Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: I give up, I misjudged the market on surveyors by about 400% shoot me :(
Ragnaat
Thu Apr 29, 2004 9:32 pm
#14
I'm not gonna argue with ya on the usage as I still need to get a few more to play withand find the best way to use them. I figure in the end I probably will have a couple with me because I can and because it might just be a surprise if used sparingly (like feign death).
But, on the cost side, if they're more then a thousand or 2 per for the base mse models (not the sooped up take on some turret R3 droids) - or the 10k Neol was comparing his prices to - then I just don't see it as something I'd add to my normal repertoire. Hell, 10 or 15k for a ready supply in the first few days isn't all that outrageous either, and that people are selling for that - this week - doesn't shock or bother me. But in a discussion on misjudging what the market price for these will be, or trying to set a reasonable long term price once these settle I just can't see 5 or 10k being the answer.
But maybe I'm wrong.
/shrug
Oh, and one question while I'm here - on something I haven't had a chance to test yet - can you have an explody droid and another droid (either combat or harvest) out at the same time? (don't wanna totally hijack the thread, so a quick yes or no would be fine)
But, on the cost side, if they're more then a thousand or 2 per for the base mse models (not the sooped up take on some turret R3 droids) - or the 10k Neol was comparing his prices to - then I just don't see it as something I'd add to my normal repertoire. Hell, 10 or 15k for a ready supply in the first few days isn't all that outrageous either, and that people are selling for that - this week - doesn't shock or bother me. But in a discussion on misjudging what the market price for these will be, or trying to set a reasonable long term price once these settle I just can't see 5 or 10k being the answer.
But maybe I'm wrong.
/shrug
Oh, and one question while I'm here - on something I haven't had a chance to test yet - can you have an explody droid and another droid (either combat or harvest) out at the same time? (don't wanna totally hijack the thread, so a quick yes or no would be fine)
Tarne_Monter
Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:40 pm
#15
Hmm. I might have to start charging more for my exploding droids and survey droids.
I don't want to be price gauging anyone. Hmmmmm.
Anyother DE's in North-Central to North-East Naboo on Ahazi (other than Kollos I've already seen what he's charging) want to comment on their prices for IPS and EMSE droids?
I don't want to be price gauging anyone. Hmmmmm.
Anyother DE's in North-Central to North-East Naboo on Ahazi (other than Kollos I've already seen what he's charging) want to comment on their prices for IPS and EMSE droids?
royalewitcheez
Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:51 pm
#16
Tarne_Monter wrote:
Hmm. I might have to start charging more for my exploding droids and survey droids.
I don't want to be price gauging anyone. Hmmmmm.
If you don't want to be gouging, shouldn't you consider lowering your prices?
I'm thinking that after the novelty runs out, and another Vertex spawn comes around, I'd be willing to pay about 7k per stack for these. Now that the DEs know they need Vertex, next time it comes around they will probably be more active in harvesting it, causing the price of it to drop.
Right now it seems people are also gouging the DEs that need the Vertex, so it only figures that the DE would have to raise the price of the droids in return.
Tarne_Monter
Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:56 pm
#17
It's costing me about 1k to just make the exploding droids, and that's only because I have nice friends.
And around the same for the survey droids.
And around the same for the survey droids.
royalewitcheez
Thu Apr 29, 2004 11:23 pm
#18
Ok, I just misunderstood what you were saying is all.
So 1k cost to make then 5k net per stack profit, that's pretty good? How much you sell them for currently? (This is the Ahazi Galaxy Trade forum, right? :smileyhappy
Squygxicus
Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:11 am
#19
Keep in mind on the survey droids, not only are you saving the customer money on transportation but a lot of time as well. A trip to Coronet then Dantooine (If I have my routes right) can be 20 mins if you time the shuttles wrong. Sure it might take longer to get the report back via email, but its a round trip you save meaning it could be longer, plus you can get your 5 use droid all used up at the same time instead of from Corellia to Dantooine back toCorellia off to Yavin etc.Time saved while you can be checking your harvesters, stocking vendors, or running destroy missions.
Tell your customer he/she can log on for the day burn up a survey droid first thing while checking harvesters/vendors replying to emails etc. Then plan their day like half an hour later all from their front porch.
