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Start your topic title with a relevant prefix.
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- UI – for user interface suggestions
- ATC – for aircraft control and movement features
- Economy – for changes to income, payouts, or cost structures
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What is your suggestion?
Clearly describe your idea or the change you’re proposing.
I think the current state of the game relies too much on external communication (outside of the game, e.g. discord or other messaging apps) in order to find and establish player contracts.
Currently, it seems the only real way to start contracts with other players within the game itself is to send/accept random player contracts, and then use the “recent connections” to send a contract, hoping that the player is active, and is interested in establishing a player contract.
I would like to see a system where players can both offer contracts as well as accept contracts, all within the game, by navigating to player airports and see what is on offer.
How would it work in the game?
Explain how this would be implemented from a gameplay or UI perspective.
Offering contracts
When you are in one of your airports, and you have fleet planes, you would be able to offer contracts as follows:
On any available plane, click “Start/Offer Contract” (currently, this button says “assign contract”). The game would open the map, and show 2 options
*Option 1: Non-Player and Random Contracts*.
This option is how the game currently deals with sending planes to Non-player airports, or as a random contract to a player airport.
*Option 2: Player Contracts*
Selecting this option shows the following sub-options:
- Direct Contract: This would be the same as the current system. You select an airport on the map, and fill in a player’s ID (or select from the “recent contracts” list) to send a contract to a specific person.
- Offer Contract: Under this option, you are basically offering this plane as a possible contract for other players. You just need to select the destination you want the plane to go to and that’s it. Another player can now accept this contract (see below)
Accepting contracts
When you are in one of your airports, you would accept player contracts as follows:
- Go to the “Contracts” tab. There would be a new “Player Contract” option, between the “random player” and “Map Contract” option.
- Click on “Find”
- Navigate to the airport you want to get a player contract from
- Click on “show Offers”
- This now shows all available contracts that were offered by other players, which you can accept, and the contract will start when you select one.
That’s it!
So, to put it in a hypothetical example:
Player 1 has a B77W available, and wants to start a player contract to SCL from LHR. They offer up the contract. Player 2 is playing SCL and wishes to start a player contract. They navigate to the Player Contracts, and select LHR. They see a B77W available from Player 1, and accept it.
ADVANCED OPTIONS
With the basics presented, I would also like to suggest potential more advanced options for contract offers which may improve the system even more:
Multiple destinations: instead of only offering the flight for a single destination, allow it to be offered to any destination it can fly to (based on current seat configuration). For example, a B77W from LHR can fly to IAD or MSY, so it would be available from either airport to accept.
Advanced Contract requirements: players offering contracts would be able to set specific requirements that other players have to meet in order for the contract to complete:
- Contract deadlines: A set time the contract has to be completed in, otherwise the contract is cancelled automatically (no rewards for either player). Restricted to minimum 10 days (i.e. 1 handling per day).
- Even more advanced alternative: instead of cancelling, the contract is converted to a level 10 “random player” contract to that airport so the owner of the plane can decide to complete the 10 handlings, and still get the SP/XP rewards, while the other player who failed the contract obviously gets nothing.
- Maximum days between handlings: How much time a plane can sit idle at the destination airport. Restricted to minimum 24 hours. When the time is passed, the plane flies back automatically to the owner’s airport as if it had been handled, and the contract continues. For the other player, the contract behaves as if you handled it but were delayed (red thumbs down).
Why is this a good idea?
What improvement would this bring? Better usability, realism, fun factor, accessibility?
Better in-game system to play socially.
Optional: Image or reference
Attach anything that helps visualize or support your idea.