ColonkinYT

Heck, you're too forgiving! This is Alpha 3! 😉
 
But... As an Alpha player yourself, you were not sold a complete product, you were sold a potential product. As a Beta player, I was just sold a pack of lies... And that ties directly into why I think Alpha/Beta players are less active, that the game does not completely satisfy expectations (but enough to play it anyway) is only part of the problem. If you were playing during Alpha, you KNEW that everything would be wiped at beta launch. On the other hand NQ kept up the lie for 18 months that they would only wipe if necessary and then only what was necessary. A lot of players went into Beta with the expectation that what they build they would keep (one way or another), that didn't happen. So most are now two months into redoing what they did in beta, just doing it more efficiently, instead of having fun. And lets be honest, very few of the 'wealth' making game loops are anything but 'fun'... So things went from the fun exploration/discovery phase of beta, to the work of 'launch', with always that nagging feeling that NQ could wipe again or that real possibility that DU would just disappear completely. After two months of working DU, I get the distinct impression that we're right back at a state where we were in beta, an unbalanced economy due to bad decisions at NQ, exploits that are being fixed, but the damage not rolled back. etc.

I would agree with you if not for one but.
The beta was needed in order to get the data, balance the parameters and catch the main bugs.
It is not correct to say that at the release they should hone and balance the main game mechanics.
In that case, let's call a spade a spade. It's not a release, it's Beta 2.
I understand that a lot of what goes on in the NQ office is hidden from us and it is possible that management is facing serious pressure from investors.
But you know. I don't care what happens in the bakery behind the wall. If I was sold bread, I have the right to demand that it be of high quality and not cause health problems. A low-quality product should not leave the walls and remain on the table at the quality control service.
Difficulties and lack of data do not justify such serious omissions. And diverse statements, for example, on MU and market bots, indicate that there was no final opinion on these issues a month ago.
The fact that alpha and beta players are less active is explained by the fact that the release does not meet the expectations of old players. And this is one of the most patient and loyal parts of the audience ira. Moreover, after the disappearance of market bots and nerf calibration, it also made it much more difficult for new players to start.
Understand. This is not criticism. It just hurts my soul. Otherwise, I wouldn't post on the forum at all. As do many of us.

In fact of the matter
First, the prices for schemes and taxes were balanced at the rate of 25 quantum/liter. And then it was cancelled. But since the cost of the schemes was not a percentage of the price, but had an absolute cost, we have a chain reaction of imbalance.
It is very stupid to take out the key stone from the foundation of the whole wall))). Especially not having made efforts to the general strengthening.
By analogy with construction - before global changes, you must first make temporary structures for support. So that the building does not collapse during the repair (by the way, I saw similar things in my professional activities).

Technically it has the same outcome. But your correct, as an amateur industrialist (since DU does not allow Pro-industrialists since 0.23) the low ore costs is perfect, but it's so stupid to have an overhead on taxes (schematic/hex) that press on element costs as the cost for this moment (current ore prices) are mainly based on schematic costs.

When I spoke about the danger of deflation, many "experts" told me that this is correct and you should not be afraid.
Now, when the cost of T1 ore makes senseless not only its extraction with the help of units, but even more senseless its extraction on asteroids. It's just not worth the time.
So what do you say "dear experts" now? Or are we waiting for an equilibrium price at T1 around 5? It is clear that over time the price may rise. A little bit. After that, it will again be driven into the corridor of unprofitability by over-accumulated volumes.
Did we want such a "player-controlled economy"?
And which of you now "regulates" something in it?
We have a day left to see what they will do with asteroid mining in patch 1.1.
 
P.S. By the way, we now have a clear example of what happens to the economies of countries when it is controlled by amateurs and supporters of the "free" market. Correctly. Nothing good.
The advantage is that, unlike RL, people will not go out the window here. They just stop playing.