Ragnaat
Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:27 am
#20
As a first day customer of Neols (1 crate of survey droids, a few test mouse bombs) let me just add a few things...
(1) I thought you were a bit cheap on the survey droids especially so on patch day... I would regularly pay maybe double, but 100k is just silly. I may be an odd case in that when I've used them so far I've sent 4 droids out to a planet - both for my own information but also to double check on swgcraft status, so if they get too much more per charge it just isn't worth it at all for those purposes and I'd fall back on using one or 2 charges a week just to check that offworld harvesters still have something to dig up. [i still will be only using about one droid a week]
(2) As a smuggler I'm going to have a hard time justifying the regular use of the bomb droids regardless of price... although 10k would certainly cause me not even to think about it. I only tested the two out but the whole process seemed like a bit of a pain for a one time not very surprise detonation doing 500 or 1000 damage to a buffed player. I mean, I've gotta have it already out and trained so I don't have to change targets 8 times in the middle of battle or pull it out and use the radial menu and all that mess, not to mention have to have a droid slot open to use them. Just not my cup of tea i guess. The only place they seem like they will really have value is if there are multiple people in a group using them at once... But like the survey droids 1k seemed on the low side for a patch day product, but there's no way in hell its worth 10k.
[edit: also, as far as resources go bria had (still has?) an active tolium spawn on patch day and vertex has been plentiful in the last 2 months, although I'm not sure if the last shift was still active when the first news that DEs wouuld need it it... but its not a server you will have to pay 40 or 50cpu to get]
(1) I thought you were a bit cheap on the survey droids especially so on patch day... I would regularly pay maybe double, but 100k is just silly. I may be an odd case in that when I've used them so far I've sent 4 droids out to a planet - both for my own information but also to double check on swgcraft status, so if they get too much more per charge it just isn't worth it at all for those purposes and I'd fall back on using one or 2 charges a week just to check that offworld harvesters still have something to dig up. [i still will be only using about one droid a week]
(2) As a smuggler I'm going to have a hard time justifying the regular use of the bomb droids regardless of price... although 10k would certainly cause me not even to think about it. I only tested the two out but the whole process seemed like a bit of a pain for a one time not very surprise detonation doing 500 or 1000 damage to a buffed player. I mean, I've gotta have it already out and trained so I don't have to change targets 8 times in the middle of battle or pull it out and use the radial menu and all that mess, not to mention have to have a droid slot open to use them. Just not my cup of tea i guess. The only place they seem like they will really have value is if there are multiple people in a group using them at once... But like the survey droids 1k seemed on the low side for a patch day product, but there's no way in hell its worth 10k.
[edit: also, as far as resources go bria had (still has?) an active tolium spawn on patch day and vertex has been plentiful in the last 2 months, although I'm not sure if the last shift was still active when the first news that DEs wouuld need it it... but its not a server you will have to pay 40 or 50cpu to get]
Message Edited by Ragnaat on 04-29-2004 03:33 PM
Straker_Atrella
Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:38 am
#21
Withthe survey Droids, 1k per charge seems like a perfect system. The DE will make a profit, and the customer will be happy. Pretty much ANY planet costs more then 1k to fly round trip too, not to mention time saved.
burgerking
Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:05 am
#22
"Right now it seems people are also gouging the DEs that need the Vertex, so it only figures that the DE would have to raise the price of the droids in return."
heh yeah I had one guy email me to let me know that DE's needed vertex and he would sell me some for 50cpu out of the goodness of his heart, what a nice chap. Luckily I found an excellent resource vendor seilling it for 3cpu and picked up almost 200k of it so I can laugh in the face of the greedy gougers now 
As for pricing, I'm still unsure how to play it. Some people seem to be forgetting that each use only searches one resource group, so a user will likely have to launch 3 or 4 droids per planet.
Azmodon
Fri Apr 30, 2004 4:41 am
#23
Ok, now, I only recently got Master DE, so I am new to makeing Droids, but I turned my wifes toon into a Master Weapon Smith here on Eclipse.
