Smuggler Archive
Thread: Help me understand something...
Page 1 of 1
RankorCity
Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:40 pm
#1
I dont mean this as a flame, but just trying to understand your pleas...
What and/or how do you guys want to "smuggle" stuff?
Doesnt it basically come down to glorified delivery missions available at any mission terminal?
To me, alot ofsmuggler "content", seems entirely player driven (i.e. roleplaying)...That could be said for ALOT of "content" (for other profs as well)...
Just trying to understand the "I am a smuggler, but dont actually get to smuggle anything...I WANT TO SMUGGLE SOMETHING DAMNIT!!" posts...
Fernas
Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:31 am
#2
yeah, those are fine and all, but what we'd really like is for the "imperial crackdown" to matter so folks would actually need us to smuggle their gear. that would be nice.
Nicolas_Frost
Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:06 am
#3
RankorCity wrote:I dont mean this as a flame, but just trying to understand your pleas...What and/or how do you guys want to "smuggle" stuff?Doesnt it basically come down to glorified delivery missions available at any mission terminal?To me, alot of smuggler "content", seems entirely player driven (i.e. roleplaying)...That could be said for ALOT of "content" (for other profs as well)...Just trying to understand the "I am a smuggler, but dont actually get to smuggle anything...I WANT TO SMUGGLE SOMETHING DAMNIT!!" posts...
Basically, the poster above me had it.
We know Bounty Hunters hunt bounties, Tailors make clothes, Chefs make food, Squad Leaders lead squads, Doctors & Medics heal wounds/damage, and Jedi swing lightsabers & use the Force. Every other profession gets to do what that profession's name implies.
Think of this, what is Smuggling? It is essentially transporting cargo from one point to another, a delivery mission, just with contraband and illegal goods.
Smugglers can't do that. Smugglers in Star Wars aren't known for making/cutting spices. Smugglers in Star Wars aren't known for slicing. Smugglers are known to be transporters of illicit cargo, for a price.
We simply want to do what our name implies.
Yes, it would be "glorified delivery missions", but it would be what we are ment to do. Smuggler is the second most iconic profession in Star Wars, the first being Jedi[Obi-Wan] and the third being Bounty Hunter[Greedo](listed like that because that's the order you see them in the first movie).
What if the Devs had made the Jedi profession, but left out the ability to use a lightsaber, or the Force? Or if Bounty Hunters were that in name only, and there were no Hunter terminals, just weapons, and the Investigation line replaced with certifications for portions of Mandalorian armor. They'd look like they were supposed to, but they wouldn't be able to do what they were supposed to. That's the point we're making.
lurdanta
Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:41 am
#4
Ok here's my take, and you'll find while there is a lot of agreement amongst smugglers there is also variety, but I want to smuggle everything that is illegal. This means I want to be the hub that distributes all those things that have been declared illegal.
Think about it like this. With the onset of the Imperial Crackdown, sliced equipment and spices have been declared illegal. Ok, so we get scanned now and again, but if this stuff is illegal, why is is openly sold on the bazaar? Cocaine is illegal in America, but you can't sell it on Ebay. When I say I want to smuggle, I want to be the person that sells you contraband, that picks it up somewhere and has to elude a lot of scans to bring it to you. I want it to be dangerous. I also want to get these spices from a mission terminal in the backroom of a cantina and have to then search for it.
Don't you think it would be better (and more logical) if you couldn't buy sliced stuff and spices on the bazaar, but had to deal with a smuggler?
I also want to smuggle people like jedis with a price on their head.
What we want is for the profession title Smuggler to mean as much as the title Doctor does. A doctor can practice their profession in many ways from buffing to healing to making stims. The smuggler wants this. It's not a question of wanting "glorified delivery missions." Though that's part of it. You are thinking too small and simple. The issue is more complex than that, and more comprehensive. While our mantra has been simplified out of necessity (i.s. We want to smuggle), in fact it is more than just simply missions. Smugglers are an iconic part of the Star Wars Universe, yet we are treated as little more than NPCs. Image designers, bloody hairdressers, get more love and attention than smugglers.
We want to smuggle, we want the numerous things they broke for no reason to be fixed and, I suspect more than all, we want a little respect from both the player base and the devs.
Now, I'm not trying to flame you, and apologize if this tone is conveyed, I'm just a bit passionate about my profession and my brother and sister smugglers, but consider this.
