These forums have been archived and are now read-only.

The new forums are live and can be found at https://forums.eveonline.com/

Player Features and Ideas Discussion

 
  • Topic is locked indefinitely.
 

Make ransoms official
Author
Previous Topic Next Topic
Biz Quick
Hope and Change
#1 - 2012-01-28 21:44:16 UTC
Ransoming is a long-held pirating tradition. However, many players will not accept due to dishonoring by the pirates.

Here's an idea:

1: The option to open a box, similar to the "give money" screen where an amount is agree'd to (right click on player you have targeted like "initiate ransom". Upon accepting, the victim has 12 hrs of time to play, unmolested by the aggressor. Breaking this agreement would mean the same sec. hit as a pod kill. Now, I know many of you would never accept a ransom from a -10. And you would be right. However, many pirates like to maintain a non-RED status and like to avoid ship destruction and would readily agree to a 12 hr peace in exchange for some isk. I know I would.

2. Create some log for this transaction for bragging rights. Names, dates, amounts.


Whatcha think?
mxzf
Shovel Bros
#2 - 2012-01-28 21:48:16 UTC  |  Edited by: mxzf
It won't work, pirates don't care enough about their standings to mind a sec hit and victims still won't trust them regardless. Any ransom system, by necessity, must come down to trust (which is why any in-game system cannot work). Either the system would be to simple to ignore (and things would stay status quo) or it would be exploited and things would be worse than now.

The only way to make ransoms work is for the pirates to build up a reputation of honesty. There are some pirates (people like the Tuskers come to mind) that I would agree to pay ransom to because they have built up a reputation for honoring ransoms, but very few pirates have taken the time to build up that reputation, and therein lies the issue.
Biz Quick
Hope and Change
#3 - 2012-01-28 21:58:29 UTC  |  Edited by: Biz Quick
Well, it would depend. I do some pirating, but I maintain a sec of -1.5 to -2.5 usually.

If you get ransomed by someone with -7.5, then duh...yeah don't accept and just sit there and die. However, I think an option like this WOULD work if you are ransomed by a player with -1 to -3. Obviously, this player does care about their sec and does not want to be KOS for all EVE, which is what POD kills do in a big hurry.

I have been a pirate on and off since late 2006, and I think this would be a fun way to make ransoms a real part of the game with an agreement and a record of the transaction.


EDIT"

Yeah I agree, some folks have a good rep for honoring ransoms. A real system might make it easier. Also, I get tired of have "the big fish that got away" stories because there is no record.

for example, I once ransomed 2 Maelstroms in a row (15 minutes apart) in my kiting Arbitrator. Does anyone believe me?? Well yes, but only because I kept the logs of the covos. However, a system would make this all much easier.
Simi Kusoni
HelloKittyFanclub
#4 - 2012-01-28 22:26:46 UTC
Surely you could just ransom them through this system, then warp off and let your friends kill him? Or if it's done by whether or not you're on the mail, warp to a gate and jump before they do so.

The ransom lasting for twelve hours is also a bit long, supposing that this system worked perfectly that person now has twelve hours to be an idiot in your system and you can't kill him for it without a massive sec hit. This is a bit of an issue when quite often you catch the same people numerous times in one session. (Why do they always come back?!)

It would be better in my opinion to only count the ransom as broken if you killed him before that player has gone through a session change.

As for "official" ransoms, I think it would be better done (if done at all) through the contract system. Perhaps in a method similar to courier contracts.

[center]"I don't troll, I just give overly blunt responses that annoy people who are wrong but don't want to admit it. It's not my fault that people have sensitive feelings"  -MXZF[/center]
XXSketchxx
Sniggerdly
Pandemic Legion
#5 - 2012-01-29 00:41:10 UTC
Ransoms are not something that should be officiated. Pirates answer to no one. If you think its worth it to risk getting shot anyway by paying the ransom to be free, then you do so. If not, then don't pay the ransom and you die. Its simple and working as it should be.

Putting constraints on it would be silly.
Kahega Amielden
Rifterlings
#6 - 2012-01-29 01:27:14 UTC
So, this mechanic would be useful in situations where

-the aggressor wanted to ransom rather than destroy the ship
-The aggressor is alone, if he had any friends then the 12 hour safety net from one person is meaningless.
-The aggressor cares about his sec status.


...Far too situational.
mxzf
Shovel Bros
#7 - 2012-01-29 03:43:10 UTC
XXSketchxx wrote:
Ransoms are not something that should be officiated. Pirates answer to no one. If you think its worth it to risk getting shot anyway by paying the ransom to be free, then you do so. If not, then don't pay the ransom and you die. Its simple and working as it should be.

Putting constraints on it would be silly.


This.

Besides, if you think about it, the current system is pretty darn close to real life piracy too. I mean, if a pirate ship sailed up next to you and demanded payment in order to leave you alone, there'd be nothing stopping him from sinking your ship anyways (a more modern example would be a mugging or some such).
Bearilian
Man Eating Bears
#8 - 2012-01-29 11:24:59 UTC  |  Edited by: Bearilian
hmmm. intriguing. i kinda agree that the system is working as intended. if there was to be some form of official ransom mechanic, then it would only work if the person paying the ransom was actually garunteed safe passage, which is near imposible withought having the system auto pilot you to a station or the next gate. and while in warp, then the money transaction goes through that was already put in motion. since people are quoting real life, this should make sense because no pirate or theif is going to stay around and continue to harrass their victims if they let them go. probably just leave it as is, but its just i love designing new methods and ideas to improve gameplay.

-on a side note, and one of the main reasons why i like this idea, is that contracts need major, major work. their potential should be limitless. the things that we should be able to input as commands, instructions, orders, payments, requests could be so intriguingly interactive. I'll go with the ransoming idea for an example;
A gang traps a pilot, and starts talking about ransoms, letting them go for isk, save their ship, bla bla bla. Either the agressors or the victim could open up the contract page, and create a terms of agreement. "agressor's team leader (or all agressors) will warp to (warp fleet to) "speciified destination" (warpgate, station, astroid, etc..). victim will warp, to "specified destination" or to anywhere of their choice. victim will pay 50 mil isk once 1au away from contract origin)
-the trigger for the aggressors geting the money in the contract after they accept, would be that both parties have warped to their destination. after the victim has travelled over 1 au the the money accepted in the contract will be transfered. (of course the victim has to have enough money to even make or accept the contract). and the pirate is free to emiediately rechase down their prey..
-and dont bash my example, because you can take the mechanics i have suggested and practically make the contract say what ever you want. i'm sure there would be countless tricks and exploits, but then it would be very interesting to see what people could come up with. you could have time delays, or triggers at a specific time. or when a player does something. you could have pirate gangs that do not ever offer anything other than a 20 second head start...

maybe its about time i made this into its own thread. what do you guys think?