Seeing the Corvette in today's newsletter got me thinking... This ship is probably going to be more combat-oriented than trading-oriented, and is very likely going to be prohibitively expensive for anyone who isn't an accomplished trader. Also, it's said that it's a Federation ship, and it looks very much like a military vessel, unlike the Anaconda which can be seen like a trader with claws. Considering all this, would it really be logical that the only way to acquire this ship would be with cold hard cash you'd have presumably earned by being a trader for a very long time? As a military vessel, it would probably better fit in the hands of a respected Federation officer with a very high number of kills.
So here is my point. Maybe certain ships, for example the Corvette, or the Fed Dropship, while still available for sale, could be given for free (or a small fraction of their price) to a player if the the player fulfills a certain number of conditions : having a very high rank in the Federation (or other relevant faction), accomplishing certain specific missions, or earning X amount of credits or kills to the benefit of the faction every month... By that point, you could consider that the Federation would entrust the player with such a ship because it will see it like an investment that will help expand it's influence, since the player would have accomplished so much work for them.
All this to say, there could be different ways to acquire specialized ships, that wouldn't mean the player would HAVE to be a billionaire trader to own them. In real life, if you want to pilot a jet fighter, you don't buy it with millions, you need to join the military and pass exams, so that your country will entrust you with piloting the vehicle to defend its interests. I'm sure such a concept could very well be adapted to Elite.
To keep the right to own the ship for free (or cheap), you would have to meet certain requirements, for example a certain number of kills, missions, or financial earnings toward the faction every week or month, failing which you would have to return the ship or end up with a bounty since you'd be considered rogue.
The point is not to make big ships easier to own than through trading ; ideally it would take as much time and effort than to buy them. Simply, there would be alternate ways to obtain these ships, that would fit different career styles.
Another idea would be explorer ships like the Asp ; if there was some kind of explorer's guild you could join, and they saw you exploring many stars with you humble Adder, they could at some point provide you with an adequately fitted Asp to help you exploring, at the cost of you paying a certain percentage of the money made from your discoveries. I'm sure we could come up with many other ideas like this one.
So here is my point. Maybe certain ships, for example the Corvette, or the Fed Dropship, while still available for sale, could be given for free (or a small fraction of their price) to a player if the the player fulfills a certain number of conditions : having a very high rank in the Federation (or other relevant faction), accomplishing certain specific missions, or earning X amount of credits or kills to the benefit of the faction every month... By that point, you could consider that the Federation would entrust the player with such a ship because it will see it like an investment that will help expand it's influence, since the player would have accomplished so much work for them.
All this to say, there could be different ways to acquire specialized ships, that wouldn't mean the player would HAVE to be a billionaire trader to own them. In real life, if you want to pilot a jet fighter, you don't buy it with millions, you need to join the military and pass exams, so that your country will entrust you with piloting the vehicle to defend its interests. I'm sure such a concept could very well be adapted to Elite.
To keep the right to own the ship for free (or cheap), you would have to meet certain requirements, for example a certain number of kills, missions, or financial earnings toward the faction every week or month, failing which you would have to return the ship or end up with a bounty since you'd be considered rogue.
The point is not to make big ships easier to own than through trading ; ideally it would take as much time and effort than to buy them. Simply, there would be alternate ways to obtain these ships, that would fit different career styles.
Another idea would be explorer ships like the Asp ; if there was some kind of explorer's guild you could join, and they saw you exploring many stars with you humble Adder, they could at some point provide you with an adequately fitted Asp to help you exploring, at the cost of you paying a certain percentage of the money made from your discoveries. I'm sure we could come up with many other ideas like this one.
