When you examine a smuggler, another window should pop up with their smuggling record, With the new smuggler revamp, slicing will be new and should work out a bit better for us. So why not give the customer the opportunity to rate the smuggler satisfaction wise. If he liked the slice then he gets a high rating, etc.
Also maybe have certain NPC's in cities who when you talk to them 'recommend smugglers' they have a list of smugglers, when you click on ones name you get to see the same stats you would see in his/her profile if you were to examine them.
[player] has successfully completed [number] of Smuggling Jobs
[player] has been scanned [number] times
[player] has had contraband confiscated [number] times
[player] has successfully bribed [number] scanning crews/officers/officials
[player] has sliced [number] times to the customers satisfaction.
[player] has had [number] critical failures while slicing.
Tale Dennon Master Smuggler - Master Bounty Hunter Recenty respecced to BH just to use Last Ditch on Jedi, All thanks to a fantastic Jedi named I_luv_wob. "Who's Scruffy Lookin'?"
Dakkaeo wrote: This is a good idea but I absoloutley HATE the idea how even at master smuggler, there is a 10% chance that you will be detected by the NPC's. That means that no matter what, it all depends on chance. Nothing in this game should be that way
In my opinion, smugglers are all about chance. Plus, there should not be an instant 'I win' as it would take the thrill out of smuggling.
first of all very very good idea from a very inteligent person.
but theres one thing i think you fail to see. let think of it this way:
client asks smuggler to take an object to a person or terminal for delivery, smuggler agrees and goes to area of delivery but instead of giving it, he steals it, thus earning a bounty for his friendly guild bh, to collect, thus, he gets the item, and his guildie gets the money, and the person that agreed to giving this item gets screwed. sure you could say he earns a bad rep. but with how ever many smugglers or even players there are, i doubt he would stop getting business, thus keeping his bh buddy happy with money leeched from all the available contractors around and him happy with free high end items.
just my 2 cents. but otherwise you have some excellent ideas. just what the community needs and the devs need to listen to when they have been exploiter-proofed.
Message Edited by EnosFiroken on 06-05-200501:12 PM
first of all very very good idea from a very inteligent person.
but theres one thing i think you fail to see. let think of it this way:
client asks smuggler to take an object to a person or terminal for delivery, smuggler agrees and goes to area of delivery but instead of giving it, he steals it, thus earning a bounty for his friendly guild bh, to collect, thus, he gets the item, and his guildie gets the money, and the person that agreed to giving this item gets screwed. sure you could say he earns a bad rep. but with how ever many smugglers or even players there are, i doubt he would stop getting business, thus keeping his bh buddy happy with money leeched from all the available contractors around and him happy with free high end items.
just my 2 cents. but otherwise you have some excellent ideas. just what the community needs and the devs need to listen to when they have been exploiter-proofed.
Message Edited by EnosFiroken on 06-05-200501:12 PM
True, but if what the devs said at Fan Fest was true and they will indeed remove names and the ability to see the level of the player from the terminals, this should no longer be a problem.
Ok, what if the contraband, once stolen by the smuggler, could always have an opportunity to get back to its owner? For instance, if the smuggler has the item when the bouny hunter comes after him, he has the option to give the bounty hunter the item, and would save both of them a fight. The item would then be delivered to its owner. If the smuggler doesn't have the item, as if he sold it, then he could give out the name of the person he sold it to, therefore transfering the bounty instantly to that person, and so on, until he finds the true owner. When the owner is found, they have the option to give it to the bounty hunter, taking the bounty off of them and giving the item back to the owner, or they can refuse, fight, and if they lose, the item gets back to the original owner. If the item gets confiscated, the owner can hire another smuggler to slice a terminal or something to take the item off the contraband list for a large price, though this time it has to go back to the owner. This way, as long as the original owner has money, they can get it back. There would have to be a few restrictions however, such as, if the smuggler steals an item, he/she can pass it on, but no two people can own it twice, which could in theory be possible for two people to trade the item back and forth fifty times making it so the BH would have to gut the name out of each of them fifty times back and forth. Also, components couldn't be considered contraband, because they could be turned into something, making it impossible for the owner to get it back. Unless of course they worked like Anti-Decay Kits, where you could destroy the item to get it back. And finaly, they would have to make the items undestroyable.
