Passenger Missions, heavily biased towards sightseeing

[punkerich]

Observed the following in the last sessions:

the bias towards sightseeing missions in comparison to bulk passengers seems to be (still) way off.

Following parameters applied:

- low pop system, few hundred k
- station type: outpost
- allied with npc faction
- faction in 'none' state

Saw not a single bulk passenger mission on the board for said faction. Up to 15 sightseeing though, roughly 30% of that to colonia region.

Seems a bit illogical to me.
Even with, say, a pop of 300k people i'd expect to see at least a few hundred peeps in need of small range transportation.
In fact, the sightseeing ones should be the ones who are rare, and not the most common type.

Even tried some mode-switching (bah...) to see if i was just unlucky, but no.
Not a single bulk mission turning up.

Pls, could those numbers be looked at again?
Give us space taxi drivers some love.
[heart]

 

[stooger]

I agree. Some time ago I was wondering about the same thing... why so few people need transport A>B but so many want to go on a sightseeing adventure? This could use some balancing.

 

[IcyScope]

I agree. Some time ago I was wondering about the same thing... why so few people need transport A>B but so many want to go on a sightseeing adventure? This could use some balancing.

Probably because for the hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars some of the bulk A->B trips cost them, people are getting smart and buying their own Adder or Hauler and flying it themselves. The only thing holding them back from exploration is they have not had the invite to the engineers yet.

 

[5 Puppis]

It kind of makes sense to me because I've always thought of players as private pilots and it's generally the well-to-do who charters private flights.

In my head canon, the day-to-day transport needs of most people are handled by corporate or government transport agencies whose pilots are employees (NPCs) and therefore not allowed to pop off to randomly go bounty hunting or whatever.

 

[punkerich]

It kind of makes sense to me because I've always thought of players as private pilots and it's generally the well-to-do who charters private flights.

In my head canon, the day-to-day transport needs of most people are handled by corporate or government transport agencies whose pilots are employees (NPCs) and therefore not allowed to pop off to randomly go bounty hunting or whatever.

Hm. But wouldn't that making open up belugas to the player obsolet? Is it really intentional by FD to put out a massive liner for 100+ people to use it for 5 VIP's in sightseeing or something? We have 100t+ cargo missions, where's the equivalent to passengers?

 

[5 Puppis]

Hm. But wouldn't that making open up belugas to the player obsolet? Is it really intentional by FD to put out a massive liner for 100+ people to use it for 5 VIP's in sightseeing or something? We have 100t+ cargo missions, where's the equivalent to passengers?

To me that's the equivalent of the super rich chartering private 747s http://charterjetone.com/fleet/jumbo-jets/

I don't know, to me the situation makes sense logically. OTOH I don't disagree with you in terms of game mechanics, and the number of missions going to Colonia *is* annoying from a game play perspective.

 

[Red Anders]

Hm. But wouldn't that making open up belugas to the player obsolet? Is it really intentional by FD to put out a massive liner for 100+ people to use it for 5 VIP's in sightseeing or something? We have 100t+ cargo missions, where's the equivalent to passengers?

I went to Wu Guinagi in my Orca last night to pick up some passenger missions because I'm sat at 98% tycoon and wanted to polish off my Elite trading rank.

I'm allied with every faction there and prior to 2.4 I would usually find a few passenger missions to transport wanted criminals, which paid around 4-5m each. Literally every single mission on the board for every faction in the system was a tourism mission.

OK, some of them pay quite well but it's irrelevant when you're doing missions to try to improve your Elite rankings because that income would count towards exploration rank, not trade rank. It also makes no sense, Wu Guinagi is a system on the edge of the bubble with a population of 7 million people and a booming economy, not some crappy little mining outpost with 1500 people starving to death on the side of some God-forsaken rock.

 

[Sixteen-String Jack]

It seems very odd to focus on space tourism and not on the movement of colonists in the galaxy.

Please make populations responsive to war, famine and disease, and allow players to transport colonists from the more heavily populated inner bubble to the less populated outer systems.

This would add to the game and does not seem to take much effort to implement. Finally we could be rid of insignificant and unsustainable levels of population!

 

[space voyager]

IMO FD just wants us to see the beautiful sights that exist but we're unable to find by ourselves.

 

[Red Anders]

Further to my post above, I've just checked Morgan Depot (planetary base) in HIP 10716. 55 missions in total, EVERY SINGLE ONE of which is a tourism mission.

So yeah, that was a complete waste of time.

 

[S~P]

I noticed that once you get to 'friendly' status with a minor faction the bulk passenger missions dry up, go collect data and tourist only missions after that.

 

[punkerich]

Further to my post above, I've just checked Morgan Depot (planetary base) in HIP 10716. 55 missions in total, EVERY SINGLE ONE of which is a tourism mission.

So yeah, that was a complete waste of time.

with 'tourist' you mean sightseeing, i assume? Cause tourists (deliver x tourists) would be a bulk passenger thingie. would be more than odd in this case.

