player owned factories

[cheapbooks]

here is how I would implement player owned factories:

- factory produces products that players can buy, such as weapons, shield generators, etc

- factory must buy commodities in order to build components for resale

- factory owner can set buy pricing (can only buy commodities and not sell them)

- factory own can set price for selling upgrades (weapons, cargo holds, etc)

- only 1 landing dock, maybe a second dock for owner's exclusive use

- players can see commodity pricing and product pricing without docking with factory

- players only need to dock to sell commodities or outfit ship

- factories can research higher class equipment, or buy patents from other players

- factories can orbit most large bodies

- should be expensive enough that only players who have invested a lot of time in the game can buy them

- factory needs to buy fuel (to stay in orbit), food (for workers), water, etc.

eventually, the same could be done to build parts for spaceships (to be exported to ship yards)

 

[Valo56]

Requiring maintenance for the machinery, or the use of slaves (combined with food and medicine to keep them alive) could provide actual use to certain commodities by incorporating them into this system.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

this is a game where you have to be playing to earn credits, if you could own a factory you would earn money while you were logged out and would only need to log in for maintenance. its not that sort of game.

 

[Valo56]

I don't see it drastically changing matters or ruining ED's integrity, if implemented correctly.

Building queues that require you to return constantly is one idea, or even you having to oversee the crafting process personally. (After all, you have to personally be there to trade or do missions.)

 

[cheapbooks]

player owned factories make sense.

- the raw materials to build products already exist in the game (commodities)
- the end product already exists in the game (ship upgrades)
- spacestations with marketplaces already exist in the game
- pricing is currently set by artificial supply and demand, not real supply and demand

right now, commodities are made seemingly from nowhere, along with equipment for ships.

even if you take away the player-owned element, and have the factories operated by the game, it is still a good idea.

last of all, If the factory is the most expensive element to purchase in the game, then it follows that the player has a large amount of money, and what does it matter how much more he has if he can already afford everything else in the game?

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also in regards to passively earning money, if you have a production limit and max amount of resources that the factory can buy, then it doesn't impact much, because the players can only earn small amounts of money per day. and competition will drive prices down, so profit margins will level out eventually.

or the game could auto-add a 15% profit margin for example.

keep in mind that if someone is rich enough, then money is no longer a motive in playing the game.

 

[John Lionard]

In one of the Dev Diary on YouTube they mention that sooner or later they will add Player Owned Starports, the question is when.