HYPE DRIVE ENGAGED
Looks really good, this is the exact kind of thing that Starsector badly needs!
It occurs to me that the bounty system we presently have isn't much different from an "open" mission (i.e. one which doesn't need to be accepted and which is on offer to anyone who can complete it). Will the bounty system be rolled into the mission system (and perhaps expanded upon), or will it remain a separate thing?
I think system bounties work well as they are, and don't see the need to roll them into missions, although there's potential for other sorts of "missions" that do similar things (say, the equivalent of a letter of marque).
Person bounties, I'm not too happy with, and could see reworking with missions in mind... or just re-working. Missions aren't necessarily the right hammer for every job, they're just one more tool in the toolbox, albeit (I think) a much-needed one.
Will missions allow you to get around faction-level port lockouts? E.g. the dock master at Baetis has a soft spot for Volturnian lobster, and if you bring him some he'll turn a blind eye to the fact that you're parking an Atlas in his backyard when you're not supposed to be allowed docking space even for a personal shuttle due to past smuggling convictions, piracy, whatever.
Right now, you can open the comm directory even if you can't dock due to reputation issues, and can complete and get new missions.
I think what you're really asking, though, is does reputation with a person holding an important post at a market override the faction's overall feelings towards you. The answer is (currently) no, except for the part where if someone likes you, they'll still offer you missions where you wouldn't be able to accept them if they didn't. I.E. if you're hostile with the Hegemony, you can browse the mission board at Jangala, but you won't be able to accept any missions from Hegemony contacts,
unless they personally like you.
I am really excited to see the final bits of the puzzle emerging here
Me too
I'd like to see the ability to store commodities on planets gone or reworked, considering how much abuse there is around it though...
Yeah, I'm thinking about adding a monthly fee based on how much you've got stored. Some kind of upkeep system is going to be necessary at some point, so I'll need to build that with a bit of an eye on flexibility.
Are the rewards able to look at how well the issuing planet (or station) is doing?
For example if you're doing a mission for Jangala and their stability is maxed out they'll give you credits, but if their stability has taken a huge hit recently then they may only be able to pay in supplies.
Well, there's two questions there. Can the rewards be based on that? Sure, they can be. A custom mission can do whatever it wants there.
For the "procurement contract" mission, the rewards are based on several factors, one of which is the current market price of the commodity, so that does factor in the stability, but not in a qualitative way - i.e. it's a different amount of money, but not an entirely different reward. The other factors are the timeframe (tighter deadline means more money) and whether it's legal (illegal means more money).
Some of the contracts also have a built-in bonus for delivering ahead of schedule. To avoid players first procuring the goods and then arriving at the market and accepting the contract right before fulfilling it, procurement missions 1) have a good chance of being taken down (presumably, either fulfilled by someone else or cancelled) and the timer ticks down while a mission is on offer, even before it's accepted. The reward is based on the initial deadline, though.
