Material trader exchange rate between g5 mats?

[ErichZann]

So, on the material traders....

I can live with the fact that the exchange rate is quite bad if you go from a lower to a higher grade, even though it might be a bit excesive, I think 4 g4 materials for 1 g5 would be enough for example...

But what I think is totally stupid is to pay 6 g5 mats of a certain category for 1 g5 of another category. You could assume that these are worth roughly the same, so if this is any kind of "trade", why do I have to pay 6 of type A to get 1 of type B? And at the same time pay 6 of B to get 1 of A? Just doesnt make very much sense....

From a gameplay perspective I can see why a 1-to-1 exchange rate might not be good, and in fact when you exchange money in real life back and forth, you will also loose money. But the current ratio is just bad. I think 1:2 would be ok, 1:3 the absolut worst case.

 

[Aashenfox]

THis is the only remaining mechanism that forces you to do different activities, and as such, I believe that FD are happy with it.

If it were 3 to 1, which I agree would be more reasonable, then I could just go farming Pharma Isolators all day and have all the materials I needed without ever having to do anything but go to an independent high tech, high pop system in outbreak and fly around above the main star. That sounds nice for me, but I guess it's something FD doesn't want.

 

[Mxpower76]

I look at the material traders from a real world point of view. Like a chemical manipulator has nothing to do with an exquisite focus crystal so the value isn't the same. You can't make a manipulator out of a crystal. So how they have it set up kinda makes sense.

 

[Audaxxx]

THis is the only remaining mechanism that forces you to do different activities, and as such, I believe that FD are happy with it.

What i've found is that its not forcing me to do different activities, its just forcing me to sit in supercruise waiting for a HGE to materialise which is one of the things I was praying I wouldnt have to do anymore after the update.

Some of the materials just cant be found by any other means and for those it would really make sense to have a decent exchange rate so we aren't forced to rot in supercruise for the whole day.

 

[Blaize Meduenin]

THis is the only remaining mechanism that forces you to do different activities, and as such, I believe that FD are happy with it.

Why should we be forced to do different activities? Last i checked this is a game, whats wrong with a game letting people just do things that are fun?!

What a concept!

 

[rrobes]

It's a subjective observation but the spawn rate of some HGE's seems to have slowed down.

The other issue is seeing 6 for 1 suck your earned mats quite quickly when trading between grade 5's, were did they all go?

Someone else did a calculation on the number of mats required to go from a class 1 to class 5, the total was over 1k.

Plus if you fail to engineer all the way to the "stop, you're done" announcement, the special effect numbers are lessened, you only get the top number w/ a topped out mod. To bring a grandfathered HRM to current standards took 12 tries as an example.

Yes, the grind is here, in its full force. We wanted equality, we're paying for it.

 

[Aashenfox]

Why should we be forced to do different activities? Last i checked this is a game, whats wrong with a game letting people just do things that are fun?!

What a concept!

You seem to think I support this point of view, I did not say that. The mantra of this game is 'play your own way' and engineers curb-stomped that, hanged it, drew it, quartered it, flayed the pieces, soaked them in salt, then vinegar, exorcised them, minced them, burned them and then served them to the castle cat for breakfast.

 

[ErichZann]

I look at the material traders from a real world point of view. Like a chemical manipulator has nothing to do with an exquisite focus crystal so the value isn't the same. You can't make a manipulator out of a crystal. So how they have it set up kinda makes sense.

Well, I think especially when looking at it from a real world perspective it doesnt make sense.

It is correct that different kinds are not the same thing, and they cant be directly converted to one another. For just that reason money was invented in real life, so I can grow potatoes, get money for them, and then buy milk for that money. But usually there is some kind of more-or-less fixed rate between these different items (thats their value in money).

In the current system, I buy a potato for 36 bucks, and when I sell it again (in pristine condition...) I only get 1 buck back.

In ingame language: I trade 36 pharmaceutical isolators for 6 improvised components, and then I trade back those 6 improvised components, and I get only A SINGLE unit of pharmaceutical isolators back, although it cost me 36 of just those.

As I said, some loss when trading back and forth is acceptable and I understand the game-balance reason for that, but this is simply too much...