Starting Contacts: Priority A & B Inner torment

[John Robinson]

New Template Contacts Priority A and B.

When creating a new template.  I need to get what I payed for.

Princess Aetaan constantly wrecks my brand new templates when I want to start with more contacts than 4.

Getting less variety in contacts is a valid argument.

It is  far worse to risk getting assigned an enemy contact on turn 1 of a new game.  

If template = new,

  and player selects Contacts = Priority-A or B.

    Then Assign all starting contacts to the faction selected by the Player.    

This will prevent starting contacts from being assigned to Princess Aetaan's syndicate or house.

What about Variety?

Once the game starts contacts are easy to generate outside of your selected faction.

There are in-game talents that automatically generate new contacts outside of your home faction.
Even crew can find them for you. For example Etech's Listening Post, or Navigator's Talk of Far Worlds.
Recruiting a merchant.  Buying an introduction.  Accepting Help my friend missions.  There are more I've not listed.

How I tested:
This problem is not a "one off". I've run over 20 specific tests after discovering just what a problem this is for me.

1.) Create new template, any faction, create any map, Select Contacts priority A or B.

2.) Fly to pickup Arbiter Estelle Brookstrom. Then Prince Faen will show up in your contacts list.

3.) Look at Prince Faen's information to find out which faction belongs to Princess Aetaan.

4.) Check your starting contacts to see which ones are aligned with same faction as Aetaan.
     Now you know which starting contacts & services you planned for are not available.

5.) Exit game repeat steps 1 through 4.

There are only 5 Priorities when starting a new template.
If a starting contact is assigned to Princess Aetaan's syndicate or house. You can't use the contact.

The sliding scale for starting contacts makes getting assigned enemy contacts
even more harmful to new Captains. 

A =	8
B =	6
C =	4

fallen I know you guys are already working on this.  My average new template is getting no where near a 90% chance of not
getting a starting contact assigned to Aetaan.  Maybe after this huge wave of development for small craft?

[grävling]

It's possible to play the game with good rep in Princess Aetaan's faction. Spend more time patrolling. Helps to have a Military Officer captain and/or officers. Gunners get a nice talent for this fairly early, too.

[veyer]

Actually, getting a Contact of Aetaan's Faction that grants Pardons - gold.

[John Robinson]

Thanks for the advice.  It doesn't really help solve the problem at hand.

When I start a new template and sacrifice Priority-A to get 8 contacts, I want 8 I can use turn 1.
You always start in home system with Prince Faen in need of money and influence.

Here is an example of the detailed planning that goes into creating a new Captain Template and the supporting team.

Team Vagabond

SPOILER: Click to show

+

Team Vagabond

CAPTAIN

CAPTAIN	Merchant(16)	Diplomat(16)	Doctor(12)
	Tac(5), Com(7), Neg(11)	Neg(14), Intim(9)	Tac(2), Doc(12), Com(4)
Bonus	+10 Negotiate, +5 Com	Charisma(32), +1 Wis	$ +10% all trades

XP	LVL	Rank	TP	Talent	Req	wks	Startup
0	1	Merch 1	1	__Bank			1. Fixer	Steel
50	2	Dip 1	0	x__Winning Comp	dip 1	3	2. Intel-Officer	Steel
150	3	Mer 2	1	__Market Confid	mer 1	9	3. Gestalt Explorer	Steel
275	4	mer 3	0	x			4. Politician	D-Val enemy
400	5	mer 4	0	x			5. Ex Bounty-H	Steel
600	6	mer 5	1	__Cordial Invitation	mer 5	3	6. Salvage Broker	Steel
800	7	mer 6	0	x			7. Ex Mercenary	D-Val enemy
1,000	8	mer 7	1	__Generosity	mer 5		8. Princess	D-Val enemy
1,200	9	mer 8	0	x			3 of starting 8 contacts	worthless
1,500	10	mer 9	0	x			Paladin Cruiser
1,900	11	mer 10	0	x			A - Contacts(8)
2,350	12	mer 11	1	__Lucrative Whole	mer 11	9	B - Skills
2,800	13	Dip 2	0	x			C - Ship
------->	--->	dip 3	0	x			D - Attributes
3,300	14	dip 4	1	__Bank for dip 5			E - Merchant 1
3,800	15	dip 5	0	x__Upstaged-S	dip 5	9	Max Crew 30
------->	--->	Doc 1	0	x			Upgrade to Barrack 4
4,440	16	doc 2	0	x			Max Officers 5
5,000	17	doc 3	1	__Righteous Profits	mer 11		Add 1 Off quarters
5,700	18	doc 4	0	x
6,400	19	doc 5	0	x
------->	--->	doc 6	0	x
7,200	20	doc 7	0	x
------->	--->	doc 8	0	x
8,000	21	Dip 6	1	__Gener-Service	doc 8	9	medrate > econ =+rep
9,000	22	dip 7	0	x
10,000	23	dip 8	0	x
12,000	24	dip 9	0	x
13,000	25	dip 10	1	__Bank Dip 11	bank
14,000	26	dip 11	0	x__Political Hooks	dip 11	3	Conflict bonus
15,000	27	dip 12	0	x
16,000	28	dip 13	1	__Hand that Feeds	dip 5	3	Morale bonus paid
18,000	29	dip 14	0	x
20,000	30	dip 15	1	__Life Saver	doc 5	9wk	life saver
22,000	31	dip 16	1	__Bold Statement	mer 11	9wk	bonus rep trade ban
16,000	32	Doc 9	1	__Friendly Banter	mer 1	13wk	Char% = new contact
28,000	33	doc 10	0	x
31,000	34	doc 11	0	x
34,000	35	doc 12	1	__Wise Counsel	mer 1	3wk	autopass Neg test
38,000	36	Mer 12	0	x
42,000	37	mer 13	1	__Known Trader	mer 1	3wk	Discount trade lic
47,000	38	mer 14	0	x
52,000	39	mer 15	0	x
60,000	40	mer 16	1	__Silver Tongue	dip 1	3wk	Rank Discount
Total	40	44	16