Every player out there, I am willing to bet, is using a sliced weapon, is wearing sliced armor and might be using some muon or a pixie. That means behind every PvP battle, every BH gank squad, every factional base, every nightsister soloed, every Krayt killed is a smuggler. And even though our professional skills have one by one been nerfed, a great number of us stick with the profession because we believe smuggler has great potential to make the game something awesome. We know this because we have already made it something awesome for nearly everyone by slicing their stuff and making them better, stronger.
What does this have to do with what we mean by wanting to smuggle? Everything, you just have to look at it the right way, open your mind and pull back and look at the big picture and you might just see what we see. There are many ways "smuggling" could be implemented from simple mission terms to elaborate quests involving both ground and space. I would argue that smugglers are the profession best suited to interconnecting the space game and the ground game. For example, a bh gets a jedi mission. The jedi is running for his life. Let's say they implement a new tef for jedi that prevents them from using the public travel terms, the old wanted poster in the starport. He meets up with a smuggler and contracts with him to get him off planet. But there's a wrinkle for any ship carrying a jedi will be attackable by the BH and his group, so now we have a running space battle. The smuggler and her crew succeed in fighting off the attackers long enough to hyperspace to safety.
Think how fun that would be?
There are as many ways to smuggle as there are smugglers. A famous Supreme Court Justice once said, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it." I feel the same about smuggling, I can't really define it, but I know it when I see it. I suppose if you really want to understand our mantra, "I'm a smuggler, I want to smuggle," you'd have to play a smuggler for a while, but I think the bottom line is, we just want a little love and respect from the devs and our fellow players.
At the very least, it would be nice if they stopped breaking our profession.
Think about it like this. With the onset of the Imperial Crackdown, sliced equipment and spices have been declared illegal. Ok, so we get scanned now and again, but if this stuff is illegal, why is is openly sold on the bazaar? Cocaine is illegal in America, but you can't sell it on Ebay. When I say I want to smuggle, I want to be the person that sells you contraband, that picks it up somewhere and has to elude a lot of scans to bring it to you. I want it to be dangerous. I also want to get these spices from a mission terminal in the backroom of a cantina and have to then search for it.
Don't you think it would be better (and more logical) if you couldn't buy sliced stuff and spices on the bazaar, but had to deal with a smuggler?
I also want to smuggle people like jedis with a price on their head.
What we want is for the profession title Smuggler to mean as much as the title Doctor does. A doctor can practice their profession in many ways from buffing to healing to making stims. The smuggler wants this. It's not a question of wanting "glorified delivery missions." Though that's part of it. You are thinking too small and simple. The issue is more complex than that, and more comprehensive. While our mantra has been simplified out of necessity (i.s. We want to smuggle), in fact it is more than just simply missions. Smugglers are an iconic part of the Star Wars Universe, yet we are treated as little more than NPCs. Image designers, bloody hairdressers, get more love and attention than smugglers.
We want to smuggle, we want the numerous things they broke for no reason to be fixed and, I suspect more than all, we want a little respect from both the player base and the devs.
Now, I'm not trying to flame you, and apologize if this tone is conveyed, I'm just a bit passionate about my profession and my brother and sister smugglers, but consider this.
Every player out there, I am willing to bet, is using a sliced weapon, is wearing sliced armor and might be using some muon or a pixie. That means behind every PvP battle, every BH gank squad, every factional base, every nightsister soloed, every Krayt killed is a smuggler. And even though our professional skills have one by one been nerfed, a great number of us stick with the profession because we believe smuggler has great potential to make the game something awesome. We know this because we have already made it something awesome for nearly everyone by slicing their stuff and making them better, stronger.
What does this have to do with what we mean by wanting to smuggle? Everything, you just have to look at it the right way, open your mind and pull back and look at the big picture and you might just see what we see. There are many ways "smuggling" could be implemented from simple mission terms to elaborate quests involving both ground and space. I would argue that smugglers are the profession best suited to interconnecting the space game and the ground game. For example, a bh gets a jedi mission. The jedi is running for his life. Let's say they implement a new tef for jedi that prevents them from using the public travel terms, the old wanted poster in the starport. He meets up with a smuggler and contracts with him to get him off planet. But there's a wrinkle for any ship carrying a jedi will be attackable by the BH and his group, so now we have a running space battle. The smuggler and her crew succeed in fighting off the attackers long enough to hyperspace to safety.
