Edit: For clarification and stuff, that I cuted out by accident.

Edit 2: Including some points from the comments.

Edit 3: Consider Medium security tag.



Preamble

Well here I am again, flying around in the Black. Watching the Creators Roundtable stream and the topic of C&P came up again. In the past I left my 2 cents in the forums, when I saw it pop up. But this shall be my refined and complete vision for C&P, just in case FDev ever comes to visit this corner of the forums for ideas.



Before I go into details here a few grievances, I have with the current C&P to make a case for my proposed changes.

As of now C& is still considered rather toothless, while the victims don't really get anything to take the risk. This forces people into PP and Solo, which is totally fine, I probably would do it also, if not for my RL location and lack of experience with griefers. This not only dispopulates space for you, unless you join those PPs, but also creates this huge uproar in the community, if FDev tries to put their hands on mode equality.

But then there are also the regular player pirates, who suffer under this development. Sure no trader wants to lose his precious cargo, but at least you get some interaction with those people, instead of most of the time, just getting blown silently up or just insulted. I for once would love to run in the occasional pirate, that I could talk to and is not a buged out AI. With that being said, enough of this.



Build upon the Security rating for Systems

Anarchy

Anarchy should be, more than it is right now, a lawless space. Not only should crimes be permittable in space, but also around stations. Small Starports lose their no-fire zone and all fligth regulation, while for large stations, only the inner part + mail slot is regulated, since not even anarchist want to see their smugglers den be clogged up all the time. But the most important thing is, that rebuy is not affected by notority. Also you will never have to do anonymous access within Anarchy space, regardless of bounty or notority.

Low Security

No real changes. Maybe make people with bounties on their head more visible.

Medium Security

This systems should almost feel similar to current C&P with 2 exceptions: If killed while having notority, you don't don't get insurance, but have to pay the full ship costs + bonus for engineering(see edits below for alternatives). There never spawn any ATR to hunt you down, regardless of notority.

High Security

If you are a notorious criminal, high sec should become a no-go zone. Not only do you lose insurance, but maybe even the option for rebuy (so death means sidewinder), although I am not sure on that point and would love to get an oppinion for that. In addition to this drastic deterrent, remember how persistent NPC pirates can be for missions? The moment you drop with any notority into High-Sec, a ATR is on your tail? Constant interdiction and as soon as you drop from SC, they will spawn rigth behind you. Stations won't even accept your docking requests, but start shooting at you. You can still move through High-Sec Systems to get from point A to point B in the galaxy, but it will be a hassel and you shouldn't overstay your visit.



Seperate ]Notority for Players and NPC

As of now Players are Independet Pilots, thus licensed by the galaxy wide operation PF. NPC's on the other hand are just hirelings for your local Minor Faction. Murdering the latter might anger the locals and at some point even a super power, trying to hold onto that system, but once you leave them alone, they simply don't want to pay for your death. Murder of NPC will still generate Notority, that will at some point drop and vanish.

Not so with the independent pilots aka players. You go on a murderspree, PF will remember. They might also stop at one point to put up new wanted posters for you, but go on multiple streaks and you will be permanetly flagged. In game terms: Murder a player gain notority(a seperate PF specific one), which will drop at the usual rate(although for a true backdrop to 0 you need to clear at least your current bounties at an IF, this way you can continue live as an outlaw even without killing players), but everytime notority rises above 1, you get a strike. After 3 strikes Notority for PF will never drop below 1 after time. Secure Space and especially High-Sec become a constant risk/no-go area. Only death/turning yourself in will bring you back to 0 notority(allthough still 3 strikes), but at the cost of all super hot modules and ships(see below) even in storage, this might result in ending up with a sidey of course.



Super Hot Modules for Player Kills

Just to avoid cheap turn-ins to drop PF notority, all ships and modules used in a player murder become permanetly super hot and cannot be cleaned, unless the pilot has 0 notority. So a person with not yet 3 strikes can still recover from a spree. Mind you loss of super hot stuff only occurs, once you got 3 strikes from the PF and then get destroyed/turn yourself in. So you can live outside off High-Sec space more or less just fine as a criminal.



Better Distribution of Security in Human Space

First of all I would flag a 15 ly bubble around starter space as High-Sec to keep new players protected and not instantly turned to solo. Systems with an Engineers, a CG or other importance should always be Low-Security. So noone is left out from aspects of the game. Other than that, High-Sec and Low-Sec should be distributed around the Super Powers HQs and around applicable Powers HQs, with at least 1 High-Sec route between each center, so that players can move between them. Anarchy is still up to the controlling faction, although I would bar them from starter systems by a manual exception.



Incentive players to come to Anarchy Space

One issue still remains, why should you come to anarchy space as someone, who doesn't want to be bothered by other players? This is the reason: Opportunity to become filthy rich. Just as there are Centers of High-Sec space, there will be Centeres of Crime. First of all, every faction pays extra for missions, that take place in Anarchy Space. Second of all collecting Bounties(Anarchy Stations accept all bounties collected in their system) or bringing in Cargo in Anarchy Space will award Risk Vouchers, which can be turned in for additional profit(trade at the current star port, bounty only outside of anarchy space). These vouchers can only be earned in open and will be lost, on mode switch. The bounty vouchers can be stolen, by murdering the current holder in Anarchy Space.

The value of freshly(stealing doesn't count) gained vourchers are higher, the more a trader or bounty hunter dives into anarchy space and risks getting pirated or meeting heavy resistance or attraction of people after those sweet vouchers.

For some extra fun I suggest making player bounties become completly converted into those vouchers, so that the hunt for wanted players may spiral out of control.



