no that just sounds like over complication
sure… or just put them with the rest of the contracts utilizing the necessary filters
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i see the trolls are in this thread…
There is no current bounty hunting mechanic and even the old one is/was better than this pish we have now - killrights are a farce and is mostly used to afk around in a hauler n the hopes someone pays for activation.
Bounty contracts should tie in with killrights somehow, perhaps opening it to public or whatever would open the contract etc.
I would suggest the following which seems less convoluted and far simpler maybe?
*Players do NOT pay to activate killrights; the owning player of said killright PAYS said amount when protagonist dies.
*Dont want it scammed from you, simple; make a private contract. This would help to ensure players effectively pay to have someone exploded and would also open up the game to bounty hunter corps etc.
*Player/corp/alliance buys the contract at said price, this is the only time the victim gets paid - i shouldnt need to explain further on how contracts work.
*Once the contract has been taken the killright simply gets swapped over so the buyer can activate at leisure for specified time period.
*Keep bounties as they are but make it so you claim more bounty if kill is activated through a contract.
*add in some social skill stuff a bit like connections skills but for more payout on bounties.
Most likely can never take the scam out of the system, if someone is determined to do it they will find a way cus y’know, alts…
However, a contract system would help to put the killing power into other peoples hands and less likely to fall into the alts.
i could add more but knowing what the forums are like i really cant be arsed but i defo would like to see the current killrights system abolished; its stupid beyond compare.
Oh and id like to add that standings effect much of what many do throughout new eden as does security status; i feel that suicide gankers should also lose standings with faction in the area they operate in.
ive written too much already so will just leave
Lot of good ideas here. Here’s an idea that borrows from previous posts, but hopefully simplifies the system and possibly easier to code in, as it may work within current game mechanics. This idea pretty much applies only to high sec game play:
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Create a new separate bounty pool for Concord. Keep previous bounty system as well.
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The new Concord bounty can only be paid into within the timeframe of someone being suspect.
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The Concord bounty can also be paid into anytime someone is criminal. (Although paying into Concord bounty if the outlaw never enters high sec may be pointless.)
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Anyone can enter into a limited engagement with a person that has a Concord bounty through this mechanic: Activitating the bounty will turn the bounty hunter red to the outlaw and start a one minute timer. Once the timer ends, the bounty hunter is free to attack the outlaw in a 1v1 engagement. (Does this give outlaw too much warning?)
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Only one bounty activation at a time. (Is this going too easy on outlaw, or fair?)
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Bounty activation has a cost of 1% of the Concord bounty. (Or some other fair value or mechanic to help prevent activation games.)
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No logi allowed on either participant. (If this sounds fair.)
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If the hunter destroys the outlaw’s ship, bounty is paid out from Concord bounty per normal rules. Or a different percentage for balance. (Should all other bounties pay out as well?)
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Concord bounties only pay out in high sec.
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Ship’s destroyed that paid out a Concord bounty cannot collect insurance. (Can outlaw’s alts/friends game this?)
Hopefully this would create a system where there is now more content in high sec, and less chance of being gamed. It should allow for outlaws to have a chance to plan once they see a bounty hunter(if they are paying attention to local/overview), while giving everyone a chance to get involved in “emergent gameplay”.
Here is an old proposal I once made to CCP for Project Nova long ago. It covers competitive bounty hunting in a FPS setting. Of course, CCP can make changes to it if they feel changes are warranted. But since Project Nova is not even in alpha testing yet, I won’t hold my breath.
PS: A couple of links in the documents might be dead as they will lead to the now-closed Dust 514 forums.
Logi will never be limited.
Requiring them to pay to activate it will result in plenty of dock up instantly scams.
What ‘normal rules’ are you talking about for pay out.
It means going suspect once can screw you over for months & months.
Basically, just leave it alone, the current system works, doesn’t require any weird rules, and doesn’t risk both abuse & screwing people over.
I can be half way across eve by the end of one minute.
