Smuggler Archive
Thread: Revamp Discussion: Contraband & Smuggling Missions
Bounty Hunter Blues
GreenMarine wrote:
Contraband
Concept
The game’s contraband system will be changed to include a greater number of illegal items, a range of legality levels, and increased penalties for being found with illegal items.
Legal Ranges & Punishment
Items will now have a range of legality. The following legal ranges will be implemented.
- (This new system will be discussed later.)
Illegal objects will display their legality in the examine properties list.
A faction aligned player who is caught with contraband will lose a percentage of faction appropriate to the degree of the crime.
Imperial aligned players will now only be immune to scans regarding quasi-legal goods if they have the rank ofCorporal (Change to Major) or better.
Old sliced weapons and armor will be converted to have the legality level of “banned.” (Add With the one-time option to convert "all sliced gear and contraband" to "legal" condition and the inability to re-slice ... this was prevent people from trying to get items that had a low slice re-sliced.)
Scan Frequency
Contraband scan frequency will be somewhat increased. Scan bottlenecks will be introduced at various locations in major cities, such as starport entries and medical centers.
Contraband Visibility
The game's "visibility" system will be expanded. Any player can now accumulate small amounts of visibility for a contraband infraction. The amount of visibility will be dependent on the severity of the infraction.
Smugglers may attempt to find out or reduce the visibility of any player by slicing a bounty hunter terminal. Failure to successfully slice the terminal will result in the smuggler being immediately added to the terminal. Clamps cannot be used in this form of slicing. (This will be a new type of slicing, not wire cutting.) More information on this is available in the slicing section.
Smuggling Missions
Concept
Various criminal organizations throughout the galaxy have found financial success in moving illegal substances and goods from one place to another. The vehicles of these transfers are the smugglers, men and women who store their morality along side coffers full of questionable goods. The smugglers are brave and often brash individuals who risk their lives for monetary gain on a daily basis.
Allow us the ability to buy faction ... (Example: even if we are -5000 Hutt, we should be able to pay (a high amount) to get to +5000).
The smuggler revamp will introduce new missions to simulate the smuggling underworld.
Basic System
Smuggling Missions are received from various underworld bosses, called ‘suppliers’. Jabba, Lady Valarian, and other key criminal characters, as well as new characters, will offer smuggling missions. Smuggling missions are only offered to smuggler characters. The difficulty of the mission will scale to the average tier level of the smuggler’s skills.
At its core, a smuggling mission is similar to a delivery mission. The player is given a crate of illegal goods to move to another contact. The player must then return the payment for the goods to the source of the mission.
Ex: Jabba gives the player a crate of 50 to deliver to a cantina in Mos Eisley. After the player delivers the narcostims, she receives a payment of 12,000 credits. The player then returns to Jabba and delivers 8,000 credits, pocketing 4,000 as payment for the job.
There are no skill boxes specific to smuggling missions, but the smuggler’s skills in scan avoidance and slicing will come into play.
Cargo Legality
Smuggling mission cargo is highly illegal. Any non-smuggler caught carrying a crate of any item to be delivered from a smuggling mission will be attacked and have the cargo confiscated.
Due to the illegality of the cargo, the authorities may occasionally hear about a particular supplier’s intent to move goods. Smugglers on a smuggler mission may encounter attacks from planetary or Imperial authorities, depending on the difficulty of the mission. Killing these enemies is not necessary to complete the mission.
The target for a smuggling mission will only wait so long to receive the delivery. If the player does not deliver the goods within a reasonable amount of time (dependent on mission difficulty), the mission will be lost and the player will receive some visibility.
Withholding Cargo
The player may choose to withhold part of the delivery. In the above example, the player may choose to only deliver 30 of the narcostims to the contact in Mos Eisley. If the player chooses to withhold cargo, s/he will only be paid a portion of the actual delivery fee. The amount of the payment will be directly proportional to the amount delivered.
In order to split a container of mission supplies, the smuggler must successfully slice the container’s locking mechanism.
The player may also choose to withhold part of the money to be paid to the supplier. For example, the player might deliver all 50 narcostims, but only pay Jabba 6,000 credits.
Withholding cargo or pay will result in the smuggler earning a small bit of visibility. Thus, a smuggler who chooses to defy the crime lords who supply her with jobs faces the possibility of execution at the hands of a hired Bounty Hunter.
