Unpopular idea. Add landing fees to all stations.

[Deleted member 110222]

Purely an immersion idea.

Will get shot down because I have the audacity to suggest adding costs to running your ship.

In my humble opinion, fuel, ammo and such costs could go up to. My Cobra right now is basically free to run.

 

[Ceitidh]

I wouldn't have a problem with this. It was standard in FE2 and FFE, as I recall, and Pioneer's kept docking charges in.

The only thing I'd ask is: why? You say your ship is basically free to run -- but if you have a fuel scoop and energy weapons only, it's not unreasonable that it would be. Of course it'd be realistic that corporate stations would want to make money out of providing facilities -- but beyond realism, which tends to get short shrift around here, is there a particular issue you think docking charges would address?

 

[Nagual]

I wouldn't have a problem with this. It was standard in FE2 and FFE, as I recall, and Pioneer's kept docking charges in.

The only thing I'd ask is: why? You say your ship is basically free to run -- but if you have a fuel scoop and energy weapons only, it's not unreasonable that it would be. Of course it'd be realistic that corporate stations would want to make money out of providing facilities -- but beyond realism, which tends to get short shrift around here, is there a particular issue you think docking charges would address?

Seconded..

 

[mathspode]

Purely an immersion idea.

Will get shot down because I have the audacity to suggest adding costs to running your ship.

In my humble opinion, fuel, ammo and such costs could go up to. My Cobra right now is basically free to run.

To be honest i think you are right running a big ship is basicly free to.. Fuel is very cheap, ok it runs on hydrogen witch you can collect on MS star so i can understand thats why i want the military drive with better jump range but high cost for fuel

go se my topic https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/398888-Reduce-travel-time-idea

Ammos and stuff are cheap also but i mean it has to or people will only take laser weapon, but we can also understand why everything that is not " high tech" such as ammo and fuel is that the human civilisation in ED is a very high Industrial civilization and production of goods are MASSIVE and natural material are everywhere and extration fees also.. so yeah thats why low prices

to compensate for low price i would use npc Crew members that are currently useless.. i would suggest a large pool of npc you can hire up to the number a ship can suppor with multycrew each giving different bonuses in exchange of a salary.. same a now

Some could give bonuses such as +1Mw mega on the power.. more accuracy or dmg on weapons.. each one is unique..

But i know what you feel.. fly a small or a big ship seems free to run especially with fuel price

I would not mind charging landing fees on certain station but not all

 

[Deleted member 110222]

I wouldn't have a problem with this. It was standard in FE2 and FFE, as I recall, and Pioneer's kept docking charges in.

The only thing I'd ask is: why? You say your ship is basically free to run -- but if you have a fuel scoop and energy weapons only, it's not unreasonable that it would be. Of course it'd be realistic that corporate stations would want to make money out of providing facilities -- but beyond realism, which tends to get short shrift around here, is there a particular issue you think docking charges would address?

Nope, just realism. I not veiling this at all.

I'm pretty sure just about all ports, pontoons, and such in the real world, charge all vessels a docking & berthing fee.

That these space stations, unimaginable in running costs presumably, don't charge a penny, (despite the fact they did in the old games), just doesn't feel right.

I know this thread won't amount to anything, but I wanted to say it so I got it out of my system.

 

[Snowymonk]

Great idea.
You could charge different values, depending on pad size that is landed on and controlling Power.

Worst case, if flying with minimal funds and landing at a pad that will take your balance into the Red, the commander would not be able to take off until the have paid landing fees. I.e. by completing missions, selling exploration data, selling commodities, downgrading modules etc.

Or the commander is presented with the insurance rebuy screen, allowing to sell other ships / modules or revert to the loaned Sidewinder.

 

[Ceitidh]

Nope, just realism. I not veiling this at all.

Okay.

That these space stations, unimaginable in running costs presumably, don't charge a penny, (despite the fact they did in the old games), just doesn't feel right.

I'd have to agree.

I know this thread won't amount to anything, but I wanted to say it so I got it out of my system.

I don't blame you. I feel much the same about things like a proper autopilot, flight path indicators, kill-rotation controls and a decent instrument landing system. But they're all immersion-only, and they don't generally get anywhere either. Good luck, though.

 

[mathspode]

Nope, just realism. I not veiling this at all.

That these space stations, unimaginable in running costs presumably, don't charge a penny, (despite the fact they did in the old games), just doesn't feel right.

