Smuggler Archive

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GreenMarine wrote:

See this link for part 1:

Summary 1: The key argument was over the impact of "visibility" punishments for ripping off suppliers or failing smuggling missions. There is a portion of the player base that desires PvP and a portion that does not. The main issue is the possibility of "involuntary PvP" or a player gaining a bounty who wants to be a smuggler but not participate in PvP.

I don’t like PvP, (largely due to the “Smack talk” that seems to accompany it.) but would love to be hunted by an NPC or Bounty Hunter if I failed a critical smuggling mission. Having the option is great. My concern is how long will a smuggler be on the BH terminals ? Will we have the option to pay back the “bounty” and remove ourselves from the terminals ? This is afterall "Buisness"

Price of the PvP bounty is also a concern. If my smuggler “Cheats the supplier” for the big payday, then calls his brother the BH to get my bounty and meet me behind the bar. The two of us working together have the chance for insane payday’s.

Summary 2: The second major issue revolved around the punishments for being caught with contraband:

I think for non-smugglers caught with illegal goods, a system similar to what happens when you /slap or /spit on a stormtrooper would be good here. A fine, and/or confiscation depending on how illegal the items are. coupled with a bruise/incap is good. I wouldn’t suggest confiscating weapons/armor as many players become attached to those, but wouldn’t surprise me at all if TK-421 took all my spice if I was caught. He may have an after hours Sabbac game where that spice would come in handy.

One possibility might be to make it so that the scanning NPC isn't the NPC that attacks. Instead he "calls for backup" and the backup is relative to the player's level.

The “calls for Backup” idea is wonderful IMO. As a system like this has several uses in SWG other than just Smugglers. I would suggest calling netural MOB’s preferably NPC bounty hunters. As shown in the movies the empire does in fact hire bounty hunters so this is not without precedent. The “calls for Backup” idea could be used not only for Smugglers (and other bounty hunters for that matter) who fail their mission. It could Also useful for Jedi. NPC bounty hunters that chase Jedi with too much visibility could add more dimension to the game and help Jedi learn to watch their visibility more.

Summary 3: The third major issue was that smugglers are worried that increased punishments for using illegal items, like spices and sliced gear, will cause a depression in their markets.

With Patch 19, I think slicing still needs attention. Too hard to get the loot parts and the bonus, although nice, are hardly worth any real punishment. The drop rate of high end parts is far too low to be worth such a little bonus as it is now. (this will inevitably lead to smugglers being forced to buy the tools they need from other just to do their job.) Also since smugglers cannot craft their own slicing parts everything MUST be looted this is biggest harm to the smugglers business yet. I stand by the idea of Crafting our own slicing components and have an enhancement slot in the schematic to put the looted parts for an “Enhanced Slice”.

If spice becomes useful enough to risk confiscation and endure the downer then, yes I agree the market will be fine. But spice needs to be powerful/harmful enough to warrant it being illegal in the first place. Also consider making chef food allowed to hold spice as it does BE tissue.

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At this point, we know the arguments from every side in the debate. There have been enough posts for us to understand the views involved. In this thread, let's talk about possible solutions and compromises. Instead of perpetuating the debate on PvP vs. PvE, look for ways that the two views can be reconciled. This is the next key in effective game design for massively multiplayer games.

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