Have to agree that pirates need to take in the value of the cargo into consideration, but again to be fair, not every pirate has a calculator handy or is willing to do the math, so more or less they come up with a price thats either near/far or even way below the profit margin that your going to sell it for.
Space isn't friendly, and its full of unfriendly turrets waiting to catch you on a bad day... so by that, it can be hard to sit out in space and take in consideration of ones cargo at a whim, but then again... If a pirate is on a particular route, surely he's going to know what sort of traders hes going to come across...
And for an experienced pirate, there is no excuse for demanding over the top fee's.
Piracy is after all, robbing the cargo/credits worth for the cargo, and getting away as fast as possible. Nothing worst than a pirate who weighs in your rank and demands credits based on your status rather than your ship and your cargo. In my opinion, pirates should always demand a reasonable amount based on cargo and ship, nothing else, no rank thats supposed to be invisible, just based on what you would see if you were there.
Although regarding your encounter with the corsairs, I think the corsairs were fair. There was 3 of them, not one, they all have to get a cut, and they were only off by 1 million profit. So take the hit and take it on the chin is what I say;)
' Wrote:This really isn't something that needs to be taken super seriously because it's a game and most of us are just here to have fun. You should try smiling, you'll feel better about things (honest).
' Wrote:Oh of course!! How stupid of me. It Roleplay is it??? Ah I get it now, they are all roleplaying stupid pirates, I get it! Roleplay makes you agree to pay more than the goods are worth dont it? Incredibly realistic that! So the pirates are RP'ing idiots by demanding unrealistic tax, and the traders that pay it are RP'ing retards who dont know the value of their cargo? Its so obvious now.
As to the second reply yeah, I agree with that completely. Death is not really penalised much and it does make you somewhat more reckless than you would otherwise be
Because in a realistic situation, your ship and weapons (and LIFE) magically respawn at a planet or station when you GET BLOWN UP into SPACE and DIE.
So traders would roleplay better if the pirates didn't attempt to extort so much from them that a run became unprofitable? Because this might encourage people to opt to just not pay and get killed just to spite the pirates?
... well, yes, it might. But why should well role-played pirates - criminals, cut throats, nasty folk - amend their ways to accomodate the rp or lack thereof of people who simply believe that the right to earn some bit of money is god-given? Proper trade should be speculative to a certain degree. And you should be grateful the hopped-up muggers who just robbed you didn't perform something of an amoral and unhygienic nature on you, your crew and your pet dog.
"The values of your shares may rise as well as fall." Businesses deal with profit and loss.
' Wrote:So traders would roleplay better if the pirates didn't attempt to extort so much from them that a run became unprofitable? Because this might encourage people to opt to just not pay and get killed just to spite the pirates?
... well, yes, it might. But why should well role-played pirates - criminals, cut throats, nasty folk - amend their ways to accomodate the rp or lack thereof of people who simply believe that the right to earn some bit of money is god-given? Proper trade should be speculative to a certain degree. And you should be grateful the hopped-up muggers who didn't perform something of an amoral and unhygienic nature on you, your crew and your pet dog.
Aye good point. What I was trying to get across but in a nicer way, hahah...
Lets say you own a shop, and some criminal comes in and points a gun to your head, demanding all the cash you got there. Are you like, Hey do you know how hard I worked to get a profit for that? Can't it be a little less, it's already this hard to make any profit. Or are you, Ok! Ok! here take it, just don't kill me!
It's a RP server, pirates catches traders for either useful goods (with I never see pirates do, except for one with name I can't remember) or to demand money, so they can survive out in the wild. Traders that get caught should fear for their live, and shouldn't think about re spawning, re buying and re-routing, thats silly!
If you get a demand of 3 mil, accept it, remember their names, and choose a different trade route until the first one is safe again, in that time you've earned it back a long time ago.
But on the other side, you'll have to be robbing a extremely large bank with loads of hostages if you want to demand a amount that big. Demanding 3 million would be unreal if you would do it in real.
Best thing to do;
- Don't surrender directly, only give up when you have no chance.
- Negotiate if you think that it's possible.
- Get escorts, those mercs and Freelancers aren't there to be system decoration
- If you have no other choice, pay up, most pirates would let you go for hours
Discovery is changing Freelancer in the way it should be played. Everyone is to used to earn loads of cash is a short time. Well, no more free money.
A trader/smuggler takes lots of risks a long with itself. Protection costs a little, but improves the chance you get to your destination without being taxed. And even if you get taxed, if 3 million is the price to stay alive that is the price you will pay. It's hard, but it's no impossible, those pirates want to get payed, and if you can bring it up you should. And if you can't I'm sure they'll drop their price a bit. (or they must be extremely bad in RP)
' Wrote:So traders would roleplay better if the pirates didn't attempt to extort so much from them that a run became unprofitable? Because this might encourage people to opt to just not pay and get killed just to spite the pirates?
