Smuggler Archive
Thread: Smugglers can't smuggle; or Be careful what you ask for
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MurfThrelklya
Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:32 am
#1
I have an honest question for this community. I'm a big boy, if you feel the need to flame go ahead. I've never posted here. I have no idea what's been suggested before, but "smugglers can't smuggle" is appearing all over the place on other forums, and it got me thinking.
When a Smuggler posts saying "Smugglers can't smuggle", I read "Smugglers can't carry illegal items form place to place." Doing this, is in theory, breaking the law. If you are breaking the law, there has to be an authority fighting your actions. In game, that would be the Empire, Corsec, whoever.
Now of course we have the stupid little inspections by NPC's that are 50 levels below you, no challenge there. Clearly there is something missing. I see only three methodsto enforce an anti-smuggling law:
Player Bounties
NPC Bounty Hunters
Level 80 NPC's roaming cities doing inspections.
Corsec, the Empire, the Alliance; As is, these have no chance of stopping you from "smuggling" and there is no chance they all get bumped to 80.It is doubtful that NPC Bounty Hunters could have the AI to actuallykeep upwith you. The only thing that could possibly work as an opposite toa smuggler, is for the authorities to take out bounties on you.
The Question:
By asking to "Smuggle", aren't you really asking to be policed for illegal actions (that you already take)?
Suggestion:
Give missions to smugglers to take a special, extra-illegal item from here to there. Turn up the inspection rate by the policing authorities. If you make it to your mission, you get paid. If you get busted with your cargo or if you run, you 1) get attacked by the inspector, 2) you get a 30 min TEF for all similar authorities on ground and in space, and 3) if you survive the 30 minutes, you get "visibility" as a Jedi would. Three weeks on the terms being hunted by BH, just like theforce usingcriminals. This wouldn't apply to mildly illegal items like spice and sliced items.
The truth is smugglers do smuggle, the law is just sopitifully enforced that you don't notice any authority. This would remedy the situtation.
SmugglerPie
Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:40 am
#3
I would have pointed you to a beautifully written In Concept document that made Smuggling a fun and exciting min-game, and gave Smugglers profession-defining content that would actually make them Smugglers. It was written by GreenMarine, and it was his vision of Smuggling.
I would have... but the Devs, in their infinite wisdom, deleted that post because I don't doubt they plan to give us some watered-down delivery missions, that is if they actually give us Smuggling at all.
MurfThrelklya
Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:46 am
#4
Cool, if that is what you are asking for, I am behind it all the way.
I just got the feeling that some people were complaining for the sake of complaining, without actually considering what smuggling really is.
Glad to hear it, bring on the revamp.
LM
Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:50 am
#5
There are remnants of our discussions with GreenMarine regarding contraband and smuggling missions here:
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=smuggler&message.id=95411#M95411
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=smuggler&message.id=96114#M96114
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=smuggler&message.id=98219#M98219
(sorry, clicky-challenged)
As you can see, we had lively discussions and brainstorming sessions. The results of these discussions were written up by GreenMarine, but have been deleted from the "In Concept" thread.
You will note that these discussions took place over a year ago. And it was TWO years ago that Smugglers were told they would be getting a "revamp."
You can understand why we feel pretty cranky about all of this.
Two years and we STILL DON'T SMUGGLE.
ner0sputnik
Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:58 am
#6
As you've seen, you described exactly what we want. Why most of us bought the game in the first place.
As for the inspectors. I think it was Greenmarine who said that if you get caught by these low-level inspectors, they could "call for backup" which would be similar NPCs (corsec, stormies, rebel guards, etc...) that spawn with a level comparative to yours.
Put me on the run. Please!
MurfThrelklya
Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:06 am
#7
Wow, some great ideas there. And to be dev-driven!
I'm pulling for you now. And I do see why people are so cranky.
Good luck to you all, lets hope this is Publish 21!
RichardBryant
Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:14 am
#8
LM wrote:There are remnants of our discussions with GreenMarine regarding contraband and smuggling missions here:(sorry, clicky-challenged)As you can see, we had lively discussions and brainstorming sessions. The results of these discussions were written up by GreenMarine, but have been deleted from the "In Concept" thread.You will note that these discussions took place over a year ago. And it was TWO years ago that Smugglers were told they would be getting a "revamp."You can understand why we feel pretty cranky about all of this.Two years and we STILL DON'T SMUGGLE.
Fixed.
GanymedePharuu
Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:15 am
#9
MurfThrelklya wrote:
Wow, some great ideas there. And to be dev-driven!
I'm pulling for you now. And I do see why people are so cranky.
Good luck to you all, lets hope this is Publish 21!
thanks for the good luck wishes... unfortunately we're all out of hope here. we'd just like to be left alone with our beer and pie until the building burns down around us.
Alpha_Bits
Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:16 am
#10
I'm expecting bad things in publish 21.
Well, maybe not 'bad things'... more like 'crap'. As in the long-awaited 'smuggling content' which is nothing more than reworded delivery missions taken from smuggler-only npcs. If the devs are REALLY lazy, they'll just stick a 'Smuggler Misison Terminal' in every starport and paint it brown or something so it looks different than the other terminals. No intelligent player bounties, no crimelord faction interactions, etc, etc.
The oft-mentioned disappearance of the Smuggling discussion from the IN Concept forum makes it pretty obvious that we're not getting much of anything resembling what was on it, considering the Slicing thread disappeared and look at what we got. /shrug
WesBelden
Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:53 am
#11
SmugglerPie wrote:I would have pointed you to a beautifully written In Concept document that made Smuggling a fun and exciting min-game, and gave Smugglers profession-defining content that would actually make them Smugglers. It was written by GreenMarine, and it was his vision of Smuggling.I would have... but the Devs, in their infinite wisdom, deleted that post because I don't doubt they plan to give us some watered-down delivery missions, that is if they actually give us Smuggling at all.
Clickity
yimaz
Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:48 pm
#12
MurfThrelklya wrote:
Cool, if that is what you are asking for, I am behind it all the way.
I just got the feeling that some people were complaining for the sake of complaining, without actually considering what smuggling really is.
Glad to hear it, bring on the revamp.
nope we know full well what it is we are asking for. Now if we could talk the Dev's into having player Bountys on our heads and not NPC bountys we might make this smuggling system worth wild.
djlowballer
Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:02 am
#13
WesBelden wrote:
SmugglerPie wrote:I would have pointed you to a beautifully written In Concept document that made Smuggling a fun and exciting min-game, and gave Smugglers profession-defining content that would actually make them Smugglers. It was written by GreenMarine, and it was his vision of Smuggling.I would have... but the Devs, in their infinite wisdom, deleted that post because I don't doubt they plan to give us some watered-down delivery missions, that is if they actually give us Smuggling at all.
Clickity
thanks wes.... seeing that made me hate this slicing system that much more
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