(10-08-2013, 03:24 AM)Veygaar Wrote: ...no but really why isn't smuggling from unlawful to lawful bases the most profitable system in the game? It'd make things fun.
Remove FR5's, allow engage on sight on smugglers for lawful factions. You get big fun
Smuggling from an unlawful to a lawful base already is the most profitable trade network in the game.
And I agree that a FR5 against smugglers is a bad idea. Too many people around here think that punishing people is more fun than interacting with them. As a pirate, when I rob a trader I hope he does come back, not that I robbed him of so much that he changes his route and avoids me from now on. It's too bad that lawfuls don't feel that way about smugglers.
I was thinking even better than mining. And let's get on this no more FR5 idea
I would smuggle if I knew I had a fighting chance when encountering lawfuls, instead I must completely avoid them because I'll have to make a new ship if I see them, instead of fighting or running for my life (which is way funner than logging on and finding out your ship is now useless).
If lawfuls want to stop smugglers, why don't they patrol the lanes and gates and holes to catch them before they're shooting for home base?
(10-10-2013, 06:58 PM)Veygaar Wrote: I was thinking even better than mining.
You are joking, right?
Buffing an activity that... involves, let me think hard... an NPC base... another NPC base... and a route that keeps you away from the main traffic centers and hotspots? Ye... sure! That's not what the mod needs.
The "gauntlet" that you describe is none. The risk of getting intercepted on these last 14 k that you have to cruise in from off the plane is next to zero. Even if you get attacked, they cannot stop you. The only thing you would have to fear is gate camping caps that insta you. That's... another thing that we do not need more often.
Quote:If lawfuls want to stop smugglers, why don't they patrol the lanes and gates and holes to catch them before they're shooting for home base?
Do a reality check.
With not a lot of players around, there is no one to "patrol" the lanes. People log, when they see activity (which is mainly in the hot spots). They flock to places where interaction is likely (bottlenecks + mining spots + major dropoff points).
You have been playing as a pirate long enough to know that it can be damn boring because so few targets appear. But on a pirate ID you can pirate 100 % of the incoming traffic. Now do that as a lawful... and 90 % of the passing traffic is legal and all interaction you can get is a "Hi!".
Of course no one cares to patrol the lanes.
Lawfuls log when the chokepoint is blocked by unlawfuls, or an important system is raided. Not to prevent smuggling.
Smuggling should pay well, don't get me wrong.
It should be in the top 5 of the normal trading routes.
But it should definitely not even get close to any way of moneymaking that involves player-player cooperation, thus strengthens points of focus (like O7, T23, Penny, Dublin,...) as well as feed the choke points with traffic that is on predictable paths.
A lot of lawfuls are also pewhappy.
Played a quasi-legal smuggler the other day, complied with one officer's demand only to get shot down afterwards by another guy who thought I was somehow still breaking the law.
smuggling is still rather profitable and can have interaction- if you know where to go.
Unfortunately these spots are few and involve travelling through the worst of lolberty.
Example, you can pick up slaves on pittsburg and take them to the omegas through rheinland.
It's a reaaaaaally profitable route for freighters (not transports, small tradies! perfect for smuggling)
However.... It runs you straight through most of liberty and rheinland, you're going to get caught if you stick to the trade lanes.
Not because the cops are patrolling, but they're usually idling and looking for unlawfuls to pew so in their boredom they WILL check your cargo.
So you'll take a route that involves fewer chokepoints.
What happens?
You encounter noone.
It seems you've forgotten an important detail. this is a roleplaying community, innit?
tl;dr?
Smuggling is already really profitable.
Barrier gate sells artifacts at an okay price considering how close it is to manhattan.
Just that it's harder than avoiding pirates so noone does it.
Edit: Which is what I'm gonna do at rollback.
Manmode up in here.
One of these days, there will be a clever, stylish and/or funny signature here.
This is still not that day, however.
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