Now, just hear me out.

[Dr. Dave Bowman]

Nice post OP

The way I have been playing is mixing it up. I try and keep my progression through the different ranks on a Par, so for example at the moment I am ranked in Combat:Master Trading:Broker Explorationathfinder as I progress in one I switch to another to get that up and then the other or simply set myself targets x amount of trading/combat profit before going on an exploration trip to match the jump in the other two. This way maybe slower getting to Elite by focussing on one particular path but by mixing it up it breaks down the grind by mixing up the game play.

 

[CMDR Soundwave]

I'm glad that *you* have both the luxury of time and the patience to trade grind for ships that the vast majority of the game's playerbase is never, ever going to have, and that *you're* enjoying your laughably superficial WASD simulator in *your* "awesome gaming community." Meanwhile, there's a nearby forum thread approaching 1,000 posts, most of which are exceedingly negative with respect to the staggering disparity between trading and other professions. The reality is that the game is in a poor state, and income inequality between what little the game actually offers is a problem that many, if not most, see as a significant problem.

"But during my time hauling, I enjoyed the procedural art that the game threw at me. From binary stars to dwarfs, I enjoyed myself. Running from interdiction, and hoping for good security when I arrived at my destination system. As a bounty hunter, I was the law. The perspective change in role is magnificent, literally."

So much cheesy nonsense. I don't even -- what? "Hoping for good security when I arrived at my destination"? I've logged quite a few hours in open play, and I virtually never come across players that gank near stations. Moreover, all major stations have pretty similar NPC security outfits consisting of Vipers and Eagles.

Truth is, this exemplifies exactly what ED is. You want a community? They aren't gonna come to you, you need to look for them. They're no good? Move on, its the same with commodity trading.

ED is very closely tied to how you live life and the philosophy of the game can /may mirror your real life. Though looking at the mirror it may not be pretty. But, its up to you to change that.

 

[Bidermann]

Excellent post - have some rep.
Tonight has been awesome for me - the new release is brilliant !

Agreed , sums up how I feel about the game

 

[Bigcheese]

Truth is, this exemplifies exactly what ED is. You want a community? They aren't gonna come to you, you need to look for them. They're no good? Move on, its the same with commodity trading.

ED is very closely tied to how you live life and the philosophy of the game can /may mirror your real life. Though looking at the mirror it may not be pretty. But, its up to you to change that.

Elite isn't really a very deep game. It's a mile wide but an inch deep etc. These comparisons you are making are unwarranted and strange. The whole "hoping for good security" comment in the OP was bizarre as well, it really does seem like you're trying to pretend it's cooler than it actually is or something.

I mean let's be real here, there's basic mechanics that function...and that's it.

 

[shadowwar]

+1 rep. A truly well written post. Nice one mate.

 

[CMDR Soundwave]

Elite isn't really a very deep game. It's a mile wide but an inch deep etc. These comparisons you are making are unwarranted and strange. The whole "hoping for good security" comment in the OP was bizarre as well, it really does seem like you're trying to pretend it's cooler than it actually is or something.

I mean let's be real here, there's basic mechanics that function...and that's it.

Well if you have been trading, and don't see local security spawn and see an asp flying right toward you in SC. You'll know the thrill of what I mean. Otherwise, its just a bunch of words like any other post.

 

[Hilight]

Truth is, this exemplifies exactly what ED is. You want a community? They aren't gonna come to you, you need to look for them. They're no good? Move on, its the same with commodity trading.

ED is very closely tied to how you live life and the philosophy of the game can /may mirror your real life. Though looking at the mirror it may not be pretty. But, its up to you to change that.

I've played the original elite, FFE and FFE2. Loved all those games. Spent so much time in them that I honestly think it felt like yesterday playing them.

With all the people complaining about how much the ships cost, it is actually a very sound design decision done by the Devs.

Mainly, effort.

