Sorry for the late reply - was going to post before I went to work but ended up running late... Anyways mass answer time.
Yes, In order to play fairly a character must be between levels 30 and 40. As far as I can see, nothing on the civilian ID infocard says that players aren't able to attack civvies. The server rules however, say basically that players cannot attack people bleow lvl30 except if they don't have a civilian ID. Over level 30, any ID is game for pirating, etc..
Olsav, You've pretty much got what I was trying to say in this faction idea. It is more of a defense sort of thing. Also, this faction (if it ever gets created) will be heavily teamwork oriented. One has to be in a group as well as have a good attack plan for a chance of success in any engagements, and the teamwork to do this IMO will make a win against an enemy that bit sweeter and fun. Playing in this fashion will also increase the players skill in PvP that they can use in other factions that they play as.
Another point I may put out is that this is a militia group - basically volunteers trying to keep the peace. They aren't battle trained or whatever like military pilots are, and they will not have the morale to go off on suicide missions like the xenos. When facing losses that are considered acceptable by house militaries, the militia fighters will likely flee. Even though they are serving to protect others, a militiaman will still consider their own lives' safety a priority - breaking lines/ignoring orders if it looks like heavy losses will be encountered. That being said, It'll probly be inRP to retreat if someone in a group of 5 fighters is killed...
In terms of the Vigilante ID - I never knew something like that was going to be released in the next release. Obviously if that's the case, it would probly be better to use that instead of a Civilian ID.
Ok, my brains fried from work - hopefully all that makes sense and and says what I mean it to say..
' Wrote:I was checking the Civilian ID to see the details on restrictions/allowances. The idea was to see what role can potentially come out of the ID aside from being a witness.
Aside from level restrictions I got this - Note that the Civilian ID is exempt from being able to be attacked by anyone, unless they enter a Guard system, attack another player or are in the Connecticut system.
If players pirate hunted with these ID's (despite the smaller ships) they will always gain the first shot. No one can get pre-emptive against the faction because they'll be civilians, instead the other factions and players will have to allow these Civilians to whack down their shields for a bit first.
The potential direction this can take looks dark and stormy
If you're at or over level 30 you are fair game for PvP (based on RP, of course) no matter what ID you have. If you are under level 30 and have an ID other than civilian you are also fair game for PvP (based on RP). If they are RP'ing as police types, then they can be treated as police for the purposes of PvP, and thus shot.
Still, all-Sirius police force = BAD. With civilians it isn't as much of a problem, but still... civilians in space generally means taking a cruise on a luxury liner, or being ferried in less ceremonious fashion aboard another transport. Ships are crazy expensive for your average civilian to afford, and if they do own one it will generally be for business. If you can find a niche for civilians that doesn't involve attacking pirates anywhere and everywhere, go for it. But... I can't think of one offhand.
' Wrote:Everyone could fly a starflea and annoy the pirates into leaving.:P
But seriously, you would never win in one, but you would be darned near impossible kill in one.
Pirating in starfleas..."pay or we ram your advanced train so much that you bounce forever"...hehehe...would need a large group to work effectively, tho...
If you really want this to work and be effective against pirates, I suggest doing this;
Mercenary ID (allows you to be over level 40), but no tag, or maybe police. However, restrict all ships to fighters and bombers. If you allow capships, this would eventually turn into the new BHG that goes after pirates in BHG GSs (though in 4.85 this might not be a problem). Also, since you can be over level 40, you can escort the traders and share the money gained from it without popping the escorts over-level.
Another addition I'd suggest is to establish a certain ZoI.. Traders in the Border Worlds are there at their own peril.. I don't see a militia protecting those who go into such dangerous zones. I'd say the militia would be active in the 4 houses, independent systems, and then in the trading border systems. Tau-29, Tau-31, Omega-3, Omega-7, Sigma-13, and Sigma-19.
It's not a bad idea generally, Encheta, but it also really isn't a militia. A militia is comprised of locals who come from different walks of life to temporarily take up arms against an imminent threat.
"Local" is key here, since they have limited means at their disposal. It's not possible for a "militia" to be Sirius-wide because that would require the resources of a much more professional outfit. You could have a network of militias, of course, but any particular member would have a rather limited ZoI. If these are house citizens, you'd inevitably be drawn into house politics. If not, then that begs the question of what these folks do for their day jobs, so to speak.
"Temporary" is also key for a militia - the idea that they'd really rather be doing something more constructive but are brought to bear arms in a particular emergency. Again, this suggests limited resources and scope of operations, not to mention a limited time-span of interest in being actively engaged in combat, since they want to return to whatever lives they previously had.
Seems like this is a bit of a combination of volunteer security - which needn't require the lower level restrictions - and an attempt at a militia - which can't be sector-wide. Perhaps going just one of those directions is better than attempting both.