Engineering clans

Ok, I have always been in engineering clans… in fact, I haven’t been in any other type of clan for more than a couple of weeks before leaving of boredom.

The thing I do not understand is why are engineering clans made out to be so limited. Yes, we are smaller than a government at times, yes, we do have the ability to make ships, and yes, we do generally try to stay away from war

Why stay away from war though, and why just let your competition do as they please. Why let a government step all over you when you are the ones making the ships? the system makes no sense really. All we really have is a couple of half assed engineering clans afraid to stand up for themselves trying to beat the prices of the people in the other clans.

Can we captured planets? why should we not be able to capture planets, when in reality, we usually have the ability to run planets. Why can we not get hidden sectors, though other clan can? Realistically, we would be the ones who find the paths to the new planets, while the government try to maintain order in their current systems.

I would personally like the concept that engineering companies should be able to do everything a government can do, only we do not have as many soldiers. This games has many pilots in the engineering clans, to the point where space combat would probably be more fun if it included engineering companies going to war or creating blockades to try to close down other companies.

Engineers can live a whole timeline right now because they do not need to see any harm generally. keep a low profile in a company, never ask for raises, never let anyone know your real name, and you are free to make shit for a whole timeline, and generally speaking, this is what we see now with engineering companies.

If anyone has any idea’s for engineering clans, post it here. and please, no talking about how engineering clans just never do anything. When we ask, were are told at times that we can’t have something that we see governments with.

What I would personally like to see is a clan based skill that allows Slicers and smugglers to find routes without navcharts to hidden systems. maybe a 150 slicer 150 smuggling skill that you HAVE to be in a clan for. it could be a feat that just requires 150 in both. and in my opinion, this would also make it more interesting for governments working with engineering companies if it were only able to be gotten while you were in an engineering clan. may be impossible, but I like the idea.

There are some Eng clans who break the mold and usually wind up getting curb-stomped or "officially disbanding" as a result… a la Era 2. Hence Eng leader reluctance to actually do anything meaningful besides producing ships. Still happens to an extent, albeit less extreme extent, this Era, but I wonder if that isn’t sometimes because of OOC hate rather than IC hate, but your mileage may vary on that.

As far as finding new systems, we had something like that in Era 1 with the MILF clan that pretty much only brought about one new non-hidden planet. Nice concept that was downplayed way too soon.

Eng clans used to be more powerful than they are. Sometimes, you’ll see one crop up that would pretty much fall into badass mode, but it is few and far between. I am reminded of KDY from the Crimson Sect era with Tirhin and his fleet of Kuati/Imperial Star Destroyers. For some Eng clans, I can understand them running a planet if only for lore reasons (KDY -> Kuat), but for the most part, unless they’re bribing local politicians, they’re probably not going to.

I know people cry and whine about Eng clans not having anything interesting to do, but in all actuality, Eng Clans are Shipbot Clans, Developbot Clans, Weaponbot/Armorbot Clans, Cargobot Clans, or, more realistically, a mixture of all four. I would like to see Eng clans do more, but unfortunately, more often than not, you’ll run into the aforementioned curb-stomping.

I think classifying clans is what makes it so blah. Who says an engi clan has to just be an engi clan? Why can’t they be the front for a powerful syndicate?

I saw just today where someone argued for 15 minutes about an engineering clan offering to hire someone, someone else entirely, not the person who was arguing, being pointless because he has "no skills that would be put to any use in that clan" or something. I think that’s absurd. Who knows what kind of fun RP stuff they could get into? I think that fits into the whole restriction thing.

I’ll be honest and say I am just sick of engineering clans having limits. So what if we are engineering clans, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to enjoy the ability to run a planet, and go to war. Walldo had agreed with me at one point in time, fairly recently, that engineering clans should be more exciting, and we should be going to war, trying to kill one another off. The major problem with the system that I see if a government is constantly stepping in to support an engineering clan because THEY THINK an engineering clan cannot do anything for themselves. I would say that if some of the engineering clans I had been in this tl had broken free and done what I thought they should have, this game would be way more fun.

I know arakyd last tl was some of the most fun I have had on lotj, and mostly because I had everyone in the company back me up with needing to have a shit tonne of ships, and most of them we cappies. We were a force to be reckoned with. I know that this TL, I was trying to destroy the other engineering clans when I was in Merr-Sonn, I was constantly on every other leaders ass about how we wanted them shut down… I think if I didn’t quit I coulda done it maybe O_O.

I just want to see a clan have the ability to do something to make their roleplay more interesting, and I want to see governments unable to help engineering clans with only simple reasons like "We govern their planet". So what, governing a planet doesn’t make you friends, and in some cases, it should probably make you enemies.

Honestly man there is no restrictions in place. You can do almost anything you want. You want a hidden planet rp it out. Imms will give you one if you have enough reason and rp backing it up. You want your engineering clan to be a force to be reckoned with do it. No rules or code in place stopping it. You wanna capture a planet then capture one. Its allowed. What you cant do is cry when the pbase reacts to you negativly. You will have to role with the punches that come. I know what you mean by Arakyd. I form claned Arakyd I built the base, I built the first wave of ships (cloakshape, b-7, not marauder) I built Pandora with walldo and asmodeans help. I wanted an engineering clan that was also a paramilitary. Thats what Arakyd turned into. We did shit for money plane and simple. That included military force, space combat, or just plane ole making armor. Hell I used to sell trips to kamino to bounty hunters to kill off clones of their targets. Main point is man if you wanna do it. Just do it. Ask imms respectfully and have a good reason to do it. 99% of the time they will aid you.

