Some things are meant to take time, so people dont see everything in 5 minutes and get bored with the game..I am not agreeing or disagreeing with you. From what I understand after reading a lot of posts people quite enjoy the exploration part of the game and the danger when it comes to trading..if it was much faster the game would be over for many people in a much shorter period.

PS: Since I am not english native please pardon my errors.

I suppose that true, but for someone who has already explored everything it becomes a nuisance.

I think a slight increase in trade lane speed wouldn't be unwelcome, yes.

Granted, it can be thought of as an inconvenience...but a "big downfall"?! Well you did say it was AFTER you finished exploring. So surely it's not that bad.

The thing to remember is that the FL universe is quite vast, so of course it would take a while. They could easily have made the tradelanes faster...but doing so would make the universe feel a lot smaller, and it would kinda loose something.

However, I aggree with Tasiin that a small increase wouldn't affect it too much.

lol impatience will be the downfall of this world.

Yeah they could be faster but I think their fast enough! Happy Hunting!

Yep Dragoro

Your right. So many people today are in such a big hurry. You read about them in the newspapers all the time. I am talking about car wrecks because people are driving too fast..like maniacs and people getting fat because they eat too fast... like dogs.

I am going to take my time playing Freelancer and will as a result...enjoy it so much!

The trade lanes are fast enough as they are.

The trade lanes are fine. The universe is vast and it will take time to travel to the different parts of it.

Half the fun of this game is going to be the exploration and finding new things hidden about. I'm hoping they release a level editor so that new systems can be built to post on-line for servers.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance..."

I think they provide a more feesible means of travel. I have nothing against Jumping or folding (as in Event Horizon), but, though they may very well become possible in the distant future, looking ahead FROM NOW, a concentrated lane specifically for high-speed travel from one point to another really gives the game a more relatable touch. I think so, at least.

BTW, Danielsan. Your English is quite a bit better than A LOT of other people I know. And that is not confined just to these forums.

"Mercy is the mark of a great man. ::stabs guy with sword:: Guess that makes me a good man. ::stabs guy again:: Well, I'm all right." - Malcom Reynolds, Captain, Firefly-class Starship "Serenity"

You know what I hate? Highways! I wish I could just take my car out anywhere I want and drave as fast as I want.

Okay, okay ,maybe just a little too much sarcasm there, but I enjoy the trade lane idea. I think it was original and it added another element to the game by allowing players to hack them as a means for piracy. I don't mind them at all. The only I don't like is that there are not more of them. Instead of having to zig-zag across a system, it would be nice to have a few short-cuts to some of the larger planets & bases (ie Manhatten).
I also tried to figure out how much faster they are than normal cruise engine speed, but I couldn't get an exact number. Seems like it's about 10 times faster through the trade lanes.

Look at the bright side - at least you don't have to put up with traffic in the trade lanes. Imagine if the designers put traffic accidents and wreckless pilots cutting you off in the lanes.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance..."

Another thing I noticed about them is why are they so linear? I mean why dont they curve and bend like the jump gates do. Everything is so perfectly aligned like the planets and such, there's not enough z-axis movments. I think maybe they did this to simplify things for people who cant comprehend the 3rd dimension!

they are trade lanes, not rollar coasters

Foolhardy, you hit the nail on the head. I've been waiting to see if anyone else noticed that. While you can fly 'up' and 'down' along the Z-axis, it seems like you don't get anywhere. It's very weird. The funny thing is how all the planets, bases and everything else are all located on the same flat plane.
I'm not sure how they pulled off a 3D environment with nothing above or below the XY plane, but it seems to work.

I'll have to try pointing my ship 'nose down' and see how far away I can fly away from a fixed object on the Z-axis. Somehow, when I've tried it before, I seem to always curve back toward the XY plane. It's like each system is inside of a bubble or something.