Crime and Punishment - and Restitution

[Iale]

While reading over the C&P rules, something that seems to me to be lacking is restitution for victims. That is, if I hurt you and am later brought to justice, in the real world I am liable for payment to you for any damages.

In Elite, this is of course rebuy and cargo. Under the current (pending) rules the rebuy is reduced based on notoriety, but I don’t see where I can have my expenses reimbursed.

This one thing is the entire reason I don’t play in Open.

I don’t care about punishing the criminal. Rather, I don’t want to be out millions of credits. That’s it. If my ship is trashed, the billionaire pirate doesn’t get stung with a bounty. I don’t get anything out of it. It’s a slight money sink and a way for bounty hunters to make some coin, but I don’t see much else to it.

Why don’t we add something so that when the murderer pays his fee, that fee goes towards some of the rebuy cost? Understandably this can be days or even months later. But, if it happens, the victim logs in to see a successful mission-like reimbursement waiting for them to cash in on.

Thoughts?

 

[Mohrgan]

Restitution comes in the form of a reduction in re-buy costs based on the Notoriety of the criminal.

 

[Iale]

I referenced the reduction in my post. That’s not restitution, and neither does it help with low notoriety.

 

[Mohrgan]

It's closest thing you'll see.

 

[AkimuMC]

Real World vs. Game is a bad comparison most times... this is one of those times. Example; in the real world, I can't hop in a space ship 20,000 LY from Earth and shoot lasers at alien ships... so...

-as a side note to real world restitution- Good luck getting any restitution from a criminal in prison. Unless they were well off on the outside, you ain't getting squat.

Fly in open, or don't. They have solo/pg if open isn't your thing.

 

[PeLucheuh]

While reading over the C&P rules, something that seems to me to be lacking is restitution for victims. That is, if I hurt you and am later brought to justice, in the real world I am liable for payment to you for any damages.

In Elite, this is of course rebuy and cargo. Under the current (pending) rules the rebuy is reduced based on notoriety, but I don’t see where I can have my expenses reimbursed.

This one thing is the entire reason I don’t play in Open.

I don’t care about punishing the criminal. Rather, I don’t want to be out millions of credits. That’s it. If my ship is trashed, the billionaire pirate doesn’t get stung with a bounty. I don’t get anything out of it. It’s a slight money sink and a way for bounty hunters to make some coin, but I don’t see much else to it.

Why don’t we add something so that when the murderer pays his fee, that fee goes towards some of the rebuy cost? Understandably this can be days or even months later. But, if it happens, the victim logs in to see a successful mission-like reimbursement waiting for them to cash in on.

Thoughts?

It is your own responsability to protect yourself using the already available in-game modules like shield/armor/boosters etc...

Reducing the rebuy of the victim is already a nonsense.

 

[Clifra Jones]

In the year 2145 the human race followed some sage advice from ol' Will Shakespeare! "Kill all the lawyers!" So you see you cannot sue for restitution, you must take what the powers that be (The Pilots Federation) decide to give you. (Or you can hunt down and murder the person who blew up your ship! He's most likely wanted so that is acceptable!)

Open is not the gank fest it is made out to be. I have met many a fine cmdr in open and exchange greetings. You know where the danger spots are so it is not hard to avoid them or switch to solo/PG.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

In the year 2145 the human race followed some sage advice from ol' Will Shakespeare! "Kill all the lawyers!"

There was a mission in Frontier First Encounters that involved nuking the lawyers from orbit. (Given the quality of the legal arguments they had previously been advancing, they most certainly deserved it)

 

[Riverside]

Thoughts?

I think you make a good point and I quite like the idea of receiving some compensation if the baddie is 'caught'.

We currently have insurance to get us back on our feet, and this is subject to an excess and doesn't cover cargo, exploration data, failed missions etc. These are 'uninsured losses', which IRL would be claimed back by suing the individual or their insurance company.

In-game, we all use the same insurance company and it doesn't work the same way RL insurance does, so I'd say logically the individual would pay the funds unless (as in real life) they were unable to pay.

So if the baddie is bankrupted by the bounty fees, the victims would not receive their compensation, if the baddie is not bankrupted and the cash is available after bounty fees, it could be forwarded (automatically of course) to the victims.

Could be too heavy handed in practice, but I like the basic idea.

 

[jasonbarron]

OP, thanks for the best laugh I've had all week! And that includes learning what the phrase "poodle balling" meant with the invaluable help of the Urban Dictionary

 

[Quantis Trap]

In this game, everyone gets free ship insurance that pays 95% of the cost of the ship with no deductible. There's nothing real world about that, but it's in our favor. I think we not gripe about paying the 5%.

In another more unfinished space game, you have to pay for your ship and the monthly insurance with real money and can get your ship stolen.

 

[jasonbarron]

I'm amazed that this thread didn't take off like a brush fire through the tall weeds driven by a hot wind. AA's thread must have stolen all of the oxygen, I guess.