Smuggler Archive
Thread: Poll: Contraband on Vendors
AngusMacGregor
Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:13 pm
#183
A good point there. Let's just say that I am hopeful that after the revamp we can finally Smuggle. It would be a stupid revamp if we couldn't, after all.
JTGAlpha wrote:
And that's all well and good, if we can actually Smuggle. But if we can't why cut off our options?
JTGAlpha
Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:31 pm
#184
Right. So why not wait until we ARE smuggling before saying, "hey, let's get rid of something part of our playerbase has had a part of their template since launch!"
AngusMacGregor
Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:34 pm
#185
JTGAlpha wrote:
Right. So why not wait until we ARE smuggling before saying, "hey, let's get rid of something part of our playerbase has had a part of their template since launch!"
I'm not saying it's a change that should happen right now. But when the revamp comes, and if it's decent and allows us to Smuggle... it's something that I think should happen.
Like I said... just my opinion.
Dragon942
Sat Feb 19, 2005 7:37 pm
#186
gomi321 wrote:
Let me 'spalin, No there is too much let me sum up.
You don't have to worry about the Devs ever making this change because it is in the Smugglers Forum.
THEY DON'T LISTEN TO ANYTHING WE SAY
lol...best post ever. 5*
A If I had to shoose 1. But I'd much rather see fines (so for example non-smuggler weaponsmiths could "pay-off" the authorities to look the other way) or other penalties that might be evaded with smuggler skills.
Hurlobacca
Sat Feb 19, 2005 11:12 pm
#187
maybe its not true for you, but it's sure true for others. people will pay upwards of 30k for a crate of power-ups. but if a smuggler asked for 30k to permanently increase the speed or damage ability of a weapon, people would whine and complain and yell at us.
30k for a crate of powerups? C'mon, that's a ridiculous statement. Nobody on Wanderhome pays anywhere near that amount. My powerups are among the most expensive at 3500 a crate but you can find others selling them for 1-2k per crate. You are right about one thing, most players would object to paying 30k for slicing when the weapon itself costs half or less of that amount, and you make it sound like you are under the impression that everytime you touch a weapon it turns to gold when in realitymore often to not it turns to excrement.
I know that's not your fault and that's part of the flaw in the slicing system. Slicing tool quality doesn't matter, and neither does the smuggler himself as long as he's a master smuggler. So you whine and complain about WS's taking advantage of you and turning you into slicing wh*res (your terminology, not mine) but the system is designed to make slicing a commodity. Instead of pointing the finger at WS like they're part of the problem (we didn't design the game) why don't you try coming up with win/win solution like giving smugglers some way to increase their smuggling faction points that would result in them getting better results in their slicing. Of course you are never going to be given the ability to select the type or quality of your slice, but if you were able to pick a slice type preference that wouldn't guarantee you'd get that result but would increase the chances, and then combine that with an improvement in slicing results tied to your smuggler faction, then smugglers would be able to distinguish themselves from other less dedicated smugglers and maybe you could get 10k per slice on a consistent basis. Until that happens you can't offer me any better results than any other smuggler so why would I offer you more money?
Hurlobacca
Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:52 am
#188
I'm not here to vote, this poll is meaningless, it's the equivalent of going to the Doc forum andasking if doctors shouldbe able to buff. I'm hear to bust some myths.
1. Smugglers need a ban on vendors selling contraband in order to indulge their RP fantasies - There will always be some players who want to roleplay, and some who just want to play the game. If you want to sit in the cantina and do shady smuggling deals that's great but there's no need to cram it down everyone else's throat. Find like-minded players and play out your fantasies but leave the rest of us out of it. As for the lack of realism of contraband being sold openly, look at med/mind/food buffs, players soloing krayts, snipers firing once per second, shuttles appearing every sixty seconds and a hundred other ways in which the game doesn't follow the script.
2. Weaponsmiths/Armorsmiths are hurting our business - All weapons/armor are sliced by smugglers already, so it's impossible to increase your 100% market share of this business. Like it or not, we have a free-market economy in this game (well, sorta) and such markets gravitate towards efficiency. It's simply more efficient for me to pay a slicer to slice several hundred weapons at a time and offer them for sale so players can pick the slice they want rather than having to force the players to buy multiple weapons hoping to get a decent slice. It's also far more efficient for the slicers I hire to slice for me rather than standing outside the starport in cnet having to trade and collect payment from every player wanting a slice. If a smuggler's idea of immersion is having the equivalent of a buff line that's what you're gonna get.
3. Contraband shouldn't be sold openly on vendors- I can see the argument for sliced weapons not being available on the bazaar since it's a public forum, but I wouldn't support that as it would mainly hurt the noobs who are the main buyers of weapons off the bazaar. As for vendors in player-owned houses, that's private property. I can restrict access to my property and vendorsand only allow players I know are ok with the fact that illegal good are being sold there. Also, I don't have vending machines sell my sliced weapons, I have NPC vendors that sell my banned goods. That's my contribution to immersion. I'm not Wal-mart or 7-11, I'm an idependent businessman who seeks business opportunity, legal or illegal. I don't really care if I'm breaking the law as long as there's a buck to be made. I'm a merchant and I value commerce before the law, something I have in common with many of my RL counterparts. This is how I roleplay and it's every bit as valid as how you chose to roleplay. The only difference is I'm not the one trying to tell you how to play the game.
