What are Frontier's Ship Balance Goals?

[Reithan]

I don't know if this has been discussed before (probably), but I didn't see anything about it.

Are Frontier planning on making bigger/more expensive ships vertical upgrades of smaller/cheaper ships (i.e: better in many/all aspects than the other, or with negligible downsides)?

Or do they plan on eventually balancing it out so they're merely options/sidegrades or role-based choices against each other? (i.e: each has it's place to shine, and one may better at some things, but the other has it's strong points too.)

For example, right now, as far as I've seen the biggest ships are simply better than the smaller ones, for example the massive cargo, super-damage, extra HP Anaconda, or the Viper being faster, beefier AND harder hitting than the Eagle. I'm sure there's more examples, but I'm new...hence this question.

 

[Tarman]

There's always inevitable soft-tiering when there's such a wide range of ships made and planned, but it's not a design principle, so short answer is they're not going for a vertical progression as a concept.

There's also a lot of variables going into successful builds beyond even what you've mentioned. Maintenance and repair costs are evil on the hi-end ships, for example. Gassing up a Python for a week could potentially buy you a couple other ships. Viper is a great ship at what it does but it's also a huge nightmare to outfit because of its really sucky base powerplant; and you can't afford to just toss it away when you break it as easily as the cheaper Eagle.

 

[bendover]

The Game has already has more than sufficent balancing to reduce the caperbility of larger more expensive ship,If you want a better ship just put the time in earn the credits and buy one,There has already been to much pandering to PVP crowd who think skill/Movement is the God of Warfare its not it never was but its certainly important.

 

[Reithan]

The Game has already has more than sufficent balancing to reduce the caperbility of larger more expensive ship,If you want a better ship just put the time in earn the credits and buy one,There has already been to much pandering to PVP crowd who think skill/Movement is the God of Warfare its not it never was but its certainly important.

No need to get defensive. It was just a question.

 

[Defacto]

I'm of the opinion that pretty much every ship should have some quality in which it is not only adequate, but better than any other ship, possibly with the exception of the really, really cheap ships (like the ZP Hauler for example).
I think that ideally, even if everyone had infinite money, there would still be at least someone flying every ship class. At least that is how I think it should be, if the economy works like it does right now, where you can trade algae until you have 500 million. Then it's just a grind challenge. If we keep it this way, then at least I would hope that there's a reason to fly any ship.

Of course, with more ships being implemented, making sure that every ship has a place in the game becomes harder and harder, but this can be counteracted with adding features that increase the complexity and possibilities of game mechanics, increasing the possible variation.

 

[Tarman]

I'm of the opinion that pretty much every ship should have some quality in which it is not only adequate, but better than any other ship, possibly with the exception of the really, really cheap ships (like the ZP Hauler for example).
I think that ideally, even if everyone had infinite money, there would still be at least someone flying every ship class. At least that is how I think it should be, if the economy works like it does right now, where you can trade algae until you have 500 million. Then it's just a grind challenge. If we keep it this way, then at least I would hope that there's a reason to fly any ship.

Of course, with more ships being implemented, making sure that every ship has a place in the game becomes harder and harder, but this can be counteracted with adding features that increase the complexity and possibilities of game mechanics, increasing the possible variation.

Agreed, except for the cheapship part; the lowly Hauler currently has some unique qualities that make it a useful vessel well into your millionaire stages. Gassing it is super cheap and it's insanely light, so it makes a decent entry-level explorer, and an excellent taxi since you can get it upwards of 35-37Ly for straight up long-distance traveling. Even our humble and seriously beat up salmon-steak Sidewinders have one of the best canopies for screenies of any ship currently available.

 

[Captain Breton]

"War ain't fair, nor should it be"