“Hello Citizens!
In this video I would like to talk about data running, challenges CIG will face implementing it and whether it can compete against external tools. Enjoy!”
In this video, the speaker discusses the concept of data running in the game Star Citizen and how it may compete with third-party tools and external communications. Data running involves sharing coordinates and resource locations with other players. However, a major challenge is that players may circumvent the system by directly sharing coordinates with others, which eliminates the need for data running and transaction fees. Another challenge is how the game guarantees that resources will be present in different sessions or server shards, which affects the selling of data to other players.
The speaker suggests some solutions, such as allowing direct sharing of resource locations within a party or organization without limitations, or implementing soft measures that make external tools unnecessary. The speaker also raises questions about dedicated data running ships and potential missions specific to these ships.
From an economic gameplay perspective, the supply side of data running seems straightforward, as players would be willing to sell data to NPC brokers based on the value of the resources or trading locations. However, determining the demand side is more complex. Displaying data contents without revealing too much information is crucial, especially for commodity prices at different locations, which drives trader income.
Finally, the speaker proposes that creating a demand for data about resources or trading locations through NPC-generated data may be a good initial step before allowing players to supply their own data. The success of Salvage contracts, a form of data running, can be attributed to the rarity of randomly spawning salvage. The speaker believes that creating mining contracts for safe and profitable mining locations may be necessary to generate interest in data running for resource extraction.