4. A ban on vendor items will work/solve all smugglers problems - I rely on selling sliced weapons for my swg living. No change in vendor operations is going tostop that. I know from personal experience that players will pay for the convenience of being able to purchase the type of slice they want and that's not going to change either so stop kidding yourselves. There are several ways I can work around a ban on selling sliced weapons from vendors and it would be a major hassle that would wind up increasing the cost to the players but as long as the market demands sliced weapons I will be there to meet that demand. I hear smugglers complain about wanting more smuggling content, but it sounds like what you want is to be transformed into a profession of slice-monkeys.
5. Smugglers should get vendors to sell sliced weapons/spice/slicing tools - This is the argument I love the most. Those who hold this view want to take a skill away from a class that has already invested their skill points on those abilities (Artisan/Merchant) and be given the ability to place vendors without investing any skill points. Yeah right. Keep dreaming.
Here's what I'm in favor of:
1. Smugglers are member of the underworld and should be capable of extorting protection money from merchants who sell illegal goods. Once a merchant has paid off a smuggler, the smuggler then bribes Imperial officials to overlook the contraband on that merchant's vendors, thereby saving the merchant the risk of a hefty fine proportionate to the number of contraband items listed.
2. Just yesterday I was transporting over 100 sliced weapons to my vendors from my workshop as they are in different cities. I was stopped by a probot, who curiously found nothing. If I could hire a smuggler to escort me so he could talk his way out of my being scanned, that's something I would consider doing, especially if being probed meant being caught and db'd by the probot, which it probably should, at least some of the time.
I'm sure there are lots of other ways to incorparate a richer gameplay experience for Smugglers, but these are just a couple that would be alternatives to the lame idea of ending contraband vendor sales. There's got to be more brainpower on this forum than this poll would indicate so prove my assumption wrong and come up with some ways to improve your game experience without taking away from somebody else's because next time it might be some other profession crying that Smugglers shouldn't be able to do ___________ and if they get their way I'd say that's karma for you.
JTGAlpha
Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:56 am
#189
I'm an RP'er and I actually agree with everything this guy just said. Huh.
<---been a merchant as long as he's been a smuggler.
OsatoRoca
Sun Feb 20, 2005 2:51 am
#190
A A A A A A A A A A A ...........................................
yes, real contraband !
no sliced weapons or armor parts on vendors or bazar
no spices on vendors or bazar
no faction installations on vendors or bazar
that is a good idea !
Combat_Medic_to_be
Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:43 am
#191
A.
I think there should be no contraband on the bazaa and none on vendors either. I would like to see master smugglers being able to see THEIR OWN illegal wares on a vendor but make it so that any vendor on the planetary map with contraband on it gets destroyed by the empire.
I think there should be no contraband on the bazaa and none on vendors either. I would like to see master smugglers being able to see THEIR OWN illegal wares on a vendor but make it so that any vendor on the planetary map with contraband on it gets destroyed by the empire.
Steegee
Sun Feb 20, 2005 4:40 am
#192
i used to be a smugglar, back when there were lines forming as soon as you /yell Slicing armor and weapons. But as a twi'lek, thus a muon addict (on top of being a lush: brandy) i vote A
I would also like to add the the word "spice" and"slice" and maybe even "smugglar" be a keyword in the STs that guard the cities. As soon as they hear that they would investigate, or come search you, perhaps even attack (depends in alliance, tef changes)/ I suggest this so we don't have people wailing in the streets /yell Now slicing armor and weapons.... just my thoughts
Rakos_Rokarr
Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:11 am
#193
"people will pay upwards of 30k for a crate of power-ups"
30k? are u mad? i get 30 crates with 30k... wow...no wonder u want 500k for a lucky slice
if u have the ability to select a type of slice like dmg and do it...then id pay more...but for pure luck...specially since u "ruin" half the weapons if not more..(like 2 krayted t21's sliced for speed...useless) and lose the guy anywhere from 3 mil to 6 mil per good weapon...then well talk abotu smugglers getting paid more
Draketta
Sun Feb 20, 2005 8:17 am
#194
maybe its not true for you, but it's sure true for others. people will pay upwards of 30k for a crate of power-ups. but if a smuggler asked for 30k to permanently increase the speed or damage ability of a weapon, people would whine and complain and yell at us.
30k a crate for power ups?? Man are you getting a raw deal! And 30K for one slice is just a rediculous number...that would be more thanthe costof most lower end weapons. Oh, and not all of us are multi-millionares either, so this would affect my sales, as I slice all of my own products with my alt smuggler. I don't want to have to search for prospective buyers any more than an architect or DE would need to. I understand that smugglers are doing things 'illegally' but I don't want to have to sit in a dark corner in some far away cantina for my 2 hours of gaming time a night either.
Combat_Medic_to_be
Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:08 am
#195
Steegee wrote:i used to be a smugglar, back when there were lines forming as soon as you /yell Slicing armor and weapons. But as a twi'lek, thus a muon addict (on top of being a lush: brandy) i vote AI would also like to add the the word "spice" and "slice" and maybe even "smugglar" be a keyword in the STs that guard the cities. As soon as they hear that they would investigate, or come search you, perhaps even attack (depends in alliance, tef changes)/ I suggest this so we don't have people wailing in the streets /yell Now slicing armor and weapons.... just my thoughts
I like these ideas alot. Especially the STs looking out for keywords. They come and search people talking about spice, slicing or smugglers.