Improving the pirates

from Sins Forums
I think the pirates in this game could be much more complex and fun. I'm just going to provide a lot of theoretical scenarios that could play out in a game that I think would make the pirates more interesting and fun. One thing I will mention is that I'm working under the assumption that instead of the current system where there are just "pirates", there are now different pirate factions.

A large pirate fleet has arrived at one of your planets and you probably won't be able to fight them off. Since they are pirates, all they want is to pillage your planet for money and other resources. You contact the pirate fleet's leader and offer them a sum of money, resources, ships, or something else to leave you alone.

Two pirate factions are fighting each other in one of your planet's gravity wells. You have a number of options. You can stand back and wait to see who wins, then destroy the survivors. You can contact one of the fleets and make an agreement that you will help them destroy the other faction in exchange for them to withdraw from your territory after the fight, or perhaps in exchange for resources.

You are contacted by a pirate leader who wants to buy safe passage in your territory from you. This will increase your resource income, but they probably want this so they had hide from some other faction. Expect an increase in pirate attacks from other factions.

You are contacted by a pirate leader who is planning a raid on a planet owned by a rival empire. They are asking you for money to fund more ships for this raid. Since all they want is to destroy it and loot the wreckage, it will then be left empty for you to move in and colonize. The more money you give them, the larger the fleet they attack with is.

You want to attack an allied planet without going to war with them? How about paying a pirate faction to make one of your fleets look like theirs. If all goes well, your allies will think they are just being attacked by pirates. They might figure out it's you, though, and then everyone in the galaxy will know how much of a devious evil bastard you are.

I will probably think of more later, I'll post them if I do.

14,508 views 26 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
If we add pirate factions, the pirates would just take a step closer to becoming real players. I mean, most of those scenarios could just happen with humans playing with each other in multiplayer.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
The pirates wouldn't own planets or have territory, though. And most of those wouldn't happen with humans in multiplayer because players are motivated by expanding their territory and conquering everyone, but the pirates are just motivated by getting money.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Hiring the Pirates as Mercenaries to join your fleets isnt a bad idea. RTS's like Total War use mercenaries to help bolster ranks. It could work well in the early game, but in the late game when you have researched most of your tech the pirate mercenaries would not be worth the cost.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
Its worth a try. Also if the game goes in that route, maybe the pirates could recieve a few unique ships in the cruiser class that could be for sale or "rent". Giving races the option to purchase Combat Oriented Cruisers.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
isnt 'pirate auxiliaries' the idea of bounty?
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
A large pirate fleet has arrived at one of your planets and you probably won't be able to fight them off. Since they are pirates, all they want is to pillage your planet for money and other resources. You contact the pirate fleet's leader and offer them a sum of money, resources, ships, or something else to leave you alone.


Already in -- just lay a bigger bounty on someone else than is on you, and chances are the pirates will shuffle off in search of richer targets.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
Stinks that you can't put a bounty on the pirates themselves...then they would dissapear!

Do the pirates have a set amount of ships of do pirate ships spawn in pirate held territories?
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
Wont be pirate held territories till they implement the stronghold, i presume.
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
Right now it seems that marauders originate from the sun, while insurgents appear out of thin air.
Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
The way pirates acting now they're more like mercenaries then pirates. I have a few suggestion if you don't mind.

- Revanmp the pirates system, instead of the mercenary like behavior. What I'm thinking is the pirates start up with a few sectors of their own like a pirate haven(asteroid belt sound good). These should be heavily defended point that will need a considerable force to eliminate. The pirate ships will spawn from there and move out to attack everyone indiscreminally, maybe they should have some kind of target priority, like raiding outpost or attacking trade route (which is feasible giving the fact freighter running around quite often). This gives the pirate some logic behind them, plus give the player an opportunity that given enough resource they can afford to remove the source from their system.



- Have a mercenaries fraction. When a bounty on someone head is high enough, a group of mercenary should spawn and go for that bounty they have in mind. I'm thinking about letting them spawn from the trade station of one of the faction that's not their target and make their way to their target. Again, I think this makes more sense.

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
I agree , the pirates shouldnt be attacking my planet rather have them aim for high profile targets like research stations and capital ship yards...



Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
Will pirates have their own unique ships. Such as different models. Right now their good, but they would be so much cooler if they had a custom ship or two.

Maybe a combat cruiser for those truly devious raiding operations?
Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top
I think pirates are getting a little mixed up as mercenaries here... I want them pillaging my tradeships and unguarded planets (running at the slightest trouble).
Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top
Still they could benefit from unique looking starships.
Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top
From what I've heard, pirates will continue to get TEC ships (which were stolen by them).

I'm satisfied with them....
Reply #18 from Sins Forums Top
I've seen someone with a much larger bounty than me (I got it up to over 1.5 times my bounty, and they still only attacked me. Seems like at least my version of the game the pirates don't really react to placing a larger bounty on someone else.
Reply #19 from Sins Forums Top
According to gameplay.constants, a single cargo ship will equal about 250 bounty for purposes of 'raid chance'.

Plus, be aware that Insurgency shows up as pirates.

Also, Pirates do have slightly different ships, for example i think their flak frigate uses lasers and their light frigate uses autocannons.
Reply #20 from Sins Forums Top
I know they use different weapons, but why not go all the way?
Reply #21 from Sins Forums Top
I am about 2.5 hours into my first Beta 2 game.
For me it looks like the pirates will wipe out all 4 players including me.
The 3 computer players put lots of money in bounties some on me and some on other NPC but it is getting silly i have only now the last 1/2 hr been able to take one more planet.

The pirates spawn so fast and in such numbers that it is out of hand.
The last battle i was in i joined to defend a rivals planet to take out the pirates. Next thing i know a bigger fleet jumps to one of my planets and wipes it out, as that planet died an even bigger force showed up and started bombing yet another planet.

My main fleet was still on the way from the first fight to my now dead planet as the second planet was well on its way to falling.

I must admit i am more of a turtle player.


How about settings 1.No pirates 2.Few Pirates 3.Pirates 4.Many Pirates
Settings for STR of the pirates. 1.Weak 2. Normal 3.Strong

Reply #22 from Sins Forums Top
Blair said the pirates are getting a nerf. So we will have to wait for a patch.

I dont mind rampaging pirates so much ive pretty much learned how to deal with them. The problem is the AI cant deal with them. 9 of 10 times the pirates will wipe out your opponents long before you get a chance to. Insurgency only makes it worse.

I agree there should be a pirate AI setting. They are quite challenging as they are to be honest (more of a challenge than your opponents), and hardcore players may want to keep them that way, but new players can easily be overwhelmed by the current pir8 AI. Right now the only ways to deal with them are out-bounty your opponents, park capitols at key planets, or spam planetary defenses to the max slots available in every world you own, and completely encircle them with guns. I use 2 hangers with bombers, a repair platform, and a shield gen. The rest is all a circle of guns especially at my capitol. Research crisis recovery it does help.

heh do the "insurgent" pirates fight the marauders?
Reply #23 from Sins Forums Top
Don't build trade ports and that will limit marauders.
Reply #24 from Sins Forums Top
Trade ports were a major part of your economy in beta 1. However with beta 2's logistics limit i've never built more than 3. I suppose the same would go for refinery's as well. Ill give that a try since most of my credits come from selling metal on the BM.

Reply #25 from Sins Forums Top
I think the insurgency ships should show up as "rebels" to help reduce the confusion about the pirates. Lets give the pirates a little capitalistic respect. They never do anything for political reasons.