Trading sucks now...

[cmfalconer]

On Trading:
Well, I'm not sure how trading's been affected yet, as I haven't actually traded anything yet in this mod. I've converted my trading ship - In RP - into an exploration ship, and I am currently flying everywhere in Sirius docking on every single base that I can looking for those routes.

Now back in the "good old days" of 4.84, I'd fly the circuit routes and visit all the houses. It was fun, got me about 20m an hour, and a chance to visit a lot of different places. I would occasionally do an A <-> B route, but not for too long, and usually only if I had 1/2 hour to play or such. These just weren't as rewarding in the long run either.

Now with these "In RP" trade circuits, there's supposed to be more opportunity for encounters to mean something. Baltar, however, hit the nail on the head.

1. We'll see how inRP it is when pirates set up along that route ... if the traders role play with the pirates ... then we'll consider it RP. If they just go about their business as if it were the Diamond/Niobium Run all over again ... then I'll have to disagree with your position it is inRP.

This is what will define RP trading. The routes will only offer what Unselie explained, higher-value money. Before, credits didn't mean a whole lot, as evidenced by the drastic increase in battleship prices from 4.83 (yes, been around a while). Did this stop the battleships from coming out? (or cruisers, or other large vessels)? No, it didn't, because credits were incredibly easy to get. Personally, I've got a fortune that, unless I start buying capital ships, I'll almost never use, and that's from trading maybe 5 hours a month.

Now, just from the little flying around I've done so far, credits are worth a LOT more now, and consequently, so are those big ships...except to those that already have them. (But that's another thread.) I would, in my opinion, state that those who've been whining that their A<->B routes are gone, or that trading sucks now, or whatever are the ones whom the spirit of this huge undetaking is lost upon. "Fixing" the trade system, laying it out logically and also fairly, is not just a colossal undertaking, but something that even the original game developers didn't really do (go look at vanilla sometime).

So I say kudos to the entire team that has, up till now, dealt with a thankless job of trying to make our little game world better, and the whinging of the very people they've tried to help, all for the "4.85 dev team" userbar and a sense of satisfaction that comes from a job done well...and well done it was.

On Mining
Mining is something of a mystery. Everyone constantly says "mining should be as/more profitable as trading." Ok, how would you do this? Raise the sell price at destinations? How would this help mining be more profitable?

Mining, if we extrapolate what the NPCs do and apply it to players, is taking a ship (be it big or small), blowing up little rocks for the goodies inside, filling the aforementioned ship's hold, and selling it for a price.

Now, NPCs would be bringing their haul to the closest station of their faction...aka Java, Briesen, etc. these have LOW prices because that's where the supply is. If the player wanted to make it more profitable, they'd fly to the destination farther away that uses the mineral they've harvested (Niobium to Leipzig ex.).

My feeling is that the buy price for traders from this station is the balance/compensation for the miner's taking the time to harvest the mineral. The trader's going to make less money, but overall, does it even out (or closely even out)? This is another facet to look at when someone says "mining's not profitable".

$.02

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