Hello guys and gals!

Just checking in so you don't think I've been abducted by aliens.

Some excellent discussion - thank you!

A few points:

* Collisions - my gut feeling is to go with the "punish everyone" approach. Obviously, a stationary object cannot actively collide (oh alright, they could position themselves in the place of an object that couldn't stop in time, but frankly this a corner case I'm willing to ignore) so they would be exempt. Fines are likely to be some formula based on damage caused. So yes, it will more than likely be open to abuse, but more than likely going to cost.

* Detection - this is a thorny one to be sure. First off, there are lawless systems where no crimes are committed. It's important to mention this, because these places won't just be on the far corners of the known universe - there will be lots of dark systems within the heart of known space where this rule will apply.

Anyhoo, once you get into someone's jurisdiction things change. Crimes committed here automatically assigned to a commander (the commander, not the ship). So if If I - without any justification - give a passing trader a lick o' me plasma accelerator, then bang, I have committed a crime and increased my outstanding fine/bounty. However, my crime has not been detected... Yet.

So what I managed to miss out from the inital proposal was that if there is any form of authority presence when I commit the crime it is automatically detected, without a scan. If a station viper patrol craft happened to be within visual range when I opened up on the trader then the jig's up - the viper will respond accordingly and if I try to dock at a legitimate authority facility they are going to automatically scan me.

But lets assume there wasn't an authority figure around. Now we're going to run into issues here one way or another as we work the rules out and seek justifcation. I'm suggesting that effectively, in a game-focused sense, your ship "knows" and stores all the naughty things you did (note that something is only naughty if it's in a jurisdiction). Why do this? Well, so that bounty hunters and authority ships can be used to create interesting game play challenges, and so that I can create a relatively simple system of manageable rules.

You could argue validly that this is unfair/unrealistic, but when I look at the alternatives I see (at the moment) no better alternatives. Feel free to convince me!

* Someone mentioned pirate bases and other less reputable docks. YES - we are definitely looking at this. Essentially we want lots of discoverable (sometimes even mobile) docks where one of dubious morals can "do business".

* I'm mulling over the punishment of a downgraded ship, but I have to say at the moment I'm not a huge fan. A big part of who you are in the game is the ship you use, for me it's the character (for now) and it doesn't sit square with me having it temporarily removed (though I totally get the justification and there are lots of interesting game play possibilities...)

If anyone has any burning questions, why not post a "burning questions" header question and we'll see if we can supply a useful answer tomorrow!

Dan Davies :

