It seems to me that scrap prices might need a nerf, but contraband prices definitely need to be increased. Especially cardamine; cardamine is a drug, so the outcasts making it should be getting much more than 549 per unit. I'd say at least 1000 would be an acceptable price for malta, maybe more, because the people making it are the people in power, unlike for real life counterparts.
I think serious thought needs to be given to changing the upper price of cardamine also, because when the same quantity of a low-demand product like copper is sold at 3k, almost expensive as cardamine, a radically addictive drug smuggled across the sector, sold at 5k, it becomes very clear that cardamine is underpriced.
Remember that this is one whole cargo unit we're talking about, a substantial unit for metals and clearly a substantial volume of goods, where the biggest practical freighter can only haul 5 thousand units. A unit of cardamine would be a very substantial amount, and as such should be a very valuable commodity. It's also important to keep in mind that many units would be lost in transit to pirates, corsairs, and house governments, drastically increasing the cost of cardamine transport even further. Thus, I think the maximum price of cardamine, where it is most demanded, should be increased to around 15k at least. Given the risk of transporting cardamine and the demand for cardamine in the colonies, a drastic increase in the sale price of cardamine seems warranted.
Alright, so it's time to put my two cents on this.
After doing calculations and measuring the routes profit/sec and the like, the route itself is actually pretty balanced. Compared to, for example, Niobium ore (Tau-23 to Colorado) compared to Premium Scrap (Texas to Alpha) makes a minimum of 50 credits/sec more than Niobium ore. Platinum Ore from Alberta to New London is actually more OP than Premium Scrap. The route itself is a lot like other routes, except the sell point has a considerably higher sell price than other ores, which makes it stand out (and hence why it may be receiving this flak).
However, I am not saying the route doesn't have problems, because it does have one single problem: Junkers haul it.
Junkers have very generous diplomacy. Combine that with the fact that their enemies are mostly inactive and you have a trade route that is profitable, near risk free as well as easy to do on your own.
What we need to do is alter the sell point so that they focus less on giving Junkers a sell point, but more on giving lawfuls a high value sell point. Believe it or not though, unlawfuls do also do this trade route, we should take them into consideration when re-balancing this.
So how do we solve all of these problems then? Simple:
Reduce the Alpha/Gamma sell points by 1k
Buff Yokohama's buy price of Premium Scrap by 3k, bringing it to 10,500
This will encourage Corporations to haul it to the Samura Shipyard in New Tokyo. Junkers and even DSE Scrap Miners (Those things do exist! They have a mining bonus!) can fill up Corporate transports. This will also be good for pirates, as this will put pirate-able transports back on the lanes again (although Junkers are fair game, no one really ever pirates them).
Via this suggestion, at the end of the day everyone will be happy.
(08-25-2014, 03:22 AM)Lythrilux Wrote: Alright, so it's time to put my two cents on this.
...
However, I am not saying the route doesn't have problems, because it does have one single problem: Junkers haul it.
Junkers have very generous diplomacy. Combine that with the fact that their enemies are mostly inactive and you have a trade route that is profitable, near risk free as well as easy to do on your own.
...
So how do we solve all of these problems then? Simple:
Reduce the Alpha/Gamma sell points by 1k
Buff Yokohama's buy price of Premium Scrap by 3k, bringing it to 10,500
This will encourage Corporations to haul it to the Samura Shipyard in New Tokyo. Junkers and even DSE Scrap Miners (Those things do exist! They have a mining bonus!) can fill up Corporate transports. This will also be good for pirates, as this will put pirate-able transports back on the lanes again (although Junkers are fair game, no one really ever pirates them).
Via this suggestion, at the end of the day everyone will be happy.
Well , I would certainly NOT complain !
But folks, Lyth does make a valid point there.
And believe me, nobodys been hauling the PremScrap around in a civilian transport more than me lately.
(T&T/.Tinkers.Pride is my Freelance ID Trader )
I even invite piracy as I mainly do NOT leave the lanes, do NOT try to evade them.
Its worth my while if I have a nice little encounter. And most of you go along very well.
( Kudos to those ! )
I still think its too early to change prices before the Borderworld remake and the de-guarding is over,
but I would like to point out that PremScrap is NOT a Junker - only commodity.
So far only very few folks want to haul it ? Why ?
Price to high ? *laugh*
Availability to low ? *laughs even more*
The Haven is open to all who want access.
And so far not many traders care to use it.
We sell the PremScrap for the same price we buy it from our scrappers,
we are neutral and easily reached.
(08-25-2014, 03:22 AM)Lythrilux Wrote: So how do we solve all of these problems then? Simple:
Join l'Unione Corse and pirate the Junkers. Probably the only faction that actively does, too.
Although it provides them with enemies, it's still not enough. Especially considering that it's only the official player faction who really shoot Junkers with premium scrap. Don't get me wrong, kudos to the [UC] for trying to fill the void here, but it doesn't fill it enough.
What we have to do here is compare the amount of enemies a Junker would face on it's way to the sell point compared to a corporate transport, for example DSE. On average it's highly likely that the DSE would encounter a considerably larger amount of hostiles than the Junker would.
On another note, a Kusari sell point may be good for Kusari activity. On top of pirates that would be on the lanes to pirate corporation ships, we could even have an influx of Hogosha that could position themselves on Kusari border worlds to privateer scrap for Yokohama. Just a small idea.
No, just no. Those are awful prices. This isn't going to encourage anything, it's just completely displaced Premium Scrap in comparison to other ores.
tl;dr you're doing a commodity that's the same price as Niobium Ore but for twice the journey.