Actually, Azumi is correct lensman. This is how it works, and if you don't like it then stay out of grey.

Seriously, you whine to much. I enjoyed chasing someone just as much as getting paid, and have had some real fun, even if they do get away. You need to chill. ;)

I see what incarnate means about this thread being hijacked.

Yes, well, whatever. Release feedback welcome here.

I give up. Sorry for entering this meaningless convo Inc. It was meant in a positive spirit and all.

All of a sudden I am a whiner. I am devastated.

Peytros. No what I am saying is that you cannot read. I don’t give a fart about you trying to take my cargo, more power to you if you can, but very few rats even come close to catching me.

Maybe if I use smaller words you can understand. I want pirates to be pirates and not simply slightly less intelligent bots. My dog is dumb enough to chase every car that comes down the block I had hoped that the pirates would be smarter than my dog but so far none are even close.

Above all I don’t want any silly “rules” of conduct telling people how they “should” act. They are useless. As my old drill sergeant use to say “should in one hand chit in the other and tell me which fills up first.”

I want the pirates to play any way they want. I just don’t want to reward them for lazy or sloppy play that degrades them to the point that a bot could do their job.

As for centaurs and the like again you missed the point by a country mile. ANY ship carrying cargo is a cargo ship even a Vulture or Valkyrie if that is what they are being used for. By the same token any ship that shoots at you is a “war ship” even if it is only a Behemoth Heavy Miner with an “attitude.”

For a kill to count as “combat” it would be nice if combat actually took place and not simply a mugging. A centaur shooting at you should win you more points if you kill it than an EC-89 running from you (and I know that you even shoot at those).

Now pay attention because here is where you keep missing the point. IF a trader looses their high value cargo by being blown up for non payment they should lose faction, which is a heck of a lot more painful (or should be made more painful) than losing mere money. Cargo that loses you faction standing should pay one heck of a lot more than normal cargo and win you all sorts of goodies from the faction---SO THAT THE TRADER WILL BE TEMPTED TO TAKE THE CHANCE.

If the reward is big enough I will hire you as an escort or pay your “toll” to pass through your bit of space but I don’t bother now because all I lose is normal cargo and mere money. I have buckets of both and their loss is no big deal. I also don't trust the average rat not to shoot me even after I slow down or pay because they get points for shooting me---which is what leads to sloppy and uninteresting game play.

The pirate should not hesitate to shoot for non payment, he simply should not get paid for it. What he should get paid for is what real pirates get paid for even today, ransom for not destroying the ship. If that were the case then we should do all sorts of things to make the pirate’s life easier, like making “ambush” zones (important worm holes for example) very hard to run in and much easier to intercept in.

Now, did I make all that clear? Any questions before you “assume” what you think I am saying instead of simply asking?

vskye I fly in and out of Gray Space all the time and rats are never more than a minor nuisance. You like shooting things just to watch them go boom so you are not a real pirate and you spoil it for those who take their pirating seriously.

I have no problem with that. Enjoy the game any way that makes you happy. I just don’t see how giving you PK points or allowing you to scoop up cargo as a “payment” for what you are going to do anyway makes the game “better” for the rest of the players.

I see no point in “punishing” you for your style of play, I just don’t see the point in rewarding you for it either.

@lensman, and all who say that pirates are no longer such:

I hadn't realized my departure from VO was so sorely missed... :)

I am the gentleman pirate you are looking for, and apparently I have been missing out, better see if I can afford to return.

-R IBA 3.14rat

The pirate should not hesitate to shoot for non payment, he simply should not get paid for it. What he should get paid for is what real pirates get paid for even today, ransom for not destroying the ship. I just don’t see how giving you PK points or allowing you to scoop up cargo as a “payment” for what you are going to do anyway makes the game “better” for the rest of the players.

I'm done being polite with you on this issue--one should not tolerate a blustering ignorance.

You see, unlike real life, players in VO don't give a fig for their cargoes or, more importantly, their "lives." Thus, were your idiotic suggestions to be implemented, all we'd see is traders flipping pirates the bird even more (if that's possible), knowing that all a death would cost them was some meaningless credits (or a tiny handful of standing points, as the Devs would not make a loss of cargo carry anything serious, and most traders wouldn't lose out enough times for it to matter).

Since running is so easy, traders so infrequently encountered, and people being trained on the "never pay the scumrats" mentality, pirates are entirely correct to shoot first, keep shooting, and generally take their chances on selling the cargoes they liberate from your hold. At least that's a sure thing, unlike payment in this game. Your snide remarks about "less intelligent bots" serve to reveal your fundamental misunderstanding of how the game as a whole works, as well as your bitterness about getting killed.

If you seriously think that pirates are PKing you because they want the player kill rewards, you're an idiot. Most pirates blew past the 500 kill badge long before they turned pirate. Nobody shoots traders in any significant number because of their value as a kill.

If you have a problem with the game's dynamics leading to looting the hold of a destroyed ship being the best way to pirate, take it up with the Devs. Don't make assinine comparisons to "real" pirates, and don't claim that the error lies with the pirates.

Finally, let me tell you why pirates kill traders rather than asking for ransom 95% of the time: it's not because of the loot they can get, it's not because it's the surest bet in the face of an incredibly easy escape for a running trader, and it's not because they like getting PKs.

Pirates blast traders because 99% of traders--due to the game's slant towards making trade a very safe business, and piracy hit or miss even for excellent pilots with lots of piracy experience--have a snotty attitude about pirates and like nothing better than to thumb their nose at genuine piracy attempts, which allow them to run away all the better. A lack of respect results in surly pirates--ensuring that, unless a trader is on my Positive Interactions List, traders are KOS.

^^I agree^^

Also, you're not a whiner Azumi, lensman's just stupid.

"Boohoo, penalize pirates for not playing like I want them to!"

Lecter, you haven't been polite yet, so why start now?

Pirates do not bother me, they seldom catch me and the few who do don't cost me a hill of beans. My suggestions are only aimed at improving the game for all, including the pirates, but there are some who are so immature, and insecure, that they get the wind up at anything they can not understand, which is most things.

You complain about the “snotty attitude” of the traders and I can only laugh. They have a snotty attitude towards you because you are not much more dangerous than a bot and have an adolescent attitude that makes “playing” with you boring.

Personally I like the direction that the game is taking and only wished to offer positive suggestions as to how it could be better but that is not up to you and the other rats and it is not up to me, it is up to the Devs and so far they are doing a great job.

I will continue to not respect you and my only regret is that there is no way to “paint” a hand giving you the finger on the tail of my ship, which is about the only part you are likely to see.

Ok, well, that seems to about wrap up this discussion.

Also, speaking of positive suggestions about how the game could be better, people are welcome to post in my thread where I'm asking for exactly that, instead of bitching at each other. That would be great.