Smuggler Archive

• Space for the goods to be sliced, and to look at the stats of the item. Since the smuggler side of the trade window isn't stat-important, maybe it could have before/after stats?


• Space for the smuggler's tools to be used: Precision Laser Knife, optional upgrade kits, flow analyzers, molecular clamps. (For the sake of a fair, honest trade in services, this is "keeping all cards on the table.")


• Credits for the slice in two parts which once both parties agree to will have to be held in escrow: first, non-refundable advance funds, and second, refundable amount for a successful slice (remember: clamps may not be involved!).

So the scenario would be: parties place items in the 'trade window' boxes, set the prices and click 'agree'. The slicer selects an item and clicks 'slice' and thus goes to work on an item (advance funds are paid).Once the outcome of the slice is known, the other funds transfer. Both fees should be able to have a checkbox for 'per sliced item', and the second fee should have a checkbox for 'per percent of slice' (for those who don't charge a flat fee).

It is what surprised me the most about SWG, the complete lack of a secured way of dealing with slicing.

In DAOC, repairing weapons, imbuing them with spellcrafting or alchemy, all that is done in a secure way with a special window. That avoid a LOT of "but you are gonna run with my stuff" paranoia, and since if the person don't pay the item is not sliced, it avoid putting the Smuggler in the situation to either cave in and work for nothing or keep the sliced weapons and be reported for theft.

Same for Doctors, who are faced with the risk of either buffing and not being paid or the customer who always risk paying and not getting buffed.

A secure transaction window solve so many problems.

That........doesn't seem like a Smuggler. I'd much rather have a system where if you keep the wepon, you gain a TEF from your client, and if they kill you, they retrieve their gun. This would mean they would get a free slice, but if you won then you would get to keep the gun. Maybe even slap us on the BH terminals immediately if the attacker fails. Then have them retrieve the item if a Bounty Hunter kills us (At a cost, the client would have to put up THEIR credits if the initial attempt to retrieve the gun failed) This, I think, would be hard to do. But it would be cool

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Ifisa wrote:
That........doesn't seem like a Smuggler. I'd much rather have a system where if you keep the wepon, you gain a TEF from your client, and if they kill you, they retrieve their gun. This would mean they would get a free slice, but if you won then you would get to keep the gun. Maybe even slap us on the BH terminals immediately if the attacker fails. Then have them retrieve the item if a Bounty Hunter kills us (At a cost, the client would have to put up THEIR credits if the initial attempt to retrieve the gun failed) This, I think, would be hard to do. But it would be cool

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well that wouldn't be a smuggler content, you are not supposed to be a thief and practice robbery, you are supposed to perform illegal modifications on some equipments, which is not really the same thing.

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LaughingWolf wrote:

In DAOC, repairing weapons, imbuing them with spellcrafting or alchemy, all that is done in a secure way with a special window. That avoid a LOT of "but you are gonna run with my stuff" paranoia, and since if the person don't pay the item is not sliced, it avoid putting the Smuggler in the situation to either cave in and work for nothing or keep the sliced weapons and be reported for theft.

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I agree. The idea being, in the transaction window, the client put the weapon and the cash, the slicer put the tools and check the "slice" button, both click "accept", both click "ok", the slice is made (the slicer see the usual slice dialogue, the tools used are the one he put in the transaction window), both get the result, the tools of course disapears from the smuggler inventory, the cash is transfered.


For the "per percentage" fee, maybe it could be an option, the slicer could check a "per percentage" box, enter , say, 100 credit in another field below it. Would be seen and had to be accepted by the client of course. Then the client would put no cash in the trade window but after they both hit ok and accept, the slice would be made and the system would transfer from the client bank to the slicer bank 100cr per slice percentage. Would be harder to implement maybe, but would be a nice option to offer. Or like the original poster suggested, pretty much the same principle.

Once the conditions are agreed on and the slice is made , there is no "but I'm not paying you that".

So basically, yes the change of policy bother me because we risk seeing smacked not only the occasional bad apple fraudolent Smuggler but also thoses who get clients who decide not to pay and then report their Smuggler for theft when he/she decide to keep the weapon or armor. I think implementing a safe transaction system like they did for ID would be WAY more productive then a policy change. In the meanwhile, if you DO keep a weapon or an armor piece from a client who refuse to pay, I would recomend to KEEP LOGS.

Message Edited by LaughingWolf on 11-23-2004 07:29 PM

Agreed, met several people who were rather skiddish about departing their precious item. Like I really care about their c$^p. But however it has left me with no choice the only thing that we have to lean on is reputation. So I meet alot of people, am curtious, polite, informative. To gain their confidence and respect. Eventually get their referrals, whom, when I run out of tools, have to sadly turn them down.

And it is true that the reputation system is maybe more... realistic.

Well the actual system have one good point: It create a lot of interesting posts in the "A chuckle for the smuggler" thread.

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LaughingWolf wrote:
It is what surprised me the most about SWG, the complete lack of a secured way of dealing with slicing.

In DAOC, repairing weapons, imbuing them with spellcrafting or alchemy, all that is done in a secure way with a special window. That avoid a LOT of "but you are gonna run with my stuff" paranoia, and since if the person don't pay the item is not sliced, it avoid putting the Smuggler in the situation to either cave in and work for nothing or keep the sliced weapons and be reported for theft.

Same for Doctors, who are faced with the risk of either buffing and not being paid or the customer who always risk paying and not getting buffed.

A secure transaction window solve so many problems.

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Maybe the game makers originally didn't intend slicing to be a form of income and a service the smuggler offers to all others, but more of a way to smugglers to get an advantage over others by being able to improve their own armor and weapons.

But wouldn't it have been incredibly naive of them to assume Smugglers would only slice their own stuff? For that matter, Doctors do not have a secured transaction window, should we assume then they were not supposed to buff others either? I doubt it.

It DO seem like a weird oversight, that lack of secure transaction system. But I doubt the devs believed we would never sell our services. Specially Smugglers! Anything for a credit.

Message Edited by LaughingWolf on 11-23-2004 10:50 PM

As far as they're concerned, there is no smuggler profession, just a master slicer.

Master Cynic eh? I do agree tho, sad to see the Smuggler profession reduced to only slicewhoring.

But that oversight, that lack of a secured transaction window, it is not only bad for Smugglers. It is bad for our clients, who are often nervous about doing business with someone new by fear of being stolen. It is bad for the Doctors and their clients, who sometimes have to engage in a "you buff first, no you pay firt" tug-o-war. It was bad for IDs, but in their case it was solved.