Freeing slaves

[Lestradae]

Perhaps it would be possible to take the whole idea bandied about a step further.

Why not a mission oxp on which you are contacted by some freedom fighters who want to banish slavery everywhere in the Ooniverse? Could make for a big, escalating story that spans from Mostly Harmless to Elite. And if successfully finished sets the amount of slaves to 0 in all stations etc. accompanied by a big Snoopers "Breaking News" story about the issue.

Now someone has just got to do this. And that's the tricky part

[Disembodied]

Regarding the issue of having to "feed, clothe and care" freed slaves, the fact is that the issue of what happens to slaves disappears once they are out of your cargo bay. It's just not part of the gameplay.

The same is true of slaves that you buy and sell legally, or that you eject from your hold and leave floating in space to make room for something more valuable. None of this affects the actual gameplay, but it does affect the (hugely important) "gameplay-in-my-head", the bit that fills in all the gaps in the background ...

Choosing to free slaves is a moral decision. I don't think players should expect a reward for making moral decisions – otherwise it stops being a moral decision and becomes an economic one. Economics and morality are often in opposition (e.g. theft: it makes you richer, but is generally considered to be "wrong"). So I think – from a gameplay point of view – that it makes sense for an in-game moral decision to have an associated economic cost.

Also, as DH says, there will be a huge number of reasons why these slaves are enslaved. Some will have been born into slavery; others will have been sold by their families or even by themselves; others will be captives of one form or another; and others might be criminals (guilty of anything from murder to whistling on a Tuesday). Looking after these people, once they are free, will have an economic cost, so who's going to carry that particular can? Otherwise, in order to avoid starvation, most of them will probably end up as slaves again.

My (entirely personal) view of the Co-operative is that it's not a nice, kind place. It seems to be a barely functional, loose agglomeration of compromises, containing over 2,000 wildly different cultures and tied together with a brutally simplistic legal system: accidentally leave port with 1 little pod of tweetle snuff on board, for example, and suddenly you're an outlaw and anyone can legally kill you for financial gain. I don't see them paying me for freeing slaves, when slavery is legal, just because (in my eyes) slavery is morally wrong. Equally, I don't see them happily taking on all the attendant costs of dealing with an influx of refugees, when – if I'd just gone and sold them on the market as I'd be legally entitled to do – they wouldn't be a problem ...

Lestradae is right: a better option might be to make this part of a larger and more involving story – even one that just turned your freed slaves into refugees that you could give passage back to their homeworld. But in the meantime, the relatively easy option would be to magically transform the slaves from cargo to grateful (and needy) paupers via a mission screen when you dock.

[DaddyHoggy]

As D says, the gameplay-in-my-head is the biggie.

DaddyHoggy may have an iron assed Cobra Mk 3 and about 50K in the bank, but I have only (quite deliberately) 36 kills! (and most of them from when the pirate went from fine->venting plasma->boom before I could lift my finger off the trigger) - Elite is all about massing kills towards your Elite rating - but I was curious to see how much money I could make without killing anybody - well I've already failed in the not-killing-anybody thing - but Oolite is a hard game to play when you only shoot stuff enough to either make them leave you alone or make a break for it on Injectors. Most people I'm sure find this a completely bizarre way to play the game - and it is - but it's an experiment and it's my way. I got to Elite on the C64 and the Amiga, Oolite is allowing me (mostly) to try something else - although I think I'm going to tweak "Asteroid Storm" just so I can play it without the kill criteria, because it was designed with the mind-set of X kills = certain level of ship/skill - and I don't fit that mould!)

[Killer Wolf]

"Most people I'm sure find this a completely bizarre way to play the game"
aye - you big nancy!

j/k, actually this sounds fine to me, being a Firefly fan ~ that ship didn't even have weapons. doing trade runs and getting along safely w/out combat is an art form in itself, i'd think

[DaddyHoggy]

I did have Firefly in mind actually (I think) when I set off on this path. So why an Iron Ass? others have asked...

Well, as I'm playing this game mostly in my head - show of force i.e. don't enter an ass kicking competition with a Porcupine (tm - Cohen the Barbarian), and if they still want to fight you, hit 'em hard and fast and run away...

I think at some point DaddyHoggy will come unstuck, the love of his life or something will be killed by a band of Pirates and he'll flip, turning into a homicidal manic...

(all good stuff for the story writing...)

