Money Problems and the Lure of the Big Ships

[theflyinman]

Greetings Fellow Commanders,

I just wanted to get this off my chest, so here goes...

I have seen a lot of threads recently where people are wanting to progress faster/saying progression is to slow (in particular the Sothis nerf?).

I myself was (only a few days ago) one of the people who was in the same boat, i wanted the biggest ship and i wanted it now! But... having read some of the comments and thought about it over the past few days myself, i have come to a conclusion...

i feel that, if you can go from a sidewinder to an anaconda too quickly (to me that's within just a couple of months of game time, perhaps more) then the value of the sip will not be the same as if you were to have to work hard to get it. To me, the Anaconda/Cutter/Corvette are the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, but by no means the last rainbow of course.

I'm currently sitting in a Keelback (for the SLF XD) and am trying to get rep for the empire to get the (Gorgeous) Clipper, and have somewhere around 20 mil assets.

No, i haven't used Exploits (as far as i know) and i have been playing the game on and off for about 2 years, and all that time up until about 3/4 days ago all i wanted was an Anaconda, but do you know what? i had fun bounty hunting, Exploring, trading, smuggling, pirating and mining (OK well not mining but who does? right?).

i just feel that if you get that ship too quickly then you won't understand the value of the ship and you won't get the sence of acheivement that should come with it, which will result in you getting bored with it very fast.

that's just my opinion of it and i was just hoping to provide people with another view which might help them to understand some of FD's choices.

CMDR FLyinman, Signing off

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

Greetings Fellow Commanders,

I just wanted to get this off my chest, so here goes...

I have seen a lot of threads recently where people are wanting to progress faster/saying progression is to slow (in particular the Sothis nerf?).

I myself was (only a few days ago) one of the people who was in the same boat, i wanted the biggest ship and i wanted it now! But... having read some of the comments and thought about it over the past few days myself, i have come to a conclusion...

i feel that, if you can go from a sidewinder to an anaconda too quickly (to me that's within just a couple of months of game time, perhaps more) then the value of the sip will not be the same as if you were to have to work hard to get it. To me, the Anaconda/Cutter/Corvette are the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, but by no means the last rainbow of course.

I'm currently sitting in a Keelback (for the SLF XD) and am trying to get rep for the empire to get the (Gorgeous) Clipper, and have somewhere around 20 mil assets.

No, i haven't used Exploits (as far as i know) and i have been playing the game on and off for about 2 years, and all that time up until about 3/4 days ago all i wanted was an Anaconda, but do you know what? i had fun bounty hunting, Exploring, trading, smuggling, pirating and mining (OK well not mining but who does? right?).

i just feel that if you get that ship too quickly then you won't understand the value of the ship and you won't get the sence of acheivement that should come with it, which will result in you getting bored with it very fast.

that's just my opinion of it and i was just hoping to provide people with another view which might help them to understand some of FD's choices.

CMDR FLyinman, Signing off

I wish more players had your attitude. After playing regularly since just after release I finally stepped into a nice shiny Anaconda. If I had subjected myself to "grind" I probably would have quit by now.

 

[randommagic]

it is still easy to make money im currently running skimmer missions for ross 490, once i stacked 15-20 missions they yield about 30-50m

to complet the quests takes about an hour, but stacking the quests can take alot longer, but i just login every now and then doing the day, check the mission boards and log back out.

im allied with all the npc's there.. so that does help alot in terms of reward but you know

i would have stopped playing the game if i had to wait that long for a big ship as you say.

 

[theflyinman]

I wish more players had your attitude. After playing regularly since just after release I finally stepped into a nice shiny Anaconda. If I had subjected myself to "grind" I probably would have quit by now.

I Think the only way others will see the game the same way would be if they realize it themselves, I had to read a few threads in their ENTIRETY before i came round to this way of thinking.

 

[Grumpy jawa]

I see your point, but for me it isn't just a "I want the big ship" it's more the following.

