bounty game mechanics are making the game unplayable for me

[gazra]

I was firing at a "wanted" NPC ship in my Vulture when I heard a loud BANG sound, which I realized was another NPC ship crashing into my ship, then a few seconds later I hear a distant explosion and I immediately get a 5000 credit bounty (lasting 5 days!) on my head for the murder of the NPC that flew and crashed his ship into my ship! I don't know how his ship got destroyed from the collision. I was flying my ship in a straight and level trajectory behind the "wanted" ship that I was firing at, so the NPC that I apparently "murdered" must have flown his ship into my ship from the side or from behind (either way, I never saw his ship from my cockpit view). I am a very careful pilot. I stop firing whenever some idiot "clean" NPC flies their ship into my line of fire. I have killed hundreds if not thousands of pirates for the Federation. It's absolutely ridiculous that I get a bounty on my head from the very faction that I was fighting for just because some idiot NPC crashes their ship into mine (when I had no chance whatsoever to avoid the collision)! These kind of bounties are ruining the game for me.

I understand that these kind of extreme game mechanics go all the way back to the original Elite computer game, and that they are part of the lore of the Elite universe. But the bounty game mechanics are SO idiotic and psychopathic and unrealistic (considering how many pirates that I've killed for the good of the Federation) that Frontier Developments need to make drastic changes to the bounty game mechanics to make the game fair for players who don't do anything wrong. This is easily the most frustrating thing about Elite: Dangerous at the moment! It's getting to the point where I am losing interest in doing any more bounty hunting because I'm so sick of being fined or getting bounties on my head when I'm not trying to be a pirate. Please address this problem.

Because of this unfair bounty game mechanic, I'm tempted to just become a pirate and kill every bloody ship that I see in the game!

 

[Kitiara]

Or, you could learn to watch where you shoot and fly.

 

[Kaiden Sol]

So idiotic that if a security ship accidentally shoots a vessel that has no bounty on it his/her comrades start to shoot at it and a security v security skirmish ensues...

 

[thebullfrog]

So idiotic that if a security ship accidentally shoots a vessel that has no bounty on it his/her comrades start to shoot at it and a security v security skirmish ensues...

I've seen that. Was pretty fun to sit back and watch as the entire population of a nav point managed to get sucked into a hairball caused by a cop missing a shot.

 

[Chann3l]

Why this such a big deal, 5000 credit bounty is nothing. At the moment having a bounty like that doesn't even make doing anything like docking or flying a challenge.if you gt interdicted by security just run. I don't see how it makes the game unplayable, how often has this actually happened once?

 

[h347h]

So idiotic that if a security ship accidentally shoots a vessel that has no bounty on it his/her comrades start to shoot at it and a security v security skirmish ensues...

Gasp, it does happen. I've seen it several times. It is odd that is for sure.

 

[Gray Lensman]

Or, you could learn to watch where you shoot and fly.

This kind of reply actually makes me question whether some of the posters on this forum can comprehend basic English.
Did you actually READ what the op wrote or did you have a preset agenda that was triggered by some keywords in the opening text?

 

[Darth Ender]

I haven't had an accidental or friendly fire incident since 1.3 dropped. The buffer zone is extremely generous to the point where you have to be either incompetent or intentionally shooting / ramming clean ships.

I've also never seen an authority ship become wanted, i dont think the game allows it since they can't break the law...they are the law.

I have seen clean ships accidentally become wanted - the ultra rare wanted asp in a res.

I've even attempted to get a clean ship wanted by jumping into the line of fire between it and it's target but the game doesn't seem to incorporate the same rules for npc's accidentally firing on a player ship as they do for "accidentally" firing on another npc. I couldn't get the npc wanted regardless of how many times i was hit.

 

[Kitiara]

This kind of reply actually makes me question whether some of the posters on this forum can comprehend basic English.
Did you actually READ what the op wrote or did you have a preset agenda that was triggered by some keywords in the opening text?

Of course I read it. He posted that he was blindly focussed on destroying the ship in front of him and wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings.

He further went on to state that because he messed up and picked up a bounty in one system, that the game was "unplayable". This is so patently untrue that it is an utterly laughable position.

 

[Soopyyy]

It's certainly still a problem, but it is far and away better than what it was in 1.2.

 

[Macgyver]

Try farming in a group of 4 or 5 Police NPC Anacondas, that scraping sound never ends......
When you are making 40Mil in 3 hours of farming you learn to live with it.

 

[Arry]

Did a kill mission today, got 400cr for the 1st shot and 5000cr for the kill, can't pay it off, so what happens after 5 days, been reading in the forums, but this is the closest I can find. Anyone give me any pointers here?

 

[CrustyGoth]

It's getting to the point where I am losing interest in doing any more bounty hunting because I'm so sick of being fined or getting bounties on my head when I'm not trying to be a pirate.

OK I get that the example you gave of another ship crashing into you is rather unfortunate but that is very much a one off - if you're getting so many bounties every time you go bounty hunting then you really are doing something very wrong.

 

[Faded Glory]

Did a kill mission today, got 400cr for the 1st shot and 5000cr for the kill, can't pay it off, so what happens after 5 days, been reading in the forums, but this is the closest I can find. Anyone give me any pointers here?

When the timer on the bounty counts down to 0, it will become a legacy fine, which you can then go back to that system / station and pay off. You don't have to pay it off, but in the event you are destroyed in a system where you have a legacy fine, it will be added to your rebuy cost.

 

[daygobah]

So idiotic that if a security ship accidentally shoots a vessel that has no bounty on it his/her comrades start to shoot at it and a security v security skirmish ensues...

Seen that happen so many times its funny and sad at the same time.

Yes there are bugs or messed up game mechanics.


Would be nice to have them fixed.

 

[Arry]

When the timer on the bounty counts down to 0, it will become a legacy fine, which you can then go back to that system / station and pay off. You don't have to pay it off, but in the event you are destroyed in a system where you have a legacy fine, it will be added to your rebuy cost.

Thanks, thought it might be something like the. Will that systems security kill me on site? or sight?

 

[Faded Glory]

Thanks, thought it might be something like the. Will that systems security kill me on site?

While you are wanted, they will go for you if you are for example bounty hunting and they scan you, and they may interdict you in SC, but on the occasions I was wanted that didn't happen. You may also be clean at some stations in the system, you can find that out by clicking on them in the system map. (You'll still be wanted in the system, but when you drop out of SC by a station that doesn't have you as wanted you will be fine.)

Once it turns into a legacy fine, you are no longer wanted.

 

[Arry]

Thanks, very helpful.

 

[Faded Glory]

Thanks, very helpful.

You're welcome.

BTW: Once it becomes a legacy fine, it won't show in the transactions tab (I'm pretty sure), so if you are going to want to pay it off, remember where you have to go.