I'm playing the bad guy mostly and tried a lot of roleplay ways while doing it. I prefer to mix the hardcore and soft attitude while pirating traders. I'm interested in traders opinions... what is your favourite one?
Some explanation:
Hardcore piracy:
Acting like a d*ck, who dont really want to chit-chat. Draining your shield while shouting with you. Never ask for money, just to drop your cargo and nearly impossible to impress him to let you go. Mostly ends with a blue message or with the loss of your cargo.
Softcore piracy:
Acting like a polite gentleman/wise man who always opened for negotioations. Asking for a fair price to let you go or some share from your cargo. During the chat, you could shout for help via private channel and after the LN dreads arrived, you can escape, or not. Mostly ends with blue messages or you will be poorer with some millions.
Manticore piracy:
Acting like a j*rk and starts to shoot on you before you could stop your ship. You will be stressed and forced to pay as soon as possible. This contains the well known, 10, 9, 8... thingie too or the 3Mordai.
Thanks in advance
Since this is a game, I do not like situations where I do not have a choice/chance to negotiate (hardcore and manticore).
Also, in case of manticore type pirates, I usually do some paperwork after the encounter if you know what I mean. Luckily, I only met a "manticore" one time so far.
The "Hardcore piracy: Drop all cargo or die" type of pirate deserves nothing but gunfire as an answer. Don't be surprised if you never get anybody to roleplay with you. From experience, I go to quite some length to ensure that these pirates fail in the end.
The "Manticore" ends on the sanction list rather sooner than later. The confusion that he causes by putting pressure on the player instead of the character will make him make mistakes himself. With a lack of goodwill against such a player type, many will go for the sanction report. From experience, I blow up to these players because I screen as a priority. Revenge is best served cold.
Obviously, someone like this does not get roleplay.
The "Softcore" pirate is the only one I would likely get into a conversation with and he would also very likely be the only one who I pay in the end. He gives me the idea that I am a part of a game, not just his toy to play with as the player wants. I do not care whether the char is cute, wise or whatever, as long as I realize that the player behind the char is looking for real interaction.
The poll however is a really weird one. My vote is obvious.
I met so few pirates during my time being back here, that I can't even make a proper choice.
I usually shoot all snub-pirates down and show some backbone of my own while I will almost always comply to trans/gb/cruiser pirates.
The Hardcore and Manticore options are usually the same kind of person behind the keyboard. I by and large agree with the "Softcore" options, but do think that name is misleading. The only part of that option I don't like is the "Acting like a polite gentleman/wise man", you can still roleplay as an impatient, menacing etc etc pirate yet be open to negiotiation and conversation. I hope that that is how I come across when traders encounter me. So I voted for that option, just no need to assume that we are flying "soft" characters.
None of these options are what I'd go for.
The best pirate encounter for me is one that's the right balance of 'realistic' and 'fair'. That means that I expect better than "2mordai" not only because I imagine pirates are capable of speaking English, but also because two million is generally a rather pitiful demand. At the same time, ten million for anything short of ore is rarely worth paying, even if from a roleplay perspective it is still a low demand (given I'm flying a 200+ million ship).
I expect a pirate to be pushy. To want me to pay up quickly and then bugger off. No time for chit-chat in most situations.
With the current transport balance, however, I'd personally PLAY a hardcore transport pirate: demand all the cargo that fits in my hold (let's say 3k), and maybe a nice quick million to top it off. And tough luck if you're not paying, because my firepower is plenty to take all 5k of your cargo by force.
(12-27-2013, 08:43 PM)Haste Wrote: [ -> ]And tough luck if you're not paying, because my firepower is plenty to take all 5k of your cargo by force.
No more than 3k cargo is dropped after destroying trade ship.
When I was cargo pirating in Shikoku, I wasn't demanding more than 3k of cargo. Later on we switched to half cargo of ship to make it more fair to everyone.
Hardcore Pirate - I would rather die then give into these pirates. Jettison cargo, destroy it, and then open up the guns.
Softcore Pirates - Will almost always pay the demand ( as long as it is reasonable)
Manticore Pirates - Will end up getting sanctioned
I'm somewhere in the middle. Anyone see treasure planet? I try to adopt the personality and 'sound' of Captain Silver. Such a traditional pirate accent and demeanor. I start out soft, am usually open to negotiations. After about 30 seconds though if I get no response, or an outright refusal (usually accompanying an insult), I switch to hard. I rarely 'count down' but once you say 20 or 30 seconds to comply/respond, its easy to tell when its past, you have to draw a line at some point, and either back down or go all the way!
"Come now me maties, we can be talkin' dis one owt now, can't wee?
No? Den to da blue blaziz of hell witcha!"
etc etc etc. I don't even care about blue messages, sometimes just getting to shoot is fun, even when you know you aren't gonna get to destroy them. Gets everyone's heart pumpin!
All I see are two extreme facets, not even three. The kind of pirate I like is the kind that maintains suspence of disbelief, not the kind that caters to whiners. OPG (later Sails) were amongst my most favourite factions because of their merciless and successful pirating.