Pirating Colonisation Construction Sites

[Greasetrap42]

This would be awesome. Ripping off construction sites. There's hundreds of containers, and really lax security. It would be a really fun risk-reward activity.

The only problem: The reward wouldn't be very good. A full cutter load of CMM composite is worth maybe 7 mil credits. Credits per hour just isn't very good. Too bad the economy is so wonky because this would be a fantastic activity if there was reasonable reward.

 

[yianniv]

What! Get off my space lawn, cmdr! Lol

 

[Ian Doncaster]

The only problem: The reward wouldn't be very good

This is a general problem with piracy - because the cargo loading time at a market is instant (and I'm not suggesting it shouldn't be!) "not having to pay for the cargo" in no way compensates for it taking minutes (or longer) to obtain a full hold of it when it comes to comparing piracy with bulk trade for profits - even before any additional legal penalties or challenges are considered.

That's why there are NPCs carrying holds full of gems and other implausibly high-value cargoes without an escort.

 

[Robert Maynard]

As Colonisation has been stated not to be a PvP feature, and as only players deliver commodities to construction sites, I doubt that players would be able to rob another player's construction site.

 

[PilotB]

Robbing sites of progress and colonisaiton resources doesn't fit with the general style of the game. Having a few cargo hatches that deliver random junk like a megaship would be fine but they've got bigger guns than megaships.

You also don't want a feedback loop where you farm the construction site to feed itself progress not that anyone is going to want to wait 2 months for the limpets to collect the goods.

You could justify it as being some of the stuff that the NPCs delivered when they docked at the pad which is why it's dropping gold bars and AI relics but it doesn't really merge well into the gameplay loop as the ship looting isn't fit as a hauler and for people trying to build it's not going to be worth the time.

 

[Greasetrap42]

As Colonisation has been stated not to be a PvP feature...

The idea didn't say anything about it being a PvP feature. And the idea said nothing about it affecting the build progress. Stealing a couple loads of something is equivalent to snatching some stuff at a IRL construction site. While annoying to the contractor the petty theft of some tools, rebar, and concrete mix is not going to delay the build of a 50-story office tower.

The general consensus is that the cmdr (in the role of architect) is supplying only a small portion of the materials for the construction project. The hundreds (thousands?) of shipping containers and massive tanks we see at the construction site are supplied by someone else. The architect is definitely not supplying adequate materials for an Orbis.

Even if the archetect takes the risk to steal from their own construction site... that's fine. It is an alternate way for the archetect to meet their obligations. As long as they don't get caught. Obviously it would be a risk-reward situation. And a very interesting one.

As pointed out in my OP I can't figure out how the activity would be rewarding. Its easier and faster to just buy a load of aluminum than to mess around trying to steal it just to save a couple million credits. Its just not worth it for the time, effort, and risk.

 

[Robert Maynard]

The idea didn't say anything about it being a PvP feature. And the idea said nothing about it affecting the build progress. Stealing a couple loads of something is equivalent to snatching some stuff at a IRL construction site. While annoying to the contractor the petty theft of some tools, rebar, and concrete mix is not going to delay the build of a 50-story office tower.

Indeed it was not mentioned. However as the only way that the colonisation progress bar moves is for players to deliver commodities, to then steal those player delivered commodities would be an indirect act of PvP - as their theft would reduce the number of commodities available for construction..

If it wasn't to be an act of PvP then the stolen commodities would need to be generated by the game and have no effect on colonisation progress.

The general consensus is that the cmdr (in the role of architect) is supplying only a small portion of the materials for the construction project. The hundreds (thousands?) of shipping containers and massive tanks we see at the construction site are supplied by someone else. The architect is definitely not supplying adequate materials for an Orbis.

Whatever player created lore around colonisation there may be does not change how the feature actually works, i.e. if players don't deliver commodities then the progress bar does not move.

 

[Greasetrap42]

Indeed - however as the only way that the colonisation progress bar moves is for players to deliver commodities, to then steal those commodities would be an indirect act of PvP - and unless the stolen commodities were "free" then their theft would affect colonisation progress.

No, you have just added this idea to the concept.

Whatever player created lore around colonisation there may be does not change how the feature actually works.

The architect has a contract to deliver a specific set of materials. That's it. That is the contract, and that is how it works. If some of the materials are wasted, lost, stolen, faulty, damaged upon delivery, etc. that currently has absolutely no bearing on the delivery contract for the architect.

Anything else is an invention on your part.

 

[Koma Pahu]

The architect has a contract to deliver a specific set of materials. That's it. That is the contract, and that is how it works. If some of the materials are wasted, lost, stolen, faulty, damaged upon delivery, etc. that currently has absolutely no bearing on the delivery contract for the architect.

But it’s not your contract. Any CMDR can deliver some/all the required materials, and as soon as those materials are delivered the construction is completed.

I know it doesn’t make sense that you can build an Orbis with only the required materials, but there’s no mechanism, or lore, for other materials added by NPCs.

I do like your suggestion, but your argument has flaws.

 

[Kira Goto]

Putting aside some of the other concerns, [as has been indirectly mentioned] currently the orbital construction sites use station-style lasers to shoot at pirates that are far too overzealous so that alone is not very favorable to the idea. And suggests Frontier wasn’t really considering them to be interactive beyond dropping off cargo. And watching your ship try to go through solid objects.