[DEVBLOG#222] Deserters: Contraband system (Patreon)

Contraband system is a brand new ‘shop’ system available from the Deserter Network UI. The only valid currency in the contraband system is intel and critical intel.

Contraband system can be used to purchase a predefined selection of items that normally would belong to the Empire, but it also gives access to a small selection of items exclusive to Deserters. These include powerful, tailored weaponry, for example a fletchling, which is a not-as-powerful variant of a fletcher rifle. Another item is biodecoder, which allows the player to remove biocoding from a weapon.

Contraband items are divided into two categories: Intel-costing and Critical Intel-costing.

Player selects what items they want and then these items are put into basket. Upon finalizing the transaction, the items don’t just drop via cargo pods. Contraband system is a bit more unreliable than that. Instead, player gets informed that the items will be available in a contraband dead drop within a specified amount of time, and will only be available there for a short duration.

After X time has passed (time is based on the amount of items purchased so it’s better to purchase less), a new quest shows up and is immediately accepted. It’s more or less an item stash quest, where stashed items are the ones purchased by the player. There is no enemies present. The quest location is not too far away from the player base, but it’s still required to travel there to pick them up.

The quest timer also scales with the amount of items purchased. The more items player purchases, the less time the quest will be active. Purchasing around 10 items means that the quest will only be active for about 2 days, after which the items are gone forever and the player receives no refund.

Contraband system also includes all imperial techprints, which means player is no longer dependant on the empire to get imperial tech.

HOW IS THE COST CALCULATED

The cost of items in the contraband system is calculated based on their silver value. Since each Intel resource costs $100, the value of an item needs to be divided by 100, rounded down (minimum 1 Intel). This gives us the cost of that item in Intel.

Some items can only be purchased using Critical Intel. Since the value of Critical Intel is $300, the value of that item needs to be divided by 300, rounded down (minimum 1 Intel).

Please note: This is how to calculate the base value of items in intel. Current Visibility level affects the prices of items. These modifiers take place after the base value is calculated.

UI BREAKDOWN

Above you can see the UI that opens up when you contact the Deserters. This section will break down this UI with all functionality.

At the top, player can see their colony name. To the right, we have a button showing the current visibility level. The icon changes based on what visibility level the player is on.

When the player hovers over the Visibility button, it displays following text in the window attached to the mouse (is it called float window?)

Current visibility: <Points of visibility>

<text break>

<Visibility description>

<text break>

Effects:

Intel cost modifier: <Modifier>

Time to receive contraband modifier: <Modifier>

Availability of the dead drops modifier: <Modifier>

Time for Imperial response: <Time>

Type of Imperial response: <Type>

Special effects: <List of special effects>

Below that, player can see all their intel and critical intel. The game only counts intel sitting within the trade beacon range. Player can of course click the information button to open up the item description window.

This section I just explained is visible on all three tabs of this Deserter Network UI.

This is a contraband tab. Player can switch to Services or Plots, which changes how the entire screen looks, but those will be described later.

Contraband tab shows a list of various items. Each item has a picture, an information button, a cost and an arrow that when clicked, puts it in the basket. Furthermore, the items are put into two separate drop-down categories: Deserter technology and Imperial technology. More about what items are accessible via the Contraband system can be found in Contraband item list section.

Basket UI tells the player which items have been put in the basket, and how much they cost in total. Player can remove items from the basket by pressing the arrow buttons. If there is more than one item of that kind in the basket, an arrow AND a 0 buttom are available.

The text below the basket says:

Items purchased via the contraband system do not arrive in your colony with cargopods. Instead, a dead drop pick up quest will become available after some amount of time, and the quest will only be available for a brief moment. This is where you pick up purchased contraband.

Below that, player can see the Total basket cost panel, which breaks down how much Intel and Critical intel the player will pay for this order if they choose to go with it. If the amount of intel to be paid exceeds the available intel, the number should turn red, and the purchase and rush purchase buttons should become unclickable (we should visually represent it somehow, maybe make them darker? Not sure how RW shows unavailable buttons).