I know this thread won't amount to anything, but I wanted to say it so I got it out of my system.

Well not true, station get funding by selling Fuel, ships, modules, ammo, repair fees + if you take a look on the sation you will see a ton of skyscrapers to a lot of people lives on them.. spend their money on it.. so same principle.. they pay taxs to the fed/empire or whatever witch fund the station

 

[UmbraRex]

I was actually thinking just the other day that it's pretty foolish of space stations not to charge us for swapping modules or storing our ships and modules. Docking would fall into that as well.

Even if it's mostly automated, there is still storage, and I can only imagine space is at a premium...

 

[fabittar]

I concur. However, if you take into account the daily traffic of anyone hub, and multiply it by the seemingly low average expenditure of each ship, the summation is probably much, much higher than what you'd expect.

EDIT* I'd say even backward stations make upwards of a million a day in profits from refuelling ships, selling ammo, supplies, repairs.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

+1 from me

Games been stuck in easy mode since I joined.

Free docking, cheap repairs, 100% resale on modules, 90% on ships.

I don't mind fuel costs being cheap, because, well, most people just scoop. It's cheaper, and faster, and you're near a star after a jump anyway. Lol

IMHO, repairs need to max out at about 75% of your rebuy. That's for every module, integrity and hull being at 0-1%.

Modules should immediately lose 50% of their value on purchase.
But, your rep with the controlling faction of the station modifies the selling value. Higher rep will give you more, lower rep will give you less. Your rep also effects buying price, offering up to 10% off for allied CMDRs. But you'll pay 100% for being hostile. Lol

Ships should have a 24h (real time) 100% money back guarantee. Because sometimes you just don't like what you've brought. After that, you lose 1% of the value per week* or something, until your ship isn't actually worth much. Lol
This also effects your rebuy, coincidentally, so if you've had a ship for years, and never lost it, your insurance will actually be really low if you do explode. But then you get a shiny new one, and it's back up to full value again.

*By this, I mean, if your ship is worth 10,000,000cr, after 1 week, its value drops by 1%, to 9,900,000cr.
Week 2 it'll drop another 1% to 9,801,000cr
Week 3, to 9,702,990
And so on.

 

[xzanfr]

Not a bad idea for adding some interest and depth , there's loads of interesting ways of implementing a landing charge:

- Charge based on size of ship
- priority docking at outposts or specific landing bays
- charge for use of docking computer
- bribes for contraband
- rep with the station owners

I'm sure there was a DDF thread about this somewhere, containing far better suggestions than these.

Edit here it is: 1.05

 

[mathspode]

Ships should have a 24h (real time) 100% money back guarantee. Because sometimes you just don't like what you've brought

Agree !

 

[Deleted member 110222]

I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by the reaction.

I was expecting salt. Especially given the tone of my OP.

 

[Ceitidh]

Well not true, station get funding by selling Fuel, ships, modules, ammo, repair fees + if you take a look on the sation you will see a ton of skyscrapers to a lot of people lives on them.. spend their money on it.. so same principle.. they pay taxs to the fed/empire or whatever witch fund the station

That's a plausible justification, but it'd only hold in certain economies and governmental systems. For example, here in Britain we have a railway station in every big town, more or less. All those towns have businesses and residential properties, all paying taxes, yet train tickets still cost an arm and a leg. At the risk of triggering political debate, this is at least partly because the actual services are provided by franchise-holding corporations who have directors and shareholders to please, so have a strong profit motive.

Some people argue that the British rail system should be brought back into public ownership, rather than being franchised out (as at least the 'trains' bit of the system is: I believe the actual railways along which the trains move are still publicly owned). Not that I think anyone thinks that train journeys would be free in any case, although I suppose in theory they could be, if the national budget was tweaked that way. But such a system would only fly in states that don't mind embracing a little bit of... (whispers) socialism.

In the Federation, which if I understand correctly from the lore, is highly corporatised and capitalistic, there should be little appetite for providing stuff for free. If the Federal system has its roots, as distant as they may be, in the American worldview, and if their 3300s attitudes towards socialism are even remotely comparable to today's, state-provided services would be scant.

In the Empire, cheap, accessible space travel would provide a lot of freedom for the lower ranks of society to move around, and it's doubtful those higher up would be particularly keen to allow that if they could avoid it. So avoiding high costs -- at least for those who can't easily afford them anyway -- wouldn't seem to be in the interests of the "nobility".

