Forums » Suggestions
Pirating IS hard on your finances. Sometimes you get lucky and get a maud or cent with some decent cargo. Lots of the time, you end up spending more on sunflares than you make, as not every attempt brings cargo... Usually, there aren't anough people trading to make a decent living.
Maybe there could be another faction? Everytime you kill a pirate ship you get a flag attached your name (a number.) Eventually, you have enough flags to purchase 'enfourcer' ships in s9 (maybe (50?) They would be the standard ships, but with 10% better acceleration and shields. They could work in the same way as the pirate ships, except your name is listed as "TGP Enfourcer: Icarus"(!) Everytime you kill a pirate in that ship, you get 10k from TGP Corp for protecting its trade routes.
This could be enough to offset the potential rampancy of actual pirates...
Maybe there could be another faction? Everytime you kill a pirate ship you get a flag attached your name (a number.) Eventually, you have enough flags to purchase 'enfourcer' ships in s9 (maybe (50?) They would be the standard ships, but with 10% better acceleration and shields. They could work in the same way as the pirate ships, except your name is listed as "TGP Enfourcer: Icarus"(!) Everytime you kill a pirate in that ship, you get 10k from TGP Corp for protecting its trade routes.
This could be enough to offset the potential rampancy of actual pirates...
For magus...
"So pirates get all these advantages, what do we pirate hunters get?"
Did you actually read the title of this thread? Are you aware of the fact that its a thread on furies and.. "PIRATES". When we get a thread on military, normal play, advantages. Feel free to post whatever would be nice for the normal advances and advantages of normal players and traders. But when its a thread specifically about pirates, take the small mental leap to assume that the posts are going to be about what to do with the pirates! NOT WITH THE REST OF THE GAME.
"So pirates get all these advantages, what do we pirate hunters get?"
Did you actually read the title of this thread? Are you aware of the fact that its a thread on furies and.. "PIRATES". When we get a thread on military, normal play, advantages. Feel free to post whatever would be nice for the normal advances and advantages of normal players and traders. But when its a thread specifically about pirates, take the small mental leap to assume that the posts are going to be about what to do with the pirates! NOT WITH THE REST OF THE GAME.
i object. i agree with magus on the fact that while we talk about pirates getting advantages, we have to discuss the countermeasures at the same time, and, to keep it simple, in the same thread, because i don't want to read two almost identical threads, just to keep track of basically _one_ topic.
Savvy?
Savvy?
I agree with Ceadda and simondearsley, lemme recap what they've said:
Pirate sector is green on radar. Any national pilot can go there and purchase a pirate ship. Once they have, they leave (permanently? That can be discussed...) their nation and become part of the pirate (green?) nation. Their ability to buy better ships is based on a fraction of your (bounty) x (score) or (score) / (bounty)^-1. I won't foolishly attempt to stamp down numbers, but let me give you an example. If a small fish wanted to pirate, and his bounty was around 900 and his score 40000, he would get less benefits than someone like Phoenix, whose score is in the hundreds of thousands.
What do you guys think, should score be part of it (if both bounties were 40, Phoenix would still have more karma with pirate station) or purely based on bounty (both would be stuck in small ships until their bounties went up).
A twist on this is to only count bounty earned on player ships, so we don't have a ton of botting pirates.
For instance, you just can't fly to a pirate ship and buy a Valkyrie. You have to go earn it by having a minimum bounty of, say, 1000 (player kills). If/when the Prometheus becomes more powerful, its threshold could be 1500.
What I haven't thought of is whether pirate ships should be slightly less proficient as normal ships. Caedda suggested them being more powerful, I'm thinking they should be 90% of normal ships (i.e. you can't repair past 90%). Maybe the number should be closer to 100%, I'm not sure. I would be hesitant to give pirates an across-the-board advantage, however.
When a pilot buys a pirate ship, he has the option of naming it. When he is targeted and killed, that callsign appears in sector list and death message. However, the damage done to his reputation is real. So if a Serco goes to pirate and shoots up NTs, his karma with NT will fall drastically. If he goes and pirates Serco, he won't be able to enter 12/2 without being attacked. More details here can go in after a reputation system is put in.
The benefit for pirates, in my opinion, should be +3 cargo space per ship. A Valkyrie, right now the ultimate pirating ship, could lug 7 cargo back to base. Of course, the pirate ship is slightly slower (see above), so that capacity is offset with a handicap.
Killing pirate ships:
I liked the idea about bonus points for killing pirate ships. In my view, pirate-hunters should always have a slight edge, for being on the "right" side of the law. Pirate "hunters" can have a bounty scale, but by another name. The bounties of pirates you killed are totaled, multiplied times ten, and given to you in cash (makes PKing pirates profitable beyond the moral gratification). When the base bounty total (not multiplied times ten) meets a certain threshold, you can buy "enforcement" ships that official markings, whatever. Like a pirate, you can change your callsign at this point. If Toshiro bought an "enforcer" ship, he could rename to "Sergeant Sanchez" or whatever. Until he switched back to his normal, national identity, he would appear on sector list and death messages as "Sergeant Sanchez." Enforcer ships should be about 5 m/s faster than normal ships, and do 5% more damage than normal ships. Missiles, in my opinion, should also go faster (military-grade jet fuel). Gain enough pirate bounties and Valkyries unlock, and finally the option of installing 1 (AND ONLY ONE) frigate cannon on your Valkyrie. Enforcer ships should be white on radar (yes, group will have to change) and have white color schemes. You cannot harm any ship but a pirate one, unless the said ship does damage to you first.
