SPACE TRAVEL BLUES - "What's the Solution?" It’s quite apparent that frustrations can often run high when it comes to space travel. While the initial economic concept was well intended, many agree that it needs revamping, as it no longer serves the community efficiently. So what is the solution? Any number of viable ideas have been submitted in theory, but will they actually work is the underlying question. Let’s take a look first at the current space flight system and what seems to be the basic issues. LOGISTICS AND TIME FACTORS First and foremost perhaps is the time factor involved for both pilots and passengers alike. Pilots not only wait for passengers who need flights, but quite often find themselves waiting for long periods of time in line behind other pilots to fill their ships with passengers before they can even entertain taking on their own. This is never more evident than in the Control Room at Club NEVERDIE (CND). (Pilots: Riobabe, Mylcat, EiFund) In the meantime, passengers often have long waits on planet Calypso in need of flights to both CND and the Crystal Palace (CP) since pilots get stuck at CND waiting for passengers. There doesn’t seem to be the same issue with CP however, as it has its own teleporter that returns you to Port Atlantis on Calypso whenever you’re ready. There is a fee involved (10 ped), but it’s a small fee to pay considering the fact that you don’t have to wait on a pilot for a return flight. PLENTY OF SHIPS? – OR ADD MORE? While it is estimated that there are approximately 65-70 hangars with ships, all owners do not offer flight services, but rather utilize the ship for personal reasons, and/or consider it an investment. There are some who own more than one hangar, and while renting them out to others to provide flight services to the community used to be an option, it has since been removed by MindArk, and many hangars sit idle. Investors are often chastised for hoarding hangars as investments, but is it fair to penalize them for being forward thinking? Recently, a list of hangars and hangar owners was presented by Rayne Jade, and indeed gives the impression that we have plenty of available ships. However, as "Aridash" quickly pointed out, it seems that the list contained not only names of owners who were well-known pilots, but others who were well-known avatars that engaged in other EU activities, and avatar names that were not so familiar that perhaps also engaged in EU activities other than providing flight services to the community. Several suggested adding even more hangars, but then the fear seems to be that investors would snatch those up, and the situation wouldn’t be much different than it is now. ENOUGH PILOTS? Some say there are enough pilots, but perhaps there are a few other factors that should be considered that prevent a more efficient system beyond those already mentioned. For instance, pilots are real people behind their avatars with real-life obligations and responsibilities. This too minimizes the amount of time one can spend ingame, not to mention differing time zones that make them less available to people in other parts of the world. Availability of pilots may give the impression that there aren’t enough available, but some say in addition to this perceived lack of pilots, that poor business practice is also to blame. Specifically, that pilots should be amenable to flying with only 2-3 passengers from CND to the planet once in a while instead of waiting for a full ship; especially when there are others waiting on Calypso to get a flight up to either CND or CP, but is this fair to the pilots? PRICING Pricing also tends to raise heated discussions at times, and pilots often become targets for criticism, not to mention verbal abuse, but it’s not only pilots with higher prices. Those in competition with lower prices often feel the wrath of higher-priced pilots and are accused of stealing passengers. However, just as in real life, there is virtual competition to acquire and build a customer base, and despite the competitive challenges, it seems that the community for the most part finds its comfort level and a pilot with a price they’re willing to pay when flying, but it’s the availability of pilots that still seems to be an issue. Space travel glitches are primarily associated with travel to and from CND. While establishing and maintaining a flight service may seem relatively effortless, the above-mentioned factors can render it rather challenging. However, the community is not short on ideas or potential solutions, so let’s take a look at some of these offerings and see what might work more than just in theory. JUST THEORY, OR SOMETHING PLAUSIBLE First, the suggestion was made to install a teleporter at CND as a return option to Calypso, the same as available at CP, but would this really benefit all concerned? What about free enterprise, and the opportunity to build a business? Conceivably, people may fly more to the asteroid, and thereby increase its population, which is a good thing for ND. In fact, the question was actually posed to ND as to whether or not he was “concerned that an event at CND may be less profitable (successful) based on the availability of pilots” but I am uncertain as to whether this question was ever addressed openly. If anything, Champions League is surely a testament to the success of major events developed and promoted at CND, but would a return teleporter really make it better overall? Another seemingly well thought out plan of operation involves some sort of terminal, like the voting booths on Calypso where pilots can create a flight event. Passengers would then register for a specific flight, and at the appropriate time, make their way to the pilot’s hangar to board and fly to their destination. Seems simple enough, and perhaps something MA would be able to implement without much challenge. Then there’s “DrDoom” who says MA could solve this rather quickly by giving skills to the pilots for flying, and the more skills they have, the less decay, or less oil consumed by the ship. This way, the regular pilots are getting rewarded since they earn a little more due to the lower cost of flying. Seems a viable alternative that might motivate others to be more active in offering flight services, but again, the one factor that always comes to mind is the fact that pilots have real life obligations that prevent them from being as active as they would perhaps like to be. However, maybe an approach such as this would inspire others to become pilots and offer the service, and thereby not only have more services available, but maybe even cover more time zones. Of course “Einstein,” who most certainly must hail from the DNA lineage of the brilliant one whose problem-solving skills excel, gives us yet another option in the way of altering the hangar estate terminal to function as an event terminal. This would in turn offer flight tickets with date and time of lift-off, and thereby, no pilot would be needed. Sounds like a system that might work, but then will the inflight movie and beverage service be automated as well? Oops, we don’t have those right now, so nevermind. It’s still another offering to give consideration to that might have merit, but then there are those who say, why should pilots earn PED while they sleep, and how does the return flight work? I suppose the bottom line is, there’s no way to get to CND or CP without a pilot. There are any number of issues that make the current system of space travel inconvenient and often frustrating. While many suggestions have been offered up, the key element in all of this is MA’s involvement. However, with the expansion of space on the horizon, it is very clear that attention needs to be given to our space travel, but I think MA already has this on the drawing board, and that zoning into the next dimension will bring with it perhaps an elevated and more sophisticated mode of transportation that will take care of the needs of the community, but … The question remains … will we ever achieve a level of quantum teleportation? After Marco's most recent promotion to CEO of First Planet Company, and his plans to focus on "Plant Calypso" ... advancement requires a little bit of beta testing, so perhaps with regard to space travel, this is what it might look like in the interim ... PRE-CE2 > POST-CE2 > Graphic Header Design by: Globex Designs, Inc. ***
