Paulcesar - to little detail is what breaks games, I think mucho detail is a great thing :D LOVELY THING :D

I think that when Wavinator actually gets toward the finish line, he''ll decide which features should be left in and which should be cut. This one is fairly peripheral, and I don''t think it''s indispensible. We can discuss the theory to our hearts'' content, and then in the eleventh hour Wavinator might say, "Nah. I''ll think about that in version 2, but it''s too much noise for this one." I trust him to balance the game properly, so I''m taking each of these threads as a hypothetical, and only relating it to his other ideas when it seems they would touch.

quote:

---

Original post by TechnoGoth
Perhaps the player should have to be the memeber of an organization or faction in order for someone to come looking for them. If your a rouge ship of pirates and slavers, on the run from half the goverments in the galaxy, then its doubtful anyone will even go looking for you if something goes wrong.

---

True, but I''m thinking of fudging this one just for gameplay''s sake. Maybe you have a buyer, or maybe in pirate honor it''s great to blast a man with guns but shameful to let him die stranded. I am very concerned that you may end up somewhere with no way out, and a fudge might be preferrable to fidelity here.

Also, another idea really could work here: The game is set in a post-apocalyptic environment on the rise. Maybe every planet has a beacon system somewhere on it, sort of like how the Forestry deparment sprinkles survival cabins throughout the mountains (uh, I think the do, anyway...). Or this could be like call boxes on the side of the road, but they''re really just cheap satellites with ground-based call-boxes.

quote:

---

Does my spaceship insurance cover ship to ship collosions? If A drunken frieghter captain flys into me and scratches my new paint job will my insurance provide pay for a new paint job? If so will my premimus go up?

---

The most simple way to handle this (in terms of code & player knowledge) is every time there''s damage, the premiums go up, no matter who caused it. Why? Because even though you can detect who caused what effect (what object initiated what collision) you can''t tell WHY it was caused. Did you ram a ship to protect the President? Did you crash into an asteroid because your engines were disabled? Too many variable cases.

Since these are emerging businesses, I don''t think they have to be bound by insurance rules as we know them. If your ship gets damaged or destroyed, it takes points off your reputation, and the lower your rep, the more expensive it is to get coverage (works against new pilots with bigger ships, too).

quote:

---

What if the crash was my fault? Say I was in a star destroyer race through an asteroid belt and my ship got destroyed. Will they still provided a new one?

---

I''m thinking that ship loss, as opposed to damage, reduces your insurance rep by 50%. At that point, you wouldn''t be able to get coverage for another ship of equal value, but one of lesser value. It''s a balancing gimmick that reduces complexity (lord knows there''s enough already with your crew and the missions you can take... that''s where I think it should be, not here).

quote:

---

If they always provide a new ship then whats to stop me from prerforming fraud? Say my ship is old and out of date but my insurence would provide me a nice brand new model why wouldn''t I just crash my ship, or say hid in on asteroid and then return to port in an escape pod and claim that it was stolen pirates?

---

The insurance claim thingy will be either totally controlled by some game object (maybe your transponder) or some conversation option. IOW, it''s hard to lie when the game doesn''t give you the option to do so.

Now, OTOH, join up with a syndicate, and maybe you''ll get the option to scam as part of a mission...


--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...

quote:

---

Original post by krez
so give the insurance companies investigator guys who try to track down any appropriate evidence, just like they do in real life (only on a larger, more sci-fi scale). they can search the area you claimed to have lost your ship in, maybe scan ships in the area to see if they are your stolen-by-pirates ship, or whatever. instead of the fines and jail time you get for real-life insurance fraud, though, they can just jam a couple photon torpedoes up your tailpipe.

---

Hahaha!!! Now THIS would be the most unique reason to die in a video game, ever! "Dude, I scammed Galactic Mutual and they sent psionic mercenaries after me!!!"

quote:

---

EDIT: in other words, make it possible, but a pretty big risk to try. sure you can get a free ship outta faking it, but if they find out you can bet the Galactic Insurance Company will be able to afford the absolute best bounty hunters.

---

Like ICC says, maybe save this for v2.0. I like the idea, but I want you more concerned with dealing with mutinies, deadly boarding encounters, intense space battles and exploring strange new worlds than filling out paperwork in triplicate.

--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...

quote:

---

Original post by Wavinator
Hahaha!!! Now THIS would be the most unique reason to die in a video game, ever! "Dude, I scammed Galactic Mutual and they sent psionic mercenaries after me!!!"

---

Well, there's another minigame for you - editing your ship's black box recordings. And you'd better make sure you leave no traces. And ... "Hmm... Captain Wavinator's past three ships all had faulty black boxes..." or "No black box, no insurance claim. Have a nice day getting it back from the Tentacled Vlurbs" or (more a loan thingy) "Since your new ship is in fact 95% ours, Bob, out chief auditor will join your crew. He'll make sure you take good care of our investment. Heed his advice, or else." (Auditor vetoes mission - [B]ribe, [M]aroon, [C]omply?). "Yes, we will help you in your hour of need and get you a starship, but remember - You owe the Family."

See, there are other options than just filling forms (though, you could still have them try to forge some documents, no? )

[edited by - Fruny on May 10, 2004 8:31:47 PM]

quote:

---

Original post by Fruny
Well, there''s another minigame for you - editing your ship''s black box recordings.

---

Hey, this works. For players who go from dock to dock committing grand theft starship it''s also a nice supplimental.

quote:

---

"No black box, no insurance claim. Have a nice day getting it back from the Tentacled Vlurbs" or (more a loan thingy)

---

Now here''s a mission to make you angry and motivated! Maybe Galactic Mutual gives you a ride so that you can reclaim your stuff.

Just read a book called Ventus which had an AI ship who''s sole purpose was to escape a trap so that she could report back on her owner''s insurance claim.

quote:

---

"Since your new ship is in fact 95% ours, Bob, out chief auditor will join your crew. He''ll make sure you take good care of our investment. Heed his advice, or else." (Auditor vetoes mission - [B]ribe, [M]aroon, [C]omply?). "Yes, we will help you in your hour of need and get you a starship, but remember - You owe the Family ."

---

Haha, I like this, it''s like having a political officer aboard a military ship.

Great ideas!

--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...