Smuggler Archive

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Imperiai2 wrote:

Tell me you don't think there's some crooked fellas in the Mos Eisley Cantina not holding a sliced blaser. Tell me Han's ins't sliced... =)

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Oh I'm pretty sure some crooked fellas in the Mos Eisley cantina are holding sliced blasters. Doesn't mean that they are doing so without risk.

Jabba and Nym are out to make money. They are not out to ensure the rights of individuals to carry sliced weapons.

If I'm going to bump, I'm going to do it with style... so here it comes:

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Let's see some more feedback

Thanks Wes, I actually got that idea after putting a good bit of thought into how to counter the potential for griefing if players became as dependant as they always should have been on smugglers to move contraband. The problem was the potential for smugglers to just run off with cargo... the solution I came up with was to find a way to make it so that smugglers couldn't access the cargo that they're smuggling for other players. I got the idea for sealed crates when I was thinking about A.C. Crispin's book The Hutt Gambit (It's part of the Han Solo Trilogy... and reading those books should be the third requirement for Novice Smuggler) where Han had to smuggle a hollow narlagon full of weapons onto a planet.. the Devaronian homeworld, I think.

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CorellianCowboy wrote:
I. The Problem:
....on a planet where they don’t have access to their bank accounts and don’t have a house to deposit their goods in, another new feature would need to be added: players would need to be able to open have keep small caches of items on any planet. It could be handled through the

...be unable to open smuggling crates and would not be paid until they’d arrived at the agreed upon destination and completed the transaction. In order to further round out the process, perhaps new underworld NPCs could be introduced near starports that would accept smuggling crates from smugglers and hold the items until their rightful owners came to retrieve them. This would eliminate the potential hassle that could occur if the player for whom a smuggler is working looses their connection or is otherwise ...

Message Edited by CorellianCowboy on 11-16-2004 06:50 AM

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These small caches ( safe deposit boxes )and NPC could combine functions. Maybe players could go to a terminal in a starport and rent them.

The smuggler could deposit the smuggler crate when they arrive at the starport and it automaticaly rents a deposit box in the players name or adds itself to the boxesinventory.

If the safe deposit box is full when the crate is added, then the transaction does not fail, the player is charged a higher rate until the safe deposit box is brought to under 20 items ( kinda like inventory overload ).

Players can rent one safe deposit box per planet.

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Isleh wrote:

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CorellianCowboy wrote:
I. The Problem:
....on a planet where they don’t have access to their bank accounts and don’t have a house to deposit their goods in, another new feature would need to be added: players would need to be able to open have keep small caches of items on any planet. It could be handled through the

...be unable to open smuggling crates and would not be paid until they’d arrived at the agreed upon destination and completed the transaction. In order to further round out the process, perhaps new underworld NPCs could be introduced near starports that would accept smuggling crates from smugglers and hold the items until their rightful owners came to retrieve them. This would eliminate the potential hassle that could occur if the player for whom a smuggler is working looses their connection or is otherwise ...

Message Edited by CorellianCowboy on 11-16-2004 06:50 AM

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These small caches ( safe deposit boxes ) and NPC could combine functions. Maybe players could go to a terminal in a starport and rent them.

The smuggler could deposit the smuggler crate when they arrive at the starport and it automaticaly rents a deposit box in the players name or adds itself to the boxes inventory.

If the safe deposit box is full when the crate is added, then the transaction does not fail, the player is charged a higher rate until the safe deposit box is brought to under 20 items ( kinda like inventory overload ).

Players can rent one safe deposit box per planet.

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I like the idea Consolidating the two was something that I'd thought about a bit but hadn't really put much thought into it. I really like your suggestions on how to handle that system.

I've added the following to the original proposal.

