Ship Sell/Salvage Value Increase

[whitegauntlet]

Right now, even if you buy a ship for 200K credits, don't fly it, and immediately go to sell it, you can only get a few grand back. The same goes for salvaging. $850? Really? A giant spaceship is worth less than one for my suits? I understand one fifth the price, or even a tenth, but the current exchange rate is absurd.

Whitegauntlet has spoken.

[Cory Trese]

Your character's caste is "Star Trader" and in the buying and selling of Ship License, substantially disadvantaged to the Factions and even more so to the Independents.

From a game standpoint, that's heavily influenced by difficulty setting as well. From a balance standpoint, it's darn near perfect.

Now everyone has spoken

[whitegauntlet]

But, it's well nigh the same in the lower levels. I don't see the how that's realistic. It's more balance, but it doesn't make any sense.

Whitegauntlet has spoken, once again. :-P.

[Cory Trese]

What do you mean it doesn't make any sense?

I guess that is on me to better explain the world and draw the players into what I believe is a great setting!

[xdesperado]

Considering how much money you can make other ways in game, the "scrap" value of ships is a joke. Especially when trading in a fully upgraded undamaged ship.

These ship merchants make the slimiest used car dealers look like complete saints. Heck you can get a better deal selling a junk car to a "Pick'n'Pull" type outfit nowadays.

Considering the price of metal on most worlds, you would get more for a ship by really turning it into scrap and selling it as metal than you do selling or trading it in.

On a semi related note it would be nice to be able yo get at least a small "scrap" salvage on ships destroyed in combat. Yes the cargo and components may be wrecked but unless you've managed serious overkill you still have a substantial hunk of metal floating in space.
Maybe you could turn destroyed ships into a random amount of metal.

[ncaoa]

I like the idea of converting ships to base materiale. Perhaps hull/armour= 1/2 metal for every 5 point left.(rounded down).

Sails= 1/2 Crystal for every 5 units left.

[slayernz]

Cory Trese, I have to agree with the other dissenters here. Resale value of ships is pretty shocking. I haven't gotten the example Whitegauntlet got, but I've bought a ship for $500k, and seen its immediate resale value as less than $100k. It makes me think that star trading is the wrong profession - everyone should be used ship salespeople. I'd buy ships for $100k, and sell at $400k pocketing a tidy profit each and every trade with zero risk.

I'm thinking that if your ship is in perfect condition, you should get at least half of what you would have had to pay for it (including all of the upgrades and cargo). It helps offset the fact that you often have to abandon your prized ship in space to take on a new vessel - make that abandonment worth more

[Cory Trese]

OK, I'll take a look at it.

Selling the ship at the Star Dock is, for me, a totally different discussion than the price you're paid by a Faction prize court for Deep Space salvage.

[slayernz]

Oh ... true. deep space salvage doesn't net you much. Nobody reaaaally appreciates things hastily cut up with plasma torches and the occasional laser blast.

[johndramey]

I can understand why players would want a jump in the salvage price of ships, but it would imbalance the game too much. As it is now a pirate can make a huge amount of money just by looting and scrapping ships. If the scrap value went up it would make pirating be pretty darned close to the most profitable enterprise for captains.

Resale value, well yeah that could be tuned a bit. I don't really see it as a problem because I think the ships would lose a lot of value being flown around and patched up as they are, but I guess that could be tweaked a bit. I always consider the steep discount I get to be pretty normal, I figure the poor dock workers gotta tear down my wreck of a ship and make sure everything is working before they sell it to the next rube.

[slayernz]

... and you think you're buying NEW? My Da, he's a ship trader. He know tat the banged up ships you are looking at on the lot have been flying for more years than you realize. Nothing is new. Your current ship was probably flown in the Exodus, and then it had much better technology. I blame those bastards in the dock refurbishment team. They see something shiny and they strip it out for the black market. Now, the typical ship sold in the exchange has so many dodgy parts, I'm surprised that it even gets off the ground! Why else is there such a huge range of after-market upgrades. You'll probably be paying for crap that was pulled out of your ship in the first place!

[xdesperado]

johndramey I wasn't talking about the scrap value of ships that you've managed to capture and loot their cargo. I was talking about all those ships you didn't get to loot because a Torp, missplaced gun salvo or boarding damage punched out the hull.
When this happens to your ship you get a message saying you've been killed by a hull colapse. Meaning there was still considerable wreckege left from what used to be a ship. Now if it said you and the ship disintegrated in a blinding explosion that might be another story.

Considering that Metals, Crystals and Chemicals are some of the most valuable non-restricted trade goods, reclaiming them from said wreckage should be no worse a proposition than harvesting said materials on a planet. You know exactly where its located and there isn't any nasty criters to chew you up.

Perhaps a ship upgrade is in order.
Space Salvage Equipment
Small increase in salvage value of looted ships and ability to get some salvage even from ships "destroyed" in combat.

Possible new officer.
Salvage Expert
Increases salvage values, possible chance of creating metal/crystal/chemical when ships are scraped.

[slayernz]

Ooo ... good ideas both!
Salvager upgrade
Salvage Officer.

They would fit very nicely into the eco system and wouldn't break things .

[johndramey]

xdesperado - ah, I see now. Those upgrades/officers are an awesome idea!

[whitegauntlet]

+1 to a Salvage Officer.

Cory, the salvage value was a side note. My concern mostly lies in the resell value of a ship in mint condition, I agree with slayernz; it should be one half. That includes trade-in values.