Entropia News: Developer Notes 10: Galactic Transport

What would be cool in a way also is a % of the fee pool they talk about would also go to the PP themselves. This way PP would have some more income to support their planets.

 

While I still sometimes expect to read something around the lines :
-"old stuff getting fixed"
-old announcement becomes real
-promised content arrived
....*

Something out of the ordinary makes it way into the game...or at least, gets announced.
Something, noone (really) asked for, something noone expected either.

I was wishing for interplanetary space (trade) travel since space got introduced (mid 2011)...space-trade-travel that would actually bring some story/action to the dead-empty-space (Pirate loots ore transporter on its way to Calypso worth 25.000 US-Dollar).
But instead we recieve this automated scenario now.

It would be so cool if there would be way more different (totally diversity!) ores/enmatters/crafted stuff/weapons on other planets. Stuff that is really different to what we use on Claypso. (not just stats wise, Im talking about different ammo, blueprints that are not blueprints and cannot be used on every planet...bad example : Nawa could have been Toulans ammo for weapons as well...why there is oil and lysterium everywhere...where is the real ore/enmatter diversity ?)

Making it at least super interesting to fill your shuttle with ores and weapons, to get on an 40 minute flight from planet x to planet y and try to deliever its cargo to its destination. Making a... "pretty penny".

While I somehow like the idea of the storage box, a box...noone knows its content and noone doesnt even care for its content...just deliever it without questions, recieving the bounty.
This, to me, feels again like a halfhearted try of "new" content integration, that noone thought about any further.

Precious development time wasted, because Jan&Son had some ecological inspiration again. (?)
You never know, inside of...Project Entropia...

*

• Add new levels and professions for crafting.
• Bars – Bars will be places of relaxation and entertainment, everything a weary avatar needs.
• Bounty hunting system – are you annoyed that you getting killed by some bully? Set a contract on him and make him pay the consequences.
• Crafters will be able to repair items – meaning you don’t have to run back to the imperial communal repair terminals.
• Food/Drinks – a new crafting profession, food and drinks will enhance the avatar abilities.
• Land management system – you want to enhance your lands with new creatures, or perhaps add new minerals to it? Go ahead.
• New planets – what lies beyond Calypso?
• Space exploration/combat – discover new areas in space, mine asteroids, fight pirates, enhance your space ship with additional equipment, weapons and shields.
• Taming system – ever wanted to own your pet Atrox and ride it off towards the sunset? This system makes it happen.
• Vehicles – be a bus driver or maybe a heavy machinery operator. Or make a living hauling large quantities of ore.
• • A Teacher system is coming, giving the ability for teacher avatars to supply skills to students. This will probably become a new profession within Project Entropia.
  • Handgranades, prone position, sit down on ground etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

I lately mined some and enjoyed the Sabakuma-cave-quest with its queen. I enjoyed the long quest chain to recieve the Cyclops-Depths "key", which was, except for some confused traveling (fly past the no "vehicle area" to actuall talk to someone inside of it via a radio-transmitter, that is located inside the vulcano...), filled with a spoon of humor at least, but ended with a level 300 mob, that throws cannon balls at you = dead.
Still, everything seems to be so far away from complete. Since 14 years.


p.s.
http://www.planetcalypso.com/news/pages/2009/09/11/7980/index.xml

 

There is a chance that only Nawa operated vehicles will run on Toulan, but we will see. And even the great idea can't happen over night.

 

Some planets have long nights

 

just hope the fee is not too high... but if so no biggie, just stockpile on planets of origin. "Hopefully the will update inventory "my items" to tell you which planet stores your stuff.

