So I played the new patch, found out that the pricing on buildings got waaaaaayyyy upped, aaaaaand i dont like it.
To be honest, I never liked that the economy is textbook schizophrenic, but i figured, that maybe i am alone in this, since i never saw anyone bitching about that specific subject in here. Or at least, not often enough.
Now tho, am completely perplexed!
I get that the player has nothing to do with money lategame. But upping the prices on buildings wont fix that, because lategame starts when all the buildings are already built. Until that point, we are still in the midgame, and upping the prices in the midgame, when the player doesnt have the "too much money" issue yet, does nothing except prolonging the midgame. Especially, since midgame is about fleet building anyway, so it would be much more sensible to upp the prices on ships, or guns. Guns and mods especially. Guns are dirt cheap, and mods are even cheaper since the player cant lose them. And even if they werent, the game is set in such a way, that the player can go without buying those at all.
But okay, maybe we want midgame prolonged. But if thats the case, then why is that way, the way to go about it? Well, dont make me wrong. That will work. All im saying is that on a quality scale of 1 to 10, this idea is like 3max. If we really want to **** with pricing, then instead of making a flat out rise, why not make buildings cost materials instead? This is a simple, run of the mill solution. If we want battlestations to cost 500k, lets make it 100k + 400K in materials like steel, ore, machines, crew and ***. That way we end up in the same place, but in the meantime we managed to tie the player into the economy. Because now, there is another reason to follow it, and another decision to be made. Now, the player has to look for cheap, or pay the piper... Maybe buy an Atlas or two, that were never used before the lategame, just to be able to deliver it? (and maybe we would like to tie him to the exploration as well, and make buildings, or building upgrades cost items like brown IA cores etc? they are useless after a point anyway)
Btw, that would even make more sense from immersion point of view, since i dont see how is it not immersion breaking, that all it takes, is to dump some currency on a lifeless planet, wait 60days, and kaboom! theres a refinery.
Then again, as i said before, economy is trying her hardest to divorce herself from the rest of the experience, even tho, all the incentives for going back into the main game loop, are lodged into her... and so heres my paranoia.
But back to the lategame "too much money" problem.
First, I will allow myself a shot, and assume, that lategame will be about war. Because i just dont see, about what else it could be, if all the map is explored, and all planets taken, etc.
And second, it has to be said, that the "too much money" problem creates itself because of the colonies. Colonies make too much cash. But they cant make less, because if they got nerfed, they would become underwhelming and/or pointless. So how to nerf the colonies, without nerfing the colonies?
Heres an idea. What if there be a slider, that takes the cash of off the colonies earnings, and boosts the fleets that the colony employs? That way, if the player wants, he may zero on the slider, and protect his colonies himself, or max out on the slider, spend the cash, and be allowed a leeway. Especially in the lategame, when he has more than one colony. Coz one colony is easy to defend. But to defend 3 or 4 against every expedition and pirate raid?
And so that would create an illusion of a great earning, but the player would not get most of the cash for himself...
Anyway, maybe am exaggerating a nonissue...
Thx for reading.