Let's face it: in their current implementation passenger missions are glorified cargo runs with a different kind of cargo bay, and sometimes that cargo wants to go to a pretty place and come back. I've come up with a few ideas that would make passengers more than a different name for "1T of Cargo".
Charters, Cruises, Expeditions, and Prisoner Transfer
When selecting the passenger lounge, instead of being met by an altered mission screen there is instead the option to choose between Charters, Cruises, or Expeditions. However, instead of having a list of available "missions" CMDRs would input specific data about their planned trip and a number of passengers who want that set of criteria will be displayed to the CMDR.
Charters:
Charters are your standard point A to point B trips where price, destination, and speed are the most important factors. As such, a CMDR seeking charters would input their destination and price per head for each of their cabins. Depending on the ticket price and destination a number of passengers of each cabin class will be offered to the pilot. The initial station type, destination system type, system population, CMDR reputation, and faction reputation would also have an effect on the number of available passengers. For example: An industrial station with a population of 1000 will have little to no available passengers wanting to go anywhere; they would only be able to pay low ticket prices. However, an initial High tech station traveling to a tourism system would have a high number of available passengers willing to pay higher ticket prices. Charter contracts would also include troop transport and covert insertion.
Cruises:
Cruises would be trips similar to those done by current ships where destinations, time, and entertainment are most important. Using a similar method to the one listed above, passengers will be shown based on the criteria of planned trip time, destinations, and ticket price. Non-Economy passengers may have additional selections below them displaying VIP (+their entourage) passengers and passengers with commodity requests (or both). These mission would have both a minimum and maximum timer where passengers expect to be on the ship for a minimum amount of time, but not too long.
Expeditions:
Expeditions would be the most open ended of the four where planned distance from Sol and cost/ly are the criteria. The CMDR would have a selection of various scientific team types within each cabin type; for example a team that studies stars, or a team that studies gas giants. These teams would have a minimum number requirement of stellar body types they wish to visit. For each body found that matches with the scientific team's study interest past the required number, a bonus will be earned based on a % of the stellar body's scan value. Some of these scientific groups may have very specific interests and would offer a larger bonus per extra body and would be willing to pay more per ly travelled. Time is no object to these researchers and as such they have no minimum or maximum time limit.
Prisoner Transfer:
These would require specialized prison cabins and would function in a similar manner to Charter contracts. Prison cabins would have a very high capacity when compared to passenger cabins, but the price per head will be much lower. Prisoners will be offered in different 'types' such as criminal, murderer, war prisoner (associated with a superpower), slave, etc. There may also be high profile prisoners that would require High security prison cabins but offer significant pay for transportation. The destination for these missions will almost always be set for the nearest prison colony with the exception of high profile prisoners sometimes requiring a different location. In the event that the pickup location is a prison colony, the next closest out of system colony will be the destination. These missions would be the most dangerous, with wanted ships attempting to spring their comrades.
With the addition of Prisoner transfers, slaves would be removed as a commodity and would appear under this tab.
Reputation
As a commercial pilot your reputation means everything and will be effected by the actions you take with your passengers. Being late or early to the final destination would hurt your reputation depending on the contract type. Accepting and delivering on passenger requests would increase reputation, however if a request is accepted and not delivered this would have a greater negative effect then simply denying the request. Higher reputation leads to better pay and higher profile passengers. The positive and negative reputation effects are more pronounced depending on the passenger's 'value'.
CMDRs would have extra options upon arriving at any destination. If at the wrong destination, passengers can be forced to disembark at the cost of a severely reduced payout and decrease in reputation. Passengers can be Jettisoned while in space at the cost of a massive reputation drop. Passengers can be delivered into slavery in imperial space; this would decrease your overall reputation and hurt your standing with both the Alliance and Federation, but would increase your standing with the empire. Conversely, when transporting slaves they can be freed in federal and alliance space with a with a decrease in reputation and standing with the empire and an increase with the Federation and Alliance. Some other options would be releasing prisoners (depending on the type) at a station to increase a faction's lockdown status; this would decrease reputation and put a bounty on the CMDR. However, if an Imperial war prisoner is released at a station controlled by the empire then a reward would be given to the CMDR and no bounty/increase in unrest would occur, but reputation would be hurt.
Luxury Ships
With these changes only passenger ships (ex. Orca) should be able to fit First Class and Luxury Cabins, and only these ship types would be able to accept cruise missions.