 

[Kevin Kyle]

I get 60 missions to choose from usually. I do see a fair amount of Sight Seeing missions but I get my fair share of passenger transport missions too. Get my fair share of Explorer missions as well. I get a bunch of those "Colonia" missions also. Seems not too bad really. But thats just where I am at and the state of the system thats giving it to me that way I believe. I wondered if they were pushing sight seeing missions. Ive done a few of them and enjoy the sights I probably wouldnt have seen otherwise. They dont pay as well as transport does though. Transport and cargo missions are doing me well these days. I do think there is a lot of sight seeing missions though.

 

[Ian Skippy]

Observed the following in the last sessions:

the bias towards sightseeing missions in comparison to bulk passengers seems to be (still) way off.

Following parameters applied:

- low pop system, few hundred k
- station type: outpost
- allied with npc faction
- faction in 'none' state

Saw not a single bulk passenger mission on the board for said faction. Up to 15 sightseeing though, roughly 30% of that to colonia region.

Seems a bit illogical to me.
Even with, say, a pop of 300k people i'd expect to see at least a few hundred peeps in need of small range transportation.
In fact, the sightseeing ones should be the ones who are rare, and not the most common type.

Even tried some mode-switching (bah...) to see if i was just unlucky, but no.
Not a single bulk mission turning up.

Pls, could those numbers be looked at again?
Give us space taxi drivers some love.
[heart]

Hm. But wouldn't that making open up belugas to the player obsolet? Is it really intentional by FD to put out a massive liner for 100+ people to use it for 5 VIP's in sightseeing or something? We have 100t+ cargo missions, where's the equivalent to passengers?

Agreed & agreed. Fwiw, bulk is often triggered by states. I use my fds for bulk evacuation from famine, war, disease and such.

 

[Red Anders]

with 'tourist' you mean sightseeing, i assume? Cause tourists (deliver x tourists) would be a bulk passenger thingie. would be more than odd in this case.

Yes sightseeing, i.e. 'take me to X to look at Y then bring me back', rather than 'I need to travel to X please take me there'

or more succinctly

'Increase your exploration rank' as opposed to 'increase your trade rank'

 

[punkerich]

Agreed & agreed. Fwiw, bulk is often triggered by states. I use my fds for bulk evacuation from famine, war, disease and such.

exactly this. depending heavily on state, and even poluplation, fwiw.
i just wanted to express this behaviour should be the other way around, for logical reasons.
bulk passenger should be the way to go, normally, sightseeing and things be on top.
atm it seems, low-pop no-state systems are left off, more or less.
weighting and things.

 

[Vasious]

Agreed & agreed. Fwiw, bulk is often triggered by states. I use my fds for bulk evacuation from famine, war, disease and such.

Yes I have been trying to work out the triggers for different passenger types, focusing on Bulk First.

But it turned out to be more complicated as it is often the State of the destination as the trigger as much as the State of the Home faction.

So Famines Wars and Outbreaks will see Refugees (and High ranking VIPs) fleeing and POWs shipped out
It is in Surrounding systems where you will find the Scientists, Aid workers and Security Personal being shipped in

Business people want to go where the Booms are, if their current system doesn't have one
Politicians seek out elections, and civil unrest (presumable to capitalize on it)

Seems even more complicated when pending states seem to be taken into account
Protesters and Rebel leaders (VIPS) can be found looking to go to systems with pending civil unrest to push that state further.

 

[Flin]

Yes I have been trying to work out the triggers for different passenger types, focusing on Bulk First.

But it turned out to be more complicated as it is often the State of the destination as the trigger as much as the State of the Home faction.

So Famines Wars and Outbreaks will see Refugees (and High ranking VIPs) fleeing and POWs shipped out
It is in Surrounding systems where you will find the Scientists, Aid workers and Security Personal being shipped in

Business people want to go where the Booms are, if their current system doesn't have one
Politicians seek out elections, and civil unrest (presumable to capitalize on it)

Seems even more complicated when pending states seem to be taken into account
Protesters and Rebel leaders (VIPS) can be found looking to go to systems with pending civil unrest to push that state further.

My observations matches this.

Sightseeing and vip ones appears to be less tied to states.

 

[Vasious]

Just checking the Passenger lounge in Nelder city Wangal

Many Bulk passenger missions
Business Person in Business and First Class
Politicians in First
Tourists in Economy and Business
Aid Works
Rebels
Refugees
POWS
Medical professions
Scientists
All in Economy from 6 to 22 including 22 Business Person (Business class) and 17 Politicians (first class)

A good ratio of VIP transport to sightseeing too

 

[Snarfbuckle]

It would be nice to see some bulk passenger 50+ individuals with travels such as:

Colonists from Bubble to Colonia or vice versa (disgruntled colonists leave)
Bubble to Maia