Why are there so many NPC transports carrying nothing except 1 pilot? I mean really, if you were a corporate trade manager, would you ever want your transports to be flying empty? They can carry like 800k cargo for crying out loud, even trading oxygen would make you a killing!
I'd like to see every transport in-game always having cargo. It doesn't need to be the kind of cargo that players would trade (though really, players should be enticed to trade that stuff too) but it should be SOME cargo, at least.
If you hail them, you will see that they are going to go pick up something, but in any case I think it's perfectly reasonable for transports to not always be full of cargo.
For example, a transport just dropped off some food at a borderstation, what would a transport rally have to pick up here? it would really have no choice but to go to the next stop empty.
' Wrote:For example, a transport just dropped off some food at a borderstation, what would a transport rally have to pick up here? it would really have no choice but to go to the next stop empty.
I agree. Not every run lets you get a cargo worth picking up just to fill a hold. It happens in RL too.
Not all freight hauling is done purely for profit. Many NPC transports are simply on supply missions, and aren't really in a position to pick up loads of commodities from the public market while on the job. That's the way I see it.
Empty NPC transports add flavor, I wouldn't like to see them dissapear.
' Wrote:I second the motion. It would encourage pirates to attack NPC targets as well, so they didn't have to rely entirely on player 'Donations.'
(My shortest post evar!)
"Pirating" NPC transports is quite profitable as it is, it's just a bit bland in terms of player interaction. And role-play.
Sometimes it's necessary to dead head somewhere. The fixed costs - payment on the loan to purchase the ship, crew maintenance, escort costs - still have to be paid. But those costs tend to be much smaller, and normally factored in on the annual basis in the budget. (See operating costs - normally a fairly fixed value, since those items tend to be fairly steady throughout the year.)
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
' Wrote:Not all freight hauling is done purely for profit. Many NPC transports are simply on supply missions, and aren't really in a position to pick up loads of commodities from the public market while on the job. That's the way I see it.
I have to agree with Eyvind here. Granted traders/suppliers will try and carry some sort of cargo wherever they are going so they don't waste fuel and time (sort of like the trains near here), but that's not constant. Often there just isn't anything useful or profitable to haul to your next destination (speaking of RL here as well as IG).
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