Suggestions for Freelancer>>>Privateer

Originally posted by Quarto
Well, that was one of my original points as well - these ships shouldn't be available in the first place. Civilian versions would of course be fine... but last I checked, they don't produce civilian versions of, say, the F-14, or even something older like the F-5.
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I think it's been said, though (even somewhere on this board) that it wouldn't be impossible for someone to buy, say, an F-16 if the armament was completely stripped out. (Of course, we have the problem of black market dealers somehow putting them back in).
 
Also, I find it a bit difficult to take this seriously when we see pirates flying around in state-of-the-art military equipment using cloaking devices.
 
Originally posted by Bob McDob
Also, I find it a bit difficult to take this seriously when we see pirates flying around in state-of-the-art military equipment using cloaking devices.
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It could be said there was something more to that. To bring this back to Privateer.. we see Retros using pretty damn state-of-the-art Kilrathi ships in Righteous Fire.. That's definitely not the norm and it is because of special circumstances.
 
Yes, it's not like the Retros just saved some cash and visited the right ship dealer.

--Eder
 
Originally posted by Bob McDob
Also, I find it a bit difficult to take this seriously when we see pirates flying around in state-of-the-art military equipment using cloaking devices.
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They were supplied with these ships by a foreign nation who was currently at war with the Confederation. Similarly, Confed loaned carriers to the Border Worlds before they were even a nation, because the Border Worlds were also fighting the Kilrathi. In wartime, nations are always willing to support civilian groups that have demonstrated their skills and (more importantly) allegiance. This is not the same as making military equipment available for general sale, however.

As the war slides further and further into the past, presumably Confed would try to crack down on civilian-owned weaponry, including perhaps more stringent licensing for ships such as the Centurion and the Orion. This is, of course, a problematic idea for a mod for a game like Freelancer. However, developing a plot that deals with this sort of disarmament may ultimately result in a far more interesting mod than what you'll get out of excuses to keep the civilians armed to the teeth with military hardware.
 
They were supplied with these ships by a foreign nation who was currently at war with the Confederation
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the UBW was never officially at war with the Confederation, ne?
 
Originally posted by Bob McDob
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the UBW was never officially at war with the Confederation, ne?
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The UBW was never a foregin nation, either. It was a freaking CIVIL WAR. They declared independence. By definition, they were not foregin, just under a different flag. Maybe, afterwards. Maybe. But it would still not be the same thing, in that context.
 
Originally posted by Bob McDob
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the UBW was never officially at war with the Confederation, ne?
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Oh, sorry - I thought you said Retros (I think I stuck your post and Chris' subsequent post together in my head, somehow), so I was talking about the way the Retros were supplied with Kilrathi ships (so Kilrah was the foreign nation in question).

But as for the WC4 pirates that you were, it seems, referring to... they were supplied with Confed fighters illegally through Seether and his people, who of course had access to all of Confed's resources.

Clearly, there are ways of getting your hands on top-end military hardware. The WC4 pirates got them off Confed agents, while the Mandarins in WC2 managed to steal them. It's not the player flying a Confed fighter that I object to - it's the player being able to buy it at your local ship dealer. Plus, if the player is flying a Confed fighter, he'll obviously be in for a lot of attention from Confed. You don't just land an F-14 at a commercial airport without somebody asking questions.
 
Originally posted by Quarto
Plus, if the player is flying a Confed fighter, he'll obviously be in for a lot of attention from Confed. You don't just land an F-14 at a commercial airport without somebody asking questions.
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Well, it's not like pirates can land at commercial airports even if they wanted to.
 
Originally posted by Bob McDob
Well, it's not like pirates can land at commercial airports even if they wanted to.
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On Freelancer, they can. There's hardly anything more commercial than a Freeport.

You could do that on Pirates! too.
 
Originally posted by Delance
On Freelancer, they can. There's hardly anything more commercial than a Freeport.
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There isn't anything less governed than Freeport in Freelancer either. Today's commercial airports are government run.. things are much more loose in the FL universe (and Freeports are entirely that, free from govt control).
 
True, but that's the kind of stuff you are supposed to find on a game like Privateer or WC. Pirates have to land somewhere, or they don't have much of a business.

