Piracy not encouraged but in the game?

[Cidcaldensfey]

So, a lot of players on the forums seem to be bounty hunters and a lot of other players seem to not like pirates in general. In a lot of ways, people feel piracy and pirate players are just griefers. Players also stress that the game is not meant for PvP but reather cooperative gameplay. With that being said, why does Elite Dangerous advertise itself as a 'play your own way' with the following issues regarding this:

1. Lack of proper piracy mechanics for players who want to pirate
2. Ability for players to outright avoid player pirates entirely by blocking them, disconnecting from the game, etc.
3. Community mentality that pirate players are griefers

Because if your selling point and everyone else's mantra is 'play it your way', you're basically saying that I can't or I am discouraged from playing my way because it interferes with YOUR way of playing the game. By stating this, you're showing bias that your way or your entertainment is more important than what I feel is entertaining, yet the only difference between our playstyles is that the developers openly encourage and facilitate methods for you to play it your way. Where as for me, I'm playing with something that has been half- in terms of functionality and I am also considered to be a griefer for doing so when in fact the issue is that I am not allowed to play the game how I want to play because you don't want me to/let me even though it's in the game.

How is this fair? And if piracy is discouraged, then remove it from the game. Because the current implementation of it along with other parts of Elite Dangerous are very illogical in design, primarily by being contradicting.

 

[Lanatir]

So, a lot of players on the forums seem to be bounty hunters and a lot of other players seem to not like pirates in general. In a lot of ways, people feel piracy and pirate players are just griefers. Players also stress that the game is not meant for PvP but reather cooperative gameplay. With that being said, why does Elite Dangerous advertise itself as a 'play your own way' with the following issues regarding this:

1. Lack of proper piracy mechanics for players who want to pirate
2. Ability for players to outright avoid player pirates entirely by blocking them, disconnecting from the game, etc.
3. Community mentality that pirate players are griefers

Because if your selling point and everyone else's mantra is 'play it your way', you're basically saying that I can't or I am discouraged from playing my way because it interferes with YOUR way of playing the game. By stating this, you're showing bias that your way or your entertainment is more important than what I feel is entertaining, yet the only difference between our playstyles is that the developers openly encourage and facilitate methods for you to play it your way. Where as for me, I'm playing with something that has been half- in terms of functionality and I am also considered to be a griefer for doing so when in fact the issue is that I am not allowed to play the game how I want to play because you don't want me to/let me even though it's in the game.

How is this fair? And if piracy is discouraged, then remove it from the game. Because the current implementation of it along with other parts of Elite Dangerous are very illogical in design.

Pirates can be pirates all day long. There is thousands of NPC traders that they can pirate from.

Bountyhunters understood that concept. Most of them are NOT after other players, but after NPC pirates, getting bounty from them.

Player pirates are in nearly all cases only after other players, and not because they want to be pirates but because they just wanna have an excuse to kill other players.

If pirates, like bountyhunters, understood what their JOB is (pirate EVERYONE, not only players) theyd be making craploads of money.

 

[Joe Spivey]

It is fair because FD does not and has never advertised the game as PvP centric. Piracy and bounty hunting are perfectly reasonable occupations when you take into account npcs. This quote from DB might help explain it better. This taken from an interview with The Register but he has repeated it in many others:

"Most of the ships you encounter will be AIs - and in many cases you will kill them - which is why we want the majority to be AIs. Generally speaking we expect players, even beginners, to be more of a challenge than an AI ship, and something that players will tend not to attack, but more cooperate with, and we are designing the bounty system (and others) to discourage PvP and encourage player cooperation."

 

[{SAS}Stalker]

Pirate NPC's, problem solved surely? There are hundreds to chose from

 

[Argus Leadhead]

You're more likely going to have a better time pirating NPCs. It's definitely more profitable than trying for players.

 

[Caboose187]

Pirates can be pirates all day long. There is thousands of NPC traders that they can pirate from.

Bountyhunters understood that concept. Most of them are NOT after other players, but after NPC pirates, getting bounty from them.

Player pirates are in nearly all cases only after other players, and not because they want to be pirates but because they just wanna have an excuse to kill other players.