I know next to nothing about the Alliance, having never been there, and I'm aware there are socialistic societies on many of the independent worlds, so I imagine those would be stations more likely to offer free parking. Anarchies... Well, who knows how they reason? But even so, taxation in an anarchy would seem unlikely, so free services likewise.

All told, I can imagine some stations providing services for free, but relatively few that lore -- 'immersion', if you like -- would support.

 

[StiTch]

I'd be 100% on board with this but let's be brutally honest with one another...once you're out the first week of playing and know what a RES is, do credits mean anything to anyone any more?

It would 100% be an immersion thing as you point out, with zero game relevance. Seriously rebalancce credits and the economy and it means something, but ED is not a game that asks its currency to be an engaging part of it.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

That's a plausible justification, but it'd only hold in certain economies and governmental systems. For example, here in Britain we have a railway station in every big town, more or less. All those towns have businesses and residential properties, all paying taxes, yet train tickets still cost an arm and a leg. At the risk of triggering political debate, this is at least partly because the actual services are provided by franchise-holding corporations who have directors and shareholders to please, so have a strong profit motive.

Some people argue that the British rail system should be brought back into public ownership, rather than being franchised out (as at least the 'trains' bit of the system is: I believe the actual railways along which the trains move are still publicly owned). Not that I think anyone thinks that train journeys would be free in any case, although I suppose in theory they could be, if the national budget was tweaked that way. But such a system would only fly in states that don't mind embracing a little bit of... (whispers) socialism.

In the Federation, which if I understand correctly from the lore, is highly corporatised and capitalistic, there should be little appetite for providing stuff for free. If the Federal system has its roots, as distant as they may be, in the American worldview, and if their 3300s attitudes towards socialism are even remotely comparable to today's, state-provided services would be scant.

In the Empire, cheap, accessible space travel would provide a lot of freedom for the lower ranks of society to move around, and it's doubtful those higher up would be particularly keen to allow that if they could avoid it. So keeping the costs high -- at least for those who can't easily afford them -- wouldn't seem to be in the interests of the "nobility".

I know next to nothing about the Alliance, having never been there, and I'm aware there are socialistic societies on many of the independent worlds, so I imagine those would be stations more likely to offer free parking. Anarchies... Well, who knows how they reason? But even so, taxation in an anarchy would seem unlikely, so free services likewise.

All told, I can imagine some stations providing services for free, but relatively few that lore -- 'immersion', if you like -- would support.

Don't confuse anarchy for no taxation.

A land without laws, still has bandits charging tolls.

 

[Ceitidh]

Games been stuck in easy mode since I joined.

Free docking, cheap repairs, 100% resale on modules, 90% on ships.

I don't mind fuel costs being cheap, because, well, most people just scoop. It's cheaper, and faster, and you're near a star after a jump anyway. Lol

IMHO, repairs need to max out at about 75% of your rebuy. That's for every module, integrity and hull being at 0-1%.

Modules should immediately lose 50% of their value on purchase.
But, your rep with the controlling faction of the station modifies the selling value. Higher rep will give you more, lower rep will give you less. Your rep also effects buying price, offering up to 10% off for allied CMDRs. But you'll pay 100% for being hostile. Lol

Steady on, there. You'll be asking for an actual economy next, with proper trade and everything. What do you think this is? EVE?

 

[Shadowdancer]

The only thing I'd ask is: why? You say your ship is basically free to run -- but if you have a fuel scoop and energy weapons only, it's not unreasonable that it would be. Of course it'd be realistic that corporate stations would want to make money out of providing facilities -- but beyond realism, which tends to get short shrift around here, is there a particular issue you think docking charges would address?

Yeah, pretty much that. It's not an outrageous idea, just that it doesn't do anything worthwhile. Diddling with the fuel, ammo, and repair prices may be more reasonable since those really are very cheap, especially repairing anything that's not integrity. I come back to station in a not-too-badly fitted FGS at 2% hull and with severe module damage all over the place, and the repair bill is a few thousand credits, that's really cute.

I wouldn't want to see players penalised just for travelling about, that's a part of the game that should IMAO stay (almost) free.

 

[Ceitidh]

Don't confuse anarchy for no taxation.

A land without laws, still has bandits charging tolls.

True. But either way, the upshot's the same. I can't see anyone in an anarchic system being overly concerned about providing free docking. It's possible, I suppose -- but I wouldn't take it as read, so I think a parking charge would probably be levied in these stations more often than not.