DevTracker: About Marking Cargo

At the same time, we'll be able to significantly soften and better control fines issued for smuggling.

On a related note, this also leaves the door open later on for services that can "clean" marked cargo, which I think is pretty cool.

Usual caveats: no guarantee or ETA, but we're pretty solidly behind this one.

If the police catch you smuggling and mark your cargo, you won't be able to sell it full stop, except perhaps for a nominal fee to a starport service. However, yes, we want to leave the door open for "cleaning" services.

Stolen cargo would still be marked as such. The change would be that instead of getting a whopping fine when scanned (which more or less removes your ability to make profit with the cargo), you'd get a nominal fine and the cargo would be marked, massively reducing the money you could make from it.

Importantly (in my opinion), the smaller fine would make it more likely that you'd be able to oay it off before it became a bounty (and if it did become a bounty, then you'd be less tasty to bounty hunters).

The black market *does* launder commodities, which is why you sell stolen and illegal goods to them. However, once a piece of cargo has been marked by the authorities, it becomes too "hot" and no-one wants to get burned dealing with it.

Also, smuggling stuff: yes, when/if we get time, we've some pretty cool options available to us (hidden cargo etc.)

If you are scanned with stolen or illegal goods then you can't sell the marked goods - however the fines are also now much smaller.