What are your thoughts on this whole prison gameplay loop?

Montoya

Administrator
Staff member
Oct 31, 2013
10,050
55,471
3,180
RSI Handle
Montoya
I gotta be honest, without knowing all the details, at this moment in time I think its gigantic mistake.

It sounds cool the first time, but what about the 4th, 5th and 6th time?

You and your friends are planning an evening, you log in, you realize you had a crimestat, you get stopped by cops. Next thing you know you are waking up in a prison.

Your friends are all out ready to do what ever activity, mining, exploration or combat, but you are stuck in a prison and now have to spend the next 15min-1hr breaking out?
 

SoloFlyer

Grand Admiral
May 27, 2018
966
3,608
1,000
RSI Handle
housebroken
Yeah, I'd have to think the more serious offenders would have to worry about excessive and repeat sentences. It would make sense that up to a certain crimestat level and for certain things you would be able to pay a fine and be good to go. I don't see myself doing anything to knowingly get a crimestat so if it happens by accident I should be able to deal with it without the prison loop. If I did do something that would normally get a crimestat it would probably be in lawless space anyway and while part of a larger group so it wouldn't really apply. For myself I'm glad the system is going to be in place as a deterrent to unprovoked aggression from other players in the relatively safe spaces so I can enjoy the game.
 

Blind Owl

Hallucinogenic Owl
Donor
Nov 27, 2015
20,913
73,955
3,160
RSI Handle
BlindOwl
I concur with the lads; so long as the mechanic is for serious crime, griefing, etc, it'll be fine. It'll keep assholes from being dicks for the sake of being dicks. Or at least cut down on it.

If, however, you're thrown in prison for every little crime, yeah, it'll suck.
 

Michael

Space Marshal
Sep 27, 2016
1,246
4,513
2,650
RSI Handle
Pewbaca
I gotta be honest, without knowing all the details, at this moment in time I think its gigantic mistake.

It sounds cool the first time, but what about the 4th, 5th and 6th time?

You and your friends are planning an evening, you log in, you realize you had a crimestat, you get stopped by cops. Next thing you know you are waking up in a prison.

Your friends are all out ready to do what ever activity, mining, exploration or combat, but you are stuck in a prison and now have to spend the next 15min-1hr breaking out?
As it has already been stated and how i understood it it so far. It will be for serious crimes in a certain region. (murder ... and parking bad ... God how much i hate people who can't park their ships properly)

Id expect this to be for serious offenders who are captured by bounties but we'll see!
^this

Also you will have tracked down by a bounty hunter or police to get thrown into jail. (?)
Will the prison game play loop fun? Its a punishment, i hope its somehow not. But also i hope you can avoid jail by beeing smart.

BUT i think something like a prison is absolutely necessary to prevent people from griefing like in eve online (Make ship insurance, kill player, awake, get insurance, repeat) and also to make the bounty hunter occupation viable.

What happend in eve online? People could put a bounty on the potential griefer / criminal. After accumulating some bounty on his head the criminal went to his friend, he killed him and they both shared the bounty.
-> Congrats you killed an entire game mechanic. (And tbh thats what we are currently doing)

I think the general idea is great. Currently you can switch between criminal and "the good guy" within seconds, without downside. With prisons you will have to decide what you want to be. (Or create two accounts)
 

NaffNaffBobFace

Space Marshal
Donor
Jan 5, 2016
12,236
44,982
3,150
RSI Handle
NaffNaffBobFace
You and your friends are planning an evening, you log in, you realize you had a crimestat, you get stopped by cops. Next thing you know you are waking up in a prison.
From watching a lotta YouTube, Criminals tend not to stop for the cops.

Remember this 'aint no landlocked city level with invisible walls on the outskirts keepin' ya penned in. You a criminal, boy, you acted like a crim before they noticed you so act like a crim now you've caught their eye - Run for the boarder like Smokie and the Bandit, the fuzz's arms are only so long so leave that jurastiction far behind, or flat-out run for Lawless Pyro system where there 'aint no rules and justice, or injustice, is served at the barrel of your blaster gun.