[quote:3ml72fu6]Why stay away from war though, and why just let your competition do as they please. Why let a government step all over you when you are the ones making the ships? the system makes no sense really. All we really have is a couple of half assed engineering clans afraid to stand up for themselves trying to beat the prices of the people in the other clans.
[/quote:3ml72fu6]
Yes,, please! I have been saying this forever, we need more cutthroat CEOs who actively try and take out the competition!

[quote:3ml72fu6]Can we captured planets? why should we not be able to capture planets, when in reality, we usually have the ability to run planets. Why can we not get hidden sectors, though other clan can? Realistically, we would be the ones who find the paths to the new planets, while the government try to maintain order in their current systems.[/quote:3ml72fu6]

Well, you can’t capture planets because you aren’t a government. Crime, service, paramilitary, religion, you could probably justify why any of them should be able to control planets but I like keeping that in the realm of governments. In terms of hidden sectors, no clans have those except for very specific circumstances.

[quote:3ml72fu6]I would personally like the concept that engineering companies should be able to do everything a government can do, only we do not have as many soldiers. This games has many pilots in the engineering clans, to the point where space combat would probably be more fun if it included engineering companies going to war or creating blockades to try to close down other companies.[/quote:3ml72fu6]

In terms of hard-limiting that, we tried the whole ‘no combat people in engineering clans’ things once and I don’t think it went over very well. As it stands engineering clans CAN go to war or blockade to try and close down other companies. It’s just a matter of them actually doing it.

[quote:3ml72fu6] but in all actuality, Eng Clans are Shipbot Clans, Developbot Clans, Weaponbot/Armorbot Clans, Cargobot Clans, or, more realistically, a mixture of all four. I would like to see Eng clans do more, but unfortunately, more often than not, you’ll run into the aforementioned curb-stomping.[/quote:3ml72fu6]

They are bot clans because thats what the leaders choose to do with them. I guarantee you that if someone makes an aggressive engineering clan, you will get more than just botters. You can be a naysayer and say "oh you’ll just get curbstomped if you do that" but my response is: play the game better. This applies directly to both leaders and people on the side. LotJ isn’t fun when everyone is friends or the large majority of people are friends. Don’t be afraid to have enemies, to not rush to help everytime someone cries out on the comlink. If you decide to be an engineering clan that takes on the Empire, yeah you are going to get the shit kicked out of you, but that isn’t really what this is about.

[quote:3ml72fu6]I think classifying clans is what makes it so blah. Who says an engi clan has to just be an engi clan? Why can’t they be the front for a powerful syndicate?[/quote:3ml72fu6]
You’re saying that.

[quote:3ml72fu6]I’ll be honest and say I am just sick of engineering clans having limits. So what if we are engineering clans, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to enjoy the ability to run a planet, and go to war. Walldo had agreed with me at one point in time, fairly recently, that engineering clans should be more exciting, and we should be going to war, trying to kill one another off. The major problem with the system that I see if a government is constantly stepping in to support an engineering clan because THEY THINK an engineering clan cannot do anything for themselves. I would say that if some of the engineering clans I had been in this tl had broken free and done what I thought they should have, this game would be way more fun.[/quote:3ml72fu6]

Engineering clans have the same limitations other clans have. You CAN go to war. It’s all about siezing the day, if you want those things to happen, ya gotta do it. If your clan leader is a ninny and wants to play everything safe, leave, start a revolt, something. If the clan leader’s mentality is to NOT do those things and NOT make it exciting, then you’re bummed.

The bottom line is this: Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.

I don’t know if anyone has ever played X-Wing Alliance. If you haven’t you should, but you need a joystick. I got this idea from that game.

The plot starts out with a family run business of space traders. And they are in fierce competition with another company called Viraxo. At the beginning they trade blows back and forth trying to sabotage each other. It would be a lot of fun if people rped engineering clans in such ways in the mud. In close knit family tree’s in a family engineering business/clan. Someone mentioned it would give pilots a higher chance of things getting more heated and fun and it would. I’d like this much more than the typical military setting and war. In the last empire/rebellion war things were very impersonal and formal, if someone died nobody gave a crap. In a RPed family clan setting, it would be much more personal and informal, and if someone died players/characters would actually mourn.

Getting the shakes because you ran into a rival companies freighter and escort and neither side is backing down, taunting each other over the radio, wanting to get out of it alive with your RPed brother/sister/uncle etc, disabling ships and boarding them. It would happen often. And then theres raiding the rivals space station and taking hostages. It would be a lot of fun.

And in a family tree RP setting the RP would be closer and more meaningful, You’d worry more for clan mates in battle. I don’t know if people RP families that much. I’ve only come across it once with two people RPing as brothers and they hated each other. But I’m talking the whole sch-bang.

It could also be reason to bring back child characters so there is a RP reason not to run out of clan family members. Plus there is always the market for hiring mercs.

I would love to get involved in something like that.

Bumping because I just read this idea and I absolutely love it. Looks like it could be really cool. Like the mobsters of engineering.

I thought these restrictions were because engineering clans just amassed a ridiculous amount of ships and became unstoppable?

And with the other clans having nobody to buy ships from, they didn’t really stand a chance. Wasn’t that the case?

With that one verpine guy who sat in orbit with like 20 ISD’s?

I vaguely recall something like that.