The Cosmopolite
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Posted - 2005.07.12 13:21:00 -
[1]
I support the idea of light freighters in the 50-100k m3 range.
Here is why...
First Skills:
Freighter skills (Amarr for example)
Advanced Spaceship Command I
Spaceship Command V
Amarr Freighter I
Amarr Industrial V
Amarr Frigate III
That is months on a dedicated training programme quite apart from learning skills and other ship handling skills they would need to function adequately. We all know that for this reason alone new players are not getting their hands on Freighters in the way they can with BS.
What change to skill reqs should a Light Freighter have?
Well, I suggest a single change, from Amarr Freighter I (a ferocious rank 10 skill) to Amarr Light Freighter I (at rank 7 - 3 above industrial, 3 below Freighter.
It's still a high level of skill requirements and it also stops people from accessing two distinct classes of ship from one ship class skill. If a Light Freighter pilot ever wants to advance to Freighters proper, they'll have to train the specific skill. This balances the lesser requirement for Light Freighters.
Most of the training time for access is in racial industrial and spaceship command. The training time for development of the ship through its bonuses is still substantial.
Second, role
Main roles of Freighter class
1) Transport of Capital Ship components
2) Transport of Outpost components
3) Transport of eye-popping amounts of minerals and fuels
4) Transport of very large numbers of small components and tools
5) Transport of packaged ships for relocation and/or trade
6) Transport of huge volumes of modules for trade
7) Wholesale corporate relocations
Just a few that occur, there are of course many other things you could do, the above just seem to be the operations such a superbulk cargo vessel would excel in.
Note that transport of the components for a single dreadnought will take 3-4 trips of a Freighter (depending on the end result of the cargo volume nerf). Therefore a Light Freighter could require 30-50 trips to carry out the same task.
This goes for outpost components and while a large volume of minerals and components for trade could be shipped with a Light Freighter it does not threaten the purpose of shipping minerals/small components/fuels to an outpost construction rig or in the bulk required for cap ship/outpost component manufacturing.
A light freighter would also not threaten the function of transporting large classes of ships in bulk. Certainly smaller packaged ships such as frigates and cruisers could be moved with some efficiency with a light freighter but not really the larger classes.
I would grant that you could transport large numbers of modules with a Light Freighter but the truth is that midlevel manufacturers simply do not need a Freighter for that purpose. Only the superproducers would really need a Freighter and then only, I would suspect, to supply markets in other regions.
Likewise, corporate relocations are a matter of taste with what to take, recycle, sell, trash. Moderately sized corps might well use a Light Freighter for the purpose but again, it's not really going to be the most frequent use of a Freighter in any event.
Third, construction.
Make them require a proportionate amount of capital ship components and there is no issue - Freighter builders can make these too and I would bet make more money overall than if they only sold Freighters.
Fourth, the mining issue.
Simple - make them station to station only. (This is my personal view and also a realistic view: CCP, I suspect, simply do not want a ship capable of picking up more than a maxed out Iteron V can from an ore belt.)
The truth is, both from a skills requirement basis, purposes and construction, there is no threat whatsoever to Eve's economy or player base from such a class as the Light Freighter.
In fact, such a class would enhance the economy. Now, I doubt it will come soon but CCP should watch carefully as I believe the gap between indies and freighters will only highlight the need.
Cosmo
Jericho Fraction - CEO: Jade Constantine |