The_Regicide The_Regicide

Pirates STILL make the game randomly unplayable

▼

Pirates STILL make the game randomly unplayable

from Sins Forums

New game, got a ~600 credits bounty on my head, figured I could take them on, no problem.

Yeah, no. A hundred ships came. A hundred. Against my flagship, two caps and a smattering of corvettes.

The pirate siccing mechanics are STILL incredibly toxic, and the pirate screen is STILL ignored all the time except for the last half of second where you just pump up the bounty.

Got mad afterwards, placed a 15000 bounty on one AI. 0.1 seconds before the pirates launched, I had a 15250 bounty on my head.

IT HAS BEEN YEARS, AND THE PIRATES ARE STILL THE MOST TOXIC THING THIS GAME HAS TO OFFER!
What's worse, I can't even turn them off, game crashes on startup. 

214,279 views 85 replies
Reply #51 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Shalkto, reply 50
well first off reg you have a problem if you are crashing when you turn off pirates...haven't ahd that happen yet. so the problem is between the keyboard and the chair in your case.

Problem stopped happening with the 5/3 patch. Also, you don't seem to know what PEBKAC means. 

Reply #52 from Sins Forums Top

 

 

Quoting MayallCommunion, reply 47
 

Not really, compare a Corsair to a Kodiak pirates are unable to actually produce shield technology, im almost sure that adding to much armor to a ship will disallow it from actually having shield technology. Due to pirates inability to actually produce shields they had to solve this issue by strapping on a bunch of armor. Also dont count titans as im sure their shield generators are gigantic.

 

One would think that a pirate would have found some sort of blueprint for shields. I mean, they're pirates. Pirates take hostages, valuable hostages. Why wouldn't they just kidnap some scientists and force them to develop improved shield technology compatible with larger amounts of armor?

CursorFX - Customize your Windows cursor
Reply #53 from Sins Forums Top

What does PEBKAC mean?  And while we're at it, what does AFAIK mean?  

Reply #54 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting OddskiBoddski, reply 52
 

 
Quoting MayallCommunion, reply 47 

Not really, compare a Corsair to a Kodiak pirates are unable to actually produce shield technology, im almost sure that adding to much armor to a ship will disallow it from actually having shield technology. Due to pirates inability to actually produce shields they had to solve this issue by strapping on a bunch of armor. Also dont count titans as im sure their shield generators are gigantic.

 

One would think that a pirate would have found some sort of blueprint for shields. I mean, they're pirates. Pirates take hostages, valuable hostages. Why wouldn't they just kidnap some scientists and force them to develop improved shield technology compatible with larger amounts of armor?

 

Im writing a fan fiction because im a nerd that explains why pirates do not have shield technology. In summary its just whenever the pirates highjack a ship the captains sabotage the shield technology making it inaccessible to them.

Reply #55 from Sins Forums Top

You don't really need to sabotage it. Utilizing valuable and complex crystal-derived fuel to power the shield is also a good idea. Or maybe the shield technology is so incredibly complicated that maintaining the equipment is beyond all but the best of quantum reaction field engineers. Hell, it could even be so that a single shield is worth as much as an entire ship. Pirates are in it for the money, I can definitely see them sell stuff to retire.

Reply #56 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Fyrstar2002, reply 53
What does PEBKAC mean?  And while we're at it, what does AFAIK mean?  

Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair. In other words, the user is at fault, not the program or the machine.

AFAIK is As Far As I Know.

Reply #57 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Fyrstar2002, reply 53
What does PEBKAC mean?  And while we're at it, what does AFAIK mean?  
AFAIK means As Far As I Know... PEBCAK means Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard.

Always happy to help. Though Google is your friend concerning things like these...

