Polaris Starship Changes From: "Kerry Harrison" <kerry@io.com> Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 00:00:00 +0000 Letter from the Polaris GM about upcoming changes regarding how additional starships are acquired. Dear Players I have given a lot of thought to the suggestion that players should be able to start with more than one starship. In my opinion there are three main issues at stake. Before boring everybody with the ensuing discourse, however, let me spoil the conclusion by revealing that there will be changes in this respect, but that they are not what might be expected. (1) One of the principles Polaris was designed to adhere to is that the game must be a contest of skill. Success should depend upon the personal resources of a player. If players could buy success with real world resources, the game would suffer a loss of integrity. A number of concepts are geared to combat this trend. Players may select their own turn frequency, subject to some limits, all players start the game with the same resources and the more generic assets (namely merchants, outposts and facilities) can be run practically free. If players were granted the option of 2/3 ships instead iof the basic one ship start, there would be some imbalance in the integrity of Polaris. Players who exercised the option would start with more resources than players that did not. The Solar Freighter is, of course, a bit rubbish. It could certainly be argued that 2/3 is not much better than one. The next step up (commercially) seems to be the Trawler, and 10 Solar Freighters aren't a match for the Trawler. All the same, 2/3 ships does represent a significant gain in resources over the humble one. (2) Provided the additional ships were employed, it would be possible to cover more ground at an increased speed. The seven systems would be explored twice as quickly by a player with two ships as a player with one. In my opinion, however, this is not really a watertight proposition. Two co-operating players would explore the core systems twice as quickly as one and there are certainly no restrictions on that. I believe the systems are big enough and diverse enough to occupy a lot of players for a long time. (3) Something I am very aware of is that existing players have struggled to make best use of the one ship setup. Now that some are reaping the fruit of their endeavours, by buying bigger ships and setting up colonies, it might certainly seem unfair to loosen the setup and start distributing free ships. If new procedures are implemented, they will be carefully balanced so as to not prejudice existing players. RE Summary Despite the issues, the root of the matter is that the startup is slow and some players want to get moving more quickly. Though the Solar Freighter may not seem the best way to start a career in the Frontier Territories, it may surprise some players to know that I did not envisage much heavy trading in the nascent stage of the game. I naturally cannot reveal the nature of the other (non-Cirrus) core systems, but they are not as desolate as I think some people may believe. That players might settle down and use their Solar Freighters to open trade routes seemed unlikely, given the opportunity of blasting into the great unknown - and the ships (well known) diabolical cargo capacity. The amount of credits which can be earned from the game ladders (sponsorship, etc) greatly outweigh the gains of engaging in material trade with an unsuitable ship. As I see it, allowing additional Solar Freighters would cause little material harm. They should not be big enough to dent the Cirrus trade routes. However, players already retailing and trading with Solar Freighters may disagree. The real gremlins are issues of fairness and game integrity. RE Conclusion In my opinion the best way to turn the issue to the advantage of Polaris is to make the game better for everybody. During this week, time will therefore be spent writing a new document. This will be a guide on "How to enjoy Polaris". The document will explain the game 'ladders' in detail (these allow new players to quickly increase their game presence). This guide will also contain a full guide to ship prices and options. If a starship can be purchased on credit, the terms and options will be presented. Some classes will alter in price. Any ships presently in use will not suffer a change in price. Specifically, some of the less useful designs should come down in price. In addition, new classes will be designed and introduced. These will constitute antiquated designs. 'Antiques' will be even more thoroughly obsolete than the Solar Freighter, with correspondingly inefficient sections. The main purpose of the antiques will be to permit players to purchase additional ships. Antiques will certainly be cheaper than existing ships. They will also be subject to different credit terms; namely the option of a lower deposit (with a higher premium). The main thrust of the antiques will be to enable a player to dictate a faster pace of exploration. Any cargo antiques will be made thoroughly inferior to the Trawler; mediocre cargo space, a dodgy gravity rating and no star drive are all probable. The latter two features will confine any antique hauler to serving only specific trade routes and worlds. Since antiques will have to paid for with game resources, they will not constitute an unwarranted advantage. Nor is it necessarily the best course of action. Buying up a lot of antiques on low deposits could stifle the growth of a company if not correctly handled. The ships will not be free at all. Indeed, the cheapest options (low deposit) will turn out to be the most expensive in the long run. The balance I am looking for is that a new player should be able to buy one or two OK antiques by taking on substantial long term repayments; or 2/3 of the worst antiques with the same. Antiques will enable any player (even a new player) to increase the amount of the game which can be accessed in a given amount of time. It will be possible to explore more worlds and to cover more systems. It should also be possible to bring in more cash more quickly than before, though game ladders will likely remain the ideal way for a new player to develop his/her position quickly. Care will be taken to ensure that the existing designs (especially the Trawler) are not devalued. I think it is safe to say that anybody with a antique will appreciate the additional opportunity and options the extra ship gives them, while eagerly saving for the day they can be scrapped in favour of more modern classes. Any feedback is, of course, always welcome. I am happy to scrap any proposition if it seems likely to backfire. David Jones Daredevil Referenced By Up