Think how fun that would be?
There are as many ways to smuggle as there are smugglers. A famous Supreme Court Justice once said, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it." I feel the same about smuggling, I can't really define it, but I know it when I see it. I suppose if you really want to understand our mantra, "I'm a smuggler, I want to smuggle," you'd have to play a smuggler for a while, but I think the bottom line is, we just want a little love and respect from the devs and our fellow players.
At the very least, it would be nice if they stopped breaking our profession.
Message Edited by lurdanta on 12-16-2004 10:45 AM
Zeon_Zaku
Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:51 am
#5
Take the "smuggling" mission at the Talus outpost. Smuggling should be like that. Take an item from point A to point B, while facing hositility (usually Imperial) along the way and having to either avoid them and destroy them. Of course, destroying them should be the easiest way but also have some penalities. Avoiding them should be harder, but have fewer (even none at all) penalities.
Failed attempts or perhaps if we keep the items and drop the mission would put us up on Bounty Hunter terminals... perhaps after six failed/dropped missions. The items we smuggle should be actual items, that could be dropped in a house and used for decoration... something different then the decorations we have now, and should not be made my any profession; plus buffs, weapons, armor, ect. that's different from whatcrafters can make;which would make the choice of do you keep the itemand risk having a BH on your tail or smuggle the item between points?
Failed attempts or perhaps if we keep the items and drop the mission would put us up on Bounty Hunter terminals... perhaps after six failed/dropped missions. The items we smuggle should be actual items, that could be dropped in a house and used for decoration... something different then the decorations we have now, and should not be made my any profession; plus buffs, weapons, armor, ect. that's different from whatcrafters can make;which would make the choice of do you keep the itemand risk having a BH on your tail or smuggle the item between points?
Smugglers should also get Smuggler Mission Terminals that perhaps as usually placed in the back of buildings. These terminals should also be able to be placed in player cities, but should have to be placed inside a building.
yimaz
Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:12 pm
#6
RankorCity wrote:
I dont mean this as a flame, but just trying to understand your pleas...
What and/or how do you guys want to "smuggle" stuff?
Doesnt it basically come down to glorified delivery missions available at any mission terminal?
To me, alot ofsmuggler "content", seems entirely player driven (i.e. roleplaying)...That could be said for ALOT of "content" (for other profs as well)...
Just trying to understand the "I am a smuggler, but dont actually get to smuggle anything...I WANT TO SMUGGLE SOMETHING DAMNIT!!" posts...
With all due respect (not a flame) why would we not want to smuggle? Its like asking why do jedi want to have force powers, just play with your light saber and be happy. We want the Han Solo aspect of Star Wars, runningfrom the law and moving illigel goods with the risk of getting cought. Ive pimped these ideas a lot but for you I will post them one more time, there is more to smuggling then delivery missions.
A full and robust Smuggling system
1. Mission Terminals - (glorifield delivery mission) - mechanics are already in game just need smuggler terms and missions in criminal theme parks. These mission can be done all day every day and xp goes to the Underground Tree. If you fail the mission you build up visablity points for the BH terminals.
2. NPC quest - mechanics are already in game and any or all Crime theme parks are all set for this. High end stuff like Spice and ship parts that can be sold to players for big $$would be your carge if we steal the shipment or fail we run a bigger risk of being on the BH terminals. These questwould only be avalible once every 24hrs.
3. Tuffer Imperial crack down - (playergood's smuggling) - mechanics are already in game. Make random star ports (rotate it so its a player suprise)very tuff to get illegal good out of and remove the Imp and droid exploit. Players will have to group with us to get off world.
4. Jedi/Faction Tef masking - (player smuggling) - mask sent is in game so the basic mechanics are there. Smuglers should be able to mask a Jedi from the BH's andmask a tefed or overt player/group from another faction. So as to not over power this skill it only works for 10min once every hour, can failand while the player will look covert (blue not red dot) or drop off a BH's droid search a BH (if the jedi is in his sights) or opposing faction can still lock onto and attack if they see threw our trick.
Im not sying we should have one of these Im saying we should have them all, then every smuggler has options as to how he wants to play his smuggler (i.e. solo or with other players)
Message Edited by yimaz on 12-16-2004 02:15 PM
Jaguarrr
Thu Dec 16, 2004 1:44 pm
#7
RankorCity wrote:
I dont mean this as a flame, but just trying to understand your pleas...
