Cargo runs

[Kamo]

In the whole first ten pages of the Suggestion sub-forum, there is no suggestion for cargo runs, though it's an essential of trading, especially from sector to sector.

Like a lot of ideas it can be implemented in various, more or less complicated ways.

 

Minimal UI Work-Way: Limited Supply Cargo Run

An order you can give to any ship with cargo, which'll make it similar to a standard NPC cargo runner. Pretty simple (the AI's still there), though it won't be much of a remedy against Supply Failures. Alternatively, the cargo runner will be given an "order" for a random good (like, this farm has 1456/3000 water, so the order is 1544 water), so a tenacious player would get rid a station of Supply Failures by assigning it half a dozen cargo runners. Or at least he could try, which is better than doing nothing :-\.

 

Easy Way: Automatic Supply Cargo Run

An order you can give to any ship with cargo, which'll make it similar to a standard NPC cargo runner, but this time the player would choose the good to haul. Remedies Supply Failures, though it may cause droughts of the supplied good to other stations ::).

 

Still Kind of Easy Way: Automatic Cargo Run

Like the previous one, but this time the player would choose either the maximum price of the good, or the percent of the goods to use from the supplier station in relation to its max or current amount, similarly to in the X-series. Remedies Supply Failures while not causing droughts, if used wisely, and allows the player to make nice amount of money by trading at usual player cargo run prices :).

 

Cool Way: Manual Cargo Run

An order you can give to any ship with cargo, but has to be set beforehand, each ship having a "cargo running manifest" being a series of orders like "buy/sell/take/give x (%?) good, from y station (optional), to z station (also optional)", repeated in a cycle. Needs some serious UI work though ;).

 

Adorable Way: Smart Cargo Run

Manual Cargo Run with a new order: "supply x station with y good (optional) when station stock lower than z (%?)", allowing Supply Cargo Runs that can take priority over "routine" cargo runs. Will also allow a cargo runner to be specialized in fixing several stations' Supply Failures, definitively ending the problem altogether with the least amount of needed ships :D.

[tz7yo3g]

On one hand maybe it makes sense for some AI control to be not in because it's multiplayer and having players work with you to do stuff would totally work and be fun easily in avorion, especially since it runs well in multiplayer. However for the times when no one is there or when, like I did to play on a big server, offer my cordial services as a cargo runner and scout and be ignored by everyone :D possibly because they didn't realize how easy it would be for one player to ship stuff for another, so I went off to explore and trade with the best sounding AI faction personality.

 

For this idea though AI control would be great especially in the very well done levels you're suggesting. I really like it, and maybe the material colors also suggest another idea : AI computer control blocks or modules, that would limit the level of what the ship could do by itself at the most, or maybe less flexibly, only each color can do that thing and nothing else. That would give you flexibility and balance. To limit min maxing, if you try adding more than one material type AI control block with others, it either drains crazy power, or adds crazy mass or something.  And you could still be as creative as you want with your option levels here if you are in the late game and have all the materials.

[Kamo]

For this idea though AI control would be great especially in the very well done levels you're suggesting. I really like it, and maybe the material colors also suggest another idea : AI computer control blocks or modules, that would limit the level of what the ship could do by itself at the most, or maybe less flexibly, only each color can do that thing and nothing else. That would give you flexibility and balance. To limit min maxing, if you try adding more than one material type AI control block with others, it either drains crazy power, or adds crazy mass or something.  And you could still be as creative as you want with your option levels here if you are in the late game and have all the materials.

 

UGH, material this material that ! I'd also like low-technology player empires to stop being nerfed >:(. We have low-level cargo space (due to tiny stations) and recruitable crew amounts, bad jump capability due to bad energy generation (from Irongrade vessels), no hangars (please implement them too koon!) so no cargo shuttles and station "complexes", etc.

AI control blocks with capabilities limited to material blocks would nerf them even more so it would be even more laborious and counterproductive to make business deals in the Iron Wastes :(. I know there has to be an impetus to encourage players to go towards the core, but this'd become ridiculous.

 

Also story-wise the captains we hire aren't AIs, we recruit them in stations, so it doesn't make sense at all to limit their abilities with a block.

Maybe those good old Trading Modules may be an alternative, but it would be like the actual Turret Control Module hunt. At least it would allow smarter cargo runners in Iron or Titanium ships.

[tz7yo3g]

Sorry, gotta admit my inexperience with the game sometimes, so a lot of what I say can be just in concept. I agree with what you're saying about both iron and the immediate pull toward the core.

[unbekannt1984]

Hi Kamo,

 

At least it would allow smarter cargo runners in Iron or Titanium ships.

there are just 2 types of automated cargo runners: Cargo-Shuttles (which you can't use without hangars) and Goods Hauler (MOD https://www.avorion.net/forum/index.php/topic,2896.0.html), the rest of those freighters is just the RNG trolling you.

 

Well, Goods Hauler won't work for you, if you want to get stuff from NPC-Stations, it is currently not allowed to make losses (so the selling faction would need to use Goods Hauler).