Contraband: Will It Ever Change?

[Croft]

I've recently been looking into making a Hogosha character to try out the Kusari side of Disco and the faction in general. The first thing I notice is the Raba, being a sucker for the old transports I immediately begin fluttering through FLComp to see where this quirky faction can take me in the search for credits and fun.

I begin at the only Hogosha base I know, the Golden Dragon Casino, scroll past the VIP's and bam, Black Market Munitions. Instantly I'm confronted with that haggered and well discussed beast which I shall not name. It gets me thinking, in the two and bit years I've played Disco I've seen almost everything get tweaked, upgraded or at least changed in some way, so why is it that the oft debated relic remains largely unchanged?

For example, the Satelites that premiered on Leeds which could only be docked on by freighters and smaller. One of those on the back of some main planets would do allow for some amazing opportunities yet there's been no mention of placing any more of them.

What about variation in the bases that buy contraband goods? At the moment we have three choices, Barrier Gate, a Junker/Hogosha base or the lawful planet itself. Can we not reuse the old Phantom/Reaper assets to pry illegal goods away from the Junker monopoly? Could we carve out a piece from the overly stuffed FL ID and make something new?

Perhaps we could shift the sell point of Artefacts and Cardamine from New York, the most populated system in the mod surely doesn't need more. Wouldn't it be better to divert some of tha activity to other Houses? Bretonia should be rife with blackmarket demand for both food, weapons and drugs yet prices don't reflect it.

We have a single commodity buffed for a short time, is it not possible to show the effects of wars and events upon the Houses by increasing illegal demand there?


In short, are there any plans at all to change or tweak smuggling? We've had years of threads and suggestions on just about every aspect yet nothing seems to change. Is it on the backburner in terms of importance? Is it too complicated to change? Or is it just not worth the effort? As someone who actually chose to stay on Disco due to smuggling and the thrill of the chase/fast talking your way past the authorities. Can I put the final nail in that coffin or wretch it open and see what Dr Frankenstien can do?

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Jimmy The Rat | Croft's Feedback | The Rat Pack

[Fluffyball]

Smuggling should be a bit more profitable than ore mining, but that's my opinion over that matter.

The problem is, however, idle trading.

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[jammi]

The reason ore mining is more profitable is because you need multiple people to wring the most efficient profit out of it.

Incidentally, smuggling BMMs to Leeds is more profitable than ore if you take some freighters to use as loaders. What do you know? Team work wins again!

The problem with freighter smuggling points is that they are hideously broken by local resale points. They can only buy things that are sold at source or the cent/second formula goes completely out the window.

Probably why Xoria wouldn't be keen on introducing lots of them. They're deceptively difficult to introduce without completely wrecking game balance. Leeds being an isolated case has made tracking that slightly easier.

[nOmnomnOm]

How about if we.... Lets say.... Manhattan or Huston have a satellite at the back like Leeds and buff the price there for cardi and artis.

That requires teakwork then to sell a lot of them on.

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[jammi]

How about if we.... Lets say.... Manhattan or Huston have a satellite at the back like Leeds and buff the price there for cardi and artis.

That requires teakwork then to sell a lot of them on.

It's doable yes, but be prepared to have all the resale points removed for any contraband it'll buy. So basically, no-one will be able to purchase RP commodities like Cardamine at Junker / Rogue / Hacker bases any more. Artifacts would need to be removed as well, potentially from all neighbouring houses too, screwing over factions like the Gaians who have resale routes. You'll have to fly all the way to Malta for Cardamine and Crete for Artifacts, right to the source. That's the trade off that's required to make these things work.

[Croft]

The whole pricing of contraband has been discussed to death and far beyond the afterlife, just like everything else to do with smuggling, it's the proverbial dead horse.

What I'm interested in is whether or not smuggling is worth discussing or even worth while at all since every thread on the subject seems to simply sink to the bottom of the forum.
It's basically my last refuge since I don't find FL's combat all that interesting and to me the server seems to be slipping from fighting due to RP down to more or less fighting with a thin layer of RP to cover it.

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Jimmy The Rat | Croft's Feedback | The Rat Pack

[Highland Laddie]

The reason ore mining is more profitable is because you need multiple people to wring the most efficient profit out of it.

Not QUITE so true any more in the age of POBs that can store ore. Miners can simply mine and store the ore at their base and then charge docking fees to the folks who want to haul it, who can then do so at their leisure. No more lingering in mining fields and filling up customers all while waiting for pirates to show up and ruin someone's day.

I'd say smuggling is due a real buff to compete with that, at least to be on par if not more profitable.

[t0l]

The problem with buffing contraband prices across the board is that people will just powertrade at 2 AM whilst 20k below plane, getting all of a contraband buff's bonuses without any drawbacks.

Satellites can work, but freighters are so small that the prices would have to be ridiculous in order to bring profit margins above what you could get by just rolling around in an ore-filled 5k. Raise them too high, and you have 5kers ferrying commodities while freighters unload it.

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[Highland Laddie]

The problem with buffing contraband prices across the board is that people will just powertrade at 2 AM whilst 20k below plane, getting all of a contraband buff's bonuses without any drawbacks.

How is that any different than a powertrader who buys Ores from POBs at 2:00 a.m. and flies below the plane?? IMO, that's no argument for not buffing contraband. Powertraders can powertrade whenever.

If we wanted to make it more fair, buff Contraband sell prices, but also buff the purchase prices a bit so that Smugglers face greater risk of loss if they get caught or lose their cargo.

Besides...2 a.m. server time is also prime time for some OTHER time zones to be active, so they can actually do some policing and smuggler catching if that did occur.

[Lythrilux]

Here's a suggestion to deal with those who go below the plane:
How about ultra powerful NPCs spawn 14k and lower/higher below/above the plane (out of scanner range) that would pose a big threat to these sorts of traders.

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