Illegal Passengers

[Red Martian]

Out of the 3 passenger runs I've done since yesterday, all 3 have been illegal passengers. I've been lucky entering the high/medium security stations every time, but I know that luck will eventually run out. That said, has anyone else been getting a boatload of illegal passengers? Also, is anyone else getting the picky ones who should be shutting up and sitting still rather than demanding high end appliances to make themselves more comfortable?

Also, what happens if you get caught with an illegal passenger, and why don't I get to know about it until after I've agreed to transport them?

 

[GreyAreaUK]

I can't help much, but I get them as well. If you're scanned at a station you will be attacked.

With regard the demands, I just ignore them. Don't accept them, don't reject them. Ignore them. The exception being if they want to go and see something, and I'm of a mind.

 

[Red Martian]

I can't help much, but I get them as well. If you're scanned at a station you will be attacked.

With regard the demands, I just ignore them. Don't accept them, don't reject them. Ignore them. The exception being if they want to go and see something, and I'm of a mind.

Is it possible to cancel a flight, or do you have to just try and hope you don't get scanned?

 

[GreyAreaUK]

Is it possible to cancel a flight, or do you have to just try and hope you don't get scanned?

I don't think cancelling will work (although I've never tried). I just look at it as a way to improve my Silent Running skills.

 

[SpeakerToAliens]

I like having illegal passengers - they don't mind if your ship gets shot at, they don't mind violent manoeuvring and they don't mind if you boost through the slot and take damage when you slam into the back wall (as long as you avoid being scanned). Just make sure you have rebuy credits...

 

[Red Martian]

I don't think cancelling will work (although I've never tried). I just look at it as a way to improve my Silent Running skills.

I'll give it a try next time, as I'm sure to get another one, and I'll see if I can just cancel. Silent Running's how I got in last time, because this station was high security. I got to within about 3 km, flipped Silent Running as I boosted my rockets, and slid right inside... barely.

I like having illegal passengers - they don't mind if your ship gets shot at, they don't mind violent manoeuvring and they don't mind if you boost through the slot and take damage when you slam into the back wall (as long as you avoid being scanned). Just make sure you have rebuy credits...

Always. I don't buy a ship until I have 4x-5x the rebuy credits necessary.
That said, yeah the payoff's pretty good. The first guy was a wimpy 100k credits for what I ended up doing, but the second passenger paid me 300k, and the last guy paid me 1,000,000 credits, which was awesome! Of course, with that reward comes some awfully huge risks, ones I'm not sure I wish to take sometimes. Having the option to turn it down knowing whether or not they're illegal passengers would be great.

 

[Adept Geraden]

You need to read the offered mission very carefully. The red writing which says "Passenger may be wanted in one or more systems" might be a clue. Then again, nothing like the thrill of boosting through the mailslot at 400 m/s.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

I always know when my passenger is wanted.....though I sometimes forget to read all the details . Just remember that Silent Running is your friend.

 

[Red Martian]

You need to read the offered mission very carefully. The red writing which says "Passenger may be wanted in one or more systems" might be a clue. Then again, nothing like the thrill of boosting through the mailslot at 400 m/s.

I do see that, but I often see it on completely legal passengers, too. I see it so much I thought it was boilerplate for every passenger run. Also, yeah, boosting through the mail slot is a rush. lol

I always know when my passenger is wanted.....though I sometimes forget to read all the details . Just remember that Silent Running is your friend.

She certainly came in handy! Of course, I was trying to hurry because my system was heating up fast. Still, it got the job done!

 

[Danieros]

You get destroyed by the station if you get scanned with illegal passengers. Pretty harsh tbh considering you might not be paying attention to these kinds of details.

As for demands (and destination changes), if it isn't a long sightseeing mission in which passenger happiness could be an issue, then just don't bother going out of your way to supply the commodities.

Pirates looking for your passengers are the worst one. If you have a lot of missions (I fit my ships with economical cabins only, so I can get a lot of missions) you might end up with multiple attackers going after you, making it pretty annoying if you wanted to make stops to explore/trade/check USS. There was one time I had like 4 missions to different places and all triggered attacks, I was getting interdicted multiple times in a row.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

If you need to sneak into a surface base, wait about 7km away from the station until you see a comms message from the cops saying he's off for lunch. You can safely sneak in then without being scanned.

 

[TartanDragon]

I was trying to hurry because my system was heating up fast.

Drop a heatsink. It seems the local cops have no idea what a white hot floating piece of metal signifies.

 

[Shiro Akai]

That said, has anyone else been getting a boatload of illegal passengers?

When I tried passenger missions for the first time I saw overwhelming amount of wanted. Sure, the pay was good but not worth the risk. Especially on the long runs when you can spend days in the black (Let's go see Sag A* CMDR) just to be shot down upon landing. I perceive "wanted" as "stolen/illegal" cargo, tho in abundance compared to legit cargo. Looks like there is no supply of normal passengers. I smell easy money source which was heavily limited by design. By FDEVs passenger missions must be dangerous hence large amount of wanted ones.