[dogscoff]

I was hoping to kick up some interest but I never expected so much of a response! Thanks to everyone who welcomed me, and everyone who is interested in this topic.

I can see a lot of different approaches have been put forward, but it seems the only real objection to my original idea (a dedicated anti-slaving world) is that you will probably have to refuel in order to get to there, and doing so will affect your legal status.

Well, if you are anti-slavery but have slaves in your hold, then that means you have a fuel scoop, so refuelling isn't a problem. (although you still might need to dock for other reasons).
If this is implemented as an OXP (I wouldn't expect it to make it into mainline), then you likely have other OXPs installed, which means that other refuelling options may be available anyway.

Besides, if schlepping all the way to the slave-saving planet is too much of a hardship, then you still have the previous options of selling them or spacing them. After all, unless these worlds are dotted all over the damn place, it is going to be a real pain trying to make your way there after every 3rd or 4th scoop, so most people will just continue to do what they already do, and only free slaves if they happen to be in the vicinity of an anti-slavery system. I think two or three anti-slave worlds per galaxy would be enough.

In other words, an OXP as originally suggested wouldn't take anything away from the game, just add a little extra flavour and give the player the opportunity to feel righteous.

As for being rewarded: I wouldn't expect any immediate financial compensation. This is an act of goodwill. However, if the anti-slavers had their own planet, then you might be rewarded in less direct ways.

Here is a fleshier version of what I suggested before. All subject to improvement and criticism, of course.

F7 description:
"The Anti-slavery Union (ASU) is a loose federation of worlds run by freed slaves. They reject GalCop supervision, preferring to police their territory themselves with a motley collection captured and salvaged ships. They have informants throughout colonised space, and devote all spare resources to a tireless war against the slave trade."

The player is given a "slave-trader" score. It starts at zero. Minus points means you are considered a slave trader or suspected slave trader. Positive points make you a friend of the ASU faction. This score would be invisible to the player.

Upon docking in an ASU base, after rescues/ bounties are dealt with, all slaves in cargo are automatically liberated (with a message of gratitude) and your score adjusted accordingly. Fines are calculated AFTER liberation. Slaves are not available on the market at ASU stations.

Buying slaves : -100 points per ton
Selling slaves : -20 points per ton

Firing upon system defence ships in ASU territory: -250 points per ship.

Releasing slaves at an ASU world: +50 points per ton (NOTE: if you have a negative score, liberation can only take you up to zero. To start collecting positive points via liberation, you must begin at or above zero.)

Killing a notorious slave-trader: +10 points (Unless you are on a mission, you won't know ahead of time who is a notorious slave-trader and who isn't. Any ship that releases slaves upon destruction has a 10% chance of being a notorious slave trader). you will get a message from the ASU as well as / instead of a bounty message when you make the kill.

Rescuing an escape pod and collecting insurance reward: +5 point (the escapee might otherwise be captured by pirates and sold into slavery (this also raises the question of whether the player should have an option to sell scooped escape pods into slavery, in spite of rewards / bounties.))

Donating 1000 credits to the anti-slavery cause: +3 points (this option could be available throughout the galaxies, in order to introduce the player to the existence of the ASU). For tax reasons, the ASU regrets it cannot accept donations of more than 20000 credits per in-game week.

Docking at a station and then leaving and hyperspacing without any other score-changing events: drift 2 points towards zero.


Because there is no Galcop presence in ASU worlds, your legal status there is disregarded. Instead their behaviour towards you is defined by your "slave-trader" score. This means that fugitive players can earn themselves a safe haven from the Galcops. The ASU has a ragtag fleet of cobras, adders and whatnot to do their police work, that show up purple on the radar just like Vipers. You can expect to find them scrapping with other NPCs, just like Vipers vs outlaws in other systems. NPCs in ASU systems never drop slave cargo (to prevent gaming your score by pirating friendly ships for their slaves in ASU territory)

Although your score is invisible, you get a message from the hyperspace beacon when you arrive in their territory that gives you an idea of what kind of welcome to expect.

If your score is between -40 and +59, then you get no special treatment in ASU territory.

score -41 <=> -150: You are suspected of involvement in the slave trade. You are allowed to approach and dock, but then fined 100 credits per negative point. Cargo and equipment will be removed from your ship if the fine cannot be paid in cash. They will strip your ship right back to basic equipment if needs be, but will let you go afterwards. If your cargo and equipment don't cover the fine, the balance will be remembered and collected next time you dock. Note that paying the fine does NOT clear your score, but your score will not incur a fresh fine until you hyperspace out of the system.

