Who are the pirates supposed to Pirate ?

[Forlorn]

My apologies for editing in the middle of your quote...

Yep and how immersion breaking is having an NPC Magic up from nowhere for game reasons?
It certainly take some of the joy and skill out of smuggling.
...

I'd say it's about as immersive as flying around a high-security system with a large bounty and be ignored by the security ships on patrol. Or for them to resist interdiction by a wanted criminal.

If the security response was believable in general, I don't think it would break immersion to have insta-summoned security ships.

On the other hand, I think pirates who deliberately leave their prey alive (though not untouched) should be rewarded with more than just the cargo they scoop.

 

[Han Brannigan]

When i said engine earlier, i also meant to include PP - gimme a break, you can't get everything right when you have an eye patch, hook on one hand and a wooden leg...... jeez

Let the parrot do the work - simple.

 

[Derath]

A booming faction being present in the system is enough for bugged traders to spawn. They do not have to be part of that faction.

[A screenshot of a t9 with 300t+ of Gold from someone else]

Obviously there is the possibility of you simply being unlucky and the trader only having a low amount, with no boom in-system. Boom-spawned traders will have this bug consistently.

Ahhh got, certainly I keep looking but so far my lucks pretty bad in that regard , everywhere I go if i see gold its <20, found decent amounts of just about everything else.

 

[Han Brannigan]

I've seen you pirate.

You usually confuse the trader into dropping all their cargo because he believes he is legally required to.[

This ,makes me think he has pirated me b4. I was so surprised i looked at my cargo if I have anything illegal on bord... thx for the gameplay

 

[nicemoreoften]

Open trader here: no real point in piracy. Trading right now is ridiculously safe, even with cargo worth millions of credits. Long-range missions especially make piracy hard because usually the stuff you're actually hauling is crap.

 

[Majinvash]

My apologies for editing in the middle of your quote...



I'd say it's about as immersive as flying around a high-security system with a large bounty and be ignored by the security ships on patrol. Or for them to resist interdiction by a wanted criminal.

If the security response was believable in general, I don't think it would break immersion to have insta-summoned security ships.

On the other hand, I think pirates who deliberately leave their prey alive (though not untouched) should be rewarded with more than just the cargo they scoop.

I have never said that crime and punishment isn't a car crash in this game.

As I have failed to convey in many other threads... Being the type of person that is apparently the issue, I can tell you first hand if any of the solutions thrown out are going to effect me in even the slightest.

This and how it can be used to grief players, because I am pretty good at doing at as well. ( I am no angel, nor ever claimed to be )

Instant spawning anything is gamey and lame.
Its also daft that you are flying around in SC, see your target. Other than you, your target there is a handful of System Authority Vipers and a couple of pointless "filler" NPC's, the system is empty.
You interdict, trigger the gamey part and from no where a, worthy defence force appears. FROM NO WHERE...

To give you an idea, I am in my Python. It would take 3 or more dangerously programmed strong ships to make me even break sweat.
While this could be programmed in, it is unlikely it could be done smart enough to work out player killers, bounty hunters, powerplay users.

As most pirating encounters need to use a threat of violence or follow through with said violence to even be able to disable and then use limpets.
Where is the trigger point that makes pirating viable vs a trader getting ganked.

Expanding, lets say we kill this defence force. The next way appears and the next and the next.. Where are they coming from?
We did this for about 40 minutes once, to see if they would ever stop. They didn't.

Finally if you normal systems super safe from crime, it would kill piracy 100% because there NO reason for a trader to go into anarchy systems.
Anarchy systems are usually where you get the goods to start with at a lower price. Empty ships are lousy targets.

Majinvash
The Voice of Open

 

[nicemoreoften]

-snip-

Speaking of magically spawning NPCs, on my long-range trips Eagles can follow my Asp all 30+ jumps home at just the same speed.

 

[Monk]

Speaking of magically spawning NPCs, on my long-range trips Eagles can follow my Asp all 30+ jumps home at just the same speed.

Clearly NPCs have had access to Engineers for a long time now...what gives? Come on pilot's federation what is my membership even worth...sheesh

 

[crushdepth]

From what I understand Piracy is getting a much needed overhaul with the next update, and speaking as a bounty hunter I really hope that it encourages more pilots to take up a career as a space pirate, because that will give us bounty hunters some legitimate targets.

But my question is, if the improvements in piracy results in an upsurge in pirates (as I hope it does) then who exactly are the pirates supposed to pirate, given that almost all traders are already treading in solo ?

Will the possibility of 'real' pirates entice more traders into open. Or will it scare the few open traders into solo ?

Traders are not in solo because of pirates, they're in solo because of idiots.

Anyone seen an actual pirate recently?

 

[EValve]

Anyone seen an actual pirate recently?

Grabbed my Clipper again yesterday.
My 20T contribution to this week's CG was quite eventful. Only 2 casualties, another 35T of stolen goods which unfortunately I can't hand in but I don't make too much of a fuss about it. Only had one person combat log so far.
Made an arrangement, for which I had to escort someone in exchange for the 5T's of Power Generators.

