Welcome to another blog post. This month we’ve spent a lot of time tweaking and balancing our game economy. So with that fresh in our heads it felt like a good time to give a little bit of context around what that means in Star Trucker…
A Fair Day’s Pay
The biggest question that lies at the heart of the game economy is “How much should the player get for finishing a delivery?” It seems like a simple question on the face of it but we’ll quickly fall down a rabbit hole if we’re not careful.
The payout for a job should ideally cover the costs of fuel and wear and tear, but perhaps only just. In Star Trucker, the truckers operate on tight budgets and money should feel like it’s been hard-earned.
Job Satisfaction
The job boards in Star Trucker will have a constantly-changing list of jobs on offer. Which job the player takes will greatly affect their money-earning potential.
For starters, the distance the player needs to haul will affect the payout but also the nature of the cargo e.g. fragile, perishable, heavy, temperature sensitive etc.
This will be a risk / reward calculation for the player. Not one to be taken lightly! In some cases taking an unprofitable job might be sensible if it partially pays for you to reach a sector with better paying jobs.
Skills To Pay The Bills
The player will also earn experience for completing jobs and this can be used to unlock new certifications in the skill tree.
Certifications open up new job types (the aforementioned fragile, heavy etc.) and unlock a suitable trailer for the cargo. These jobs are generally more difficult but pay better. On top of that certifications will also apply bonuses to related job types.
Find a job that is both fragile and long distance and you will get a bonus for both categories, meaning clever players can take jobs with multiple difficulty aspects and earn money much more quickly.
Are We Nearly There Yet?
Balancing this economy would be a challenge in a purely stats-based game but Star Trucker is also a physics simulation with a lot of player agency. Both the player’s driving skill and chosen route will affect profitability. Would you risk taking a trailer of frozen goods through a hot sector if it meant earning an early delivery bonus?
And that’s if everything goes to plan! Things can go south quickly in Star Trucker. If you haven’t checked your core power cells during a pre-flight then that’s going to be a nasty surprise when they run out. Imagine approaching a depo at cruising speed and your truck controls stop working! A job that was profitable on paper has suddenly cost you thousands in fines and repairs.
So with all that in mind - “How much should the player get for finishing a delivery?” - Well, you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out as we continue to tweak and refine the economy until Star Trucker releases next year!
That’s all for this post. We’ll continue to plot a path to some fresh new content for next month but in the meantime be sure to follow us on X and Tiktok, and check back regularly for the latest Star Trucker news.
-- Monster Dan
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2380050