Unless it's Priv2, where Pirates keep destroying cargo ships even tought this method never, ever, gives them any result.

There are in fact a lot of illegal airtrips used by criminals, drug-dealers, terrorists and guerrila around the world.
 
Originally posted by Delance
There are in fact a lot of illegal airtrips used by criminals, drug-dealers, terrorists and guerrila around the world.
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You mean the lawless mountains of South America, don't you?
 
Originally posted by Bob McDob
Well, it's not like pirates can land at commercial airports even if they wanted to.
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Arguably, in Priv they could (you could be a pirate and even land at Perry, if you were sufficiently brave/foolish/well-armed. But anyway, what I'm saying is that you need to implement these sorts of consequences. So, if the player buys a Bearcat through some illegal channel, he'll pretty much become limited to pirate bases.
 
Originally posted by ChrisReid
You mean the lawless mountains of South America, don't you?
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Mountains? I don't think it would be that wise to build airstrip in mountains. I think most of them are in the jungle. And it's not only south america. But yeah, there's lots of it here.
 
north australia has some illegal airstrips, you can get almost ANYTHING imported... for the right price of course. it's also how most of the animal smuggling trade operates.
 
Originally posted by Quarto
Hmmmm, gripe time .

I know you've got a lot of ship slots to fill, but if you're gonna insist on having mil-spec fighters in there, go for the pre-'54 ones. You know, the Scim, the Ferret, maybe a bunch of completely made-up designs. It's stupid to have late '50s and '60s fighters available, at least at such ridiculously low prices. Look at the world outside - sure, it's possible to buy a Polish trainer jet from the early 70s (for a hefty price) or an F8F Bearcat (if you're damned lucky and are willing to pay a hell of a lot), but good luck with that fully-combat-capable F-4 Phantom, buddy. Thunderbolts, Banshees, Vindicators... Bearcats?! Did I miss something? Last I checked, F-14s-18s were pretty difficult to buy for the ordinary citizen. Remember Governor Menesh? He lost his job over Talon sales.

And cargo space. Huh? You're telling me that the tiny little Ferret with hardly enough room for the pilot, has almost half the cargo space of the comparatively-huge Centurion? A pilot would be lucky to fit his groceries inside the Ferret, let alone any significant amount of cargo.
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sorry i didn't read the whole thread, this may have been mentioned already.

you _can_ in fact buy military craft.

civil airspace laws prohibit armaments, so you'd have to have that mod.

AND there are military classifications.

different craft are on different lists.

there are primarily 3.

1) sensitive - no sales (f117, etc)
2) above foreign capabilities (f18, etc), you can buy them, but you can NOT export them, or leave the country in them.
3) of no concern (f4, f5, etc) - you can buy them and take them wherever you want.

the first is basically a duh. they wont allow secrets to go outside.

the second is a defense law that predates the LFP. it's basically a rule saying that every craft sold to a foriegn nation, must be of lesser capability than in service craft of its kind.
therefore, if you buy an in-service class airframe, you can't leave the country with it (counts as export) so long as it's up to par with military specs.

the third is basically all older craft that aren't in service, or leaving service. they are no longer of concern to anyone.

and remember that defense contractors are CIVIL firms. albeit regulated and subsidized.

and there is actually quite a following of military aircraft. by some rather rich folk. there are airclubs that centre around 'flying your military jets together'.

sorry if this post was already written by someone else. i didn't read all the thread. this just caught my eye.

-scheherazade
 
Originally posted by Darkmage
north australia has some illegal airstrips, you can get almost ANYTHING imported... for the right price of course. it's also how most of the animal smuggling trade operates.
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Am still waiting for my platypus shipment -- please respond!
 
Originally posted by scheherazade
you _can_ in fact buy military craft.

civil airspace laws prohibit armaments, so you'd have to have that mod.
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You make good points - I guess I'm wrong on the types of aircraft that are currently available. However, you must also note that in Priv, military fighters were not available for purchase. Unlike the US today, Confed has a significant problem with pirates. Thus, the civilian contractors that manufacture Confed's fighters would have very, very stringent rules about the sale of fighters, even relatively obsolete ones, to civilians.
 
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