Hi Guys! I'm Dan, a member of the design team and I will be joining in on the DDF from now on in. We've had a good think about the crime proposal that we put forward and the discussion that followed and have put together an updated proposal for you guys to mull over. Enjoy! [SIZE="4"]Crimes[/SIZE] There are a set number of recognised crimes, they come in two severities: Minor – Punishment by fine Unlawful Discharge - Unauthorized firing of weapons near a structure or ship of authority Collisions – Colliding with a ship or owned structure enough to cause damage Collision happens when two objects collide higher than a set speed between them Collision will not happen if you have shields up and have a flight speed of half this speed above Above this speed a collision will occur and both parties will be blamed with the consequences, unless one party does not have their shields activated or has them polarized (an explicit player option for penetrating other’s shields), in which case they will take the blame. For example: If a one ship has no shields up and slams into a larger ship that has their shields safely up, the blame falls entirely on the unshielded player If two shielded players collide below the safe speed, their shields will soak the momentum of the collision If two shielded players collide above the safe speed they will receive equal punishment for the collision Likewise if two unshielded players collide, they will both be punished Stolen Goods – Being detected carrying stolen goods Illegal Goods – Being detected carrying goods that are classified as illegal in the current system Jettisoning toxic waste is counted as the Illegal Goods crime Obstructing Justice – ignoring a request from the local authorities (such as fleeing instead of stopping to allow a scan or trespassing in restricted space) Major– Punishment by bounty Attack on a ship or structure– firing on an owned structure or locking on and firing at a ship Murder/Ship Destruction – causing death/destruction of an owned structure This includes destruction through collision Once the commander’s outstanding fines have reached above a certain threshold they will receive a bounty [SIZE="4"]Detection[/SIZE] All crimes are logged by the ship but there will be no consequences until the crimes are detected via a scan If there is any form of authority presence when I commit the crime it is automatically detected, if this is a minor crime then I will be fined the next time I dock A close range active scan of a ship will reveal any outstanding crimes in the form of a fine or bounty. Scans can happen when a ship docks or be carried out directly by law enforcement Upgrades to sensors can increase the range, decrease the scan time and mask the scan Criminal data obtained via a scan has a time limit, after which the data becomes obsolete and a new scan must be initiated Bounty data about another ship can be acquired via scanning and sold by the player for a nominal fee This is the primary method of detection by authorities If a crime is scanned and detected by an authority vessel system space docks automatically detect the crime The commander is always aware of their own fines and bounties Various locations have “most wanted” bulletin boards which provide a remote scan of a criminal with a bounty so that the player can then hunt them down if they choose Such notices may also hint at where the criminal has been and/or currently is Like scans, data obtained from a bulletin board has a time limit, after which it becomes obsolete When docking there is a chance, based on the commander’s criminality reputation, that the ship will be scanned and crimes detected. If a player is caught carrying illegal goods in a routine check, they will then be checked again for other crimes. [SIZE="4"]Punishment[/SIZE] There are four forms of punishment for committing a crime: Fines – automatically created when the crime is committed Fine amounts are based on the crime committed Fines are factional or system-based Below a set threshold, fines can be paid off at an appropriate space dock If detected whilst docked, a fine must be paid before launching is allowed Once fines breach a set threshold they become a bounty Events and missions can be generated that have the ability to modify or remove fines Bounties – these are basically large fines that have the following additional rules: Bounties are factional or system based Within the jurisdiction of the bounty the commander may be legally and freely attacked Commanders can only legitimately attack a ship once they have scanned to confirm/discover that the ship has a bounty. The ship that fired the last shot receives the kill and can then acquire the bounty data with a scan of the dead ship, which can then be traded in at an appropriate space dock for the reward If a group of allied ships cooperate on a kill, they share the bounty Commanders with bounties can be attacked outside of the appropriate jurisdiction for a bounty data block – though the act of attacking may itself constitute a crime if in a different faction’s jurisdiction Events and missions can be generated that have the ability to modify or remove bounties Authority response – being detected as a criminal may result in direct action: Once crimes have been detected, they are automatically detected by all ports within that faction. Direct attack will occur in the case of a bounty A heavier authority presence may occur if enough crimes are committed at a location Events may be generated that have corrupt authority vessels willing to “look the other way” for a price etc. Multiplayer - crimes against human commanders that cause a bounty to exist make the criminal able to be matched with any other human commander present in the “all players” group This punishment lasts for a set amount of game time Bulletin board “most wanted” notices are generated to help bounty hunters track the criminal commander down [SIZE="4"]Exemptions, Factions and Jurisdiction[/SIZE] Crimes are the same for all factions, however, they are not always active: Once a player has been locked onto then fired upon by another player they have the right to retaliate and defend themselves without consequence. Illegal goods vary from system to system, determining whether this crime is active or not – though fines and bounties gained this way are persistent Imperial Letters of Marque, Federal Contracts and Corporate Sponsorships deactivate the crime of Attack, Collision and Stolen Goods within a designated jurisdiction against vessels and structures with open allegiance to designated factions Specific military missions and events disable Attack, Damage, Collision and Murder within a designated jurisdiction against vessels and structures with open allegiance to designated factions Specific independent systems may be more or less concerned with the law. Attack, Collision, Murder and Stolen Goods may be inactive within the jurisdiction except against authority vessels There are three major factions: the Federation, The Empire and the Alliance Any system allied or under the direct control of a faction is interested in crimes committed in its jurisdiction (systems where there is a relevant authority presence) Crimes committed outside this jurisdiction are ignored Fines can be claimed/paid at space docks inside the jurisdiction Bounties can only be claimed at space docks inside the jurisdiction Factional fines and bounties do not expire – they must be paid or removed by completing events/missions There are systems not under the influence or control of the three major factions, instead run by independent organisations (sometimes legally recognised, other times not) Crimes committed in these systems generate system fines and bounties A system fine or bounty will not expire whilst the commander remains in the system Once outside of the system the fine/bounty will expire after a game time delay Re-entering the system resets any active timer System fines and bounties can only be paid off/collected at a space dock within the system Independent systems honour ALL faction bounties - anyone can freely attack a bounty ship without fear of authorities A commander can have multiple fines/bounties (one for each of the three major factions and any number of temporary system ones) There are systems, including many (but not all) dark systems and anarchies, that have no meaningful concept of law No crimes are reported in such systems – commanders travel here at their peril Authority vessels and structures can arrive at such systems – whilst they are present crimes are reported as if the appropriate faction permanently controlled the system