Not to sound like a hardass or anything, but games nowadays lack what Elite delivers. It lacks giving you the drive to push yourself from your comfort zone.

My story, I started as primarily a bounty hunter, in 2 weeks I earned 5 million. From bounties, assassinations and RES. I loved it, but I knew the ship I wanted (the python) was completely out of reach. This doesn't mean the game doesn't allow me to do it. Hell, if I wanted to bounty hunt my way up, I could. But it wasn't efficient. I needed to source for other ways to build my wealth.

I belong to a very friendly, awesome gaming community. Some of the guys were running rares. I was a proud Bounty Hunter and loved to kick ass. Humbly I asked for help. Fitting decisions, routes, where to go, what to do. And thus my rare merchant trade began, I was a merchant until I got my Python. Sweet.

But during my time hauling, I enjoyed the procedural art that the game threw at me. From binary stars to dwarfs, I enjoyed myself. Running from interdiction, and hoping for good security when I arrived at my destination system. As a bounty hunter, I was the law. The perspective change in role is magnificent, literally.

Now I'm running a T9 doing commodity runs with data shared by my the community I'm in. Half way to my FDL, though I expected it to be at 50m. Its ok, I'm enjoying the game for what it is.

Some people might want to do one thing, so hear me out, expand your scope, and let the game throw some fun at you instead.

Exactly Soundwave R+ for you. Personally, I'm a trader almost exclusively and I do my runs in a manner that is quite enjoyable for me--not at all a grind....and if trading doesn't float your boat, I've got a friend who farms NPC Anaconda's in a tricked out Cobra and he makes over 500,000/hr...which, is insofar as cr's/hr, is getting into T-6 territory

 

[Flappers]

I'm going to go against the flock here and just point out something...

You started off as a bounty hunter and then moved to trading. That's the whole point.
What if players don't want to trade?

Look, I can understand ships like the anaconda being worth what it is, and that's fine. It's a massive ship.
But the Vulture? That ship is literally not worth it. I played a lot with it in beta, and it doesn't scale well, and is no where as near as good as the ASP or even the cobra. So why is it so expensive? It doesn't bring anything new, or anything special other than a quick turn rate. You can combat in warzones well, but proper bounty hunting it doesn't do well at, trading with it is pointless with it's limited jump range and cargo space, same goes for mining.

Again, high cost ships are not a problem. The problem is gating out all this new content to traders only. The Vulture specifically is too over priced for what it is actually worth. And the biggest issue is basically players are being forced to trade if they want to experience a new ship, even if that ship is just a sidewinder on steroids.

The game is about doing what you want, players shouldn't have to go down the trading route if they want to experience new content. But OP, as you said, you started as a bounty hunter and are now trading. Because although you might not agree, you are effectively being forced to do that if you wanted one of the new ships.

The vulture and FDL are combat role ships. To keep up the maintanence cost of the ship, you will have to do trading in between combat.
Any ship should be able to cover it's own upkeep by using it for it's role. The T6/T7/T9 for example can by trading with them. The cobra can by fighting with it. The sidewinder is effectively free in it's own right. The Eagle is small so upkeep is minimal. The anaconda excels at a lot, even trading, so it covers it's own. The ASP is a jack of all trades, and can also cover it's own.

But the Vulture? It cannot. It's a combat role ship, with little firepower, low shields/ armour and can turn quickly. It cannot keep itself afloat with you being forced to trade in another ship in order to do so.

The Vulture has broken the balance here. If it had a huge amount of cargo and a large jump range, then it could be used as a trading ship, thus being able to keep it's own upkeep. But as it stands, it, along with the FDL, are the only 2 ships in the game that cannot.

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

I totally agree with most of the posters here. Making money is easy in Elite dangerous. The only hard thing is to get the boulder rolling and develop the skill to be an efficient combat pilot. You can easily make millions as a bounty hunter in a short time.
Oh, and the vulture is a beast of a combat ship. It easily cracks almost any ship in notime. Its is probably THE bounty hunters choice and very suitable as a heavy support fighter when attacking in a wing.