EDIT: My God I'm blind. Someone else already posted what it means lol. x_x

Reply #58 from Sins Forums Top

Again, the pirates would be able to at least hire a good engineer....And not all of them are imminently retiring either, I'm guessing. Plus, seeing as the pirates would seem to have a goodly amount of money from all the credits people give them through bounty, wouldn't some pirates be able to hire away some of these supremely skilled engineers? And also, come to think of it, how do the normal empires get so many of these engineers? A fleet in one large map can get quite close to the standard 2000 point fleet supply limit, and most of these ships have shields. And that's a heck of a lot of ships. And in only a few star systems, even on a large map. And our galaxy has a lot of stars, and a lot of fighting, and a lot of ships in the universe of Sins. And titans and cap ships would probably require even more of these specialized and brilliant engineers to maintain their larger and more advanced shield systems. Same goes for the Iconus, which can even extend its shields to other ships. So we're discussing a huge number of brilliantly talented individuals here. And I know that there are a lot more individuals in the universe of Sins than there are on the planet Earth right now, hence more smart people. But not all of these smart people are going to become quantum field engineers. In fact, most of them will probably end up in your labs as theorists, not as glorified mechanics with PhD's in shield maintenance. 

 

 

Also, if the necessary thing for shields is some sort of valuable crystal thingy, again, why couldn't the pirates just buy some of these, along with an instruction manual?

Reply #59 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting OddskiBoddski, reply 58
Again, the pirates would be able to at least hire a good engineer....And not all of them are imminently retiring either, I'm guessing. Plus, seeing as the pirates would seem to have a goodly amount of money from all the credits people give them through bounty, wouldn't some pirates be able to hire away some of these supremely skilled engineers? And also, come to think of it, how do the normal empires get so many of these engineers? A fleet in one large map can get quite close to the standard 2000 point fleet supply limit, and most of these ships have shields. And that's a heck of a lot of ships. And in only a few star systems, even on a large map. And our galaxy has a lot of stars, and a lot of fighting, and a lot of ships in the universe of Sins. And titans and cap ships would probably require even more of these specialized and brilliant engineers to maintain their larger and more advanced shield systems. Same goes for the Iconus, which can even extend its shields to other ships. So we're discussing a huge number of brilliantly talented individuals here. And I know that there are a lot more individuals in the universe of Sins than there are on the planet Earth right now, hence more smart people. But not all of these smart people are going to become quantum field engineers. In fact, most of them will probably end up in your labs as theorists, not as glorified mechanics with PhD's in shield maintenance. 

 

 

Also, if the necessary thing for shields is some sort of valuable crystal thingy, again, why couldn't the pirates just buy some of these, along with an instruction manual?

Yeah, sure, they would have no problems getting their hands on shields, engineers, valuable materials etc.
Just like terrorists today have no problems grabbing nukes, nuclear reactors, nuclear physicists, fissionables etc. 

Reply #60 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting The_Regicide, reply 41

Quoting Emjay86, reply 39The only concern with that though is the pirates becoming too powerful...

 

I guess in that sense that is the sole reason as to why they are there though... Its a contraversial decision if its ever made and I can see people going crazy over it. That being said it does make more sense.

 

It would be nice if they were at least able to get something dangerous for example something on the lines of a novalith platform. I only suggest this as ive never figured it worth my while to actually take their base out. I just starbase the systems connecting to it and ignore them. If they had a novalith (a baby one!) though it would make me want to at least acknowledge they are there and are a threat.

Wait, you want to give Pirates a... Novalith?
What the hell? 

 

Why?

 

Because as it stands now pirates are nothing but a slight bother at times. Ive honestly NEVER run into a gamebreaking issue with pirates. They send a raid and destroy one of your planets. So what its not game over. You let them do their thing and rebuild. Its a hinderance but its what they are designed for. What you are suggesting is making the Pirates less useful in a sabotage sense which would mean theres no need in having them at all. They are a tool for weaker players to use against stronger players when the weaker don't have the ships to back it up.

