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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 10:40:09 GMT -5
I have been trying to play ST as a smuggler without much luck. So I guess I don't know what a smuggler is supposed to do in ST.
The game manual says a smuggler is supposed to sneak into port with a hold full of illegal goods. But the closest thing to illegal goods are restricted goods which require a trade permit in order to trade them on any syndicate or clan world. Once you get a trade permit, a smuggler becomes just a specialized merchant.
There are also times when a government has temporarily banned a commodity, or increased taxes on a commodity to control it. These would create great opportunities for a smuggler to profit from trading in that commodity. But, I haven't seen that happen yet (maybe I am missing something in the gameplay?).
I think the smuggler class would benefit greatly from the addition of some form of contraband, something illegal that doesn't require a trade permit to trade in. And also the addition of a black market, within a spice hall maybe, where they can trade contraband goods. A black market could also provide a place for the smuggler to trade in other goods that have been banned or highly taxed by a government on a temporary basis.
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Post by mandomaniac on Sept 25, 2014 15:04:23 GMT -5
I dont think that it would be feasable if possible to add another piece of tradable merchandise to ST... however a special contract may be possible ie... smuggler #7 fly's his juror class  into DV prime where he is considered a brigand (so no TP ;-) ) he then goes to the spice hall where a new button has appeared... say "back room" or something more less as cheesey... (odd that the spice hall has buttons though) anywaaaaaays he gets some flavor text on the side or middle of the screen that says something along the lines of "you step into a hidden room of the spice hall lead by a mysterious and shady looking figure, as he leads you along the passage you here the hushed tones of black market trading... ssssssooooo now you have a few options here u hv the ability to rid yourself of any and all restricted and/or banned goods via a few methods... 1 talk to a fence... someone tells you to take ur load of contraband to planet x and receive x creds... will always be 60-80% of current market value for that planet... if u take the deal and make the drop u get creds and no rep bonus unless affected by politics 2 drop it like hot rock... sell all illegal goods now for no rep bonus and at 40-60% current market value of planet's exchange 3. Possibly... TB willing... a new rumor/event... black market bazaar every once in a while u will hear of an open trading market where u can buy and sell illegal goods on that world from the back room page... however individal "bazaars" maay or may not deal "all" illegal goods... some may deal in weapons only or electronics or artifacts or all... prices quantities and frequency of events to be determined by the political situation Now as cool as this sounds it completely brake game balance and makes buying trade permits much less neccessary... UNLESSSSSSS... it might be a trap sometimes at a rate highly affected by political events and wars and what not... ALL black market dealings are subject to be a sting set by the faction police/military which can result in execution in the worst case simple rep loss in the best case and prison in most other cases... stings can be run by any faction regardless of what planet ur actually on at the moment the only execption being that independants will only sting on independant worlds and will always sentence u to prison... the chance of things being a sting r determined by rep values and political events ie dv or more likely to be hunting for u with a sting opp when they hate u and ht less likely if they r currently in a trade war... ideally trade wars and bans would be essentially good for smuglers while alliances/trade alliances essentially bad for smugglers... any thoughts |
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Post by ntsheep on Sept 25, 2014 15:15:08 GMT -5
I think what would be a good thing is if the jobs that are offered to you are based on you class. A Smuggler gets more deliver this package jobs than other job types. MO's and Bounty Hunters get kill\capture jobs. And so on and so on. This might be to much of a system change for ST though, perhaps it could be included in ST2. Cory Trese, fallen, what are your thoughts? |
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Post by Brutus Aurelius on Sept 25, 2014 15:35:08 GMT -5
I think that sounds a lot like the Contact system described in the Kickstarter page.
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Post by ntsheep on Sept 25, 2014 15:41:19 GMT -5
I think that sounds a lot like the Contact system described in the Kickstarter page. I must have missed that part. |
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Post by mandomaniac on Sept 25, 2014 17:00:28 GMT -5
Ahem... well the original idea was a simple *contract like* ability to expand the smuggler profession.... it snowballed  |
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Post by slayernz on Sept 25, 2014 17:25:28 GMT -5
The Black Market idea in urban areas was one of the suggestions a long long time ago (maybe not all planets, just those with security less than a particular value). With a black market, certain classes can enter via the Spice Hall, and can trade. The buy/sell margins are much higher than the standard exchange BUT (a) you are able to trade any good irrespective of faction reputation, faction conflicts, or trade permits, and (b) your Negotiation skill helps reduce the spread (also perhaps Intimidate).
You as a captain could have -7,000 RP with a faction, and still be able to land, enter the spice hall, and slip into the black market. You could even sell the stuff you stole during your blockade!
This would have been a great way to allow smugglers to use their trade, and still leverage all of the "exchange" type infrastructure. it would involve an additional button in the spice den, and maybe a few more text strings.
