Why would bounties improve reputation? You're a merc! Nobody gives a frack about mercs!
You are not a merc, merc's are a hired killers, anyone, anytime, any status, as long as the pay is right.
As a member of the pilots federation maybe this gives you the right to bounty hunt wanted criminals?
As far as i see it it should go something like this...
You have two types of Authority vessel,
major factions Fed Imp etc and then you have
local authority vessels.
On attacking a wanted ship you should not be targeted/hostile to any
Major faction Authority vessels. ( as long as its wanted in that system, basic scan )
On attacking a wanted vessel that is the same minor faction as a
Local authority vessel it is possible that you will be attacked by the local authority vessels. ( this simulates a corrupt local minor faction, killing their workers will not be tolerated, Local authority vessels should be the same faction as the current controlling minor faction of the system )
Handing in Major faction bounties should gain rep with the pilots federation and the issuing Major faction of the bounty.
Handing in minor faction bounties should gain you rep with the pilots federation and the issuing minor faction of the bounty. ( the minor faction would likely be the current highest influence minor faction of the system ( unless it has changed control since the wanted bounty was issued ) ) . As it is their space and you are rewarded for keeping their space clear of criminals.
So at no time should a
major factions police force attack you for killing wanteds.
Any major faction authority vessel should not have an allegiance to local minor faction, they should be straight up Fed Imp etc.
However
local authority vessels, although maybe bound to the rules of their allegiance to a major faction, may well be corrupt and attack you for killing their fellow faction members.
I think this is fair, it leaves some skill/thinking in the game, rather than bounty hunters just being able to attack every wanted they see you have to think...
Where am i
Who controls this system
Is the controlling faction aligned to a major faction
Is the local faction corrupt, does it care more about its own goals rather than its allegiances goals if it has any.
Am i bounty hunting with
Local authorities present
So if it is a Fed Imp etc system you should be pretty much ok to kill any wanteds. There may well be a few systems where you need to check whos policing. ( local vs major authority vessels ).
Independents or anarchies with a station you are gonna have to be a little more careful who you are targeting.
Does this sound right. Can anyone see problems with this? This is the way i presumed it was always meant to work, although bounty hunting seems very bugged at the moment and was something i had hoped would of been fixed before release due to it being one of the major roles in the game.
