I've Been Drinking...

[Kremlin Kommander]

Let me start by saying I am a fan of this game but with all the ships coming out...

If you have an end game ship I can see why you would want a smaller version. (Carrack and Terrapin) Both dedicated to exploration but all the other ones seem worthless. Small one for scouting before you send in your behemoth to do the rest.

Mining, which we only have 2 choices seems to be in the same boat. If you have a small one to test pockets and a big one to reap the rewards you are set.

The next tier of multirole ships (bombers, SAR, etc.) seem to cannibalize too much and appear to be just good enough to get by. They can do some things but nothing all that great; like staying alive. << bee gees reference

Fighters, here is where it may get messier. It seems all the fighters have the same basic ability and it will depend more on the person playing to win a battle. The big standout are fighters with special abilities. So far I only see the Ghost (which I own) as the standout. It can mount all the other mounts for 5 gimbaled guns or the stealth thingamajig. Maybe it has a penalty for the radar but seems to be the best bet. Sabre is cool too but lacks the stealth bit. (I know they are balancing later on but how much can they really do before your ship just blows up on first contact?)

Then you get the Vanduul ships which seem to horde the fire power and move into a class by themselves. Only thing close is the hurricane but needs 2 people to get the full advantage.

So what are your thoughts on the fighter role and if it is way over sold or if a clear winner is out there?

If you have an end game version what are the other ships really good for? Think about other games you've played? (Less money, Less exp., Less status, Less etc.) Why make 5 bucks using an aurora when you can make 5000 using a caterpillar for the same hour of work? Why not melt everything and go for a few end game versions if you can. Those should allow you to buy all the other ships in game.

 

[Montoya]

These are you thoughts while drinking?

Hey everybody! We have a high functioning drunk in the org!

 

[Blind Owl]

Let me start by saying I am a fan of this game but with all the ships coming out...

If you have an end game ship I can see why you would want a smaller version. (Carrack and Terrapin) Both dedicated to exploration but all the other ones seem worthless. Small one for scouting before you send in your behemoth to do the rest.

Mining, which we only have 2 choices seems to be in the same boat. If you have a small one to test pockets and a big one to reap the rewards you are set.

The next tier of multirole ships (bombers, SAR, etc.) seem to cannibalize too much and appear to be just good enough to get by. They can do some things but nothing all that great; like staying alive. << bee gees reference

Fighters, here is where it may get messier. It seems all the fighters have the same basic ability and it will depend more on the person playing to win a battle. The big standout are fighters with special abilities. So far I only see the Ghost (which I own) as the standout. It can mount all the other mounts for 5 gimbaled guns or the stealth thingamajig. Maybe it has a penalty for the radar but seems to be the best bet. Sabre is cool too but lacks the stealth bit. (I know they are balancing later on but how much can they really do before your ship just blows up on first contact?)

Then you get the Vanduul ships which seem to horde the fire power and move into a class by themselves. Only thing close is the hurricane but needs 2 people to get the full advantage.

So what are your thoughts on the fighter role and if it is way over sold or if a clear winner is out there?

If you have an end game version what are the other ships really good for? Think about other games you've played? (Less money, Less exp., Less status, Less etc.) Why make 5 bucks using an aurora when you can make 5000 using a caterpillar for the same hour of work? Why not melt everything and go for a few end game versions if you can. Those should allow you to buy all the other ships in game.

While I do love the end game ships, I think having a few of the smaller version just makes sense both for solo play and for the prohibitive castoff running those end game ships. Need to make money to make money. You ain't going anywhere with a Carrack until you have the cash to both fuel and supply her.

 

[felyxsnow]

I have a couple end game ships. But they aren't really for just my consumption. It allows for more people to make more money. It enables the game to played on a larger scale than just solo mining or exploring.

Now, I also grabbed little 1/2 seaters for solo ventures. Those are more specialized and a bit more fluid in my fleet than say my Carrack or BMM. Neither of those ships are fun solo.

So the smaller ships allow me to pick a style of play and enjoy single player in a persistent world while the larger "end game" ships just allow me to share the benefits with other org members in a more comprehensive team environment. Sure it makes more money but we got more mouths to feed.

One of the great things is we are still able to melt and upgrade to different ships. I have a decent amount of fighter craft in my hangar and I expect that to drop as more profession focus craft come post 3.0. For instance, the Reliant Mako News Van; that's gonna be an interesting craft. Especially with the new camera and texture tech. Imagine having a show or even a stream in the verse.

Exciting possibilities.

 

[Kremlin Kommander]

These are you thoughts while drinking?

Hey everybody! We have a high functioning drunk in the org!

I used spell check a few times and had my mom proof read my post... thanks mom.

OMG Montoya replied to my post :)

That being said...