The vertex gemstone to make both survey droids and detonation droids, is hard to come by here, main reason, very few people farmed it and there has only been 2 spawns of it on this server. A guild member managed to find a stash for me, so I made a test version of the Survey Droid. I dont know how many of you have tested this droid, and I am useing some pretty high qual resources to make it, this droid, in my opinion, is a waste of money and time, and heres why. I put all experimentation into quantity just for the hell of it, launched a droid to Yavin to survey for minerals, return time on information, 46 mins 53 sec. In 46 mins 53 sec from Corellia, I can port to another planet and already be surveying for a good spot to drop harvestors. Furthor more, these little jewels, use a survey tool from your inventory, oh, how nice, this inadvertantly adds to the cost. Also, depending on which planet you go to, such as Naboo, the cost to go there and come back is about 1.6k, only about 200-500 over the cost to use 1 survey droid. Now, I have not tried puting points into Quality, so this might change the info time and make these droids a little more usefull, but for 12 uses, at a 46min return time for info, everyone in my guild laughed at that and said, why bother, easier to go do it yourself.
Another thing that I think would make them more usefull is, giveing the stats of the resources on the planet. this would be worth the time of 46mins in my opinion, because with the stats, you could send the probe, find out if theres anything worth finding a high concentration of, with out leaving your home planet.
But of course, this is my opinion, might not be anyone elses.
The vertex gemstone to make both survey droids and detonation droids, is hard to come by here, main reason, very few people farmed it and there has only been 2 spawns of it on this server. A guild member managed to find a stash for me, so I made a test version of the Survey Droid. I dont know how many of you have tested this droid, and I am useing some pretty high qual resources to make it, this droid, in my opinion, is a waste of money and time, and heres why. I put all experimentation into quantity just for the hell of it, launched a droid to Yavin to survey for minerals, return time on information, 46 mins 53 sec. In 46 mins 53 sec from Corellia, I can port to another planet and already be surveying for a good spot to drop harvestors. Furthor more, these little jewels, use a survey tool from your inventory, oh, how nice, this inadvertantly adds to the cost. Also, depending on which planet you go to, such as Naboo, the cost to go there and come back is about 1.6k, only about 200-500 over the cost to use 1 survey droid. Now, I have not tried puting points into Quality, so this might change the info time and make these droids a little more usefull, but for 12 uses, at a 46min return time for info, everyone in my guild laughed at that and said, why bother, easier to go do it yourself.
Another thing that I think would make them more usefull is, giveing the stats of the resources on the planet. this would be worth the time of 46mins in my opinion, because with the stats, you could send the probe, find out if theres anything worth finding a high concentration of, with out leaving your home planet.
But of course, this is my opinion, might not be anyone elses.
0p3c
Fri Apr 30, 2004 4:52 am
#24
I was the same way when I first started making vehicles. I had no idea what the market was like for them. So I just shopped around and tried my best to have prices LOWER than every other local place around, heh.
It's been my experience that selling for less is an admirable quality. I don't mind that I don't make buttloads of money off my vendors. I just like providing the items and services. I mean, heck, if I ever need harvester money, I can always go run a few missions, eh?
Don't beat yourself up over it. They were only selling high because they're new. Things will smooth out after a while.
It's been my experience that selling for less is an admirable quality. I don't mind that I don't make buttloads of money off my vendors. I just like providing the items and services. I mean, heck, if I ever need harvester money, I can always go run a few missions, eh?
Don't beat yourself up over it. They were only selling high because they're new. Things will smooth out after a while.
Starphire
Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:42 am
#25
Azmodonmine were coming back in 30 mins, we need to learn how to shorten the time spam.. which stat etc.. i heard they can be as quick as 20 mins .
MusicManZarick
Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:57 am
#26
I've found the easiest way to avoid resales on items I actually stock on my vendor is to change the name of the schematic also, but instead of just putting in my name, I list my price. So, for example, if I sell an Adv. R2 with combat modules and armor that totals 45K, it would be listed as a KryarranDroidWorks Adv.R2-45000 on the vendor. That way if someone comes along planning to by the model and sell it for 60K, they're gonna find it hard to sell when their potential customer sees I made it for 45K.