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Player provided 'services'


Falcor_Rowlinson

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So I've been browsing around and just wanted some feedback from anyone who cares to take the time, there are quiet a few organisations (including my own) that are based around some sort of player provided service from military/security to hired labor. My questions to everyone are;

 

1) What would level of player interaction would you be willing to pay for?

 

2) How would you ensure you received payment?

 

3) If you were paying someone to transport or deliver cargo would you feel entitled to some form of 'insurance'?

 

4) Would you gamble in-game with in-game currency (if any large faction leaders are reading this, would your empire outlaw gambling if only for roleplay purposes)?

 

5) What in your mind makes a service provider reliable?

 

I realize some of these may be obvious, I intend for  this to spark a conversation rather than just simply answering the questions. I have thought up my own responses and would like to discuss them.

Also if anything here is 'common knowledge' and redundant I apologize.

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27 minutes ago, Falcor_Rowlinson said:

 

 

1) What would level of player interaction would you be willing to pay for?

 

2) How would you ensure you received payment?

 

3) If you were paying someone to transport or deliver cargo would you feel entitled to some form of 'insurance'?

 

4) Would you gamble in-game with in-game currency (if any large faction leaders are reading this, would your empire outlaw gambling if only for roleplay purposes)?

 

5) What in your mind makes a service provider reliable?

 

Very good questions, but also very individual to each person and faction.

 

1) We satisfy each others needs, more than that i'm not paying for. Roleplaying is up to yourself

 

2) By flexing your superior weaponry

 

3) Depends entirely on the contract you set up, if you forgot to negotiate about stakes with the transport-guys then you can only blame yourself

 

4) Yes i would gamble and as one of the leaders of a 100 man faction, no i don't think we will ban it.

 

5) A good impresson after thorough talk with the provider combined with a clean track-record of past deals they have made (Which of course you'll have to check and confirm that the list isn't bullshit)

 

 

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I think that my answer revolves around the hypothesized contracting/quest system to be implemented by NQ in coordination with the Rights & Duties Management System (RDMS).  With the contracting system you should be able to set up a contract that provides for a structured interaction between players to complete tasks and provide services, allows for rewards, and offers a basic insurance policy.

 

For example Player A offers a contract/quest to Player B who has to deliver a Ship to a specific location within a specific timeframe and without any damage.  This contract offered by Player A gives Player B the right to enter and fly the specific ship during the duration of the contract, and includes a $50,000 security deposit that Player A would receive if the conditions of the contract are not met (time expires, ship damaged, Player B cancels contract, etc).  However if Player B completes the contract they receive a $200,000 reward.  Either way Player B would lose any right to enter or fly the ship, as it is owned by Player A, once the contract expires (cancelled, invalidated, completed).

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Here's my personal opinion on each question:

 

1) I would definitely contract organizations or individuals to supply resources on a regular basis. I.E. We'll buy all the resources you mine at +X% of market value so long as you deliver them to a certain place. I'd also sell protection to people who want to operate in my organization's space, and I don't have a problem with hiring mercenaries in certain situations. But beyond that, I'm really not the trusting kind of guy, especially when it comes to large amounts of cash. Anything beyond simple contracts tend to fall through, either intentionally or because one side isn't as reliable as they say they are.

 

2) Ideally I'd avoid any situation in which I had to trust an unknown entity with delivering goods or making payments, because it's a video game and scammers are everywhere. But maybe I'm overly paranoid lol. However, if it was a smaller or weaker organization in my area of operations, I'd definitely make it clear (in as nice a way as possible ofc) that if they stiff me I'm going to make them pay it back one way or another, with interest. 

 

3) If there's a sufficiently strong and robust contract system that allows me to give people my stuff with relative certainty they're not just going to walk off, or break it, or what have you, then yeah, I'd use a contract transport system. The key here being that I don't have to worry about being paid or receiving my stuff at all. If I'm even a little concerned, I simply wouldn't use one. 

 

4) No, I don't understand gambling, fake or not. But I know a lot of people who would. 

 

5) Trust and consistency. I'd need someone to really work hard to prove their reliability to me before I started giving them genuinely valuable and important jobs. Otherwise, I'd just do it myself.

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When it comes to trust unless you know them from other games then there really shouldn't be a lot to begin with and even then not much.

 

Really depends on the level of freedom and protection the game offers and if scamming through meta gaming is going to be allowed at the same level as EvE (everyone versus everyone).

 

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1) I don't pay for that type of company.  On a more serious note, the level of interaction for an in-game service can range from fulfilling a job board (next to no interaction) to full voice chats between the interested parties.  I would expect the low risk, more mundane services to go the first route, while the high risk, difficult services to go more towards the last.  But in the end, it is personal preference.

 

2) As a service it would be prudent to either get paid in installments or have some collateral in case of non-payment.  This is easy for delivery runs as the cargo itself could be the collateral.  Other services will have to be looked at on a case by case basis.  The biggest factor, for me at least, is the ability to spread the word on which people to not do business with.  And of course there are always bounties.

 

3) Collateral which covers the cost of the shipped goods is one way to do this.  The down side is, of course courier, scams. Care should be taken on both sides.

 

4) I'll allow it provided gambling cannot be exploited by the gambler nor the "house". This very much depends on how the LUA programs will be handled in DU (editable by people running them etc.)  It may not be possible to have standalone gambling machines. In that case a player will have to fill the role of dealer/cashier.  (If you are interested in gambling or any other in game games, feel free to drop by DICE.)

 

5) Reliability is how often that service provider successfully completes his service.  A string of happy customers is a great way to boost trust in a service provider.  Reliability builds trust, but trust must be obtained first in order to gain that reliability label. How do you first build trust then?  I'll leave that to your imagination.

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How do you pay mercs to guard a mining operation ?

 

Basic mining skills are probably going to be the easiest thing to train, so the mercs would have to decide if they want to mine themselves or watch someone else mining. They will know the "opportunity cost" involved, so what rates would they charge ?

 

Will hiring guards be a realistic economically viable option for anyone other than the big operators ?

 

I'd imagine most orgs will run mining ops on a socialist basis, where everyone involved gets an equal cut of the proceeds, after the org has taken it's share. Org members providing security for those ops do it "for the good of the org", rather than for pure personal gain.

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