[video] Money GRINDING problem 2

[NecoMachina]

Correct, it is not imaginary at all but it is something you chose to do. Nobody makes you go out and do the same thing over and over. There is no mission given that says do this 100 times, there is only the player and his desires/goals and the mechanics of getting what they want.

Well yes, of course. We all know nobody is FORCING you to work towards buying a Cutter or a Corvette. We all know you CAN play the game forever and always with smaller shipsthat are cheaper and not rank-locked. Nobody is FORCING us to grind. We get it - that's obvious. It's also COMPLETELY missing the point of the thread.

*IF* you want the Cutter or the Corvette, there is a ton of boring, repetitive, soul-crushing grind to get them. This grind could be lessened and/or made more interesting and fun. Now that we have the obvious stated, which everyone else was assuming was OBVIOUS and so didn't need to be stated, can we get back to the discussion?

 

[NecoMachina]

You don't seem to be able to differentiate between challenging and time consuming.

What?!? I think he understands it perfectly. In fact, it was the basis of his WHOLE POINT! He's saying that to get to "the top" it SHOULD be challenging - implying skill is required to pass certain "tests" before ranks or unlocked. But currently it *IS* simply time consuming, which means that you don't have to BE elite to hold the title of Elite. You just have to do easy, boring, repetitive tasks for a very long time.

He's LITERALLY describing the difference between challenging and time consuming!

 

[House0fDerp]

Any "grind" is purely in your heads. This is a game about being a space ship pilot in the 34th century. And what do space ship pilots in the 34th century do? They fly space ships, obviously, but they do so to make money, to buy more space ships, to make more money, to buy more space ships, so that eventually they have no more space ships to buy, and no more need to make money, and sail away, on a white ship, ne'er to be seen again.

No, the rank and credit systems are not just in our heads. They are very real things that require engagement in some form or fashion. The idea that the grind doesn't exist is simply saying you can ignore that you lack either the rank or credits you don't have for a specific ship at any point in time.

Just play the game, rank and credits will happen. I played for around a month, just doing odd jobs, experimenting with various things, and ignored those Federal and Imperial Navy missions for quite some time. Then, one dayI took one because they kept bothering me with these, and the pay was really decent - and I found out what they were for, and kept taking them - and jumped up about 5 ranks with each Navy. Dots connected, it didn't really take that long at all for me to hit any given rank - from Ensign to Rear Admiral in a weekend, from Baron to Duke in 4 days - and that was a weekend of doing what I wanted to do anyways, and a four days of doing something I wanted to do anyways - and that was Just Play Elite.

No one desputes that rank and credits happen. The contention is that they happen at a rate which more or less doesn't mesh well with the depth of content available and seems inflated for no reason other than to make it take more time than it needs to. Some have attempted to defend these mechanisms by advocating rarity (which a timesink doesn't create), skill (which a timesink doesn't promote), and the idea of "playing normally" (which is highly variable since normal isn't the same and furthermore still doesn't even actually try to justify the timesink).

There really is only so much to actually do - missions are limited in complexity - fetch something, deliver something, blow up something - pretty much sums it up. But it's entertaining to fetch things, deliver things and/or blow things up in a neat looking space ship, in a nicely detailed 3d environment, even if it is excessively beige. But then, some folks are entertained by solitaire or putting the numbers 1 through 9 in boxes of boxes so no two of the same digit is present in any row or column.

Ironically this is why the grind sucks. The biggest part of introducing variety in the limited things there is to do is to do those same things with different tools (ships and mods). If the draw is only that the shallow pool of activities is pretty, that's still a condemnation of that pool of activities. It's certainly not a defense of expanding the time spent before introducing some real variety in the only task differentiation the game allows for, at least in my opinion.

 

[NecoMachina]

I'm really sick of the constant whinge threads about how difficult/easy it is to play the game... either play it, or don't.

I'm really sick of people telling others to stop complaining. Either read the forums and accept that people have opinions that might differ from yours, or don't.

 

[jonesskill]

This game is being ruined because FDEV keeps catering to minority whiners on the forums about missions and such.

Agreed, but the minority are not the "whiners", a minor part of the forum suport every change, the majority mostly disagree (Those that you have called whiners).

Seems pretty logical.
For that reason you see lots of topics complaning and a few (oppened by fanboys that ask those changes) in suport.

 

[fu9ar]

The Yamiks is awesome cos he says it how it is. Don't like his opinion, don't listen, and stay in that bubble forever.

Cool parachute account marketing, bro! I'm sure you will make all of the internet dollars for your YouTube career!

Quality Content!

 

[IndigoWyrd]

No, the rank and credit systems are not just in our heads. They are very real things that require engagement in some form or fashion. The idea that the grind doesn't exist is simply saying you can ignore that you lack either the rank or credits you don't have for a specific ship at any point in time.

I set my sights on a python fairly early on, when my credit balance was in the low 5-digits. The price seemed almost impossible. 48+ million? But a week later, when I was sitting with 54 million in my bank, I resisted. I knew I could afford it, but I also knew I wouldn't be able to outfit it, or cover the rebuy cost, so I waited and pressed on for another week, when I was topping just a little over 200 million, and still I was hesitant. But I gave in, took a chance, bought and outfitted it, and loved it long and hard. Now I'm floating about with a little over a billion credits, and I still buy new ships cautiously. I recently bought my second Imperial Clipper, outfitted it - still need to engineer it, but I'm not in the mood right now to fly around in circles landing on planets.

No one desputes that rank and credits happen. The contention is that they happen at a rate which more or less doesn't mesh well with the depth of content available and seems inflated for no reason other than to make it take more time than it needs to. Some have attempted to defend these mechanisms by advocating rarity (which a timesink doesn't create), skill (which a timesink doesn't promote), and the idea of "playing normally" (which is highly variable since normal isn't the same and furthermore still doesn't even actually try to justify the timesink).

I'm trying really hard to not read this as "but I want it NOW", and failing. The only real problem I see is the massive diminishing returns on the rate of rank gain - when completing one mission once awarded a 5% gain drops to a .25% gain. Yes, it means four missions for a 1% gain, and that seems a bit much, given that by the time you get to that level, you're likely Allied with whichever faction(s) you're running missions for, but they ask you to carry data like you were an outsider first getting started. THIS could definitely use some shoring up. Don't treat high-ranked, well regarded, proven commanders like nobodies - give missions suited to their talents and proven abilities and reward them accordingly.

Ironically this is why the grind sucks. The biggest part of introducing variety in the limited things there is to do is to do those same things with different tools (ships and mods). If the draw is only that the shallow pool of activities is pretty, that's still a condemnation of that pool of activities. It's certainly not a defense of expanding the time spent before introducing some real variety in the only task differentiation the game allows for, at least in my opinion.

I'll confess to being dense this time. I'm trying hard to wrap my head around what you're trying to say, and I'm coming up short. The pool of activities isn't pretty in any way.. but let me try this and see if this doesn't make more sense...

Rather than give a single task, especially now, give high-ranked, high-rep, high-influence commanders complex chained missions - start them like normal missions, but then trigger in-flight chains, wrinkles, and make them cumulative for the reward.