@Nighthawk and Swift

[DataPhreak]

Athenian, I'm sorry to continue this arguement in spite of the fact that you have already pointed out that it is grossly off topic in the other post, and has probably been beaten to death in the past, but I cannot stand by and not respond to a blatant attack of my character and roleplaying abilities. More specifically by the one who hijacked that thread in the first place. Further, I think the point of that thread is hopelessly lost at this stage, and see no chance of it returning to the previous topic. That being said, there are a few things that I would like to clear up before this is over, so that it does not become a problem again in future threads.

As far as the rules are concerned it is not. An attack is described as draining shields to 50% or firing a CD, neither of which have occurred at the time you drop out of a tradelane.

Being dropped out of a trade lane comes with the presumption that I am, in fact, being CD'd. Anyone and everyone the first thing they do is attempt to go to cruise before they are hit. Basic elementary. Flight before fight is much more profitable. I appologize if I was not clear. That being said, if the pirating character does, in fact, use a CD on me, then it is they, themselves, who are in violation of the PVP before RP clause, and frankly, if they don't immediately CD me, then they won't capture me, and I guarantee that is exactly what they are going to do. Therefore, it cannot be said that I am any more wrong for opening fire immediately on said pirate at the point of dropping out of a trade lane, especially in an instance where I have been pirated by the said person, or said person is well know to be engaging in pirate activities.

You might have an RP reason behind why you shoot pirates as soon as your drop out, but to us you're nothing more than a power trader who would rather die than pay pirates because its' cheaper to rebuy your cargo.

I would not rather die than pay pirates because it's cheaper to rebuy my cargo. In fact, by shooting first, I do not even know whether it will be cheaper or not. Further, in many situations, I will pay a ransom on cargo. I have already stated this before. Do not mistake my tactics for greed, "Nighthawk", because if you were to ask anyone who I have RPed with they would surely tell you I am no scrooge. Besides, "Rather die than pay pirates" implies that I expect to lose, which I do not.

You can have th best RP in the world, but if you don't share it with anyone then it's worth nothing. That's not the impression you want to be giving on an RP server. Hell, even saying "You'll never take my cargo!" Before opening fire would be at least something.

And when did I ever say I do not RP with pirates? 75% of the time I will make it to cruise speed, and then RP will insue. (given that the pirate in question doesn't break into OOC rules lolyering.) The other 25% I will end up in a pod, another excellent chance for roleplay. Something I think few realize, however, is that roleplay doesn't necessarily require text. Simple positioning and facing, movement, and all other action is just as in character as what we write in system chat, and the majority of the time, it is more so.

You can argue as long as you want, but your argument does not excuse you from the rules, which state that Roleplay must precede an engagement.

/setmsg is also no excuse. It promotes poor roleplay. "2 mil r dai" is something we try to avoid.

For example:

There he was, traveling through the cold tradelanes of Tau-31, the metallic rush of the lane rings rushing past. He'd run this route so may times, he could do it with his eyes closed. Each ring he passed like a syncopated metronome counting down the seconds until he reached the next jump gate. There were 8 left in the lane... 7.... ..... .... After 3 seconds he knew something was amiss. Quickly, he opened his eyes and took his feet down from the control panel to find two signatures on the radar, both a klick and a half off. Knowing he'd already lost so many precious seconds he quickly banked a sharp left across the trade route and hit his thrusters a hard pulse to put some distance between them before he attempted to reenter cruise. The entire plan he had rehearsed a thousand times before this, yet already he heard his dash chiming that nightmarish sound.

"Incoming Missile."

The ship lurched at the sudden lack of momentum, the entire hull grinding as simultaneously every rivet tried to go two directions at once, forward and reverse. It would be a full 15 seconds before he made it back to cruise speed at best, and that was provided that he wasn't hit again with another WASP missile. He needed to buy some time.

Quickly, he killed his impulse engines and fired the thruster hard, once again adjusting his vector, then giving the helm a hard spin, he sent the ship swirling in an unpredicable spiral as he made his way to the turrets. Gaskets blown from coolant pipes leaked freezing vapors into the halls of the ships cabin, and the turning ship set him against the walls as he struggled to get to the weapons helm. As he plopped down in the chair, he made a rookie mistake, grabbing the trigger switch and sending a salvo of unaimed shots into the void, warning the two fighters of his intentions to fight, but he quickly gained control and brought the crosshairs to a lock on the nearest fighter and in one well aimed pass downed the shield of the vessel and sent bits of it's hull tracing off behind the rounds. The second fighter launched two well aimed torpedos into the rear of the trade vessel in retaliation for his injured friend, and the trade ship's shields buckled under the sheer force of the blast instantly.

The trader knew, however, that those two missiles had completely drained his foes energy reserves, and it would be a full ten seconds before he could repeat the attack. He had angered the pirates, and now they had acted far to hastily, he had purchased the time that he needed. He fired a quick burst at the first fighter again, followed closely by a WASP missile of his own to keep the fighter from giving chase. Then, reaching up above the weapons console, diverted auxilliary piloting procedures to the combat deck. He reared back, and with a full fisted punch, shattered the protective glass casing of the emergency cruise switch, then immediately began to empty his entire hold of countermeasures. 10... 9... 8... Another torpedo crashed into his ship, blowing out the hull in his cargo bay and turning it into a vaccum. 7... 6... 5... The trader pointed his ship straight down the Z vector in an attempt to dodge the blaster fire that was now eating into his hull. 4... 3... 2... still he continued to dump counter measures into space, his last hope for getting away. 1... "Incomming Missile." But it was too late.... He was gone. He looked at the shrinking image of the fighters as the struggled to enter cruise, but he had already made so much distance that he knew he was safe. In the entire thirty seconds that comprised the fight, he realized that he had not taken a breath until now. A deep, heavy sigh of relief.

As you can see, 30 seconds of combat is worth 30 minutes of conversation, and it is just as much a part of roleplay as any conversation that occurs before or after. By denying a trader the ability to defend himself immediately in the face of a pirate attack, you ensure his capture at the hands of whatever Rats are trying to get a hold of his cheese. And is it fair, you ask, that a trader can fire immediately and without text, when a pirate must initiate what you have so exclusively labeled as "RP"? Absolutely. You're a pirate. If you just blast down any trader you see without at least giving them the oportunity to fork over the cash, you will never make a profit enough to pay for the cruise disruptors you will inevitably use. Further, you stand to make much more profit in the off chance that a trader does in fact settle on your terms. However, it is in a traders best intrest to take immediate action, because every second of hesitation gives you, the pirate, more time to get into position and ensure his lack of escape.

Further, there is likely to be much more gloating and bickering after an event such as the affore mentioned that, if done ICly, will last much longer and be quite the more entertaining than, "Give me all your money!" "Okay, just don't shoot me." "Thank you for your patronage, now get out of my face." Thank you for not shooting me."

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We need 600m/s and 700m/s Debilitators.