An overview of update 11, and my take on the current disposition of the carrier mechanic as a whole, including suggestions for improvements to the fleet carrier mechanic.
Very well thought out and well said, thank you. Hopefully Frontier are listening as they could seriously use you there! I like the fact that you've clearly put a lot of consideration into the issues and come out with brilliant, logical solutions which are mostly not tech heavy. Frontier could implement all these changes much easier than Odyssey was, that's for sure. A carrier update like this could re-use existing assets and would really add so much depth. Thanks again
I love a lot of the ideas you put forward but I just don't feel like there's any chance of FDev actually putting them into place. Hope I'm wrong but it's been hard to keep up the optimism with elite.
No surprise that they stepped down the expectations when they launched fleet carriers. That seems to be par for the course. I've only played for just over a year, only play Horizons, & while I REALLY love this game, I'm consistently disappointed in FDev's output. But I'll keep playing until It see something that can fully compete.
I wish we could get YOU directly involved in game development. It's well reasoned & insightful thinking like this that will, one day, make a truly great space game. o7 Cmdr
Small fleet carriers is a big yes. They already have the assets too. The fleet carrier support ships they teased, but didn't release. All they would need is to add a section with four pads.
A lot of complicated stuff but good video overall . Too much for me I like the idea of the mini carrier as I use mine as a mobile base anyway. I would want the same 500 ly jump range No damage as with the current carrier. The basic default features plus cartography , interstellar factor and re arming and refueling available as extras . ( rest not needed – eg no commodity market trading or shipyard market . except personal pirate trading ) Similar storage capacity or maybe up to 15 k no less The loading and transfering of cargo and tritium needs to be more direct Basic price should be no more than 2.5 billion.
I think this seems a little bit over the top. I really don't want carriers to get overpowered, like this would. The overall economic impact of everything you suggested would be both tedious and very hard to balance. Frontier has already shown that they struggle to balance simple systems and functions. Everything that you said might sound easy or cool on it's own, but without numbers or any kind of proof of concept lacks staying power. Sorry if this comes across as harsh. That's not my intention.
For me the carrier should have remained a squardon asset. Being a squardon asset should give squardon member a few benefits using the carrier, maybe there are storage areas plus the ability to share squardon missions. Missions generated by members of squardon based on permissions.
If a carrier owner is a member of a squardon and the squardon is linked to a faction or superpower, when a carrier is a system all missions for that faction should have an extra influence point. All other factions should have one removed, this if there are multiple cariers from different factions more carriers on oneside will win etc giving missions for that faction booster inr points having carrier in system. There should be fear in systems by other factions when carrier on nearby. Carriers should help bgs and power play
You have some good ideas. Though I’m already upset they abandoned me on console with odyssey, so all I want is for them to stop taking my credits for the enormous upkeep it takes to keep my carrier.
There is a bug in the ointment for your carrier destruction idea. The majority of the carriers in game are owned by people who don't belong to squadrons. Now there are large squadrons out there with dozens of carriers at their disposal but the people who are going to be hurt the most are the people who don't have a group of people to defend them. This is elite, it wouldn't take more than a week for a meta to be drawn up, broadcast over YouTube and reddit on how to kill carriers quickly. After that you'll find cg's or high value areas being locked down by single squadrons and any intruding carrier being destroyed as sport. I've been playing elite from the start and if one thing has held true it's that if something can be destroyed a community movement will form to destroy as many as quickly as possible. Now you have people who just wanted to play elite alone and mind their business losing days or weeks of work for no reason other than people found it fun.
Does this mean I need to make a Fleet Carrier video to clear up all of the obvious misconceptions and unfounded assumptions? At no time was a FC promised, or even hinted at equating to a battle ready Capital Ship. When FC's were announced, youtube exploded with videos of people planning to buy one then fly it off into a CZ. Launching dozens of fighters of various sizes. All while blasting everything in sight with weapons systems to rival a Coriolis station. Still more planning to fly one into an asteroid ring to mine everything to be had and leaving behind nothing but perhaps a ring of space dust where an asteroid ring used to be. Draining an entire ring of sellable product in a matter of hours if not minutes. Or Trade runs hauling tens of thousands of tons of product from one system to the next in a matter of minutes.
What was PROMISED was a mobile Space Station. A player owned Mega-Ship. With amenity options for just about anything except for Material Trader, Tech Broker, Interstellar Factor, and Mission Board.
The majority of people playing ED probably don't average much more than a very few hours per week playing. You want to make credits with a FC? You can do that. But only if you're a heck of a lot more active than a few hours per week. I do a lot of mining. I put what I mine into the market on my carrier at a reasonable price and it gets listed on Inara. Anyone who wants it and is willing to pay my price can come get it. I find a FC to be very handy with BGS action for a Player Minor Faction. I stock my carrier with 500T – 1000T of the various products most frequently requested in missions. And my carrier is parked usually right by the station. I get 3, 4, 5 missions for whatever products. Load it all up from my carrier and the short flight back to the station. About the time that would be pirate is announcing that I'm the ship he's looking for is when I'm dropping out of low wake to deliver at the station.
cogent breakdown 👌
I hope the ideas expressed find their way to where they need to be to have an effect.