Note: If it's not possible or practical to have a "contraband score" calculated everytime an item is added to or removed from a player's inventory, the score could be tallied as part of the last step of travel. This method would remain functional and would remove the possibility for grief that existed in past proposals where players could run back and forth through a scanner in order to intentionally create excess lag. If the scans occur as part of the final phase of the travel system, at the conclusion of the scan the player will either be passed on through the travel system or will be unable to access the travel system for a set time period due to having been caught with contraband.

Yellow.

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CorellianCowboy wrote:
I. The Problem:
The contraband system as it stands now can best be described as largely ineffective. The goal of the system was to introduce a method for keeping illegal items rare by adding an element of danger in having them on your person; an objective which has obviously not been met. The reasons for this failure are as follows:
- Scans are rare enough that they’re little more than an occasional worry. This is true even in areas where scanning regularly takes place and is made exponentially worse by the fact that every planet has at least one starport where scanning does not occur. Some planets, namely all of the adventure planets, don’t even have any starports where scanning occurs. And the most widely used starport of all, Coronet, also doesn’t have any troopers out scanning.

- Faction plays too great a role in the current system. Because scanning is done exclusively by Imperial troops, a game mechanic was added a while back which gave Imperial players immunity to scans in order to eliminate the perceived problem of stormtroopers policing other Imperials. Many feel that this was a poor decision because it negates any need for caution with regards to contraband for 50% of the players who are involved in the Galactic Civil War. Many others are bitter that the one implementation of the Smugglers’ namesake skill was, in effect, given freely to all Imperial officers. Yes. I'm thinking, what the heck! An Imperial officer should get punished for posession of illegal contraband.

- The penalties for being caught with contraband aren’t severe enough to amount to more than a slap on the wrist for most players. Being found with illegal goods is a nuisance, nothing more. Most feel that even if they are caught with sliced weapons and armor or spices, the small penalties they incur for it are more than worth the benefits gained by the illicit materials. /agree Sliced items are as common, too common. Illegal stuf, is, well, illgegal!

- It’s too easy to avoid being scanned at all, whether through exploiting the shortcomings of the current system or just using your head to bypass it through perfectly legitimate means. Because certain starports never have scanning, it’s perfectly feasible to avoid the possibility of detection through some simple planning of your travel route. Also, because droids aren’t scanned, droids with item storage modules can be used to bypass scans. Furthermore, any player can simply run from the stormtroopers when confronted with a scan while the stormtrooper stands there impotently telling them to stop. Any buffed player as no need to fear a stormtrooper squad. Unbuffed is a different story. There needs to be a HUGE Imperial presence in all starter planets. There should be Imperial garrisons in major cities such as Theed, Coronet, and Bestine. For adventure planets, a token presence is acceptable.

In short, the current contraband system fails to create a need for Smugglers to smuggle items for other players. Yeah....

II. The Solution:
The solution the problem with contraband is a simple one: make the act of moving illegal cargo from one planet to another require a smuggler. This may seem too radical, but before you dismiss my suggestion, allow me to explain it fully. So far, so good. A radical idea, might be shot down by whiners.....

At a very basic level, the implementation of this system could be done fairly simply. All that is truly required is to add a check for contraband that would be run during the travel process and would disallow travel if the player is carrying contraband and is either a non-Smuggler or is a Smuggler who fails a skill check. Detection would result in the summoning of planetary security forces, not Imperial troops; fines for the offender if they are successfully arrested by the security forces; and a timer being set that would prevent interplanetary travel for 5-10 minutes whether they are arrested or not. This check would have to be run when a player attempts any type of interplanetary travel, including the methods introduced in Jump to Lightspeed: the travel function on player ships and launching into space. That's great. There needs to be biggerrisk vs. reward situations.