I am in the same lot as some of the lucky or nutty folks here that have an end game ship plus the smaller version. I agree that the smaller ones are for solo play but the reward aspect seems limited to just personal gain instead of reaping a higher reward. That being said I have some mid tier ones that seem to be taking up space in my hanger and melting them for a higher end something or others seems correct.

I also feel that they can't do too much to the fighters they have from a balancing standpoint. If they make smaller ships really nimble they run into the G lock issue unless they nerf the ability to use gimbals on all the mounts.

Anyway, I love the premise of this game and I look forward to pouring endless hours into it. I hope I did not discourage anyone with my drunk thoughts.

 

[CosmicTrader]

First, larger ships make a larger target & temptation. They will need escorts which means sharing the profits.
Medium size ships are better for solo/friends play as they require less crew.
Smaller ships are great starter ships for those with less finances or just want the thrill of 'working' their way up.

Smaller ships also will be better for flying through worm holes & surviving.
Ex: Carrack = best scanners Aquila = good scanners/smaller ship 315P = short range scanners/small & manoeuvrable.

Fighters --> All of them have their individual purposes/functions. It totally depends on your play style and piloting abilities.

For the next year, CIG will be providing Concept ships in the Career/Industrial category & in the medium size range. Included will be the 600 series, a medium size reclaimer, miner, etc.

As for endgame, I will be concentrating on Exploring, Trading, crewing for others & of course CityBoppin & BarHoppin.

 

[Grimm_Reaper]

These are you thoughts while drinking?

Hey everybody! We have a high functioning drunk in the org!

Its water chief. I tells ya the Captains been drinking water.

Well Kremlin
Fighter = defensive fodder. While we would like to believe that they can take out a multi crew ship, in a war versus vanduul who swarm, the fighters will have their hands full just keeping them away from the capitals and bombers. In the end its going to be the SH and Sabre that stand out. Sh for its survivability and heavy cannons while the sabres even excluding its stealth has good survivability and agility.

All the other variants sound and have niche roles but when it comes to a big battle these are going to be the staple. Hurricanes and Bucaneers are support DPS that dance around a SH and Vanguard.

Bombers - Main nukers. In a prolonged campaign and a war of attrition the swarm always wins. Kind of like gambling in vegas the house will eventually always win. So to win we need to nuke them hard and fast.

Capitals - C&C support and tanks. They absorb most of the damage, direct troops create space, engage the big targets.

Vaandul generally seem to have a ton of firepower but look structurally weaker. Take the Kingship for instance. Its massive but looks like a hollowed out bony fish. The Void bombers seem to depend more on their S6 neutron cannons than their small torpedo armaments. The Eclipse will be ideal to target the Void bombers.

Accept exploration which is a hit and miss, everyone needs at least 1 money maker end game. Mines the airline and tourism industry. Others go for miners or gas harvesters and support crafts like the Starfarrer, cruicibe, endeavor Hope etc.

CIG has always said that many ships may cover already existing or multiple roles but thats so that people can have a variety to choose from. I believe like every other game out there, people will fall into cookie cutter progressions.

Eg: Exploration
Starter ship 315p, Mustang, Avenger ----> Skip terrapin cause its as expensive as Aquilla and get an Aquilla instead. Carrack end game ideal ship too expensive, so stay at Aquilla level for a year or so, probably pimp it out max its parts research then try and sell once enough is saved to get a Carrack.

Carrack maxed out saved enough creds, invest in a Endeavor to help fund research or take less risky chances with exploration while scanning from a safe distance before deploying a carrack.

Multi use ships net you the most versatility and game experience (Eg: Carrack - explore, cargo hauler, info runner, S&R), while specific ships like the terrapin are niche use and expensive offering a very narrow use though it excels in it.). In the beginning you need versatility and wide role. With time and accumulation of creds, you can experiment with more niche ships especially when CIG starts selling them at a discount when they realize their mistake and how stupid it is to make limited role ships so expensive.

 

[Mich Angel]

First, larger ships make a larger target & temptation. They will need escorts which means sharing the profits.
Medium size ships are better for solo/friends play as they require less crew.
Smaller ships are great starter ships for those with less finances or just want the thrill of 'working' their way up.

Smaller ships also will be better for flying through worm holes & surviving.
Ex: Carrack = best scanners Aquila = good scanners/smaller ship 315P = short range scanners/small & manoeuvrable.

Fighters --> All of them have their individual purposes/functions. It totally depends on your play style and piloting abilities.

For the next year, CIG will be providing Concept ships in the Career/Industrial category & in the medium size range. Included will be the 600 series, a medium size reclaimer, miner, etc.

As for endgame, I will be concentrating on Exploring, Trading, crewing for others & of course CityBoppin & BarHoppin.

Pretty much cover what I was going to write, I'll add bounty hunting to it and some other too...

Big ship high cost, little ship low cost..
Big ship slow, one route one run, small ships fast, same route many runs....

