Changes to POBs

[Leo]

The Team was always onboard with Zentor's changes. All active developers agree on a fact that the PoB gameplay should be more balanced than it is now and gameplay options expanded. However, these changes are not being implemented by Zentor, but by other staff members and contributors.

Ores were to be reduced initially, but in the middle of development process, it was decided to keep them around anyway. That is a prime example of why leaks by former staff members and other sources are counter-productive and even at odds with what is happening if the patch is still WIP. And should we be fully transparent as some players want, the community could be easily confused and even discouraged by our constantly changing plans and other adjustments. The development is an organic process thanks to the discussions we have and not everything is set in stone.

We thank you for your patience.

In order to make POB owners cooperate and create a much more dynamic community surrounding POB's, I personally believe that Mining, POB Ores Refining and POB materials production should be greatly EXPANDED.
Metals and materials needed for the recipes used by factory modules to create the items currently sold should need to be mined and refined, or collected and manufactured, into the many alloys and other materials needed like Critical Temperature alloy, Super Alloy, High Performance Alloy, etc. Their availability at NPC bases should be reduced and be more expensive than the prevailing price for POB refinery created metals and materials, so that there is always a potential supply as needed until POB enterprises can get started. But also a reason to do business with other POB's.
If POB owners with factory modules were able to get their needed materials from a POB owner who produced them, it would add PURPOSE to the existence of those POB's.
Not to mention, this is a space simulation game, and this is exactly how things would work IRL in a place/situation like Sirius.
Refinery POB owners would pay miners to mine and deliver raw materials which they use to create the materials needed by Factory POB owners to make their products. Transporters get employed to deliver these resources as needed. and a great deal of commerce is created to the benefit of all parties, including the unlawfuls.

Yes, I'm saying that most or all resources needed to upgrade bases and build products in POB factory modules should be created using recipes at POB refineries and other POB factory modules.
Factories that can BUILD Optronic Arrays, Hull Segments, Robotic Hardware. Etc
But they need the services of other POB's who secure the necessary resources and create the raw materials needed by those factories. POB owners would then be able to carve out a niche in these supply chains.

Imagine there being ACTUAL factions of Mining Corps, Refining Concerns and Transport Companies again.
Imagine there being a real reason for a prodigious POB population.
Imagine having a POB that does something other than building the same Dozen damn products that everyone else does and not having to compete with 214 bases who all build the exact same stuff as you do.
This point is, in fact, what makes POB's suck.

This would be a large and time consuming change to make, but I can't even envision there being sound arguments against it, other than not wanting to do the work involved to make the Discovery Mod generally awesome and POB ownership actually meaningful.

And, to the point of the work involved, I myself am not useless at modding and was assisting in a planned rework of the economy in the Excelsia mod when it kinda imploded suddenly and died out.
(yes, I'm that old)

I fervently hope to initiate a meaningful discussion into the mechanics and feasibility of this concept.

When I first read Zentor's original plans for refineries, this is exactly what I hoped for. I even built a Junker base in preparation for it. Had plans to build Manifolds with Premium Scrap from Texas to sell from the station in the hopes that they'd be used for resources on stations for either upkeep or for constructing other factories. I hope it still does because this seems like it'd be a lot fun and closer to a living, breathing, world and bases would serve more of a purpose than just factories and places for storage.

I sold the station long ago to someone interested in using it for their own plans, but if this came to pass I could totally see spinning up something similar or buying back my old base for it. Would love to really get immersed in being a Junker trolling the fields looking for scrap metal to build items for others!

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You fear oblivion. Yet you forget. The universe remembers every atom of your being. Even dust hums your name in the dark.
Roleplay is dead. Long live Powertraders and PvP I guess.