III. The Mechanics:
In the past, the idea was put forth by developer Brandon Reinhart (a.k.a. GreenMarine) to include different levels of contraband. I propose to expand upon that idea by having a “contraband score” calculated every time that a player adds an illegal item to their inventory or removes one from it. This “contraband score” would be 0 when the player isn’t carrying any contraband and would increase for every illegal item added to their inventory, with differences in the rate of increase taken into account for the level of restriction placed on the item. If the score is above 0, it flags the travel system to run a check on smugglers and to prevent other players from being able to travel. Furthermore, the score would be used to determine three other factors: the level of difficulty against which a smuggler must make a skill check, the level of fines to be paid by a player who is “arrested” (i.e. incapacitated) for possessing contraband, and the number and difficulty level of the planetary security officers sent to arrest a player. This system could be used to create an appropriate risk/reward relationship with regards to illegal items.

Note: If it's not possible or practical to have a "contraband score" calculated everytime an item is added to or removed from a player's inventory, the score could be tallied as part of the last step of travel. This method would remain functional and would remove the possibility for grief that existed in past proposals where players could run back and forth through a scanner in order to intentionally create excess lag. If the scans occur as part of the final phase of the travel system, at the conclusion of the scan the player will either be passed on through the travel system or will be unable to access the travel system for a set time period due to having been caught with contraband.

A player’s success at evading a scan would be determined by a formula taking into account both their contraband score and their smuggling ability. An example of a formula used would be: 100% - [(Contraband Score – Smuggling Skill) + 20] = Rate of Success. Obviously, the formula would have to be adjusted in its final implementation to eliminate percentages greater than 100 or less than 0, but the basic idea stands. In the given example, if a smuggler’s skill is equal to their contraband score, they have a 80% chance of success and for every point that their contraband score is higher than their smuggling skill, they are 1% more likely to fail. This model would work especially well if contraband scores were given a functional cap of 100 and Master Smugglers were given a smuggling skill of 100. This would mean that the best smugglers would have a 80% chance of success at smuggling the highest levels of contraband. Additionally, smugglers could be given a new ability that would run the formula on themselves to assess their chances of successfully sneaking cargo past customs before putting their credits and reputations on the line. However, rather than giving the smuggler an actual number, the results of their assessment should give them a textual response that gives them a general idea of their chances. Also, a modifier could be added to the “contraband score” of non-smugglers that would significantly decrease their chances of successfully evading a scan; or their chances could be computed via an entirely different formula. Regardless, non-smugglers should have little to no chance of successfully evading a contraband scan while traveling; otherwise the system will be as ineffective as the current one.

In order to prevent players from being stuck on a planet where they don’t have access to their bank accounts and don’t have a house to deposit their goods in, another new feature would need to be added: players would need to be able to open have keep small caches of items on any planet. It could be handled through the bank terminal, through a new terminal at the starports, or some other mechanism; but the fact remains that players would have to be able to safely store approximately 20 items on every planet in order to allow players to deposit their contraband before attempting to travel so that they will not be stuck on some distant planet if they have contraband and can’t find a smuggler to move it for them.

A mechanism would have to be added to the game in order to ease the transaction of a Smuggler smuggling for another player. What I propose is to introduce “sensor resistant crates” which would be craftable by Novice Smuggler’s and would be a tool to facilitate smuggling for other players. The crates would have a radial menu option to initiate a smuggling interface with another player, which would give that player a message asking them to accept or reject the invitation to smuggle before opening the interface. The smuggling interface would allow for a painless transaction between players and Smugglers by having all the details set in stone right from the start, effectively creating a smuggling mission for the Smuggler. Options on the interface should include payment, destination, and such things as whether or not the employer agrees to pay the smuggler’s fines should he get caught. The cargo to be smuggled should be the first thing determined and once that is set, the smuggler should be able to assess how difficult it will be for him to move the cargo so that he can adjust his fees accordingly. Also, to prevent the Smuggler from being able to steal other player’s items, Smugglers would be unable to open smuggling crates and would not be paid until they’d arrived at the agreed upon destination and completed the transaction. In order to further round out the process, perhaps new underworld NPCs could be introduced near starports that would accept smuggling crates from smugglers and hold the items until their rightful owners came to retrieve them. This would eliminate the potential hassle that could occur if the player for whom a smuggler is working looses their connection or is otherwise prevented from meeting with the smuggler on the preagreed upon planet. Furthermore, it would eliminate the ability for other players to cause grief for smugglers by saying that they will hire them to move their goods only to never show up and force the smuggler to abandon their mission.

