Could the mission system plug into Quantum, so that when a resource is needed for a particular station it generates a mission for that?
TL;DRMissions are statically set up now, but the Quantum system is meant to take over generating and balancing them from universe needs, while missions stay an introduction to professions alongside open sandbox play.
Yeah, exactly. It's static because we have to preset up all of the data, but the idea is that it's all there. So when the Quantum system comes and hooks in, it'll just take over and start generating these on its own and balancing these based on the needs of the universe, and it will react to what players are doing.
And that's not to say that missions are the only way. When these missions come online, and as there are more salvage missions and more mining missions, that's not the only way to make a living with those professions. Those are introductory things to draw people to the profession for the first time that maybe they hadn't considered before, and to supplement with a little more directed initiatives the open sandbox stuff that you'll always be able to do.
Yeah, it's something that me and Thorsten have talked about a few times, when Thorsten first released salvaging, hull scraping. The gameplay came out and then the missions were a way to help expose it to new people so they could see the gameplay and find the things a bit quicker. So it's a nice way to show you to the world and then let the systemic nature of the universe, and the actual cost of doing it yourself without a mission, come into play when you get more advanced in it.