But in lawful space? especially high security? Well, the following should be a rough musical guide:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ-mpul94eo
 
Last edited:

maynard

Space Marshal
May 20, 2014
5,146
20,422
2,995
RSI Handle
mgk
if they don't shorten travel times, your own ship is going to feel like a prison

not all 'immersion' is a good thing

remember, CIG, games are supposed to be fun
 

CosmicTrader

Space Marshal
Officer
Donor
Oct 30, 2015
6,161
24,017
2,975
RSI Handle
CosmicTrader
Ofcourse people can always go back to playing EVE or one of the 1000s of other 'Pinball' games available.........
Star Citizen is not for everyone.....
Again, it is NOT a game but a Virtual Realty Experience........The FIRST EVER.

Besides, IRL I don't want to spend my time in prison when my friends are 'on the town' having a good time.
So I don't act like a complete JERK by F'ing up everyone else's experience.
Once more - Virtual REALTY.
 

Grimbli

Space Marshal
Jan 27, 2016
4,034
14,846
2,910
RSI Handle
Grimbli
Will the prison game play loop fun? Its a punishment, i hope its somehow not.
I gotta disagree here. It's a game, it should be fun no matter what.

The "punishment" is taking away your agency. Wanted to go exploring or fighting today? Now you're forced to go mining for prison credits.

It should be more annoying to have to deal with than straight up unfun. People will get pretty pissed at CIG if it makes you spend your available time doing tedious work anyways, no matter how fun it is. I think they shouldn't try to artificially increase the hassle.
 

Mich Angel

Space Marshal
Donor
Sep 19, 2016
3,632
13,764
2,910
RSI Handle
ARCHANGEL_666
As long as it is for serious offenders

But think we'll see how this work once it is set in motion and how we like it then....
I sure would be furious if I got put in jail for less than highest crime stat..

example: it bugs out during landing in a hangar and you get a crime-stat for that and put to jail...
And the excuse for that is we need to test the mechanic its only jail v1.0
Then I say " I don't give a F**K " cause I'm not interested in being a criminal or test that mechanic, specially not for some trivial shitty thing. ha ha ha...

So this is a twin edge knife if put in game the wrong way it can backfire a lot.

But IMO I think the idea is great as long as this is for serious max crime-stat offenders only and not accidents that cause crime-stat.

CHEERS! 🍻
 
Last edited:

Grimbli

Space Marshal
Jan 27, 2016
4,034
14,846
2,910
RSI Handle
Grimbli
And the excuse for that is we need to test the mechanic its only jail v1.0
When it first comes in I'm going to probably such an asshole blowing people up just so I can get in jail to check it out. Then I'll just punch people in jail to extend time.
 

SkywiseFahr

Vice Admiral
Feb 5, 2020
8
34
400
RSI Handle
SkywiseFahr
There are so many games out there. One of the things that makes SC stand out for me is its dedication to immersion. There was no mini map the first time I was trying to find my ship. I had to follow signs on the wall and ask players in chat. It felt real. That was great for me. I like the idea that in the future there will more severe consequences for negative actions. Knowing that if I get caught running a Connie full of vice, it could land me in prison adds a deeper level of excitement for me. The hard part for CIG is finding a balance between immersive element and annoying mini game.
 

Vashpede

Captain
Donor
Dec 4, 2019
195
752
200
RSI Handle
Vashpede
I am super excited about it. I feel like it is something that can happen to you from blowing up someones ship or murdering players, more serious than things like landing at the wrong landing pad. This will put a balance on players needlessly killing other people and I think needs to be in the game for that type of risky game play. If you are going to be a dick, there should be consequences for it for sure, but that is just my opinion.
 

Mich Angel

Space Marshal
Donor
Sep 19, 2016
3,632
13,764
2,910
RSI Handle
ARCHANGEL_666
When it first comes in I'm going to probably such an asshole blowing people up just so I can get in jail to check it out. Then I'll just punch people in jail to extend time.
Yeah I might try it once in PTU cause that's another thing, brawl with some ai and get sent away ha ha ha ha.
🍻
 

invalidData

Commander
Jan 18, 2020
60
187
100
RSI Handle
invalidData
In other games like GTA you get crimestats for doing wrong, then police tries to kill you. You got two options, you escape ore you die. End of punishement.

Luke Pressly said in the latest "Inside Star Citizen" that Star Citizen has the longest list of crimes in a game he ever saw. I think this list is not complete yet.
It would be lazy and not appropriate if every crime on the list resulted in you getting guned down and then you simply respawn.
And they need a system that prevents people loosing fun in Star Citizen because some idiots like to bully a lot.

This is the first game I know that has such a complex law enforcement system and a prison.
I think this is great and it should take you some determination to get trown into prison.