Good ideas in the link. A lot of options are offered up. Hopefully at least something is implemented to make bounty hunting more interesting.
Yes, as long as you are keeping an eye on local, this is fair. The outlaw would get no other alerts that a bounty hunter is after them, except the color change on the hunter’s name. The idea being, there should be a chance to ambush an unwary outlaw. Miners and haulers are expected to always have to look over their shoulders in high sec, it seems fair outlaws should have to as well, just like in real life, outlaws are always on the lookout for the law.
You left a lot of points to address, I’ll try to respond as best as I can.
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You may be right as far as logi is concerned, it would be up to the devs to evaluate this.
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Activation scams would separate the good hunters from the bad ones. (If I am understanding your point correctly. But, any other ideas are welcome here.)
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‘Normal rules’ IIRC, is 20% of ship + fittings is the bounty payout. The percentage can be adjusted for balance by the devs as they determine if there is a need.
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“Screwed” is a relative term. EVE is about consequences, and adaptation. Someone willing to break the law would have to accept that a bounty hunter may come after them. They’ll just have to be more alert as I mentioned in my response to Alopex-Lagopus above, or be prepared for a fight.
Keep in mind, the outlaw crowd are very good at what they do, and have shown quite the capability to adapt. The suggested changes wouldn’t really affect their operations I don’t think. The high sec crowd are fairly docile, and the outlaws seem to outnumber any do-gooders. At the very least, the possibility of more content in high sec could occur and may be fun for both “cops and robbers”.
I would like to see NPC bounty hunters brought in to the mix.
Basically as your bounty goes up, the greater the chance an NPC bounty hunter will come looking for you. Smaller bounties will have a smaller chance, and a smaller range they will come after you, and they will come in smaller weaker ships. Larger bounties will have a higher chance and large range they will come after you, and they will come in larger stronger ships.
This could be built upon with other features as well. For instance perhaps if you defeat the bounty hunter (in solo combat) then whatever that bounty hunter’s ship was valued at comes off your bounty. As the bounty hunters will show up randomly, there is no telling if you will be in a ship that is capable of doing this.
Now player bounty hunters are also competing with NPC bounty hunters to get kills.
I also like the idea of CONCORD placed bounties for criminal activities. So a suicide ganker not only gets their ship blown up but a bounty is placed on them if they succeeded in killing their mark, and that bounty is in part paid out to the victim when that suicide ganker is killed by another player.
There could be a capture mechanic with NPC bounty hunters. If they can lock you down for a certain period of time, say a couple of minutes or so, where you can’t warp off, you are “captured”. You (and your ship) then wind up in some detention facility (faction dependent). You can then pay off the value of your ship (while getting your ship back), the amount of which goes to those who placed bounties on you (split among them proportionally), or you can leave without your ship. You lose your ship, that amount comes off your bounty value, but those who placed the bounty on you are not compensated.
Let’s not and say we didn’t. NPCs are a resource to be harvested by players, they are not content. NPC bounty hunters taking the rightful place of other players is unacceptable.
And who are you?
Sorry but CCP disagrees with you. NPCs are engaged in all sorts of activities in New Eden. Including brand NEW activities (if you were thinking of coming back and telling me how the goal is to remove NPCs from every aspect of Eve).
In fact, NPCs attacked and destroyed my Orca in a High Sec belt, along with the Tengu I brought on an alt to try to save it. They might have podded my implanted clones too if I hadn’t immediately warped away on destruction.
I have little regard for those who I suspect (had they been here over the last 15 years) would have said 90% of the changes and content additions CCP has made to the game were “unacceptable” had they been proposed in the forums.
This idea is as worth exploring as any others, and in fact I’ve proposed numerous changes and additions to the game over the years, that people just like you (in fact probably you) said the very same thing about how it’s just an awful idea and not the way Eve is meant to work at all, only to see those ideas eventually make their way in to the game to a welcoming audience of players. Go figure, eh.
