Squeaky clean assassins.

[Diziet Sma]

And I really hate that all of them are "clean". That fact has cost me a few thousand bucks because I managed to land a hit on them before they landed one on me in the presence of a Viper or two.

That's easily fixed.. don't shoot first..

[cim]

And I really hate that all of them are "clean". That fact has cost me a few thousand bucks because I managed to land a hit on them before they landed one on me in the presence of a Viper or two.

There is a reputation-based system for who Vipers side with in clean-vs-clean fights that's more complex than "who they see shoot first", though that is there as a tie break. It affects other NPCs too, in different ways.

Whenever I leave a galaxy I grab an energy bomb, shoot up the station, wait for all the vipers to come out, engage the galactic drive, blow em all to hell, and off to the next galaxy I go.

Let's just say that this sort of behaviour (and the "almost" in the "almost never"...) is probably putting you on the wrong side of that decision some of the time, as galactic jump clears bounty but does not (especially at higher Elite rankings) completely clear reputation.

[Cody]

There is a reputation-based system for who Vipers side with in clean-vs-clean fights that's more complex than "who they see shoot first", though that is there as a tie break. It affects other NPCs too, in different ways.

Which type of system you're in may affect things too (cim?). Last night, I was tangling with a bunch of assassins in an anarchy aegis (they'd followed me in-system from the WP) and I got precious little help from the few local Vipers, even when the assassins had earned offender tags. After I'd docked (a tale in itself) and launched, two of them with offender tags were still operating with impunity in the aegis, waiting for me - and not a Viper to be seen!

[Anonymissimus]

There is a reputation-based system for who Vipers side with in clean-vs-clean fights that's more complex than "who they see shoot first", though that is there as a tie break. It affects other NPCs too, in different ways.

That never occurred to me, despite countless previous
"Your help in keeping xxx clear of fugitives is appreciated, commander..."
"Your assistance has been noted"
"You joined the right side in this fight!"
and so on.

[Layne]

There is a reputation-based system for who Vipers side with in clean-vs-clean fights that's more complex than "who they see shoot first", though that is there as a tie break. It affects other NPCs too, in different ways.

That never occurred to me, despite countless previous
"Your help in keeping xxx clear of fugitives is appreciated, commander..."
"Your assistance has been noted"
"You joined the right side in this fight!"
and so on.

Well, it's good to know my lunatic Don Quixote heroism is worth something aside from a fuzzy warmth in my gullet.

Or is that what swallowing a trumble feels like?

[avder]

And I really hate that all of them are "clean". That fact has cost me a few thousand bucks because I managed to land a hit on them before they landed one on me in the presence of a Viper or two.

That's easily fixed.. don't shoot first..

On the spacelanes I never shoot first if the target is clean. I will return fire, however, and I get penalized for being a better shot than the assassin is.

[Diziet Sma]

I will return fire, however, and I get penalized for being a better shot than the assassin is.

No.. you're getting penalised for letting a cop see you shooting at them when your own reputation with the cops isn't the best.. helping the cops out whenever possible will also help in this regard. See cim's reply to you, above.

[Diziet Sma]

Something like this?:
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2015-09-20

Dammit Switeck.. now I've got another comic I have to follow..

Thanks!

Working my way through the archives.. 4 years done, 11 more to go.

Only problem is, now that I've come across the page where he posted the recipe, I have a strong urge to try making some chupaquesos..

[avder]

I will return fire, however, and I get penalized for being a better shot than the assassin is.

No.. you're getting penalised for letting a cop see you shooting at them when your own reputation with the cops isn't the best.. helping the cops out whenever possible will also help in this regard. See cim's reply to you, above.

That's just stupid. If I'm getting shot at, I have a visible "clean" status and I'm not the one who shoots first, I should not incur a penalty for being the first person to LAND a shot, no matter what the situation!