Text below the Total basket cost says:

You can rush delivery to receive the items instantly via drop pods, however it doubles the Intel cost of this order.

Selecting Purchase will immediately remove the intel, and the basket will clear. The UI won’t close. After some time, a dead drop quest will become available, and the items from the basket can be found there.

Selecting Rush Delivery can only be possible if the player has enough intel to pay double the cost of the basket. Otherwise, this button should also become unavailable.

Selecting Rush Delivery means the items immediately drop via cargo pods on player colony.

Below that, player can see the information when the dead drop will become available, and how long it will be available for.

Under that, following text is displayed:

Time to receive and time to pick up depends on the amount of items you’re purchasing, as well as your current visibility level. After time to receive has elapsed, a dead drop quest will become available. It will only be active for the duration in ‘Time to pick up’. If you fail to collect it in time, the items will be gone.

CONTRABAND ITEM LIST

Below is the list of all the items available via the contraband system, split into two categories: Deserter technology and Imperial technology.

Deserter Technology

• Shrapnel Shell - 1 Intel
• Armor-piercing Shell - 1 Intel
• Cluster Shell - 2 Intel
• Charge Cycler - 9 Intel
• Fletchling - 2 Critical Intel
• Bomb Pack - 10 Intel
• Invisibility Engulfer - 14 Intel
• Biodecoder - 5 Intel
• Deserter Declassifier - 5 Intel
• Psychic Amplifier - 20 Intel

Imperial Technology

• All techprints - Intel cost calculated automatically
• Psylink Neuroformer - 3 Critical Intel
• All implants added by Artificial metabolism  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• All implants added by Neural computation  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• All implants added by Skin hardening  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• All implants added by Healing factors  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• All implants added by Flesh shaping  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• All implants added by Molecular analysis  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• All implants added by Circadian influence  - Intel cost calculated automatically
• Jump pack - 7 Intel
• Gunlink - 4 Intel
• Harp - 4 Intel
• Harpsichord - 5 Intel
• Piano - 10 Intel

CALCULATING TIME TO RECEIVE

Dead drop quests are not available immediately after doing a purchase. Instead, they are calculated based on the current visibility and the amount of items bought. Please note: It’s the amount of items, not their value.

The calculation is as follows:

Minimum time to receive =

(Amount of items * 7500 ticks) * ContrabandTimeToReceiveModifier

Maximum time to receive =

(Amount of items * 15000 ticks) * ContrabandTimeToReceiveModifier

The dead drop quest will show up to the player and become active in a random point in time between these two values.

CALCULATING TIME TO PICK UP

Dead drop quests do not last forever. Once a dead drop quest becomes active, it will only be active for a set amount of time. It’s the same as any other quest tbh, since they are also active only a certain amount of time. The time to pick up can be calculated as follows:

Time to pick up =

(900000 ticks - (Amount of items * 60000 ticks)) * ContrabandSiteTimeActiveModifier

Once the timer runs out, the quest fails and the player can no longer obtain the items they paid for.

DEAD DROP QUEST

This quest is almost identical to an Item Stash quest, however it appears only when the player purchases stuff via the Deserter Network contraband system. Items in the stash are always the items from the basket at the time of purchasing.

Dead drop location never has any enemies. It’s a simple collection quest.

Quest name: Deserter dead drop

Quest description: We have received a message from our deserter informant that our order is ready for collection not far from [map_definite]. The items we will find there are:\n\n[itemStashContents]\n\nDue to the value of the items and the fact that [EmpireFactionName] will inevitably look for them when they realize they’ve gone missing, we should make our way to the dead drop as soon as possible.\n\nWe should ensure we have enough carry capacity to bring all the items back.

Next up I will tell you all about deserter services and the new quest purchasing option! Let me know what you think and I will see you all soon.