Posted - 2010.04.16 19:09:00 - [2]

 

the "container" already exists:

since dominion the limit of courier contracts is just big enough for the largest freighter. that means you can make courier contracts for fitted ships and haul them in a freighter.

hope this helps

Posted - 2010.04.17 01:56:00 - [4]

 

I heard using a 'loan' contract where you will give the guy isk when he 'returns' the item works just as well as a courier contract.

That and that actually flying the ships across is a perfectly viable method.


But, you know, nobody would use such crazy methods...
Oh well...

Posted - 2010.04.17 03:55:00 - [6]

 

I was actually referring to using the loan contract system to create what is essentially a sub-contract-able courier contract of sorts, but having tried to test it it seems it wouldn't work the way I intended it to, providing security for the contractor and contractee...

I guess a new contract type specifically for ship-couriering would work, and the basis for it to work is already there in the loan contract category.


Why I don't think a ship the likes you've described or a container the likes the op has described should exist? Because carriers and supercarriers facilitate this role within low-sec and 0.0, that's a very big part of their niche, and is supposed to be something limited to low-sec/0.0 to provide at least SOME degree of separation in what the various people between this parts of EVE space can do.


Logistics should be a difficult, costly and time consuming act to perform irrespective of who you are; it takes proper organization, trust among corp/alliance members and some other factors to achieve in low-sec/0.0 alone, unless you're the one-man-army type that has multiple carriers and alts at his disposal to perform the task all by yourself, (potentially) completely removing the player interaction and/or mini-profession elements.


That's just one of the many reasons I don't like either of the ideas. If a contract system existed that allowed people to essentially move your ships for you without having to stuff them into a freighter, that'd be great.


Hell, another benefit of this whole system would be that people could, depending on the time they're afforded, grab up something like a marauder with a nice fit on it and go run a few missions with it for a few hours before delivering it for you. It'd be risky on their part unless they're entirely sure of what they're doing, but it's a potential isk sink in the forum of destroyed modules and such, not to mention the drama alone would be great.

Posted - 2010.04.17 14:51:00 - [8]

 

Woah, this went in a complete different direction....

ok, just out of curiosity, can i courier-contract a ship to myself?

This suggestion simply asks for a way to provide transportation of rigged ships, no more, no less.

It is not asking for a new ship class.
A ship transportation container would be one option, simply allowing rigged ships to be transported in freighter cargo holds would be another option.

Posted - 2010.04.17 16:40:00 - [10]

 

how abou giving freighters a slot and having a modual that decides wether your carrying ships this slot could be set for exlusive use for these moduals so wont take normal moduals

Posted - 2010.04.19 12:44:00 - [12]

 

The idea of the ship still seems a bit closed-ended to me.

If there were a specific ship-moving contract type, that would allow for players to try and use the ships before delivering them, as well as allowing anyone that's at all able to fly the ship to pick up the contract, irrespective of whether they can fly (and have) some specific empire-centric carrier.

As far as the skills for this ship would go I cannot see it making sense for it to require anything less than Advanced Spaceship Command lvl5 the way carriers do. It may not have nearly as many functions, but the fact that it has what amounts to a ship bay (hint: the ships have to be moored on the inside of this ship, somehow) implies that it takes a lot more 'skill' than simply locking freight containers down inside a freighter (which only needs level 1 advanced spaceship command).


Perhaps having both could work? You'd still need a contract specific to moving ships so that they aren't placed in plastic wrap and a cardboard box, and could still simply fly them over instead of stuffing them inside this other ship. Or, you could accept multiple contracts of the sort and haul them all at once.


If it's a contract, you could potentially even use this ship to haul many ships to a 'distribution depot' and then subcontract them off to 'local' chauffeurs to move to their final destinations.

In addition, I find the fact that you cannot 'deliver' a courier contract without being at the pickup location yourself to be counter-productive. If people could do this, and sub-contract courier missions off to more local couriers, I think we'd find far more people making use of courier contracts as a whole and far more 'traffic' in the profession...

I'm guessing that it may be some form of code/database related problem that's preventing this from being how it works, though.