Just use galaxy forge; you can create multiple pirate bases easily, and you don't have to worry about the hassle of mucking around in the text file. When there are multiple bases, they usually launch from the one closest to their intended target. Pirates will not do star jumps or wormhole jumps. There are some conditions on which they will return to their base rather than continuing an attack, one of them being their target planet was destroyed. They do get stronger as the game goes on, and it is based (in part) on the bounty paid to them. However, in practice the growth of player economies is a much greater reason for their increasing strength.
I tend to agree that pirates as they are right now are stupid. Their attacks are senseless, their behavior quite unintelligent, and the game mechanics more annoying than interesting. So, here are my thoughts on what should be done about pirates:
- More than one pirate raid can be active at a time. Each group of raiders acts independently. The number of raids (and strength thereof) is dependent on how long the game has been going on.
- Pirates raiding parties will decide their target based on three parameters: risk, reward, distance, and competition. They will favour less defended targets with higher reward (a combination of bounty, trade/refinery vessels, and perhaps logistical structures as well). They will also avoid targets that are a long ways away, since it may no longer be a good target by the time they get there. Finally, they will avoid competing with other pirate raiders who may be operating nearby.
- Pirates will re-evaluate their situation regularly, changing their targets or fleeing as they find appropriate.
This would have a couple of effects. First, there would no longer be these inane bidding wars which are winner-take all. Because there are multiple pirate raids at once, and they prefer to avoid attacking the same target, multiple players will likely be attacked even if one has slightly more bounty. It would also mean that if there is no bounty on you, the pirates might not even bother to attack.
Another effect of this system is that pirates would no longer be an excellent source of experience. Because they suicide currently, the raids are often actually a benefit to the player who is attacked because they level up his capital ships. If the pirates chose their target based on poor defenses and retreated when they were outgunned, actually killing them would be a challenge so you'd have to work for that experience.