If pirates, like bountyhunters, understood what their JOB is (pirate EVERYONE, not only players) theyd be making craploads of money.

When I get a decent enough ship, I'll be pirating and plundering players all day long. Their hard earned loot is my easy money.

 

[Joe Spivey]

What a load of crap. When I get a decent enough ship, I'll be pirating and plundering players all day long. Their hard earned loot is my easy money.

And what you will find when you do that is that the players you pirate will either a) put you on ignore so that your chance of meeting them again is minimal. b) make a run for it and force you to shoot them. c) turn to solo mode thereby reducing your or any other pirate's chance of ever seeing them again.

Edited to add: You will also gain huge fines and bounties (especially if you kill them) so it ends up COSTING you money.

 

[Lanatir]

And what you will find when you do that is that the players you pirate will either a) put you on ignore so that your chance of meeting them again is minimal. b) make a run for it and force you to shoot them. c) turn to solo mode thereby reducing your or any other pirate's chance of ever seeing them again.

Edited to add: You will also gain huge fines and bounties (especially if you kill them) so it ends up COSTING you money.

And that the same trader made craploads of money trading and is sitting in his fat anaconda laughing at the pirate coming with his viper getting oneshotted.

 

[Argus Leadhead]

What a load of crap. When I get a decent enough ship, I'll be pirating and plundering players all day long. Their hard earned loot is my easy money.

Good luck, it's hard to do. I'm not being sarcastic. If you can do it well, than all the power to you but NPCs are definately more profitable as they don't kill the task to get away from you.

 

[delta873]

Don't lump us pirates all in the same boat, I at least give the player a chance to let me scan him and decide if I want anything. If he follows my orders he leaves with maybe 2-4 of his cargo gone (depending on how much he has, what ship ect ect) if they try and run however...they get their shields popped and a limped on their hull and loose most of their cargo usually before they jump out. I don't pirate to kill I pirate to make a living off of players that 1obviously know a good trade route and 2 have money to spare a few tons of cargo, especially if they are in a asp and or hauler

 

[Huita]

I think it should be pretty obvious that pvp is the most challenging aspect of any game, so e:d really needs to pay attention to it and remove things like the ability to disconnect and instantly vanish. I play open mode for reason, this reason being interaction with human players. Getting shot at includes it. People who are too afraid of it and prefer calling others "griefers" need to either play solo or grow up.

 

[kurush]

a) put you on ignore so that your chance of meeting them again is minimal. b) make a run for it and force you to shoot them. c) turn to solo mode thereby reducing your or any other pirate's chance of ever seeing them again.

Edited to add: You will also gain huge fines and bounties (especially if you kill them) so it ends up COSTING you money.

So, basically, if you encounter a pirate wannabe, wait until you get shot so that he gets a bounty and then DC? Roger that
c:\>taskkill /f /im EliteDangerous32.exe
for the win

 

[Argus Leadhead]

Edited to add: You will also gain huge fines and bounties (especially if you kill them) so it ends up COSTING you money.

That's not really that bad, if you chose to live a life of crime in this game , it's fairly easy to avoid the monetary consequences of your actions. Beside insurance if you bite the big one. But fines and bounties can be avoided indefinitely if you do it right.

 

[Joe Spivey]

Don't lump us pirates all in the same boat, I at least give the player a chance to let me scan him and decide if I want anything. If he follows my orders he leaves with maybe 2-4 of his cargo gone (depending on how much he has, what ship ect ect) if they try and run however...they get their shields popped and a limped on their hull and loose most of their cargo usually before they jump out. I don't pirate to kill I pirate to make a living off of players that 1obviously know a good trade route and 2 have money to spare a few tons of cargo, especially if they are in a asp and or hauler

And if the majority of pirates who pirate other players followed your example then maybe the players you pirate would be fine with that. Unfortunately, most players won't trust real pirates because the players who just want to PK use the occupation as an excuse for their acts. It is up to the Pvpers to put their house in order.

