Yay for ship transfers, and modules too - but with caveats.
I’ve tried to peruse through this extensive thread - so sorry if I’m repeating something someone else has already suggested. I have seen something close in one post. It’s cool if you don’t agree, this is just my idea of the way I could see this working.
IMHO it should be something like this:
Ship and module deliveries are treated like missions. A player is able to make a request for a ship or module to be collected from x and delivered to y whilst docked in a space port; this doesn’t have to be the space port where either the ship or module is located or desired.
The ship must be capable of making the trip via standard means. The ship should be able to get remotely fitted out with a larger FSD drive, for instance, if needed (there is no reason I could see why a ship can’t be modified at a remote station in any case, you should be able to buy or sell modules wherever you have a ship docked - that’s probably a different thread). If the ship can’t make the whole trip, perhaps it should be offered to the player for it to be taken as close as possible to its final destination.
The mission should be offered at the station where the ship to be collected is based, and perhaps at surrounding stations also, to increase the chance of a mission being taken by a PC. After a finite amount of time, if no PC has taken the mission, and NPC will begin under the same rules.
These ship and module missions must be insured, and at the cost of the player who takes the mission on. This cost will be taken from their CR’s and held as a bond until delivery or failure occurs. If the mission is taken by an NPC, then of course it is still insured. If your precious ship gets destroyed, you get a replacement (as per the normal game) sent to the last docked station, without any cost to you.
The route taken should allow a narrow window of diversity from the mapped suggestion, however a certain amount of player choice should be allowed - in case of fuel scooping, escaping pursuers etc. The ship should be locked to only travel through this narrow corridor to prevent theft, similar to a permit system. If there is a method of theft, it should come with heavy bounties and police intervention - maybe even extending to further other player missions to locate the stolen item. However this bit works, the person taking the mission can't end up with a stolen ship for long - perhaps remote self destruct - to ensure this doesn't start a raft of naughty pirating ;-) perhaps the insurers would wish to pursue the thief for the cost of the ship in this case...
The mission should be timed, and also allow for the requesting player to add a bonus for swift, safe delivery. Once a mission falls outside of the time limit - again bounties and policing get involved.
Ships can only be flown by those of a certain level - for someone useless like me, perhaps I’m only allowed to deliver smaller cheaper ships. For those Elite’s, they are allowed to pilot this biggest kick ass things in the game. Ship worth and distance should combine towards the total reward required for delivery. The requesting players could be allowed to name a price, if they aren’t happy with the game suggested price (either higher or lower); insurance must be covered by the mission taker in advance whatever the case.
If it is a particularly long trip to deliver a ship, a player should be able to dock (but maybe even a limit on docked time), and perhaps an NPC or other player allowed to pick up the reins and continue the journey for part or all of the journey - payment is moderated accordingly.
Once at a destination, the mission player will likely find themselves without a ship - if that is the case, either they can become a passenger mission back for a fee, or get a sidewinder loan to return in.
I like this way of working as it fulfills the realism angle for me. It will take a real amount of time for a ship to be delivered. It can only go where it could have got anyway. You can order your ship to be delivered somewhere in advance, so you can get on with stuff while you’re waiting - even if that’s making your way to the same destination. It gives players the opportunity to pilot ships they may not otherwise have the opportunity to. It keeps the likelihood of attack and error in the game, counterbalanced by the skill level of the player taking the mission compared to the value of the ship. With NPC involvement also, all of the above can happen with or without a PC being involved - so the time it takes for a ship to be delivered will be varied, but never not actually happen. If you allow the mission to be advertised in the vicinity of the ship location, there would be a greater chance of a player picking up the mission before the NPC kicking in. This all does stop instant delivery of kick ass ships into places where they couldn’t normally get to so quickly. If you have billions of credits, you can buy a new ship instead of paying for and awaiting delivery…
I’m sure this is full of holes - but hey, I bet there’s plenty of you out there to fill them ;-) Again, this is just my idea.
Ducking and covering,
Cheers,
CMDR UnahaClosp
) by making cost a function of ship cost, ship base range, distance to travel as well. If you use an exponential function, it could be very cheap for local transfer of small ships, but prohibitively expensive for larger ships or longer distances.
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