Kraken And Capital Ship Upkeep Costs

[Foible]

I don't know if people have been following the introduction of fleet carriers in Elite Dangerous, but....

One major issue that has come up with it is the cost of upkeep, outfitting and depreciation of the asset.
Initial price: 5B credits,
Fully Outfit: 1.4B,
Upkeep Up To: 147M/week, 7.644B/Year

Suspending the ship reduces upkeep cost to 50%. Not keeping up with upkeep will eventually force decommissioning of the ship (300M debt) and will reduce the value of the carrier to from 95% (24 hours) down to 33% depending on how long you owned the ship. There is a further penalty depending on how far the ship is from the nearest carrier dockyard.

I do wonder if CIG has similar plans for operational costs for running capital ships in the PU, it will certainly place a huge burden on owning those ships without building up the income to support it. I do own a Kraken and most of my fleet are large ships. I am beginning to wonder if I should liquidate my fleet.

What are people's thoughts on this subject?

 

[Deroth]

I'm pretty sure CIG has indicated that capital ships will have a significant upkeep, but only if it is in action; so as long as you don't call it before you have the capital and an income plan then it isn't supposed to cost anything.

 

[Sky Captain]

Hopefully CIG keeps it within the realm of 'fun'.

'Fun' meaning that there is a very appealing reason why orgs will want to update capital ships and keep them in action.

Not grinding just for grind sake.

 

[Talonsbane]

I know that if I end up with an Idris or Jav before official launch, my plans are to not call them into service until I have the resources to fully equip them 2x-3x over just to ensure that while they're active they can be kept at peak performance to be as beneficial to the objective as possible. When not needed, they'll be fully repaired & properly stored until needed next to cut down on upkeep expenses unless there is a way to effectively utilize them where they break even.

 

[Phil]

No different than World of Warcraft guilds charging guildmembers dues, there will be a way for Org's to assess dues by members and that will most likely go to the upkeep of Org designated ships, now personal ships will be personal responsibility, how an Org determines what an Org designated ship will be, will be interesting.

 

[CosmicTrader]

Ah, the burden of us Traders like me.
Having to support the Military Arm (Pew Pew boys & gals) in TEST SQUADRON......

Just like Real Life. hehehe So SC is Immersive after all.

btw - I have been warning people for years of the potential upkeep costs of capital ships.
But they are COOL.........LOL

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I don't know if people have been following the introduction of fleet carriers in Elite Dangerous, but....

One major issue that has come up with it is the cost of upkeep, outfitting and depreciation of the asset.
Initial price: 5B credits,
Fully Outfit: 1.4B,
Upkeep Up To: 147M/week, 7.644B/Year

Suspending the ship reduces upkeep cost to 50%. Not keeping up with upkeep will eventually force decommissioning of the ship (300M debt) and will reduce the value of the carrier to from 95% (24 hours) down to 33% depending on how long you owned the ship. There is a further penalty depending on how far the ship is from the nearest carrier dockyard.

I do wonder if CIG has similar plans for operational costs for running capital ships in the PU, it will certainly place a huge burden on owning those ships without building up the income to support it. I do own a Kraken and most of my fleet are large ships. I am beginning to wonder if I should liquidate my fleet.

What are people's thoughts on this subject?

Back to my Aurora for me then. 'Aint no way I'm going to be able to afford to keep the Ambergris running with only being able to play for one hour every couple of days.

The Kracken marketplace version should be able to support itself - it's not just a carrier it's a commerce center. My poor Endeavor might be able to make some dough doing science or upgrading components on the open market or retrieving rare elements from the corona of Stars or depths of Gas Giants but otherwise if that isn't enough to make a turnover I fear I am shit out of luck.

There goes my plan to analyze Space Whales (If they ever exist) to work out how they move in space and improve the efficiency of my (and my Org mates) engines based on that biological science

 

[DirectorGunner]

I do wonder if CIG has similar plans for operational costs for running capital ships in the PU

They better not, not that bad as what I've just read about ED

 

[Mich Angel]

This is not ED so why even compare it in the first place... if ed was made by CIG I could see the logic in comparison....
Only thing they have in common is they are space games part from that they have nothing in common..

IMO I wouldn't worry to much sure the larger the ship, the larger the upkeep that's kind of logic don't need to be rocket scientist to figure that out.
But CIG have time and again stated the goal is to keep it balanced so the real don't take over the part of fun.

So I wouldn't think about it to much at this time since planing and making assumption without solid fact is a bit of a waste of time and
it wont make anyone any wiser or come to any conclusion that is valid, sure you can make some plane to be ready for any eventuality but...
I say spend that time to read a good book or watch a nice movie instead of worry about things you can't control or change, or why not just play a game and enjoy it for what it is.

CHEERS!

In short version...

 

[Deroth]

Plus the ED Capital ships look like they're functionally closer to a station that can jump to other systems but doesn't move within systems, whereas the Capital ships in SC are planned to be fully functional ships.
So I imagine the upkeep for player stations in SC will be much closer to ED Capital ships than the upkeep for SC Capital ships.