This would make it even MORE fun for the BH's, making a long hunt for a person. Instead of talking to spynet people for info on their contracts, they would actualy talk to people involved. And for merchants, they could make a lot of money getting contraband and selling it quickly, to the expense of the people who get it. There could be a whole black market created. Though it would take a lot of coding, and probably will never happen. /shrug
Interesting suggestion, gussygunslinger. There are some things to be thought about, though. An item would have to be clearly labeled contraband so that the person that buys it knows it will take the risk to be hunted for it, so people aren't forced into PVP unwillingly. I will think about it some more and see if I can come up with a good way to add something like that to the original vision.
Glzmo wrote: Interesting suggestion, gussygunslinger. There are some things to be thought about, though. An item would have to be clearly labeled contraband so that the person that buys it knows it will take the risk to be hunted for it, so people aren't forced into PVP unwillingly. I will think about it some more and see if I can come up with a good way to add something like that to the original vision.
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of making it so that the fighting won't start until the target refuses to give up an item or a name. That way, they can be fooled into buying it. Then they could add a skill to merchants, where the better they are, the more chance (100% at master) they would have of knowing it was contraband. That would give merchants a lot of power in the black market, selling things that are stolen, when they KNOW its stolen. It may also give bounty hunters a good chance to get some missions without picking on jedi (even though they deserve it! Uhg! I can't help myself... Trying... Not... To.. Be... Unconstructive...) That would get jedi off of everyones backs.
An awesome idea, but unfortunatly people would scream nerf if they could steal items. So, instead, the item to be smuggled will be put into the smuggling terminal in the city where the contract was agreed upon, and the smuggler will recieve a ticket that will represent the item, called a smuggling contract. If the smuggler is discovered and incaped, the contract will be confiscated, and the item will be returned to the smuggling terminal on the planet where the contract was agreed on. The player can then return to that terminal and retrieve the item and try to find another smuggler.
great ideas, but aparently GL himself said smugglers are not suposed to do anyth ing like that. he's even editing the original trilogy so Han doesnt mention doing any illegal activity or mention the word "smuggle"
N Odimon Master smuggler Novice BH Master Scoundrel ! creeping all over Lowca !
I dunno but i like the refusing to give up the item thing
but, yeah people would demand a nerf
and ive nnoticed a trend:you cant give much responsibility cause of the lack of maturity of some people, that and when ya get somethin' goin the jedi scream nerf(don't change topic)
This was a fun read and I am surprised there isn't a hundred replies. Making this stuff up is our closest glimpse to having it
First I'll say I havn't played in a year and I may be out of touch with some aspects. For example, when I left, emperial scans were pretty new and I was a smuggler so I was never caught. I was unaware of the frequency others were caught. Btw I should have the game in a few days...I couldn't find a copy of the total experience in all of northern AZ so I had to order online )=<
Secondly, I'm sorry if I use your ideas in the following without giving you credit. I am basically taking all these ideas I read and putting together my favorite ones so all the credit is to you guys obviously.
My first reaction was to losing any item due to chance. Some loot in these games are absurdly rare and should never be lost--that is crazy. I agree that strolling past an emperial scan takes the thrill away but there must be a plan B. I propose that non-loot items be subject to random and unexpected scans as well as check points in starports. However, rare loot items should only be subject to search at expected check points. This may require some realism be pushed under the rug, but people losing their sought after loot from a random scan is going to piss people off way too much. They will still run the risk if they attempt to use a smuggler to leave the planet and they will be caught 100% of the time alone but I think the amount of items confiscated should be a little lenient. Possibly a random number of items is removed. About the chances the smuggler has...hmm...I would be flexible about this on lower grade items but not top grade loot. Loot with like less than 2% drop rate should be smuggled 100% of the time by a master smuggler.
I want to say that the forged documents idea is briliant and creative. I would have never thought of something like this, I love it. This is a perfect way to avoid finding a smuggler everytime you need to move your sliced gear to another planet which, let's face it, is synonymous with any player travelling. Although I would like to see sliced equipment actually become risky, I don't want to see it be irritatingly time consuming like it would be if you needed a smuggler to smuggle it everytime you fly. Maybe sliced equipment will be a fine or tax of an amount that people would look for smugglers to avoid but not need them merely to travel.
