' Wrote:Increase profits when identically tagged vessels are in a convoy?
That sounds like a great idea. I would also like to see more trade events. I remember a few when .85 first came out, but I haven't seen one since I came back. I'm not sure if flhook can do do this just from a players name, but it would boost activity.
If we're looking at ways to alter mechanics, you can increase strength, money, or speed. I'd suggest awarding an escort fee to escorts, without deducting from the trader's profits.
This could work on multiple tranches, by stacking awards.
An award for being /escorted, an award for being /escorted as a member of the npc faction IFF and ID, an award for being /escorted as a member of the Tagged faction, an award for being in an appropriate freighter.
I'd suggest only allowing fighters and freighters to be escorted, and making the escort award proportional to between 2 and 10 percent of the escorted ship's profits.
So, a merc fighter signs on to a convoy, makes a 2% stipend. (2%)
A Bowex fighter sings onto the convoy, makes the 2% escort and a 2% IFF reward. (4%)
A Bowex frieghter signs onto the convoy, makes the 3-4% escort and a 2% IFF reward. (5-6%)
A Tagged Bowex fighter signs onto the convoy, makes the 2% escort, the 2% IFF, and a 2% Tag reward. (6%)
A Tagged Bowex freighter sings onto the convoy, makes the 3-4% escort, the 2% IFF, and a 2% Tag reward. (7-8%)
This system has the additional bonus of encouraging people to fly freighters.
Now, something would need to be done to make sure the escorts stayed somewhere near the transports, but increases incentives to fly in convoys...for smaller ships, anyhow.
+++
Oh! I forgot. I'm obliged to say that giving transport vessels more and stronger weaponry would definitely not hurt, and that the actual layout of the economy is less than mentally stimulating, engaging, or fun. Inter system and inter region routes which net reasonable profits so that a tradeship can actually stay inside an RP without sacrificing its primary activity would be nice.
I personally love the Point of Sell suggestion though I know it would be a ton of work. I'd hope that if it was set up right it make inRP routes profitable also.
Example? (Since I always feel I don't get my point across)
Zoner ID/Zoner Guard ID buys Consumer Goods from Ames. Instead of paying full price he gets a discount. Said ship then flies to any of the Freeports that buy Consumer Goods (and hopefully Malta since, we inRP supply them also) and instead of selling it for the listed price, they sell it for more.
Thus a discount at purchase, and more profit at the selling point. Of course this would require deciding what is and is not an inRP route for each and every trade faction. Though I am fairly sure most trade factions can tell you that.
I also quite like the idea of having an escort around boosting your armor and such. Would this stack and apply to other transports too?
Example!
OSI-Tydirium, OSI-Lazarus, OSI-Kikimora, & OSI-Gauntlet are all grouped and all transports. They have an Eagle and a Sabre as escort, OSI-XXX and OSI-XXX. Would all the transports get buffed from both escorts?
If the escort is not scouting, it does little to improve the transports chance of survival.
If it only gains the hull boost when the escort is in formation, It either needs to be a massive boost, or you end up with a nil capability
' Wrote:If the escort is not scouting, it does little to improve the transports chance of survival.
If it only gains the hull boost when the escort is in formation, It either needs to be a massive boost, or you end up with a nil capability
the HHC version does not require that the escort is in formation... its just *clicks target* /escort
but i hope scouts will not add hull... cause that... just add hull if your escorts are max5-10k away from you
My Raba is "escorted" by a Black Dragon while taking goods to, say, Freeport 10. I just happen to "get lost" and end up running into some IMG miners. We fight them, and I drop my cargo for their ore. I could just as easily be "escorted" by another Raba. Even if the armor bonus goes away when I drop my initial cargo, I can just not do that until I've slaughtered the hapless miners.
If you say "well maybe just lawfuls" I can make the same example with a BMM Shire.
I would rather that the system naturally lends itself to trading companies rather than any artificial bonus. Posting contracts for escort might be viable nowadays given the proliferation of mercs, particularly if you award bonuses on kills made during the escort process. I'm sure MercNet can handle some more advanced contracts- one of them right now supports no violence whatsoever.
That said, if someone makes an active trading company in Gallia I will buy them some ships. If you want that to happen, though, you should pull the SNACs off the patrols. If you're not totally convinced on removing the SNACs from the patrols, I'll write you a gorram dissertation on why they need to go, you just need to ask. I'm serious.
No, really.
I want to make it absolutely clear that they need to go. Cannon, if you have even the slightest qualms about that, just tell me and I will give you detailed reasons why, answers to aforementioned qualms as well as the possible issues I thought of, the whole works. This is not a casual suggestion. I have, as a dev, looked at this very carefully.
Got it?
Do that and people will trade in Gallia. I will fund them personally. I will switch to Gallic trading for my revenue (currently ore piracy). There are a decent number of other people who would gladly support Gallia in this manner if there were no bomber NPCs. This is, once again, not a casual suggestion, but a very serious one from a developer.
I won't bother thinking of other stuff until trading in Gallia is at least addressed.
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