Dan Davies (design team) :

Q[jabokai]: Presumably once a combat situation has commenced, the collision offence is nullified for the duration? I.e. If I get fired on and then ram that person - I will not get penalised? Once a player has been locked onto then fired upon by another player they have the right to retaliate and defend themselves without consequence is not quite clear on the matter. I do not like the "last shot gets the kill" scenario. It's the easiest way to do it I guess, but makes for some poor gameplay in my experience. A[Dan Davies]: To jabokai: Once combat has commenced ramming become just another weapon in your arsenal, right to retaliate includes the right to ram. I agree that last shot gets the kill is a feels a little off, but it's the only way of definitively attribute the desire to destroy a ship. Q[matthewdbenson]: Looks good (and very comprehensive). I have two initial questions: (i) Can we have a minor fine for ignoring a dispersal notice (not moving on request, when 'parked' in a certain location, eg right outside docking bay)?; and (ii) What happens when a bounty hunter kills a player with a bounty, when the 'killed' player gets to 'resume' play (presumably the bounty has 'gone'? Otherwise the player may never have a chance to avoid being killed, for he bounty, before they have a chance to repudiate themselves? On the other hand, does this make it as easy as "letting yourself be killed" to just get rid of a bounty? What is the true sacrifice - losing all money, cargo, etc?) A[Dan Davies]: To matthewdbenson (i) There should definitely be some provision to stop people parking outside docking bays. We are thinking the station would hail you and give you a warning to move, ignoring that would probably result in action from the station itself (turrets, vipers etc) (ii) A bounty is still a monetary fine that you will have to answer for when you return to port (ie die) Q[Dark Knight]: First of all: Welcome to the DDF, Dan. I hope you have a robust mind ... we will certainly do our utmost to wear you down (if recent experiences serve as a reliable indicator). ------------------------------------------------------------------ Now for the meat in your post: Ahhhmmm .... great Really, I mean that. I didn't partake THAT much in this discussion, but I think that all the major points and fears have been addressed, especially the collision topic (and I DID see "shield polarization", which will serve as a useful means to make interesting gameplay possible and plausible). I'm sure there's some of my fellow DDF compatriots out there who just itch to tell me why I'm totally wrong, but I'm gonna stick to it. The only thing I'm kinda sorta missing is the punishment missions (doing onerous tasks while commanding a red-colored in-system clunker), e.g. for griefing or just being a nuisance to humanity ... but maybe that's covered in "Events and missions can be generated that have the ability to modify or remove bounties/fines". A[Dan Davies]: To Dark Knight Yes theoretically "Events and missions can be generated that have the ability to modify or remove bounties/fines" could occur retrospectively

Mike Evans (design team) :

