[ORIGINAL POST]
Going to write up some ideas to fix smuggling here. I'll post it to the suggestion forum when (if) I get any replies.
Smuggling Issues:
* Difficulty in finding suitable purchase and sale locations
* [Immersion] Ability to determine whether a starport has a black market from anywhere in the galaxy, as if the black market is advertised on the billboards.
* System security still detect and scan you as per normal at 0% heat and/or silent running
* System security do not scan attempt to scan visible ships (ships not attempting to smuggle) with enough intensity; you can easily boost past a scan and into the station with no repercussions
* Absolute lack of risk. The worst damage is a fine, which does not need to be paid in order to sell to a black market. I.e, you never pay the fine.
Smuggling Issue Solutions:
* Divide illegal cargo into two categories - class 1 and class 2.
Class 2 cargo carries the lesser penalty - a fine, 5x the galactic average value of all the illicit goods in your hold. Also, upon finding this cargo, the officer will demand you drop it, and collect or destroy it. These goods are goods that aren't very dangerous, or aren't highly frowned upon, or are goods that hold moral value - slaves. Class 1 would include dangerous substances - Nerve Agents, Landmines, Battle Weapons, et cetera. For possession of these items, the penalty is death. If you're by a station, it's guns open up on you. *Good luck*.
Certain items might vary wildly. For example, the Alliance might consider narcotics to be a class 2 illegal cargo, but the Federation might consider it to be a class 1. I'm also unsure how to place slaves - it would be weird for the cops to kill you for having slaves, and thereby kill the slaves, but it's also weird not to punish you horribly for carrying slaves. Maybe life forms should be 'Class 3'? Don't know how it would be handled, though.
* Discover black markets through contacts, found through missions or by visiting ports while carrying illicit/stolen cargo.
Black markets shouldn't be advertised on TV. You don't walk into a physical market with stalls where you can buy guns by the dozen, like in [family guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAL9V-B5AjI). You should have to find them. It shouldn't be too hard to get into - there are scumbags and ne'er-do-wells everywhere, even in 3305 - but it shouldn't be outright obvious either. When you land in a port, you could speak to the local criminal faction, if there is one, and if there isn't, you could take a chance talking to the other factions.. and they might not like what you have to say. If they don't... maybe you have one minute to clear the airlock before they send goons after you. If they do... BOOM! New black market contact!
* Money Money Money!
Smuggling should be inherently more lucrative, per unit of cargo, than any legal trading, anywhere, anyhow. If you have a heavily upgraded Cobra Mk III, you *should* be able to make as much money as that hardhat shooting rocks in his Keelback, or even that trucker trading in his Asp Explorer. The trade-off is skill - with all these risk factors, and with the danger lurking around every corner, in the form of two-faced faction reps, (dirty?) cops and pirates alike, you're going to earn those credits. Say you bought some Narcotics for 10,000 Credits in Orrere. You sell those in a high-security, conservative Federal system? Easily 100,000 cr per unit, 90,000 cr profits. Trick is, you're never going to get an Anaconda through that mail slot unscanned, so it doesn't scale that far up. You can get a Cobra through, at best, most likely. Anything bigger than a small ship and you just can't not get noticed.
* System security should do their jobs!
All these government workers, so lazy. Barely trying to scan you! This might be a little much, but what if you could choose to drop out at a station at great than 10km - maybe 15, maybe 20, maybe even more - through a setting under the ship tab, right panel. When you arrive, you find that system security has multiple wings of patrol ships making rounds around the station - at a 10 km radius. When they spot you, they're coming in for a scan, all right. You have to check to see where there's a hole in their perimeter, fly in, and get to the station. Use silent running, heat sinks, whatever need be to get past *unnoticed*. Hell, maybe you can stick to the underside of an Anaconda or Type 9 to try hide from their view. That would be fun, really fun.
Rant over? Rant over.
Going to write up some ideas to fix smuggling here. I'll post it to the suggestion forum when (if) I get any replies.
Smuggling Issues:
* Difficulty in finding suitable purchase and sale locations
* [Immersion] Ability to determine whether a starport has a black market from anywhere in the galaxy, as if the black market is advertised on the billboards.
* System security still detect and scan you as per normal at 0% heat and/or silent running
* System security do not scan attempt to scan visible ships (ships not attempting to smuggle) with enough intensity; you can easily boost past a scan and into the station with no repercussions
* Absolute lack of risk. The worst damage is a fine, which does not need to be paid in order to sell to a black market. I.e, you never pay the fine.
Smuggling Issue Solutions:
* Divide illegal cargo into two categories - class 1 and class 2.
Class 2 cargo carries the lesser penalty - a fine, 5x the galactic average value of all the illicit goods in your hold. Also, upon finding this cargo, the officer will demand you drop it, and collect or destroy it. These goods are goods that aren't very dangerous, or aren't highly frowned upon, or are goods that hold moral value - slaves. Class 1 would include dangerous substances - Nerve Agents, Landmines, Battle Weapons, et cetera. For possession of these items, the penalty is death. If you're by a station, it's guns open up on you. *Good luck*.
Certain items might vary wildly. For example, the Alliance might consider narcotics to be a class 2 illegal cargo, but the Federation might consider it to be a class 1. I'm also unsure how to place slaves - it would be weird for the cops to kill you for having slaves, and thereby kill the slaves, but it's also weird not to punish you horribly for carrying slaves. Maybe life forms should be 'Class 3'? Don't know how it would be handled, though.
* Discover black markets through contacts, found through missions or by visiting ports while carrying illicit/stolen cargo.
Black markets shouldn't be advertised on TV. You don't walk into a physical market with stalls where you can buy guns by the dozen, like in [family guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAL9V-B5AjI). You should have to find them. It shouldn't be too hard to get into - there are scumbags and ne'er-do-wells everywhere, even in 3305 - but it shouldn't be outright obvious either. When you land in a port, you could speak to the local criminal faction, if there is one, and if there isn't, you could take a chance talking to the other factions.. and they might not like what you have to say. If they don't... maybe you have one minute to clear the airlock before they send goons after you. If they do... BOOM! New black market contact!
* Money Money Money!
Smuggling should be inherently more lucrative, per unit of cargo, than any legal trading, anywhere, anyhow. If you have a heavily upgraded Cobra Mk III, you *should* be able to make as much money as that hardhat shooting rocks in his Keelback, or even that trucker trading in his Asp Explorer. The trade-off is skill - with all these risk factors, and with the danger lurking around every corner, in the form of two-faced faction reps, (dirty?) cops and pirates alike, you're going to earn those credits. Say you bought some Narcotics for 10,000 Credits in Orrere. You sell those in a high-security, conservative Federal system? Easily 100,000 cr per unit, 90,000 cr profits. Trick is, you're never going to get an Anaconda through that mail slot unscanned, so it doesn't scale that far up. You can get a Cobra through, at best, most likely. Anything bigger than a small ship and you just can't not get noticed.
* System security should do their jobs!
All these government workers, so lazy. Barely trying to scan you! This might be a little much, but what if you could choose to drop out at a station at great than 10km - maybe 15, maybe 20, maybe even more - through a setting under the ship tab, right panel. When you arrive, you find that system security has multiple wings of patrol ships making rounds around the station - at a 10 km radius. When they spot you, they're coming in for a scan, all right. You have to check to see where there's a hole in their perimeter, fly in, and get to the station. Use silent running, heat sinks, whatever need be to get past *unnoticed*. Hell, maybe you can stick to the underside of an Anaconda or Type 9 to try hide from their view. That would be fun, really fun.
Rant over? Rant over.
