04-27-2018, 07:07 PM
WALL-O-TEXT WARNING: There's a lot I have to say here. I've included a TL;DR section for those not wishing to deal with the whole thing. Voting is encouraged, either way!
So, despite the introduction of more and more ways to obtain Scientific Data (Sci-Data) as of late, the inflation of the credit price per unit of the stuff has been on the rise, and it's likely to go up even more as time goes on. This, combined with the fact that many players hoard Sci-Data, coupled with the fact that the Sci-Data rewards are not likely to have their Data cost reduced any time soon, isn't really helping the inflation situation.
Added to that, many players can't even attempt to obtain Sci-Data in the first place, since most of the events hosted by the admins take place during times that usually cater to those in European Timezones.
For all the reasons listed above, I am proposing the following:
Add Sci-Data drops to NPCs spawned by missions of level 30+ at the rate of 1 unit dropped per NPC.
As it stands, there are currently four ways to obtain Sci-Data.
1.) Attend PvE event. Problem: Lowest ping and highest B spam wins Data (Oh, and cloaked transports are also a thing. Because Greed).
2.) Find Derelict Base. Problem: Most bases are found by the same 1-2 people.
3.) Find randomly spawned Cultists. Problem: This requires a Cultist Staging Base in-system. As fate would have it, players have proven the desire to destroy all bases found ASAP rather than allowing them to persist in order to allow more NPCs spawning.
4.) Buy Data from other players. Problem: At a going rate of 6,000,000+ per unit, only the richest of players can afford large amounts of Data.
This leaves many players, old and new (including myself), unable to fathomably or even remotely dream of obtaining any amount of Sci-Data, as the sheer cost of the stuff simply isn't worth the end-rewards currently being offered.
Assuming I wanted to, say, buy a set of four FEUERBALL LF codes, let's also assume I pay 6,000,000 credits per unit of Sci-Data. This would mean my total credit cost for a set of light fighter guns (Not a capital vessel, but the smallest of ship classes) would run me 4.2 BILLION credits! But let's take that a step further: Let's say I want to buy a set of four ACROBATICS for the same going-rate of 6,000,000 credits per unit of Sci-Data. This would mean my total cost would be 12,000,000,000 credits. That's twelve. Billion.
Ridiculous? I'd say so. And that's ignoring the possibility of 7,000,000 credits per unit!
Please add Sci-Data to Mission NPCs. Even at a rate of 1 unit per NPC, it's still better than nothing, and the current players who happened to pay for their Sci-Data shouldn't be entirely too mad by such a prospect, especially considering the following:
Assume we destroy, on average, 10 NPCs per mission (Some missions may spawn more, some less). At a rate of 10 Sci-Data per mission, it would take me 70 missions to afford a set of FEUERBALLs, and 200 missions to afford a set of ACROBATICS. This ignores the possibility that I might get in over my head/get bad RNG and die every once every 10 missions. That would mean even more time spent farming + more missions. This also assumes I have the assistance of a 2nd player (Who may/may not want a cut of the Data), or I am somehow lucky enough not to be jumped by raiding players/die to NPCs while farming up between 70-200+ missions.
Yes, I realize that "Scientific Data" shouldn't realistically drop from random joe-shmoe NPCs of every faction. But I believe that offering an alternative, extremely time-consuming method for obtaining Sci-Data would be fair for players of ALL time zones. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to want a fair chance at obtaining this ultra-rare material is when it's dang near impossible for me to do so. And paying for the data out-of-pocket is out of the question with numbers like 6+ million per unit.
TL;DR:
Add Sci-Data to Mission NPCs. Drops will be 1 unit per NPC. This will allow server events to remain the primary source of large amounts of Sci-Data, with the benefit of allowing players from unpopular timezones (I.E. Most non-European countries) the chance to farm for Sci-Data a little bit at a time.
Assumption: 10 Sci-Data per mission = 70 missions for 4 FEUERBALLs, or 200 missions for 4 ACROBATICs, as two examples. That's a lot of missions.
Side benefit: Farming for Sci-Data from missions will either A: Force a 2nd player to log to safely hold Sci-Data, or B: The mission farmer will hold it all on their farming ship, which will attract opposing raiders, which in turn promotes server activity. In case A, the 2nd player will likely want their own cut of the Sci-Data, which leads to more farming, which leads to more vulnerability while fighting NPCs, which means more opportunities for raiding parties.
End benefit: More Sci-Data on the server, current hoarders shouldn't be too irritated, because this source is extremely tedious/time-consuming compared to regular server events, with the added benefit of hoarders also having the capability of hoarding even more Sci-Data without impacting the rest of the server.