 

[Lanatir]

I wonder when player killers will finally understand that there is a REASON why traders are traders and not pirates or bountyhunters.
That reason is simply that most of them do NOT enjoy fighting other players. Some of them dont even enjoy fighting the AI.
Most traders i know would rather switch to solo then to be constantly harassed by what player killers think is fun gameplay.
So it will come to this: if pirates dont start to think about the way they follow their trade, they will be FORCED to pirate NPC simply because they are all blocked by the traders or the traders simply all went to solo and group.
There is a reason for Mobius already having 2000 Members, growing by about 100 every DAY.
Dear player killers, there is NOTHING you can do to force us into your way of playing. WE have all the options to avoid you, and you can cry and moan and about it all day long.
Adapt, or play the game your way...but alone.

 

[Argus Leadhead]

And if the majority of pirates who pirate other players followed your example then maybe the players you pirate would be fine with that. Unfortunately, most players won't trust real pirates because the players who just want to PK use the occupation as an excuse for their acts. It is up to the Pvpers to put their house in order.

Sad but true. Proper piracy would make it better. Instead of the usual "YAAARRRR IM A PIRATE! Boom! Dead!"

 

[thewzdoc]

Because if your selling point and everyone else's mantra is 'play it your way', you're basically saying that I can't or I am discouraged from playing my way because it interferes with YOUR way of playing the game. By stating this, you're showing bias that your way or your entertainment is more important than what I feel is entertaining, yet the only difference between our playstyles is that the developers openly encourage and facilitate methods for you to play it your way. Where as for me, I'm playing with something that has been half- in terms of functionality and I am also considered to be a griefer for doing so when in fact the issue is that I am not allowed to play the game how I want to play because you don't want me to/let me even though it's in the game.

How is this fair? And if piracy is discouraged, then remove it from the game. Because the current implementation of it along with other parts of Elite Dangerous are very illogical in design, primarily by being contradicting.

Pirates are traditionally hated by nearly everyone (especially traders)....that's just how it is and if you chose to play as a Pirate you will be one of the people that tarders hate. The game is setup to put bounties on pirates. Bounty hunters, Explorers, and Traders don't get bounties put on them becuase they don't attack "clean" ships for their cargo (or whatever your motivation is). You as a Pirate are the target of the bounty system, for the most part.
How would you like it to be fair? Force folks to play in your reality of the game? I really do want to understand where you are coming from, why the need to take on PCs over NPCs? Maybe it's not profitable, don't know I'm not a Pirate. Is it not fun for you if you aren't attacking a PC knowing that you are taking something an actual person has worked hard for?

 

[Kayweg]

Who knows ? Perhaps FD, contrary to popular belief, concluded PvP is not the pinnacle and evolutionary crown of online gaming. And maybe, just maybe, they're completely right.

 

[Dan Dare]

Played open since game launch and yet to meet another human player. Get shot up a few times (for no obvious reason) in beta and played gamma in solo (partly to avoid the griefers, partly due to connection issues). Got enough practice against NPC pirates to feel reasonably confident, and now also have a better ship and better weapons so now happy to "have a go" at defending myself. Pirates are part of the game, and I hope that improved communication will mean that the risk of being robbed will be an immersive part of the game. Fly your pirate flag, ask nicely, maybe I will fight, maybe I will run, maybe I will share. Do you feel lucky....punk?

 

[Zomb Lee]

Is it bad that I'm focusing mostly on the high bounty PLAYERS and not NPCs? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll take an NPC bounty any day of the week, but I've been frequenting a system where a #3 on the top 5 has been known to visit, but that's because he or she is worth about 152K.

Also, I used to pirate players all the time on Freelancer, but I was only after cargo. Tradeship cargo holds are enormous, and can hold much more than a pirate ship, so the idea for me was for them to jettison their hold, I'd tractor beam in whatever my ship could hold, and he could take the rest which usually was hundreds of units of cargo, me barely making a dent. If he didn't co-operate...well...I'd do my absolute best to turn him to vapor as he made a run for it. However, after burning some beam holes into his shields/hull and he changed his mind, I'd refrain from killing him. In fact, I think I only ever killed 1 trader online in Freelancer when I was a pirate, and that's because he chose to fight me, despite having given me some cargo, and me running in the opposite direction.

I love the PVP elements of this game. Recently I just got wrecked and kind of vented about it, but honestly it wouldn't be any fun without the sense of danger.