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Covert Ops

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 12:59 pm
by pikolinianita
(Inspired by New Competition thread - hope It could be used somewhre)

There is Outlaw part of the game, but it is quite few players who follow this route. but maybe we could allow normal players play as villains for some time, "special Agent under cover" story.
When you get "False ID" your faction rating are TEMPORARILY changed:

- you get small positive pirate ranking. But one cannot get it too high - to not spoil Cover - so NPC missions are limited, Outlaw mission too, I think.
- Very negative Ashar, Wesbec, Galfed, Alliance, VP (Could be fixed, and no chance for getting positive, you won't to spoil your "story" )
- Con-fed - all above possible
- Other Ranks - All set to 0, no gain while undercover (New character, perfect cover, no traceable connections between two ID),
OR
no change, normal gain (Legend: When you are back to your normal life your achievments are added to your "true" ID, so for save Dev time and server resources they are added in real time)

How to get false ID? No idea, Quest and high fee for example. There should be set minimum time for having False ID (week - month - fabrication of story is costly, and has to be utilised fully). It could be special Space Suit (personal loadout), not Special/pod, to allow Ship changing., or it could be option hidden somewhere.

How to resign? few clicks, when time is up :)

How to get it again? High fee again.


What one gain with false ID? Outlaw missions, combat and Cargo. not sure about NPCs - Should be some plus for being pirate.

But real gain is for dev, one could use "outlaw missions" in next Coops tournaments, or other contests.

Re: Covert Ops

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 5:22 pm
by von Wolfenbitten
Since it was always said that Wesbec were possibly a little bit shady it should be possible for ppl to haul Outlaw shipments and not lose their Wesbec ability. The possibility of losing my Wesbec connection is really the only thing that keeps me "legit".

All goodRe: Covert Ops

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 11:20 pm
by Sparky
Well done guys like your thinking on this one...

Re: Covert Ops

Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 9:08 pm
by Pablem
ok, this one really tweaks me on the game story side. A secret ID should reset ALL of your standings back to base. That wouldn't mean that you have to pull in a harvester due to lack of ORSA standing, but it does mean you wouldn't be able to plant one down until you build your secret ID's ORSA standing up to par. It also puts a further restriction on its use and doesn't make it a "get to be a Pirate free" card.

I agree that the outlaws are vastly undermanned. Part of that is that there is nothing that explains this particular route to new players. In fact it is just the opposite, new players are pushed into combat and told to avoid hitting GalFed and other greenies, and that make them the enemies of the pirates fairly quickly.

My first option would be to have a new NPC in Feris that introduces the pirate side of the business and explains the trade-off. Maybe even suggest that it is possible to tread the line if you are careful.

The secret id should be something for much later. An NPC that starts talking to you at level 50 or 75 and provides a mission chain to prove your loyalty to the secret order (a new faction?). This would eventually lead to your secret ID, probably a special/pod that has to be installed on your ship to "change" it's ID as well. Installing it should cost a faction token. You can earn the faction token from the secret order by doing courier style missions. Once installed, your factions switch to those of your secret id. Don't forget to remove it before you go on your next pirate hunting mission.

Remove the special/pod and you are back to your original id.

Most of this is straightforward and already in the code base with one exception.....the backup table for the secret id's faction ratings and the probable rewrite of each store and NPC's faction filter check. There is also the question of how NPCs...these are unique individuals that know you personally. An Ashar store clerk is constantly changing, but Temperance will recognize your face if you've already started her mission chain.

Re: Covert Ops

Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 9:48 pm
by Jager 602
Well, we're in a universe where natural and artificial organs are traded on a regular basis, almost everyone of note has the ability to utilize implants, and nanotechnology is an everyday item. Perhaps there can be an implant with nanotechnology that lets you alter your appearance enough to pass for your secret ID, including passing artificial scans due to the complexity of the technology. It would have to be a high level implant, and one trade-off would be that you would lose the skill points that implant would have gotten you otherwise. The pod/special for your ship would change its ID/IFF signature and also utilize nanotech to alter its appearance enough that couldn't simply be recognized visually, perhaps. It's an interesting idea; the addition of an NPC in Feris like you suggest would be great as well.