The more difficult the smuggling mission, the greater the visibility gained for cheating.
Cargo Contents
Smuggling mission cargo often contains items that are components for smuggler crafting. Narcostims, for example, might be a component used in the creation of the spice, Glitterstim. Thus, a smuggler will need to occasionally withhold some of the cargo from a mission if they wish to enter the spice business.
In the interests of the player economy and current game balance, spices will remain craftable. Now, however, smugglers will "assemble" various components into spice packages, instead of chemically brewing them. Experimentation will be added...more details later in the spices discussion.
Smuggling cargo may also include crates of low or mid level spices. The player may choose to withhold these spices and resell them to other players if they wish.
Space Integration
There will be elements of smuggler missions involving space zones & space gameplay, but I can't discuss many space details. The player may have to pick up or deliver goods in space. Players without JTL will not be required to go to space. This is an "after space ships" feature.
It bothers me that you need to put disclaimers in here, however I do understand it and would have done the same thing.
Visibility should also go away ... "X amount of visibility vanishes per hour, or day, or week, or month"
Lain_Runner wrote:
I love the ideas posted by Green Marine. Though, it will hit hard the non PvP players.... But it seens like a question of balance to me, you should look into it with caution...
All a player (or smuggler) would have to do to avoid PvP is:
1.Carry sliced goods and spices only when necessary (base raid/defense, special hunt, etc)
2.Travel buffed, armored, and grouped when carrying said goods.
3.Avoid scan teams.
4.At scanning choke points wait for some other person to be scanned by a scanning crew, then deftly rush past.
The only item I think needs clarification is a decay of visibility over time. Once a player has been scanned and gained some visibility, they need a message that tells them they have gained visibility. The players who wish to avoid PvP with a bounty hunter would be advised to lay low for a bit until the visibility clears.
Simple tactics to avoid PvP effectively 
Ternque01 wrote:
4.Hire a smuggler to smuggle it across for them.
This is pretty naive if you ask me. On a given night, I hop on, frequent 2-3 of my favorite hunting spots (note: different planets), play for 2-3 hours, and log off.
There are a couple of thimgs I can tell you from my experience:
(1) I will not spend 10 minutes searching around the star port for a smuggler each and every time I want to planet hop. In fact I won't even do that once a night. That 10 minutes isOVER 5% of my play time each night. To me, it is not worth it own a sliced anything if I am going to be harassed for having it or need a smuggler simply to go to a different planet.
(2) If owning sliced items interfere with my planet hopping in any way, I will either (a) not hire a smuggler at all and run through the checkpoint, or (b) not carry sliced items. Neither of those options (both of which you are advocating) fix anything for smuggler. If you are saying those are viable options, you are hurting the smuggler profession.
A 30% increase in damage is NOT worth spending 10 minutes and 10k+ credits just so I can blow up some pikits on Dath orBluurgs on Endor.Even a50% increase isn't worth it. I'm sorry, but it's not
The only 2 responses you can have is:
(1) "Fine don't use sliced items." My response: Fine enjoy your revamp that still gives you nothing to smuggle.
(2) "The damage increases are going to be so great you will want to have a smuggler take them." My response: Absolutely positively wrong. No gun or armor of any quality is worth wasting 10 minutes of my time looking for a smuggler every single time I want to planet hop. I don't have to have that damage increase to get by, and the rare circumstances when Imight needneedthe extra damagewill come so rarely that it will provide you with no market whatsoever. Enjoy your revamp that still gives you nothing to smuggle.
Honestly, buddy...you need to lose the self-rightous attitude and consider other opinions. You can argue that other posters are "babies" and "whiners" all night long. Fact remains: They pay the same fee you do, and have just as much right to a good time. Your good time should not be enhanced at the expense of theirs...PERIOD.
If you want to post constructively, why not try coming up with middle ground that will both (1) give smugglers a role and (2) not annoy the crap out of others. That is something that will be useful to GM. You saying "deal with it you big baby" is certainly not.
TroThorns wrote:
Just stop now if you are actually working on this.... While this all sounds somewhat cool on paper, as I think anyone can tell you, the whole scan/contraband system is just a pain.
Likewise, the BH terminal (player bounty I assume) system sounds cool. but everyone will go nuts if you try to actually implement non-consentual pvp. It will never make it to live (or if it does, the subscription numbers will further plummet).