 

I wouldnt suggest a definate Novalith but as I said a baby one. Something that does a fraction of the damage but still poses a threat. I ignore pirates for the whole duration of a game unless I see their fleet in one of my systems. I then think 'can I get my fleet there in time to save that planet or do I just let it fall and rebuild'. Its honestly so easy to just let them take out whatever they want and rebuild.

 

I dont see the hardship with them tbh. Its not like they are running around with fleets of 10+ titans.

Reply #61 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting The_Regicide, reply 59

Quoting OddskiBoddski, reply 58Again, the pirates would be able to at least hire a good engineer....And not all of them are imminently retiring either, I'm guessing. Plus, seeing as the pirates would seem to have a goodly amount of money from all the credits people give them through bounty, wouldn't some pirates be able to hire away some of these supremely skilled engineers? And also, come to think of it, how do the normal empires get so many of these engineers? A fleet in one large map can get quite close to the standard 2000 point fleet supply limit, and most of these ships have shields. And that's a heck of a lot of ships. And in only a few star systems, even on a large map. And our galaxy has a lot of stars, and a lot of fighting, and a lot of ships in the universe of Sins. And titans and cap ships would probably require even more of these specialized and brilliant engineers to maintain their larger and more advanced shield systems. Same goes for the Iconus, which can even extend its shields to other ships. So we're discussing a huge number of brilliantly talented individuals here. And I know that there are a lot more individuals in the universe of Sins than there are on the planet Earth right now, hence more smart people. But not all of these smart people are going to become quantum field engineers. In fact, most of them will probably end up in your labs as theorists, not as glorified mechanics with PhD's in shield maintenance. 

 

 

Also, if the necessary thing for shields is some sort of valuable crystal thingy, again, why couldn't the pirates just buy some of these, along with an instruction manual?

Yeah, sure, they would have no problems getting their hands on shields, engineers, valuable materials etc.
Just like terrorists today have no problems grabbing nukes, nuclear reactors, nuclear physicists, fissionables etc. 

 

 

I'm never able to tell if something on an internet forum is sarcastic or not.....

Reply #62 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting The_Regicide, reply 59

Quoting OddskiBoddski, reply 58Again, the pirates would be able to at least hire a good engineer....And not all of them are imminently retiring either, I'm guessing. Plus, seeing as the pirates would seem to have a goodly amount of money from all the credits people give them through bounty, wouldn't some pirates be able to hire away some of these supremely skilled engineers? And also, come to think of it, how do the normal empires get so many of these engineers? A fleet in one large map can get quite close to the standard 2000 point fleet supply limit, and most of these ships have shields. And that's a heck of a lot of ships. And in only a few star systems, even on a large map. And our galaxy has a lot of stars, and a lot of fighting, and a lot of ships in the universe of Sins. And titans and cap ships would probably require even more of these specialized and brilliant engineers to maintain their larger and more advanced shield systems. Same goes for the Iconus, which can even extend its shields to other ships. So we're discussing a huge number of brilliantly talented individuals here. And I know that there are a lot more individuals in the universe of Sins than there are on the planet Earth right now, hence more smart people. But not all of these smart people are going to become quantum field engineers. In fact, most of them will probably end up in your labs as theorists, not as glorified mechanics with PhD's in shield maintenance. 

 

 

Also, if the necessary thing for shields is some sort of valuable crystal thingy, again, why couldn't the pirates just buy some of these, along with an instruction manual?

Yeah, sure, they would have no problems getting their hands on shields, engineers, valuable materials etc.
Just like terrorists today have no problems grabbing nukes, nuclear reactors, nuclear physicists, fissionables etc. 

These pirates are more like a fully-armed rogue military than terrorists.  They have a permanent well-defended base, fleets of warships, and assuming any of their ships have antimatter reserves, antimatter reactors.  They've also been raiding everyone for years and probably have massive war chests of loot from it.  The pirates at this point are more like Iran or North Korea than Al-Quaeda thanks to their base, fleets, and relative wealth.

