Oolite Bulletins

Just had an idea, well kind of thinking out loud really...

While *accidentally* relieving a trader of their cargo, I discovered a lot of the containers had narcotics, firearms and slaves in them, so I didn't feel so bad...

Which lead me to think that perhaps that 'trader' was actually - a smuggler! (denial mode 'on')

Anyway - my suggestion -

How about a prototype piece of scanning equipment (expensive to buy of course!) that can detect whether a 'trader' is in fact a smuggler/slaveship?

e.g. after a few seconds of having the ship in your crosshairs, the status turns to 'fugitive' (or in someway indicates a smuggler).

(I'd probably have the chances of smuggler potential at say 1 in 10 and only in high political level systems. Anarchy planets just wouldn't bother with the ruse! Traders successfully identified as such would have all their cargo show up as some sort of contraband when scooped)

The result is some lucrative guilt-free(ish) cargo retrieval.

But here's the catch - as the prototype scanning equipment is only available to the player, police and other ships that may be (inconveniently!) nearby only see you attacking "an innocent" as their scanning equipment only see the outward status.

So to conclude - the upside is potential highly lucrative booty plus ridding the skies (space!) of dodgy smuggler types. The downside is that outwardly you look like you are attacking an innocent.

Rubbish idea? or is this possible OXP territory?

the alberts wrote:

Just had an idea, well kind of thinking out loud really...

While *accidentally* relieving a trader of their cargo, I discovered a lot of the containers had narcotics, firearms and slaves in them, so I didn't feel so bad...

Which lead me to think that perhaps that 'trader' was actually - a smuggler! (denial mode 'on')

Anyway - my suggestion -

How about a prototype piece of scanning equipment (expensive to buy of course!) that can detect whether a 'trader' is in fact a smuggler/slaveship?

e.g. after a few seconds of having the ship in your crosshairs, the status turns to 'fugitive' (or in someway indicates a smuggler).

(I'd probably have the chances of smuggler potential at say 1 in 10 and only in high political level systems. Anarchy planets just wouldn't bother with the ruse! Traders successfully identified as such would have all their cargo show up as some sort of contraband when scooped)

The result is some lucrative guilt-free(ish) cargo retrieval.

But here's the catch - as the prototype scanning equipment is only available to the player, police and other ships that may be (inconveniently!) nearby only see you attacking "an innocent" as their scanning equipment only see the outward status.

So to conclude - the upside is potential highly lucrative booty plus ridding the skies (space!) of dodgy smuggler types. The downside is that outwardly you look like you are attacking an innocent.

Rubbish idea? or is this possible OXP territory?

Well, he should get his offender status after he left the station. If he did not, those things are transported under permission/contract, or just collected in space, or he bribed the police or whatever else tricks made his cargo legal.

What if someone uses this scanner on you?

This could be used with my bar idea. I don't really see how a scanner could judge whether someone is carrying illegal goods, but I can readily imagine a cargo loader relaxing in the bar after loading a python with dirty slaves and telling some stranger about it.

Well why not? the police apparently has a scanner so why shouldn't you? .... unless that's illegal too because you had to pry it from the cold dead hands of a cop... (hint, hint)