[netburnr]

An Australian bird told me that the cargo ships it saw in Jumpgate Evolution were very massive and very well protected. Something along the lines of couldn't make a dent in it.

This is the basis of my idea.

If you want to protect the PvE-ers by making their ships really safe, thats cool, they can't shoot guns, so we shouldn't be able to use those against them.

Ok, so right now we have the "thief" version of pirating. You want us to use a magical beam to transfer "stuff" and possibly bombs with no whay to choose.

So I propose something in the middle.

You still use a beam, or some skill, more than just flying up to someone...

However, instead of randomly pulling their cargo, you "hack" their ship. Once hacked, you can take a reasonable (balanced in beta) set amount from a player. You can also do other stuff like get fuel, take a few pieces of cargo, maybe more if ya'll can think of stuff.

Of coarse the whole time your trying to hack them, they will be launching missiles at you, and all the other typical defenses that are used against burglers.

edit: Please respect the thread and do not mention turrets. kthnxbbq

[GrimGriz]

but you already mentioned turrets....

I think only the level 50 hauler will be almost invincible. I also have a hard time justifying having to hack a ship to magically transfer commodities through the hold.

If they want burglar piracy to work in Jumpgate Evolution all they have to do is take away the traps and give the victims enough missle slots to make it risky for the pirate.

[Eraser55]

Agree with GG, we are pirates not hackers or thiefs.. just remove or reduce trap damage.. And Im sure even if they are very hard do kill, a pirate team could still manage to pod someone if they got enough firepower.

[Tritian]

Honestly, the freighter is already impossible to kill alone w/ the Guardian shield and nukes. I was hoping in Jumpgate Evolution they would revisit that decision. If ship defenses get too powerful, people will find ways to exploit those ships (such as nuking jumpgates at 0 range to kill everyone around you, etc)

And i'd rather give them turrets then a bunch of missiles. Atleast w/ turrets, they have to aim. Jumpgate fire and forget missiles are horrible. I hope Jumpgate Evolution corrects this by making a majority of missiles require a missile locks, and dodgeable. Hopefully even a flare-type avoidance system.

I'd also like to see an engine-disruptor weapon for pirates, so they can force haulers to stop.

[Tim]

He also said those giant ships weren't player controlled.. they are AI...

[QrazyKermi]

I think pirates should have to take down the shields of their victim prior to "beaming" out anything. Some kind of mod-x EMP device that would also take their shields down, and anyone else's within X range (to be determined in beta, I imagine).

[Hornet]

The way pirating is now I think isnt useful at all, or just plain isnt used. If they wish to keep cargo stealing in the game, it needs some different concepts. Nets isnt a bad start.





turrets.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by Hornet

The way pirating is now I think isnt useful at all, or just plain isnt used. If they wish to keep cargo stealing in the game, it needs some different concepts. Nets isnt a bad start.





turrets.

Agreed.. tho there isn't much of anything used in game these days, save for the occasional profit haul or exp run. Mostly, it's just about fluxing and rote pvp.

Having said that, with AI folks to steal from, pirating will no longer depend on victims. As a result, there are probably a few ways to make pirating viable without having to worry so much about game balance. (it's always easier to balance against AI than against other players)

[GrimGriz]

Originally Posted by Tim

Having said that, with AI folks to steal from, pirating will no longer depend on victims. As a result, there are probably a few ways to make pirating viable without having to worry so much about game balance. (it's always easier to balance against AI than against other players)

True enough, but I'd be really surprised if they bother with having the AI respond to BuT demands. People rarely stole cargo because of the unfairness of the trap and the ease of BuT piracy. Now it's just not easy enough to find someone to steal from even if you were to try to do it

[Ambrosius]

Piracy was better back when EEA was around . . .

Really.

Insight piracy has been FUBAR from the beginning. We need to go back to our roots with good old PoD piracy. Real pirates rarely wanted cargo unless it was LOOT. But there should somehow be limits put on on PoD piracy (extortion if you prefer).

FWIW "mugger" is not really a good analogy for the Jumpgate "Pirate" since the mugger physically assaults a person until they are unable to resist and then steals; the extortionist, on the other hand, steals via intimidation and threat.

[Tritian]

Originally Posted by Tim

Agreed.. tho there isn't much of anything used in game these days, save for the occasional profit haul or exp run. Mostly, it's just about fluxing and rote pvp.

Having said that, with AI folks to steal from, pirating will no longer depend on victims. As a result, there are probably a few ways to make pirating viable without having to worry so much about game balance. (it's always easier to balance against AI than against other players)

Uhh, the whole fun aspect of piracy in Jumpgate was that you were pirating real people. Pirating AI haulers sounds fun for like, maybe 5 minutes.

Also being pirated by AI doesn't sound like all that much fun either.

These talks of AI really give me pause for concern. I dont see how this game can be fun with AI doing everything. Might as well play a single player game like Freelancer.

I'll reserve final judgement until I get in the beta. But as of now, i'm definately concerned about how the AI server will effect gameplay.

[Istanbul]

but, with ai haulers, if you're having little to no luck on the PCs, you can make a hit on the NPCs to keep yourself afloat, without having to resort to OOC (for a pirate) type activities (i.e. mining or hauling for profit).