Risk vs reward. Why would I do a mission that pays so little or even nothing, when I'm flying a ship where my insurance is astronomical vs the reward. Before patch I could happily load up few missions to another close system and follow two simple requirements.

A: does this trip equal or come close to my insurance (ensuring that if all goes bad I'm covered by one or two trip)

B: if I'm trying to raise empire rank, will said payment cover the donations missions that pop up every so often (I could easily do a couple of donations per session and still end a tad up in cash)

Sadly the above is no longer possible atm, so I adapted to mindless trading of hauling coffee, my keelback netted 104k per run (still didn't cover my A or B, but far higher than current missions and I got a bonus 7mill of the cg.

Today I'm off mining, as mining should cover my profit vs risk.

I have about 50mil saved up, but would like a python or something, but its all good missions will hopefully rebalance and I'll wait for the next cg that isn't combat bonds

 

[theflyinman]

i would have stopped playing the game if i had to wait that long for a big ship as you say.

And that is fine because that is your way of playing, and i understand that.

I just want the people that are trying to get the Anaconda within a week to step back and understand the value of the big ships, instead of getting irritated and annoyed that they can't afford one yet.

I hope i'm not coming across hostile or insulting, because that is not me intent at all.

 

[Apos]

They ain't that big of a deal anyway. I haven't used anything bigger than a python in ages. Only use Cutter for trade CGs and sometimes a 'conda for mining. But I prefer mining in a python as well.

And now with the multi crew fighters, I think I'll prefer a gunship for that instead.

 

[theflyinman]

I see your point, but for me it isn't just a "I want the big ship" it's more the following.

Risk vs reward. Why would I do a mission that pays so little or even nothing, when I'm flying a ship where my insurance is astronomical vs the reward. Before patch I could happily load up few missions to another close system and follow two simple requirements.

A: does this trip equal or come close to my insurance (ensuring that if all goes bad I'm covered by one or two trip)

B: if I'm trying to raise empire rank, will said payment cover the donations missions that pop up every so often (I could easily do a couple of donations per session and still end a tad up in cash)

Sadly the above is no longer possible atm, so I adapted to mindless trading of hauling coffee, my keelback netted 104k per run (still didn't cover my A or B, but far higher than current missions and I got a bonus 7mill of the cg.

Today I'm off mining, as mining should cover my profit vs risk.

I have about 50mil saved up, but would like a python or something, but its all good missions will hopefully rebalance and I'll wait for the next cg that isn't combat bonds

i like your way of doing it, risk for reward, and it sounds like you're not rushing it which is really the point i am trying to convey.

 

[Craith]

I see your point, but for me it isn't just a "I want the big ship" it's more the following.

Risk vs reward. Why would I do a mission that pays so little or even nothing, when I'm flying a ship where my insurance is astronomical vs the reward. Before patch I could happily load up few missions to another close system and follow two simple requirements.

A: does this trip equal or come close to my insurance (ensuring that if all goes bad I'm covered by one or two trip)

B: if I'm trying to raise empire rank, will said payment cover the donations missions that pop up every so often (I could easily do a couple of donations per session and still end a tad up in cash)

Sadly the above is no longer possible atm, so I adapted to mindless trading of hauling coffee, my keelback netted 104k per run (still didn't cover my A or B, but far higher than current missions and I got a bonus 7mill of the cg.

Today I'm off mining, as mining should cover my profit vs risk.

I have about 50mil saved up, but would like a python or something, but its all good missions will hopefully rebalance and I'll wait for the next cg that isn't combat bonds

If I don't think it is worth it, I just don't do it. Just like I won't climb on a mountain if it isn't worth it to me. If I like doing it, it is worth it, every time. If I don't like something, my free time is worth to much to waste it, just for money.

 

[Grumpy jawa]

Oddly I've also found that simply adding a extra fuel tank and biggest scanner, followed by a quick 200 ly jump beeping each system pays me far more than mission running atm.

