Smuggler Archive
Thread: Slicing Far too common?
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fr00g
Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:13 am
#1
Are you a smuggler or just someone who wants to remove the only service we offer?
BigLands
Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:28 am
#2
I'm a smuggler - for quite some time now.
I'm not trying to take away our only markettable skill - I'm trying to point out that slicing is the norm not the exception.
I point this out for two reasons -
1. It makes no sense for there to be no risk to slicing if it's an illegal activity
2. If we don't, as a community, look at issues like this, I garauntee slicing will be nerfed.There have already been dev comments to the effect that they think slicing is too common, too cheapand carries too little risk. (Caylin can you confirm this if you drop in? My memory is a little hazy on detail)
Consider also how powerful slicing is - I can gain up to 35% increase on damage and speed on weapons, and up to 45% protection and encumberance on armour - Permenantly! Do we get these values every time - no (which is one reason i think it'll remain pretty damn random), but right now I can radically boost my power with no risk, no repercussions and I can do it to all my weapons and armour for a cheap one time cost.
You don't need to agree with my solutions- hell you could have the slice 'wear-off' like a buff, or wear off anytime something is repaired.
What I'm saying is, currently, slicing is a no-brainer choice - and that needs to change.
Flame on.
Thochkored
Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:05 am
#4
I think the best idea is removing Sliced Items from the Bazzar and Vendors and giving Smuggler a Vendor in the Underworld Tree.
As far a Slices wearing off, I would be against that idea. I enjoy slicing for the public, but I still want it to be worth my time, if slices are temporary people aren't going to be willing to pay as much and it will no longer be worth my time. Slices are permanent now and they still are priced less than a Doctor Buff.
Weapons and armor lose condition faster once they are sliced, I never really checked to see how fast, so there is a penalty for getting an item sliced.
true_Kieran
Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:14 am
#5
Undergrid wrote:
And single handedly destroy our market for services? If people can't get on the majority shuttles with spice or sliced equipment then your going to go from one extreme to the other, no one (appart from smugglers) will have sliced equipment. No making money on slices or selling spices for any smuggler.
Actually I would love to lose the slicing business if they can enter with spice and we would be able to sell spice because it is usefull, I never liked the idea to improve other people's gear anyway.
Smuggler_Caylin
Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:43 am
#6
BigLands wrote:
I garauntee slicing will be nerfed. There have already been dev comments to the effect that they think slicing is too common, too cheapand carries too little risk. (Caylin can you confirm this if you drop in? My memory is a little hazy on detail)
...
Those aren't the reasons it would be changed any time soon...
Dangerous ground for me right now.
/looks around warily and wishes he could say more but can't. Urges population to *not* freak because they don't know the whole situation.
One of the Four Horsemen of the Smuggler Apocalypse! 
Homer_J_S
Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:12 am
#7
In a world where everything decays at a fantastic rate why would you want a chance of breaking something when you go to slice it?
I don't think an M-16 or AK-47 or Samurai sword falls appart after 5000 uses.
This is a fantasy world. Why would you want to make SWG realistic?
BigLands
Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:37 pm
#8
As it stands at the moment slicing is pretty borked - but we'll take that as read because that's not what this post is about.
Currently there is no reason not to get everything you own sliced.
Right now, I defy you to find more than 5% of the populaton who are NOT running around with sliced gear.
You can openly buy sliced gear on the bazaar and on common vendors.
(In real world parley, Woolworths is selling Crack cocaine and E-Bay is selling Rocket Propelled Grenades. AND NO-ONE IS TRYING TO STOP THEM!)
The Imperial Crapdown is a bust - rarely do you get scanned, there's little penalty for a positive scanand Imperial characters above a certain rank have a get out of jail free.
It doesn't matter what the slice comes out at - it always improves your gear
The solution to the first point is simple - no sliced items/spices on the bazaar or regular vendors.
Smugglers get a single vendor from underworld, with the capacity and types of contraband which can be sold going up with the underworld skill.
Second, ditch the Crapdown - it has no real impact as it stands. Introduce automatic scans at all shuttleports and starports. (We're not letting you in with all the illegal gear). You cannotenter a starport or board a shuttle if you're detected with sliced gear or spices. Put a timer on it before you can try again.This might actually give us the ability to smuggle, if we're the only people who can get round the scan. Might even be worth putting a scanning terminal in that we can slice. I don't think this needs to be inplace everywhere - The shuttleports on Tatooine, for instance- well, it's a lawless rock, they might not even bother.
