Suggestion One
I would like to see the amount of Synthetic SilkSteel reduced by a lot.
One way we could do this is lessen the requirement of SSS in FFSSA manufacturing down to 5 (20cu) [was 15].
Also in FCP to 4 [16cu] (was 10).
--
Suggestion Two
Also reduce the number of Reinforced Bulkheads needed for an Internal Bulkhead down to 3 (was 5).
--
Suggestion Three
Reduce External Hull Assemblies down to 6 (was 8).

yes, please... collecting such a massive amount of SSS for a kinda worthless ship is very annoying.

I'd prefer they make the ship less worthless rather than make it easier to get. A worthless ship that is easy to get is still worthless.

It does need to be easier anyway, yes, but finish the dang thing first and then worry about that.

Free mobile reloads and repairs, 400cu cargo hold, Storm radar and group extender, and docking for 4 ships inside a -very- strong hull isn't exactly worthless.

I would rather the devs worked on features for now....

+1 and I think I've mentioned similar reductions previously, apart from the External Bulkheads, but I'm for that too. It is still a heinous grind, but the insurance mission makes it bearable.

Getting a few more tridents fielded will build momentum for Inc to make them more like the npc versions, which he has said is still his plan EVENTUALLY: i.e. solve the shield issue and how to give them cap gauss turrets & chaos swarm turrets that can't be mounted on moths and atlases, and cap gauss cannons that can't be used in any large port.

If they ever add Prosus and Siepos vessels, I still say make those even easier to build, perhaps paying a large sum to represent the added work the station takes on, and make them far more expensive to replace (on the order of 10x or such) to give the Type M builders a reason to push (or to have pushed) thru the pain.

Even unshielded it isn't worthless for all the reasons abortretryfail mentions. Imagine the havoc an unscrupulous Trident pilot would cause offering reps & reloads to KOS characters in nation space...

Thats certainly true, but its not worth the grind atm since it would be terribly easily to kill without shields...

Terribly easy to whittle away 1,000,000 of armor while it tries to run and might drop a nuke at any moment? "The Compass Rose" has yet to get below 40% hull, and even if it died, big deal: 500k credits to the insurance mission and I get to pick a new paint job.

I'd love some input from the devs, know that this should be a simple reduction in the amount of time, significantly so.

This is not the thread to debate whether the trident is worth the effort to build, but to reduce the current requirements so that it will make it easier to manufacture.
Not massively easily, just enough so that more will actually have the motivation to get up off their asses and do it. And the target for amount of time that this should take in my mind could be 2-3 months.

I'm not against a reduction in some areas. CD had originally suggested a drop in the component item requirements, as well as the final assembly. I didn't do that for the last pass as I was being a bit conservative. But, now that we're making some changes to bot drops, it's probably good timing. I'll take a look at this in the near future.

Inc if ya just make them so other players can pilot them then they would be a lot more usefull - it is the lack of features and sharing that are stopping players from building more ships.

(and an increase in cargo size will also speed the build up a lot as well)

The ability to share them between players requires some non-trivial development work.. otherwise we would have launched with that feature. It is planned, but as always I have to juggle priorities vs resources.

Cargo size is doable. Is the main interest in having a unified uber-mining mothership? I would think trading would be limited to jetissoning a bunch of stuff and having friends carry it into stations.

Perhaps just 600-800cu?

Ok, I have done the following. Previous numbers are in parenthesis ().

- Type M Cargo is now 600cu.
- Fused Composite Plating now requires 8 (10) Synthetic Silksteel, 15 (20) Outer Hull Plate, 10 (20) XiRite Alloy.
- Fluid Formable SilkSteel now requires 8 (15) Synthetic Silksteel
- Internal Bulkhead Assemblies now require 3 (5) Reinforced Bulkheads.
- Mass of Fused Composite Plating is cut from 90 to 50 (game-editor number units).

Thanks Inc!!! :D

Here is a summary comparison of the new changes. Numbers in parenthesis () are from BEFORE the 1.8.195 update. For what the values were as of the 1.8.195 update, see the other topic: http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/25444#312697

Volume of all goods for final mission: 18,190 cu (33,517)
Volume of mfg goods for final mission: 9,176 cu (14,416)

Total cumulative volume of all goods: 276,936 cu (514,639)
Total cumulative volume of raw goods: 174,872 cu (341,375)
Total cumulative volume of mfg goods: 102,064 cu (173,264)
Total cumulative volume of synth ss: 33,344 cu (96,128)
Total cumulative volume of ore: 35,416 cu (57,139)

Total cumulative qty of Fused Composite Plating: 346 (582)
Total cumulative qty of Fluid Formable Silksteel: 692 (1212)

Total cost of goods: 29,908,220 cr (51,769,152) [excludes hive drops, ore & mfg parts]

My notes listed the former qty of XiRite Alloy needed for FCP as 15 (instead of 20). Were my notes wrong?

No, choco, Inc got it wrong.

Question whether this is actually a lesser, greater, or equal amount of time to build given the radically altered bot drop mechanic.

Yeah, I wonder that as well.

For me, I think the Capship just went out of reach! I'm not an "everyday-play-many-hours" player, but I thought, that I did quite a progress in building one. Now I think I can only buy myself one... not build...