Liners and Piracy

[Silver.2]

So, lately, I was considering whether or not a Prisoner Liner dedicated towards piracy would be useful, at all. While I decided that it would, after checking the IDs of a multitude of unlawful factions, only THREE allow the use of certain Liners; The Outcast, Corsair, and Slaver IDs.

What's the reasoning behind that? If, say, the Red Hessians or the Rogues can somehow manufacture and crew capital ships, why is it that Liners - which could be fairly easily hijacked, or bought from the Zoners, or the Junkers - are inaccessible to such factions? Hell, I could even see an indie pirate using a Liner, if they had justifiable RP and the money to fund it.

[TheJarl]

You might want to check Guard ID's, for example the Hessian Guard ID allows slave liners.

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[Evan_]

Right. I agree.

On a second thought... If you flown a Pilgrim before, you know how can you get away from it with any transport without it being able to take even your shields down. If everyone could have it, everyone would know that, and noone would be able to pirate anyone with it.

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[Silver.2]

That's the only instance Ive seen, so far, Jarl. Most either allow for the faction's one or two capital ships, in addition to the previous restrictions, or literally have no practical difference.

EDIT: Well, even if they're useless as far as piracy goes, having the option open for pirate factions to use them more readily would be logical and open the door for some interesting RP.

[Evan_]

It's useless in solo-piracy only. It's unmatched firepower addition in any group. I agree, I could name an ID or two where it would be logical to allow them.

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[Silver.2]

It's useless in solo-piracy only. It's unmatched firepower addition in any group. I agree, I could name an ID or two where it would be logical to allow them.

I could see the Slave Liner and Prison Liner being used by the Liberty Rogues, Lane Hackers, Red Hessians (not just the Guard), Independent Pirates, Mollies, MAYBE Gaians, Independent Traders, Smugglers (Maybe), and the Hogosha.

[ProwlerPC]

I could see the Slave Liner and Prison Liner being used by the Liberty Rogues, Lane Hackers, Red Hessians (not just the Guard), Independent Pirates, Mollies, MAYBE Gaians, Independent Traders, Smugglers (Maybe), and the Hogosha.

Heheh, we certainly discussed the idea of hijacking one of Bretonnia's treaasured Royal Liners several times :$

But this would mean that the liner in orbit of Gaia has a secret in it's weapon systems that have kept it from being hijacked all these years......

I consider them like I do consider BSs in the sense that the in-game RP has them out as decently strong (Hawaii still stands in Sigmas even) but game mechanics for players is different. Just as in RP the RM Dread is the checkmate ship in war but a player driven RM BS is a limpiing cow.

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[Not Espi]

The Sails' Pilgrim is roleplayed as a forwarded restocking base, we of course use it to collect cargo as well.

The slave liner can shoot all of it's (slave liner) turrets without draining a single bar from the core. Those also have more range and speed than type 1 and 2 transport turrets. Only downside is the weak shield and core drain, which is essential at pirating. Also that it is SUPERslow to turn.

[Hielor]

Pirating in a liner is a very bad idea. All my time I spent trading I encountered only two pilgrims and one prision liner, both of which I could escape by flying up next to them, facing the other way and simply cruising.

By the time they turn around....

Sounds like you ran into some bad pirates, given that the cruise disruptor in the prison liner shoots 360 degrees.
~LPI Prison Liner captain

Also, I don't really think pirates need access to the prison liner--the prison liner is the lawful side of things, the slave liner is the unlawful side.

[Denelo]

Also, I don't really think pirates need access to the prison liner--the prison liner is the lawful side of things, the slave liner is the unlawful side.

Uh. It's not that cut-and-dry. Hijacking's already been mentioned, but there's numerous other ways it could happen. It's not only restricted to piracy, either. As one of the few people on the server who actually wants to roleplay a liner - and has to jump through completely nonsensical hoops to do so, as the PLiner in question is unlawful - I can relate to this first-hand.

Anyone remember this? The Ichihara escaped, but it's currently sitting in dry dock for multiple reasons. When it does get out, though, how am I going to fly it? Currently, I have it on a Researcher ID, but, despite the fact that that ID is sold on a Blood Dragon base, it isn't allowed to dock on any non-Junker, non-Order unlawful bases. It also doesn't make a ton of a sense, as the liner is hardly a research ship. Nevertheless, because of the rules, my roleplay is heavily restricted, and I have to do silly things to continue the roleplay.

"Oh, but you don't need the ship to continue your roleplay!", you might cry. Really? To roleplay is to play a role (obviously). My character would never give up an asset like that; it's simply too valuable. However, this character is allowed to fly warships belonging to direct enemies of hers (such as the Kusari Explorer), but not a liner that it makes perfect sense for her to have. Why?

The above is merely an example of why this is a very silly rule - a position I have held ever since it was implemented, long before it affected me in any way. The original idea was that liners were too powerful; people were flying them instead of regular transports for trading, and the transport-liner definition split was designed to correct that. However, that's simply not the case any more. Several transports are more powerful than most liners from weapon standpoint, and with more cargo and armor to boot. These transports are also usually smaller and more agile than the clunky liner. The Shire, Golem, and Stork immediately come to mind, among others.

What's the point of this rule, then? Is there even one anymore? I don't think so. It's outdated, but hasn't been challenged yet. I would wholeheartedly support any definition alteration to change liners back to transports. They have the worst routes in the game - most not even good routes in a 5k, much less in a liner - with less cargo, less escapability, and worse firing arcs than most transports in the game.