Player Features and Ideas Discussion

With the upcoming advent of the new structures and gradual phasing out of the old POS, few thoughts came to my mind:


1. POS are a rather expensive installation, even at its bare minimum. As they are being phased out, a way for their value to be partially refunded (outside of straight reprocessing) should exist to allow players to transition to the new system without having to make a hefty investment just to regain the old usability of their installation.

When previously a POS module was phased out (the system scanning array), buy orders were placed around, allowing for owners to return the value of their investment. While this is a rather clean method of clearing the installations, i have in mind a different approach:

Allow for a conversion of POS modules and towers to the new structure upgrades via a modified blueprint copy. As an appropriate way to distribute such copies would be the NES - allowing for them to be redeemed anywhere across New Eden.


What would this achieve:

Lesser initial market value spike - We could argue if this is good or bad, but a smooth transition to the new system is highly desirable and introduction at a reasonable price would speed up initial adoption.

Incentive for production and value difference - It is obvious, that the ability to convert your old stuff to the new one would not create a huge incentive for industrial players to switch to producing the new modules if they follow similar values. It stands as a balance decision what the values of the new modules would be, yet in the model i propose, it will initially be more profitable to produce the old modules, then convert to the new before acquiring a fully researched blueprint.

Convenience - Call me lazy, but i really don't want to move large volumes of structures all the way across the galaxy and then back again in my meager blockade runner. And the route i have to travel is not even close to the longest possible. Conversion on site will make the the transition less of a hassle.


2. Faction (as empires) plays a big role in structure functions and resource allocation (different isotopes for different fuel cubes). How would this segregation to factions remain relevant in a system, where no empire ownership will be put on the structures (an assumption, based on presented info from fan fest and comments made during the freighter reballance).
Will different classes of structures (maybe as grouped in the sticky threads) use different fuel types? How would such a thing affect the allocation of different activities? Would turning area more or less desirable for certain activity based on local fuel availability be a good thing? Or a new type of universal fuel block, that could use any isotope in its production be a better alternative?


3. Faction (as the green symbol in the corner) currently presents a set of high-value for just a bit (or sometimes not just a bit) more performance. How should faction POS mods be treated? Should they remain a thing for the new system? Currently, the Thukker component assembly array and the Hyasioda research lab present an incentive for participaiting into certain aspects of gameplay, as do faction towers and weapon/EWAR modules. Should those be preserved in the new system in a certain way?

I, personally, can't wait to get my hands on the new structures - complicated gameplay related to POS has kept me away from several activities, that i had wanted to get into for quite a while now. And i hope my musings and any discussion they provoke would help in flushing out the details of their design.

Eh, there are plenty of example of corporations/governments incentivizing people to trade in old inefficient technology for newer tech.

Tax write offs for fuel efficient cars, or LED lightbulbs, solar panels, etc. Discounts on a new car battery for turning in an expired one.

And cell phone companies will often give you money for trading in an old phone while upgrading to a new one.

It's not too far fetched of an idea.

Reprocess it, probably the easiest.

The faction stuff though, dunno.