Actually, several somebodies did ask for it, even though most probably did not expect it to actually happen...

http://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/f...-all-Planets&p=3211480&viewfull=1#post3211480

http://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/f...ther-planets&p=3130027&viewfull=1#post3130027

http://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/f...anetary-TP-s&p=2969597&viewfull=1#post2969597

http://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/f...mprove-space&p=2769576&viewfull=1#post2769576

There's several other threads asking for the interplanetary tps to be re-activated with the fee from that going to hanger owners as it used to... Maybe MA will integrate this back in someday, but I doubt it. Too many mother*$#$%(oops mean mothership) owners out there

 

Mercury kinda nights? :)

 

I know it already worked back in 2004, regarding fees between "Crystal Palace Auction <-> Planet Calypso Auction."
(inlcuding teleporter fee back to Planet Calypso (10 PED)

Followed by fees between "CND Auction <-> Calypso Auction"

The list I added to my post was actually part of their roadmap back in 2004:

www.entropiaplanets.com/wiki/Project_Entropia_Roadmap_2004-2005

Everything was more or less ready, already. 10 years ago. Even if it only were ideas.
Some become true, many forgotten.

For me it doesnt matter if people came up with these "unique" ideas in 2009 or 2011 again.
It was already there and "this idea" feels different if you have been around for 10 years...or only 2 years. But sure, asking for its return is something different.

The 2 year old gamer might think "Yay, innovative new update"...(as mentioned, the "box" idea could be quite fun) :p

Just saying. =)

 

yeah changes can't happen over Mercury night

 

A lot of great ideas listed there Mc. Yeah I had hoped for some of those myself. Like already mentioned, it may happen in a Mercury night!

 

Curious how this new dynamic is worked out in a sense of ped-sink and ped-return.
Are all fees and decay coming forth out of space transport and space fight ending up as potential return to participants?
If MindArk takes again their share, most likely 35% then i not sure this will do good for the community.

 

Okay, what happens if you loot the box from another pilot and decide to not to deliever it to its destination ?
You keep it, just because you can.

Does that mean there is an additional risk if you choose delivery via space ?
You bid on something, win and you still wont recieve it ?
Because, what if I decide to log off, while carrying such a box...and die in reallife ?
Or will it get auto delievered after 4 hours ?
Then it would be indeed just another (risky) gamble-option, including time pressure, all about real money, added to the empty space.
Would mean, Tass is right. (Tass is right anyway.)

Then again, if you decide to keep the box, you should only be allowed to enter the destination planet.
No other planet / space station will let you "in". And if you enter the destination planet, the box will be auto-removed from your shuttle and you'll recieve the reward (window pops up)...very boring, but very easy and very quick solution.

Why add depth and story, if you can just add "capture the (money)flag". Thats where we are heading to.

But as always, Im sure MA is lightyears ahead already and thought this all through... ,-)

Mabye the box will dissappear from your shuttle after a certain amount of time and respawn on its original position...while you already lost fuel, your shuttle decayed in combat etc. etc. etc.....starting capture the (money)flag again...but also this way bidders might never recieve their goods...and MindArk already got their share by now...

 

I really don't know what to think about this.... I welcome that space is getting some love but as for a good or bad call? I just can't decide. It sounds like maybe this might be a good first step to a system that could be changed later on as its economy/activeness progresses.

Certainly MA can't hope to pull off eve online economy overnight so this would be a first step to getting people into space regularly. Maybe later on they could diversify it a little more if a) enough interplanetary trade is happening or b) enough people are doing the transport missions.

That is assuming they actually do it... rumour has it, space boxes are right there on the todo list just behind riding atrox's off into the sunset. Seriously it could be this is simply a platitude behind "we'll roll all economies into one... but don't worry, we'll make it fun!... later much later" So essentially then they are going back to the old system for now, ie you can buy something on another planet but there is a transport fee. Only difference now is you will have a choice on the transport fee. Technically we already have this as I assume I can buy Ark goods from Caly I just can't "have" them till I go to Ark right?

I agree with Mr McC that there should be more diversity between planet ores and there should DEFINITELY be blue prints that require some interplanetary trading. Not just the welding wire. My main concern about merging the auctions is that I feel there needs to be a concept of "local price" ie what something is trading for on different worlds. It would make sense for example that Oro texture trades cheaper on Ark than Caly thus ideally there would be a profit in trade running it between the 2 planets.

We will have this with the new system of course but it will be "off the record" (hmm actually I like the sound of that).