An NPC bounty hunting mechanic is content and even in some ways more interesting content than player bounty hunters. They could exist along side player bounty hunters just fine. I have a small bounty on my main. I’m not looking over my shoulder for bounty hunters. I’ll lose it in some other activity unrelated to bounty hunting. It would be interesting if some NPC bounty hunter randomly appeared one day looking to collect.
We already have NPCs that relentlessly hunt criminals better than any bounty hunter, NPC or player, ever could. Are you proposing to remove the Faction Police to make space for these bounty hunters?
There is no problem with bounty hunting. Okay, maybe there is, but the mechanics are fine for people who actually resemble bounty hunters the most: Suicide gankers.
All you need to do, to hunt bounties, is to make an Alpha and start ganking. If the target is too big, then simply form a corp with like minded individuals and take the target down together.
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CCP is wrong on this, and it’s a very poor direction. EVE at its best is a game of player vs. player interaction, adding NPC-focused content takes away from that core and replaces it with something that will never be anywhere near as interesting or satisfying. A player destroying your Orca and then your rescue ship is the start of a conflict, and who knows where it might escalate to. An NPC doing the same thing is just a mindless game mechanic to be analyzed and compensated for. You can’t get revenge on an NPC, you can only look up the DPS numbers/spawn mechanics/etc and change your fit/strategy so you don’t let it happen again.
Technically, someone breaking the law to bring an outlaw to justice would be defined as a vigilante. 
Which is totally fine, and should be allowed.
However, it would be nice to have a better system that allows for legal bounty hunting.
Btw, I was once a bounty hunter … before it became what it is now.
I used to do it in my interceptor. I used to trick people into attempting suiciding my interceptor and then snagged their pods. With the old mechanics, you would need to shoot the pod to get it, and you got all at once.
One time I waited 20 minutes for some positive sec suicide ganker, because he had a 100+ million isk bounty on his head. Eventually he shot a target, GCC’d, and then I snagged his pod and got GCC’d for it as well.
That was a thing.
We could not legally shoot pods with GCC, without getting CONCORDed ourselves, so I made a thread about it … shooting pods that have GCC will be legal. SoundWave approved. But when ? - EVE General Discussion - EVE Online Forums … and CCP SoundWave approved … shooting pods that have GCC will be legal. SoundWave approved. But when ? - EVE General Discussion - EVE Online Forums 
That was in 2011 … good times.
That’s awesome. How bounty hunting should be. Bait and counter-bait games, and a lot of danger. These are the stories I like to read and hopefully the devs can update system so we can all read more stories like this. 
Thank you. I wish I had more to tell, but 90% of it was just a waiting game.
There was one guy at the Hek station, liafcipe9000 (Hi!) who had a 150+ million isk bounty iirc. I was sitting there in my interceptor, and he in - what I believe was - an alpha fit thrasher. We went back and forth with words and I was working him towards attacking me so the sentry turrets at the station could fry him.
Eventually he did. “WHO TANKS HIS INTERCEPTOR???” he said, though I did not. I just started moving my ship at the right moment, and as it was an interceptor most damage just passed me by. He exploded, I pointed and killed his pod and I think he was a bit salty, but admitted that my plan was executed flawlessly …
Really good times. : - )
Sadly nowadays a bigger problem than game mechanics are … people. People are broken. They lack the creativity to work around what they perceive as obstacles … see this bounty hunting nonsense.
Oh well. vOv
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Nice, another good story, haha. I feel these stories are just as important to EVE as the big attention grabbers like the null sec wars, or burn jita.
It can be people, but the bounty system changed before. Perhaps it just needs a little change again. Sometimes moving a single pebble in a dam on a pond can start a flood. If people saw a bounty system that actually works, they would pay into bounties more, and therefore less wait times for a good bounty as there are now more targets. Hence, more cool stories. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess…
[INSERT JURASSIC PARK CLEVER GIRL MEME HERE]