Player Features and Ideas Discussion

my input

Personal and Corporate Uses

I like the idea, it can give a good dynamic to the whole mercenary system, if like in the bounty page, you can contract yourself out into an open market, where other mercs are listed. if you want to hire someone, simply right click, accept contract, then the merc is automatically joined into your corp, and cannot leave until the contract period is up, at which point they are automatically booted.

corporations could contract out members or groups of members for different roles, such as support/ combat support / administrative support/ command support.

allow them to lump people into a single contract.

*example* i list myself and my abilities on the open market, i ask for 250 million isk in payment
(or with the new kill reports system, 15 million per any kill im listed on),
and contract term is 1 week. contracts accepted, i approve the contract bid, i join corp for 7 days on a timer, time to go to work.

*example 2* by being in my corporation, my CEO can list me, joe schmoe, and jesus H. TF Christ, for hire at 500 million (split 4 ways, 3 pilots + corp) for 1 week, with the objective being combat support, were accepted, we fly command ships, logi, yadda yadda. contract up, everyone gets paid.

NOTE: these contracts should be able to be cancelled, at expense of original contract investment. cancellation will still allow performance feedback (see below.)

***Contract can only be accepted if both parties agree, if someone finds a merc they want in the lists based on cost and timeframe, they hit 'hire,' then the contract goes back to the original merc for approval. this rule should exclude CEO's contracting out members, if you join a merc corp, be prepared to be auctioned off for your services***

entire corps will obviously be managed by the upcoming mercenary marketplace... RIGHT CCP?!?!

Indentured Servitude Contracts

on the flip side, maybe not slavery, but indentured servitude..
someone can surrender their freedoms for a set time, in exchange for items/isk/etc... and from there they have to fulfill a service or series of services based on what they sold their soul for.

*example* noob extraordinaire noobus makenzy, recently got his skills to fly a hulk, pity he only has 5 million isk. hes also sort of a wanker and not very popular in the corps hes joined, so no one will gift him a hulk, but he doesnt wanna screw anyone over.. he can find a contract, in exchange for 1 free hulk and fitting, he surrenders his freedoms to corp X for 2 weeks, in that 2 weeks, he has to hand over X amount of minerals X,Y,and Z. now he accepted because the terms were doable and he was willing. in that two weeks he reaches his quota, his term expires, and he is now unlocked and free to leave the corp that took him in.

in the event an indentured servant goes inactive, runs off with isk/items/etc... contract can be either cancelled, or the pilot can go into default once the term is up, if the contract holder deems it so. contract default for indentured servitude can only be paid by one thing... blood.

permanent kill rights are given to that entire corp, on the person who has defaulted.
(by permanent, i mean non-expiring, not unlimited kills)

if goals arent reached however, but the attempt was made, say 75% of all categories or average of categories, the contract can go up for extension or release at the leisure of the contract issuer. below 75%, the issuer can choose between perma-kill rights, release, or extension at their leisure.


Some Ideas on Consequences

For mercenary contracts, individual, corporate groups, or entire corps, there should be a feedback system. If a contract is completed and many kills were had/lives made easier through the hiring, the hiring corp can give feedback on the mercenaries performance.
*example*
Corp X hired a group from corp Y, corp Y performed well and then contract was up, corp X can now access a feedback system where they can rate performance much like the standings system -10/+10, and click certain responses based on their assigned rating, such as..

-cooperative/friendly
-effective in combat
-effective in support
-knowledgable
-well equipped
-active
-etc...

on the flip side, if Corp Y performed like SH*T, they can recieve a low rating, and get negative responses such as..

-poorly equipped
-unknowledgable
-unfriendly/uncooperative/jerks
-ineffective
-inactive
-friendly kills


then, merc corps/individuals/groups can now gain merit in not only killboards, but also contract feedback, with their ratings listed on any medium in which they can be hired, individuals can also have displayed their active corps ratings, and their individual ratings.

these ratings can be color coded for quick reference, or if there is a star system (1-5) their average will be displayed along with total number of feedbacks given.

So if i go and screw up my mercenary career, then join a corp such as Rebirth. that has a good reputation/killboard. My corp may be listed as 8.5/10 or 4.5/5 depending on the system, whereas as an individual i will be listed as 3.8/10 or 2/5. Both will show on any contracts i am currently on for hire.




