NPCs

[FooFighter]

I've been thinking a bit about NPCs, and how they affect server gameplay on the Disco RP server, and now I've come up with two suggestions which I'd like to present to the community. I'm curious about your opinion on them.

Should NPCs be restricted to certain hotspots?

NPCs - are they a justified obstacle or just a big annoyance? On one hand, they serve as protecting force in guard systems, near planets, and also to contribute a bit to the overall atmosphere in certain locations (like Toledo, which pretty much does feel like a warzone indeed thanks to the constant swarms of NPCs fighting each others). On the other hand however, NPC patrols tend to be horribly annoying, or did you ever have some fun when some NPCs disrupted the TL you were travelling on, or when they CDed you in open space?

I propose that NPCs should only appear in certain hotspots - stations, planets, some warzones (Planet Leeds, Toledo), some chokepoints (like the passages through the Gallic minefield), guard systems and maybe some gates and jumpholes. Place them there in force, so that trespassing will actually be difficult, but remove them from anywhere else. I think players should do patrols, not NPCs - you can enjoy being chased or caught by a player, but fending off mindless NPCs...

Should NPCs be stripped from the ability to scan people?

NPCs will scan you for contraband regardless of your in-RP licenses or other justifications for carrying certain goods and start shooting you if you don't drop whatever they are demanding. Is that really necessary? You can have nice RP with people over them demanding you to drop your stuff. I once bribed an LPI officer to give me a license to carry artifacts, because I usually carry an alien artifact representing my character's necklace. I doubt you can argue about this with NPCs. And we all know how annoying the little buggers get when you carry around a faction pilot to represent your character in your ship. So - remove their ability to scan, and let players do it.

Vote, and, more importantly, post your opinion please.

[Weedalot]

true the NPC scan you regardless.. And if it cannot be fixed it should be removed and NPC can go scan themselves:)

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♠ Because we can ♠

[masternerdguy]

I think AI behavior should be as realistic as possible, and that means the current AI is not even good enough. Let's not make them into space toddlers or something, I think they need...

• More player-like dogfighting
  
• Ability to call in backup from across system
  

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Send the fat kid in to see if its a trap

[Weedalot]

I think AI behavior should be as realistic as possible, and that means the current AI is not even good enough. Let's not make them into space toddlers or something, I think they need...

• More player-like dogfighting
  
• Ability to call in backup from across system
  

but its about the fact that they scan a research ID'd vessel and fire on it if it has artifacts and so on.

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♠ Because we can ♠

[Cellulanus]

If anything I think that all NPCs should be made to be the same level as the Rheinland NPCs.

Good enough to be a threat, not so go that they are an annoyance.

[Cyberanson]

Well, I have mixed feelings about NPCs. On the one hand I would really like to see them with more powers, to keep the realism going. The Nomad systems for example should ALWAYS inherit some Nomad NPCs, regardless how many players are online at this point of time.

On the other hand, I understand the player count - NPC balance somhow. The more players are online, the less NPCs should be around. I had more then one PvP encounter, which dropped odd, due to some random NPC spam. That was really annoying. So I would like to support the idea of NPCs spawning only at logical places, like lawfuls only near planets/stations/battleships and unlawfuls everywhere else.

If anything I think that all NPCs should be made to be the same level as the Rheinland NPCs.

Good enough to be a threat, not so go that they are an annoyance.

That directly affects my last statement, because in Rheinland you can see a very odd relation of NPCs. While you can blast away every bloody NPC as a lawful, you are in a small problem situation with a Hessian Thor with four Rheinland police Banshees against you. I am periodically going crazy, when I want to pirate and some small patrol of those ships appear. Just annoying.

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ALG Waste Disposal
Faction Status - Recruitment - Message Dump

Rheinland Military Information Center | Marinenachrichtendienst Central Computer

[Implosion]

Maybe their ability to scan people should be removed partially or something.
I mean,In alaska NPC would scan you and demand your artifacts,but in Gamma they wont.
I mean,no corsair will demand your cargo in gamma,right?

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[mwerte]

I'd like for their CDs to be removed. I enjoy playing this game with other people, not the game engine and in my opinion Enjoyment =/= Realism.

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[Benjamin]

That directly affects my last statement, because in Rheinland you can see a very odd relation of NPCs. While you can blast away every bloody NPC as a lawful, you are in a small problem situation with a Hessian Thor with four Rheinland police Banshees against you. I am periodically going crazy, when I want to pirate and some small patrol of those ships appear. Just annoying.

Pirating in Rheinland in anything less than a Behemoth is a bit of a bother, really. Sometimes you'll get a little gang of LWB/Hessian NPCs who fly around you, but just as often you'll get Phantom patrols who just shoot your shield off all day and stop you talking to traders.

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Join Cryer Pharmaceuticals

[Panzer]

Yes/Yes

And ban them all permanently. Mission-only.

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