The big GamesCom interview with Bernd - Comments

[Ketraar]

I also remember reading somewhere about undetectable scout drones, so that may be a thing too. But yeah not much real info that would give a clue how it would work, in any case its better then not having any discounts or stuff like that. Sounds like the trade is getting some very much needed attention.

MFG

Ketraar

[VincentTH]

I also remember reading somewhere about undetectable scout drones, so that may be a thing too. But yeah not much real info that would give a clue how it would work, in any case its better then not having any discounts or stuff like that. Sounds like the trade is getting some very much needed attention.

MFG

Ketraar

IMHO, I think what Bernd said may have been this:

- Discount on price in XR means below average price in X3, and vice versa, Sell for more in XR means above average in X3?
- In X3, without the Trading System Extension, you can see a gauge of the stock of a station, and therefore can guess at the price range. And with the TSE, you can see exactly how many and at what price they are.
- In XR, you have to scan a station for that information?

[bluenog143]

So many different possible ideas for what Bernd actually meant. Just that one topic about station scanning for prices/discounts could have taken up the entire interview.

[Oldman]

So many different possible ideas for what Bernd actually meant. Just that one topic about station scanning for prices/discounts could have taken up the entire interview.

I think what Bernd means is that you fly over a station , remote scan the commodities you want using your Tesco clubcard or similar, (10% discount) drive around to the back of the station, dock in at the 'click & collect', a station emplyee loads your ship and you zoom off.
The other method is to to order 'onlne' over you ships coms link or use your own stations in house computer link and wait for a designated drop off of goods by delivery 'drones' from either supplier, either Tesco's, (Terran owned), Sainsburys (teladi owned based in Sizewell) or 'Asda' (Argon) owned in Prime. or possibly Morrisons Paranid (owned) in Paranid Prime, all do this service, there's obviosly a small charge for this though (about 5-35 credits on average) and you must be within 3 sectors or zones. Be aware though that Prices rise sharply if you're over this distance. (due to possible Pirate attack)

Also you can at a pinch actually land at these stations, but of course going through the checkouts manually will slow the game fps down quite a bit...especially on Fridays & Saturdays. But bear in mind though you MIGHT get some good bargains with B.O.G.O.F.s with manual trading during these times.
Just remember though your ship could sustain some damage to the hull by using the stores own 'ship park' as the store operators and customers are not very carefull with the shopping trolleys.
Monday's are usually the best time to shop though 'cause the Xenon tend to come in in force on these days and buy only electronic gear, and naturally you've virtually got the area to youself....especially the grocery and wine/spirit fresh food sections.
Have a nice day btw.

Edited... for atrocious spelling mistakes.
Oldman

[Aragosnat]

Yeah. So many view points. -scans the Oldman and the Sea in-

[mrscribbler]

In RL, when you try to purchase something wholesale from a factory, that factory will never tell you that because they've got excess inventory sitting around that you can go ahead and have it for half the price of the factory across the street. Prices will only drop like that if there is a glut in the entire market (look to commodity pricing of steel, aluminum, and other commodities), because (smart) factories don't produce unless they have an order to fill.

Now a wholesaler might try to clear out inventory, as might a retailer. That's why you get sales for last season items. But that's not how factories operate, as they look at how much others are offering and try to provide a competitive price while also maintaining a profit.

[adriancos]

I am wondering whether Bernd rather meant scanning a composite site's individual sales modules for missions, jobs or contracts rather than scanning for status/contents as we currently know it in X3 now. (Eg The scan finds 'We are 10% cheaper than any other module may quote, guaranteed' and/or 'We really need 100 drums of wiffle-oil and can offer a premium' and/or 'We need this load of mega-cakes delvered to ... for a fee' and/or 'In 10 timebits from now we will be offering a bargain sale for 100 timebits only', etc)

Then maybe you earn frequent trade discounts as well - ie a race/factional/site trade rating.

i remember that i read in an interview that they want to encourage the playes to interract as much as they can with the stations, so probabbly the player actually beeing near the station and placing an order, will provide an discount as opposed to some ship hired by the player to do the buy.

[Oldman]

I am wondering whether Bernd rather meant scanning a composite site's individual sales modules for missions, jobs or contracts rather than scanning for status/contents as we currently know it in X3 now. (Eg The scan finds 'We are 10% cheaper than any other module may quote, guaranteed' and/or 'We really need 100 drums of wiffle-oil and can offer a premium' and/or 'We need this load of mega-cakes delvered to ... for a fee' and/or 'In 10 timebits from now we will be offering a bargain sale for 100 timebits only', etc)

Then maybe you earn frequent trade discounts as well - ie a race/factional/site trade rating.

i remember that i read in an interview that they want to encourage the playes to interract as much as they can with the stations, so probabbly the player actually beeing near the station and placing an order, will provide an discount as opposed to some ship hired by the player to do the buy.

I thinking (seriously) that maybe just being near or just 'flying over' a station will perhaps trigger the station to contact you first, offering some trade or other missions.
In other words instead of comming them as in XTC the station might actively comm you instead?
In any event the new system of trading with a factory/station in X Rebirth points to a more intimate relationship between player and a station.
One of the points that seems pretty clear is that you won't be able to offload say for example 1000 units (in one go) of ore for a 'top' price, a certain percentage WILL be bought by the station at this top price but then the percentage will drop by a certain amount incrementally downwards.
Then there's the added feature of 'discounts' that also apply here so it seems to me that 'trading' is a lot more intricate and 'real life' compared to previous games.... ...unless I'm looking at this incorrectly?
I'm also thinking, (by my wording of 'intimate relationship') there could be a better sense of gameplay created with the interaction between player and station/s, for instance, 'loyalty' and a certain amount of camaraderie perhaps?

