We need a better way to transfer cargo from one player to another or from one alt to another. Right now the only thing we can do is to dump the cargo in space and then have the other player pick it up.

In the case of an alt the player has to fly to an empty sector, dump the cargo, rush back to base, log out, log back in as the alt, and then rush back to where the empty sector and pick up the cargo. Very cumbersome and it detracts from the beauty of the game.

What are the technical problems with leaving a cargo at a station and then having another player, or alt, use the proper pin number, pick up it up?

Guilds should like this feature since it would allow their members to stockpile cargos that must be carried long distances at a station for the final delivery by a different player.

For Gray Space stations newer players could earn their status in the guild by hauling in the cargo to a border station and more experienced players could make the hazardous run to the final destination.

Cargo transfer would also be another step towards a more dynamic economy since some players could haul cargo for resale to other players who would then carry it further down the line towards its final destination.

For example, a UIT player could haul Deneb rum or meditation crystals to Geira Rutilus and Betheshee spices to Deneb and sell these items players who cannot buy them for themselves because of faction restrictions.

This would lead to more players carrying cargos into Gray that they normally would not have access to.

the player has to fly to an empty sector, dump the cargo, rush back to base,

Why? Just log off right there.

All the same, station based "cargo bays" that are accessible by anyone with the right PIN would be fucking sweet. Charge some fee based on CUs stored in the locked cargo bay.

Player to player single station cargo transfer: Player A sends cargo to Player B in a "mailbox". The cargo is only accessible by Player B in the sending station and remains there until pickup, however if Player B no longer exists, the cargo is sent back to Player A. The amount of cargo can be limited with a "limbo" cargo hold meant for only sent cargo, so instead of Player A flooding Player B with 50,000cus of cargo, therefore inflicting station cargo fees, Player A can only send, say 1,000cus of cargo, into "limbo" between itself and Player B.

Further complicated methods of delivery and player owned stores can be derived but are more of an economic matter than simple cargo transfers.

Great ideas!

Massive stamp of approval. In my opinion this is a necessary addition before manufacturing becomes more widespread. The current amount of work needed to not only gather all the right materials, but also wait for the person who stored the materials to log on and have time to fly all the way over and transfer them, is nearly prohibitive. This would solve that problem neatly.
(also it's been suggested before, but it's important!)

Having in-station boxes with PIN codes rock.
In my personal experience trading stuff inbetween alts isn;t hard.. you don't even need to find an empty sector to do it in.

But still, all for the cargo-vaults-with-PIN-numbers

I'm pretty much for this as well. I can see incredible use of these in guilds and groups. Think what combat-heavy guilds could do with a special equipment locker, or what TGFT could do with a trade-item-locker. Donations to guilds could finally be more than just in the way of cash, etc.

Though I personally would not use it for alt-to-alt transfer... as such things are (in an RP sense) one hell of a cheat.

Not really. Putting some equipment in a storage bin as one persona, then switching personas to retrieve it? Makes a whole lot more RP sense than the current state of affairs, flying out as one person, logging out, logging in as the other, and picking the stuff up? This way fits in much neater.

@ diqrtvpe: I'd say both methods are a tad off... but that's my personal opinion that really doesn't relate to the content of this thread. I'd love to discuss this further, but let's do it in-game or on IRC. I don't want to derail a thread that has good ideas! :)

I'd agree with Surbius . The idea of player to player transfer of goods , weps and ship is a sensible long term vo goal. The mechanisms for this are not trivial , and anti spam safeguards need to be designed.

I pledge my support to this idea. It's been suggested before, but I can't seem to find the relevant threads, or else I'd link to them. Search FAIL.

At least one RP thread has used this PIN crate method: http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/7/14981#188441

If it's a simple cargo transfer within a station intended for only one person to view, then I find PIN numbers useless in this instance. However, if cargo transfers outside a station are to be grouped into the suggestion, I would think there would be (destructible) containers a player would use to store various items in, locked with a PIN number. Of course this method has many other features to implement so there is risk to those that use the system and those that steal from the system.

For example, my cargo container in Dau L-10 sits out in the roid ring full of ore. Only I know the PIN number to it (customizable PIN number length), if someone were to physically take/destroy the container, they would be slapped with some consequence by faction that monitors that sector and I would have an automated list of all grievances done against my containers. If I were to have a container in Sedina B-8, there would obviously be no faction consequences but my grievance list would still show the who, what, when, and where.

EDIT: Also, many more methods of cargo transfer can be derived with using PIN numbers and such.

Given the station storage limit, I think the way to handle this is to require the pilot creating the crate to factor its capacity into their storage limits until and unless it is taken by a recipient who enters the PIN, at which point the capacity is shifted from the crate creator to the accessing pilot. I think the contents should remain hidden until the PIN is entered, but the cu charged against the limit should be clear to all.

If these were to become "storage lockers" though . . . who takes the CU limit is harder to call. One way to fix it and preclude spam would be to make creating and maintaining a PIN coded locker on a station something that costs credits on a per cu basis. The guys who use the locker could then pay back the guy who created it and pays for it as he sees fit.