A[Mike Evans]: I would like to clarify the collision aspect of the proposal Dan posted but first some definitions! * Collision Speed - The relative speed between two objects colliding. E.g. if two ships were flying head on at 10m/s each the collision speed would be 20m/s. * Flight Speed - The speed the ship is flying relative to the location they're in i.e. the speed on their cockpit UI. In the above example each ship had a Flight Speed of 10m/s. So shields have a repulsion effect that at low enough Collision Speeds can prevent a collision between the ships hull actually occurring. This is called the Safe Collision Speed and is based on the Collision Speed between the two ships. Thus to ensure a player is exempt from blame if a collision was to occur they have to do two things: 1) Have a shield equipped and running (you can't prevent a collision with the repulsion effect of your shields if you don't have any) 2) Keep the ship's Flight Speed below a set level called the Safe Flight Speed (this is exactly half the Safe Collision Speed) If a two ships were both following the rules above then it's clear to see they couldn't possibly collide with each other as the repulsion effect of their shields will ensure they didn't collide even if they collide head-on (because the Safe Collision Speed is twice the Safe Flight Speed). If one ship, A, was following those rules and the other ship, B, didn't have a shield but was still below the Safe Flight Speed then a collision would put the blame on ship B. However there is still a chance the collision doesn't happen because even a single ship's shields repulses a non-shielded ship. An avoided collision in this case would require the Collision Speed be less than the Safe Flight Speed (as ship B's lack of shields effectively halves the repulsion effect between them). If ship B above has shields but had a Flight Speed above the Safe Flight Speed at the time of the collision the blame would be put on ship B. However like above there might not actually be a collision unless the Collision Speed is high enough. Either way if a collision does happen ship B will be to blame here. If both ships either lack shields, are travelling above the Safe Flight Speed or both then if a collision occurs they will both be to blame. Again like above if one or both ships are shielded when they collide above the Safe Flight Speed a collision still might not occur if the Collision Speed is low enough (think of both ships flying in parallel really fast and then one drifts over to the other slowly; high Flight Speed but low Collision Speed). Only a blamed ship can acquire a criminal fine or bounty depending on the damage caused (damage only or ship destruction) in the collision so if a player actively wants to avoid such blame in a crowded area it is on them to fly below the Safe Flight Speed with shields up. Hope that helps clarify the proposal. -Mike Mike Evans Originally Posted by jabokai : So basically, with regards to shields, if there's ANYONE in the vicinity you're going to have to put your shields up else you're at greater risk of being to blame for a collision they actually cause. I have no major issue with ships having shields up all the time but will we be able to just leave them up permanently? It's going to be at least a minor irritant if you're constantly having to toggle them based on whether there's someone in the vicinity or not. Well if the other ship has their shields up and is flying safely under the safe flight speed then you could easily manoeuvre around them. So unless you were worried the other player was flying dangerously or trying to ram you for whatever reason you don't need to have your shields up all the time. Originally Posted by jabokai : Yeah, I just see having shields up in the vicinity of others (given this proposal) as one of those "might as well" things, cos you just know that some people running with shields up could see you with none and think "might as well" in the other sense! Well the Safe Flight Speed will be low enough that they would have to violate it to come and ram you putting themselves at blame too! You see that guy accelerating and you accelerate out of the way at raise shields at the same time perhaps. Originally Posted by withnail : Is there going to be a limiter or 'cruise control' that could be used when maneuvering near other ships? Or is the intention to do all of this manually? Also, is the safe collision speed set to the strength of the shields or is it arbitrary? I don't see why we couldn't have some form of automatic limiting of speed if the player chooses to use it but the original proposal assumes manual control with a clear indicator on your cockpit UI that you're above the Safe Flight Speed. The Collision Speed is set arbitrarily to a global value and doesn't rely on shield strength or ship size. However the repulsion effect will take momentum into account so small ships are more like to push aside by larger vessels rather the larger vessel just getting stopped dead. There will also be a speed bleeding off