Also, is anyone else getting the picky ones who should be shutting up and sitting still rather than demanding high end appliances to make themselves more comfortable?

Yeah, another straw. Not only "cargo" is wanted, it's also picky. And I don't like one sided agreements where NOT meeting the changes means I loose. Contract is a contract, we agreed on transport A to B or to B and back. Payment offer was accepted and changing mind in flight shouldn't affect initial bargain. If you provide bonus payment for fulfilling additional demands - that's different. But threatening with mission fail upon not meeting additional demands is plain robbery. I demand raising my transport fee on a whim and changing destination as I see fit (additional payment required as well).

Also, what happens if you get caught with an illegal passenger, and why don't I get to know about it until after I've agreed to transport them?

1st - you'll be treated as criminal and shot down. Merciless. GZ, system police just killed a school bus driver because one kid stole a candy.
2nd - no, there's no way to stop the fight when it starts. 2 options only - ASAP or rebuy screen.
3rd - BEFORE you accept the mission you have rather lengthy description. There is "hidden" info if the cargo is criminal (stated plain: criminal or more vague "may be wanted in some systems"), demanding or does not like being scanned (secretive) or hull damage. Sometime all above at the same time.

A word about "may be wanted". Usually it refers to start/end system. Whole journey may be as easy as walk in a park, with scans and such and your "cargo" won't give a damn. But enter destination system where you have to unload it and immediately you are on high toes due to scan danger as your "cargo" is actually wanted in that system.

Apart from those passenger missions there are corporate staff needs transport / refugees / regular tourists. They don't pay that much but I prefer those. Makes me feel like a bus not a "transporter". But overall the whol;e problems with criminal and demanding "cargo" put me away from that. Beer doesn't complain while en route. Beer understands.

 

[Cadfael]

I've had a fair share of illegal passengers, usually I knew about it because of the description in the mission that's mentioned above.
Just use silent mode to go in a station, but on later runs i forgot and didn't get scanned anyway.

About the special requests, if you dock at the destination and have ignored the request, you'll hear about it from that passenger, lowering it's happiness which can result in a lower payout.
It just depends on how much you care
Once I had a woman on board that wanted to have an in between stop (for the Mug it was called) and I didn't really know what it was but also just accepted it without looking further into it. Then I got into the alpha centauri system discovering it was 0.2Ly away! I didn't have time to finish it, so i quit the game. When i got back in the game, the mission time was of course long due. But she still wanted to go there.
I wasn't planning to do that whole trip just for a visitor beacon scan, so i cancelled the mission and kicked her out at the first station I docked.
It resulted in demote in reputation with that minor faction. But that was it.

 

[Red Martian]

You get destroyed by the station if you get scanned with illegal passengers. Pretty harsh tbh considering you might not be paying attention to these kinds of details.

As for demands (and destination changes), if it isn't a long sightseeing mission in which passenger happiness could be an issue, then just don't bother going out of your way to supply the commodities.

Pirates looking for your passengers are the worst one. If you have a lot of missions (I fit my ships with economical cabins only, so I can get a lot of missions) you might end up with multiple attackers going after you, making it pretty annoying if you wanted to make stops to explore/trade/check USS. There was one time I had like 4 missions to different places and all triggered attacks, I was getting interdicted multiple times in a row.

Destruction *is* harsh! Ouch! Then again, when you enter a station you get warned that loitering leads to death. I'm wondering if the ED universe is actually Space North Korea.

If you need to sneak into a surface base, wait about 7km away from the station until you see a comms message from the cops saying he's off for lunch. You can safely sneak in then without being scanned.

Good advice! I'll remember that, because somehow it will happen again. lol

Drop a heatsink. It seems the local cops have no idea what a white hot floating piece of metal signifies.

I've seen those, and I do have two equipped on my ship. I haven't yet figured out how to make them work, but I was wondering if they would notice that. Thanks for the information, and yeah, it's a little odd what they do and don't notice.

When I tried passenger missions for the first time I saw overwhelming amount of wanted. Sure, the pay was good but not worth the risk. Especially on the long runs when you can spend days in the black (Let's go see Sag A* CMDR) just to be shot down upon landing. I perceive "wanted" as "stolen/illegal" cargo, tho in abundance compared to legit cargo. Looks like there is no supply of normal passengers. I smell easy money source which was heavily limited by design. By FDEVs passenger missions must be dangerous hence large amount of wanted ones.


Yeah, another straw. Not only "cargo" is wanted, it's also picky. And I don't like one sided agreements where NOT meeting the changes means I loose. Contract is a contract, we agreed on transport A to B or to B and back. Payment offer was accepted and changing mind in flight shouldn't affect initial bargain. If you provide bonus payment for fulfilling additional demands - that's different. But threatening with mission fail upon not meeting additional demands is plain robbery. I demand raising my transport fee on a whim and changing destination as I see fit (additional payment required as well).