I had a few encounters in which commanders just played the game with me , others who managed to escape (instancing). One annie really gave me a run for my money, he let me off easy!

All in all, I do regret that it's gotten quite empty and I'm definitely not making a fortune... A black market at the CG's would be more than welcome but I've definitely had my share of fun taxing freighters 5T in the name of The Empire!

 

[xondk]

From what I understand Piracy is getting a much needed overhaul with the next update, and speaking as a bounty hunter I really hope that it encourages more pilots to take up a career as a space pirate, because that will give us bounty hunters some legitimate targets.

But my question is, if the improvements in piracy results in an upsurge in pirates (as I hope it does) then who exactly are the pirates supposed to pirate, given that almost all traders are already treading in solo ?

Will the possibility of 'real' pirates entice more traders into open. Or will it scare the few open traders into solo ?

'everyone' meaning both players and npc's?, heck currently PvE piracy is very profitable, however there yeah are some that don't consider themselves pirates unless it is another player, a thing I really don't get, its about the cargo? who cares who is holding it? and you aren't exactly doing wild interactions with those players anyway? meet demand, shoot if demand not met? and the whole "players are more challenging" as some say, is...yeah....lets face it, just not true, because it is not 'more' difficult to tell someone to hand over abandoned cargo.

Then there is the whole abandon thing, that just rubs me wrong "I am a pirate, drop your cargo in a way so I can sell it as if it wasn't stolen" ..huh?

 

[Defector]

I just want a way to accurately track a pirate. I think a lot of would people would spend a great deal of time hunting down pirates if they only knew where they were. I'm more bounty hunter than pirate as well, but it's impossible to find them since, ya know, the galaxy is a big place.

 

[EValve]

I just want a way to accurately track a pirate. I think a lot of would people would spend a great deal of time hunting down pirates if they only knew where they were. I'm more bounty hunter than pirate as well, but it's impossible to find them since, ya know, the galaxy is a big place.

Does that come with the equal proposition for pirates to accurately track traders?

If you can't find any, you're probably not looking at the right places . CG's, high-profit trade-routes, smuggling routes, discount systems, systems where players harbor their group's entitled factions. It narrows the galaxy down a lot

 

[Chummy62]

How many years has ED been available to play? And still, nothing has changed. This is like a never ending Monty Python movie.

You have the pirates in their castle, the traders camped in theirs and the Bounty Huters (and others) in yet a third castle. Everyone is farting in the general direction of everyone else and Frontier Development is stuck in the middle running away from the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Every now and then someone lobs a festering dead cow into someone else's castle, but in the end we still have the same game with the same problems. Pirates need traders to pirate. Bounty hunters need pirates to bounty hunt. And, well Traders need to trade safely.

I've a grand idea. Why don't you all try playing the role of the other players. Switch castles for a wile and really try and feel what it is like to walk in the other players shoes. Be fair about it as well. If playing the role of a trader, maximize your ability to haul stuff while minimizing your ability to defend yourself.

I haven't played ED for a couple of months now and come here just to waste some time reading all of the posts where everyone is jousting back and forth. Now everyone go out there and play nice with one another.

 

[GluttonyFang]

I've a grand idea. Why don't you all try playing the role of the other players. Switch castles for a wile and really try and feel what it is like to walk in the other players shoes. Be fair about it as well. If playing the role of a trader, maximize your ability to haul stuff while minimizing your ability to defend yourself.

Have been doing that for a while now, actually, haven't been caught by either psycho nor pirates.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Pirates need traders to pirate. Bounty hunters need pirates to bounty hunt. And, well Traders need to trade safely.

Therein lies the crux of the issue: both pirates and bounty hunters need others to engage with (if their preferential target of choice is other players) - traders don't.

 

[ShadowWolf Kell]

Therein lies the crux of the issue: both pirates and bounty hunters need others to engage with (if their preferential target of choice is other players) - traders don't.

Sounds like a good case for instituting a player run economy to me, which gives everyone social interaction. Limit player tradeable goods to Open and it's a win for everyone.

 

[GluttonyFang]

Therein lies the crux of the issue: both pirates and bounty hunters need others to engage with (if their preferential target of choice is other players) - traders don't.

This is caused by the lack of difficulty in trading. If having escorts was made more necessary, then traders begin to depend on bounty hunters and escorts. However, this game made it so that traders don't need to rely on anyone else.

 

[ShadowWolf Kell]

This is caused by the lack of difficulty in trading. If having escorts was made more necessary, then traders begin to depend on bounty hunters and escorts. However, this game made it so that traders don't need to rely on anyone else.

That would also require some means to pay said escorts.

 

[Kicks]

This is caused by the lack of difficulty in trading. If having escorts was made more necessary, then traders begin to depend on bounty hunters and escorts. However, this game made it so that traders don't need to rely on anyone else.

I've not yet read your Crime & Punishment suggestions, but I think that if traders operating in anarchy systems would get better rewards (and getting nuked by The Code was a side-effect of that), versus safe systems and huge bounties on the assailants, there'd be a better spread of risk vs reward for all parties involved.

Also, why is your wolf red in one place and grey in the other?