effect applied to continuous shield collision to prevent ships pushing around smaller ones. Reply With Quote Originally Posted by jabokai : You said that "If one ship, A, was following those rules and the other ship, B, didn't have a shield but was still below the Safe Flight Speed then a collision would put the blame on ship B." so it's evident that a "fault B" collision can be deliberately caused by A knowing that B has shields down. All I'm saying is - why would you not have shields up at all times in the vicinity of others - it just takes away that one element of risk at least, without having to watch others for random manoeuvres, etc. Meh, it's not a big deal, I don't mean to get stuck on it (sorry!) - I just see me hitting the shields up button every time I see someone... after all, why not. Ship A in that example is following the rules and is thus travelling slowly. As soon as they break that rule they're just a liable as B. I would imagine that there's not much use to not having your shields up at all times unless you're actively trying to stay hidden from other ships sensors etc in which case you're unlikely to get rammed as they wouldn't know where you were. Originally Posted by Nicholas van Rijn : Ok, another scenario were players can abuse this system: some dedicated griefer take his small, quick ship, and go near some peaceful "whale of the sky" merchant vessel. He slow down under safe speed, and start bumping off the larger vessel. Shileds block both ships from taking damage, and no one is fined, but both vessels are bumped/slowed off. Even if the large vessel try to leave behind the quick vessel by changing route/bumping away the small vessel, the quick vessel can easily shift at a safe distance, accelerate a bit to reposition himself around the large vessel and then slow down again. Acting with a partner make the thing easier. With such a tactic, you can hope to provoke the large vessel in at some point trying to accelerate away over the safe speed, and be the only responsible for the collision, take a fine, and maybe even a bounty if it does destroy you in the process... The repulsion effect will not affect the larger vessel as much as the smaller one. They'll both be unable to collide but the smaller vessel will be the one pushed and repulsed far more effectively away. If the smaller ship is actively trying to counter this effect and keep colliding with the larger ship then their speed will bleed off until no one is moving until one party accelerates away from the other. Yes there is a potential for griefing in terms of constantly annoying the larger ship and making their flight from A to B take longer but we can't see any alternative that solves this issue along with the much greater griefing problem potential this solution does solve. Also the larger ship could if able just start a hyperspace jump to get away from the smaller ships. Originally Posted by Caribou : Quick Question about shields/docking - can you dock with them on? Will the station you are docking with "bounce" you out if you tried? Would you be jointly at fault if you collided with another docking ship even if you were at the safe speed? Ship to ship docking will require shields be turned off. Docking at a station may require the same as well but this hasn't been fully discussed. By Dan Davies (design team) : On the subject of illegal and stolen goods, having illegal or stolen goods only becomes a crime when you get caught with them (usually from a scan or docking). Unlike a murder for example which is a crime the second you commit it. Therefore if you dont want to get caught on illegal or stolen goods charges, don't keep them onboard for long enough that you might run into the autorities or attempt to trade them. Jettisoning is only a crime for toxic waste as it dangerous, you are more than welcome to jettison illegal goods if you dont want to get caught with them. Originally Posted by Slawkenbergius : If it looks like shields will be up quite often, I'd like to suggest that they are pretty well invisible unless damaged. So you wouldn't see a healthy shield, but would notice them more and more as they take damage. The reason for this is that I don't want the details of the ship models (including the wear and tear stuff in the last newsletter) obscured by some kind of translucent shield effect. Could ship to ship docking not also be done with one of the ship's shields being polarised? Polarisation was just a term we used to describe the fact that a shield can be either on (and thus repulsing), off or that it is set so that you can actively avoid the repulsion effect and duck under a larger ships shields but is effectively the same thing as turning your shield off as well, it offers no protection. Originally Posted by Slawkenbergius : Right, I posted a silly reply which I realise missed the point. So one player could drop shields, while the other keeps their's running. Etiquette would dictate both parties drop shields to do so as a sign of trust but that clearly doesn't always need to be the case

