Great post Tux... completely agreed.

Also instead of just multiplying materials needed, they could just add more expensive components (epitron and noralgis based) to the higher tier stuff, and use harder to get stuff for t2 and sometimes epi based components.

The current system makes no sense really... lorewise or mechanic wise.

T2 is useful for fitting / speed fitting. T1 would still be used by new players.

I would think the issue would be, "where does this leave T3"

My issue with this suggestion is that it's dumming down production professions.

The reason behind the current system is that T4 is supposed to take a long time to produce, not just be expensive, its costly in both time and resources. At each stage of production, the builder needs to make the decision to either sell the product or continue to produce it to T4. It also takes planning to manage the CT's in the factory and staggering the lines.

It also requires the builder to have a sense of the market, as the demand for T4 today can't be met for at least 3 or 4 days. My comment about using nothing else applies more to beta corps. A standard build uses 5 or 6 different modules, to produce that would require 20 to 24 of the 30 lines available. But with the proposed shortcut, the indy could instead run 4 complete T4 sets, which means instead of getting 10 sets every 4 days, they can pump out 40 sets every day. There would be no need to ever fit anything but T4 if your EP let you.

"Expense" doesn't really mean as much to beta corps, production time is really the only limiting factor in how powerful they can be. This would totally ruin the 'tiering' system, anyone that wanted to compete would need T4, and completel lock out newer players or those unwilling to grind to buy T4, which would be easily available on the market.

The alternative would be to increase the factory run time to 4 days for t4. That sounds amazingly thrilling to play. Start 30 lines of the most popular T4 on monday, log back in Thursday, start new run, sell T4, log off for 4 more days.

-1

I am not sure where you've been but the tiers work like that already:
T1 = Standard (Requires no beta minerals)
T2 = 10% better than T1 in weight and fittings. (Requires every small amounts of beta materials
T3 = 15% better than T1 in positive stats apart from weight and fittings.
T4 = 20% better than T1 in most areas but requires 20% more fittings and weight

However currently this is NOT the case in almost all modules in the game. All are very close to this but T3 small armour plates are better than T1 in weight.

T4 small lasers have more than a 20% bonus to cycle time.. etc.
But the tiered system is in place and the main issue currently is lack of economy so prices are more a personal preferences than something created by the living breathing market.

Tiered production is very easy and creates an exponential in the cost of items. If you want cheap T4s then build them under your corp flag and stop buying them.

So what would this do besides making it ridiculously easy to produce T4 modules once you have the knowledge base for it?

It would be done on industrial corp-scale and corps would go overnight from struggling to put out 4 T4 LWF lines, to pumping out 30 T4 X lines.

What about T2 T3 prototype costs? Production costs? Either it's all merged into the T4 cost, in which case T4 will become even more scarce on the market and we'll see corps downgrading non-crucial modules to T1-T2, or its not merged and then there's no point in bothering to produce anything BUT T4.

In either case, everyone's forced to either downgrade their fits, or everyone's given a level playing field by easily producing T4. There's already a few very very simple mechanics in-game for producing more T4 in-game; "MMB" or as I like to call it "Mine More B*tch", and "SMPA" or as call it "Sub More Producer Accounts".

T4 should take time and effort. Lack of it shouldn't neccessitate spitting in the face of everyone who spent 5-10 hours daily mining since release.

current tiered system and reason why below t4 isn't desire able. making production of lower tier gear easier or simplier wont change the fact that the real reasons to NOT use them is that they are worse then T4.

I have got a handful of buddies to come join the game in the last few weeks and they love the complexity of the production system. Theyre busy farming kernels and wanting to get into T2 production as its something small enough scale for them to do at thier early point in thier chars lives.

New players dont need to worry about T4 complexity. I think they should leave the system as it is.