+

+

OFFICER-1

OFFICER-1	Doctor(12)	Soldier(20)	Exo-Scout(8)	Slot 1
	Tac(2), Doc(12), Com(4)	Rifle(17), Evade(10)	Rifle(5), Evade(3), Explr(5)	Init (11-21) +2
Bonus	+5 Doc, +2 Init	Extra Gear slot

XP	LVL	Rank	TP	Talent	Req	x x x x | x x x x	Init
0	1	Doc 1	1	__Bank
50	2	Sol 1	0	x__Roaring Barrels	sol 1	x x o o | o o x x	wep
150	3	Exo 1	1	__Aggressive Advance	exo 1	A A A x | x o o o	wep
275	4	sol 2	0	x
400	5	sol 3	0	x
600	6	sol 4	1	__Field Surgery	doc 1	D & Add HP	10
800	7	sol 5	0	x
1,000	8	sol 6	1	__Bank for Sol 8
1,200	9	sol 7	0	x
1,500	10	sol 8	0	x__Concussion Grenade	sol 8	x x x o | T T x x	16
1,900	11	exo 2	0	x
2,350	12	exo 3	1	__Frontline Brave	sol 8	+2 Init Team	12
2,,800	13	exo 4	0	x
3,300	14	exo 5	1	__Blowback	sol 5	x x x o | K K o o	wep
3,800	15	exo 6	0	x
4,400	16	exo 7	0	x
5,000	17	exo 8	1	__E-Shock Grenade	exo 8	x x o o | T T x x	16
5,700	18	Doc 2	0	x
6,400	19	doc 3	0	x
7,200	20	doc 4	0	x
8,000	21	doc 5	1	__Discipline	sol 1	D&B	6
9,000	22	doc 6	0	x
10,000	23	doc 7	0	x
12,000	24	doc 8	0	x
13,000	25	Sol 9	1	__Generous in Service	doc 8	+rep > econ	9wk
14,000	26	sol 10	0	x
15,000	27	sol 11	0	x
16,000	28	s 12	1	__Know Thy E (Xeno)	exo 8	o o o o | o o o o	wep
18,000	29	s 13	0
20,000	30	s 14	1	__Burrowing Shot (Xeno)	exo 8	o o o o | o o o x	1.5w
22,000	31	s 15	0	x
25,000	32	s 16	1	__Treat Wounded	doc 1	Ship heal crew	6wk
28,000	33	s 17	0	x
31,000	34	s 18	0	x
34,000	35	s 19	0	x
38,000	36	s 20	0	x
42,000	37	Doc 9	1	__Life Saver	doc 5	Obvious	9wk
47,000	38	doc 10	0	x
52,000	39	doc 11	0	x
60,000	40	doc 12	1	__Fearsome Charge	sol 11	o o o x | o o o x	wep
Total	40	40	14

+

+

+

OFFICER-2

OFFICER-2	Swordsman(18)	Pistoleer(11)	Military Officer(11)	Slot 2
Stats	Blades(16), Evade(9)	Pistols(11), Evade(6)	Pist(5), Tac(3), Com(9)	Init (13-24) +0
Bonus	+5 Evade, Ex-Military	+5% Acc/Armor	+10% all dmg	Highbrow

