(09-22-2014, 07:50 AM)Snak3 Wrote: Then you can shoot down one who refuses to halt as per rules, but not make new piracy demand? If that's the case, it's stupid.
No, because "Halt" does not equate to beginning an engagement. You have to drop their shields 50%, and if, in that time, you cannot at least say "2millordai" (or something...), you have more pressing issues than whether you're in a fight or not...
Humor me for a minute and join in my hypothetical situation.
You're on a ship that can only pirate outside of House space, waiting neat the jumpgate or hole into house space, but currently are not in it. You CD a 5k carrying valuable cargo, and tell him something along the lines of "Halt." Before you can finish typing out a demand as to specifics, such as paying a few mil, or that he drop his cargo, he thrusts away without saying anything and goes through the hole/gate.
The problem is that the rules are not clear in regard to this. One could argue that a demand to halt IS a demand, or that a demand hasn't been made until the pirate asks for something specific. Should pirates tell traders to stop and make a demand in one line, or should they have to make it on separate lines? One could easily tell a ship to halt, demand something such as money from them, and tell them that if they don't they'll be engaged all on one line.
Halt isn't an engagement, that's not the problem, the problem is if Halt is a demand, and the rules are too vague on this.
(09-21-2014, 08:03 AM)Echo 7-7 Wrote: A single, continuous engagement is legal if the aggressors follow the relevant rules for the location at the start of the engagement.
In plain english: you can chase your targets where ever they go, but if they manage to escape well beyond scanner range when they've jumped to a new system, the initial engagement is over.
The scanner range of which ship? The range of the aggressors scanner, or the range of the attacked ship? With the new system scanners work on, trade ships can easily mount Battleship scanners, and thus have a huge advantage over pirates. So, what defines "well beyond scanner range?" Is it an arbitrary amount, such as 10k? Is it the scanner rnage of the attacking ship? Cause that will lead to lots of sanctions being filed with no actual grounds for it.
The problem here isn't entirely rules that aren't clearly defined, it's rules that are outdated.
Just realized I went on a bit of a tangent here, but the point is still valid.