It has been 2 months since DU launched and “Economy” by the Extraction Cartel is back up and running. The original market analysis from Beta has been updated for release and has some great new features.   You can find it at http://extractioncartel.com/ or this direct link to the analysis Macro Market View Micro Market by Market view Alioth Board of Trade (raw and refined materials) Item history and analysis Trade routes Real Estate brokerage service Player market service Base Build costs   I started and stopped this post 3 or 4 times as the future of the game seems to hang in the balance. Ultimately, I decided to release this tool to the general public for three reasons:   I’m a huge fan of what Dual Universe could be and I very much would like it to be successful The subtitle of Dual Universe is “THE SPACE MMO ENTIRELY BUILT AND DRIVEN BY PLAYERS”. While I do hope for more market tools from NQ, this is my contribution to the game. Information is power and I hope this tool helps players understand the market and engage in the broader player driven economy   To others who are working on similar market analysis tools, please feel free to reach out to me. I’m looking to collaborate and help deliver a high quality tool to the player base. I hope you find this tool valuable. There are undoubtedly mistakes so if you find one, let me know.   Email: extractioncartel@gmail.com In Game: Roustabout or MissFortune Discord: Roustabout    
 
 
 

Exactly. It's more a sign of lurching from band-aid to tourniquet (Not round the neck, NQ!!! Not the neck! The arm! It's the arm that's bleeding!)

Not only lights. Try to make an L detector. The situation is the same as with the lights. Materials required as per XS. The main price is an expensive schematic L . And so with many other elements.
This clearly shows the fact that the schemes were developed by a person who does not understand his own game in the production chains. And what is done on what machine. Just used a template.

I thought a little and I don't understand.
How do bots for T1 ore give "excessively" a lot of money. Where is it "too much"?
Let's take a rough look. To calibrate 7 flower tiles to the maximum on T1, you need to spend somewhere around 5 calibrations per 1 tile 1 time in 3 days. A total of 10 calibrations per week (the ideal is not always achievable and calibrations must be saved). In total, 70 calibrations are obtained per flower. As you can see, I'm not overbearing. Even if the skills are not at 5. If the skills for calibrations are pumped to the maximum, then we get one calibration in 3.5 hours. Total for the week 48 calibrations. As you can see, with one character at the maximum, even one flower cannot be held. So you need 2 characters. Moreover, they constantly carry and visit their farms every 3 days.
Right now I brought a load from one flower. I roughly got 470 kl of T1 ore.
Let's round up to 500.
In total, for the "simplicity" of the calculation, we get a revenue of 25,000,000 quanta - 3,500,000 quanta for the territories. On hand for 2 characters we get 21,500,000 quanta.
And now some other arithmetic. Without flying out of the safe zone, you can put these 2 characters on the ship and complete a mission for 1.8 M quanta once a day. We will assume that we will also perform 6 days.
For two characters, you get 21,600,000 quanta. Well, minus the fuel. Let the fuel go for 1kk.
Total 20,600,000 quants.
So what is the excess of income from bots? And there are generally convenient ways from tades to madis and back, when it turns out 2.7 kk per circle. And fly only 80 su.
This is the first.
Second.
If bots seem excessive to someone - make the price 20 or 15 quanta. What is the problem?
Why did I write this.
It seems to me that someone is guided more by sensations and not by numbers. I don't see any redundancy in bots compared to missions. But people have a choice of what to do. Moreover, the ore does not remain in circulation when sold to bots and is actually destroyed.

Because they don't have the expertise for it... If their current payment solution and subscription system is any indication... And if the cosmetics that have shown up to date are any indication, quality isn't really all that high and only the most dedicated would buy those anyway... Hell, they've not even gotten their DAC in order!

Nobody likes hours of afk flights.......no idea who thought players liked that. Maybe some developer has a busdriver ambition on route 66?

So to begin I want to state I understand that not everyone will like or agree with what I am saying below, nor do I expect them to. I am in my last year of College for my Bachelors Degree in Video Game Design and Development and taking what I have learned both from my studies and from many many hours playing Dual Universe I brainstormed the following. Again, I do not expect anyone to agree, nor do I think that my chosen field of future Professions makes me any better or smarter than anyone else. This is my opinion, and I am sharing it. Also, this will be a long post. Disclaimer over.

Phase 1
With there already being auto-generated alien ships, alien cores, and shipwrecks that spawn into the game, the mentality of “Everything in Dual Universe needs to be player made” has already been discarded to an extent. The game, while fun in many aspects, lacks content. Both in PvP and PvE. There needs to be an alternative to running missions, or trying to turn a profit by mining or building industry. Those are core aspects of the game, but they only offer so much in the way of “content”.
PvP also offers a style of gameplay, but it is niche and lacking as well in content. You fly around in PvP space hoping to find someone you can kill that won’t kill you, or trying to mine minerals off a valuable asteroid without your ship being exploded.
NPC Ships is a first step in adding content to both.

