Mining variant. All the Piracy/Smuggling variant would need is an auto-clean for goods stored.

Carriers will be a POI that is only visible to the owner and invited CMDRs, otherwise popular systems would be swamped with Carrier POI's. The only Carriers you will ever set your eyes on are yours or ones you are invited to dock at.

 

[Ouberos]

I'm not so sure. They were very specific about them not being damageable but I saw something about having to maintain the support ships.

That sounds like they can be dented.

 

[60mm]

I'm not so sure. They were very specific about them not being damageable but I saw something about having to maintain the support ships.

That sounds like they can be dented.

It's gonna be wear and tear from jumps and what-not, just as your ships' integrity drops over time. The only way to have PVP involving Carriers is if anyone could find your Carrier's POI. They're not gonna do that because they would have to deal with players angry that their Carrier is always getting wrecked when they're logged off, and players angry that popular systems are crowded with Carrier POI's.

 

[graflex22]

I'm not so sure. They were very specific about them not being damageable but I saw something about having to maintain the support ships.

That sounds like they can be dented.

this would be great. PMF wars could get really interesting.

 

[60mm]

this would be great. PMF wars could get really interesting.

It would be epic. But, alas, the rivers of tears rushing forth from people whose Carriers would be continually ganked to Hell and back would be faaaaaaaaaarrrr more epic. Which FDev surely knows.

 

[Northpin]

I already posted in another thread.
Carriers can be used as rearm/repair bases in systems where there is a war status and you want to support the runner up. Which runner up does not hold any station in that system.
Win CZ after CZ and you find yourself locked out of R&R in that system. Bring a carrier in and suddenly things are somehow easier

 

[60mm]

I already posted in another thread.
Carriers can be used as rearm/repair bases in systems where there is a war status and you want to support the runner up. Which runner up does not hold any station in that system.
Win CZ after CZ and you find yourself locked out of R&R in that system. Bring a carrier in and suddenly things are somehow easier

CMDRs seriously engaging in PP for anything but monthly module earnings is a small minority of Combat pilots. The majority of CMDRs engaging in PP couldn't care less which PP faction is winning/losing, as long as they get their PP module. In fact, the current PP implementation incentivizes CMDRs to betray their PP faction every month. So why should CMDRs care about winning the wars?

If PP ever gets revamped that could change, but, as things stand, PP is not a basis for Carriers to be useful as PP itself is a total mess.

 

[Northpin]

CMDRs seriously engaging in PP...

I'm talking mostly about BGS

 

[Old Duck]

Groups of Combat pilots never need to go 500ly away to do the things we enjoy doing. No Combat oriented options provided by ED demand travel exceeding ~30ly, and combat 5000000ly away is literally copy paste from the combat 1kls from your home Station.

"Let’s say you’re all camped out at Jameson, but decide to head over to - oh who cares, somewhere 489 light years away to go blow things up there."

I only fly with Combat oriented pilots, none would ever think to say this as it makes no sense when what you care about is combat primarily and not exploration.

So you guys don't participate in combat CGs? That sounds like a missed opportunity, but whatever floats your boat.

I bet other combat pilots participate in CGs and IIs, however.

 

[60mm]

I'm talking mostly about BGS

So am I. CMDRs who genuinely care about that, in the current state of things, are a minority. Don't get me wrong, I am happy it has uses for them. But that isn't going to make the Carrier useful for the majority of Combat pilots.

 

[60mm]

So you guys don't participate in combat CGs? That sounds like a missed opportunity, but whatever floats your boat.

I have no interest in "the community", so no. I'm interested in my agenda, and that of my friends. I would bet money that the majority of players aren't involved in CGs, in fact. That's the appeal of a sandbox, being free to do your own thing.
The bubble could burn down tomorrow for all I care.

 

[Old Duck]

But that isn't going to make the Carrier useful for the majority of Combat pilots.

I didn't know you were the duly elected spokesperson for combat pilots. I do a fair bit of combat myself, yet I don't remember getting a vote...

And yes, I care very much about the BGS. Speaking of, I think my faction is about to go to war! Looks like it's time for some........

Spoiler

COMBAT!

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I have no interest in "the community", so no. I'm interested in my agenda, and that of my friends. I would bet money that the majority of players aren't involved in CGs, in fact. That's the appeal of a sandbox, being free to do your own thing.
The bubble could burn down tomorrow for all I care.

As long as it’s not the Carrier shipyards burning, until after you get yours, of course. ;-)