Cash is out there just not in missions (sure I could log in and out all day till I have 20 missions stacked, then fool myself into believing that all those hrs I was offline didn't really count towards the how much I earn in said hr actually playing. but if I wanted to play like that I would just return to eve)

It's all still fun though, I'm enjoying salvage missions still, but that's my jawa instincts, scavaging all the trash

 

[deleteduser]

Nice post OP.

The Corvette & Cutter are only a week or 2 of dedicated effort away from a Spawn-winder along with substantial, Billion CR balances, maybe 4 weeks if you don't mode-switch the mission board. My current plan of action took me to half-way to Cutter in about 5 weeks, with a lot of time spent on non-optimal activities; exploding and such...

Some people think even this is too long! There aren't many games in existence at the moment that can't be completed in less than a week.

Therefore I think Elite needs to be treated differently. The huge development plan takes this to a decade long investment for FDev, and not much less for the players. I don't think this has ever been seen before, certainly not in a modern AAA title.

This brings some challenges, notably keeping the attention of notoriously fickle millennials who want "everything now!", without driving out the Baby-Boomers & Gen-X'ers, as the game makes its way to its final form. For this reason I think the ability to get late-game content quickly, or relatively sedately is a key ingredient to this game's long-term viability. Players can choose what progress is to them, how fast to progress and in what way they want to be rewarded, rather than be restricted to a single-path progression that doesn't fit their ideals.

 

[Admiral Darkcloak]

It one of our human flaws. We crave more. Bigger,Faster,Stronger. We think oh when I achieve this goal I will be satisfied. But in reality we are not. Nothing ever quite fills that void inside us. Its like a black hole sucking everything into itself. I wanted a conda for the longest time. i didn't care about the other ships. I have a conda now and I catch myself the odd time wishing I had something more. But like I said that's our flaw. I'm having more of a blast in a sidewinder than I ever had in my conda. I also would lie to meet 3 other CMDR's who love sidewinders, we will mod then with grade 5 upgrades, and go and do some pvp. I just have to find the CMDRs who would be willing to do that. 07

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

It one of our human flaws. We crave more. Bigger,Faster,Stronger. We think oh when I achieve this goal I will be satisfied. But in reality we are not. Nothing ever quite fills that void inside us. Its like a black hole sucking everything into itself. I wanted a conda for the longest time. i didn't care about the other ships. I have a conda now and I catch myself the odd time wishing I had something more. But like I said that's our flaw. I'm having more of a blast in a sidewinder than I ever had in my conda. I also would lie to meet 3 other CMDR's who love sidewinders, we will mod then with grade 5 upgrades, and go and do some pvp. I just have to find the CMDRs who would be willing to do that. 07

Try the Sidewinder appreciation society thread.

 

[Grumpy jawa]

Tba I would likely be in a bigger ship by now, if I didn't have the habit of my risk vs rewards, as I often sell my ship to buy bigger or smaller ship based on event I'm following.

Had a nice asp explorer, but felt it was to much wasted cargo space during the rare goods cg, so got myself a keelback to have lower cargo (the beef, tea and onions from two stations fit nicely) and enjoy dropping mines on interdiction.

Then had fun in a courier, doing data delivery

Then coffee run cg, back in a keelback and salvage to try out fighter

Now I'm in a type 6 for some mining.

I do love changing ship every few events, as its nice change and I like to boost out of station on each first flight pretending I stole the ship.

Jawa

 

[theflyinman]

Tba I would likely be in a bigger ship by now, if I didn't have the habit of my risk vs rewards, as I often sell my ship to buy bigger or smaller ship based on event I'm following.

Had a nice asp explorer, but felt it was to much wasted cargo space during the rare goods cg, so got myself a keelback to have lower cargo (the beef, tea and onions from two stations fit nicely) and enjoy dropping mines on interdiction.

Then had fun in a courier, doing data delivery

Then coffee run cg, back in a keelback and salvage to try out fighter

Now I'm in a type 6 for some mining.

I do love changing ship every few events, as its nice change and I like to boost out of station on each first flight pretending I stole the ship.