Comments
A passenger system like this would allow for more gameplay with passengers and make them feel like a more integral part of the Elite universe. In some cases this system also expands on some of the professions such as exploration. Please reply with your feedback on my take, in addition to any alterations you would make and why.
Charters, Cruises, Expeditions, and Prisoner Transfer
When selecting the passenger lounge, instead of being met by an altered mission screen there is instead the option to choose between Charters, Cruises, or Expeditions. However, instead of having a list of available "missions" CMDRs would input specific data about their planned trip and a number of passengers who want that set of criteria will be displayed to the CMDR.
Charters:
Charters are your standard point A to point B trips where price, destination, and speed are the most important factors. As such, a CMDR seeking charters would input their destination and price per head for each of their cabins. Depending on the ticket price and destination a number of passengers of each cabin class will be offered to the pilot. The initial station type, destination system type, system population, CMDR reputation, and faction reputation would also have an effect on the number of available passengers. For example: An industrial station with a population of 1000 will have little to no available passengers wanting to go anywhere; they would only be able to pay low ticket prices. However, an initial High tech station traveling to a tourism system would have a high number of available passengers willing to pay higher ticket prices. Charter contracts would also include troop transport and covert insertion.
Cruises:
Cruises would be trips similar to those done by current ships where destinations, time, and entertainment are most important. Using a similar method to the one listed above, passengers will be shown based on the criteria of planned trip time, destinations, and ticket price. Non-Economy passengers may have additional selections below them displaying VIP (+their entourage) passengers and passengers with commodity requests (or both). These mission would have both a minimum and maximum timer where passengers expect to be on the ship for a minimum amount of time, but not too long.
Expeditions:
Expeditions would be the most open ended of the four where planned distance from Sol and cost/ly are the criteria. The CMDR would have a selection of various scientific team types within each cabin type; for example a team that studies stars, or a team that studies gas giants. These teams would have a minimum number requirement of stellar body types they wish to visit. For each body found that matches with the scientific team's study interest past the required number, a bonus will be earned based on a % of the stellar body's scan value. Some of these scientific groups may have very specific interests and would offer a larger bonus per extra body and would be willing to pay more per ly travelled. Time is no object to these researchers and as such they have no minimum or maximum time limit.
Prisoner Transfer:
These would require specialized prison cabins and would function in a similar manner to Charter contracts. Prison cabins would have a very high capacity when compared to passenger cabins, but the price per head will be much lower. Prisoners will be offered in different 'types' such as criminal, murderer, war prisoner (associated with a superpower), slave, etc. There may also be high profile prisoners that would require High security prison cabins but offer significant pay for transportation. The destination for these missions will almost always be set for the nearest prison colony with the exception of high profile prisoners sometimes requiring a different location. In the event that the pickup location is a prison colony, the next closest out of system colony will be the destination. These missions would be the most dangerous, with wanted ships attempting to spring their comrades.
With the addition of Prisoner transfers, slaves would be removed as a commodity and would appear under this tab.
Reputation
As a commercial pilot your reputation means everything and will be effected by the actions you take with your passengers. Being late or early to the final destination would hurt your reputation depending on the contract type. Accepting and delivering on passenger requests would increase reputation, however if a request is accepted and not delivered this would have a greater negative effect then simply denying the request. Higher reputation leads to better pay and higher profile passengers. The positive and negative reputation effects are more pronounced depending on the passenger's 'value'.
CMDRs would have extra options upon arriving at any destination. If at the wrong destination, passengers can be forced to disembark at the cost of a severely reduced payout and decrease in reputation. Passengers can be Jettisoned while in space at the cost of a massive reputation drop. Passengers can be delivered into slavery in imperial space; this would decrease your overall reputation and hurt your standing with both the Alliance and Federation, but would increase your standing with the empire. Conversely, when transporting slaves they can be freed in federal and alliance space with a with a decrease in reputation and standing with the empire and an increase with the Federation and Alliance. Some other options would be releasing prisoners (depending on the type) at a station to increase a faction's lockdown status; this would decrease reputation and put a bounty on the CMDR. However, if an Imperial war prisoner is released at a station controlled by the empire then a reward would be given to the CMDR and no bounty/increase in unrest would occur, but reputation would be hurt.
Luxury Ships
With these changes only passenger ships (ex. Orca) should be able to fit First Class and Luxury Cabins, and only these ship types would be able to accept cruise missions.
Comments
A passenger system like this would allow for more gameplay with passengers and make them feel like a more integral part of the Elite universe. In some cases this system also expands on some of the professions such as exploration. Please reply with your feedback on my take, in addition to any alterations you would make and why.
