Pirate lord mission template

[VonBlade]

Sadly even that "blah de blah" type text is an improvement upon what we get.

I particularly hate the "perform assassination, we'll tell you when you get there" ones. You have a mission, on a mission board, asking for assassins. I answer it, as an assassin and now you decide to become all coy? Ugh.

 

[Faded Glory]

Yes indeed.

I should add, as this is what I meant when I talked about the 'feel' of missions in an earlier post, this kind of engagement (if that's the right word) with the NPCs, even just believable text would probably make quite a bit of a difference in a game where to an extent many players are consciously or even unconsciously role-playing spaceship pilots.

I think part of the problem may be the scale of the game world and the procedural generation of missions. Just having context for missions would make things a lot more believable, for example a high ranking delivery mission should go to a low security or anarchy system, so that when you are attacked (and that's another problem, you can take Elite ranked missions for payouts in the millions, and there's zero opposition so RNG is clearly another issue when it comes to missions) there are no system authority to turn up and help, or they will take a long time. But as I said, I don't think the procedurally generated mission template currently have that level of detail.

The same could be done for these assassination missions. Low ranking ones the target can be in a high or medium security system so the player has help from the cops, yes they'd be stupidly easy, but then they are there for new players, medium ranking ones in medium or low security systems, and the Deadly / Elite ones in anarchies. There'd be no need then for the contrived systems failure when you enter an instance with your target, and there's a progression where as the challenge goes up you have less help until you are on your own.

I'm going to assume the devs would like to do this kind of thing, I mean it's not rocket science to make system security mean something, but I'm also going to assume it's not easy to do, or they'd have done it.

 

[Drelthar]

I'm going to assume the devs would like to do this kind of thing, I mean it's not rocket science to make system security mean something, but I'm also going to assume it's not easy to do, or they'd have done it.

Yep, the mission creators clearly want to, but the tech isn't finished to achieve it yet.

I mean, the people making the missions MIGHT be the same guys making the code that supports making the missions, I find that doubtful, but however it works, the actual background code doesn't have enough levers!

 

[CylonSurfer]

If you think the 'Assassinate Pirtate Lord' missions are bad (I quite like them) then give the 'Assassinate Religious Leader' missions ago. Those are almost impossible to complete as they involve you being sent to a surface base which in all likelyhood will have a huge trespass perimeter around it, multiple security ships patrolling the area with the goal of getting inside and scanning a comms relay station in your SRV. The comms relay is often located in an area of the base which is impossible to get to without resorting to glitching up the bases walls. That's all before you even find the location of your target who is often winged up to the max with followers...

 

[Drelthar]

If you think the 'Assassinate Pirtate Lord' missions are bad (I quite like them) then give the 'Assassinate Religious Leader' missions ago. Those are almost impossible to complete as they involve you being sent to a surface base which in all likelyhood will have a huge trespass perimeter around it, multiple security ships patrolling the area with the goal of getting inside and scanning a comms relay station in your SRV. The comms relay is often located in an area of the base which is impossible to get to without resorting to glitching up the bases walls. That's all before you even find the location of your target who is often winged up to the max with followers...

This is actually a much better mission design though, it utilises mutiple segments of the game play within the game, and links it all together into a co-herent system.

Now, if they then integrated wings with missions...

 

[CylonSurfer]

This is actually a much better mission design though, it utilises mutiple segments of the game play within the game, and links it all together into a co-herent system.

Now, if they then integrated wings with missions...

I agree, well if the first half of the mission involving the SRV was completable without glitching or just plain old luck. As you say it utlises multiple aspects of game play which makes it an interesting mission type to take, yet it falls short as the player does not have the tools to complete the objective the rest of the mission requires.

 

[Trafalgar Law]

If you think the 'Assassinate Pirtate Lord' missions are bad (I quite like them) then give the 'Assassinate Religious Leader' missions ago. Those are almost impossible to complete as they involve you being sent to a surface base which in all likelyhood will have a huge trespass perimeter around it, multiple security ships patrolling the area with the goal of getting inside and scanning a comms relay station in your SRV. The comms relay is often located in an area of the base which is impossible to get to without resorting to glitching up the bases walls. That's all before you even find the location of your target who is often winged up to the max with followers...

I actually quite like that mission type. I like the fact that it feels like I'm tracking down the target by stealing valuable data first.

Maybe I've been lucky but I've not had any difficulty getting into scan range of the comms station, although I agree that the amount of security ships at these bases can be excessive although fortunately they do struggle to hit an SRV.

