[Request] Improve pirate identity and behavior

[radcapricorn]

In addition to some current issues with this mechanic, I think the whole piracy angle is wanting improvement.

1. This ID masking. It serves no purpose (other than, at the moment, confusing local authorities). So what if it says MIN? I see in the ship's name it's a Marauder, or Riot Squad. I know it's a pirate, you can dispense with the pretense, thank you very much. If they're masking, they're doing a piss poor job of it. Make them take on appropriate names, e.g. Fighter Squadron, and mask their attitude as well. (EDIT: perhaps tie this in with experience, so that "skilled" pirates masquerade properly, while wannabes muck around in rust buckets with silly names).
Also, we can temporarily "unmask" them by scanning. But this can be done only once. If such pirate lives, he'll eventually turn TEL or MIN again, and this time we have no way to make him SCA, as you can only scan a ship once.

2. Behavior. So, they can scan a ship from a million kilometers away. OK, cheating, but OK, let's grant them that (where'd they steal such tech anyway?). But please, make them move and attack as a group, not individually. Give them proper means and brains to intercept traveling ships, as right now most attacks occur near stations, the only places pirates can reasonably catch up with their prey. Make some pirates raid miners.
Alternatively, take some value out of this masking. If they were presenting as ARG Fighter Squadron XXX, they could fly toward their prey first, unannounced, scan as police does, and then initiate the whole "drop your cargo" business, being at the ready for an attack. (Allow actual military to also perform scans, so as to make this more "believable").

3. Please, please bring back actual pirate raiding parties from X3. Remember Caravels or Brigantines with full escort? That stuff was scary. Where'd it all go?.. Into lone Behemoths that chase lone scouts carrying one measly energy cell. Ugh.

4. Locale. It makes no sense whatsoever for pirates running wild in core sectors (*cough* encounters *cough*). It only makes locals look even more incompetent than they already are.

5. The fixed -5 with SCA is discombobulating. Allow it go as high as +5 and as low as -30, so if player wanted, they could run some shady business with them, or go on a crusade against them. But, allowing "enemy" status would mean SCA shall require some serious asset boost.

[Tomonor]

I agree. At this point the standard enemy pirates were better and less frustrating to handle.

[nickolaiproblem]

In addition to some current issues with this mechanic, I think the whole piracy angle is wanting improvement.

1. This ID masking. It serves no purpose (other than, at the moment, confusing local authorities). So what if it says MIN? I see in the ship's name it's a Marauder, or Riot Squad. I know it's a pirate, you can dispense with the pretense, thank you very much. If they're masking, they're doing a piss poor job of it. Make them take on appropriate names, e.g. Fighter Squadron, and mask their attitude as well. (EDIT: perhaps tie this in with experience, so that "skilled" pirates masquerade properly, while wannabes muck around in rust buckets with silly names).
Also, we can temporarily "unmask" them by scanning. But this can be done only once. If such pirate lives, he'll eventually turn TEL or MIN again, and this time we have no way to make him SCA, as you can only scan a ship once.

2. Behavior. So, they can scan a ship from a million kilometers away. OK, cheating, but OK, let's grant them that (where'd they steal such tech anyway?). But please, make them move and attack as a group, not individually. Give them proper means and brains to intercept traveling ships, as right now most attacks occur near stations, the only places pirates can reasonably catch up with their prey. Make some pirates raid miners.
Alternatively, take some value out of this masking. If they were presenting as ARG Fighter Squadron XXX, they could fly toward their prey first, unannounced, scan as police does, and then initiate the whole "drop your cargo" business, being at the ready for an attack. (Allow actual military to also perform scans, so as to make this more "believable").

3. Please, please bring back actual pirate raiding parties from X3. Remember Caravels or Brigantines with full escort? That stuff was scary. Where'd it all go?.. Into lone Behemoths that chase lone scouts carrying one measly energy cell. Ugh.

4. Locale. It makes no sense whatsoever for pirates running wild in core sectors (*cough* encounters *cough*). It only makes locals look even more incompetent than they already are.

5. The fixed -5 with SCA is discombobulating. Allow it go as high as +5 and as low as -30, so if player wanted, they could run some shady business with them, or go on a crusade against them. But, allowing "enemy" status would mean SCA shall require some serious asset boost.

I think the kinda pirates you want are ones in teleportation wars 2 where they operate in groups. Local authorities fight them and they are unmasked often. The only problem is just like sca the pirates in tp wars are capped at -30 enemy.