Oldman

[StarSword]

If they have missions available by comm, I want the comm range drastically increased. 25 km maximum is ludicrous dirtside, never mind in space. Maybe cut it off at "highway" distances where lightspeed lag becomes an issue, but you should be able to call up basically anything in an area the size of one of X3's sectors from anywhere in the sector without needing to move around.

[bluenog143]

If they have missions available by comm, I want the comm range drastically increased. 25 km maximum is ludicrous dirtside, never mind in space. Maybe cut it off at "highway" distances where lightspeed lag becomes an issue, but you should be able to call up basically anything in an area the size of one of X3's sectors from anywhere in the sector without needing to move around.

Exactly, even now-a-days we can contact someone internationally who is 5,000km away.

[DarkTemplar]

i remember that i read in an interview that they want to encourage the playes to interract as much as they can with the stations, so probabbly the player actually beeing near the station and placing an order, will provide an discount as opposed to some ship hired by the player to do the buy.

I sure hope this isn't how it's going to work. I've currently got about 20 universe traders and about 7 complexes of whom several aren't self sustaining.
An approach like that would mean I'd have to constantly run around trying to keep everything supplied myself just to make equal money to what I'm making right now.

[Batmaus]

the way I see it the 'scan station and get discount' thing isn't something that you get very often, it's probably be just a small bonus. interesting in the beggining of the game and not worth the effort anymore when you have set up your big trading company. the main discounts are probably caused by your reputation and market situation.

[Falcrack]

Scanning the station to get a discount sounds like one of the more boneheaded ideas for an X game I have heard so far. Why would anyone in their right mind give you a lower price on the product they are selling because you decided to buzz around their store a couple times? It makes zero sense.

I like using automated traders instead of going places personally for every trade. It gives me joy when I am in a sector and I see my automated traders happen to jump into the sector I am in and dock at a stations to give me profits.

[Batmaus]

maybe the scan tells you that the station doesn't have all the required safety features and you can 'nicely ask' the owner for a discount

[Santi]

Regarding the discounts for scanning the station Bernd said:

"Those are small stories: Yisha will deliver a short comment that explains why you gained the discount."

He mentions as well that there will be a menu, listing the discounts and for how long they apply, so some of them will be limited and as Alan says, it looks like there will be different reasons/actions on how you get a discount.

They main reason he said is:

"This way, it can be beneficial for a trader to scout and discover a station. That's the thought behind this"

It looks like this time around, we will have more action closer to stations, while the huge size of them makes for an interesting playground, it requires a varied set of missions and scenarios to make it interesting to the player, compared with open space exploration.

[Axeface]

Exactly, even now-a-days we can contact someone internationally who is 5,000km away.

20,000
Pedantic alert!
But the comm range in past games was a gameplay decision, nothing more.

On topic, Im liking what i'm hearing from the interview! It sounds like things are going to be nice and complex with a lot of depth. At least thats the jist im getting.

[Sibilantae]

i remember that i read in an interview that they want to encourage the playes to interract as much as they can with the stations, so probabbly the player actually beeing near the station and placing an order, will provide an discount as opposed to some ship hired by the player to do the buy.

I sure hope this isn't how it's going to work. I've currently got about 20 universe traders and about 7 complexes of whom several aren't self sustaining.
An approach like that would mean I'd have to constantly run around trying to keep everything supplied myself just to make equal money to what I'm making right now.

I agree, but I'm sure it's not so extreme that you'd lose money if you weren't the one to do the purchasing personally~

[adriancos]

Question:
Assuming that there will be again boarding crews, can they be equipped differently, that aside from the experience points as in Terran Conflict, they also can be equipped with different objects?

Bernd:
Yes and no. It's definitely the case that this part of the game is greatly enhanced by the drones, that you as the player can take more influence. And they should also continue to develop just as before, so you therefore have an interest to not let your well-trained boarding crew die.

Do you have any ideea if except the boarding crews and co-pilot will we have to pay for the other crew in the ship? Will they enchance the ship in some way?
Also i understood that we have to pay the administrator of our factories, if we choose to hire one.
But i would like the ideea that i should pay for owning the factory a certain amount to an fixed interval, for let's say maintenance costs and/or tax to the government in the area of space where factory is located.
I did not like in the previous games the iddea that you can own 20 capital ships even if you do not have an source of income, they simply operate at no costs.
Did i captured or bought an capital ship? Well, if i can not pay the running costs and/or the taxes, the ship will be seized.
The taxes should be low on small ships, but very high for capital ships, so only an steady source of income can sustain one.
You do not want to pay? Go pirate or seek protection from an enemy faction and keep the ships but be ready to fight the police or military sent after you.

This is a matter of balancing the game, it is not normal that an individual can fight an entire race. Can Bill Gates hired mercenaries attack a very small town in Russia? Well, maybe yes! Can Bill Gates hired mercenaries fight Russia?

[Bobucles]

"This way, it can be beneficial for a trader to scout and discover a station. That's the thought behind this"

Somehow I doubt that illegal scanning is a good way to make friends...
especially on a pirate station.

[amtie]

Who told you that scanning stations is illegal? Maybe you just need a police licence, or good enough rep. Or it could be blackmail (oh, what a very inviting exhaust port you have there, ssssss).