Spies and Cargo

[GrandpaTrout]

These ideas are for Traffic and later releases. I am putting them out here to start a discussion. (Good things happened on the wingmen and loadout discussions).

We would like to have a spy career. And we want that career to tie into the current fleet based meta game. Here are some ideas on creating an information economy that would bring about the existence of a spy (and scout) career.

First thing, what does our spy do?
1. The spy tracks the movements of enemy fleets.
2. The spy finds hidden enemy bases.
3. The spy hacks into station data nets and steals information.
4. The spy intercepts communications between enemies.
5. The spy earns funds and reputation by doing the above.

We have fleets. We have hidden bases. We have methods for the player to find them. All we really need is a way for the player to “take a picture� of the opponent, and then return with that information to create the first half of the spy career. It would also be nice if the player could get paid for returning the data.

How this could be done is we create “datascans�. These are tiny cargo pods. They start empty, and you can “take a picture� (scan) using the correct kind of sensors. Each pod has only one scan at a time. You can overwrite and old one.

So a spy would pick up an empty datascan, fly to a hidden base, and take a scan. The job can be made more challenging by requiring the player to get close and scan for a few moments.

The cargo pod is changed from an “empty� pod to a “hidden base� type pod. Our economy already supports selling cargo pods, so the player can now be paid for this job. All that needs to be done is create a trade ship willing to purchase this kind of pod.

Hacking

If we allow the player to locate and purchase hacking tools, then the player can steal data from stations. Again, this just fills and empty datascan with “stolen data� pod. We can make several kinds of stolen data. Corporate secrets, Military data, etc. Each one pays a different rate.

Intercepting

Once these datascans are in the game, the NPC ships can carry them. Couriers can ferry data around the cluster. These couriers can be attacked, and vital data stolen. Or stolen back, like in the intro scene of Star Wars. The player could also be paid to run courier datascans (much like the old Elite).

Why Cargo

Why use cargo pods to represent something virtual, like data. A good question, and I don’t know if the choice is a good one or not until it is tried. The main reason is to push something imaginary into a physical form. The player can watch and see these pods moving around. It will be clear what is going on. That kind of feedback does not happen with virtual data. And we already have mechanisms for purchasing cargo, stealing cargo, smuggling cargo, police patrolling for cargo, and so on. So the spy career can be made more challenging for less work than building an information economy from scratch.

New Cargo Features

There are a bunch of new cargo features that come to mind when creating the information economy.

Cargo Source Changes Price

The value of information changes depending on who is buying. Warship plans are going to be worth much more to a factions enemies than it’s allies. A faction may also be willing to buy back it’s own stolen data.

Cargo Expires

Cargo should have an expiration date. Information is only valuable for a short amount of time. Fleets move. Hidden bases are relocated after discovery. Corporations change stolen passwords. Battle station reactors are modified. By attaching a short life time to some cargo pods, it creates a sense of urgency to get the data to the buyer before the cargo expires and becomes worthless.

Adding this feature also gives us the possibility of new kinds of standard cargo, such as hauling passengers. Passengers are high paying, but they demand delivery in a short time frame. We could also allow ugent medical supplies or other items that a high speed courier could transport and deliver.

Cargo Destination

Some cargo comes with a built in destination. That destination is the only place the cargo can be sold. Courier runs may go between specific entities. Same with passenger cargo pods. They don’t want to be delivered to any habitat, they have one planned.

Putting in this feature opens up major changes in the economy. Our current system has the player behave as a speculator. But that requires having lots of cash tied up in cargo. A trader player may start by hauling goods between specific stations for a haul fee. Most transport companies do not own the cargo they haul.

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