XP	LVL	Rank	TP	Talent	Req	x x x x | x x x x	Init
0	1	Swd 1	1	__Bravery Line	swd 1	On Init +3 I
50	2	Pist 1	0	x
150	3	pist 2	1	__Slashing Retreat	swd 1	x x R R | o x x x	wep
275	4	pist 3	0	x
400	5	pist 4	0	x
600	6	pist 5	1	__Tricky Gunplay	pist 5	x o o o | o o o x	2xw
800	7	Mil 1	0	x
1,000	8	Swd 2	1	__Tactical Edge	mil 1	targ +4 I, Push	6
1,200	9	swd 3	0	x
1,500	10	swd 4	0	x
1,900	11	swd 5	0	x
2,350	12	Mil 2	1	__Flash Fury	swd 5	x x o o | K K x x	wep
2,,800	13	mil 3	0	x
3,300	14	mil 4	1	__Bank Mil 5
3,800	15	mil 5	0	x__Leader in the Ranks	mil 5	D & B Team	12
4,400	16	Pist 6	0	x
5,000	17	pist 7	1	__Damning Aim	mil 5	x o o o | o o x x	wep
5,700	18	mil 6	0	x
6,400	19	mil 7	0	x
7,200	20	mil 8	0	x
8,000	21	mil 9	1	__Steely Authority	mil 8	2 targ super buf	12
9,000	22	mil 10	0	x
10,000	23	mil 11	0	x
12,000	24	pist 8	0	x
13,000	25	Swd 6	1	__Boarding Rush	mil 11	On init +4 Init
14,000	26	swd 7	0	x
15,000	27	swd 8	0	x
16,000	28	swd 9	1	__Advancing Front	pist 8	x A A x | o o x x	wep
18,000	29	swd 10	0
20,000	30	swd 11	1	__Terrifying Accuracy	pist 8	x x o o | o o x x	wep
22,000	31	Pist 9	0	x
25,000	32	pist 10	1	__Raining Steel	pist 1	On Init +3I & C
28,000	33	pist 11	0	x
31,000	34	swd 12	0	x
34,000	35	swd 13	0	x
38,000	36	swd 14	0	x
42,000	37	swd 15	1	__Sharp Counter	swd 1	x x o o | o o x x	1.5w
47,000	38	swd 16	0	x
52,000	39	swd 17	0	x
60,000	40	swd 18	1	__Bladesman Rally	swd 8	D & B + Morale	6
Total	40	40	14

+

+

+

OFFICER-3

OFFICER-3	Pistoleer(18)	Spy(11)	Explorer(11)	Slot 3
Stats	Pistol(16), Evade(9)	Pist(3), Stl(7), Elect(6)	Tac(3), Com(5), Neg(9)	Init (13-25) +0
Attrb & bonus	+6 Pistols, +5 Tac	Char(20), Wis(24)

XP	LVL	Rank	TP	Talent	Req	x x x x | x x x x	Init
0	1	Pist 1	1	__Bank
50	2	Spy 1	0	x__Disappearing Act	spy 1	+2 I & stl on	8
150	3	spy 2	1	__Shadowed Fire	spy 1	o o o x | o o o o	wep
275	4	spy 3	0	x
400	5	spy 4	0	x
600	6	spy 5	1	__Distracting Shots		x R R x | o o o x	wep
800	7	spy 6	0	x
1,000	8	spy 7	1	__Bank for spy 8
1,200	9	spy 8	0	x__Sneak Attack	spy 8	o o o x | o o o o	wep
1,500	10	Pist 2	0	x
1,900	11	pist 3	0	x
2,350	12	pist 4	1	__Bank for pist 5
2,,800	13	pist 5	0	x__Tricky Gunplay	pist 5	x o o o | o o o x	2xw
3,300	14	pist 6	1	__Raining Steel	pist 1	On Init +2, 15C
3,800	15	Spy 9	0	x
4,400	16	spy 10	0	x
5,000	17	spy 11	1	__Killer's Aim	spy 11	+2 I, 35% C	6
5,700	18	Pist 7	0	x
6,400	19	pist 8	0	x
7,200	20	pist 9	0	x
8,000	21	Expl 1	1	__Fading Shot	pist 1	x x R R | o o x x	wep
9,000	22	expl 2	0	x
10,000	23	expl 3	0	x
12,000	24	expl 4	0	x
13,000	25	expl 5	1	__Reduced Exposure	exp 5	remove card	3wk
14,000	26	expl 6	0	x
15,000	27	expl 7	0	x
16,000	28	expl 8	1	__Legacy Seeker	exp 8	repl & reward	3wk
18,000	29	expl 9	0
20,000	30	expl 10	1	__Bank for Expl 11	bank
22,000	31	expl 11	0	x__Driven Prospector	exp 11	rep with success	3wk
25,000	32	Pist 10	1	__Rarest Find	exp 11	rep w reward	9wk
28,000	33	pist 11	0	x
31,000	34	pist 12	0	x
34,000	35	pist 13	0	x
38,000	36	pist 14	0	x
42,000	37	pist 15	1	__Digging Deeper	exp 11	30% + find	6wk
47,000	38	pist 16	0	x
52,000	39	pist 17	0	x
60,000	40	Pist 18	1	__Dueler's Stance		D & B	6
Total	40	40	14