Phase 1, Step 1: Ships, Safe Zone PvE Combat and Simple AI
The ability to spawn ships and other things into the game already exists and is being utilized by current systems such as Asteroids and Shipwrecks. Using those systems to build off of, it would not be a far stretch to spawn in functioning ships of Varying types. Additionally, since Autopiloting systems are implemented by players via LUA, it also would not be a stretch for NQ to implement simple AI scripts for the generated NPC Ships.
 
How it could work:
The system spawns a ship randomly, no closer than 30su to a Safe Zone Planet anywhere inside the Safe Zone. Then at random the script choses a destination. One of the SZ planets or their moons, and sets course. As the ability already exists for the game, or a construct to know when you are within a certain area of the game, the ship would despawn if making it within 1su of its target.
Before reaching its destination, it is vulnerable to attack from a player who spots it. Upon being attacked the ship would use whatever maneuverability it can to try to escape. If it’s core is destroyed it is of course available to be looted, ownership taken, etc, just like in any other PvP Combat.
Of course attacking an NPC Ship inside of the Safe Zone should not come without consequences, but those are laid out in an additional update. The purpose of Step 1 is to get the system into the game, see how it is working, and work out the kinks.
 
Benefits:
New PvE Content that helps teach simple PvP to people looking to learn.
PvE content for PvPers who may be on at odd hours and have fewer real player targets.
An additional income mechanic especially with component recycling coming into the game, that does not rely solely on grinding and time gating (other than searching out the randomly spawning ships).
 
Phase 1 Step 2: Law, Order, and AI Update 2
With the implementation of NPC Ships, and the ability to attack them in the Safe Zone, mechanics should be developed to give consequences for being a pirate in the SZ. Aphelia designates a safe zone, but how does she enforce it? Currently it is just a circle around three planets where weapons do not work. Much like the poor NPC ships being destroyed, this step would introduce some new ships and mechanics that offer that enforcement, if even in a limited way.
 
How it could work:
The System Spawns peacekeeping ships that travel the pipes, and a few that travel courses around the SZ in general. The ships would vary from smaller to larger obviously, with different types of armaments and difficulty.
When a player attacks a NPC Ship just as it likely would in a Real Scenario, the ship would send out an SoS on the attacker. This flags the attacking player, or player construct as a pirate for a given amount of time. During that time any flagged character, or character construct that comes into contact with a NPC Peacekeeper Ship can be engaged and attacked by the NPC. The combat can result in the player being killed, the NPC being killed, or by out maneuvering and getting out of contact range of the Peacekeeper.
 
Benefits:
New PvE Content that helps teach a slightly more advanced form of PvP.
Makes being a pirate actually feel like being a pirate running from the PoPo.
Make the Safe Zone a Safe Zone for a reason that makes sense.
 
Phase 1 Part 3: Bounties
NPC Organizations already exist in the game. Aphelia gives missions for them all the time. They also exist in the Challenges. So it would only make sense if you start racking up kills on their NPC Ships that they would start getting cranky with you.
 
How it could work:
When you reach a certain notoriety with a NPC Organization a bounty could be issued by them through the mission system that lasts for a certain amount of time. If a player has a bounty on them, they are free game within the Safe Zone. This, much like the Pirating flag that instructs Peacekeeping Ships that you are attackable, allows you to be engaged by other players, even within the Safe Zone. It would have to come with some features though, and consequences for being a bad pirate and getting yourself killed by a Bounty Hunter.
 
1: If you are killed while you have a bounty on you there would be a cooldown that prevents you from being able to attack the NPC’s in the Safe Zone for a certain period of time. This would help prevent someone spamming the system to let their friends kill them for bounty money.
2: Players in an organization you are in are not eligible to collect the bounty. No gaming the system peoples. 
3: During the cooldown you would also not be available for Special Missions outlined in Phase 2.
 
Benefits:
Eases players into full PvP situations.
Additional Content for PvPers who wish to be Bounty Hunters.
A more realistic universe.
 
