Perhaps the 'Special' contracts attract bigger risk to make you think twice about accepting them.
I think this is stretching to oxp territory - sounds a bit like New_Cargoes.oxp
Tightening up the parcel/cargo delivery system sounds a sensible progression for this mechanic to stop it getting too 'uber'. Yes we all want to see those Cr signs in our eyes, but I for one would like to feel I've earned it I tend to 'fail' some of my commander's deliveries just to keep the offers in 'moderate' territory.
Tightening up the parcel/cargo delivery system sounds a sensible progression for this mechanic to stop it getting too 'uber'. Yes we all want to see those Cr signs in our eyes, but I for one would like to feel I've earned it...
I certainly feel I've earned my parcel courier fees - they don't need tightening up.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
My point of view on this has always been that if you have ended up doing a fair amount of planning that you wouldn't have done otherwise and traveled quite a bit around the chart (or charts) in order to fulfill multiple contracts, then right there you've got a game mechanic that has worked its part, offered to the player the amount of entertainment that corresponded to it and if the compensation for all this happens to be high, so be it.
In short, I agree with Cody that it really doesn't need tweaking at this point in time.
My point of view on this has always been that if you have ended up doing a fair amount of planning that you wouldn't have done otherwise and traveled quite a bit around the chart (or charts) in order to fulfill multiple contracts, then right there you've got a game mechanic that has worked its part, offered to the player the amount of entertainment that corresponded to it and if the compensation for all this happens to be high, so be it.
In short, I agree with Cody that it really doesn't need tweaking at this point in time.
There is, though, the issue that a player can have an excellent reputation for moving small parcels, but on the cargo contracts screen they don't get offered any jobs transporting small packages of precious metals and gems because they haven't built up a reputation hauling large quantities (usually too big to fit into a Cobra III) of machinery and radioactives.
It's an oddity, no more - although it is maybe worth noting that the cargo contracts screen is the one part of the core game which doesn't assume that the player is flying a Cobra III. (Admittedly, it's been a long time since I looked at the cargo contracts screen - it may be that it's not so hard to find 35T-and-smaller contracts now, allowing a Cobra III pilot the chance to develop a reputation in this area. But in the past, if you wanted to develop your cargo-contract reputation, you pretty much had to buy a bigger ship.)
Smallest cargo contract on offer for a Jameson is 42t (I just checked) - so yeah, something may need tweaking there.
Hmm ... I don't know how reputations are calculated, but if it's a straight (1 delivery completed) = (+ to reputation), we'd have to be a bit careful: a big ship could hoover up a lot of small deliveries and get a very big reputation boost very quickly.
If the reputation increase (and penalty for failure) is linked to the value of the delivery in a non-linear way, though, it would be more interesting - so e.g. making one 25,000Cr delivery on time would score a higher reputation boost than making five 5,000Cr deliveries on time. That way, it would take a Cobra III a lot longer than, say, a Python, to gain a top cargo-contract reputation, but it would still be possible.
There is, though, the issue that a player can have an excellent reputation for moving small parcels, but on the cargo contracts screen they don't get offered any jobs transporting small packages of precious metals and gems because they haven't built up a reputation hauling large quantities (usually too big to fit into a Cobra III) of machinery and radioactives.
It's an oddity, no more - although it is maybe worth noting that the cargo contracts screen is the one part of the core game which doesn't assume that the player is flying a Cobra III. (Admittedly, it's been a long time since I looked at the cargo contracts screen - it may be that it's not so hard to find 35T-and-smaller contracts now, allowing a Cobra III pilot the chance to develop a reputation in this area. But in the past, if you wanted to develop your cargo-contract reputation, you pretty much had to buy a bigger ship.)
Cody wrote:
Smallest cargo contract on offer for a Jameson is 42t (I just checked) - so yeah, something may need tweaking there.
Sub-35TC cargo contracts are considerably less common than the bigger quantities, but they do exist. I've taken a Commander from 0 to max cargo rep with just a Cobra III several times. You just have to search harder for the jobs, and sometimes need a little luck. I'd like to see the odds tweaked just a touch easier, but it's not too bad.
Most games have some sort of paddling-pool-and-water-wings beginning to ease you in: Oolite takes the rather more Darwinian approach of heaving you straight into the ocean, often with a brick or two in your pockets for luck. ~ Disembodied
I tend to 'fail' some of my commander's deliveries just to keep the offers in 'moderate' territory.