Reply #64 from Sins Forums Top

They don't have antimatter reactors.

Reply #65 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting The_Regicide, reply 64
They don't have antimatter reactors.
They have nuclear reactors... They truly are centuries behind!

Reply #66 from Sins Forums Top

I was talking about the Pirates, not Iran and North Korea.

Reply #67 from Sins Forums Top

The Pirates are essentially like a mini mercenary state though. They are somewhat similar to a cross between (insert moderately capable rogue nation here) and real pirates. They have lots of loot, again making me wonder why they couldn't install antimatter reactors, or redesigned shields. Al-Quaeda has a lot of many...or HAD a lot of money at any rate...so there is a certain similarity. 

Reply #68 from Sins Forums Top

I can definitely see how certain technologies are off limits to the Pirates. What I don't get is how they manage to field ships with better health, armor and damage than the military.

Reply #69 from Sins Forums Top

and that they start out that way.  I'm all for pirates scaling up by buying upgrades as the game goes on so they remain relevant gameplay-wise, but they just have a huge head start.

Reply #70 from Sins Forums Top

True. But assuming that we aren't starting at the beginning of the conflict between the races, the pirates have had LOADS of time to stockpile money and upgrade ships. In fact, they've probably been around almost since the start of the Trade Order. Which would give them plenty of time to get money and good ships.

Reply #71 from Sins Forums Top

So, umm... The Pirates have been around since the TEC, so by your logic, it makes sense for them to get better ships than the TEC... even though most of their ships are old repurposed and weaponized TEC ships?

WAT!? 

Reply #72 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting The_Regicide, reply 71
So, umm... The Pirates have been around since the TEC, so by your logic, it makes sense for them to get better ships than the TEC... even though most of their ships are old repurposed and weaponized TEC ships?
He probably means that because after saving a lot of credits for a very long time the Pirates would have been able to bribe the other faction(s) of the galaxy in order to obtain better technology and ships.

Mind you I like the Pirates just the way they are right now. Waiting for the raid strength fix though...

Reply #73 from Sins Forums Top

Exactly my point. The pirates have been around for a while, making money the whole time. So it would make sense for them to be able to buy good ships.

Reply #74 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting The_Regicide, reply 22
This is something I've said before and isn't in the game for god knows what reason.

When launching, Pirates should attack ALL players with an active bounty. HOWEVER, the size of the fleet sent to each player depends on the amount of the bounty. ADDITIONALLY, the total sum of pirates are only slightly affected by the total sum of the bounties, and they are primarily affected by the average fleet size cap of all the players in the game.

That way, if you find yourself with a 5k bounty on your head, you could place 5k on someone else to actually REDUCE the number of pirate ships that are launched against you.

Additionally, the bidding becomes closed 60 seconds before each raid. You can see the last bounty status before that time, and it even decreases as that player's ships are killed, but you can not see the increases until the pirates launch and the bounty board is refreshed.

And as far as the individual pirate ship is concerned, their HP-to-damage ratios are bad. They are too tanky for a "privateer" navy that is not interested in fighting but pillaging. Increase pirate mobility (10-15%) and damage (~10%), but cut their HP and armor. Significantly. 33% is a good start.

There. I just fixed pirates for  you. Again. No need to thank me, Ironclad.

I've suggested something like this before, but you worded it better.  This just makes all kinds of sense, and elimiates the whole problem of 'last second outbid nets you 100% of the pirate attack'.

Reply #75 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting OddskiBoddski, reply 73
Exactly my point. The pirates have been around for a while, making money the whole time. So it would make sense for them to be able to buy good ships.

THEIR SHIPS HAVE MORE ARMOR, HEALTH AND DAMAGE THAN THE BEST THINGS ALL THE HUMAN MILITARIES CAN EVER HOPE TO FIELD!

Good ship != Best ship in the universe. For a pirate, a good ship is something that can catch a trader and shoot something at it.