Sandro Sammarco :

Hello again backers! It's time to talk about trading. A big thanks to Matt Molloy (the latest designer to join the design team) and our dear Michael Brookes for helping out with this one! This document outlines the player trading experience in Elite: Dangerous. Note that the details of the background simulation that feeds into the trading will be the subject of a future topic. Goals Simple to use – the actual mechanisms of trading should be easy for the player to grasp. The complexities in trading come from the choices that the player makes. Provide interesting choice – trading should provide the player with interesting, but understandable choices. Risk/Reward – trading is a risk vs. reward activity and should provide the opportunity for players to balance risk with potential rewards. Impact the game world – player actions should have a noticeable effect on the game world. They enable player choices to determine the fate of aspects of the galaxy. Advance the player – trading should provide the player with the opportunity to advance in the game by supporting the player credits loop Credits in trading are earned by selling commodities at a higher price than they were purchased for Earning credits allows the following interactions Repair ship damage Replace ship consumables Pay fines Purchase ship module upgrades Purchase additional ships Buy more commodities, continuing a trade credit loop Markets Markets are where the majority of trading takes place Markets come in a variety of types which determine which goods can potentially be present Space Stations – trades commodities and essential ship supplies Shipyards – trades limited commodities, ships, ship modules, ship supplies Black Markets – private markets accessible based on player reputation, trades illegal commodities Pirate Bases – ignore fines and bounties, commodities, trades illegal commodities Smuggler Bases – trades illegal commodities only The background simulation determines some properties of a market Available commodities of allowed types Quantities of commodities present Commodity price modifications To determine a market’s properties the background simulation takes into account the following system data: Supply and demand based on market location, e.g. Agricultural location Supplies Food Demands Machinery, Fertiliser Politics/laws Determines which commodities are illegal Population size and standard of living Increases supply and demand of specific commodities Meta events like conflicts and disasters Affects commodity availability and prices Can be generated by player actions Player trading in the system Commodities There is a list of different commodities Each commodity has a baseline value This value is modified by background simulation This value is modified by player trading Based on background simulation data, rare alternate commodities can be generated These commodities’ value increase the further the player is from the origin system Value rarity modifiers are capped Some commodities require specialist ship equipment Attempting to transport commodities of these types without said equipment has effects: Spoiling – the commodity is ruined Alteration – the commodity changes type Contamination – the commodity becomes hazardous Packets of information can be obtained and traded like commodities Tradable information includes: System locations Market locations Resource gathering locations Mission/event locations Information packets automatically update the player’s galactic map as needed when they are acquired Player to Player Trading Players can trade directly with each other The player trade interface is available when both players are docked at the same market The player trade interface is available when two players dock ships The player trade interface is a secure swap allowing players to transfer credits/cargo Both players must accept the trade before it occurs Acceptance must be redone by both parties after any change in the trade Trading occurs in real-time and can be interrupted unless taking place at a space dock Issues Synchronous transactions - as with any transaction based system, simultaneous transactions can occur. This affects trading in that two trades being placed could be more than is available for those trades. There are a few possible methods for avoiding this: Fail both transactions If the amount is small allow both transactions Allow the first transaction seen by the server and reject the second Player trading effect – What do you see as the potential issues of unfettered player to player trade? Don those thinking caps, and start thining and talking! Useful Headings: Markets Commodities P2P Trades Background Sim Market Location

Mike Evans :

