[ PROPOSAL] Intel package gameplay

[Iskariot]

When I obtain an intel package it tells you who you can sell it too. You then go to an Imp, Fed or alliance station and sell it.
I think that is a very odd mechanism. Why does the package tell me who wants to buy it?
Intel should be just intel... and the only thing it should tell you is who owns it.

I think the gameplay around intel packages could be much more interesting.

An example of what I would like to see:

When you obtain an intel package the player might go to a station contact to find out who wants to pay for it.
I would like to see different options for paying clients:
Perhaps a local faction will pay 30.000 credits, but a faction 30 ly from your location would pay 60.000.
Or perhaps the contact tells you that if you go to the Imperial capital system they will pay you 2 million, but you will have to go there within 8 hours from now.

You can then decide what you want to do.

For future gameplay interaction:
When the intel is very sensitive I would love it when my contact would give me coordinates down on the surface of a planet (or in the asteroid rings of a gas giant). I would go down to the planet and find a ship waiting for me.
I land next to it. I would contact the ship, send over the data and then get paid.

Or perhaps I would have to drive in my SRV to an SRV waiting on the surface and hand over the data.
There could also be situations where things might go wrong and the client tries to steal the data.

I think this would be much more interesting and exciting game play.

 

[IiliI PEL IiliI]

Intel for me is kinda pointless, you scan a surface data point and then this thing appears in your job menu...it just sits there annoying my ocd type anti clutter mentality until I accidentally stumble across someone who will take it off my hands.

I don't go out of my way to try and sell it because most of the time its for a measly 10k or something.

It doesn't add anything to the game really. I don't know why its even there. If they want to add extra gameplay value using this data, then why not use it as an access token of some kind?

By this I mean, if you have this data, then take it to a certain station and this can be used to gain access to a special higher paid mission...if you don't have this data, you don't get the mission, its that simple.

They're already doing chained missions, this could be another way to utilize that mechanic.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

When I obtain an intel package it tells you who you can sell it too. You then go to an Imp, Fed or alliance station and sell it.
I think that is a very odd mechanism. Why does the package tell me who wants to buy it?
Intel should be just intel... and the only thing it should tell you is who owns it.

I think the gameplay around intel packages could be much more interesting.

An example of what I would like to see:

When you obtain an intel package the player might go to a station contact to find out who wants to pay for it.
I would like to see different options for paying clients:
Perhaps a local faction will pay 30.000 credits, but a faction 30 ly from your location would pay 60.000.
Or perhaps the contact tells you that if you go to the Imperial capital system they will pay you 2 million, but you will have to go there within 8 hours from now.

You can then decide what you want to do.

For future gameplay interaction:
When the intel is very sensitive I would love it when my contact would give me coordinates down on the surface of a planet (or in the asteroid rings of a gas giant). I would go down to the planet and find a ship waiting for me.
I land next to it. I would contact the ship, send over the data and then get paid.

Or perhaps I would have to drive in my SRV to an SRV waiting on the surface and hand over the data.
There could also be situations where things might go wrong and the client tries to steal the data.

I think this would be much more interesting and exciting game play.

My idea is to link Intel into the Follow-on mission mechanic. Basically the same system that allows a mission to trigger a follow-on could be applied to Intel that you sell. After the Intel is sold, you can go into the mission screen & see a follow-on Chain Icon next to a mission. If you click on it, it might say, for example, "That Intel Package you sold us has proven to be very useful. From what we've learned, there is a Rebel Facility in <system name>. If you could destroy its power generator, you'd deal a massive blow to our enemies."

Something to that effect.

Alternatively, an "in-space" mission could be triggered if you spend enough time in one system carrying Intel Packages-with the Intel being converted to a Data Package that has to be delivered to either an in-space Contact, or a facility....maybe with a "Do Not Get Scanned" Wrinkle attached.

Alternatively, ships who see you carrying Intel Packages might decide to attack you.....to prevent that Intel falling into the wrong hands .