Phase 1 Part 4: Beyond the Invisible Safe Wall
Taking everything learned and refined from the first four phases, extend this system to the other outer planets and areas. Higher profile NPC Targets with more goodies and parts. Except these ships are armed. This would provide both a PvE avenue for out of Safe Zone Combat Content, while also allowing for PvP players and Organizations to hunt down, and even fight over the NPC Ships. The same Bounty System would apply to these ships, and likely give a higher reward fee considering the ships taken down were more valuable. Could easily see a Scenario where a few players are fighting over the same ship, while also fighting each other, as the ship fights them as well. Pure Chaos. Love it.
 
Benefits:
PvPvE
More fun content and options
 
Phase 2
Now that we have added some new features and life to the Universe, things are definitely looking up. But we can expand upon the new systems and the old to add more things for players to do and make their place in the Dual Universe.
 
Phase 2 Part 1: Work Orders
With the prices, especially of T1 ores constantly fluctuating in value, generally in the case of T1, dropping like a rock, Work Orders could be an amazing solution to this problem. Many Elements can be made with the cheap ore, such as wings, basic engines, containers, etc, but unless you have mega factories with a generous flow of materials, Life can be rough to build your empire. Works orders a Solution to that problem. Markets can already give you the average value currently being set market, region, or universe wide, so why not integrate that into Work Order Missions.
 
How it could work:
Work Orders for T1 ore can be issued by various Markets or Organizations for delivery. This can be adjusted and valued by averages. In addition to being paid fair market price for your ore at the going rates, you could also cash in on some mission income for delivering to complete the order. Much in line with how missions work now, the missions would require you to deliver OreX to PlaceY.
Work Order for Components can be issued by various Markets or NPC Organizations.  These could range from parts, manufactured materials, or complete elements. (Someone has to make those Ailerons being delivered to Market 12). Again, paying fair market value plus a mission completion reward.
 
Benefits:
* Offers additional ways to make money without having pure bots to buy up ore at the Market, which NQ has said will not come back while utilizing the Mission System.
*Someone just dropped 200 Wing M’s on the Market and undercut you? Fine. Sell the ones you have made to Aphelia for components plus the mission delivery award.
*Stimulates the Economy and helps diversify the monopoly of component manufacturing.
*Give industrialists more incentive to do what they enjoy doing and make an earning off of it.
*With Ore, Components, and Elements being flushed into oblivion, it would help raise the actual value of the Ore used to produce and make T1 more profitable.
 
Phase 2 Part 2: Extended Bounty System
Someone blew you up while you were just trying to run that mission package to Jago? Do you want to return the favor, but aren’t much of a PvPer? Do you just want people to blow up people from Legion?  Is it -worth- it to pay someone to enact revenge on your behalf? Then the Bounty System is for you.
 
How it could work:
A bounty system added to the current mission system. You offer up a Bounty, choose the target, and place the bounty. When/If someone kills the target with the Bounty mission, they get the payout, minus Mission Fees of course. Of course they will know who put the bounty out on them... So might want to watch your own back!
 
Benefits:
Sweet Sweet Revenge.
More content for players wanting to be Bounty Hunters.
 
Phase 2 Part 3:
With the implementation of the mechanics in Phase 1, a dark opposite to Aphelia has emerged, just on the edge of the Safe Zone and PvP Space. A Rogue AI working for who knows who or what, has missions available at its station. These missions send you after specific targets for specific things, and none of it could be considered legal.
 
How it could work:
Taking a mission would provide you a general location where the target will spawn, and a general time frame of when to expect the target to be passing through. The missions could range from just destroying the target and pirate what you want, or maybe the mission requires something from the cargo hold of the ship you just blew up for cash. What it would ever want with the Terran DNA samples, who knows. Value of the mission reward would depend on the difficulty of the mission. Some targets may be armed, or not, or maybe there is a very brief window in which you would be able to find the ship. Regardless, you like getting your hands dirty and as long as you haven’t failed recently being successfully hunted for being a pirate, these missions are for you.
Benefits:

PvE Pirate Missions in both Safe Space and PvP Space.
More Content = Things for players and new players to do except grind = Good.

------
 
So as stated previously, this is just a thought experiment based on my own opinions and things I think would bring some much needed content and life to the game. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see these types of things implemented? Are you hardcore ZugZug stay the course? What do you like, what do you dislike? Please discuss.

This is absolutely my thought. Rather than adjust the values to something reasonable, they just remove them? Do they always have to "solve" things in the most inconsiderate manner? I think they just killed mining, for me.
 