I must say the first expression on my face regarding stolen items was omgwtflol...but...I continued to read and found some pretty cool justification. I particularly liked the idea of a black market to fuel but also curse smuggler theft. Also, why would anyone open a bounty on a smuggler who already failed his mission and lost the item? No one is going to pay a BH to send a smuggler to the cloning facility...they want their item back! This imo makes theft almost necessary in order to have BH/smuggler contracts because there is no reason for a bounty when the item is gone.
If the smuggler is caught and loses the items then the original owner can then attempt to collect reimbursement from the smuggler by threatening to place a bounty on his head. If the smuggler refuses, the owner can list the bounty for a shake-down and specify if there is a higher reward for any valuables or creds returned to him. The smuggler should be able to avoid being killed by giving the BH ample creds or equittible goods(the idea here is that the client make up for some of his losses). The BH will have a tradeable icon which symbolizes his threat to the smuggler. In other words, when the trade is complete, the bounty on the smugger's head is gone and the BH can no longer attack him. The BH could always keep whatever creds or items he got, or he could return them for the reward from the client. The payment offered by the smuggler should be reviewed between the client and BH to confirm that his life is indeed spared. The client will now need to click something to confirm that the BH's reward just increased by however much the contract specified. The smugglers (insert appropriate concequence) if the assigned BH kills him--this will motivate smugglers to cough it up to save their skins. The client will not be able to demand more than a reasonable amount or he simply won't get it; he is trying to get whatever he can to make up for what was confiscated.
The easiest way to conclude an attempted theft and incorporate player BHs is to have the item immediately put into the inventory of the original owner when the assigned BH and only the assigned BH kills him(as if the BH killed him, got the item back, and returned it). Of course the smuggler could win the fight or continue to run so long as the assigned BH doesn't kill him. Oh and we need the smuggler to accept possible PvP the moment he chooses theft or if he does not drop off the item in time.
So what if the smuggler sold it? Then the BH needs to track the item down which is an idea I love and I am curious what BHs think of it. The item should have been marked stolen, even tho only a few people could see that, and the assigned BH should be able to examine the smuggler's corpse and see an account of his smuggled or stolen trades which will not include intended smuggles since those will be put into a box. The account should be a short list if theft is risky enough as it should be. This list is because the smuggler could refuse to give the info until he is blue in the face or he could lie, and we cannot have that. Perhaps a deathblow from a BH assigned to collect your head would result in complete durability loss on all equipped items...and your head. Again, insert appropriate concequence...should be much worse this time because it is for theft. Something that will get em talkin'. The BH could still smoke ya if he thinks your'e lying or if he is just doin his job. The smuggler is in deep sh*t if it comes down to this and he may try to bribe the BH.
The BH terminal should definitely not allow the BH to see his buddy's smuggling bounty.
What if the new owner of that stolen item thought he scored a great deal but then he finds a BH sitting in his living room chair waiting for him!? Well you should be cautious trading with a smuggler, silly. I would like this bit of RP, but I realize some smugglers would find it a hinderence to convince people that the item they're offering isn't stolen even though it will be rare that we attempt to steal anyhow. Now he can either hand over the item which will be marked hot or stolen or something when he puts it into the trade window with the BH so he can see for himself, or he can refuse. Three trade windows cancelled by him is a refusal. When the item is accepted by the BH, it is put into the bank of the original owner. It is never given to the BH or they wil run around collecting steal-worthy loot this way. If the BH is forced to blast him, the item is returned to the original owner.
Who should someone see after making a trade with a shady smuggler type? Perhaps another smuggler or perhaps the master crafter that makes or uses that type of item.
What do you do when you find out that you were duped by some seemingly upright citizen?? Hide from the BH! The person who tricked you has no reason not to reveal your name AND location! Sell that puppy asap!
