Praetoriax

In reply to the first post of the Administrator.... This (change) pretty much removes the need for trade ships and reduces the (player) economy to a minor sidenote in the game. This will result in even fewer players as there is virtually no eco. Then again, with an open PVP map, eco players (traders) were already scared of. Because a high server population would make hauling near impossible. And I do believe that many players want to see a more human-, rather than automated driven economy. Instead of reinventing the wheel I strongly recommend taking a look at the original 'Pirates of the Burning Sea' model (and I would be delighted to elaborate more if dev's ask). For both Eco and pvp/pve. Originally it was perfectly balanced and all if it on just one server model! (current 'potbs' model is crap after SOE, as always, screwed up their game). There was plenty of room for pve/eco players to manoeuvre in as well as pvp players to gank/hunt/conquer and grind, and all of it driven by real player economy. The new/proposed changes basically puts the economy in the hands of the conquerors/fighter instead of eco players. The more ports you cap the more resources you get (automatically without effort or need for trade) and yes you instantly poop out ships. Meaning that smaller clans will have the hardest time to grow while big clans grower faster and easier the bigger they get. A good design would have this the other way around, the bigger you become the harder it should be to maintain your size.... When I supported NA over 4 years ago I was expecting something closer to 'Pirates of the Burning Sea' but without the crap that broke the game in later stages, not something that's starting to resemble Planetside 2. Now the Dev's are at liberty to 'plot this course' for their game, but I think its doing more harm than good. Having said that I do not have a major issue with the DLC ships, especially with the above proposed changes as player eco is basically being phased out according the admin's post. And ship building becomes super easy and fast, especially for big clans with plenty of ports and a giant conveyor belts pushing the resources to mass produce fleets. This model actually forces players, not member of a major clan, to buy DLC ships as they cannot compete with the automated eco of the big clans. But a suggestion I made that has gotten good response is to increase the reclaim timer by 24 hrs per rate. So 7th rate every 24 hrs, 6th rate every 48, 5th rate 72... etc. As an alternative to some of the DLC (or simply prevent the game from being overrun/flooded by DLC. Which by the way cost big bucks just to publish each on steam), and I really do hope the devs take this to heart, is to the introduce a premium membership. I am all for the dev's raising money, its why they do it and there is no shame in it! We all need to pay the bills. But instead of selling more DLC ships and perks (and I do want a few of them!) a more sustainable approach would be memberships. I bet the majority of gamers would be more than happy to pay 5 dollars a month for their account and alts each!! to receive acces to some of the (non ship) DLC. Admiralty/paint and flags DLC are a good start, throw in an extra 5% xp/currency reward and you'll be selling premium memberships like no tomorrow without upsetting player economy. I hope my ideas and picking up some very good concept from 'potbs' gains traction. If you agree or disagree please post supported comments (and not rantings) below.