What and/or how do you guys want to "smuggle" stuff?
Doesnt it basically come down to glorified delivery missions available at any mission terminal?
To me, alot ofsmuggler "content", seems entirely player driven (i.e. roleplaying)...That could be said for ALOT of "content" (for other profs as well)...
Just trying to understand the "I am a smuggler, but dont actually get to smuggle anything...I WANT TO SMUGGLE SOMETHING DAMNIT!!" posts...
making ressources and certain products illegal to transport, like radiactives, lokian weed, tatooinian fiberplast, medicals, weapons. And/or put some insane high tolls on them. Make some certain parts only producable on their special planet (Vasarian Brandy is from Talus if I remember right).
maxtheusher
Fri Dec 17, 2004 12:31 am
#8
Yes, it is player driven, right now. because the Devs have been promising to put a game mechanic in for it for oh, 4 or 5 years now. (no my math is not off.)
When we say we want to smuggle, we're not referring to player content. We are saying we want an in-game mechanic for smuggling. Contraband with real punishments, searches, bounties, etc.
When we say we want to smuggle, we're not referring to player content. We are saying we want an in-game mechanic for smuggling. Contraband with real punishments, searches, bounties, etc.
egbertvanloenen
Fri Dec 17, 2004 4:02 am
#9
[quote]
4. Jedi/Faction Tef masking - (player smuggling) - mask sent is in game so the basic mechanics are there. Smuglers should be able to mask a Jedi from the BH's andmask a tefed or overt player/group from another faction. So as to not over power this skill it only works for 10min once every hour, can failand while the player will look covert (blue not red dot) or drop off a BH's droid search a BH (if the jedi is in his sights) or opposing faction can still lock onto and attack if they see threw our trick.
[/quote]
now, i am no jedi-expert, but can't jedi also have some smuggler-skills available to them? if so, wouldn't it be a tad too powerfull to have a Jedi mask themselves? (hmm on the other hand: mask scent is also done by the PC self...)
lol seems like there are alot of smugglers with great ideas here... and if SOE is emplying more team-members, they should ask if any of these PC's want a job there, hehe.
DragonSnack
Fri Dec 17, 2004 7:50 am
#10
I like the idea of smuggling for profit.
What I want have is the number of items that can be contained in the storagemodu;es of my droid changed from 10 to 50.
I have a back pack strapped on me that can carry 5 times the number of items a droid can carrry.
Remove the limit of the number of droids I can have in my datapad. Let me keep adding them ntil my datapad gets filled.
Increase the Imperial rank from corporal to at least major before becoming scan immune.
Allow the underworld skills to let us talk or bride our way out of being searched after we have been scanned and found ith ilegal items.
Make this a dice roll with a high percentage of success with the chances of success beng reduced as the rank of the NPC dong the searching increases.
As a side note: Rangers have conceal for combat. Why can't we have a similar skill called Disguise that would allow us to temporarily mask the name tag and faction of a player we are trying to "smuggle" through a star port?
Korrack
Fri Dec 17, 2004 7:51 am
#11
I'm glad you didn't mean it as a flame....
How about we take away your lightsaber, all your forcepowers, and see how you like it? It's all about an iconic profession in the Star Wars universe. If you ask anyone who Han Solo is, they will tell you he's a Smuggler and what Smugglers do. If you ask them about the Imperial Guards, they won't tell you they are Pikemen. To have one of the most well known professions in Star Wars be drug dealers and weapons and armor modifiers is ridiculous. Smugglers should be smuggling people and goods while the Imperial fleet chases them around the galaxy.
riotcontrol
Fri Dec 17, 2004 9:12 am
#12
Korrack wrote:I'm glad you didn't mean it as a flame....How about we take away your lightsaber, all your forcepowers, and see how you like it? It's all about an iconic profession in the Star Wars universe. If you ask anyone who Han Solo is, they will tell you he's a Smuggler and what Smugglers do. If you ask them about the Imperial Guards, they won't tell you they are Pikemen. To have one of the most well known professions in Star Wars be drug dealers and weapons and armor modifiers is ridiculous. Smugglers should be smuggling people and goods while the Imperial fleet chases them around the galaxy.
Not to mention having an ungodly dodge modifier, but only against Rodians.
Page 1 of 1