Incentive and Focus Players more

The above points, make all anachy space sligthly more attractive, but it would people still be spread out all other the place. Making the life of pirates and bounty hunters hard. So I propose to put a very special place at the center of every stable(say 30+ ly for a month) anarchy bubble with a large starpot: A place for huge syndicates to do their nasty deeds. They are a place for rare opportunites for smugglers. The black market merges with the regular market and accepts all goods, that are non stolen(so escape pods can be turned in). At the local fence contact, which replaces the black market, people can buy stolen and illegal carog. Smuggeling away this illegal cargo, will also award a Voucher based on distance(minimum value is equal to half the smuggled goods, maximum double that) and can be turned in back at the fences station. It can also be stolen of course, by killing the holder.



As a second part to this concept is of course, finding ways to keep smugglers & traders entering/leaving station space to have an easy escape/entry in Anarchy Stations. So maybe increade the Mass-Lock Zone and distance of Entry by a few more kilometers to give pirates a chance to get their prey.



Punish Combat Logging and don't assume innocence

To avoid griefers from avoiding a painful death outside of anarchy space, CG must always be assumed. If a connection is droped, while in Open, in Danger, in Secure Space with PF Notority on your head, you come back without shields and missing 50% of your max health, which might send you to rebuy on starting the game. In High-Sec you will have ATR in your instance, shooting you.

On the other hand, avoiding consequences in Anarchy should not be viable either. Dropping Connection in Open, in Danger, in Anarchy Space, will lose you all Anarchy Vouchers and put you in the nearest station in secure space(of course not High-Sec if you got Notority).

Players are of course free to make a case and get their stuff restored, if they got beaten by Internet Provider or the other person killing the connection by blocking IP, but maybe FDev will look into the latter.



Blocking Players should not block matchmaking

This one is rather short. Blocking ingame, should only affect communication and nothing else. At least for Anarchy Space Instances. Should avoid people from putting up a saftey bubble around them in Open Anarchy Activites, involving trade.



Conclusion

First of all. C&P will become an effective tool to keep griefers away from certain places(such as starting areas) and give CG doers a fair chance to get protection against murder hobos, even if they try to Combat log. Thus hopefully drawing people out from Solo/PP, never pushing them there in the first place.

On the other hand if Vourcher Values are properly done and Anarchy Centers properly setup, smuggeling will recieve a good buff to viability. But it will also draw in traders. Which in turn will draw in Pirates, which of course leads to Bounty Hunters and Escorts getting in on the fun and not only creating gameplay, but also an emergent dynamic between players. As all activites require players to reach and or leave an Anarchy station successfully and with the increased Mass Lock/Entry Distance, they will become a good choke points for pirates/voucher thiefs. As all of this only viable in Open, without taking something away from PG/Solo, I hope it becomes a acceptable compromise.



Final Words



Bonus: Indicator for Targets with a Anarchy Voucher

Just to make it more fun, make a scan of a ship with anarchy vouchers pop up a little message reading out the value of all those vouchers(the Kill Warrant Scanner could be used for this, to give it extra use). If a high value target leaves a station, maybe broadcast once they are halfway out of the mass lock/make a docking request(or some other value for entering ships). Just to add to the chaos.



Bonus: Incentive

Maybe, emphasis on maybe, make Anarchy Vouchers be able to be traded for materials, just so that even the richest of the rich players, consider getting in on the fun.



A concern: UA Bombing

The crime centers, which accept all non-stolen cargo. Should either exclude UA Bombing stuff or be protected against them. Alternative and way more fun, double/quadruple the payout for Meta-Alloys if the station needs them.



Bonus: Changes to the effects of Archon Delaine Presence

I am not so much into all that PP. But maybe someone has a good idea, how to incorperate him into the dynamic of Anarchy Systems.



A few additions from the comments



Notority Alert credits: fus roh potato

Just as you could scan ships for anarchy vouchers and have the station annouce them to some extend.

In secure space, people should be able to opt-in to notority reports, which will allow them to track down notorious player one way or another.



Remove NPC Notority

This point was also brougth up by fus roh potato and I kinda agree. Notority was meant as a way to punish murder of players. Mixing up NPC's in that mix just was a hassel for everyone. So lore-wise notority could just be something the Pilots Federation keeps track of for internal murders aka between players.



Remove the harsh punishment of losing ships and modules

Some people already accused me of being to much of a carebear. And I don't want to leave that impression. If I didn't find the grind for a good combat ship so tiresome and knew it neither paid well and could end up as this whole hassel with accidental notority and whatnot, I would tried piracy for myself a bit.

The original idea of this whole thing, were just the changes to anarchy space, to make them feel more like the lawless outback, but it kinda grew.

My main goal of this overhaul was aimed, to make murderhoboing, not piracy mind you, a risk and give "white knights" an opportunity to actually combat them, by imposing harsh sentences, as well as dealing with people trying to escape consequences by Combat Logging. The last few times I saw people suggesting ways to battle grieving with harsh consequences, the culprits cried out, that they wouldn't get anything in return. So I thought to myself, hey let's do a C&P system, where people could choose to take risks for a reward, while also giving them the option to stay in secure space and can work together to keep offenders out. But just having players do all the work, is a) tedious and b) given the size of space of space, almost impossible.

I understand, that noone wants to loose their ship & all the work, that went into grinding materials, but as someone pointed out, Rebuy, even without Insurance, is not a deterrant to keep filthy rich people away from murderhoboing. If you have a good idea, what to do about it, feel free to let me know.

The alternative I can think of, is confiscating hot ships&modules and putting them in the Detention center for a week or so. The player either switches to another clean ship or gets the sidey. Noone loses progress, but it will limit a toxic players ability to do harm.