Finally, there needs to be an element of risk added to slicing. Ideally, it would involve us getting visibility similar to Jedi and getting on the BH terms. My next point may be contraversial - I think there should also be a risk of damage or destruction to the sliced item. Not a huge one, maybe a base 2-5% per slice, that either reduces the durability of the item or destroys it outright. this might stop people from automatically get their new krayted DE-10 sliced. In effect you take a risk everytime somehting gets sliced that It'll get damaged.
What'cha think?
Undergrid
Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:48 pm
#9
BigLands wrote:Second, ditch the Crapdown - it has no real impact as it stands. Introduce automatic scans at all shuttleports and starports. (We're not letting you in with all the illegal gear). You cannotenter a starport or board a shuttle if you're detected with sliced gear or spices. Put a timer on it before you can try again.This might actually give us the ability to smuggle, if we're the only people who can get round the scan. Might even be worth putting a scanning terminal in that we can slice. I don't think this needs to be inplace everywhere - The shuttleports on Tatooine, for instance- well, it's a lawless rock, they might not even bother.
And single handedly destroy our market for services? If people can't get on the majority shuttles with spice or sliced equipment then your going to go from one extreme to the other, no one (appart from smugglers) will have sliced equipment. No making money on slices or selling spices for any smuggler.
Selko
Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:53 pm
#10
Ok some good ideas you can have some stars.
The only point I dislike is the damage to items. The Item decay is already a huge pain in the arse, even insured it seems stuff still gets dinged I it. But I have a few alternative ideas.
1 Confiscate any detected spices (not currently a big dealbut in the future who knows)
2 Huge fines in multiplesfor each contraband item.
2aIf you don't have the cash to pay make the guilty work the debt off before they can leave planet (fine payable at thestarport).
2b unless of course they happen to know a smuggler and can payfor a quick ride off planet (this may require some hard work to get enough for a ride).
Add things that make it truly unpleasant to be discovered with contraband, then give the smuggler a way around it. The higher up the smuggler trees you are the better your chances.
Karzon_X
Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:13 pm
#11
Sure Caylin... give us a hint then leave us hangimg
thanks.. 
Now I'm curious... must... know... what ... caylin knows....gah
on another note... I think slicing should be less common... better results, but more risk.. then we can raise our prices....
Imperiai2
Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:41 am
#13
Here's some random thoughts:
Slicing pretty much IS too public. Slicing does at minimum always improve your weapon. Everyone just HAS to have the 35% damage slice (and then complain when we don't get it and they need to supply 5, 10, 15? extra weapons in order to get it). So basically if everyone just accepted one slice as 'hey my weapon is better, thanks smuggler' we'd be a little better off, but poorer. =)
Scans at every starport for everyone will kill the game. See: 99% of the population runs around freely with sliced weapons drawn etc. If everyone is getting scanned 100% of the time, EVERYONE will complain.
It's a good idea for a REAL society, when 99% of the population has homes, families, jobs, business to attend to, and generally walk around unarmed all the time. But since, let's face it, this is a VERY UNREALISTIC Star Wars game, this type of control of weaponry and such would affect the entire player base, and no one would be able to do anything without a Smuggler. And smugglers will never be around enough to fill that demand. And I don't want everyone being a smuggler just so they can do it themselves and I'm sure no one else wants to have to do that either.
I do like the idea of us getting an 'illegals' vendor or something in Underworld, but not because I sell supplies or spices. I would like to put my 'rare' crap up for sale and not have it cap at 6000 credits. I don't know how many weapons I've sold for 6K when they were worth twice as much.
I really want SOE to make it so people will seek smugglers out for something other than slicing and faction. I would love to have to move 5 crates of T21's from a smithy on Dantooine to a Guild on Lok. I would love to have to move 10 crates of some illegal Ore from an NPC Gangster's Palace to another NPC Gunrunner's Factory. I would love to get a Bounty put on me for ditching or stealing that cargo... but a timed bounty, cause I would still like to walk around on foot for the most part =). SOE sure has it's handful trying to figure out how to do stuff like this. I know it will never get this cool or involved, but geez... They shouldn't have stepped in the kitchen if they couldn't stand the heat...
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