Firstly, I RP'd both of the encounters I mentioned, thats why I raised the topic in the forum instead of starting a debate OOC in the game, so dont critisize me on that score mate ta. I can see where you guys are coming from but I dont agree with all you say. i would be far more willing to travel a route knowing I was going to be stopped by a pirate who would charge a fair tax than by one who would charge an exhorbitant (check spelling;)) one that apparrently I am forced to pay because if I dont its bad RP. And please stop comparing what actions you would take in real life to actions in the game. You are highly unlikely to get attacked by pirates whilst travelling through a trade lane in reality (unless you live in Leeds) and the point is moot. The whole principle of roleplay is to allow you to do things that you WOULD NOT do in real life, otherwise why play the game? You have to be a bit liberal with players on here I think. Especially those new or unfamiliar.
' Wrote:This really isn't something that needs to be taken super seriously because it's a game and most of us are just here to have fun. You should try smiling, you'll feel better about things (honest).
A point for consideration when pirating: If you ask for an exorbitant fee from the trader that results in them making no profit on that run, if they have any sense, they will then stop doing said run when you are around. This will reduce the number of encounters you get to have whilst playing that character, thus reducing your own enjoyment. Also, as the only ones that will be left passing you are the ones without any sense, you will end up only encountering traders that say "kill me, it's faster" or the like, which, again, reduces your margin of fun.
Sure, a pirate can be a nasty person, but this can be conveyed in the way in which they approach their demanding and the manner in which they communicate with the target. If you then go on to make a small demand, that will have no great impact on the trader's income, the trader may actively seek you out and want to be pirated by you, if only to get a good encounter and alleviate their own boredom.
There are a few pirates that I, personally, avoid, due to either ridiculous demands, or shoddy conversations...I'm gonna take every precaution possible to avoid an un-enjoyable encounter...
' Wrote:A point for consideration when pirating: If you ask for an exorbitant fee from the trader that results in them making no profit on that run, if they have any sense, they will then stop doing said run when you are around. This will reduce the number of encounters you get to have whilst playing that character, thus reducing your own enjoyment. Also, as the only ones that will be left passing you are the ones without any sense, you will end up only encountering traders that say "kill me, it's faster" or the like, which, again, reduces your margin of fun.
Sure, a pirate can be a nasty person, but this can be conveyed in the way in which they approach their demanding and the manner in which they communicate with the target. If you then go on to make a small demand, that will have no great impact on the trader's income, the trader may actively seek you out and want to be pirated by you, if only to get a good encounter and alleviate their own boredom.
There are a few pirates that I, personally, avoid, due to either ridiculous demands, or shoddy conversations...I'm gonna take every precaution possible to avoid an un-enjoyable encounter...
' Wrote:This really isn't something that needs to be taken super seriously because it's a game and most of us are just here to have fun. You should try smiling, you'll feel better about things (honest).
' Wrote:Firstly, I RP'd both of the encounters I mentioned, thats why I raised the topic in the forum instead of starting a debate OOC in the game, so dont critisize me on that score mate ta. I can see where you guys are coming from but I dont agree with all you say. i would be far more willing to travel a route knowing I was going to be stopped by a pirate who would charge a fair tax than by one who would charge an exhorbitant (check spelling;)) one that apparrently I am forced to pay because if I dont its bad RP. And please stop comparing what actions you would take in real life to actions in the game. You are highly unlikely to get attacked by pirates whilst travelling through a trade lane in reality (unless you live in Leeds) and the point is moot. The whole principle of roleplay is to allow you to do things that you WOULD NOT do in real life, otherwise why play the game? You have to be a bit liberal with players on here I think. Especially those new or unfamiliar.
Pirates in Somalia kidnap the entire crews of liners and demand, and get paid, millions for ransom. Real life doesn't always find itself reflected in this spaceship game, but sometimes it does.
Opting to not pay money to an extortionist who has a gun to your head is an act, in real life, of incredible stupidity.
The best taste of role play a new or unfamiliar player can get is to realise that these pirates on the server are very real and very dangerous. Would it have been a different experience for you to have had to give in to a demand to hand over your female members of crew?
Hire an escort. Pay him well. Stay on the safe routes. Fly in a convoy.
I pirate in real life too, so the RP server thing is kind of lost on me.
![[Image: 42-SignatureCreation.jpg]](http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb193/Xydonus/42-SignatureCreation.jpg)
![[Image: mastermindsigantures.jpg]](http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5690/mastermindsigantures.jpg)
![[Image: 2ecf33o.png]](http://i59.tinypic.com/2ecf33o.png)