The coming age of the personal space station.

[Pleb]

Perhaps this could be a way of combining two of my OXPs. I am still trying to iron out the bugs so I can finally release a fully working JS copy of my Taxi Galactica OXP, which has Taxi Stations throughout the 8 galaxies. If you could purchase shares in the company or invest in the company, it could give you access to certain advantages but not necessarily a cut of the company's profits? This seems to be the main thing that is annoying people, the idea of getting money for nothing.

[Smivs]

This seems to be the main thing that is annoying people, the idea of getting money for nothing.

Well, it is a bit of a 'cheat' in some ways, and the fact is an established Commander will already have ample funds and is able to make more easily.
Perhaps this idea could be combined with the suggested Tax OXP, so that investment income as you propose is taxed.
Some sort of Corporation Tax at 50% or even 75% would address most of the issues raised.

[Disembodied]

Perhaps this could be a way of combining two of my OXPs. I am still trying to iron out the bugs so I can finally release a fully working JS copy of my Taxi Galactica OXP, which has Taxi Stations throughout the 8 galaxies. If you could purchase shares in the company or invest in the company, it could give you access to certain advantages but not necessarily a cut of the company's profits? This seems to be the main thing that is annoying people, the idea of getting money for nothing.

Could be ... this might complicate things but it could make things more interesting if there were two (or more) rival taxi corporations. The player could opt to join a firm, or play rivals off against each other as a freelance contractor.

[Diziet Sma]

... Personally I think a better use for this sort of OXP would be to enable the player to help make a physical change to the galaxy: the reward would be wholly (or almost wholly) psychological.

... I think something like this would be the best way to go: having a station build up slowly over several stages and eventually creating a trading post which might even change the planetary economy and/or system description.

E.g. converting Anarchies into Corporate States?

Speaking as an anarchist myself, I would regard that as an incredibly retrograde step..

[Pleb]

... Personally I think a better use for this sort of OXP would be to enable the player to help make a physical change to the galaxy: the reward would be wholly (or almost wholly) psychological.

... I think something like this would be the best way to go: having a station build up slowly over several stages and eventually creating a trading post which might even change the planetary economy and/or system description.

E.g. converting Anarchies into Corporate States?

Speaking as an anarchist myself, I would regard that as an incredibly retrograde step..

I agree, I'd rather convert a Corporate system into an Anarchy system...more fun!

Perhaps this could be a way of combining two of my OXPs. I am still trying to iron out the bugs so I can finally release a fully working JS copy of my Taxi Galactica OXP, which has Taxi Stations throughout the 8 galaxies. If you could purchase shares in the company or invest in the company, it could give you access to certain advantages but not necessarily a cut of the company's profits? This seems to be the main thing that is annoying people, the idea of getting money for nothing.

Could be ... this might complicate things but it could make things more interesting if there were two (or more) rival taxi corporations. The player could opt to join a firm, or play rivals off against each other as a freelance contractor.

This is a very good idea I didn't think of setting up a rival faction but I first need to figure out why the addPassenger function does not work with variables...then maybe I can finally release Taxi Galactica OXP!

[SandJ]

E.g. converting Anarchies into Corporate States?

Speaking as an anarchist myself, I would regard that as an incredibly retrograde step..

I agree, it's what made me think of it. I cannot imagine a more frightening future than corporate states. Do you actually want to help make this change...? There's Credits in there for you?

[Disembodied]

I cannot imagine a more frightening future than corporate states.

Never mind: you'll be able to take your mind off it this summer by watching the £11bn, taxpayer-funded, Grand Festival of PE and Advertising for the World's Worst Corporations™.

[Commander McLane]

I cannot imagine a more frightening future than corporate states.

Never mind: you'll be able to take your mind off it this summer by watching the £11bn, taxpayer-funded, Grand Festival of PE and Advertising for the World's Worst Corporations™.

For a second or so I was wondering how you know the total price tag of the US presidential campaign, and why you gave the number in pounds.

Only then it dawned on me that there is another festival this summer in Great Britain.

---------

On another note, don't you just love how there is henceforth no difference between a People's Republic and a Corporate State? Because corporations are people, my friend.

[SandJ]

Never mind: you'll be able to take your mind off it this summer by watching the £11bn, taxpayer-funded, Grand Festival of PE and Advertising for the World's Worst Corporations™.

And now featuring the New and Approved Drug Cheats. Were Giving the Kids the Right Message 2012™: eat burgers, drink cola, but take drugs and be a Winner anyway!

[CommonSenseOTB]

As part of a mission to get a space station built that would be cool. As for investment, one could apply that to any kind of oxp like say a company that builds a certain kind of missile you like that isn't available on most main stations and spending money to lobby enough stations would result in them being available for sale in that galaxy. Money spent, no future income for nothing, just the opportunity to spend more money on something you like. This could also be applied to a shipbuilding company which after enough investment from you for R&D comes up with a ship you like and you can then spend even more money to buy it. And in both cases, once it's available to you, it's available to others. Money for nothing is a big no-no for gameplay. But I ask you, what is the real reason for wanting or needing to have your own station? I can only think of one, related to a game like Morrowind where you can buy a house and the purpose is a place to rest and store excess items and trophies. That's it. Well we don't need to rest in oolite and we can always go to the main station to get what we need so let's start there. Extra role playing possibilities such as always being a fugitive would go hand in hand with this. You're a badass pirate and can't go to the main station so you commandeer a rock hermit in a lawless system as your own base. Doesn't make you money but after considerable expense to obtain a network to fence your pirated goods it becomes a good way to make a living from your pirated cargo. So perhaps the start of such a grand oxp as pirates would be to have an oxp that makes rock hermits buyable and once bought use it as a garage or base of operations. The other part of the equation to store excess items and trophies would have to be developed. For example, maybe Random Hits could create trophies occasionally as debris that could be collected and viewed from a mission screen. They could take up space and eventually you would need someplace bigger to put them. Could make it easy by having an easy shipping option at all main stations that once you have your own base the option is there to "ship" goods, equipment, and trophies or even knick knacks from the main station's souvenir shop directly to your base which requires you to spend even more money and this supports good gameplay mechanics. Always give the player something to spend the extra money on which gives the incentive to keep earning it through normal gameplay.

Every once in awhile you head to your home base and admire your trophies, deal with excess goods and equipment, work on ships you've bought and sent here(like the hobby of restoring old muscle cars), etc.

Some oxp's could cause some ships to have "strange debris" in thier wreckage and after collecting a few dozen or more pieces it might be worth your while to hire some techs or scientists, available for hire from hi-tech systems(spend more money) to see if they can put some of the pieces together or reverse engineer something from analyzing various bits. This could be very interesting as a motivator to explore all 8 galaxies.

As long as there are interesting and cool ways to spend your money that you've earned through the normal day to day play mechanics, stations that you own could be a good idea as a place to store things primarily trophies, goods, ships and equipment, all bought and sent there by shipping that you pay for at the main station when you are far away from your base.

A low end alternative to buying a rock hermit could be to rent hangar space at a main station which can hold a large ship plus a certain amount of cargo space or a total set amount of space. The rent would be low in low tech anarchy systems and high in high tech corporate states. One could "ship" things to this rented hangar space as well from anywhere for a price.

There are lots of possibilities with this that could be fun.