Hello! I had those two ideas at the same time somewhere in the shower, and I thought I'd have a go and share them.
First, I don't know how missions rewards will be given after 2.1 goes online, but I wanted to suggest that, in addition to unlocking better missions, skill ranking would also increase rewards for lower level missions by a certain margin.
Very much in the same way, I'd like to see faction ranking have a similar effect.
For an exmple, paying a beginner nobody pilot 20k credits to go and save one's relatives might constitute a proper reward, but asking an admiral of the fleet with an elite combat rank to do the same thing should come with additional fees. The added bonus would be coming from the system's allegiance, as it tries to incentivise participation from its finer members,
I would'n want to see this simply bloat away the rewards we get from doing missions ; rather, the base reward for missions should be smaller, but not at the very beginning (beginner players already have their plate full, let's not make it harder to them), and neither at the very end (elite missions), because those are already more rewarding.
So the base reward of missions would follow a downwards curve, more pronounced towards the middle of rank progression, and the reward curve should arc invertly.
The fun/constructive part that adds texture and diversity to the game:
I thought it would be neat if the empire and Federation would grant the rank bonus 50% from skill and 50% from reputation (to represent how they incentivise political loyalty etc.), while the Alliance bonus would come 100% from skill, to display how the Alliance focuses more on attracting human value and skill rather than political gimmicking.
This would encourage players to pursue higher skill and political rank, and give a certain amount of relevance to political titles (Few people, I believe, wouldn't be grateful to gain more than system permits as they progress).
Second - and I really wonder why I can't find a similar thread somewhere - Since the arrival of the Imperial Cutter and the Corvette, I have been wondering if explorers were also going to get their own "top of the line" half-a-billion prestige vessel.
Because, let's be honest, the Asp is to exploration what the Vulture is to PVE : Something from which there aren't any significant upgrades. Sure, you can strap up - or strip down - an Anaconda to do pretty much the same thing (or ALL the things, to be honest), but it adds a bit more safety, and that's pretty much it. Traders certainly benefit from the Cutter, the Corvette is but a huge and badass vulture on steroids, and I just feel sad that there isin't something beyond the anaconda/asp duo.
Pragmatic players will say that this is an empty demand, knowing full well - and they aren't wrong - that a 30-35 Ly 'conda is all that you need, but it feels wrong to me that the ultimate ship for a profession should be an all-purpose ship, if you catch my meaning.
And since I haven't heard any announcement for a new exploration ship (I've seen what was announced ; belugas, dolphins and whatnot... sweet, sweet belugas...), I came to suggest this:
Ship loadout: Mediocre to preserve weight and power. No huge hardpoint, but good weapon placement.
Meaningful Ship internals:
Class 8 FSD (no ship has such a thing as of now)
Class 8 thrusters
Class 6 Power Plant
Class 7 Power Distributor
Bulkheads: Fragile. the ship would be built to be especially light
Cockpit: Built to have a great 360 degree line of sight, seated at the front top of the ship so that its body dosen't block front view either.
Ship manoeuvrability: Higher that the 'conda, lower than the corvette, but faster than either.
Internal compartments: one class 7, one class 6, multiple class 5 and 4s, and two class 1 just to fit scanners (as a dedicated explorer is expected to have such things - and wouldn't want to waste space). Cutting down on big compartments reduces the overall mass of the ship too.
The whole point of the ship would be to allow beefed-up jump capability without radical downgrading of internals, as in the FSD would already be so powerful compared to the ship's maximum mass that class A internals wouldn't lower the jump range significantly, making the ship more viable at "everything else". Also, the relation between the ship's mass and it's thrusters (along with thruster placement) would allow it to fight the gravity of even the most massive planets like a much lighter ship would.
To me, those two factors would definitely make it an awesome explorer ship. And contrary to an Asp, it could serve as a much better far-away base for science teams and the like.
For that reason, I'd suggest a clean, lab-like aesthetic. Maybe a bit of imperial flair even, there's never enough imperial style around...