Score -151<=> -500: You are a known slave trader. You will be shot on sight by ASU system defence craft and your cargo scooped. If you get to the station you will be allowed to dock, where you can pay a fine (200 per negative point) and be released again.

Score <-501: You are a notorious slave trader. As well as a death sentence in ASU territory, you can expect to find bounty hunters on your tail in other systems, with a probability related to your distance from an ASU world. You will not be granted docking permission.

Score >=60: You are qualified to take on paid missions for the ASU (hunt and kill a notorious slave trader in some other system, grab his cargo of slaves and return to ASU territory. The target may or may not have a "clean" legal status, and will not necessarily initiate hostilities.)

Score >300: Any unpaid fines with the ASU are waived.

Score >500: You are a friend of the ASU. You can expect ASU system defence craft to help you out if you are fighting in ASU terriroty.

Score >1000: You are a hero of the ASU. As well as the above, you can expect a 25% discount on fuel and ship repairs.

[Switeck]

Lestradae is right: a better option might be to make this part of a larger and more involving story – even one that just turned your freed slaves into refugees that you could give passage back to their homeworld. But in the meantime, the relatively easy option would be to magically transform the slaves from cargo to grateful (and needy) paupers via a mission screen when you dock.

Add them to the passenger contract list with typically nearby systems as destination and basically zero...possibly negative payout?

[Disembodied]

Add them to the passenger contract list with typically nearby systems as destination and basically zero...possibly negative payout?

I don't know if the passenger contract list is accessible via an OXP, but you could certainly use a mission screen to bring up the occasional bunch of ex-slaves who are trying to hitch a ride home. Although whether it would be better to treat them as passengers (which would require a passenger cabin) or as special cargo (which would fill out your hold) would be something to consider.

[Commander McLane]

Add them to the passenger contract list with typically nearby systems as destination and basically zero...possibly negative payout?

I don't know if the passenger contract list is accessible via an OXP

It is since 1.74.

[Disembodied]

I don't know if the passenger contract list is accessible via an OXP

It is since 1.74.

Cool! Although that would risk turning X tons of freed slaves into 1 passenger ... personally speaking I think I'd prefer packing out the cargo bay with "special cargo" freed slaves.

[Dave McRoss]

Pulling out the root of evil should be difficult and painful. I agreed with Lestradae's idea of a long-term mission to reduce slavery in the eight sectors. Perhaps with a large final battle versus a cartel of slave dealers.
This is would be also a sort of template to do even other kind of social-changing missions, like enstablishing democracy in dictatoship systems, or else.

[DaddyHoggy]

Pulling out the root of evil should be difficult and painful. I agreed with Lestradae's idea of a long-term mission to reduce slavery in the eight sectors. Perhaps with a large final battle versus a cartel of slave dealers.
This is would be also a sort of template to do even other kind of social-changing missions, like enstablishing democracy in dictatoship systems, or else.

This would have to also end (logically) in 0t of Slaves being available in every main station (at least for "some" time)?

[Kaks]

Cool! Although that would risk turning X tons of freed slaves into 1 passenger ... personally speaking I think I'd prefer packing out the cargo bay with "special cargo" freed slaves.

Ok! Alternatively, you could have the passenger's name set to '7 ex-slaves' (or however many you think could squeeze in a single passenger cabin: ach of these ex-slaves will be a lot less demanding than your average paying passenger...

Unfortunately, due to a 'minor' oversight there's no way of removing a (composite) passenger in v1.74.2, or earlier: there's no quick & easy way to replace '3 ex-slaves' with '4 ex-slaves', for instance.

You can in trunk, though!

[Dave McRoss]

Pulling out the root of evil should be difficult and painful. I agreed with Lestradae's idea of a long-term mission to reduce slavery in the eight sectors. Perhaps with a large final battle versus a cartel of slave dealers.
This is would be also a sort of template to do even other kind of social-changing missions, like enstablishing democracy in dictatoship systems, or else.

This would have to also end (logically) in 0t of Slaves being available in every main station (at least for "some" time)?

Of course
I remember I was happy after I completed Ionics OXP...virtually, I felt like I accoplished a great thing. I would feel the same sensation again...Oolite it's a great game, it encourage the "game in your head" also.

[Arexack_Heretic]

the battle for your brain is the most important aspect of gaming... [/evil]