It's so complex, not every law is applied everywhere, different jurastriction zones have different values on different crimes, so only because you are a wanted criminal on Hurston doesn't mean that you are a criminal on Arccorp. I can imagine they get rid of the global crimestat at some point, because it doesn't apply everywhere.
I mean you can have different crimestats for every location.
Then they want to get rid of the zones where you can't use your gun and replace it with a crime for when you draw your gun.

I think the system we get now is great: You can pay fines at machines, if you ignore them they go up in price and if you ignore them to long or do something really bad you get a crimestat.
Crimestat 1 isn't a bounty yet so I think police doesn't look for you either, you are just not welcome everywhere anymore, you can still pay your fines or hack them and you'll be ok.
If you still ignore it and keep doing illegal stuff you get more fines and more crimestats it get's you a bounty and police search eventually, you can still pay at the machine but if they catch or kill you then, and only then you get to prison. i think it will depend on your fine count how much merrits you have to serve so it's not the same time to spend for everyone.

The moment they catch you, you respawn in prison. This is great because if they would have to take you there you couldn't do anything for like half an hour or longer. On the other hand it would be a fun opportunity to break soemone out of prison transport.

So I think this is a great gameloop and I'm glad that we get it now. People have to behave appropiatly to where they are. You can have a fist fight at Grim Hex, but in Area 18 nobody wants to see that.

If you want to have some fun with your friends, maybe don't upset the authorities by going on a killing spree in New Babagge half an hour before you meet them there.
 

Vashpede

Captain
Donor
Dec 4, 2019
195
752
200
RSI Handle
Vashpede
In other games like GTA you get crimestats for doing wrong, then police tries to kill you. You got two options, you escape ore you die. End of punishement.

Luke Pressly said in the latest "Inside Star Citizen" that Star Citizen has the longest list of crimes in a game he ever saw. I think this list is not complete yet.
It would be lazy and not appropriate if every crime on the list resulted in you getting guned down and then you simply respawn.
And they need a system that prevents people loosing fun in Star Citizen because some idiots like to bully a lot.

This is the first game I know that has such a complex law enforcement system and a prison.
I think this is great and it should take you some determination to get trown into prison.

It's so complex, not every law is applied everywhere, different jurastriction zones have different values on different crimes, so only because you are a wanted criminal on Hurston doesn't mean that you are a criminal on Arccorp. I can imagine they get rid of the global crimestat at some point, because it doesn't apply everywhere.
I mean you can have different crimestats for every location.
Then they want to get rid of the zones where you can't use your gun and replace it with a crime for when you draw your gun.

I think the system we get now is great: You can pay fines at machines, if you ignore them they go up in price and if you ignore them to long or do something really bad you get a crimestat.
Crimestat 1 isn't a bounty yet so I think police doesn't look for you either, you are just not welcome everywhere anymore, you can still pay your fines or hack them and you'll be ok.
If you still ignore it and keep doing illegal stuff you get more fines and more crimestats it get's you a bounty and police search eventually, you can still pay at the machine but if they catch or kill you then, and only then you get to prison. i think it will depend on your fine count how much merrits you have to serve so it's not the same time to spend for everyone.

The moment they catch you, you respawn in prison. This is great because if they would have to take you there you couldn't do anything for like half an hour or longer. On the other hand it would be a fun opportunity to break soemone out of prison transport.

So I think this is a great gameloop and I'm glad that we get it now. People have to behave appropiatly to where they are. You can have a fist fight at Grim Hex, but in Area 18 nobody wants to see that.

If you want to have some fun with your friends, maybe don't upset the authorities by going on a killing spree in New Babagge half an hour before you meet them there.
This is also how I imagine it will work and honesty is one of the best systems I have seen to still allow players to pirate but also at a large risk. I do not plan on being a criminal besides maybe some smuggling here and there, but this whole system is one of my favorite things I have seen so far.
 

Radegast74

Space Marshal
Oct 8, 2016
3,009
10,702
2,900
RSI Handle
Radegast74
The other aspect I haven't seen mentioned here is the intent to push griefers and wannabe criminals into pockets of space where there is no law enforcement, so they can all hang out together and do criminal things to each other.

Obviously, if you are a criminal, would you try to do illegal stuff where the cops are, or where the cops aren't? Sure, every now and again groups of criminals will raid lawful space, but for the most part, having law enforcement strong in some areas will push the criminals to hang out in areas where the police (and UEE Navy) aren't.
 
Forgot your password?