So many good suggestions 👍
Very well thought out and well said, thank you. Hopefully Frontier are listening as they could seriously use you there! I like the fact that you've clearly put a lot of consideration into the issues and come out with brilliant, logical solutions which are mostly not tech heavy. Frontier could implement all these changes much easier than Odyssey was, that's for sure. A carrier update like this could re-use existing assets and would really add so much depth. Thanks again
I love a lot of the ideas you put forward but I just don't feel like there's any chance of FDev actually putting them into place. Hope I'm wrong but it's been hard to keep up the optimism with elite.
No surprise that they stepped down the expectations when they launched fleet carriers. That seems to be par for the course.
I've only played for just over a year, only play Horizons, & while I REALLY love this game, I'm consistently disappointed in FDev's output.
But I'll keep playing until It see something that can fully compete.
I wish we could get YOU directly involved in game development. It's well reasoned & insightful thinking like this that will, one day, make a truly great space game.
o7 Cmdr
Small fleet carriers is a big yes. They already have the assets too. The fleet carrier support ships they teased, but didn't release. All they would need is to add a section with four pads.
A lot of complicated stuff but good video overall . Too much for me
I like the idea of the mini carrier as I use mine as a mobile base anyway.
I would want the same 500 ly jump range
No damage as with the current carrier.
The basic default features plus cartography , interstellar factor and re arming and refueling available as extras .
( rest not needed – eg no commodity market trading or shipyard market . except personal pirate trading )
Similar storage capacity or maybe up to 15 k no less
The loading and transfering of cargo and tritium needs to be more direct
Basic price should be no more than 2.5 billion.
I think this seems a little bit over the top. I really don't want carriers to get overpowered, like this would. The overall economic impact of everything you suggested would be both tedious and very hard to balance. Frontier has already shown that they struggle to balance simple systems and functions. Everything that you said might sound easy or cool on it's own, but without numbers or any kind of proof of concept lacks staying power. Sorry if this comes across as harsh. That's not my intention.
Dreams are nice
FD always overpromise and under deliver. Not interested in what they say anymore, move on to other more ambitious games.
i really want the small fleet carrier, the logistic benefit is immense
Maintenance Mode…… Don't see any big things coming to ED.
For me the carrier should have remained a squardon asset. Being a squardon asset should give squardon member a few benefits using the carrier, maybe there are storage areas plus the ability to share squardon missions. Missions generated by members of squardon based on permissions.
Squardon members should be able to contribute to a pot or balance on carrier allow member to assist with upkeep of carrier.
If a carrier owner is a member of a squardon and the squardon is linked to a faction or superpower, when a carrier is a system all missions for that faction should have an extra influence point. All other factions should have one removed, this if there are multiple cariers from different factions more carriers on oneside will win etc giving missions for that faction booster inr points having carrier in system. There should be fear in systems by other factions when carrier on nearby. Carriers should help bgs and power play
skeptical when youtube recommended this to me, was not disappointed
You have some good ideas. Though I’m already upset they abandoned me on console with odyssey, so all I want is for them to stop taking my credits for the enormous upkeep it takes to keep my carrier.
There is a bug in the ointment for your carrier destruction idea. The majority of the carriers in game are owned by people who don't belong to squadrons. Now there are large squadrons out there with dozens of carriers at their disposal but the people who are going to be hurt the most are the people who don't have a group of people to defend them. This is elite, it wouldn't take more than a week for a meta to be drawn up, broadcast over YouTube and reddit on how to kill carriers quickly. After that you'll find cg's or high value areas being locked down by single squadrons and any intruding carrier being destroyed as sport. I've been playing elite from the start and if one thing has held true it's that if something can be destroyed a community movement will form to destroy as many as quickly as possible. Now you have people who just wanted to play elite alone and mind their business losing days or weeks of work for no reason other than people found it fun.
Does this mean I need to make a Fleet Carrier video to clear up all of the obvious misconceptions and unfounded assumptions? At no time was a FC promised, or even hinted at equating to a battle ready Capital Ship. When FC's were announced, youtube exploded with videos of people planning to buy one then fly it off into a CZ. Launching dozens of fighters of various sizes. All while blasting everything in sight with weapons systems to rival a Coriolis station. Still more planning to fly one into an asteroid ring to mine everything to be had and leaving behind nothing but perhaps a ring of space dust where an asteroid ring used to be. Draining an entire ring of sellable product in a matter of hours if not minutes. Or Trade runs hauling tens of thousands of tons of product from one system to the next in a matter of minutes.
What was PROMISED was a mobile Space Station. A player owned Mega-Ship. With amenity options for just about anything except for Material Trader, Tech Broker, Interstellar Factor, and Mission Board.
The majority of people playing ED probably don't average much more than a very few hours per week playing.
You want to make credits with a FC? You can do that. But only if you're a heck of a lot more active than a few hours per week. I do a lot of mining. I put what I mine into the market on my carrier at a reasonable price and it gets listed on Inara. Anyone who wants it and is willing to pay my price can come get it.
I find a FC to be very handy with BGS action for a Player Minor Faction. I stock my carrier with 500T – 1000T of the various products most frequently requested in missions. And my carrier is parked usually right by the station. I get 3, 4, 5 missions for whatever products. Load it all up from my carrier and the short flight back to the station. About the time that would be pirate is announcing that I'm the ship he's looking for is when I'm dropping out of low wake to deliver at the station.
We all just need to get together and make a great elite game this is not gonna happen anytime soon. but all in all this sounds amazing.
Agree, such a waste of potential I'll keep dreaming tho