Paying pirates can be done in a very routinated way with little words. If I plan on paying all pirates I don't need to equip my trader properly: I don't need armor on it or guns; I don't even need to know how to fly a transport.
All in all: Paying pirates generally can take the edge completely out of flying a transport. Simply no fun to trade anymore then.
For trading to be fun there must be something to achieve with it. Taking pride in outfitting the ship as best as I can for its purpose. Learning how to fly it evasively under fire, how to reach a station in time. Even learning how to use a transport's guns.
Talking yourself out of a situation can be great as well. Where it applies, that is. I mean: if you are an Ageira-trader and meet a Hacker, the options of talking are a little limited. The situation is completely different if you are a Freelance-trader and get into a Corsair-holdup far out in the edgeworlds.
A pirate who sets up a trap that is unavoidable also deserves to be paid well. I usually pay much more than was asked in a situation like that.
But I believe it's equally bad for the trader to pay every pirate as it would be for the pirate to get paid by every trader. If this would be the case, Disco's trading system could easily be transferred as a browser-game to the forums. Freelancer is skill-based for a reason, and that's the reason why I play it.
' Wrote:for those who missed it: the moral of it all is ----> traders with teeth are fun for pirates. - within reason.