 

[Bambooza]

I'm pretty sure CIG has indicated that capital ships will have a significant upkeep, but only if it is in action; so as long as you don't call it before you have the capital and an income plan then it isn't supposed to cost anything.

The only caveat is how skilled your current crew is if its NPC and how quickly its possible to rehire replacements. While having a PC crew might seem cheaper as they can share in the mission rewards or work for beer (never mind that will be unfundable) NPC crew have been said to take a daily salary even if you are not currently using the ship. So these multi-crew ships crewed by NPC's will be very expensive indeed on top of the running costs of fuel and replacement parts (using things will wear them out and they will need to be replaced).

 

[vahadar]

I do wonder if CIG has similar plans for operational costs for running capital ships in the PU, it will certainly place a huge burden on owning those ships without building up the income to support it. I do own a Kraken and most of my fleet are large ships. I am beginning to wonder if I should liquidate my fleet.

Why do you think they will make a specific rule for cap ships?

I think all ships will obey to the same rule : rearm, repair and refuel. that is the basic one.

Then obviously you have the cost associated to operating the ship, paying its npc crew and so on. I do not see why they would make a specific operational cost for capital ships. It is just an upscale version of the cost associated to any ships.

 

[Talonsbane]

Why do you think they will make a specific rule for cap ships?

I think all ships will obey to the same rule : rearm, repair and refuel. that is the basic one.

Then obviously you have the cost associated to operating the ship, paying its npc crew and so on. I do not see why they would make a specific operational cost for capital ships. It is just an upscale version of the cost associated to any ships.

Don't forget about the "insurance" & standard upkeep costs on the various parts from age, wear & tear.

 

[Blind Owl]

But they are COOL.........LOL

Indeed. Cool for others to own, and for me to operate off of. I'll stick to small/medium ships, lol.

 

[atpbx]

Chris has already said he isnt going to price players out of running capital ships.

 

[Phil]

Maybe they already addressed this, but I think a fair penalty for owning/operating a capital ship would be the time it takes to reclaim it, some like a Javelin, Kraken should take at least 24 hrs or even days to recover, it makes it so people cant just run out there with a huge ship without taking into consideration the risk and cost associated with it, put a time structure in the game that shows or reflects what a ship of this size entails to recover/reclaim, it will make the fleet actions much more deliberate and precise, it will create more tactical and thought out planning as well. It doesn't always have to be about money, time is a much more valuable commodity to a gamer than in game money.

 

[Bambooza]

Chris has already said he isnt going to price players out of running capital ships.

Chris as said a great many things. He also said that he visions Capital ships to be org ships and will be priced accordingly. But if the 890 jump refuel cost to just take it into orbit is any indication it's going to be costly and a possible money sink. I am already wondering how much the start up costs of the Orion will be and if I will even be able to bring it out with in the first month or if I'll have to wait until I can cobber together enough funds first. Same goes for my Polaris as much as I am in love with its concept I find myself wondering if it will spend most of its life in the hanger until years after the soft launch and I have more funds then time.

 

[Ayeteeone]

Maybe they already addressed this, but I think a fair penalty for owning/operating a capital ship would be the time it takes to reclaim it, some like a Javelin, Kraken should take at least 24 hrs or even days to recover, it makes it so people cant just run out there with a huge ship without taking into consideration the risk and cost associated with it, put a time structure in the game that shows or reflects what a ship of this size entails to recover/reclaim, it will make the fleet actions much more deliberate and precise, it will create more tactical and thought out planning as well. It doesn't always have to be about money, time is a much more valuable commodity to a gamer than in game money.

Yes, CIG seem to understand that time is the real commodity of value. The prison loop and Tony Z's discussion of it make that abundantly clear.

They have addressed the idea that capitol ships will take a lot of time to replace. How long is probably not known yet.

As for costs.. Fuel, repairs and repair materials, replacement modules, weapon upgrades, of course ammo, docking fees, broker fees, hangar fees, hab fees, feeding crew and self, cargo transfer fees, cargo insurance, fitting insurance, random 'cost of doing business' out of pocket stuff like bribes or 'expedited paperwork'.. the list of potential sinks is endless, and all of these have been mentioned at some point in time.

It's probably wise to have a functional in-game income before spawning a capitol or even a large ship. But this is TEST! Who does wise here?

 

[CosmicTrader]

and for me to operate off of.

You are ALWAYS welcome on any of my ships. You can even borrow them when ever you wish.
Chee4rs mate.

 

[Deroth]

Chris as said a great many things. He also said that he visions Capital ships to be org ships and will be priced accordingly. But if the 890 jump refuel cost to just take it into orbit is any indication it's going to be costly and a possible money sink. I am already wondering how much the start up costs of the Orion will be and if I will even be able to bring it out with in the first month or if I'll have to wait until I can cobber together enough funds first. Same goes for my Polaris as much as I am in love with its concept I find myself wondering if it will spend most of its life in the hanger until years after the soft launch and I have more funds then time.

To call out that Orion in the first month may require a few kindly investors backing your first venture for a percentage of the returns.
Since I plan to use salvage in a Vulture to fund my first trade ventures in a BMM I might be positioned to be a potential investor after one to three weeks.