Pirate sector is green on radar. Any national pilot can go there and purchase a pirate ship. Once they have, they leave (permanently? That can be discussed...) their nation and become part of the pirate (green?) nation. Their ability to buy better ships is based on a fraction of your (bounty) x (score) or (score) / (bounty)^-1. I won't foolishly attempt to stamp down numbers, but let me give you an example. If a small fish wanted to pirate, and his bounty was around 900 and his score 40000, he would get less benefits than someone like Phoenix, whose score is in the hundreds of thousands.
What do you guys think, should score be part of it (if both bounties were 40, Phoenix would still have more karma with pirate station) or purely based on bounty (both would be stuck in small ships until their bounties went up).
A twist on this is to only count bounty earned on player ships, so we don't have a ton of botting pirates.
For instance, you just can't fly to a pirate ship and buy a Valkyrie. You have to go earn it by having a minimum bounty of, say, 1000 (player kills). If/when the Prometheus becomes more powerful, its threshold could be 1500.
What I haven't thought of is whether pirate ships should be slightly less proficient as normal ships. Caedda suggested them being more powerful, I'm thinking they should be 90% of normal ships (i.e. you can't repair past 90%). Maybe the number should be closer to 100%, I'm not sure. I would be hesitant to give pirates an across-the-board advantage, however.
When a pilot buys a pirate ship, he has the option of naming it. When he is targeted and killed, that callsign appears in sector list and death message. However, the damage done to his reputation is real. So if a Serco goes to pirate and shoots up NTs, his karma with NT will fall drastically. If he goes and pirates Serco, he won't be able to enter 12/2 without being attacked. More details here can go in after a reputation system is put in.
The benefit for pirates, in my opinion, should be +3 cargo space per ship. A Valkyrie, right now the ultimate pirating ship, could lug 7 cargo back to base. Of course, the pirate ship is slightly slower (see above), so that capacity is offset with a handicap.
Killing pirate ships:
I liked the idea about bonus points for killing pirate ships. In my view, pirate-hunters should always have a slight edge, for being on the "right" side of the law. Pirate "hunters" can have a bounty scale, but by another name. The bounties of pirates you killed are totaled, multiplied times ten, and given to you in cash (makes PKing pirates profitable beyond the moral gratification). When the base bounty total (not multiplied times ten) meets a certain threshold, you can buy "enforcement" ships that official markings, whatever. Like a pirate, you can change your callsign at this point. If Toshiro bought an "enforcer" ship, he could rename to "Sergeant Sanchez" or whatever. Until he switched back to his normal, national identity, he would appear on sector list and death messages as "Sergeant Sanchez." Enforcer ships should be about 5 m/s faster than normal ships, and do 5% more damage than normal ships. Missiles, in my opinion, should also go faster (military-grade jet fuel). Gain enough pirate bounties and Valkyries unlock, and finally the option of installing 1 (AND ONLY ONE) frigate cannon on your Valkyrie. Enforcer ships should be white on radar (yes, group will have to change) and have white color schemes. You cannot harm any ship but a pirate one, unless the said ship does damage to you first.
Then you will really get a battle between 'good' and 'evil', 'white' and 'black', 'right' and 'wrong'... I like it :)
Well, it depends on your role-playing worldview. But it involves roleplaying, yes! Both sides have advantages and disadvantages.
I like the +3 cargo thingy, and I wouldn't mind having my ship work at 90% max speed, 90% health or whatever, and this would discourage all the n00by pirates.
w"e have to discuss the countermeasures at the same time,"
The advancement and advantages of other players are not countermeasures, and have nothing at all to do with this thread. I for one do not want to have to sort through piles of unrelated items just to read a thread about one idea. If you want a thread on bounty based purchasing, ships, and counter measures against piracy, start one! Just makes more sense that way to keep the idea's in the threads they belong too instead of mashing them all together so you have to figure out what each individual is talking about.
The advancement and advantages of other players are not countermeasures, and have nothing at all to do with this thread. I for one do not want to have to sort through piles of unrelated items just to read a thread about one idea. If you want a thread on bounty based purchasing, ships, and counter measures against piracy, start one! Just makes more sense that way to keep the idea's in the threads they belong too instead of mashing them all together so you have to figure out what each individual is talking about.
Ummm everything here is related, it's more annoying to go through multiple threads based on the same thing.
