Smuggler Archive

This game isn't built for it. The very goal of Smuggling is for it to be uneventful. You DON'T want to be stopped by the authorities, or be chased by pirates. You want to get from point A to point B with as little trouble as possible. No trouble at all is the goal.

Where's the fun in that? How bout logging in the coordinates, heading back to the passenger lounge with your cohorts, and drinking yourselves silly while talking about that Twi you had some fun with on Ryl. Sounds good to me. Then the rare excitement of trying to escape with your lives, AND your cargo. But not often.

Space, such as it is in JTL, is not big enough for that. (Space would need to be more like it is in EVE --- HUGE)

Ships, such as they are, force you to be in the pilot seat for them to move.

Travel options, such as they are, put so much focus on getting there instantly, sitting around in a ship on auto-pilot seems like a stupid idea. Before speeders, before mounts, back when shuttles were a ten minute wait, this game was BIG. Speeders, instant FREE travel, and everything else, has made this game SMALL.

Smuggling, real and true, will never be in this game, not because Lucsarts has its priorities out of whack, but because it's just not feasible within the confines of the game.

Message Edited by Keck_is_banned on 10-04-2005 07:48 AM

That, and they continue to remove the only meaningful restrictions and challenges from the game.

Their shortsightedness of what a criminal element and a war actually entail are where they fall short. Until they accept that these are things people want in game and that they essential to the plot of Star Wars, this game will never have Smuggling or a real GCW.

It pains me when I think how much those 2 things could be tied together. How they should have been from day 1. How they've gotten it wrong for over 2 years and how it's tarnished the image of Star Wars.

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SmugglinZane wrote:

That, and they continue to remove the only meaningful restrictions and challenges from the game.

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This here sums it up perfect, removing restrictions and challenges removes the fun, too. For all professions not just smuggler. A weaponsmith who uses smuggled goods to get the edge over his competitors would enjoy that as much as a dancer who happens to know a smuggler to help the crafter that just entered the cantina to get a buff.

waah waah cry more nub as long as they put uber loot for smuggling missions im happy & besides u have all the uber crowd control specials what's there not to like???//

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riotcontrol wrote:
waah waah cry more nub as long as they put uber loot for smuggling missions im happy & besides u have all the uber crowd control specials what's there not to like???//

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the fact that we can't smuggler. You know, do our profession's namesake? I'd give up all the combat abilities, slicing, spice..just for a good smuggling system

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fishbrains wrote:

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riotcontrol wrote:
waah waah cry more nub as long as they put uber loot for smuggling missions im happy & besides u have all the uber crowd control specials what's there not to like???//

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the fact that we can't smuggler. You know, do our profession's namesake? I'd give up all the combat abilities, slicing, spice..just for a good smuggling system

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next thing ya know youd tell us commando has to command some1 eh u have low blow and ur ungrateful!!!

we should have bootlegging and smuggling, id love to have not only my Nova tricked out but would be funny to mount starship engines on my V-35 and run from the imperial swoop patrols with a hold full of illegal hooch and spice.

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Keck_is_banned wrote:

I think Riot's been possessed by the spirit of a dead n00b

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Seems like Joras actually fell for it though.

In all seriousness, the lack of consequences (both positive and negative!) and the lack of framework you can apply various content-based sub-games to (smuggling being just one example - if there are no real laws and no real law enforcement, nothing is really illegal and you can't really smuggle even if your NPC contact says you're doing it and you do transfer some cargo around) is to blame for a very large percentage of current problems in SWG. Not much to hope for even in case of revamps/content additions except for lite versions of everything until the fundamentals are changed to allow for meaningful consequences. And they won't be. Ever. Most everyone knows it and those who don't, well, they don't care anyway.

Ya know, with the way it was just described...... I wouldn't. Put me on the BH terms, but don't give me some half-a$$ed mission like everything else we've seen "added" As far as the general idea of giving up my abilites for said missions:

1. FD rules all

2. Smuggler Luck>Jedi Luck

Plus I make so much more in slicing deals daily. Unless they give us a payout like a jedi mission, it's probably notworth my time.

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riotcontrol wrote:

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fishbrains wrote:

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riotcontrol wrote:
waah waah cry more nub as long as they put uber loot for smuggling missions im happy & besides u have all the uber crowd control specials what's there not to like???//

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the fact that we can't smuggler. You know, do our profession's namesake? I'd give up all the combat abilities, slicing, spice..just for a good smuggling system

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next thing ya know youd tell us commando has to command some1 eh u have low blow and ur ungrateful!!!

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I think Riot's been possessed by the spirit of a dead n00b

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Keck_is_banned wrote:

Smuggling, real and true, will never be in this game, not because Lucsarts has its priorities out of whack, but because it's just not feasible within the confines of the game.

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I don't think that helps matters out too muchthough.

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NickHeel wrote:

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Keck_is_banned wrote:

Smuggling, real and true, will never be in this game, not because Lucsarts has its priorities out of whack, but because it's just not feasible within the confines of the game.

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I don't think that helps matters out too muchthough.

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Yea I should rephrase that because technically the reason it's not feasible is because of LA/SOE.

Exactly - without an established framework true smuggling in this game is impossible. We need to accept that we'll never really smuggle anything that's currently in-game - i.e. sliced weapons/armor or spice.

However - and this is the important part - real smuggling can still be added by adding new, properly "illegal" optional items on top of the current system and tacking on some new restrictions to those items.

These items wouldn't be super-rare drops or anything like that - rather, they would be reasonably easy to obtain. However, any player that has them in their inventory (or in a droid) would be flagged. When loading into a starport a flagged player would load into an instanced customs office. The items would immediately be removed from their inventory and there would be a fine and/or FP loss. This would happen regardless of the method of travel.

Now remember - these items would be NEW ADDITIONS, would be READILY AVAILABLE and OPTIONAL. No one's going to lose an uber krayted pistol or anything like that.

Smugglers, as I'm sure just about anyone who's reading this has already guessed, would have a chance to avoid these customs agents entirely or to extricate themselves from the customs office. If you fly your own ship you would have a chance to load normally when you land at a starport. If you use public transport you would be unable to load normally, but would load into the customs office with the goods still in your inventory and a reasonable chance to talk your way out. If you use the "travel" option on your ship you would load into the customs office with the goods in your inventory and a much lower chance to talk your way out - but still a chance.

That is pretty much as basic as you can get for a Smuggling system in the game.