Thoughts, concerns, opinions?
So, despite the introduction of more and more ways to obtain Scientific Data (Sci-Data) as of late, the inflation of the credit price per unit of the stuff has been on the rise, and it's likely to go up even more as time goes on. This, combined with the fact that many players hoard Sci-Data, coupled with the fact that the Sci-Data rewards are not likely to have their Data cost reduced any time soon, isn't really helping the inflation situation.
Added to that, many players can't even attempt to obtain Sci-Data in the first place, since most of the events hosted by the admins take place during times that usually cater to those in European Timezones.
For all the reasons listed above, I am proposing the following:
Add Sci-Data drops to NPCs spawned by missions of level 30+ at the rate of 1 unit dropped per NPC.
As it stands, there are currently four ways to obtain Sci-Data.
1.) Attend PvE event. Problem: Lowest ping and highest B spam wins Data (Oh, and cloaked transports are also a thing. Because Greed).
2.) Find Derelict Base. Problem: Most bases are found by the same 1-2 people.
3.) Find randomly spawned Cultists. Problem: This requires a Cultist Staging Base in-system. As fate would have it, players have proven the desire to destroy all bases found ASAP rather than allowing them to persist in order to allow more NPCs spawning.
4.) Buy Data from other players. Problem: At a going rate of 6,000,000+ per unit, only the richest of players can afford large amounts of Data.
This leaves many players, old and new (including myself), unable to fathomably or even remotely dream of obtaining any amount of Sci-Data, as the sheer cost of the stuff simply isn't worth the end-rewards currently being offered.
Assuming I wanted to, say, buy a set of four FEUERBALL LF codes, let's also assume I pay 6,000,000 credits per unit of Sci-Data. This would mean my total credit cost for a set of light fighter guns (Not a capital vessel, but the smallest of ship classes) would run me 4.2 BILLION credits! But let's take that a step further: Let's say I want to buy a set of four ACROBATICS for the same going-rate of 6,000,000 credits per unit of Sci-Data. This would mean my total cost would be 12,000,000,000 credits. That's twelve. Billion.
Ridiculous? I'd say so. And that's ignoring the possibility of 7,000,000 credits per unit!
Please add Sci-Data to Mission NPCs. Even at a rate of 1 unit per NPC, it's still better than nothing, and the current players who happened to pay for their Sci-Data shouldn't be entirely too mad by such a prospect, especially considering the following:
Assume we destroy, on average, 10 NPCs per mission (Some missions may spawn more, some less). At a rate of 10 Sci-Data per mission, it would take me 70 missions to afford a set of FEUERBALLs, and 200 missions to afford a set of ACROBATICS. This ignores the possibility that I might get in over my head/get bad RNG and die every once every 10 missions. That would mean even more time spent farming + more missions. This also assumes I have the assistance of a 2nd player (Who may/may not want a cut of the Data), or I am somehow lucky enough not to be jumped by raiding players/die to NPCs while farming up between 70-200+ missions.
Yes, I realize that "Scientific Data" shouldn't realistically drop from random joe-shmoe NPCs of every faction. But I believe that offering an alternative, extremely time-consuming method for obtaining Sci-Data would be fair for players of ALL time zones. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to want a fair chance at obtaining this ultra-rare material is when it's dang near impossible for me to do so. And paying for the data out-of-pocket is out of the question with numbers like 6+ million per unit.
TL;DR:
Add Sci-Data to Mission NPCs. Drops will be 1 unit per NPC. This will allow server events to remain the primary source of large amounts of Sci-Data, with the benefit of allowing players from unpopular timezones (I.E. Most non-European countries) the chance to farm for Sci-Data a little bit at a time.
Assumption: 10 Sci-Data per mission = 70 missions for 4 FEUERBALLs, or 200 missions for 4 ACROBATICs, as two examples. That's a lot of missions.
Side benefit: Farming for Sci-Data from missions will either A: Force a 2nd player to log to safely hold Sci-Data, or B: The mission farmer will hold it all on their farming ship, which will attract opposing raiders, which in turn promotes server activity. In case A, the 2nd player will likely want their own cut of the Sci-Data, which leads to more farming, which leads to more vulnerability while fighting NPCs, which means more opportunities for raiding parties.
End benefit: More Sci-Data on the server, current hoarders shouldn't be too irritated, because this source is extremely tedious/time-consuming compared to regular server events, with the added benefit of hoarders also having the capability of hoarding even more Sci-Data without impacting the rest of the server.
Thoughts, concerns, opinions?