Smuggler Archive
Thread: Harsh Contraband Punishment Systems, Respecting Player's Gamestyles, and the Smuggler Revamp
Should real punishments be put in for carrying illegal goods and contraband? A real law would imply harsh penalties such as fines or corporal punishment (a.k.a. getting yourbutt beat).
Perhaps a harsh law would scan players fairly regularly at starport entrances or in other key locations in cities. Is the player base ready to accept being subject to regular and annoying penalties for carrying contraband? Perhaps this is a difficult question to ask. Does there exist a feasible plan to allow implementation of a law in a way that causes little disruption to the player base?
How does continuity affect the necessity of implementing a real, hard law in SWG? Let's think about this for a small period of time here...
Implementing a law enforcing mechanic into SWG would have a radicaleffect on players' playstyles. How radical is too radical? Where does an idea begin to fall into the category of "will never be accepted by the player base"?
The answer is incredibly simple. Players will instantly reject any change that makes their gaming experience "unfun". This is just a fact that the devs use to design the game with.
To be honest, implementing a contraband dectection and law enforcement system into SWG WILL cause players to not enjoy their game time. This is a fact; in any movie, book, play, or real life, getting prosecuted by the law is unpleasant. People don't like it.
In addition, one factor that makes anincredible influence on the devs' decisions is Star Wars continuity. Even though players might strongly oppose things in the game such as contraband scans or Jedi being difficult/risky/hunted, there are indeed things that must be included in SWG by Lucasart's authority. Sliced weapons are by definition rare by Star Wars cannon. Spices are incredibly powerful and expensive substances, particularly glitterstim which grants it's user a connection to the Force. The law in Star Wars pulls no punches AT ALL considering these items.
Foremost, it is vital that these itemsand treatmentof contraband be included in SWG, for the sole reason that smugglers are asupposedly legit profession incorporated into this game. Creating the smuggler profession in SWG entails bringing all DIRECTLY applicable aspects of continuity into play. When developing the roleplaying environment a player smuggler lives in, it is unavoidable to include the Star Wars environments from the movies and books to create such a "smugglers" environment. The devs take a good look at continuity when they design this game, and it follows that it would more than logical to include spices and sliced weapons as dangerous, expensive, and incredibly regulated materials.
It takes no rocket scientist to figure out that a number of players' gameplay styles will be compromised by an inclusion of Star Wars continuity into the game. Players who depend on their sliced gear and spices (sliced gear mainly) would find hard times trying to purchase new unsliced guns of a caliber even close to what they enjoy. It takes long hours to earn the money to afford good weaponry and armor. I have personally spent and haveenoyed othersspend on me 40 million credits to buy my weaponry and armor. These items are all sliced.
Somepoint outthat they will not be able to maintaintheir competitive edge. These players do not want to be punished for being competitive with others.
In more ways than one, implementing a tough and vigilant law would actually improve players' gameplay. How so? There only appear to be negatives, and we all know that nothing is ever only as it seems.
There are an incredible amount of positive and amazing changes that would occur with the implementation of a hard system.
If the Imperial and CorSec contraband scans are frequent and harsh enough, you will see a trend of players abandoning sliced gear. Many will drop their illegal guns and pick upnormal weapons to avoid being harrassed. Players might complain that they will lose their competitive edge, but so will the vast, vast majority of other players. The positive change is that players who "think" they will lose their edge, will in actual practice not in comparison to the 95% of their server. This goes without mentioning that each player will retain their presliced weaponry for use when they feel the excitement of tangling with the law. Avoiding the law really is quite fun folks.
What this leaves is an environment where only those who are willing to endure a harsh environment will use sliced guns. This will be a small portion of the population. What effect will this have? This is positive in that the continuity of Star Wars is accurately mirrored in SWG. A small, but important, gain here.
Another incredible change that will occur is double fold, and is probably the most unexpected, yet amazing changes that will be induced by introduction of hard enforcement. This will change the face of how players become competitive with one another, and it will change the face of the Star Wars Underworld in this game to become irreparably awesome.
In the place of the boring system of just "buy uber equipment, be better than the next Joe", you will see the creation of a system that will let you, the poor man, compete with players who havea little more money and a little less courage than you do. We could see only the most brazen and brave players carrying these guns, and it would be a status symbol to them: just like they were to thenotorious Boba Fett and Han Solo.
