Interesting ideas. It is worth noting that I, at least, did not think that was what you were talking about when you started this thread. Your first post emphasized the PvP-free idea more than the military missions idea, and I think that has driven the direction of the thread up until this point. Your last post definitely changed that direction, and I like the ideas you've put forward.

As for the comments, I know that they're not yours, but the main theme that seems to come through is that some people are killing other people for no reason. I'm not sure why that's not realistic, it happens in literally every online game. Some people, after all, just want to watch the world burn. And I haven't seen any experienced players avoiding areas mostly because of griefers, they're avoiding those areas because those areas are really damn boring. No content there, no other players there, nothing to do, thus no reason to go there. The main griefing area is Sedina, and that's certainly not being avoided.

That is not to say that I disagree with the feeling behind the complaints. As I previously said, the problem is that the ratio of griefers to real pirates among the "bad guys" in the universe is so high. The coming changes will hopefully help that out, as there will be fewer bored pirates who turn to griefing and more busy pirates who run a good business. Good business means repeat customers, which means not alienating your targets into never paying. I don't really see any quick fix for this problem other than getting more people in game again, at least none that wouldn't seriously compromise important game mechanics. The griefers will always be there in some manner, it's up to us to guide the newbies around them and settle them in.

Diqrtvpe

I have said it before but I will say it again---very good and thoughtful answers.

I don't know why being boomed by some people is worst, in the minds of other people, than being boomed by bots---but it is.

I recently took an evening course in Behavioral Economics (just for fun) and discovered that people think in ways that are strange and unexpected to traditional economists. For example researchers have tried experiments where one person was given ten dollars in cash and told that they could keep as much or as little as they liked and give as much or as little as they liked to another player. The catch was if the other player did not accept the money then both got nothing.

One would think that something is better than nothing but that is not how it works. In thousands of experiments the vast majority of players on the receiving end simply choose to take nothing rather than let the other player behave in what they thought was an “unfair” manner. Perhaps those who leave, or will not go to Gray, think like that. Who knows? There is a problem and we need to fix it. In that quest no stone should be left unturned.

I agree about the lack of content in Gray. At least when we could buy stuff before we had earned the proper licenses there was an “air” of naughtiness about the place. Now it is simply a remote sector with little of interest.

TOTALLY off topic but how about a casino? Would this idea at least make a good thread?

One thing I would like to see is AI pirates, BIG AI pirates with very sharp teeth. NOBODY should feel safe, not the traders, not the miners and not the human pirates. If we had those you would have to drive me out of Grayspace with a stick. That would be hella fun! :)

I am probably wrong (your liking to watch the world burn comment seems more likely the truth) but I would like to think that at least some of the griefers are simply bored and would like exciting and challenging outlets for their talents. Some are really quite good pilots and it must be very frustrating using all that talent to boom an empty moth or a stray bus. Even if this is not the case I hope that there are talented non griefer pilots would will be lured to Grayspace by the prospect of danger.

Aticephyr

The only way I would accept "care bears" is if they were rabid and had twelve inch fangs.

I will say it again, I want MORE danger, not less. I want EVERYONE to have to spend most of their time looking over their shoulder. Gray should be a place where even the bad guys are nervous about going and might want to take others along with them for protection. :)

It is also worth noting that the current crop of griefers did not appear until the changes occurred that drove people out of Grey (and out of the game, to a certain extent). There may well be some who would grief anyway, but if content becomes engrossing again we may well see some of the griefers disappearing and going back to doing whatever they were doing before the change. Or at least we can hope.

There is a casino of sorts in Grey, SlotBot. Having helped to write parts of the code for it, I can attest to its being kinda fun. :)

On the topic of AI pirates, if you could take missions at various Grey stations (obviously not Corvus) to hunt them down and clear them out, similar to Hive Skirmishes, that would add content in on BOTH sides. Grey would have more danger and intrigue, people who like to fight could get more money while performing a valuable public service, people are happy.

Utisz, if you had SAID "I want more danger" in the beginning of the thread instead of "I want pvp to only occur in between waring factions and guilds"/"I want people to be able to fly through grey worry-free", I think you could have saved a lot of time and flak-throwing..

I agree that everyone should be on their toes in greyspace, but the uber-powered NPC pirates aren;t the best way I can see it happening..

PC pirates have the vipers to deal with, and any trader that doesn't run turns around and gives a fight. Most of the time the fighters are the ones who know how to kill near anything in a heavy ship, so that makes it more dangerous by a bit...

I enjoy taking on the occasional taur pilot who turns around and tosses rockets at me instead of running, but having to fend off predictable NPC uber-rats sounds a bit like grinding just to get my share of the cargo ships.

As far as NPC pirates go, I think a competitive-but-not-totally-pwnzor-NPC would be best. The current escort mission warthog territorial defender with agt and flares is pretty darn fearsome. Stick that on a chaser platform like a greyhound or a hog2 and it'd be very close to what you're asking for.. npc's come with rather excellent flare aiming skills, and swapping the AGT for a megapositron would make it more realistic as far as chasing down ships go.

Seeing as there was a reply to my question, but no answer to my question ("what do you consider a pirate?"), in fact numerous attempts to side-step and take my entire comment off track/topic...

None of your replies make any sense dude. Stop trolling the forums and go do something else.

Comments like "If you can’t grasp that fact then anything else I say will be a waste of effort." are a clear example of troll-like behavior. Do not question my intelligence, and do not question the intelligence of the rest of the VO community either. Our community is on-average well above norm intelligence, and does not seem to share your opinions or ideals (for the most part).

Oh, and speaking of grasping what you are saying, you seem to like saying that so much/often that perhaps you should come to the realization that you are not grasping what we are saying? None of us are grasping what you are saying, as you are self-contradictory, ego-centric, and your ability to stay on-topic is worse then any ADHD case I've yet to encounter. So indeed, anything else you say is a waste of your "valuable" time and effort, and you should stop saying it.

In summary. If this is some sick attempt at being a troll please stop as you are wasting all out time.

If you are by chance attempting to be serious please follow these simple steps before making a post (to prevent more flame-wars from starting. as I'm sure we can all agree those are not constructive to the game or community any more then greifers):
1. take some Ritalin.
2. take a deep breath and step back for a second.
3. re-read any comments you are about to address.
4. write you reply, don't post yet.
5. go back and re-read the comments you are trying to address, and your own reply-in-progress.
6. edit your reply to make sure you stay on topic and actually address the issues you initially set out to address, and that you don't sound like a douche-bag in doing so.
7. go back to step 5 and repeat until you have a well thought out post.
8. take a break to contemplate if your post will actually have the desired effect.
9. finally post your reply.

Failing all of this, I can only assume this Utisz guy is a genka alt and is making all these posts in an attempt to piss people off and start flame-wars. If this is the case, please everyone stop feeding the troll!

meh i would stop "griefing" if people would pay pirates but some guild "cough vpr cough" got their don't pay pirates agenda across and thus i am left with no other option but to kill you

Horsey's dead. Prodding it with a stick won't make it deader or wake it up.

Sage this.

Yep, this horse has run itself out.

Locked