.
Criteria for getting the mission in the first place
jawdan wrote:With a smart AI, would they be willing to hire an escort ship that can't keep up? I doubt it, unless there are other factors like you have a large amount of firepower and expected trouble!
Which raises another question, if NPC's post missions, can they then deny them to unsuitable candidates?
Grumblesaur wrote:Would they even be posting missions, or would they be buzzing you over the radio while in space?
I would expect that if you don't match their criteria or if they thought you were a pirate, they would never
tell you about their plans of flying with an expensive cargo.
The
speed of the convoy should be clearly listed in the job offer so you know what you're getting into.
The criteria should be few and simple so the system stays manageable. I'm thinking...
- Reputation (obvious)
This could include the percentage of escort missions that you did complete successfully. I'd consider that an important factor.
- Expected amount of trouble. No idea how your universe is organised and what parameters would apply.
- Present protection. That you are the player does not mean you're #1 on everyone's list.
Picking up a mission in deep space might be possible if a convoy in transit feels like it doesn't have the desired level of protection.
Could be because some escorts were actually destroyed by pirates.
Hard cap time limits
Not just no but hell no. Escort missions are always the most demanding mission type in any game and adding
artificial pressure doesn't make them any more interesting, only aggravating.
Payment
Unlike in X3, the payment for the protection of a convoy should not be higher than the cost of all ships in the convoy plus the cargo they are carrying. =P
The only way that makes sense is that you can get a share of the
profit these merchants are making.
Escort missions - due to their complexity - should mean a sizable relation boost, though. Much more than a simple "go kill this" mission.
In rare cases it can be "unique" cargo like prototypes, VIPs, or something like that where the worth can greatly exceed the "machine parts" or "passengers" they are transporting.
In these cases you could also have other interested parties looking for specifically that cargo.
While the mission wouldn't display something lame as "Difficulty: Hard", the unusually high payment for a simple escort should tip you off...
Payment is a place where time can be a factor.
If the convoy arrives within x km of the destination within the intended time, you get the full payment. After this time, the payment starts ticking down. Nothing personal but time is money.
The longer you
delay the convoy with your stupid fighting stuff, the lower your payment.
Damage to convoy ships should also be a factor. If you can prevent potential pirates from even getting close to the convoy, this should be rewarded.
When you
lose an entire ship in the convoy, you shouldn't get any payment at all. You screwed up by the numbers, after all. You can still get the "mission completed" if any ships reach their destinations so you don't automatically reload. You keep the bounties on killed pirates...
Mechanics and AI
This is the tricky part and the true reason why "escorts suck" in so many games.
The player should get limited control over the convoy ships.
1. An order to WAIT.
Sometimes stragglers need to catch up, restoring the proper formation.
Sometimes you need to catch up because you intercepted a pirate formation far out and now you're way out of position to cover the convoy.
This would also cover the issue of you flying a "too slow" ship. If you're slower than even the freighters, naturally you won't get the full payment for the job.
2. The ability to give the leading ship one waypoint order.
Once the waypoint is reached, the leading ship gets back to flying towards the port of call.
This waypoint will not be accepted if it leads the ship
further away from it's destination than it currently is.
This way you can lead your convoy around obstacles like an asteroid field or a pirate base that you know about. The player's planning or his knowledge about the lay of the land could be a major factor in the success of the mission.
You could even fly a fast, stealthed scout and
find pirates and such before they find your convoy, then weave your ships around those... obstacles.
If you have pirates on your scanner (if such a thing can be told from a scan)
and those pirates never attack the convoy, the merchants are perfectly happy about that and extend your "mission time" when they arrive.
This works for both
avoiding the attackers as well as spending time to intercept and
kill them while telling the convoy to wait. You are not punished for doing a good job.
With this system you could do a "perfect" escort mission without even firing a shot! Be the Sun Tzu of escort missions. =)
AI escorts
You may not be the only escort this convoy has hired.
These AI escorts do their own thing and won't listen to you.
Whether they get destroyed or not is not part of the success conditions. It would be a good idea to try and keep them alive, though, because they might just increase the chances of getting the full payment for the
real mission. =)
Not sorry for the Wall Of Text. This is
not a simple issue that can be explored in 3 lines.