I don't know if this is in the works or not for the new economy, but it would be a big boon for traders.
The faster they take materials from one sector to another, the higher the return. It would only be a small percentage profit per time ratio, but add that into a larger amount of cargo, more runs, etc, and that is quite an incentive.
Right now when I trade it seems kind of dull. Adding something like this would be cool IMO. Players would have PRs for routes, as well as universe records (think millenium falcon, i forget the name of the run). With tweaking and all that stuff, it could be awesome.

Also, when do we get bigger ships?! (cargo wise mainly)

~The Penguin Trader

I'm so hoping for bigger ships. I want to see the Ragnarok's model increased by 10%, and the Centuar's by about 25%.

That's a pretty cool idea.

/me shivers

the rag and centaur increased, will make it an even easier sitting duck to shoot down :(

cheers

it is the kessel run... @ taumuaddib

I was gonna say kestrel, but then I realized my Esacape Velocity roots would show ;)

I think that large, slow ships would do fine, and should be sitting ducks. It helps bring in the idea of escorts and really running a business out of trading.

What could also help this is if trading guilds ever take off the ground, elusive trading items could be given to these groups (not given, but somehow access to them, either valuables if its a reputable service, or smuggling of items vice versa)

Of course, tweaking a medium ship into a fast one and just hauling that little cargo as fast as you can could/should make it lucrative over having a huge ship with a buddy as an escort.

~The Penguin

A similar topic was raised a little earlier. People kept saying over and over how the Marauder's hull should be increased but its agility decreased. But you know what? That'll be just another Ragnarok or Centaur with more cargo. Boooring. And then I argued that if you're going to want to make the most out of the trading, you're going to need a fast ship. Time equals money, of course.

And so I said that the Marauder needs to have its hull reduced drastically, but have its agility increased by a lot. That way it can't be used as a fighter, due to its weakness and size, but it would get you to your destination quicker and it'll help you avoid pirates. You'll always want to be ahead of your competition. Giving these characteristics would justify the Marauder's cost and it would actually make it a true special ship. One that'll actually fit its intended role.

*Agrees with taum about freighters* However, there should be ships that are good fighters (e.g. Starbridge), good freighters (e.g. Leviathan), and a mixture of both (e.g. Manticore). Also, there should be different types of runs. Safe but not so profitable (e.g. Sol-Kania), and short and profitable but extremely dangerous (e.g. Gefjon run). Mmmm... EVN...

how about the 1-day air? (Fighter cargo transport) ;)

And you get paid extra for the privelage of having it taken in a special ship! (e.g. Vell-os ship)

Good call pyro, I agree with you on everything you just said!

*slips envelope of ideas under devs door*

~The Penguin

/me gets ready to take a centurion (post devs making it fastest ship ever) with expesive important mission related cargo through blockades.

/me makes no evn references...................... no.... I won't!

Arolte drop its hull a lot, and increase acceleration, not agility. because if it was so agile, and no one could hit it, it would be good for fighting. But if you increase its acceleration, it could go fast, but not be used as a fighter.

I say, for freighters, extremely high speed, but slow acceleration time. It might be able to go 700m/s... But it'd take 5 minutes to get up to that speed... And make the speed stay the same after warp, so that you'll still be going 700m/s when you come out of warp. So, the ship can go REALLY fast in a straight line, but if something gets in its way, it's in trouble.

I like that idea of constant, after warp, boosting. I'm thinking maybe like double, or triple batteries to make it fit in to the current structure of things. Freighters (bulk ones) are made to get as much of cargo from point A to point B, with few things in the way stopping or slowing it (think aboot a train, or the freighters in cowboy bebop (heavy metal queen)). Makes sense to me. Of course you can mod up a smaller, more agile ship to do more interesting runs ;).

~The Penguin

/me pictures a 150m freighter hitting a centurion at 500m/s....

/me points to Sir Camp's capacitor thread.

Just to save you the trouble Camps.