Smuggler Archive
Thread: Revamp Discussion: Contraband & Smuggling Missions
I feel very strongly that Colonels should be immune to scans for banned goods as well. There should be no faction rank that can let you carry anything that is highly illegal though. No one should be able to carry Highly Illegal goods without being a Smuggler.
Right off the bat, my first thought is who is attacking? If Im an imperial smuggler and I get scanned by stormtroopers, will they attack me? If so, do I loose faction for killing them? Is it even possible under our current system to have same align/neutral players fight their alignment/either alignment?
Also the idea of being attacked for a "quasi-legal" item might be a little too harsh. Exploding fireworks are illegal in the state I am in, but the cops arent going to do a full raid on my house just because I have them. I would think a stiff fine would be enough for a quasi illegal item. Just keep the quasi items pretty weak
Great! Reward should be worth the risk. First same question must be asked, who is attacking, and what are the ramifications? Second, will all players be subject to be hunted by bounty hunters if these changes go in? If so then the visibilty is a deffinate risk.
Im deffinately curious about the new system
Who is attacking blah blah blah again, as well is it possible that the more illegal something is the more forces show up to stop you from getting away? Also will the forces attacking you scale on your abilities in combat, and will other passer bys be able to assist you, and if they do, at what risk? If there is a way to set the encouters difficulty to be in line with the smugglers abilities, is it possible to take into account his full combat abilities? Ex. Every smuggler walks around with a carbine because they have no skill in it so that if they do get caught, they can easily dispatch thier foes.>>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.<<
My only concern here is that some people detest PvP. Is SoE/LA comfortable with saying that this game there is always a chance you can end up in a PvP situation? If not what sort of ducking PvP option will be provided?
>>...There are no skill boxes specific to smuggling missions, but the smuggler’s skills in scan avoidance and slicing will come into play.<<
Sounds like a solid begining. I think that there should be some "control" involved in running these missions. Somehow at taking the mission you can hopefully increase the chance no forces will show up to stop you, but you could fail miserably at it. Should be blind to the player if possible.
ZinaTheMaker wrote:
add a visibility meter for all characters regarding PC missions on the BH term. as a jedi, one of the most annoying things is not knowing if and how visibility works. i would think the same for a non jedi accumulating visibility. just my 2 cents
That's kind of silly don't you think? You shouldn't know you have a price on your head until a BH comes knocking on your door. When organized crime puts a hit out on someone they don't call them and say, "Hey we're putting a price on your head ... so could you stick around for a bit longer while we send someone over there to kill you?"
I think the idea of slicing BH terminals covers this and its a much better method.
antares
master pikeman
DrevenStrobe wrote:
Hey TH...if you're still around...
Just to momentarily hijack this thread...
Did you happen to catch my question about the possibility of a Slicing "Friday Feature" in the Weekly Roundtable thread?
If so, any word on that?
I did see that, but it doesnt have enough meat fora friday feature, though it will certainly be part of a Friday Feature that would showcase the smuggler revamp, but thats a ways off. It seems like it might be a good foundation for a 19 questions smuggler question though...
I'm in Yellow
Smuggler_Caylin wrote:
*SNIP*
This highly Illegal part sounds *awesome* Now, what happens when an item is confiscated? Is there a chance to get it back? Is feign death going to have an effect on whether or not they take the item? I'm excited about this.
I agree completely here, and would like to see the answers
Illegal objects will display their legality in the examine properties list.
Great
A faction aligned player who is caught with contraband will lose a percentage of faction appropriate to the degree of the crime.
Sounds Great.
Imperial aligned players will now only be immune to scans regarding quasi-legal goods if they have the rank of corporal or better.
Imperial immunity to scans is a big sore-spot. I don't know if I care for them to be immune even here as that still insures 100% success without picking up smuggler. A high chance at success I don't mind on just quasi-legal items, but I do not believe there should be immunity in any way, for any player. Hopefully droid storage immunity will also be addressed?
I would have to say I am in 100% agreement. I am also one who thinks 100% Immunity is not an option, not even for a Master Smuggler. In an RP sense you will always have a bad day at some point, no matter how good a Smuggler you are. Imperials should not have 100% Immunity.
Old sliced weapons and armor will be converted to have the legality level of "banned."
Cool.
YAY!!!!
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.
Great! Though I will continue to dream of being hauled in for an 'extensive search' when I board a shuttle.
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.
Isn't this too close to pvp without consent? Carrying an illegal item and being punished by an NPC is one thing, getting hunted down by a bounty hunter in a PVP situation is another.
I disagree Caylin, but only because I view the acquisition and use of illegal goods qualifies as consent. Yes, this would need to be documented and expressed clearly to everyone, and not just the forum readers, but I think it is perfectly viable. To me if you decide to use contraband then you accept the risks involved.
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.
This I honestly don't care for. The mental imagery of bounty hunters hiring smugglers to get themselves on terminals for easy investigation xp is not something I care to see. It's bad enough with Jedi farming themselves out I don't want to see smugglers going down the same road. This is why I've always supported the Counterfeit ID idea, as it does not rely on the smuggler, but the usage of the item by the jedi in order to gradually decrease their visibility while raising the risk of the smuggler who made it.
I don't like the idea of "farming" the xp with Smuggler's either, and completely agree on that point. However, if it was done in a way where the Smuggler's visibility went high enough to put them on the terminals, but not necessarily place them until some undisclosed time later, I think it would be a way to help ensure this kind of thing is not worthwhile for "that type" of person to do. Maybe have it so that within the next 24 hours the Smuggler's name will pop up? I like the idea of being able to have this ability, but it really is not high on my list of priorities. I'd say this is one of those extras that if we have time for we try it...
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.
The smuggler revamp will introduce new missions to simulate the smuggling underworld.
Are we going to make all smugglers strictly criminals? Or are we going to allow them to have a 'cause'? For example, I smuggle materials for the Alliance as I believe in their cause. I never lay aside my morality in an RP sense. The idea of having to surrender my GCW faction to actually become a real smuggler is not an appealing thought.
Interesting question, and I'd liek to see the answer as well...
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 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.
There are no skill boxes specific to smuggling missions, but the smuggler’s skills in scan avoidance and slicing will come into play.
So how does a smuggler figure out how difficult these missions will be? Will a novice smuggler be able to take the same missions as a Master? I'm not quite comfortable with that.
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.
Sweet!
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.
This makes me wonder about the possibility of making our missions give out an XP type required for progression. If that happens, you are again having PVP without direct consent by the player, in order to progress up the skill tree. Interlocking XP progression with PvP is not a great idea for those smugglers who chose neutral for a reason.
Same idea to me, that if you are dealing in illegal items you accept the risks. I think really we just have a little different standpoint on this issue
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.
Great to hear about this, I've been pointing to this for a long time, in order to increase the novice container availability. Thank you for listening!
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.
Sounds great.
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.
I'm very interested in this.
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.
Alrighty.
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.
Okey-dokey
