Pirates

[Cory Trese]

back to the code i guess. i might just have to remove pirates from the game because no matter how many different ways i limit the reduction of rank it doesn't stop the complaints.

Ergo, the ONLY feasible solution is to remove the entire ship class from the game simplifying the issue so we can focus on loss of trade permits due to shooting hostile merchants.

[cynik]

I don't think You should remove them. They just shouldn't be protected by any law, or connected with any rank or permit issue.
But they should be more deadly. When encountering them we can see that they "won't kill us, only still our cargo". That's not good I think. Pirates should wipe the crew and then take the cargo. They should be more deadly, there's a skull and bones in pirate flag for a reason, isn't it?

[ghrasp]

I know the mechanics of it can be difficult. However, I see piracy as the Victor gets to write the history book. Thus, if it is a draw, there is no Victor and reputation could suffer. If I am an officer carrying letters of mark, then I am judge jury and executioner. My report will justify the encounter and put me in a favorible light. If I am high enough ranking I should be able to destroy the ship to sentance the survivors to death with no penalty. Perhaps if there is a war on, I should gain faction for destroying the enemy.

Now to address faction hits and what to do if you run from pirates.

1. If you are a criminal with that faction.... you could care less.
2. Toss a bribe to get back to neutral. We're talking a small hit from one encounter
3. Why run? Kill and loot. Sell the loot to fix faction.
4. Killing not your style? Use that trade permit.

Pirates are good. Keep them.

[slayernz]

I agree with Cynik ... don't remove Pirates from the game, but rather, remove them from the ranking and reputation calculations for all situations except where the ship has surrendered and you still decide to blow it up. In that situation, if the pirate is part of a particular faction, I can see that that faction would frown upon the unnecessary destruction of a ship flying their flag.

[Cory Trese]

I have switched the check from being an exclusive search to an inclusive one.

This reverses the test and only causes reputation, rank and permit loss for Warships, Merchants and Bounty Hunters.

As a result, Smugglers and Pirates are for the most part now outside of the protection of the Factions. With the following exceptions, which only make sense in the game:

Smugglers with active contracts or a trade permit counts as a merchant.

Pirates in Faction-controlled Notorious Pirate Rumor Zones count as Warships.

Pirates in independent merchant or trade bonus zones count as Faction Warships.

Pirates on Blockade or pair in a Solar War count as Faction Warships.

[oldalchemist]

I'm going to sink 'em anyway. Permits and warrants are cheap.

Any chance of marking those zones on the main screen instead of just on the zoom map?

[cynik]

Permits and warrants are cheap, but higher ranks are 20-30k $ and more

[oldalchemist]

You can't put a price on the satisfaction of spacing a pirate captain.

[Cory Trese]

oldalchemist -- I am working toward a better performing map that allows that.

The last time I tried a major map upgrade it was a disaster. My paranoia is now forcing what some team members have called "ridiculous amounts of testing" but I am confident that when it is ready, it will be bullet proof. =)

[oldalchemist]

You wouldn't have to do much graphically. Just change the dot color (bright pink?) so that we know 'something' is going on there. Long presses bring up detail.

[spike]

Thanks for making the changes, Cory. Did you keep Rank/Reputation loss for Destroying the ship - I agree with that.

I think a lot of the confusion comes from the terminology of Pirate, and particularly people not understanding the (Earth historical) tradition of Pirates vs Privateers, letters of Marque, etc. Maybe the confusion would be cleared up by renaming Pirates as Privateers. Historically, many if not all Pirates were Privateers with Letters of Marque from a nation state, acting on the interests of that flag, free to raid and loot the enemies of that flag. Raiding and looting commerce ships of that flag was still a hangable offence. Raiding and looting neutrals was somewhere in between, depending on the circumstances.

In the popular imagination today, Pirate means a ship independent of any nation, raiding purely on its own account. I don't think many, if any, of the ST Pirates match that conception. If there were any Pirates like that in ST, unattached to any flag, then they would indeed be fully outside the protection of the Faction system - hated by all, Outlaw, free to defeat, loot, enslave or even (maybe) free to Destroy.

[spike]

I just got bounced by a De Valtos pirate in De Valtos space, I was carrying no Contraband. As he had more engines/sail than me, I fired one Torpedo (hit) before Retreating. I lost my De Valtos Trade Permit and a point of Rep with them. I had no Rank.

Is this the intended outcome? Pay to come and Trade with us, but don't resist our Pirates, or we'll yank your Permit without a refund?

[oldalchemist]

If you've got a permit, you should be able to retreat from an aligned pirate with no loss of faction as long as you don't fire.

Independent pirates are always a threat.

[Cory Trese]

oldalchemist very true. Pirates are automatically non-hostile to those with Trade Permits.

[spike]

Thanks guys. Now, how about changing the name to Privateer instead of Pirate (for Faction Pirates)? Uses 50% more screen real estate though...