Freelancer/Mercenary ID's

[tansytansey]

Mostly the first and third. Kind of the second, but the complaint is a general one. The ID system can drastically alter gameplay. People will always find ways around limitations to indulge themselves. And from a few experiences of my own, and what people have recounted themselves, that seems to be what FL and Merc ID's are becoming. As well as convenient outputs for inter-player grudges. But that's another matter.

My point is that the effective use of these ID's in-game becomes a license to kill with no consequences. Or, to put it another way, to treat the game as a PvP game, with no role-play consequences. You can just as easily be claiming from two employers who are at odds with each other. This was a big stink for the Jupiter Guild, but the principles seem to have changed in the last few months. Since when was it acceptable for a character or faction to work for two groups that are diametrically opposed? It makes absolutley zero sense, given the amount of role-play attached to these characters.

The colour of the ships does mean something. You can't just waltz into an enemy guard system with the faction npc's not firing on you - its exploitation of game mechanics. Combat must rely on a scan for ID, but there are many instances of people getting sanctioned for attacking others near an enemy base which isn't firing on the attacker, because the attacker has the faction he/she is targetting set to neutral. I recall people being told that if you are going to attack someone and their rep is neutral you should at the very least fire off a CD to make npc's hostile. EG If you are attacking a lawful character outside say Westpoint for money that the Rogues are paying, the station should be firing on you. But Freelancers seem to be able to do this and still fly around with nary a concern, still sporting ships and weaponry from wherever they feel. The limitation in ship size doesn't even come into it - three people in bombers can cause as much annoyance as any lone capship.

And I agree about the responsibility thing. There should be consequences. It is hardly convincing RP if there are none.

You argue that these IDs give people the ability to ignore RP and have free PvP. However, limitations such as these would also limit and punish people for RPing. Many people choose weapons and ships to reflect their characters history, not their alignment. While I don't agree with that personally, I respect other peoples' RP. I don't believe changes should be made to the game to compensate for the actions of those who abuse the mechanics in a detramental way. Because it punishes the innocent people just as much.

Restrictions hurt RP more than freedom.

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|Ashes and Draya's Epic Adventure|Ashes "Nighthawk" Yotaka|Nightfall|Eva Jones|
[5:50:49 PM] JakeSG (William Darkmoor) says: I like you, Ashes. You're more cynical than God.