I just decided to use some DAC like a week ago, and I really didn't even want to return at all. I put most of my XP into mining units (a fair bit into piloting and surface harvesting too, before I found out they don't respawn), because that's how I made money in beta 6-8ish months ago. Now I'm wondering why tf I bothered, because I have no reasonable way to move that T1, and I only got the news they weren't coming back AFTER I set up my first 4xL MU tile. I invested everything I had made so far into that.
 
I'm not doing the same boring af hauling missions over and over and over, just to save up for a bigger ship to do it over even longer distances. At least with MUs, I could do what I wanted to in between calibrations, which is make cool/fun things, help with projects, or just explore/scan. Now I'm beholden to waste 90% of my game time afk in the void of space, just so I can afford to do what I REALLY want to do? I don't mind investing time into making money, as long as it there's some enjoyment in it - right now, I'm not finding either.

I thought a little and I don't understand.
How do bots for T1 ore give "excessively" a lot of money. Where is it "too much"?
Let's take a rough look. To calibrate 7 flower tiles to the maximum on T1, you need to spend somewhere around 5 calibrations per 1 tile 1 time in 3 days. A total of 10 calibrations per week (the ideal is not always achievable and calibrations must be saved). In total, 70 calibrations are obtained per flower. As you can see, I'm not overbearing. Even if the skills are not at 5. If the skills for calibrations are pumped to the maximum, then we get one calibration in 3.5 hours. Total for the week 48 calibrations. As you can see, with one character at the maximum, even one flower cannot be held. So you need 2 characters. Moreover, they constantly carry and visit their farms every 3 days.
Right now I brought a load from one flower. I roughly got 470 kl of T1 ore.
Let's round up to 500.
In total, for the "simplicity" of the calculation, we get a revenue of 25,000,000 quanta - 3,500,000 quanta for the territories. On hand for 2 characters we get 21,500,000 quanta.
And now some other arithmetic. Without flying out of the safe zone, you can put these 2 characters on the ship and complete a mission for 1.8 M quanta once a day. We will assume that we will also perform 6 days.
For two characters, you get 21,600,000 quanta. Well, minus the fuel. Let the fuel go for 1kk.
Total 20,600,000 quants.
So what is the excess of income from bots? And there are generally convenient ways from tades to madis and back, when it turns out 2.7 kk per circle. And fly only 80 su.
This is the first.
Second.
If bots seem excessive to someone - make the price 20 or 15 quanta. What is the problem?
Why did I write this.
It seems to me that someone is guided more by sensations and not by numbers. I don't see any redundancy in bots compared to missions. But people have a choice of what to do. Moreover, the ore does not remain in circulation when sold to bots and is actually destroyed.

I thought a little and I don't understand.
How do bots for T1 ore give "excessively" a lot of money. Where is it "too much"?
Let's take a rough look. To calibrate 7 flower tiles to the maximum on T1, you need to spend somewhere around 5 calibrations per 1 tile 1 time in 3 days. A total of 10 calibrations per week (the ideal is not always achievable and calibrations must be saved). In total, 70 calibrations are obtained per flower. As you can see, I'm not overbearing. Even if the skills are not at 5. If the skills for calibrations are pumped to the maximum, then we get one calibration in 3.5 hours. Total for the week 48 calibrations. As you can see, with one character at the maximum, even one flower cannot be held. So you need 2 characters. Moreover, they constantly carry and visit their farms every 3 days.
Right now I brought a load from one flower. I roughly got 470 kl of T1 ore.
Let's round up to 500.
In total, for the "simplicity" of the calculation, we get a revenue of 25,000,000 quanta - 3,500,000 quanta for the territories. On hand for 2 characters we get 21,500,000 quanta.
And now some other arithmetic. Without flying out of the safe zone, you can put these 2 characters on the ship and complete a mission for 1.8 M quanta once a day. We will assume that we will also perform 6 days.
For two characters, you get 21,600,000 quanta. Well, minus the fuel. Let the fuel go for 1kk.
Total 20,600,000 quants.
So what is the excess of income from bots? And there are generally convenient ways from tades to madis and back, when it turns out 2.7 kk per circle. And fly only 80 su.
This is the first.
Second.
If bots seem excessive to someone - make the price 20 or 15 quanta. What is the problem?
Why did I write this.
It seems to me that someone is guided more by sensations and not by numbers. I don't see any redundancy in bots compared to missions. But people have a choice of what to do. Moreover, the ore does not remain in circulation when sold to bots and is actually destroyed.