Big ship much beer big party, small ship little beer small part eh!....

any ways CHEERS! :beer::beer::beer::beer::beers::beers::beers:

 

[Kremlin Kommander]

(ok I am sober now... mostly)

I totally forgot about the Endeavor with the science module. I must add this to my wish list.

No really, the comments are great and gave me a fresh perspective on the need of just about everything CIG has out there. I think they will try to make the game work for any skill and any level of game play. If that is the case it won't matter what you have or how you play. It should still be fun.

 

[maynard]

it's going to be hard to crew an end-game ship on an impromptu basis - or expensive to crew one with NPCs

committing to scheduled operations begins to sound like a job

I expect 95% of our game play will be in Constellation-size or smaller ships

 

[Blind Owl]

it's going to be hard to crew an end-game ship on an impromptu basis - or expensive to crew one with NPCs

committing to scheduled operations begins to sound like a job

I expect 95% of our game play will be in Constellation-size or smaller ships

Concur. Which is why I personally *tried* to keep a majority of my ships small/medium. Didn't work out. Oops.

 

[Cool-Hand-Luke]

Ohhh... this is all too complicated for me.

I'm just going to tag along behind the fleet of Test Ships and reclaim the trail of beer cans.

 

[Blind Owl]

Ohhh... this is all too complicated for me.

I'm just going to tag along behind the fleet of Test Ships and reclaim the trail of beer cans.

That sounds like a plan. I'm with you.

 

[Printimus]

Thats what I do, I drink and I know things.

 

[Blind Owl]

Thats what I do, I drink and I know things.

And look pretty.

 

[Printimus]

And look pretty.

That's what I do, I drink and I know things and I look pretty.

 

[Blind Owl]

That's what I do, I drink and I know things and I look pretty.

Yeah you do.

 

[maynard]

And look pretty.

I thought owls had excellent vision

wouldn't be the first time I was mistaken

 

[Stevetank]

I thought owls had excellent vision

wouldn't be the first time I was mistaken

He sold his vision for more beer.

 

[Stevetank]

it's going to be hard to crew an end-game ship on an impromptu basis - or expensive to crew one with NPCs

committing to scheduled operations begins to sound like a job

I expect 95% of our game play will be in Constellation-size or smaller ships

I agree that MOST people may spend the game like that. Not, I. My gameplay will most likely be 50% or more in the big ships since I LOVE to mess with AI.

I don't think that we're seen enough of the AI to really determine if it will be hard or now. Heck, we've hardly seen any AI to start. I think that Tony is really pushing the AI for this game. I wouldn't think of it like the AI from your average MMO. Think of it more like the next generation of AI. Like trying to explain Halo: Combat Evolved is to one of your friends when it first came out. It's not an FPS as you knew it then, it was to usher in a whole new way of doing FPS.

CIG has plans to make the AI do everything that you do simply because if they are to be 90% of the universe they kind of have to. The expensive ones will be good and the cheap ones will be terrible. They are meant to compete against players, so they will probably have ways of cheating their skill. The only skill that they have issues with competing against players are in combat. If CIG gives the best NPCs perfect aim, then they essentially become an aim bot. The only thing that limits their ability is their logic sequence. Good players can beat this but a good NPC can still kill players.

AI will always be at a disadvantage in combat, but everything else will make things easy. The best place for a good AI in combat is a turret and if you have a big ship, chances are that you will have a few. The only logic for a turret is to shoot the target. The choice of target they pick is the only downfall but their accuracy is normally on par or better than a player's accuracy. Mining will be easy, farming will be easy, fuel refining will be easy, delivery will be easy, drink mixing will be easy, navigation will be easy, and so on. The only 2 roles that will be challenging for the AI are dogfighting and on foot combat. I don't feel that this will be so bad.

As for expenses, hiring an NPC will cost credits, but so will hiring a player. Unless the player is your friend or roommate, they will be cahging you as well. Some might do it for cheaper and some might ask for more. "I'm better than an NPC, therefore you should pay me more.", "Help a TESTie out and hire me instead of the AI." Players aren't free and everyone in our org needs credits. Doing things for free doesn't help them out, so unless you know some charity workers, you'll be paying as well.

With the job system that CIG has talked about, it will be just as easy to get NPCs as players. You put up a job beacon and someone will respond or you go to the job market and post a job. NPCs and players will fill up your positions and then off you'll go on your merry way.

Sure, hiring NPCs isn't optimal, but it's still not baring anyone from doing it. People don't have to be stuck in their little ships when they LOVE to mine and no one is on (kinda hard to not have people on with 12,000 members). Mining enthusiasts can just grab a crew of NPCs and go. It's not that hard to organize something like that. You could even be the one in the turret and have the NPCs do all of the hard work as you stare off into space while searching for Eclipses, Prowlers, and Sabres.

(I took up computer science to write AI for games and ended up in IT as a living. I miss my AI.)