Only problem with this that I see is that I doubt BHs can take anyone and everyone. Allowing ganging on the guy to fullfill the bounty would be dumb so I think if the BH can't take the smuggler or new owner out, he should contact the original owner and they both can take em out. If the BH is forced to use the help of the owner, his reward contract states that his creds are cut by 75%. Or the client could call the BH a noob and a new BH would be allowed to try. An alternative is that the BH get some kind of bonus vs. their bounty. As I see it, BHs are supposed to be shaking people down and roughing em up. I wouldn't mind seeing the BH get a small attack or defense bonus vs. just his bounty. It should not be instant death or anything; a smuggler could still win and he definitely can still try to run.
That is my vision! I left the details for the professionals.
Kettemoor.Ro'Cronodon - Master of blades Shadowfire.Deadaim - Gunslinger extraordinarie
I'll be short, last night, talking to a friend, following idea popped into my mind:
- Make spices more powerful, so they really give you an edge when you need it. ° Long-Term entertainer spices. ° Crafting spices. (For example, to give tailors more color options; Better experimentation, etc.) ° Try to reflect in-game the actual image that spices are bad. Make them addictive, so having to spend so much money in them would actually become a problem, make people have to actually undergo some kind of rehab if you abuse the drugs (That could again make docs more useful)
- Make only 'Outer rim planets' Like Dathomir or Endor be the ONLY PLANETS where you can place 'Spice Factories'. ° Since those planets don't allow you to place houses ( = no vendors ), smugglers would have to transfer the spices to the main planets, either using starports or JTL, imperial patrols should then sharpen surveillance, specifically targetting contraband. ° If a smuggler's 'cargo' gets spotted, he gets the chance to surrender some/all (Depending on his level) allowing him to come out of it with his life and maybe even some of his precious wares. ° The more often a smuggler gets caught, the easier it should be for imperial troops to discover him. ° Make those special 'encounters' (Smugglers/Empire) be actually HARD to bypass, but not impossible. That would force smugglers to really study the best way to distribute his illegal cargo. Being inspected by 1 stormtrooper that could be taken down in a few shots would not stop a smuggler, 10 troopers would have much better chances.
What about allowing confiscated items to be purchased back for a "fine" paided to the Galatic Authorities? Make the "fine" amount high enough to want the original owner of the lost item to use the Bounty Hunter option, but not break their bank ("fine" would be equal to the rarity/uber'ness of the item thus reflecting the offense). Maybe inact some sort of timer, where the item couldn't be received due to confiscated item is processing through law enforcment channels. Once the timer end, the originating owner of the item can retreive it once they pay the "fine".
The exception to this would be pirate raids in space. Such items couldn't be retrevied via a fine, by the originating owner...
...however, maybe allow another command to retreive pirate raided player-items. The owner, and only the owner, can use another command that allows them to generate a space-mission that gives them the oppurtunity to retreive their item through a "lair" style mission (if they so choose). Winning the battle would reward them with their item. Maybe you could have small multi-passenger NPC cargo ships of said pirates to be docked, allowing multi-player groups to have a small, instanced dungeon, to complete to retrieve said item (such a senerio as the instanced-dungeon would be reserved for items that are deamed rare or uber. The lair style would be reserved for the majority of pirate confiscated items). The smuggler that lost the item in space is allowed to join the originating owner's group - maybe to repay the owner for the inconvience? (An opportunity for the smuggler to role play, or establish friendly player relations.) Just another thought to this: The owner may not have piloting abilities, so immersion can be establish by calling on a friend with a multi-passenger ship to help out. Turrents anyone? :biggrin
However, for the anti-player theft system - I like the idea mentioned earlier about placing a "resume" on smugglers that show their honest and mis-honest dealings with player generated contracts for smuggling items.
That's my two cents, but from what I've read (so far...:tongue in this thread - I really like. As a M.Smuggler myself, I would love to see more in-game immersion for smugglers - I envy the Bounty Hunters, but that's not what I'm into..at the moment.)
10. Trading non-tradable items Master Smugglers will be able to trade any inventory/datapad item/schematic that is otherwise non-tradable (including biolinked/character specific items). This will be another instance of "illegal moving of goods" (aka smuggling ). With the non-trade reward and loot items possibly coming with the expansion, since it's said you can't slice the new loot/reward weapons anyway.
-GO AWAY 
