We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

General discussion about the game.
DonovantheBrave
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:38 am

We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby DonovantheBrave » Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:44 am

For example - two enemy Rebels board your ship. While they're attacking your systems, you destroy their ship. A dialogue box comes up saying that the two humans have surrendered, at which point they are teleported into a small cell. At this point a few things could happen. If you come across the "well-known slaver" there could be an option to sell them to him for a decent price. If you come across another Rebel ship, they could have a chance of not attacking you and instead paying you a ransom for the prisoners. If your crew has humans in it, perhaps the prisoners could have a chance of joining you.

The cell itself would be fairly straightforward. I'm thinking a two-square room, with a very strong door. Upgrading it could reinforce the door (which would be separate from the normal door system) and maybe add facilities to the room - life support and a teleporter come to mind (in case you want to jettison the prisoners onto a ship full of angry Mantis),

Faster Than Light is a very involved game, and personally I love the idea of not killing everything you see. The prisoner system would also make a lot of sense - it's unlikely that a badly injured man would continue fighting while his ship explodes and he's stranded on a ship full of giant Rockmen.
mattlistener
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:15 pm

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby mattlistener » Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:35 pm

It's not as elaborate as you envision above, but if you defeat a ship without destroying it, there is a chance to acquire a crewmember.
greetingsfromoslo
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:47 am

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby greetingsfromoslo » Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:26 pm

I was actually going to make a post about this right now. Good to see others already engaged in similar concepts. However, as stated, your idea is too elaborate. My conception incorporates some of the infrastructure and mechanics already present in the game:

1. A lot of ships have spare rooms. Thus it should be possible to convert any of these into a prisoner room. Alternatively the cargo bay could accommodate prisoners, but they take up the slots for other loot/equipment.
2. The door system must be upgraded to maximum in order to facilitate prisoners on your ship. There could of course be a next level upgrade. If the door system is damaged, prisoners will escape and attack your ship from inside. This would act out like a normal intruder event, but it might hurt a lot more if the cargo bay is full of them AND the AI sends a boarding crew. That should add a risk/reward relation to your slave enterprise.
3. In stores, prisoners can be sold, but at half their price.
4. When dealing with slave traders, prisoners can provide a blue option; either as a bribe or as a commodity.

Lastly, thematically I think it fits with the general behavior under our command. The way we behave are not very different from pirates, as we loot and shoot more or less everyone we encounter. This is of course the logical next step, all for the greater good of The Federation.
Snarks
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 12:08 pm

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby Snarks » Wed Feb 06, 2013 1:03 am

I think the brig can exist as a system similar to the drone system or the door system. Some ships would have it by default while others would have to buy one or simply not have it available at all. I'd imagine it would be a room (size dependent on ship) with special devices in each space representing a cell or something of the sort.

However, there are technical problems associated with this idea. For instance, what if the player uses the brig to hide from boarders? Since you can only have 2 units in a tile, wouldn't that block enemy crew from entering the room? Or if we made the prisoner into the background in the brig, what happens if they get released while an enemy crew is on the same tile?

The idea is really good, but I'm not sure how it can be successfully implemented with taking the engine and other mechanics into consideration.
ruler
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:34 pm

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby ruler » Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:16 pm

Good idea, I'd definitely like to see this implemented.

- Brig should be an installable subsystem (doesn't consume power), with special doors that are locked regardless of the ship's door level.
- Prisoners can only be sold to slavers (blue option as suggested above), or ransomed to rebel forces.
- Prisoners can be given to federation craft for rewards.
- Some prisoners could be high-ranking officers that offer additional blue options when dealing with rebel forces.
- Own crew members should not be able to move into the brig area while it's occupied.
- Whenever your ship is disabled by some hacking event, if sensors are damaged, or if the door subsystem is damaged, prisoners have a chance of escaping. If the brig itself is damaged, the doors automatically open.
- There should be a door from the brig to space, so that you can "throw them out the airlock"
- Brig will be a high-priority target for boarders, it should take 10-20 seconds of shooting the brig door to release the prisoners.
- New mission type: capture individual and take them to X, or something similar.
greetingsfromoslo
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:47 am

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby greetingsfromoslo » Sat Feb 09, 2013 8:36 pm

ruler wrote:- New mission type: capture individual and take them to X, or something similar.


Another type could be a longer quest were one race request you to capture n number of another race and deliver for interrogation, tribunal, imprisonment or worse. In such cases you must be wary of which crew you kill on board the ships, thus these quests call for some level of boarding micro in place of the standard a-move into a system room and wait for the enemy crew to slowly die off one by one as they enter.
PeopleEatPie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:47 am

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby PeopleEatPie » Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:42 am

Someone make this mod... Pleeeeeeeeeease.
AnonJ
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:18 am

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby AnonJ » Thu Nov 21, 2013 4:54 am

To be honest I never understand why FTL put so much an emphasis on "slave" or whatever stuff in the game. Slavery is a shame of human beings and one of the most horrible and disgusting things we can imagine. Though we haven't totally got rid of it, the boundary is clear. Even the most controversial of games never touch upon the topic of slavery. To deal with so many "slavedealers" in such dubious ways is already quite upsetting enough, not to mention implement virtually a slavery system on its own. Even more ridiculous is to say it can "fit in the theme". What the hell. The player combats only because it's the core of the game. However most of the time it still makes morally commendable choices(for example it will always save civilian ships from the attacks of enemies, instead of looting the civilian ships itself which is not an option). Slavery is definitely one bottom line already. What are you thinking about? Thrilled to be able to do some kind of imaginary "slave-dealing"? Disgusting.
The Captain
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:44 am

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby The Captain » Thu Nov 21, 2013 5:30 am

Well, you could look at it this way: with the collapse of the Federation, there is more lawlessness, which gives amoral people more opportunity to practice slavery. Also, there are other races besides human, so more opportunity for slavery, as one race may not care about another.

Did you not play Sid Meier's Civilization IV? It has slavery as a Labor Civic choice, enabling the sacrifice of population to hurry production.

Slavery IRL is reprehensible, but we're talking games. Should I take it you always blow up slavers, rather than accepting one to free to join your crew, which would be morally questionable, not so? It helps you to complete your mission, but only frees one and leaves the slavers alive to perpetrate their atrocities. OTOH maybe you will succeed in helping to restore the Federation, and then you can go crack down on slavers.
HeadHunter
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 3:35 am

Re: We should be able to take prisoners from defeated ships.

Postby HeadHunter » Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:07 am

AnonJ wrote:Slavery is a shame of human beings and one of the most horrible and disgusting things we can imagine.

...you know, aside from killing them, setting them on fire, asphyxiating them, or any of the other "horrible and disgusting things" that happen in FTL. :roll:

Really, this doesn't sound like your kind of game.