Smuggler Archive
Thread: How I would implement Smuggling
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RogueCloudwalker
Thu May 12, 2005 6:21 pm
#1
Heres how I would do it.
I would have different characters offering contracts to fill. Jabba, Lady Valarian, Nym, the Empire and the Rebellion. You would approach one of them and obtain a contract. When choosing the contract, it will work like taking a mission. You can choose a purely PvE approach with NPC Bounty Hunters at failure, or a PvP approach with Player Bounty Hunters but have better rewards at contract completion.
Contracts will require the Smuggler to obtain the spice and take it from Point A to Point B and maybe even to Point C.
In all missions, the Smuggler will be required to store the cargo in the cargo hold used for mining. The Devs should add a menu in space to view what exactly is in the cargo hold and choose to jettison it if need be.
The Smuggler will either have to rendevous with a freighter or space station in space and obtain the cargo or receive the cargo at the local starport. In any case, once the cargo is loaded all instant travel options are disabled on the ship. You must manually launch into space. Within space, in order to recieve greater protection and less chance that you are being followed, you must fly to a certain point in space before you can jump into hyperspace. As well when you leave hyperspace you will appear rather far from your destination whether it is a space station or another freighter. This is to give the maximum chance for combat.
Pirates may hyper in to take your cargo. As well, Imperial and Rebel forces can be expected to want to inspect you to see exactly what is in your cargo hold ala X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. A new item should be created, the Fake Transponder, that Smugglers can install on their ships to help keep Imperial and Rebel fighters from adequately scanning the cargo and discovering the identity of your ship. Fake Transponders will have a certain amount of uses and 1 use would be used up per inspection. Fake Transponders may have upto five uses and Smugglers build these. This is for repeat business. Regardless, its a 50-50 chance the transponder will mask your cargo and identity. If it fails you will be fired upon.
If you are destroyed, the cargo disappears and its mission failure. You can jettison the cargo into space like Han Solo did in Kessel when he was faced with an Imperial ship. However, the cargo will float around temporarily and will need to be brought back in with a tractor beam. However, the cargo may disappear or disintegrate or worse, be discovered by the Imps, Rebels or Pirates and taken. It should be very risky to do this and there may be some cargo loss from doing this.
Smugglers may have their delivery areas in space at space stations or freighters or on the ground. On the ground, the Smuggler is expected to take the cargo out of the cargo hold and walk out to the destination in the wilderness. Sometimes the delivery person may decide to liberate the cargo without paying you. As it is, you must then fight off any attempts to take your cargo. Kill the goons, then they pay you. Then you head back to Jabba and pay him. Or you can just leave the pay back Jabba part out and simply collect your pay from Jabba.
There should be a Smuggling Prestige points given out for successful completion. The more Smuggler Prestige Points you possess, the better and harder Smuggling mission contracts you can acquire. Smuggler Prestige Points should also be able to be traded in for cool, one of a kind items and loot.
If you fail Smuggling missions, you lose prestige points. When you start out you won't have many and the missions won't take much away. It would take many missions to get a BH on you. However, failing one of the highest missions guarantees a BH on you. Losing to a BH is costly in terms of one thing, prestige points.You lose all prestige points at the successful completion of the bounty. There are ways though to lose the bounty.
First, you can pay back the Middleman. In this case, Jabba. However, there will be a mandatory 24-hour period where you cannot pay him back. This is time spent in game, not while the server is up. In fact, time stops while you are in a house or non-accessible private location so you have to be on the run for that 24 hour period. The payment to Jabba is a credit and prestige point payment. You will be able to take missions again but your price will be a significant credit and prestige point payout. You won't lose it all like with a BH but you will have to grind those points back out again for a while.
What do you think?
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