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Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
62
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Posted - 2014.05.17 16:39:00 -
[1] - Quote
tl;dr: Give players an easier way to create plastic wrap containers without abusing courier contracts
Long-winded explanation follows:
Doing supply runs for a corp or alliance tends not to be the most satisfying from a gameplay perspective. It is a rather tedious profession for people with masochistic tendencies.
One of the many problems stems from the fact that not everyone has a jita alt to simply courier contract their purchases. Corporations often organize orders though a webshop interface, but someone still has to buy the items and correctly separate them again at the destination. This gets very tedious as more people order more items and there is more room for mistakes.
An alternative would be separating orders in containers, one container per order. However, some container types don't play well with jumpfreighters. It also introduces a lot of wasted space. Space is expensive on JF.
Enter plastic wraps. As a workaround, it has become common to courier contract items to an alt. This results in a plastic wrap container. The container can be renamed and doesn't waste any space. The plastic wrap containers are then traded back to the JF pilot, shipped, and contracted whole to the receiving player.
This workaround creates its own problems however. Here's the absolute minimum number of steps required for an in-corp alt:
- Items in deliveries are courier contracted to the alt
- Alt accepts contract for corp
- JF pilot takes the plastic wrap, renames it to make it recognizable
- alt fails the courier contract
- JF pilot deletes the contract
I consider it an abuse of game mechanics, but it's still vastly preferable to the alternatives. Therefore, I propose to make it easier to access. |
Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
116
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Posted - 2014.05.18 13:28:00 -
[2] - Quote
Petrified wrote: Why are either party failing the contract? I usually find it simpler to: JF pilot couriers to Alt who couriers back to the JF pilot. The JF Pilot delivers the package and then the alt delivers it again. No failed contracts on record.
Completing a courier contract destroys the plastic wrap container, but the plastic wrap container is what I'm after. I don't want to break the container (aka deliver the courier contract) at the destination because all items will just mix with other deliveries, my own stocks and trading stocks.
It is also much neater for the people receiving the goods. They get a nice present with their name on it, they can break the wrapping now or have a ready made package for later. |
Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
155
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Posted - 2014.05.19 10:00:00 -
[3] - Quote
Arya Regnar wrote:Fix unscannable double wraps too please.
That's only tangentially connected to a better UI solution for creating plastic wrap. I don't have any stake in that mechanic, so I'd recommend making a separate thread about it. |
Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
185
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Posted - 2014.05.29 15:30:00 -
[4] - Quote
Maximus Aerelius wrote: I'd say make it an NPC seeded item to start with from each of the Empires main Courier\Hauling corporations (I've read EVE Source, they exist!) and this will add an ISK sink in as well. Not too expensive but not dirt cheap either.
Eventually add this as a schematic or something to PI or a BPO that uses PI goods and voila, another thing to make, build, sell.
That is exactly the kind of overhead I want to get rid of. I didn't make this thread to make logistics more tedious. |
Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
186
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Posted - 2014.05.29 17:25:00 -
[5] - Quote
Kasli Catal wrote:I like this idea. It might make most freight containers obsolete though. Why use a set of 50k cans that you only fill part way to separate items for different clients when you can custom wrap them.
But that is already the case. Plastic wraps are functionally superior if you are using them as shipping crates.
I mean, there are a few reason why I'd want containers:
I want to use magical hyperspace to store more stuff in a hauler I want to separate cargo in my ship cargo hold (refitting mods) and need to put things in them and take things out I want airtight shipping crates (plastic wrap) and don't need to modify the crate after creating it I want a container for security (audit log etc) I want to organize my personal hangar Giving a simple right click stack -> wrap in plastic option (account for the need to also add ships) doesn't change the picture. I am not proposing wild functional divergence, I'm perfectly fine with the current mechanics beyond UX gripes with the process of creating those shipping crates. The use cases for other types of containers are still valid and aren't touched on. |
Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
186
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Posted - 2014.05.30 07:06:00 -
[6] - Quote
Reaver Glitterstim wrote:Plastic wrap is when you place a courier contract package into a courier contract. The goods inside cannot be scanned and the package has the same volume as the goods inside.
The proposal is to allow a system to put things into a package of any size that is unscannable, without the use of courier contracts.
No it isn't, and I don't care about that mechanic.
The base problem of organizing corp/alliance logistics is the inability to separate shipments for different people in a way that does not waste space without first creating a courier contract to an alt and using the resulting plastic wrap.
This is purely a UX/UI problem. I have not proposed a specific solution on purpose because I am not a UI designer and don't know Eve's backend. However, some possible ones come to mind:
- Context Menu Item. Select multiple items, right click -> plastic wrap ; Items are packaged into a shipping crate
- A a flexible volume container that shrinks and expands when items are put in or taken out. Probably the nicest solution, but perhaps unwanted because it obsoletes half of Eve's containers
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Batolemaeus
Free-Space-Ranger Nulli Secunda
190
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Posted - 2014.05.30 20:33:00 -
[7] - Quote
I have amended the original post to make it clearer. As clear as my wall of text can be. Maybe. Hopefully. |
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