I think you all (you all being the devs) need to step back and think about who you are designing this game for. The only really good thing about this game that I can think of is the non-combat freedom of houses, decorations, crafting etc.
Lately you have been focusing on hardcore aspects (the jedi system is 90% of dev time right now? for 1% or less of the players (soon to be 50% probably
I think you are wrong.
I agree. This is trying to force people to PVP. I don't mind, but many will.
Thunderfart_ wrote:
TroThorns wrote:
Just stop now if you are actually working on this.... While this all sounds somewhat cool on paper, as I think anyone can tell you, the whole scan/contraband system is just a pain.
Likewise, the BH terminal (player bounty I assume) system sounds cool. but everyone will go nuts if you try to actually implement non-consentual pvp. It will never make it to live (or if it does, the subscription numbers will further plummet).
I think you all (you all being the devs) need to step back and think about who you are designing this game for. The only really good thing about this game that I can think of is the non-combat freedom of houses, decorations, crafting etc.
Lately you have been focusing on hardcore aspects (the jedi system is 90% of dev time right now? for 1% or less of the players (soon to be 50% probably
I think you are wrong.
I agree. This is trying to force people to PVP. I don't mind, but many will.
This is in no way trying to force people to PvP. I don't see how you guys are thinking this. If you don't want to PvP then slice weapons or armor, don't use weapons or armor. The thing of it is is that slicing is illegal and should have reprecussions. As of right now there are none. All the players are pretty much taking advantage of smugglers because the players have nothing to fear from sliced goods. Once they get their slice they are on their way with out a worry in mind. That should not be the case.
Vipossk wrote:
I've been away for a while, butok...... here we go:
Highly illegal objects cannot be transported via the standard travel system by anyone other than a smuggler. The player must use the new smuggler travel system in order to move highly illegal goods. (This new system will be discussed later.)
After the SE, I'm guessing, nobody is going to be using the standard travel system - which could/will make this skill worthless. Unless you are saying that it is impossible to board your ship with a crate of muon, I can't really see how this will benifit us come the SE.
Oh man, I hope that wouldn't come to pass. It would behorrible if everyone decided toskip the old starport, and go right into space on their own. We'd be nerfed again, just like after the chef revamp.
Imperial aligned players will now only be immune to scans regarding quasi-legal goods if they have the rank of corporal or better.
Why? If I'm a marine, and I get busted moving some dope onto base, I'm busted. Done. Through. No ifs, ands, or buts, and no "Oh, you're a corporal? Move along". LOL
Contraband scan frequency will be somewhat increased. Scan bottlenecks will be introduced at various locations in major cities, such as starport entries and medical centers.
Good idea. I like it. Except that nobody uses the medcenters anymore. How about using cantinas or banks instead?
The game's "visibility" system will be expanded. Any player can now accumulate small amounts of visibility for a contraband infraction. The amount of visibility will be dependent on the severity of the infraction.
Amen brother.
I say it's forced pvp, but who knows.
Smugglers may attempt to find out or reduce the visibility of any player by slicing a bounty hunter terminal. Failure to successfully slice the terminal will result in the smuggler being immediately added to the terminal. Clamps cannot be used in this form of slicing. (This will be a new type of slicing, not wire cutting.) More information on this is available in the slicing section.
Good, good. More player interaction is what is needed. You can bet that the player community ain't gonna get off cheap with this one...
Ex: Jabba gives the player a crate of 50 narcostims to deliver to a cantina in Mos Eisley. After the player delivers the narcostims, she receives a payment of 12,000 credits. The player then returns to Jabba and delivers 8,000 credits, pocketing 4,000 as payment for the job.
Petty cash. I know youguys are trying to drain money slowly out of the community, but come on.
Smuggling mission cargo often contains items that are components for smuggler crafting. Narcostims, for example, might be a component used in the creation of the spice, Glitterstim. Thus, a smuggler will need to occasionally withhold some of the cargo from a mission if they wish to enter the spice business.
Another cool idea. Please please please keep it in sync with the rest of the Star Wars universe though, glitterstim is mined, not created. Neither does it have any man made components. Maybe a special kind of container which will be used to hold the spice until it can be consumed be the user.
How about the Kessel Run????
Thats it. I'm done whining for now.