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Post by Cory Trese on Jan 23, 2018 9:17:34 GMT -5
I'd like to point out that (1) there's a trade ban in place with your Faction at the start of the game, (2) getting a level 4 permit takes time, (3) getting Skip off the Void takes even more time. I'm not denying that trading can become a valid option; but I've found it not be an optimal one at the start of the game, even though the game is called Star Traders. Wow that's very interesting feedback. I'm glad to report you are in the minority looking at the game like this -- just based on measured player behavior it seems trading, especially early game, is incredibly popular and profitable. I am definitely amused by this thread and would like to hear more about why trading isn't viable. Sorry for the disconnect, we will try to understand what it is that is throwing you off.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2018 0:40:41 GMT -5
I find it harder to be a successful merchant in ST:F than ST1 - primarily because the surplus/shortage rumours in ST1 were so intuitive and easy to navigate to.
Although I enjoy being a merchant in ST:F, I also find it easier and more profitable in the early game to work missions and see trade as a useful, but secondary source of income - even with a large cargo capacity like the galtak freighter's. That's not to say early trading isn't viable, it's just it can't compete with making profits of 60-80k+ from a single 2-jump mission from friendly contacts (which can be multiplied with a few stacked missions to similar regions). I also find that the frequency of trade bans at the very start of the game discourages me from opening with trade and the steep price of higher trade permits (relative to the trading profits made on lower-permit goods) means that I don't move back into heavy trading until later in the game.
I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with current balance, but I wouldn't mind tweaks to trade bans (perhaps to make them less frequent right at the start of the game or to increase the bottom threshold for rep loss to something like -20 from -30). I find trade bans are quite off-putting at the start of the game: as a pure trader my priority is to maintain good relations with as many factions as possible and with few contacts to buy pardons from and little cash anyway, losing access to repairs and refuelling in several factions doesn't feel like a worthwhile trade-off.
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Post by fallen on Jan 25, 2018 0:54:03 GMT -5
Interesting stuff - thanks for the feedback!
The larger map of a standard STF game can also make Rumors like Surplus simply harder to chase due to distance.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2018 1:08:02 GMT -5
Interesting stuff - thanks for the feedback! The larger map of a standard STF game can also make Rumors like Surplus simply harder to chase due to distance. I think ST:F has a more balanced system when it comes to these rumours than ST, and is all the better for it... you can't just go from high-level spice hall to high-level spice hall and pick up every rumour there is like in ST, you need to build up crew traits to pick up rumours more quickly. Shortage/surplus seem less frequent to me, although that might be because picking up rumours is slower or because I tend to keep morale high enough to avoid spicing. I think you're right about distance being a big factor too.
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Post by contributor on Jan 25, 2018 3:36:09 GMT -5
I think that @jr8825 brings up a good point. It seems like hitting surplus/shortage rumors that are actionable in ST:F is very rare. Maybe their generation could be bumped up a little.
I'm curious though how are you getting 60-80k 2 jump missions? Are you getting a lot of military rank? Maybe it's the difficulty setting. I seem to get 15k 2 jump missions if I'm lucky.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2018 6:11:42 GMT -5
I think that @jr8825 brings up a good point. It seems like hitting surplus/shortage rumors that are actionable in ST:F is very rare. Maybe their generation could be bumped up a little. I'm curious though how are you getting 60-80k 2 jump missions? Are you getting a lot of military rank? Maybe it's the difficulty setting. I seem to get 15k 2 jump missions if I'm lucky. I usually play on demanding, and I'm thinking there of bounty hunter missions with a death warrant, good reputation with the contact and a couple of ranks - admittedly this is reliant on a good starting ship for combat.
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Post by Cory Trese on Jan 25, 2018 11:11:12 GMT -5
More people are reporting trade success in STF compared to ST RPG by a wide margin.
We improved the STF trading system to what it is today based on an analysis of approx. 10,000 emails on the topic.
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Post by MintDragon on Jan 25, 2018 23:06:23 GMT -5
Sinocelt My current game start strats are: 1. Trade into the ban and make an enemy, over time use patrol to reduce the negative rep. Or not, sometimes don't care about not being popular with a certain faction, depending on my captain 2. Use missions to earn money and get a Level 4 Trade Permit while waiting for the ban to end and yes! agree with contributor and @jr8825 that the rumor system has room for growth/balancing. Would also be super cool if it occasionally dropped a rumor of a story arc location.
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