In the space game I''m working on some of the factions have security forces that the player can join. Depending on the faction, they can be a cop, a syndicate enforcer, or even a "heresy suppressor" for a totalitarian church. I have gameplay for this about 60% fleshed out, but I''m wondering what you guys think would be interesting features and gameplay for being a cop? Here''s what I''m leaning towards: * Promotion - Based not just on performance, but on reputation with the leaders. Making enemies with the brass is bad for your career, and there are specific characters you can piss off who will block you, or may even try to get you killed! * Equipment - Equipment is free, but you get a point allowance based on your rank. Cooler toys go to the higher ranking guys. * Corruption - Your fellow officers could be bad, or you could be bad. Lots of room for ideas here... for instance, if you bust pirates, you might keep the loot by hiding it in a special cargo slot of your ship (like Han Solo''s smuggling compartments). * Connections - Who you know gets you info, goods, and assistance. This tells you when a vital shipment or person is entering or leaving the area. * Evidence - Evidence is an object, located either in some media (like a recording) or in an NPC''s head. Players could find themselves protecting vital NPCs before a trial, or looking to take out that NPC if they''re on the other side or corrupt. Missions The biggest part of this would be the assignments. * Beat Cop Patrols - Player gets an area to cover and important sites. Within the area, events are always being spawned. Cops, for instnace, get assigned to pirate attacks, cargo jackings, accidents, and hazzards. Each of these are mini missions with objectives and rewards / penalties, all spawned on the fly. * Infiltration - Player is assigned to join an enemy faction and gain certain evidence, go on specific missions, or etc. If they''re cops, they can''t kill others, even if the organization orders them to. Comments appreciated... -------------------- Just waiting for the mothership...

As you gain rank, it seems natural that you would want to get in on the more interesting stuff, and away from beat patrols. Assumably, you would want to get selected for a special investigations division, an anti smuggling division, etc. It is here where the missions could become more interesting and protracted. In fact, it seems reasonable that a certain investigative mission might last a long time, and in the interim, unrelated sub-missions take place.

Some ideas include stakeouts (could be boring, be sure to make something interesting happen), disguises, infiltration, search warrants, tailing individuals, and fences. Fences are ex-cons or small time cons who are sitting on the fence. They have an inside track on what''s going on in the street, but are generally coerced into giving info to the police in exchange for not being arrested. A good detective will build relationships with fences for information.

If your cop fails in two or three missions, he gets assigned to traffic control.

I like the idea of special investigations - into a murder or big robbery. It might have to get quite detailed though. Yet if you have a criminal class as well some players might like teaming up with a cop. The criminal commits the crime. The cop investigates and the criminal tries to stay ahead of the cop. If might be fun for both players but would need special game rules to prevent cheating.

Let''s not leave out some of the classic cooperative elements of police work: Bad Cop/Good Cop (or my personal fave Bad Cop/Worse Cop), Punisher-style with a SWAT or Spec Ops type officer and his techno geek buddy back at the base, front door/back door busts, stings, pilot and shooter, all kinds of good stuff.

Would it be too much to have not only enforcement officers but interrogation specialists, sting operatives, and techie cops?

Plus, you need to have somebody watching your back when you''re beating a confession out of a perp.

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-WarMage
..."We''re LAPD! We''re the most hated cops in the Free World! My own momma tells people I''m a drug dealer!" - Chris Tucker Rush Hour (1)