Phoenix Pryde
   |
Posted - 2005.03.14 15:51:00 -
[1]
I guess Shreven will go and hunt me down after what i write now, but i guess i ll just be bold 
- Transporters may be t2 industrials, but as much they are a new CLASS of ships!
The dont just do what the normal Indies do, and that better. They are meant for something different. Its the same with t2 ship classes actually. The t2 classes often have very specialized roles, and often they aint just 'better' then their t1 equivalents, but rather simply 'different', and in that way better.
Now i do agree that if you simply look at hauling capacity, then the t2 indies clearly are NO real improvement, or just very minor, unlikely to be worth the extra cost.
BUT, obviously the Devs didnt want them to be just '_ber-haulers' carrying twice as much as normal indies.
They gave them a very special role. Survival.
This role, they definitely fill way better then normal indies. No doubt about that.
The point is. Thats not what most expected from t2 indies, or wished from them. The basically most important feat of an indy is its cargo capacity. And thats what everybody wanted to see increased with t2 indies.
The obvious fact is, the Devs thought otherwise 
Thats the real concern here. Players didnt got what they wanted or expected.
For myself i think these Transporters have their uses. Very specialized, but nevertheless. I am about to buy one, and no .. no Impel or Occator .. a Mastodon .. but admittably that has racial reasons.
 Quote:
Secondly, the big corps in 0.0 aren't hauling 300m in mins. They're hauling 3-5 BILLION ISK worth of mins in an indy to empire. You can bet your ass that that ship will NEVER see pvp. It has a scout, and its low slots full of warp core stabs, it's mids are a tank. That ship will probably become an occator or Impel: and it will NEVER be shot at. Regular hauling ops will remain mostly Mk. Vs. In order for those Mk. Vs to be replaced by DS Transports, they have to address what Mk. V pilots want/need out of an indy...
Dont you think thats exactly what a Transport can even do better ?
You damn surely will try to stay out of any pvp with your Transport/Hauler ... but for the rare chance of a pirate maybe nevertheless getting near you, or gate rats sniping at you i d definitely feel safer in one of the new Transporters.
So to sum up, i think:
- Transporters are usefull, they just only have a rather small niche market
- Transporters are NOT what ppl expected from t2 indies. That fact alone does not make them bad.
- If you simply aim for more cargospace then the current Transporters are not what you really want, or whats cost effective for a hauler.
- The cost factor is the same as for any t2 ships. BPO owners usually dont lower prices out of their good heart. They want to make as much money as possible. Therefore the only thing that really sets the price is they playerdemand and what players are willing to pay. Due to 'inflation' (or however you call the fact that ppl have more money then ever) some ppl simply do not mind paying rather high prices, which keeps them rather high.
Problems or possible Solutions imo are:
- Like the t1 indies the Transporters are racially imbalanced more then any other ship class. (That surely is an issue, and due to smae skill requs likely larger then with t1 indies.)
- I would like to see the Transporter get more balanced racialy, but not much changed in their initial concept.
- Concerning larger hauling capacity i would NOT tweak Transports towards that, but rather introduce a SECOND class of t2 indies with the specialisation on cargospace.
- Ultimatley i d like to see/hear what the Devs say to the current situation and what exactly is planned in industrial/Freighter terms before i d decide how much i like or dislike Transports
/me now searches for a rock to hide under
XTECH t2 sales: www.ii-inc.org/xtech |