Farewell, and thanks for reading!
First, I don't know how missions rewards will be given after 2.1 goes online, but I wanted to suggest that, in addition to unlocking better missions, skill ranking would also increase rewards for lower level missions by a certain margin.
Very much in the same way, I'd like to see faction ranking have a similar effect.
For an exmple, paying a beginner nobody pilot 20k credits to go and save one's relatives might constitute a proper reward, but asking an admiral of the fleet with an elite combat rank to do the same thing should come with additional fees. The added bonus would be coming from the system's allegiance, as it tries to incentivise participation from its finer members,
I would'n want to see this simply bloat away the rewards we get from doing missions ; rather, the base reward for missions should be smaller, but not at the very beginning (beginner players already have their plate full, let's not make it harder to them), and neither at the very end (elite missions), because those are already more rewarding.
So the base reward of missions would follow a downwards curve, more pronounced towards the middle of rank progression, and the reward curve should arc invertly.
The fun/constructive part that adds texture and diversity to the game:
I thought it would be neat if the empire and Federation would grant the rank bonus 50% from skill and 50% from reputation (to represent how they incentivise political loyalty etc.), while the Alliance bonus would come 100% from skill, to display how the Alliance focuses more on attracting human value and skill rather than political gimmicking.
This would encourage players to pursue higher skill and political rank, and give a certain amount of relevance to political titles (Few people, I believe, wouldn't be grateful to gain more than system permits as they progress).
Second - and I really wonder why I can't find a similar thread somewhere - Since the arrival of the Imperial Cutter and the Corvette, I have been wondering if explorers were also going to get their own "top of the line" half-a-billion prestige vessel.
Because, let's be honest, the Asp is to exploration what the Vulture is to PVE : Something from which there aren't any significant upgrades. Sure, you can strap up - or strip down - an Anaconda to do pretty much the same thing (or ALL the things, to be honest), but it adds a bit more safety, and that's pretty much it. Traders certainly benefit from the Cutter, the Corvette is but a huge and badass vulture on steroids, and I just feel sad that there isin't something beyond the anaconda/asp duo.
Pragmatic players will say that this is an empty demand, knowing full well - and they aren't wrong - that a 30-35 Ly 'conda is all that you need, but it feels wrong to me that the ultimate ship for a profession should be an all-purpose ship, if you catch my meaning.
And since I haven't heard any announcement for a new exploration ship (I've seen what was announced ; belugas, dolphins and whatnot... sweet, sweet belugas...), I came to suggest this:
Ship loadout: Mediocre to preserve weight and power. No huge hardpoint, but good weapon placement.
Meaningful Ship internals:
Class 8 FSD (no ship has such a thing as of now)
Class 8 thrusters
Class 6 Power Plant
Class 7 Power Distributor
Bulkheads: Fragile. the ship would be built to be especially light
Cockpit: Built to have a great 360 degree line of sight, seated at the front top of the ship so that its body dosen't block front view either.
Ship manoeuvrability: Higher that the 'conda, lower than the corvette, but faster than either.
Internal compartments: one class 7, one class 6, multiple class 5 and 4s, and two class 1 just to fit scanners (as a dedicated explorer is expected to have such things - and wouldn't want to waste space). Cutting down on big compartments reduces the overall mass of the ship too.
The whole point of the ship would be to allow beefed-up jump capability without radical downgrading of internals, as in the FSD would already be so powerful compared to the ship's maximum mass that class A internals wouldn't lower the jump range significantly, making the ship more viable at "everything else". Also, the relation between the ship's mass and it's thrusters (along with thruster placement) would allow it to fight the gravity of even the most massive planets like a much lighter ship would.
To me, those two factors would definitely make it an awesome explorer ship. And contrary to an Asp, it could serve as a much better far-away base for science teams and the like.
For that reason, I'd suggest a clean, lab-like aesthetic. Maybe a bit of imperial flair even, there's never enough imperial style around...
Farewell, and thanks for reading!