Ideas involving a “visibility” rating for Smugglers, not unlike the current system for Jedi, have been put forth in the past; and while it would be appropriate that a Smuggler who fails to complete a mission for another player would be more likely to become the target of a Bounty Hunter, another mechanism should be added in order to give Smugglers an incentive to smuggle for other players in the first place: a “prestige” rating. A Smuggler’s “prestige” would be similar to their visibility but have the opposite effect. Whereas a high “visibility” signifies being known among law enforcement officials, a high “prestige” would signify having a good reputation among the disreputable. “Prestige” would be a requirement to get higher-end NPC smuggler missions and would be modified by the success or failure of every smuggler mission that a player undertakes. So while failing a mission for a player or skimming from the cargo in an NPC mission would result in a rise in visibility, it would result in a drop in prestige, making the Smuggler more likely to be a target for Bounty Hunters and less likely to receive lucrative smuggling missions from NPC sources.

In order to prevent workarounds to the system, a few additional details would need to be taken care of. For instance, the contraband check would have to come at the very last step of the travel process in order to prevent players from holding items for each other then trading them just before making the final click to travel. Also, unless items in a droid storage module can be taken into account when conducting the scans, droids should be prevented from being able to hold contraband items. It would, after all, violate a standard droid’s programming to be used as a method to smuggle illegal goods.

I would like to point out that not only would a system such as the one that I have detailed above succeed in establishing an appropriate risk/reward relationship relating to contraband in the game; but it would also form the basis for the NPC smuggling mission system that has been suggested in the past.


In closing, I would like to thank players and staff alike for their time taken to read this proposal and wish to invite you all to make comments and suggestions as you see fit.

Message Edited by CorellianCowboy on 11-19-2004 08:01 PM

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***** Stamp of approval

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WesBelden wrote:

Good assessment of the problems, hits pretty much everything, although you could mention the severe lack of desirable contraband within the game.

As for the implementation, I think this could work, although not sure if the server can handle it etc. but then that's up to the devs to work out . I would rather have a system that's somewhat more interactive, involving and immersive (for the Smuggler that is) than simply passing/failing a behind the scenes check, even if it was something done prior to attempting to board the transport that gave you certain bonuses to your roll; bribing officials, perhaps slicing into a terminal and diverting local patrols/custom officers, calling in favours at the cost of FP etc.

Also, how would you handle this for JtL enabled players? would the same check apply when they use the terminal, or would something occur while they're up in space?

As I said before, I like the idea of the craftable crate, it's a good solution; perhaps when taking NPC missions the smuggler could have the option of slicing open the container the cargo is stored in?

Again, I liked the idea of a prestige rating, especially if linked to content access.

All in all it's a nice proposal and while I'd like to see one or two additions, if implemented it would certainly be one huge step towards Smugglers being the same in game to what we see in the movies

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IMHO, it would be both.

Make it so that, if anyone is transporting contraband, they cannot use the travel function from the starship terminal. There could be random searches by Imperials, Corsec or whatever the local law enforcement is in space and the travel function is bypassing that. That inconvenience alone would make contraband more rare.

I love the idea of doing bribes and stuff to give temporary bonuses to your smuggling roll, hadn't even thought of anything like that either. I'll add a note about it to the original proposal later, after I get back from work today.

Also, I think that in fairness, JtL enabled players should have to pass the same check before launching their ships. After all, Customs would be placing even more scrutiny on the privately owned vessels than on the public transports as far as smuggling is concerned. Although, that's not to say that things couldn't be added to the space game such as customs patrol ships that randomly scan just like the stormtroopers on the ground do now.

Keep the ideas coming guys