I will not say now whether bots are needed or not.
One moment bothers me.
Twice in the last week we have been deceived.
First, they introduced restrictions on calibration, although it was said that this was not an exploit.
Now they write that market bots are not needed, although a month ago they said that they should be updated.
The game is more and more like a scam...
It seems that none of the statements of the developers can not be trusted. We must conclude...

I will not say now whether bots are needed or not.
One moment bothers me.
Twice in the last week we have been deceived.
First, they introduced restrictions on calibration, although it was said that this was not an exploit.
Now they write that market bots are not needed, although a month ago they said that they should be updated.
The game is more and more like a scam...
It seems that none of the statements of the developers can not be trusted. We must conclude...

I will not say now whether bots are needed or not.
One moment bothers me.
Twice in the last week we have been deceived.
First, they introduced restrictions on calibration, although it was said that this was not an exploit.
Now they write that market bots are not needed, although a month ago they said that they should be updated.
The game is more and more like a scam...
It seems that none of the statements of the developers can not be trusted. We must conclude...

Sorry but discussing NQ motives and stuff is not usefull, they dont listen nor change. But doing this well after release after first telling it is a feature, thats just running a bad business

I wasn't going to write this post. It was also a post I never actually thought I would have to write, but events since release two months ago led me to this point. 
 
I don't post a great deal on these forums, but I'm an avid reader and professional lurker since joining at the Alpha stage. I try to keep my finger on the community pulse and to keep up to date on updates and the general buzz. I've played since Alpha and mostly enjoyed all the time I've spent. There has been many times when DU has fought against me and attempted to break me down. However I was always sold, like many others, on that potential carrot on a stick of "What if?".
 
Over the DU development since 0.23 and beyond, the community was gutted due to the introduction of schematics. As updates and patches were introduced to the game, I've watched with dismay the amount of players with high standing in the community, slowly turn on NQ and Dual Universe when they get that stark realisation that this game is never going to live up to that perceived potential. Some go quietly into the night, others announce their vitriol for a few weeks before quitting with much fanfare. 

Being a player since Alpha affords me an ability to see the bigger picture of what I perceive has been going on:
 
If you look at all the updates since Beta started and outside of some balancing updates to PVP and visual upgrades, everything else has been implemented to cut costs due to what I believe as woeful inadequacies at the design and concept level. The vision of this game and what was perceived could be done, didn't match the budget available and the technology. In short, the game that NQ wanted to make didn't match what they could afford to do. Hence, I believe, this is why JC was ousted and the company is now ran by the main investment company (who I feel wants their investment back). The game has had its life and soul gutted out of it, and with every "improvement" it takes another little piece of itself away.
 
When the announcement came that this game was going to be released, I'm pretty sure we as the community, were in the unanimous agreement that it was way too soon. The game was undercooked and needed a lot more time before it was ready. Any development company who wanted their undercooked product to survive would of released it as an early access product. However, Novaquark is a business ran by an investment company who wants to recoup. Keeping the game in another few years of beta or early access wasn't going to make them anywhere near the money needed to recoup. With no new investment, there was only one possible course of action, throw it out the door and see if it sinks or swims. Unfortunately they forgot to teach it how to swim or provide any floatation aids.
 
I don't want to be one of those doomsayers who, when they're not happy with the state of the game will immediately declare "zomg, this game is dead!" But It saddens me to say that, that is what I now believe. It died sometime ago when Novaquark realised that under the budget they currently have that there was no way they could afford the server costs to make it work as intended. It just took some of us longer than it should to see it for what it is.
 
So what is the immediate future? If you look at the current lack of content and updates, all that we're really getting is the completion of the supporter goals that should of been ready on release. Beyond that, as of writing this, nothing, no road map, nothing. No enthusiasm from Novaquark, no excitement, nothing. 
 
Can the game be saved? In short, no. To do this, the game would need a large, fresh influx of money, coupled with a long protracted development time to essentially re-release and reinvent itself. We are at the point of no return though. NQ, I think are running on fumes and they know it. Releasing the game, wiping and increasing the subscription prices and then going essentially dark speaks volumes to their future plans. 
 