And the worst part is that whenever this happens, there is never a Viper on scanner when I shoot. If I see a viper there I ALWAYS wait for the assassin to get his offender tag. The problem is the Viper is waiting 0.1km outside of scanner range where I can't see it and the first thing he sees is me landing a hit on someone who's trying to kill me. Then I have to either abscond or worse, kill the viper myself to get on with things.

You're really making the case for changing from law abiding courier to full on pirate madman.

[Cody]

You're really making the case for changing from law abiding courier to full on pirate madman.

<chortles>

[Diziet Sma]

That's just stupid. If I'm getting shot at, I have a visible "clean" status and I'm not the one who shoots first, I should not incur a penalty for being the first person to LAND a shot, no matter what the situation!

I think that, perhaps, you're missing the point here, somewhat. There's more to your reputation than a visible clean status. Your legal status is based merely on whether or not you're known to have committed any offences recently. However, all your actions, your playing style, etc, contribute towards your reputation with NPCs, which is tracked separately by the game, and not visible to you.

Even occasionally shooting others up, attacking stations and e-bombing vipers, etc, will give your reputation a somewhat negative balance. Cim has already pointed out to you that your standard "leaving the galaxy" behaviour will negatively impact your reputation in the next chart you arrive at. And the higher your combat rating (the more "famous" you are), the more your reputation sticks to you, even across gal-jumps.

I suspect what's happening to you is that the cop sees two clean ships fighting. One of them, he has little information on.. the other, you, is known to occasionally attack stations and e-bomb other cops. Who do you think he's going to assume is the bad guy?

In short, your actions have consequences, even when they don't attract fines.

Another example of what your reputation can do: Play as a pirate for a while, and other pirates will recognise you as one of them, and tend to leave you alone. Traders will try to avoid you on sight. Bounty hunters will attack you on sight. Cops will shadow you, even if you're clean, hoping to catch you in some criminal act. Spend enough time engaging in piracy, and pirates may even invite you to join them in a raid.

[Cody]

In short, your actions have consequences...

<nods> Yeah... some cool player-tracking stuff going on there!

[Diziet Sma]

The more I think about this comment of yours,

The problem is the Viper is waiting 0.1km outside of scanner range where I can't see it and the first thing he sees is me landing a hit on someone who's trying to kill me.

the more I think that what I described above may already be happening to you:

Play as a pirate [or cop-killer] for a while, and … Cops will shadow you, even if you're clean, hoping to catch you in some criminal act.

If you want that to stop, you'd need to stop blowing up vipers before you gal-jump, and take advantage of every opportunity you can to jump in and assist the cops in combat. Eventually, your reputation with the cops should swing back in your favour.

[avder]

That actually doesn't happen very often. It's just whenever it does it's memorable because I know I'll have a few thousand in fines to clear my 4 credit bounty that I just picked up because they saw me land a hit on the assassin before the assassin landed a hit on me.

And I actually assist law enforcement a lot more than I blow them up. I have killed tons and tons of pirates and thargoids (I have the Thargoid wars oxp installed) and gotten lots of thanks from law enforcement for it. So I'm pretty sure I'm at least neutral with the cops most of the time.

[Alex]

I will return fire, however, and I get penalized for being a better shot than the assassin is.

No.. you're getting penalised for letting a cop see you shooting at them when your own reputation with the cops isn't the best.. helping the cops out whenever possible will also help in this regard. See cim's reply to you, above.

That's just stupid. If I'm getting shot at, I have a visible "clean" status and I'm not the one who shoots first, I should not incur a penalty for being the first person to LAND a shot, no matter what the situation!

And the worst part is that whenever this happens, there is never a Viper on scanner when I shoot. If I see a viper there I ALWAYS wait for the assassin...

You're really making the case for changing from law abiding courier to full on pirate madman.

What makes you think it's an assassin?
If it was, you wouldn't make it to the station, never mind worrying what the little vipers think about your 'reputation'.

p.s.
Ye go "full on Pirate Madman" for awhile.
Where do you think the guild recruits from? If you survive!