No bad thing. If you can't figure out a way to maintain your carrier without meta-mining, you shouldn't have one....
Expect more abandoned FC's though, quite a few systems are going to resemble a carrier graveyard
The Mining nerf was likely the worst implementation of a Balancing in Years...
- Thread starter Sunleader
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THIS^^^ I still don't get it. Why would anyone kill my fun for the sake of killing it... But hey, what do I know...
They are altering the deal. Pray they don't alter it any further.
Ah, my main earning method is now even better.
I like a bit of mining now and then. I think it's one of the most "hard SF" activities available in ED. I've never achieved the amazing payout levels others quote anyway.
Me neither, but I have still profited a lot from it and used it to pay the bills. But if it got knocked to the same hourly payout park as - say - non-cheesed exploring, I'd say it'd be reverted to a curiosity with only a niche subset of people doing it "seriously". Outclassed by trading and combat due low level of "skill" required, would people still for example create mapped runs?
That's not the reason.
Isn't that how every activity should be? Only a subset of users taking part in it, because they enjoy the activity (or because it's the only activity within their reach) rather than for chasing down the oversized reward?
I'm not arguing for oversized rewards, merely noting that if mining is made to be lowest paying (because it isn't very skill intensive) and it is simultaneously as boring as it is, it risks being abandoned completely as an activity. The way I see it, mining needs to be paid more than the apparent required "skill" suggests, because part of the payout is to offset the boredom.
If I could make - say - ten times more credits through PvE farming (it's debatable how much skill this really requires in an engineered gunboat) than through mining, I don't think I'd bother with mining at all. The main excitement of mining for me at least - selling a full cargo hold and seeing the credits go up - would be just a disappointment.
As is mineAh, my main earning method is now even better.
Did you actually READ what they said they were going to do?
Should slow the increase in numbers of new carriers some at least for a while. Far fewer new players will be aiming for a carrier from the get go.
Expect more abandoned FC's though, quite a few systems are going to resemble a carrier graveyard
Nah, if they keep the same trucking numbers - the number of carriers will increase.
Mining was profitable for almost 2 years. Yet the number of multi-billionaires was, i dont know 3% of the active player base? Why? because it's a crappy activity, dead boring one.
But if one can do 150 millions per hour doing missions - well, even easier money then mining.
If an activity is boring, it should be made more exciting, not made to give bigger rewards. If you offset boredom with a bigger rewards, you're not making the game better for the player, you're paying the player to play your game. Rewards exist to complement the pleasure you get from playing the game, and can be used to motivate the player to get out of their comfort zone and try new things in the game, not to replace fun.
Of course what is and isn't boring is highly subjective, and at some point it's down to the produces to decide whether the engagement rate for mining justifies the resources poured into it, but as far as we the players are concerned, ED is not a job, so anytime you're not having fun while playing the game, more fun is the answer, not higher vain compensation for your willingly wasting your time with a video game.
Believe me - it was fun to sell a Conda load of LTD, that is like 300tons, for 500 millions.
And no, it is not fun to sell the same load for 100 millions considering that will take you more than 2h to gather those 300t
I'd rather take a CZ massacre mission of 72 ships for 50 millions and keep me busy for an hour, maybe less. And if i get 3 other friends to pick and wing share the same missions i could get 200 millions in 40 minutes
If they keep this path, mining will regress to pre December 2018 patch - no one will do it... (unless they will introduce mining missions for precious minerals instead of frozen farts aka methane clathrate)
That's like a long philosophical lecture on what should be rather than what is the reality of Elite and the development of it.
But yeah, like Northpin said, one possible solution indeed is simply to consign mining to the growing pile of activities that next to nobody does. It can rub shoulders with multicrew in the dustbin of developmental limbo.
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For the first time in 5 years we see Frontier put skill and reward in the same sentence, how about a little faith for a change? Supposedly you're here because you still think the game can be made better.
To me it sounds like you're playing the game to make virtual money, which will mean nothing in 5 or 10 years, if that, when Frontier shuts down the game, rather than to enjoy the game itself. When I enjoy a game, I want to play more of it, not less.
Good. Only those who enjoy it will play it then. And if not enough do, then it will be an indication that it's not interesting enough and should be made better.
Funny enough. If they had Nerfed Mining enough to at least have other Activities become the most Profitable again.
It might have at least Changed the Balancing thus giving a Reason to First wait for new Feedback.
Which is the Problem.
Mining got nerfed. But the Balancing has not really changed.
Meaning Step 1 of the Balancing Update did absolutely nothing in terms of Balancing aside from Delaying actual Balance Changes due to now waiting for new Feedback....
Thing is. If we got Tons of Feedback and Data for the old System. Which would have Allowed for a Comprehensive Update of all Activities.
And THEN wait for new Feedback as the changed Balance evens itself out.
But instead we only got the same we got for Years.
Which was an Update to Remove a Gold Rush they Created by Accident.
And now they Say they first want to wait for Feedback before doing further Changes.
I am not even sure that there will be notable Changes any time soon.
They might do some minimal increase of Bounties and Mission Rewards to claim they Improved the Situation.
But in Total I have a Feeling this will go the same way as the last 5 Years and effectively they just wanted to Remove the Gold Rush without Admitting it was an Accident.
I am not. And I said so several times.
I am simply not really Trusting this Statement.
Because dont get me wrong. But pretty much every Update in the last 5 Years was made as part of "Future Changes" or "Things to look at next" etc
And in General. FDEV just Removes the Gold Rush. And does nothing of Consequence after that.
To begin with it makes no sense either.
Why Implement a Change which creates a different Situation but doesnt really touch the Balancing of that Situation.
And then Wait for new Feedback after you already had Tons of Feedback and Data for the Previous Situation upon which you could have done a Comprehensive Update ?
Its a completely Unecessary Delay.
Effectively they just Decided to Ignore all Feedback they got this Year. And instead just End the Gold Rush they Created by Accident and then Wait for new Feedback.
And Sorry. But thats exactly what they did the last 5 Years.
Why should I trust them to actually do things Differently this time ?
Reading it.
Reading it for Years.
Unfortunately the things I read somehow dont seem to be what actually happens.
So after Years of Reading things that then dont actually happen. I somehow dont feel like Trusting the things I read from them.
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That is highly exaggerated. 300m might be possible under perfect conditions. 150 was more probable in something like a Cutter.