After figuring out how discounts and premiums are calculated I see that the highest value contract that could be offered is a platinum contract with a gain of about 500 000 credits.
But think of how much space you'd need to hold that kind of shipment. While metals and gems are dense, at some point they'd start taking up significant amounts of room in your ship. The largest platinum contract is just under nine and a half metric tons of metal. Now, how much volume would that take up?
EDIT: Statement retracted. That's not even half a cubic meter of platinum.
Dream as if you'll live forever
Live as if you'll die tomorrow
While metals and gems are dense, at some point they'd start taking up significant amounts of room in your ship.
It is even very interesting were those metals are stored in your ship: When you take the contract it is stored in your cargo bay. When taking a 4000 kg contract you see it using 4 tons of your bay. After launch that room is freed up again and those metals don't take any cargo space.
Most likely is that is is transferred to the escape pod. And that makes sense as those kgrs and grs items are preserved when using the pod, while the tons cargo is lost with the ship.
I only ask myself if such a pod that is designed to land with 1 person, can land safely with 4 tons of metal on board?
Who says that the pod lands? It always docks with the nearest station, so no landing is involved.
The vault and escape pod might be incorporated. It wouldn't surprise me. However, when ships are destroyed, metals and gems are in cargo containers, not escape pods.
Might it be possible to script a pod so that it does include those items? I think it might be. I'll have to test this.
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Live as if you'll die tomorrow
Who says that the pod lands? It always docks with the nearest station, so no landing is involved.
I've never seen that, but I've seen many pods entering a planets atmosphere. However, it's true, if I were in such a pod, I'd rather have it dock with the next station...
I've never seen that, but I've seen many pods entering a planets atmosphere. However, it's true, if I were in such a pod, I'd rather have it dock with the next station...
I never knew that. I've never left a pod alone for long enough to see what it does. I scoop them immediately.
I was referring to the fact that the player pod will immediately dock with the nearest station (or carrier?).
Dream as if you'll live forever
Live as if you'll die tomorrow
Certainly Drew references escape pods docking at stations.. maybe this behaviour should be altered, it certainly makes the most sense I think..
Re precious gems etc. disappearing.. I've always just though they get put in the ship's safe, as the game documentation suggests, and thus don't appear in the cargo-hold manifest.
Must be one helluva big safe though...
Then there's the issue of whether the mass ought to count against the available cargo capacity.. I'm inclined to think not... the safe takes up its allocated volume, full or empty. As for performance impact.. the ship performs identically empty or laden, so why worry?
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