I do wish it wasn't this way, and I am kicking myself a little for having to write one of these posts, but I felt it needed to be said. I know this game will still have its staunch defenders (I was one of them) who will go down fighting to the very last day. But this week the game broke me. As I logged in and did my busywork and realised I was barely able to cover my costs to keep the lights on with no real goal of progression any more, my love, passion and perceived potential for the game melted away. 
 
I appreciate my rantings here are purely opinion and conjecture, but if you take the time to take a long hard look at the past few years of this games development, the clues are there. Many of us already know it and made their comments known on the various channels. The tone and overall feelings of the community are at an all time low right now and that should tell you everything as to what the community is currently feeling. 
 
I'd love to be proved wrong, I still want the game to succeed, but my joy and passion, like many others past and present in this community, is gone and it would take a truly Herculean effort on the part of NQ to get it back again. However, judging by recent efforts I won't be holding my breath.

There is always Roid hunting... of course for anything useful, you risk being blown up.  Thought shields would fix that, but of course, they way they were implemented leaves you to receiving 75% of the damage unless your on your ship and manually tune.  That of course, only works for awhile, but that would be expected.  And, all it takes is 2 attackers using different weapons and your toast.
 
But All Hail the PVPers!  They are the engagement center of design for the game.  NQ has repeatedly bowed to these players and are now reaping that reward.  I actually supported the concept of a PVP zone, an arena where players could go to strut their stuff, but that wasn't enough for them.
 
Its all very depressing.  I'm 64 years old and have been actively engaged since early 2018.  I'm the "Pleione" that wrote the 30+ page FAQ I supported pre-0.23 that helped hundreds of people and ate countless hours of my time engaging on the Discord channel to learn what people were having problems with and writing up guidelines to help.  This was suppose to be the "Eve Online" experience that I could enjoy from the beginning and spent the next 20 years, if I'm so lucky, to play.  And today... I see it dying.
 
Recently spent 3+ hours of travel time scrolling around in F2 sorting my talent queue.  Even after deleting ~100 items I was still left with over 1300 days of training (almost exclusively in Industry and Crafting).  I found myself laughing at myself when I was down to pushing the 7 day skills ahead of the 19 day skills... thinking "I should be so lucky for the game to survive until I get to this point".  I find that sad.  (Let ignore that a single button called "Sort by time" could have saved me those 3 hours.)
 
What depresses me the most if the lost opportunity.  This should have been a great game.  Too old now for anything else to replace it (If tomorrow "Space the Game" was announced, I'd be pushing 70 before it hit the market...  I'm literally out of life time to see this happen).

Thanks NQ! You helped me make my choice.
Subscription ends on the 27th. And now there is no doubt about the choice at all.
😉

Thanks NQ! You helped me make my choice.
Subscription ends on the 27th. And now there is no doubt about the choice at all.
😉

That is making the assumption that nobody is buying schematics... One single L core schematic costs 725,000 ℏ. building 10 L core constructs removes 7.25 MILLION ℏ from the game.

That is a lot of spitty (censored apparently!!) missions required to run just to build something decent.
 
Considering this game ONLY has building, it's like trying to use  a CAD program but having to Fugg (Also censored) around with a random feature every hour in order to keep doing what you want to do.

Now, if those sub processes were in any way fun it would be considered "playing the game" but the fact is the DU PVE content is about as fun as a colonoscopy. 

There is what 103 markets in  the world. With every market buying 10,000,000L of ore at 25. If all those orders where satisfied. that would instill 103,000,000,000 quanta into the game.  Now there is about 25,000 claimed tiles that are not on haven or sanctuary, now some of those are going to be HQ tiles so no taxes paid. Say ~18,000 are paying taxes.  Meaning 9,000,000,000 quanta is leaving the game every week due to taxes.  Meaning 10 weeks and the game should run out of money to pay for tiles.  Granted, stuff like the space mission and hauling missions and daily login still bring quanta into the game. So its not like its going to collapse in 10 weeks.  But at the same time T1 bot orders are not going to destroy the economy.  We have not even considered schematic costs and market costs that also remove quanta from the game. 
 
Its not a doomsday if 1 player has 100,000,000,000 in there account. But it is a doomsday if 90% of the player base only has 100,000 quanta every day.