Forums » Suggestions
Escorts
I'd love to be able to hire AI ships to escort me, for 1/10 their price per hour. Their cargo space would stack with mine, and they could fight to defend me, or the other way around.
Just think of having a couple of busses follow you around while you're asteroid minng to help haul all your stuff back to a station!
Just think of having a couple of busses follow you around while you're asteroid minng to help haul all your stuff back to a station!
This is something the devs are planning on adding in the "near" future.
i think a dev suggested premoting escorting in general, using either players and/or npc interchangably.
the pricing suggested at the top of this thread doesn't really leave any room for player escorts. the cost of the escort ship is not really the issue. for players it is an issue of time. what could they have earned otherwise having invested the same amount of time and risk.
the cost of escorts vs the lack of cost justification for escorts is currently the bigger issue. there are no trade runs requiring an escort that are sufiently more profitable than trade runs that don't require an escort. escorts are not cost effective.
escorts don't carry cargo. if a npc carries cargo, it isn't an escort, it's a transport. and again, the pricing needs to be somewhat inline with the cost of hiring a player, or every one will just hire as many npc transport as they can.
in many ways, they devs have done a good job with the npc's ai, to the point that they are probably worth hiring. since it can be difficult to determine what an npc should charge, it might be best if they simply made a limited number of npcs available, that hired out to the highest bidder. the more limited the number of hirable npcs, the more honest the bidding.
the pricing suggested at the top of this thread doesn't really leave any room for player escorts. the cost of the escort ship is not really the issue. for players it is an issue of time. what could they have earned otherwise having invested the same amount of time and risk.
the cost of escorts vs the lack of cost justification for escorts is currently the bigger issue. there are no trade runs requiring an escort that are sufiently more profitable than trade runs that don't require an escort. escorts are not cost effective.
escorts don't carry cargo. if a npc carries cargo, it isn't an escort, it's a transport. and again, the pricing needs to be somewhat inline with the cost of hiring a player, or every one will just hire as many npc transport as they can.
in many ways, they devs have done a good job with the npc's ai, to the point that they are probably worth hiring. since it can be difficult to determine what an npc should charge, it might be best if they simply made a limited number of npcs available, that hired out to the highest bidder. the more limited the number of hirable npcs, the more honest the bidding.
Even with the current AI, NPCs wouldn't be able to protect a moth unless it gets a serious armor boost.
If you want real protection, hire a player.
If you want real protection, hire a player.
Not even players can defend a Behemoth, though, if the pirate strikes first; they just fall apart too easily.
But yes, NPC escorts, miners and traders for hire are coming. How that will work out, we'll find out Soon(TM).
But yes, NPC escorts, miners and traders for hire are coming. How that will work out, we'll find out Soon(TM).
Price through the escort system: 1/3 Ship cost + 1,000/minute. This would be enough to make escort missions worthwhile for both traders and escorters, though the better players would still demand more for their time.
This post moved here: http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/14252 .
Price through the escort system: 1/3 Ship cost + 1,000/minute. This would be enough to make escort missions worthwhile for both traders and escorters, though the better players would still demand more for their time.
Perhaps it should depend on the type of escort... I'd have a hard time justifying 1,000cr/minute on a free bus if I was using it to haul ore.
On the other hand the price of a third of a Valk to make it safely through a blockade or war zone well may be worth it.
Perhaps it should depend on the type of escort... I'd have a hard time justifying 1,000cr/minute on a free bus if I was using it to haul ore.
On the other hand the price of a third of a Valk to make it safely through a blockade or war zone well may be worth it.