we could start the bets on which point of that preview comes next.

i bet for loot/kernel change, as it is mostly work for the lore guy (and the translators).
- aside of that, i would like to have more details about the planned "bounty-loot" as i can imagine several methods of implementation.

I would mostly use the spark for moving between outposts to buy from the local market, but at that point it is so easy they may as well just add in an extension for buying remotely, the additional benefit would be ablity to purchase while undocked. Of course you still have to physically go to that station to get the item. If you didn't have to move the stuff, transport players would be obsolete and 25M in Lithus's would be wasted, so no free item transfers

Bounty should be easy enough, unless they are trying to get creative about the icons for the tokens. Just do a generic icon for all of them for now, and give us specific ones for each faction and bot type later; or if you must just use the faction 'face' icon and the name to differentiate type.

It could take them a few trys to get the buy amounts correct, so don't get too attached or upset at the initial market buy orders... did someone say make each token 3U... that would just be evil.... >:)

remember, the spark port would only work from beta outpost/terminal > alpha terminal.
to get anywhere you would have to have spare robots at those alpha terminals.

The teleport itself would have to cost at least as much as a crafted small bot, or it would be missused to mass-create cheap arkhes.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the energy collecting part of the story instead of robot pennies

Makes more sense to be energy, that larger bots would have more of it.

If the energy items can be traded in for *stuff* though, according to the blog, that will create a player market for it potentially above the syndicate buys, but won't we end up in kind of the same place as we did with kernel's "To sell or not to sell". Or is that the plan, where you like the mechanic, but it didn't work because it was tied to research?

I interpret this as you can go from beta to alpha, and from alpha to alpha, not that you can only go from beta to alpha.  I don't see what the problem is going from alpha to alpha, like you said you need to have a bot there to do anything.

What's wrong with mass-creating cheap arkhes?  Remove the ability to recycle them or in any way extract value from them.  There should be a way to move about the world without being in an actual bot with value, similar to capsules in Eve. 

The primary use I can think of for this is to buy a bot at a different station than you are based in without having to go there in a sequer and haul the bot back.  Teleport there, buy the bot, drive the bot back.  You could also have combat bots in your mission station, mining bot in an outpost you use for production, etc, and switch between them easily.

I have some CT's in the factory that I wanted to check on and to start up a new production run on another. I had to slog all the way out there just to click the button. Of course if I needed mats the new spark teleport wouldn't help, but if it works as it sounds, that in itself is going to make the whole game just that much more pleasant to play.

Also, there are times at the end of my play night, that I just want to get back to my home station. Being able to dock up at a remote station, teleport back to ICS-Alpha outpost, check the market and log out would fantastic.

I think a side-benefit to the market would be players buying additional bots to have placed around. So instead of just needing 1 sequar, maybe I'll have 5 or 6 spread around different outposts, and I can move them around logistcally at slower times but have one handy if I need to move something quickly.

Um.. ok, that could be a problem to balance now that I think about it.

So moving resources from the purchase station to the factory involves driving out there and coming back with an empty cargo, repeat as needed. With spark transfer, I could have 10 sequars at the station, fill one up and drive to the factory, then spark back and fill up the next, after 10 I could package them up and put them in 1 sequar for the drive back; cutting the transport time by 50%.

Does this seem like an issue? The same could be done with transport missions; 10 one way trips.

Or maybe if your willing to spend the extra on more bots it balances out?

No, the packaged bot size isn't the problem, and the thing I highlighted makes it less likely that there will be teleporting between remote outposts, even on alpha. Moving your spark from beta to alpha is just an inconvience now, as you can set your home base to any main outpost and suicide an arkhe. That is more likely what they are looking to address, and possibly the ability to 'port' between main alpha outposts, especially once there are 3 more alpha islands.

Its premature to think of it as a fully meshed outpost teleport system; for the balance reasons I stated.

All excellent points Ral

Just an hour timer would be enough to limit most of the possible abuses. Cost is just another factor in limiting how often something is used, and the timer already does that, so it could just as easily be free; but cost also forms a floor at what stage in a game a player will use an item. So a small 5k fee would be enough to get new players to think twice about using the port but the timer would be the cap for vetern players.

Cargo/Logistics is an actual profession in Perpetuum, every bit as important as mining and manufactoring. If the game had the ability for player contracts to move cargo, I would be all for reducing transport missions, but as it is now there's just to much risk of fraud in giving a player 10-20M NIC worth of bots or Ore to move, as well as the risk of not getting paid either.

80U Locked cargo containers, player contracts, then nerf transport mission; until then its their only income source. And if you don't think its EP intensive, try driving a Lithus MK II.

Not exactly how I would have phrased it but I’m with you on this idea.

I think he meant some sort of charge you needed to have in your private storage to tele between outposts, not a teleport module.

A 'charge' as well as a cooldown-timer would be perfect, instead of straight NIC. All main outposts should have an infinite NPC sell order, but the price should be high enough to allow industry to sell for less. This also creates a 'sell' market at the remote outposts for players that didn't drive charges out there already, or that used all theirs up; of course the price will be higher at stations without infinite sells *rubs hands evilly for profit*.

Using player creatable items will help to get NIC moving through the market instead of just creating another NIC sink with a 'per use fee'.

Think they made a big big mistake with the Kernel change, now I really really pity new corporations starting the game. It will take a long while before they get to the point where they can compete with Beta-dwellers, and corps like M2S with finished tech-tree... well, lucky bastards what can I say.