And to touch on the point of indentured servant contracts, the permanent kill rights awarded to the corporation that was cheated/scammed, should be transferable.
Mercenary corps should be able to purchase kill rights on individuals, or be given freely if a previous contract holder is feeling extra vindictive. A small mining corp transferring kill rights to a heavily armed merc corp on a pilot who happens to be missioning in a mach or mining in a hulk can be a nasty suprise.

Kill Rights market should be easily accessible, and the exchange should be instantaneous. If you default on a servitude contract.

Just some of my ideas,
TLDR dont be lazy

also i typed it at 5AM and im running on nothing but adderall

I agree with the points you're making, the system can be used and abused relatively easily. For merc corps the contracting members for services can be a useful tool though, and that's part of the risk of eve is dealing with that should it happen, and seeing as how you're joining a mercenary corp, its kind of expected that it may happen. Especially if you have a lot of skills and are knowledgeable, the different roles for contracting can change the dynamic of your stay, you may never leave dock during a war if you're administrative, providing advice alone.

On the flip side, corporations could also opt out of contracting members to other corps for service, before joining a corp it should be clearly visible whether or not the option is available, and if the corp switches from contract free to contract able, there's a 72 hour 'Administrative Overhaul' where members may leave if they wish, or stay and take the risk.

The entire risk argument is almost a moot point though, as you take risks with joining corps anyway. Any old jerk could join your corp and blow you and your pod up without a moments notice if your CEO isn't trustworthy or vigilant. Your CEO could even be the one to blow you up.



As far as the instituted slavery goes, sure it would be hard to manage, but i think there's a way. Number one, the servitude contract cannot be cancelled and corp cannot be left by the person who owes a debt of work or time. Only the original contract holder can cancel, swap default for kill-rights, or extend the period. The period of extension should not be determinable by the contract holder, but perhaps a max of 7 days, with options of shorter terms if the two parties negotiate a time frame to complete a more reasonable amount of work originally requested.


If the pilot defaults, and is docked in a station that belongs to a faction you are friendly standing with, their authorities could 'seize' the items you initially gave the pilot, instead of kill rights, leaving the defaulter with only what they've earned themselves whilst on contract. The items could be locked so they cannot be traded or transferred to anyone, which wont apply to any items they own that weren't part of the original contract. And slavery is already a part of the game in the Amarr empire, just not in a playable sense. And given that aspect of the games existence, no gameplay in that area is doing a disservice to the game.



Anyone who enters into that kind of contract will absolutely KNOW what they're getting into. They will be locked in corp X for time Y to complete goal Z. Consequences clearly stated.

But the idea isn't far off in a roleplaying sense from what you might encounter in the caldari state or even the amarr empire, the gallente and minmatar could rephrase it differently.

But hey, no one is forcing anyone into the debt contracts in exchange for items/isk/etc... they have to enter it willingly and if they're in need. I guess it wouldve done well to mention, like merc contracts, the issuer of debt contracts has to approve it after someone attempts to take it. Im not advocating someone putting up a contract and any joe schmoe accepting it, the original issuer has the opportunity to review who exactly is trying to accept it before they greenlight it.

I appreciate the feedback no matter the kind. Thanks!

Hiring out contract work is one thing provided it had a system that allowed the tagging of a condition objective. Like you must complete x mission in my journal in y time or you must bring me x items in y time. Tangible things that a player can be held too through game mechanics. Then you could tag it with a collateral penalty or sec status hit or something.

This is a really really bad idea.
It would only be used by griefers attempting to screw with people.

Anything your trying to attempt with this could be managed better by contracts.

Yes.

Collateral is good. Sec status would be a no-no, that can be abused, and unless someones dying, sec status shouldn't be effected. In the servitude contracts, if the pilot in question is at a station you have good standing with, I think the option to "repo" what they gained from the contract would be neat. Debt contracts should pay isk after the contract is finished, fulfill the role or don't get paid.

Sure, but anyone making or accepting one of these instantly becomes KOS in Minnie and Gallente space, hits -10 standing with both, and the slave player can be freed by wither NPCs or players aligned with those two races (Not only the militia.)