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Shipyard Ships
kadams
Posts: 59Member Beginner
Because I believe the players the game loses either quit in the first two weeks or around the time they reach levels above thirty five, I'm going to guess that for some in the mid-levels it's because of an inability to buy better ships.
Right now we have shipbuilders selling ships on spec, but that was true of the early NM days, when shipbuilders were busy ranking the skill and didn't have their inventory filled with personal/aide ships (there were no aide ships back then.) As shipbuilders reach r20, they likely have two or three personal ships and at least one for their aide, meaning they can't really afford to build ships on spec since it would max their space out and prevent them from doing any more building/modding until the spec ship sells.
One solution would be to allow tagging the current max as personal ships, then allowing them to build as many others as their inventory allows to sell to other players.
The other solution is to let players buy higher level ships from the shipyard (not all ships maybe, but most of them.) I know the game is meant to be played as a social game, but there are people who play it because they enjoy it and they don't care so much about the social side of it. By the time they're ready for higher level ships they may know a SB built ship would be better, but since they don't know any SB, they're willing to settle for a lesser version of the same one. Chances are we will soon reach the point where there will be lots of r20 SBs who don't have space or time to offer their services to everyone, very few ships being offered on spec and solo players quitting the game because they're stuck in a mid range ship.
I was lucky before the wipe that a family member was an SB20, otherwise I would have probably hit a point where quitting was the best option. I had friends in the game, but none of them were SB. Now I am grinding the SB skill to insure I will have ship options later in the game.
And please, no argument that all players have to accept the MMO aspect of the game or whatever. If someone wants to play solo, at least they add to the total - this isn't exactly a game that can afford to lose players just because they don't play well with others. Allowing them to purchase better ships at the shipyard may keep them playing (and possibly buying speed boosts since they aren't improving their ships.)
Another solution would be some way to make SBs more visible when they are in the helping mode (or have inventory room to help others.) I do remember a few SBs would offer in world chat during the OGP days, but that required being online at just the right moment - high, but brief, visibility.
Right now we have shipbuilders selling ships on spec, but that was true of the early NM days, when shipbuilders were busy ranking the skill and didn't have their inventory filled with personal/aide ships (there were no aide ships back then.) As shipbuilders reach r20, they likely have two or three personal ships and at least one for their aide, meaning they can't really afford to build ships on spec since it would max their space out and prevent them from doing any more building/modding until the spec ship sells.
One solution would be to allow tagging the current max as personal ships, then allowing them to build as many others as their inventory allows to sell to other players.
The other solution is to let players buy higher level ships from the shipyard (not all ships maybe, but most of them.) I know the game is meant to be played as a social game, but there are people who play it because they enjoy it and they don't care so much about the social side of it. By the time they're ready for higher level ships they may know a SB built ship would be better, but since they don't know any SB, they're willing to settle for a lesser version of the same one. Chances are we will soon reach the point where there will be lots of r20 SBs who don't have space or time to offer their services to everyone, very few ships being offered on spec and solo players quitting the game because they're stuck in a mid range ship.
I was lucky before the wipe that a family member was an SB20, otherwise I would have probably hit a point where quitting was the best option. I had friends in the game, but none of them were SB. Now I am grinding the SB skill to insure I will have ship options later in the game.
And please, no argument that all players have to accept the MMO aspect of the game or whatever. If someone wants to play solo, at least they add to the total - this isn't exactly a game that can afford to lose players just because they don't play well with others. Allowing them to purchase better ships at the shipyard may keep them playing (and possibly buying speed boosts since they aren't improving their ships.)
Another solution would be some way to make SBs more visible when they are in the helping mode (or have inventory room to help others.) I do remember a few SBs would offer in world chat during the OGP days, but that required being online at just the right moment - high, but brief, visibility.
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