1st - you'll be treated as criminal and shot down. Merciless. GZ, system police just killed a school bus driver because one kid stole a candy.
2nd - no, there's no way to stop the fight when it starts. 2 options only - ASAP or rebuy screen.
3rd - BEFORE you accept the mission you have rather lengthy description. There is "hidden" info if the cargo is criminal (stated plain: criminal or more vague "may be wanted in some systems"), demanding or does not like being scanned (secretive) or hull damage. Sometime all above at the same time.

A word about "may be wanted". Usually it refers to start/end system. Whole journey may be as easy as walk in a park, with scans and such and your "cargo" won't give a damn. But enter destination system where you have to unload it and immediately you are on high toes due to scan danger as your "cargo" is actually wanted in that system.

Apart from those passenger missions there are corporate staff needs transport / refugees / regular tourists. They don't pay that much but I prefer those. Makes me feel like a bus not a "transporter". But overall the whol;e problems with criminal and demanding "cargo" put me away from that. Beer doesn't complain while en route. Beer understands.

It wouldn't be so bad if the authorities just took your passenger, and fined you, but destroying a ship is just crazy overreaction. Yeah, *I* know they're illegal passengers (once they're boarded anyway), but maybe I'm turning them over to the authorities, did they consider that? Nope!

I've had a fair share of illegal passengers, usually I knew about it because of the description in the mission that's mentioned above.
Just use silent mode to go in a station, but on later runs i forgot and didn't get scanned anyway.

About the special requests, if you dock at the destination and have ignored the request, you'll hear about it from that passenger, lowering it's happiness which can result in a lower payout.
It just depends on how much you care
Once I had a woman on board that wanted to have an in between stop (for the Mug it was called) and I didn't really know what it was but also just accepted it without looking further into it. Then I got into the alpha centauri system discovering it was 0.2Ly away! I didn't have time to finish it, so i quit the game. When i got back in the game, the mission time was of course long due. But she still wanted to go there.
I wasn't planning to do that whole trip just for a visitor beacon scan, so i cancelled the mission and kicked her out at the first station I docked.
It resulted in demote in reputation with that minor faction. But that was it.

Well that's good to know. I can deal with losing a little cash, and rep. Losing my whole ship costs a LOT more.

 

[Doolittle]

Can you eject them? Simple solution. If they are illegal no fines should be incurred, or can you turn them in for an award?

 

[shadragon]

You can cancel, but you'll lose rep with that faction.

They will tell you in the description before you take the mission what the criteria are. Stations are a breeze. It's landing at planet bases that scan me the most.

 

[GG7]

Out of the 3 passenger runs I've done since yesterday, all 3 have been illegal passengers. I've been lucky entering the high/medium security stations every time, but I know that luck will eventually run out. That said, has anyone else been getting a boatload of illegal passengers? Also, is anyone else getting the picky ones who should be shutting up and sitting still rather than demanding high end appliances to make themselves more comfortable?

Also, what happens if you get caught with an illegal passenger, and why don't I get to know about it until after I've agreed to transport them?

I do see them listed on the mission boards pretty regularly, but if you read the mission description VERY closely, you will find a reference to them being wanted in multiple systems. This message is often listed in RED, but the choice of color doesn't POP. Instead it is nearly invisible and hardly something that jumps out at you. It can also be listed in the BLUE section, so be careful!

I reported this bad choice of warning color several times, but as usual, my reports have been ignored for over a year. But... The warnings are there, albeit hardly something that jumps off the page.

As far as what happens if you get scanned with a Criminal Passenger? Nothing good! If you get scanned at a station or planetary base and the scan is allowed to complete, that installation will open fire on you and you will be destroyed. (There is no fighting an angry station or base!)

Just be careful with them. I tend to avoid any that involve a drop at a planetary base because getting down onto a pad of one of those without getting scanned is pretty tough most of the time. Starports are relatively easy by comparison. Just drop down at full throttle, ask for docking permission as soon as you hit under 7500 and hit the slot as fast as you possibly can!

Lastly...Regarding the passenger requests?... I just ignore them all. I have never been penalized for doing so. Just don't click on the message to show you read it.

I do enjoy some of their requests though!

I once had one that read like this:

"Please secure me 4 Landmines! I wish to make this journey more comfortable."

[haha]

I seriously laughed out loud at that one!

 

[sylance]

If you need to sneak into a surface base, wait about 7km away from the station until you see a comms message from the cops saying he's off for lunch. You can safely sneak in then without being scanned.

THANK YOU! I was going to post this question. Docking in a station is pretty simple if you line up to the slot several km's out and just boost my way in. However, doing the same planet side is a chore. The only solution I've seen is to run silent and pop 1-3 heat sinks while I land. Any idea how long it takes for lunch?

 

[Xious]

I just go "silent"... seems to work