It seems to me that you all are doing things the hard way. Here's my idea:
In order for piracy to be a reasonable aspect of Vendetta, there will have to be a reputation system. The devs have mentioned that they have something like this in the works. Such a system would provide a 'penalty' whenever a pirate attacks an innocent trader. (Right now, I will not wory about implimentation)
Such a reputation system would be invaluable in setting up a pirate base. The 'worse' your reputation was, the more the pirates would trust you and the more technology they would give you. You may not like this, but that is the way things are in real life. Also, as you will read further down, such a pirate will offer a juicy target for any aspiring bounty hunter, thus counterbalancing his advantages.
As far as actual ships go, your ideas are confusing. From what I have seen, top speed is determined by type of engine and damage is determined by the type of weapon, so you would have to introduce 'modified' weaps to go on the ships. Wouldn't it be better to create entirely new black market weapons for the 'pirate nation?' As far as actual ships go, I'd suggest playing around with nubers of weapons slots and cargo capacities as well as hull strength. I'd suggest modificatios such as a maud with 8 cargo, but as many weapons ports as a hog and more armor. Or perhaps a cent with reduced cargo but maneuverability close to a vult.
This reputation scheme could be carried further, though. In the end, I hope noobs will start off entirely neutral. Through their actions, they would gain a reputation and come to the attention of a certain government. This gov't would then hire the progressing player and give him some work to do. As he completes his assignments, his reputation grows and he slowly gains access to better national technology (which should be much more diverse than it is right now) and better ships.
As far as bonuses for bounty hunters, a gov't should place bounties on all the notorious pilots, based upon their reputation. This bounty, however, will be collected only by returning to a governmentally owned station. In this way, a high bounty player won't end up being staion-camped, because the hunter only gets one fee per landing. (this will address the issue that caused the devs to make a bounty reset after being destroyed so that pilots can't exploit it) Also, each bounty collected will increase that hunter's reputation with that particular government, open up new technologies to him and cutting of any access to pirate technology, as they now hate him.
In order for piracy to be a reasonable aspect of Vendetta, there will have to be a reputation system. The devs have mentioned that they have something like this in the works. Such a system would provide a 'penalty' whenever a pirate attacks an innocent trader. (Right now, I will not wory about implimentation)
Such a reputation system would be invaluable in setting up a pirate base. The 'worse' your reputation was, the more the pirates would trust you and the more technology they would give you. You may not like this, but that is the way things are in real life. Also, as you will read further down, such a pirate will offer a juicy target for any aspiring bounty hunter, thus counterbalancing his advantages.
As far as actual ships go, your ideas are confusing. From what I have seen, top speed is determined by type of engine and damage is determined by the type of weapon, so you would have to introduce 'modified' weaps to go on the ships. Wouldn't it be better to create entirely new black market weapons for the 'pirate nation?' As far as actual ships go, I'd suggest playing around with nubers of weapons slots and cargo capacities as well as hull strength. I'd suggest modificatios such as a maud with 8 cargo, but as many weapons ports as a hog and more armor. Or perhaps a cent with reduced cargo but maneuverability close to a vult.
This reputation scheme could be carried further, though. In the end, I hope noobs will start off entirely neutral. Through their actions, they would gain a reputation and come to the attention of a certain government. This gov't would then hire the progressing player and give him some work to do. As he completes his assignments, his reputation grows and he slowly gains access to better national technology (which should be much more diverse than it is right now) and better ships.
As far as bonuses for bounty hunters, a gov't should place bounties on all the notorious pilots, based upon their reputation. This bounty, however, will be collected only by returning to a governmentally owned station. In this way, a high bounty player won't end up being staion-camped, because the hunter only gets one fee per landing. (this will address the issue that caused the devs to make a bounty reset after being destroyed so that pilots can't exploit it) Also, each bounty collected will increase that hunter's reputation with that particular government, open up new technologies to him and cutting of any access to pirate technology, as they now hate him.
This reputation scheme could be carried further, though. In the end, I hope noobs will start off entirely neutral. Through their actions, they would gain a reputation and come to the attention of a certain government. This gov't would then hire the progressing player and give him some work to do. As he completes his assignments, his reputation grows and he slowly gains access to better national technology (which should be much more diverse than it is right now) and better ships.
Well I think it's better if people start of at a nation, but can desert them; and become either neutral or switch to an other... but that's a whole other discussion (can dig up a couple of threads about that if you want ;)
The reputation system is all nice and all.. but it exactly began more about: 'buying neutral ships' and 'bot ships'.. heh
As for as the bounties go: yay! I want that! =)
Well I think it's better if people start of at a nation, but can desert them; and become either neutral or switch to an other... but that's a whole other discussion (can dig up a couple of threads about that if you want ;)
The reputation system is all nice and all.. but it exactly began more about: 'buying neutral ships' and 'bot ships'.. heh
As for as the bounties go: yay! I want that! =)
What about counter measures and counter weaponry to pirate craft? I worry that a fleet of all powerful pirate ships could be unstoppable?
The idea is that a good pirate's reputation would be so bad that defbots in EVERY civilized sector would attack him. Therefore, he would need a good ship to even survive, let alone make a profit.