[WileE]

Starting a new discussion thread for this idea:

I was thinking about this on my way home today. I really see only one option that gives the non-combat pilots guns without screwing things up royally. We need to modify the mission system to allow for escorts. I know we have hashed this many times before (and I know it isn't a turret), but hear me out.

As it stands right now, for a best profit run, or a load of ore, you may make up to a few million credits. For one pilot, this isn't bad. If you have to split it over the hauler and even one escort, your 3 million payout is now 1.5 million. Not bad, but not much. The escort gets no XP, no PR, no anything...just a tip. What about something like this:

The hauler has the ability, when taking a mining or hauling mission, to request escorts. On factional chat, a call goes out for X escorts. Escorts F4 hauler and agree, hauler enters them into the mission screen. Then the escorts have to accept mission (this may require pilots to be able to have more than just one mission at a time). Once the escorts accept the mission, they have x minutes to get within 2 sectors of their hauler. In essence, they are tethered to their hauler for the duration of the mission. Break the tether, fail the mission. This would allow your escorts to be able to jump into the surrounding sectors and flux/flip beacons/whatever, while the miner/hauler mines/hauls. This would also ensure that the hauler would always have help nearby. Part of this would be a tweaking of the haulers/miners ships to enhance the survivability of them to work with the new system.

Addendum:
If the hauler/miner dies due to combat (flux or otherwise), the escorts would fail their mission and receive no credit payout and lose the appropriate PR. If the hauler/miner dies due to non-combat related pilot error, the escorts would receive a 50% payout of credits, XP, and PR as they were willing to take the mission and follow through but their escortee messed up. If the escorts die due to combat (flux or pilot) but the hauler/miner docks with completed mission, the escorts receive full payout, as they did what they were paid to do...protect the hauler. (NOTE: This could be reduced to a 75% payout since they did not survive, but that seems to me to be a penalty for success) I cannot address the final one properly, as it involves POS's which are another debate. I would like to see POS's removed from general space, so that situation would not happen. If you dock at another station sucessfully, that is the tough one. Technically, your escorts were successful, but you were not (as the hauler). Looking at it from that perspective, I would say the escorts receive a limited payment for your survival, but you would have to reopen the escort process. If they want to reapply as your escorts, they can, and if they want out, they can be out.

The other part of this idea is that aggregate payouts would have to increase, as more money is being spread around. As a for instance: Every mining/hauling mission will have a max # of escorts. The total number of financial shares available for the mission are escort_max + 2. In other words, if the hauler/miner utilizes the maximum number of escorts, each escort gets 1 share, and the hauler/miner gets 2 shares. If the hauler uses less than the maximum, the hauler/miner gets the additional shares as well (he/she would be free to share if they like through /give or trade). Each mission participant would get +6PR for a completed mission. Each participant would get -6PR for a failure. I think the escorts should pick up either temporary military tags, or an "Escort" tag that would function like a military tag (since they are declaring themselves combatants). The reason we may need a new tag is with the way the military tag is built with the mission requirements.

I realize this system is not perfect. No system will be (not even turrets). I think this is a starting point however. It would create a legitimate RP/job for escorts, while giving them a little leeway to do things rather than just sit on the wing of their hauler/miner for hours (help to relieve the bordom factor). By making it a mission, with a PR payout, it legitimizes the job within the faction as well.

Now...part of this goes with another logic of mine regarding how RP works. I think PR should carry ALOT more weight than it currently does. I think missions should have variable PR payout based on their importance to the faction (maybe even pay PR for multiple factions depending on the case). I also think that RP should degrade over time faster than it does, and to a minimum of 0. This would help to encourage factionalism, which is something I think Jumpgate has been missing. Everyone working for something.

Just a thought.

[GrimGriz]

I'd like to discuss the PR thing with you in a different thread, as I have any entire thread worth of opinions on that (if you wait til after I get off work I'll start the thread).

Regarding your escort missions:
There are a few things I'd like to throw out there for you to fix:
1. Escorted pilot dies but tether never brokern.
2. Escorted pilot dies via roid/petal/whatever the escort couldn't do anything about.
3. Escorting pilot dies (thereby breaking the tether and failing the mission) but escorted pilot docks safely at destination.
4. Escorting pilot dies, escorted pilot docks safely at POS, can mission be continued when escort returns to tether range?

Also, I'd rather not up mission payouts per se to cover escorting. I'd say the destination station should reward the escorts separately from the miners payout (i.e. I don't get paid more for not having escort, thus negating my desire for escorts).

Further, I'd like escort missions to be a gamble that the fighter pilot invests in. For example, when I accept an escort mission I pay 500,000c into the escorting fund. If my escortee docks safely, I get the money back and a reward based on his delivery. If not, the 500,000c goes to pay other successful escorts.

[WileE]

I don't have a problem with uping the mission payout in the way I suggest, simply because if the hauler gets greedy and tried a high risk mission he could get burned, but you don't lose anything (payout-wise) for taking escorts. If anything, I think it would help encourage escorts, as that would pay more than alot of military missions potentially. It would be a great way to make money.

That said, I wouldn't have a problem with the hauler/miner getting their standard cut, with a given amount for each escort (paid as mission payout). That amount MUST be substantial though.

I do not like the whole gamble part at all. You are asking the escort to pay to be an escort, with the chance of getting money back. I think the more simple things are, the better.