 

[Andovar]

This will all be fixed in the 2.5 "Core Updates" expansion.
(...am i asking too much?)

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

snip

You only touch the surface - you're talking about what's going on in that instance. A pirate lord shouldn't be a single fight - it should be a series of fights. Perhaps you come across his lackeys attacking a trader, and you kill one. The other submits (becomes invincible for a few seconds), stops, and sends you a message. "If you're after our boss, we lasty heard from him in system X, but please, don't kill me!" You can then kill the pirate for a bounty, or continue onwards towards your target.

You arrive in system X. A passing trader or system security (RNG to decide) warns you to steer clear of celestial body Y - ships go missing over there. You, obviously, head right over there. For shorter missions, you meet the pirate lord. You attack him, bring him low on health, and he high wakes. perhaps, faster than a normal NPC or even player could/would. You track him.

You meet him in supercruise in system Z. You interdict him, and murder him. Maybe, if you didn't murder that poor lackey a couple systems back, he'll come around to help you (RNG roll decides whether he shows up or not). You go back to the employer, who pays back the mission reward and the pirate lord's bounty, in full.

-------------------------------

This could be iterated in a hundred ways. You could find a pirate base. You could incapacitate the pirate to allow security vessels to pick him up for trial. You could join him in his dastardly act and reap some of the benefits of the deed. Maybe, you'd even gain a contact, and he could become a persistent NPC whom you can establish contact with, and he could provide you with some minions for your own pirate quests, the location of a hidden pirate outpost, the whereabouts of a good mark, etc.

Then you have the other assassination missions, the illegal ones. That spiritual leader, that political scumbag? Potential contacts or credit vouchers, with their own chains, their own requests. Factoring in having to dodge the law could be very nuanced and fun. This is all before mentioning the plethora of other missions available. Personally, I'd like to see some love for piracy missions. I want my targets to mean something, and I want to have rep with other pirates.

 

[Drelthar]

- Snip

Agree with you entirely, there's a lot of potential for many many missions, but these just lend themselves to it the most (which is probably why they are already one of the most involved, even using the system for mission making they have now)

Repped.

 

[JesusRocks1988]

The time limit of "your target will be in the system between xx: xx and xx: xx", plus the suggestion about an FSD interdictor seem to be hangovers from the way the mission used to work.

I remember doing these missions a year ago, and yes, they spawned in Supercruise, and yes, between the times listed only. Heaven help you if you miss it or they wake out and you forgot a wake scanner.

The pirate missions aren't perfect, but they're a lot better than they were. I imagine missions will get some post-2.4 love but in the meantime they probably should remove the redundant text.

 

[Chrysophylax]

I really dislike these missions. I dislike not knowing to some extent what ship ill be facing at what level and whether or not he has friends. Maybe that's just me and not knowing is part of the "charm" maybe you guys like that?...I detest it.

I certainly don't.

I can't stand the randomness in missions, so most of the time I'm looking at passenger/cargo or CZ missions.

Any condition that I can't easily predict such as the inane "wrinkles" (get me this cargo, meet the contact, the princess is in another castle) is never ever worth my time. Too much damned RNG is this mission's system biggest blight.

 

[Drelthar]

The time limit of "your target will be in the system between xx: xx and xx: xx", plus the suggestion about an FSD interdictor seem to be hangovers from the way the mission used to work.

I remember doing these missions a year ago, and yes, they spawned in Supercruise, and yes, between the times listed only. Heaven help you if you miss it or they wake out and you forgot a wake scanner.

The pirate missions aren't perfect, but they're a lot better than they were. I imagine missions will get some post-2.4 love but in the meantime they probably should remove the redundant text.

If you go there in the time frame, instead of outside of it, and using nav beacon scan/ADS scan, they do spawn in super cruise as they used to.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

The pirate missions aren't perfect, but they're a lot better than they were. I imagine missions will get some post-2.4 love but in the meantime they probably should remove the redundant text.

Missions being slightly better than they were isn't enough. They're still garbage.

Sorry, mission dev.

 

[Drelthar]

Missions being slightly better than they were isn't enough. They're still garbage.

Sorry, mission dev.

don't disagree, I feel like it's the backend though, rather than the guys actually makin the missions... Needs sorting out! Hopefully, after 2.4... (all hopes are pinned there now!)
I

 

[Ouberos]

How does one become a "Pirate Lord" anyway?

Asking for a friend.