4Game

It’s well known (edit: apparently I should say often said rather than well known as many seem to disagree with me) that the upkeep cost of a Fleet Carrier is prohibitive, and people refer to it as a full-time job. Yeah the carrier can sorta make passive income buying and selling commodities, but that’s a fickle and uncertain task.

I’d be very open to the idea of docking fees at fleet carriers. I think it’d have a few perks with little downside:

1) Obviously, passive income. If a FC has a modest docking fee of say 1,000-5,000Cr, carriers parked in high traffic areas can generate a somewhat sizable sum to offset the upkeep cost.

2) Fair exchange. Often I’ll use an FC because it’s placed much more conveniently than the nearest station. Should I not owe its owner some small token for that convenience? I’d be willing to pay it in most circumstances, which leads to 3:

3) Carrier competition. If I’m paying a fee to dock, I’m gonna remember the best carriers in that system: most services offered, actually has credits to buy the resource that’s being mined nearby, best placement, so on and so forth. The better carrier owners would get more traffic and be better rewarded.

And 4) flexibility. If carrier owners could adjust these fees based on the value offered and we let the market decide what’s fair (for example a carrier that regularly ferries to/from Colonia could charge a larger docking fee than a stationary one), it could add a little more depth to owning a carrier and increase the profit capabilities.

Thoughts, comments, personal insults?