Players would instantly associate themselves with the Underworld. They will begin to think, feel, and even act like they are wanted by the law and that they are dangerous men and women. They will live a slightly harder life, true to their persona, and develop into hardened people after coping with the law so much, and guess what? They will live their lifestylewith pride.
This alone willSIGNIFICANTLY increase the Underworld feel in this game.
Smugglers need a law to smuggle past. Smugglers need a law to smuggle past. That was not a mistake repeating that twice. The ONE thing that must exist in order to smuggle, is a law to break in the first place. This is simple as Adam and Eve andpeanutbutter and jelly. I will not go into this concept any more, because I assume that my reader accepts this at face value.
The Smuggler profession also needs to absorb as much from continuity as possible in order to make it a viable, exciting, and "alive" profession. If normal players can carry illegal goods without the need to have them smuggled, there will never be a smuggling role to play.
It is possible to create a "pseudo law" that would only apply to smugglers while they run NPC missions. There would be no law in any kind of existance in this game apart from extremely random Crackdown scans. The only searches that would occur mirroring the SW cannon would be executed on only smugglers, and only when they take missions.
Such a system would ensure that smugglers would only smuggle for NPCs, and NEVER other players. Imagine doctors who only buff NPC's. Armorsmiths who only sell their goods to NPC's who wear them. Dancers who only get to dance for Jabba the Hutt. Even combat professions are capable of performing their definitive role for and with (PvP)other players.
Would you, being a smuggler or non smuggler, really tolerate the second most iconic profession in Star Wars never filling its role for the population of this game??? Smugglers need to perform their role for other players.
In conclusion, refuting these positive aspects of implementing a strong law into the game would be a tragedy in ways more than could be said. We players deserve a more Star Wars universe, a better developed gameplay environment, a definitive and "alive" Underworld feel, and a complete, iconic, as well as ungimped smuggler profession. These great opportunities are way more than a player could turn down, especially considering how easy not carrying contraband is should a player's gameplay style become an issue!
JTGAlpha wrote:
The problem is and always has been that our contraband, especially slices, have become percieved as a necessity (as spices were before chef foods nudged them out of usefullness). So now the playerbase has become rather childishly greedy. What they call, "Nerfing their playstyle" is in actuallity making what they think is a right more of a privelage with risk and reward attached. An option. But good luck convincing them that.
Should I PM a certain melee correspondant to come back to help us argue the point? No wait....that's not funny. Nevermind 
JTGAlpha wrote:
Ha! He's the perfect example. I'd call him in just to SHOW people that we're right about that.
Oh for the love of....JTG! DON'T!
JTGAlpha wrote:The problem is and always has been that our contraband, especially slices, have become percieved as a necessity (as spices were before chef foods nudged them out of usefullness). So now the playerbase has become rather childishly greedy. What they call, "Nerfing their playstyle" is in actuallity making what they think is a right more of a privelage with risk and reward attached. An option. But good luck convincing them that.
And that in itself created a situation where a lot of us get their bread and butter by slicing. On a surface level, to promote an environment where sliced gear and spices are used only by few mean less market for us. Of course, nothing prevent us from raising our prices to fit the risk level. "Mmm I can do this, but you know it is risky, it ain't gonna be cheap buddy". I think it fit better our images to have less "clients" who pay more, then feeling like a clerk at the local SliceMart.
And having a law to break would mean us being focussed on other stuff than being exclusively slicers.
5 stars for you Ternque
Message Edited by LaughingWolf on 02-02-2005 08:44 PM
JTGAlpha wrote:Yes, a lot of us do get our bread and butter from slicing, and I'm one of them. But hey, ya know what? I think we'd all be open to a new market.
NO kidding!
I was not saying it is bad, just presenting a point.
JTGAlpha wrote:
The problem is and always has been that our contraband, especially slices, have become percieved as a necessity (as spices were before chef foods nudged them out of usefullness). So now the playerbase has become rather childishly greedy. What they call, "Nerfing their playstyle" is in actuallity making what they think is a right more of a privelage with risk and reward attached. An option. But good luck convincing them that.
There is an easy solution to this problem. We all know that the Combat Upgrade will introduce a TON of new armors and weapons. Believe it or not, uber suits of hundred-thousand-credit composite will stop being used.
Players will drop probably half of their used weapons for ones that fill their profession's role. The same goes for armors... composite will get dropped in favor of the new factional armors.
What you will see is the PERFECT opportunity to implement a system of more frequent contraband checks. They just throw out their old guns and armor for more useful and appropriate unsliced ones.