 

[Ydiss]

Indeed, it's beneficial to branch out and do different things. I did all this in gamma. Now I'd like combat to pay much closer to trading, considering how much time I've put into it.

Trading is OK, very fun to start. But it's only a means to an end now. An end nothing else can deliver.

 

[AsukaZ]

I can't agree enough. Experiences vary, and the general tone of the community appears to be negative with respect to both income disparity and the staggering cost of the new ships, particularly the FDL. That consensus should be respected. The OP's thread comes across as an attempt to rationalize and justify the game's lack of content with anecdotal nonsense that most, in practice, probably can't associate with for a variety of reasons.

Anecdotal it may be but It's not nonsense if that's how he genuinely interprets his experience.

 

[CMDR Soundwave]

I'm going to go against the flock here and just point out something...

You started off as a bounty hunter and then moved to trading. That's the whole point.
What if players don't want to trade?

Look, I can understand ships like the anaconda being worth what it is, and that's fine. It's a massive ship.
But the Vulture? That ship is literally not worth it. I played a lot with it in beta, and it doesn't scale well, and is no where as near as good as the ASP or even the cobra. So why is it so expensive? It doesn't bring anything new, or anything special other than a quick turn rate. You can combat in warzones well, but proper bounty hunting it doesn't do well at, trading with it is pointless with it's limited jump range and cargo space, same goes for mining.

Again, high cost ships are not a problem. The problem is gating out all this new content to traders only. The Vulture specifically is too over priced for what it is actually worth. And the biggest issue is basically players are being forced to trade if they want to experience a new ship, even if that ship is just a sidewinder on steroids.

The game is about doing what you want, players shouldn't have to go down the trading route if they want to experience new content. But OP, as you said, you started as a bounty hunter and are now trading. Because although you might not agree, you are effectively being forced to do that if you wanted one of the new ships.

The vulture and FDL are combat role ships. To keep up the maintanence cost of the ship, you will have to do trading in between combat.
Any ship should be able to cover it's own upkeep by using it for it's role. The T6/T7/T9 for example can by trading with them. The cobra can by fighting with it. The sidewinder is effectively free in it's own right. The Eagle is small so upkeep is minimal. The anaconda excels at a lot, even trading, so it covers it's own. The ASP is a jack of all trades, and can also cover it's own.

But the Vulture? It cannot. It's a combat role ship, with little firepower, low shields/ armour and can turn quickly. It cannot keep itself afloat with you being forced to trade in another ship in order to do so.

The Vulture has broken the balance here. If it had a huge amount of cargo and a large jump range, then it could be used as a trading ship, thus being able to keep it's own upkeep. But as it stands, it, along with the FDL, are the only 2 ships in the game that cannot.

Well the endgame for ED is for you to have many ships parked at the myriad of stations using the farthest jumpers to do what you need to do to rule the galaxy. Vulture is an option, not a necessity.

Honestly, I could say Cobra is the endgame ship FD provided. Everything else is icing.

Amirite?

 

[Lenroc elisav]

Mainly, effort.

Except if you trade! Then the only effort is to stay awake, well at least in my case. I've actually tried to trade but I just couldn't keep at it. I was yawning like I wanted to swallow the monitor. Actually I've tried all the professions and mining and exploring I find to be more entertaining then trading.
I really don't care how much money trading is making just would like it not to be necessary to get to the more expensive ships and I would like those ships to be viable (not best suited) for all game styles but it seems you guys think that shouldn't be the case.
Another thing you should consider is that PvP is a credit sink and if you want that aspect to be present it should be sustainable and not over punishing. I know that life can be punishing at times but this is a game and the difference is that while you can't avoid life (if you are sane) you can stop playing the game if it stops to be entertaining.

P.S. Yeah I know E is not about the ships .