Jawa

Haha, i'm the same but i think more extreem, i change my ship every few days,3 days ago i was in a Type 7, 2 days ago i was in a Viper MKIV and yesterday i brought the Keelback.

 

[Siranui]

It one of our human flaws. We crave more. Bigger,Faster,Stronger. We think oh when I achieve this goal I will be satisfied. But in reality we are not. Nothing ever quite fills that void inside us. Its like a black hole sucking everything into itself.

It is? We do? Do we? We aren't? It is?

I'm glad I don't suffer from that; it sounds dreadful! Always wanting something more, then never being content with it. Sounds like a very depressing way to exist. Might I prescribe some Buddhism? [hehe]

 

[Dimensions]

Greetings Fellow Commanders,

I just wanted to get this off my chest, so here goes...

I have seen a lot of threads recently where people are wanting to progress faster/saying progression is to slow (in particular the Sothis nerf?).

I myself was (only a few days ago) one of the people who was in the same boat, i wanted the biggest ship and i wanted it now! But... having read some of the comments and thought about it over the past few days myself, i have come to a conclusion...

i feel that, if you can go from a sidewinder to an anaconda too quickly (to me that's within just a couple of months of game time, perhaps more) then the value of the sip will not be the same as if you were to have to work hard to get it. To me, the Anaconda/Cutter/Corvette are the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, but by no means the last rainbow of course.

I'm currently sitting in a Keelback (for the SLF XD) and am trying to get rep for the empire to get the (Gorgeous) Clipper, and have somewhere around 20 mil assets.

No, i haven't used Exploits (as far as i know) and i have been playing the game on and off for about 2 years, and all that time up until about 3/4 days ago all i wanted was an Anaconda, but do you know what? i had fun bounty hunting, Exploring, trading, smuggling, pirating and mining (OK well not mining but who does? right?).

i just feel that if you get that ship too quickly then you won't understand the value of the ship and you won't get the sence of acheivement that should come with it, which will result in you getting bored with it very fast.

that's just my opinion of it and i was just hoping to provide people with another view which might help them to understand some of FD's choices.

CMDR FLyinman, Signing off

As you said that is your opinion, and the way you would prefer to play the game so it feels more rewarding. Other people want to enjoy the game in a different way by farming credits as quickly as possible so that they can afford anything they want, when they want in a much shorter time period. Both are valid opinions and playstyles.

I don't see a problem with FD providing different options of playing the game catering to different groups. The only danger here, which seems increasingly prevalent, is one group insisting that everyone plays the way they think the game should be played for whatever reasons. That would reduce the diversity of playstyles and ultimately lead to a quicker plateauing in the player base with little growth thereafter. That equates to less FD profit growth and hence less money to spend on game development. It is a difficult balancing act especially for a game like ED and the different like-minded groups it attracts.

 

[bubbabenali]

What?
I didn't use any speed money and sh*t transporting stuff and yet managed to get my (mining) Conda within 2 or 3 month.
Currently I'm at around 230m cr of assets. But at the moment I'm back in my space taxi... I mean Clipper.

 

[Cupcake]

I wish more players had your attitude. After playing regularly since just after release I finally stepped into a nice shiny Anaconda. If I had subjected myself to "grind" I probably would have quit by now.

This game is made up of poorly disguised grind, fast or slow, its STILL a grind.

 

[theflyinman]

It is a difficult balancing act especially for a game like ED and the different like-minded groups it attracts.

Perhaps the new Colonia bubble will allow FD to cater to the split in play styles. it's never good to have the wedge between player groups but some people seem to think that it is needed.

I personally have no problem with different play styles, Variety is the spice of life after all, but people on both sides of the fence seem to take offence when the game isn't played their way. Please by all means prove me wrong, and i don't mean to offend, i just say what I see on these forums..

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This game is made up of poorly disguised grind, fast or slow, its STILL a grind.

but do you not get a sense of achievement and value of what you want when you get it?