I think I'd have to weigh my vote in on the side of dropping the smuggler ID, if you've scanned for ID, you can see the cargo anyway, so if the trader has contraband, they're a smuggler, but if they don't, they're clear.
It justs seems like walking into cold war America with a giant red arm band blazoned with "Yes, I am a communist spy"
Also, docking on a lawful base with lawfuls in pursuit -should- see a squad of heavily armed police waiting planetside... knowing the game can't do that is sheer munchkinism.
Now, I do know that this would be difficult, but I always thought that it'd be kinda neat that if a Trader was caught smuggling, he/she was given the Smuggler ID, so that his/her actions were known throughout Sirius, unless he/she gets an ID that isn't a Trader ID.
However, I think the best reason for the Smuggler ID being that Smugglers are simply those who do most of their trading with pirates, so that the pirates don't demand cargo/tolls, since the trader is bringing in revenue to the pirates via trade. If only it was that way, though.
on the other hand, what smuggler would land at a lawful airbase? he would circle the planet and land in the jungle somewhere where his planet-side cohorts are waiting.
There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for. -Elizabeth Elliott
Just because you enter by the docking ring, doesn't mean you have to fly straight to the landing pad. (RP-wise, anyway. Imagination helps a lot in this case...) I mean, look at all the ships flying by at most of the planets and a few of the larger asteroids (IE Kyoto and Vogtland) A mess like that would be very easy for a good smuggler to get lost in.
Heh. I might have been that Transport with the Corsair ID, and I quickly realized how much more vulnerable I become with that thing. You are literally watching your back every time you jump because heck ... a whole group of Rogue gunboats could be on the other side of that JH, you don't use the trade lanes because the law has no reason to ask politely first. And theres the fact that you can't dock on lawful bases. BUT. You can group with faction escorts and you are friendly to at least one set of pirates. All in all, I think it makes for a fairly fun trade run, and some nice roleplay. :cool:
On the subject of Smuggler's ID, I don't think you have to ditch them. You can have a Trader's ID and still smuggle, right? Or do I need to take a second look at the ID?
"The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace. The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground. The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that was left of the town of Seney. Even the surface had been burned off the ground.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the scattered houses of the town and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river. The river was there."
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