Alas, this has never gained traction, and with ST2 on the horizon, I can't see this being implemented into ST1 at all.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 17:25:44 GMT -5
I dont think that it would be feasable if possible to add another piece of tradable merchandise to ST... however a special contract may be possible ie... smuggler #7 fly's his juror class into DV prime where he is considered a brigand (so no TP ;-) ) he then goes to the spice hall where a new button has appeared... say "back room" or something more less as cheesey... (odd that the spice hall has buttons though) anywaaaaaays he gets some flavor text on the side or middle of the screen that says something along the lines of "you step into a hidden room of the spice hall lead by a mysterious and shady looking figure, as he leads you along the passage you here the hushed tones of black market trading... ssssssooooo now you have a few options here u hv the ability to rid yourself of any and all restricted and/or banned goods via a few methods... 1 talk to a fence... someone tells you to take ur load of contraband to planet x and receive x creds... will always be 60-80% of current market value for that planet... if u take the deal and make the drop u get creds and no rep bonus unless affected by politics 2 drop it like hot rock... sell all illegal goods now for no rep bonus and at 40-60% current market value of planet's exchange 3. Possibly... TB willing... a new rumor/event... black market bazaar every once in a while u will hear of an open trading market where u can buy and sell illegal goods on that world from the back room page... however individal "bazaars" maay or may not deal "all" illegal goods... some may deal in weapons only or electronics or artifacts or all... prices quantities and frequency of events to be determined by the political situation Now as cool as this sounds it completely brake game balance and makes buying trade permits much less neccessary... UNLESSSSSSS... it might be a trap sometimes at a rate highly affected by political events and wars and what not... ALL black market dealings are subject to be a sting set by the faction police/military which can result in execution in the worst case simple rep loss in the best case and prison in most other cases... stings can be run by any faction regardless of what planet ur actually on at the moment the only execption being that independants will only sting on independant worlds and will always sentence u to prison... the chance of things being a sting r determined by rep values and political events ie dv or more likely to be hunting for u with a sting opp when they hate u and ht less likely if they r currently in a trade war... ideally trade wars and bans would be essentially good for smuglers while alliances/trade alliances essentially bad for smugglers... any thoughts I like the operation of a black market. I wouldnt think restricted goods (artifacts, electronics, weapons) would be allowed to be traded in the black market so it wouldn't break the game balance. If it us not possible to create a contraband commodity to buy/sell on thr black market. How about a specialized contract, only available from a shady character in the black market. Similar to a normal delivery contract, where you are hired to deliver "contraband goods" tp the bkack market on planet X. Be careful of gov't patrols.... the contraband would be detected by patrols unless you have the smugglers hold upgrade and then there might br a slim chance of detection. Detection could lead to a conflict with authorities unless you dump the cargo or fight (Could lead to - rep with faction that hired you because of course all black markets are really run be the legitimate gov't :-) ), or run. I don't know what the game can support, but I think it would make playing a smuggler more fun. |
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 25, 2014 17:31:47 GMT -5
Smugglers may need Trade Permits, if they want to deal with Factions -- but Independent urban zones are more likely to have the Rumor-based trade restrictions they're designed to play around.
The Smuggler's abilities are not the easiest to use, but they can generate a large number of valuable Records which are designed to be traded without a permit -- this is core to the design of the Smuggler class, which has been a challenging, but very playable, class in ST RPG since the beginning.
Smugglers work on two major fronts:
- Working against Trade Ban Rumors
- Selling Restricted Goods to Independents
Both of these actions are illegal, and doing them risks lots of encounters with security forces, however, done carefully and correctly neither of them generate negative reputation and both make tons of Records and XP.
The Smuggler also excels at the Delivery and Cargo run missions. You're more likely to get the lucrative Spice run as a Smuggler than any class, and those generate triple XP when the target is Trade Ban Rumor for Smugglers.
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 25, 2014 17:32:58 GMT -5
I like the operation of a black market. I wouldnt think restricted goods (artifacts, electronics, weapons) would be allowed to be traded in the black market so it wouldn't break the game balance. If it us not possible to create a contraband commodity to buy/sell on thr black market. How about a specialized contract, only available from a shady character in the black market. Similar to a normal delivery contract, where you are hired to deliver "contraband goods" tp the bkack market on planet X. Be careful of gov't patrols.... the contraband would be detected by patrols unless you have the smugglers hold upgrade and then there might br a slim chance of detection. Detection could lead to a conflict with authorities unless you dump the cargo or fight (Could lead to - rep with faction that hired you because of course all black markets are really run be the legitimate gov't :-) ), or run. I don't know what the game can support, but I think it would make playing a smuggler more fun. Yeah, I added that a few releases ago. Check it out! It's called a "Transport Cargo" mission and Smugglers have the best chance of landing illegal and spice runs, and get triple XP and trade records for Indy worlds and Trade Ban Rumors. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 17:36:16 GMT -5
Cory Trese, I guess I'm not playing it right. I haven't been able to figure out how to use the trade ban rumor to the benefit of a smuggler. And I haven't found those other contracts yet either. Have to keep looking. :-)
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 25, 2014 17:46:25 GMT -5
Cory Trese, I guess I'm not playing it right. I haven't been able to figure out how to use the trade ban rumor to the benefit of a smuggler. And I haven't found those other contracts yet either. Have to keep looking. :-) Look for "Trade Ban" rumor that has text like this: "There has been a recent ban of XXX on YYY" Travel to zone YYY and sell them the resource XXX. You will receive immediate Records (based on your Nego skill, and how many units of XXX you sell.) To get Cargo Delivery missions, take jobs in the Palace. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 17:50:37 GMT -5
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 25, 2014 17:51:49 GMT -5
I've made it past level 20 on impossible without winning a single battle by combining Smuggler, Transport, Rumors and lots of Passenger contracts. Get the Smuggler's hold and the Exo-Scout + Tradesman + Political Officer.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 17:54:35 GMT -5
Okay thanks. BTW, what constitutes an illegal delivery?
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into DV prime where he is considered a brigand (so no TP ;-) ) he then goes to the spice hall where a new button has appeared... say "back room" or something more less as cheesey... (odd that the spice hall has buttons though) 
