Suggestion to Balace CG rewards

[BigBANGtheory [VR]]

I entered the 2nd Aegis Initiative today and went about acquiring the most challenging commodity Thargoid Cyclops Tissue.

To achieve that I:
travelled some 300Ly to access the research limpet controller
buy and outfit the research limpet controller
restock limpets
travel back to Pleiades 300Ly
find a Thargoid USS
land a limpet on a Thargoid
survive long enough to collect the extracted material (lost 1 Anaconda and 2 iCouriers before I got it right [noob] in solo)
fly off to Wolf 397 with corrosive cargo
land at Chelbin station avoiding the scan as its illegal cargo

All in all quite a fun and challenging thing to do [yesnod]

I sell my hard earned (I think you will agree) cargo to the station for.... wait for it 14k cr and am rewarded by the CG as having delivered 1ton and will get 600k participation reward.

Now I do not believe I am being unreasonable by stating that can't be right, especially when I could easily outfit a big ship to just noob transport Tantalium for zero risk and higher profits.

1T of Thargoid Cyclops Tissue = 10,000 T of Tantalium imho

Maybe Frontier and other players disagree but you can't tell me its 1:1 that's ridiculous.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Clearly FD are ignoring all the feedback they have been getting on this, as this is the third CG in a row where the mechanics have been this broken.

It would be a trivial thing for them to split it into two CGs instead of just one. One unchanged CG just for the bulk cargo, the other for the Thargoid tissue. Given how hard it is to get the tissue samples, it should pay far more per tier than the other CG. Obviously (to everyone except FD) the tier goals should be at least 4,000 times lower (6 Cutter loads) than the bulk cargo CG.

 

[Schlack]

Clearly FD are ignoring all the feedback they have been getting on this, as this is the third CG in a row where the mechanics have been this broken.

It would be a trivial thing for them to split it into two CGs instead of just one. One unchanged CG just for the bulk cargo, the other for the Thargoid tissue. Given how hard it is to get the tissue samples, it should pay far more per tier than the other CG. Obviously (to everyone except FD) the tier goals should be at least 4,000 times lower (6 Cutter loads) than the bulk cargo CG.

Yeah this is an anomaly allright, no incentive to actually interact with the thargies. This is also the third trade CG, interest is likely to wane. Humanity is going to have to pay bigly in future cgs to keep the war effort going.

 

[Ben Sevil]

Clearly FD are ignoring all the feedback they have been getting on this, as this is the third CG in a row where the mechanics have been this broken.

It would be a trivial thing for them to split it into two CGs instead of just one. One unchanged CG just for the bulk cargo, the other for the Thargoid tissue. Given how hard it is to get the tissue samples, it should pay far more per tier than the other CG. Obviously (to everyone except FD) the tier goals should be at least 4,000 times lower (6 Cutter loads) than the bulk cargo CG.

4,000x is going to another extreme, which is why FDev will probably implement it.

Why extreme? Because 1T of Thargoid thingies would be worth 56M.

I personally think that 100x (1.4m per Thargoid thingy, also equivalent to 100T of other goods for the purposes of CG completion) is the sweet spot.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

4,000x is going to another extreme, which is why FDev will probably implement it.

Why extreme? Because 1T of Thargoid thingies would be worth 56M.

I personally think that 100x (1.4m per Thargoid thingy, also equivalent to 100T of other goods for the purposes of CG completion) is the sweet spot.

I think you have misunderstood. I'm suggesting that a CG just for Thargoid bits that has a threshold 4,000 times lower than the current trade one. The payout should be more per tier, but only 2 or 3 times as much.

 

[Winterwalker]

The number that popped into my head was 1000 times.

As it happens I did deliver, 1t Cyclops material, to Aegis Apeal 2 because there is - a roleplaying incentive - for delivering once. (I think I got paid 600,000cr for my one ton by the CG .. not bad).

Although I agree the CG is lacking a modifier - for extra risk in delivering rarer goods- I actually disagree that Frontier should fudge it and open two CG's because - in game terms - it's meant to be the same appeal. I'd personally prefer to wait and see it coded into the standard delivery CG.

Winged Hussars also held a CG - for rare goods - and there is the possibility of building the bonus into the price paid by station for commodity as well as into the CG tier structure. I forget how much the station paid for the cyclops material (iirc it was some 20,000/ton) but if explosives got a 1x modifier, micro controllers get a 10x modifier and Cyclops get a 1000x (Aegis 3) that can be set for any CG at the push of a button and the CG code becomes more flexible - possibly able to suport dozens of different goods, all with different modifiers attached.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

That would be a more robust approach. It would also allow for future CGs to be more flexible.

I don't mean to knock FD too much on this. I know how much effort is involved in writing a CG.

 

[BigBANGtheory [VR]]

The number that popped into my head was 1000 times.

As it happens I did deliver, 1t Cyclops material, to Aegis Apeal 2 because there is - a roleplaying incentive - for delivering once. (I think I got paid 600,000cr for my one ton by the CG .. not bad).

Although I agree the CG is lacking a modifier - for extra risk in delivering rarer goods- I actually disagree that Frontier should fudge it and open two CG's because - in game terms - it's meant to be the same appeal. I'd personally prefer to wait and see it coded into the standard delivery CG.

Winged Hussars also held a CG - for rare goods - and there is the possibility of building the bonus into the price paid by station for commodity as well as into the CG tier structure. I forget how much the station paid for the cyclops material (iirc it was some 20,000/ton) but if explosives got a 1x modifier, micro controllers get a 10x modifier and Cyclops get a 1000x (Aegis 3) that can be set for any CG at the push of a button and the CG code becomes more flexible - possibly able to suport dozens of different goods, all with different modifiers attached.

Yes this is kind of what I had in my mind too.

In the case of Thargoid Tissue though I'd opt for a much higher modifier at least for your first 1T because that is where most of the effort is i.e. tonnes 2 - 10 are easier because you are outfitted and have figured out how to do it.

I don't understand why Frontier struggles with the whole concept of risk/challenge (skill based)/reward and what ends up happening is they devalue their own work when there is really no need. Its as if they are afraid of some space truckers union

 

[Miklos Atreides]

I really do understand your dissapointment

But just to be the heretic

if a job is not worth doing it, let it be.
Maybe some times CGs must fail to make CG incubators aware that risk and reward should have a good ratio.

Many are doing this for the adrenaline kick. Not for some virtual in game money.
Hence the reward is that adrenaline boost you received.
Don't expect more....

Regards,
Miklos

 

[BigBANGtheory [VR]]

I really do understand your dissapointment

But just to be the heretic

if a job is not worth doing it, let it be.
Maybe some times CGs must fail to make CG incubators aware that risk and reward should have a good ratio.

Many are doing this for the adrenaline kick. Not for some virtual in game money.
Hence the reward is that adrenaline boost you received.
Don't expect more....

Regards,
Miklos

Spoken like a Bene Gesserit witch

On a more serious note lets explore that for a second, you're suggesting not to engage with the few skill based challenges that exist in the game if you expect to be rewarded? Sorry I do expect more and in this case it should surely be worth doing you have Thargoids taking out Farragut destroyers and a rare and difficult to aquire commodity needed for research that's got less value than Imperial Slaves that you can just pick up from any number of systems in any quantity you want. Ahead of actually handing in some goods you've no way on knowing what to expect the CG doesn't give the player this info upon which to make a decision.

As for not participating well that's the only 1T of cargo that CG got out of me I can tell you, so yes I'm with you there.