That said I appreciate separate auctions are only really beneficial to planets with a decent economy going on. Everyone else is more or less needing to trade run their goods elsewhere to find a buyer.

I don't know... interesting times certainly. I wonder how this will all work out.

Wistrel

 

You know what ? You must place a valid fruit first.

 

I MUST!!! :D

 

I don't know what to say about this space update notes, but it does seem good that space is getting some attention and I very much like the way I can buy from all planets on one planet.
I think it needs more work on the system for next month it just looks unfinished to me like a stage 1 kind of thing.
I will go with option 3 instant delivery regardless of the cost of instant delivery I'm not happy with option 1 or 2

 

So been chatting to an Ark based friend about this. He feels it is good for Caly bad for other planets and is concerned about the idea of "fixing" the "safe" planet transport. I'm still in favour of fixing space so pvp is actually worthwhile.

Essentially I feel what MA are aiming for here is a compromise. They know that right now interplanetary trade is minimal but realise that fixing the pvp avoidance issues will make it even MORE minimal. Honestly I don't envy them this problem. It is a hard one to get right.

So the new system first of all, cuts out the exploits. That seems the right thing to do as a first step. So no more cheating your way between planets by logging off. Space is PVP so lets man up people an accept that PVP means PVP and stop trying to buck the system. I'm assuming all MA need to do to fix this is say that people who are in space (not spacestations) are in space till they leave space and doesn't log them off. Actually, knowing MA I can WELL imaging this will in fact require quite a bit of dicking with their base code. The game isn't designed around persistently present avatars. I'm not defending this, I'm just saying "knowing MA it will be a right dog's dinner to fix". There are actually advantages for fixing this too. ie I'm always worried the game will crash in space. If I'm in a fighter that means I come back floating in space and not in my ship which is BAD you hear me MA? REALLY REALLY BAD!

So fine, they fix space. Great, I'm now persistently in space till I leave space regardless of if I am online. Maybe I can buy an auto defence system for my spaceship? or an offline shield that can at least serve as a deterant if not a full proof anti kill solution? Maybe I can cloak? That would be cool. Oh an all these things can be crafted. Great stuff, we just added to the economy.

Assuming then that space is fixed there is now EVEN LESS incentive for people to do trade runs there. Too risky... too little benefit so on and so forth. If it is too risky then people will simply just travel to another planet and do their crafting there. It will be cheaper. The problem arises when we get into BP's that require resources from more than one planet (which we really need!).

So I think MA's solutution is a kinda half way house. They have made it so that stuff is guaranteed to be delivered but there is still something for the interplanetary pilots to do and something for the pirates to chase after and profit from.

TBH I don't know if this is a good idea or not but they might be right on the money. We won't know till they try it which is the reason I suspect they will do this as a two stage implementation. ie stage 1 get stuff going between planets, is interplanetary trade picking up? ok so maybe yes, if so implement stage 2 with the courier missions.

My Ark friend felt the "big IF" came down to the fee structure. He seemed to think it might be "amount" based. I was thinking maybe it would relate more to the cost of transportation ie say it costs 5ped to do a "most efficient" and "pirate free" run between 2 planets then the payment might be 10ped.

My friend pointed out though that a pirate entanglement will currently cost 5ped a kill minimum so essentially we have a fundamental problem that pvp in space is just too darn costly. He proposes a 1/10th reduction.

I don't know how MA would do this though without changing stats.... all in all, it is a tricky problem.

In conclusion here I think we have 2 separate issues that MA are trying to solve. 1) get more interplanetary trade going 2) do it in a way that doesn't undermine and actually improves space.

Yes in an ideal world you would just have Eve online but in a RCE that is going to rather hard to pull off. You need to get people risking small ped before they are risking the big numbers all while focusing on the fun aspect. In an ideal world, some players would quite simply live in space cause they want to play an RCE space combat game rather than a 1st/3rd person shooter on a planet.

Still, all in all, interesting times and at least MA are "having a go" at trying to fix things even if it fails it is nice they are trying

Wistrel