It's been discussed in the PU that if convoys keep getting attacked then a mission would be potentially generated for a player to provide an escort. Is it possible for the pirates to decide getting the extra manpower in is worth the cost, at the same time generating a mission for a player to assist in an attack, and at the same time, could two missions interact causing a PvP engagement to happen?asked by Hatefury

Yes, the idea behind the economic system is that this will be the driver behind what you see when you fly around. CR gave a talk about it a little at PAX East, but basically that system is what is driving what's happening in the space between planets. It determines where trade routes are running, and what they're carrying. So you may see an increase in pirate activity if all of a sudden ships are carrying a more valuable commodity, like unobtanium ore, say, which is currently experiencing a price spike. So this will attract more pirates that are trying to... obtain unobtanium. This all flows back and forth driven by the economy. So if this unobtanium example was the case, if you were flying along those trade routes near a source of the stuff, you'd see a lot more traders as demand is high, and the supply is unique to this planet, say. You will probably also over time see more pirates coming in. That pirate activity will mean more job boards coming up to protect those traders. There'll be player pirates and NPC pirates all there for the exact same reasons. You may then end up in a situation where somebody has a job to protect a convoy and you want to attack it, presto, PvP conflict.

Or there might be a job coming up to protect a convoy, and so on a pirate board there might be one saying, hey this convoy is coming through this system soon, and we as a crime syndicate will pay for the cargo they're carrying. Think of the gold rush in the 1800s in California, someone found gold, so many people flocked there, which meant an increased amount of gold out, but it also meant an increased amount of banditry in the area with so much of the stuff being carried.

I also like the idea that a pirate syndicate or anybody could post a job listing, and you might not be the only person to take that job, so you might get there and have to fight for the opportunity, or just miss out and be penniless. I think it'll be a fun, dynamic system that'll provide all sorts of scenarios for players to experience.