Wanted to edit a typo but replied from mobile. Plz remove

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I hear you guys regarding no reason to log. But that's a more complex issue to solve with the overall gameplay loop. I made this thread to try to figure out a simple way to get people to log slightly more often, and it looks the /nodock is the way to go.

But let's say we have /nodock now, but there are still no smugglers to chase. I think @Shimamori is right about having multiple reasons to log or not. I just don't see an easy solution to that. Like maybe there need to be more smuggling routes, or more reasons for unlawfuls to exist in that house. I mean in the end you can always try to get some people together for an in-game event, etc. I guess it goes back to there not being enough people on the server, but that's not something easy to fix either.

Maybe if /nodock does get implemented, we can see what the next hurdle is to cross, but I'd love to have more suggestions about next steps.

Tbh, I don't think introducing more smuggler routes helps. Chasing and interacting smugglers has been one of the most cancerous and brain-dead activity on disco I have ever engaged in, arguably second worst after pob sieging at 4 am. Smugglers do their best to avoid you and you have to guess one of the two-three jumpholes they are taking. If you are playing alone there is a very high chance there will be no encounter and you have been flying for half an hour for no reason. Even if you do get a smuggler, the RP is rather predictable and meh (bribing - you agree/disagree and shoot/fine). Quite often a smuggler caught won't act as a person in trouble but rather give you a few snarky comments and try to F3 at the nearest base. With some CM skills, it's tough to stop this, especially if you are alone.

With players number low, I would suggest looking more into some unique police PvE. Unique NPC smugglers with rare commodity, some unique missions, etc, so that at least while you are waiting for a trader/unlawful to show up you can do something. Give the police factions more reasons to report on their comm channels aside from "today I patrolled X and nothing happened. Borders are secured". While this is a very good message normally and what the police should strive for inRP, this is a game and people are looking for fun and won't log for an hour just to waste another 5 minutes reporting nothing happened. PvE should not replace player interaction ofc but it should augment and support it by keeping people busy in between and while waiting for interaction. For police, this is particularly important because you do not raid and create activity as unlawfuls, you wait.

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(11-27-2023, 04:02 AM)Shimamori Wrote: Tbh, I don't think introducing more smuggler routes helps. Chasing and interacting smugglers has been one of the most cancerous and brain-dead activity on disco I have ever engaged in, arguably second worst after pob sieging at 4 am. Smugglers do their best to avoid you and you have to guess one of the two-three jumpholes they are taking. If you are playing alone there is a very high chance there will be no encounter and you have been flying for half an hour for no reason. Even if you do get a smuggler, the RP is rather predictable and meh (bribing - you agree/disagree and shoot/fine). Quite often a smuggler caught won't act as a person in trouble but rather give you a few snarky comments and try to F3 at the nearest base. With some CM skills, it's tough to stop this, especially if you are alone.

With players number low, I would suggest looking more into some unique police PvE. Unique NPC smugglers with rare commodity, some unique missions, etc, so that at least while you are waiting for a trader/unlawful to show up you can do something. Give the police factions more reasons to report on their comm channels aside from "today I patrolled X and nothing happened. Borders are secured". While this is a very good message normally and what the police should strive for inRP, this is a game and people are looking for fun and won't log for an hour just to waste another 5 minutes reporting nothing happened. PvE should not replace player interaction ofc but it should augment and support it by keeping people busy in between and while waiting for interaction. For police, this is particularly important because you do not raid and create activity as unlawfuls, you wait.

Quote: Chasing and interacting smugglers has been one of the most cancerous and brain-dead activity on disco I have ever engaged in, arguably second worst after pob sieging at 4 am. Smugglers do their best to avoid you and you have to guess one of the two-three jumpholes they are taking.

Different experience for me. using tlagsnet it is very easy to predict things, and playing mind games with smugglers, like they know you will go this route, then i will go this route, but he knows and etc.

Quote:try to F3 at the nearest base.

That is what for nodock or having big enough guns to be quick and not needing nodock then.
Or being stealthy enough in general with Cloak

Quote:Give the police factions more reasons to report on their comm channels aside from "today I patrolled X and nothing happened. Borders are secured". While this is a very good message normally and what the police should strive for inRP, this is a game and people are looking for fun and won't log for an hour just to waste another 5 minutes reporting nothing happened.

well, there was at least plenty of activity for Liberty, but i can agree that any other house is probably needing something else in addition. Like having unique police only proffitable stuff to transport around or smth. This cargo can be having good selling point for criminals in addition and making them very willing trying to rob police (hehe prisoners carried by Police armored transports?)

As well as every house should be having may be something as proffitable in terms of smuggling as artifacts perhaps

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darkwind Wrote: Different experience for me. using tlagsnet it is very easy to predict things, and playing mind games with smugglers, like they know you will go this route, then i will go this route, but he knows and etc.

Most smugglers flying through Kusari with someone logged in on the lawful side would just use jumpholes without ever using a trade lane. They would fly somewhere off the plane so that the only way to catch them is somewhere near the jumphole and here you just have to guess. And in systems like Shikoku frequented by cardi smugglers we are talking like 120k from Kyushu/NT to Galileo/Kepler so it also takes a lot of time waiting.

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why rp as police when you can be an admiral ?
anything in-game police do, navy can do better, tlagsnet is not as useful since there's only few players on server and nodock is not needed if dps of bs is high enough and it is .
the only way to increase police numbers would be to nerf navy ID, so it can't enforce laws or attack smugglers and pirates in house space
probably it's time to combine it ?

/police for indies
nodock on indies sounds like itll just be abused by shitheads without official faction leadership to break their ankles if they misuse it
pay them a small (but not totally insignificant) amount of money for every X amount of lane they pass through. 10k every 100 lane rings or something, whatever, just make it less than trading. paid to patrol.
i dont really care if they fly cruisers. maybe remove battlecruisers if you have to? idk
the last time we tried to have corrupt LPI they were sanctioned to hell and back.
severely nerfing IDs just to make police "appealing" will just get you yelled at (at best) and have people/entire factions quit (realistically)

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Just another small idea to promote police roleplay:

Give them another income source than fines. Inner house trading is ok, but should be done by corporates.

If you capture the pirate pilot commodities from missions, you can sell them for 50 sc at npc bases. why not adding a pob feature for prison pobs? You could unload the pirates on it and it will be turned into criminals/prisoners (which can be exported by police convoys [which can be intercepted by unlawfuls])

Of course it should also be possible for unlawfuls to turn civial pilots into slaves.
(or for the barbarians corsairs to turn them into food)

they could generate pob credits (convict labour), but you want to remove them from your pob as soon as possible because they'll consume your FOW supplies.

Damn, what saronsen mentioned is a great gimmick - is that even possible technically? Give cops 200k/hour if travelling the tradelanes - it's like 15% of max trading profit but I guarantee you would attract players

you have tlagsnet which detect if players enters/exit it should be possible without much code writing