Hello! Here you'll find our updated proposal for grouping that should be far more robust compared to our previous effort. Lots of things have changed so read it carefully before chewing it over. Cheers, -Mike A player can only exist in one of the following groups at a time: All Players Group– Players in this group will be matched with each other as much as possible to ensure as many human players can meet and play together A player’s Friend List and Ignore List is used automatically to indicate preferences in match making so that friends will be matched instead of others if a choice exists(though this is a fuzzy system so there are no guarantees) E.g. In a nearly full session a player with more friends in the session than that of another arriving at the same time would mean the first player getting in and the second spawning a new session instead Players can use an option to indicate they would like friends of friends to be included in the preference system described above (which basically expands their friends list for the purposes of preferences under the hood only) Private Group – Players in this group will only be matched with other players in the same private group Players can create their own private group and invite people into it To help facilitate inviting players into a private group, players can be indicated as friends in game and can be selected easily for sending invites out too Any player can be invited into a private group regardless of friend status so player name searching and direct in-game selection is possible A player who accepts such an invite will be removed from their current group upon the next hyperspace jump and be placed in the private group of the inviting player A player who refuses such an invite will remain in whatever group they were already in and the option to ignore future requests from that player during the current gaming session is presented Players can save private group settings including players to invite to allow quick selection and set up of groups A player can set an option to allow friends to “quick join” into their private group They can change this option at any time Players will be able to see on their friend list that other friends are in private groups and that some may have a symbol indicated they’re free to “quick join” into the group without needing an invite The “quick join” option can be extended to allow friends of friends in freely also A player wishing to join another player’s private group will have to message them asking for an invite as there is no way to formally request admission into the group Players will thus typically set the “quick join” option if they don’t want the hassle of their friends having to message them when they want to join in with the group Only the original private group creator can invite others into their group. They can also do the following: Kick other players out of the group Disband the group resulting in all the other players entering their own individual private groups with “quick joining” disabled (gives them the opportunity to play solo or decide to join the all players group) Pass their leadership and thus all these options to someone else in the group Upon disconnecting, logging off or leaving the group automatically passes leadership to the oldest private group member, i.e. the first player to accept an invite into the group that is still present Solo Group – Players in this group won’t be matched with anyone else ever (effectively a private group with no one else invited) with the following properties: Players in this group are effectively indicating they want to be left alone and not disturbed by anyone else By default group and friend invites are ignored but this can be enabled if desired By default a player’s online status is hidden (set to offline) from others but this can be change if desired A player in this group can still see when other friends come online and can message them A player in this group can still receive messages from friends (possibly revealing the fact that they are online by virtue of return messages but still indicated as being offline) As described above a player also has a Friend List that they can manage which helps facilitate inviting players into private groups and allow preferences to be taken into account when joining sessions: A player can request friendship with others An accepting player will add themselves to the player’s friend list as well as adding the player to their own list as well A refusing player will remain off the other player’s list and the option to ignore future requests from that player during the current gaming session is presented A player can remove a friend from their list at any time and such removal will also take them off that friends list at the same time Requesting a friendship can be done inside and outside of the game client Friends will be matched with each other as much as possible when entering new sessions If a choice needs to be made between which players to allow access to a session the player with the most friend influence will trump a neutral or ignored player A player also has the option to add players to an Ignore List which does the following: Removes any friendship between the players automatically (players can’t be friends with players they ignore) Ignores all communication from them in game Ignores any friend requests from them Is active across multiple gaming session until changed by the player (this is different from the options presented in the above sections as they only last as long as the current gaming session) People on others ignore lists will not be favoured if a choice exists when match making players together If all players in a session have the same player ignored then that player will never be able to join that session If at least one player is neutral or friends with the ignored player above then they will be able to join that session providing there is no better suited players trying to get in at the same time when only one slot is available In addition to the groups presented above a player can be a part of an Alliance with other players. This is a separate entity that operates within the boundaries of whatever group the players are in: A player can only ever be in a single alliance at a time Alliances allow players to indicate trust between themselves so they: Can freely jettison and pick up cargo between themselves Can fire upon each other without criminal implications Gain the same criminal fine/bounty if one or more other members commits a crime Have the ability to slave hyperdrive systems together to make travel easier Get matched as a whole during slaved hyperspace travel and if not possible spawn in their own instance at a location rather than splitting the alliance up Alliances in the all players group allow those in the alliance to come across other human players as normal except the game is explicitly trying to keep the alliance together when they arrive at the same location through match-making This is in addition to the normal preference system and operates by giving a much higher weighting to alliance members when determining preferences over friends for example Alliances in a private group would only meet other players in that private group Depending on the size of the group, players may typically be in an alliance with everyone else in the private group but multiple alliances can exist in a larger private group if desired Creating an alliance is handled exactly the same way as creating a private group with the caveat that anyone in the group can invite other players (including non-friend players) into the alliance and no one is the leader In the all players group any player can be invited into the alliance by any alliance member In a private group only the players in the private group can be invited into an alliance by alliance members Players can vote to kick an alliance member out of the alliance After a set time limit the vote is closed and the majority is taken to decide the outcome unless all members have already voted or the required number of votes is reached Players can leave freely of their own accord Clarifications from the thread: Friend and Ignore Lists are account based not character based Crimes committed by alliance members only affect your criminal standing if you're in the same session when they do it Leaving an alliance after earning a criminal fine/bounty from another members actions will remain with you You can only add players to your friends list via mutual agreement. You can't just add a player to your list if they don't want you too Ignoring a player doesn't ignore any in-game canned dialogue options or game play features like declaring piracy Players that can successfully sniff a hyperspace trail or tailgate one, override that other player's ignore rules so that players are less likely to use the ignore feature as a way to escape bounty hunters or pirates on their first encounter and subsequent encounters were they to find themselves in the same session Private groups can have the option to kick player-killing bounties back to the all players group or tolerate that kind of player. In addition the private group owner can always choose to kick a player out on a case by case basis as normal Sessions will typically have an upper limit of 32 players for the time being (this is the number we're using in design) Players in iron man mode will only meet other iron man characters in the all player group. Private groups can have a mix of iron and non-iron man characters if desired Players can only guess as to the session capacity at locations when trying to flee others in the hope their ignore list will have a higher relative weighting in the new location thus blocking any pursuers (although as above pursuers have options to mitigate this) Issues: How does this system work with criminals being pushed to the all players group (potentially out of a private group meaning vengeance can't be taken by private group members)? Useful headings: Alliances Private Group All Players Group Solo Group Friend List Ignore List Bounty Hunting