Please copy/paste then complete the following Survey to help FD out here: -
- Have you ever been Pirated by NPC and given Cargo and then let go on your way? -
- Have you been Pirated by a Player and given Cargo and then let go on your way? -
- Have you tried Piracy without trying to kill the Ship and picked up Cargo? -
- What Cargo do you hope to find and what is it's value? -
- Have you tried Piracy in Multicrew? -
- If any of the above what Mode do you Pirate in: SOLO/GROUP/OPEN? -
- Why did you try Piracy else would you like to? -
- Can you suggest how to improve this Role to become even more viable? -
- Pirated by NPC: They have tried, and perished. I have never given up cargo.
- Pirated by PC: No, but I would rather self-destruct than give up cargo.
- Attempted to Pirate: No, but I have had plenty of ships dump their cargo in an effort to distract me from blowing them up. It hasn't worked.
- Hope to find: The bounty on my target's head. Cargo cleaned up afterwards is just a bonus.
- Tried in multi-pew: No, but I don't often multi-pew anyways.
- I play mostly in PG's, sometimes Solo, rarely in Open.
- To Try or Not: Honestly, at first glance, Piracy did seem like it might be fun. But I quickly came to realize that running around Wanted everywhere was a pain in the a.ah..you know. And the profit margins just weren't there to justify the risks and expenses. Combine that with a lack of any real Criminal Underground to support such a lifestyle and the appeal wore off before the initial download completed.
- So how to make it better:
1. Ranking - The Pilot's Federation ranks our Trade, Combat and Exploration already. There's no reason they couldn't track Piracy as well. This then ties into:
2. Benefits - The ability to purchase Black Market goods from Black Market dealers. Access to hidden installations - both planetary and space-based, much in the same way certain Engineers are accessed, based on Ranking. Better payouts selling Black Market goods than standard rates would also be a huge plus.
3. Reputation - Visible to Players, has active effect on NPC's - the higher the Reputation the more likely NPC's are to drop cargo without a fight.
4. Response - As a criminal, responses should vary, especially from NPC's. Civilized Space isn't going to welcome a Pirate Lord (or Lady, or Whatever) with open arms. They would welcome one with bared arms. Expect hostile responses from even the lowliest system authorities, and expect flight control to say "Docking Request Denied: We don't want your kind here." NPC pirates are unlikely to try to rob you - but rather may offer up Criminal Tip Off missions instead. And as given in #2 above, with the loss of access to Civilized Space, comes the gain of Pirate installations. Law-abiding citizens can expect flight control here to be just as unwelcoming, no System Authority ships to come to their aid, and everyone will want what they're carrying.
5. Systems - Not star systems, that's covered in #2 (that sounds terrible, but work with me here), but rather mechanics that make Piracy feel more than just a pew-fest. We have exactly two items specifically designed for Piracy use - a Power Player reward missile that gums up Frame Shift Drives (though also useful for Bounty Hunters). Keeping your prey from running is vital. Hatchbreaker limpets help strong-arm something out of uncooperative prey. But these both still hinge on one very important thing - Running into your prey in Normal Space, and that means, in nearly all cases, winning an Interdiction. What we do not have is a means of luring prey into normal space without this. NPC's do - The Distress Call USS. Of course, it doesn't take but one or two visits to these to realize they're almost always a trap.
The ability to generate a false USS of our own - be it Distress Call, or better, a Trade Opportunity (I'll trade you your life and freedom for half of what's in your cargo hold is still a trade...) might serve to lure people - players or even NPC's in carefully laid pirate traps, making Piracy a truly viable and enjoyable occupation.