+

+

+

OFFICER-4

OFFICER-4	Soldier(14)	Spy(11)	Sniper(15)	Slot 4
Stats	Rifle(13), Evade(7)	Pist(3), Stl(7), Elect(6)	Rifle(10), Evade(5), Stl(7)	Init (14-27) +0
Bonus	Berserk +15% Dmg / Crit	Spice Addict	Use Only one On Init talent	Trick of the Eye

XP	LVL	Rank	TP	Talent	Req	x x x x | x x x x	Init
0	1	Sol 1	1	__ Bank Spy 1
50	2	Spy 1	0	x__Disappearing Act	spy 1	o o o x | Stl on	8
150	3	Snip 1	1	__Bullet Trace	snip 1	o o x x | o o x x	wep
275	4	snip 2	0	x
400	5	snip 3	0	x
600	6	snip 4	1	__Bank Snip 5
800	7	snip 5	0	x__Staggering Hit	snip 5	o o x x | K K K K	1.5 w
1,000	8	Spy 2	1	__Vanishing Act	snip 1	R R R x| Stl on	8
1,200	9	spy 3	0	x
1,500	10	spy 4	0	x
1,900	11	spy 5	0	x
2,350	12	spy 6	1	__Close Observation	spy 1	= C trait 29%	18wk
2,,800	13	spy 7	0	x
3,300	14	spy 8	1	__Discipline	sol 1	D & B	6
3,800	15	spy 9	0	x
4,400	16	spy 10	0	x
5,000	17	spy 11	1	__Killer's Aim	spy 11	o o o | Attk Buff	6
5,700	18	Snip 6	0	x
6,400	19	snip  7	0	x
7,200	20	snip 8	0	x
8,000	21	snip 9	1	__Bank Snip 11
9,000	22	snip 10	0	x
10,000	23	snip 11	0	x__One-Shot	snip11	o x x x | o o o o	2xw
12,000	24	snip 12	0	x
13,000	25	snip 13	1	__Bank for Snip 15
14,000	26	snip 14	0	x
15,000	27	snip 15	0	x__Trick of the Eye	snip 15	On Init stl on
16,000	28	Sol 2	1	__Data Haul	spy 8	I & C-Inf bonus	3wk
18,000	29	sol 3	0
20,000	30	sol 4	1	__Cloak and Dagger	spy 11	mission success	3wk
22,000	31	sol 5	0	x
25,000	32	sol 6	1	__High Stakes	spy 11	30% intel bons	6wk
28,000	33	sol 7	0	x
31,000	34	sol 8	0	x
34,000	35	sol 9	0	x
38,000	36	sol 10	0	x
42,000	37	sol 11	1	__Backline Leader	sol 5	Team Buff	10
47,000	38	sol 12	0	x
52,000	39	sol 13	0	x
60,000	40	sol 14	1	__Scouring Search	spy 5	card intel	3wk
Total	40	40	14

1.) Spy Disappearing Act  stealth mode lasts 3T.  Snip vanishing act lasts 2 turns and retreats.
To really get a good setup, the sniper needs 3T stealth, notice how long Snip(15) until
you get On Init Trick of the eye which lasts 3T.

2.) Spy 11, Killer's Aim adds 3 turns with +2 Init, +35% Crit, & 20% AP. (preq stl mode)
When officer-4 hits lvl(17) keep this on all the time.

3.)Officer-4 has berserk trait adding 15% damage & crit to all attacks.  (One shot maybe very effective)

4.) Officer-4 has 3, +2 initiative talents, if all 3 are on at the same time get +6 init for 2 rounds?

5.) Staggering Hit is sniper''s main attack until lvl(23) when one shot comes online.
 
+

After purchasing Vegence class ship

+

OFFICER-5

OFFICER-5	Doctor(8)	Scavenger(17)	Explorer(15)
Stats	Tac(1), Doc(8) Com(3)	Rep(9), Doc(5), Expl(10)	Tac(5), Elect(7), Expl(10)
Promoted Doctor	lvl(5)

XP	LVL	Rank	TP	Talent	Req	wk
0	1	Doc 1	1	__Medical Staff	doc 1	3
50	2	Scav 1	0	x
150	3	Expl 1	1	__Gut Instinct	expl 1	3
275	4	Doc 2	0	x
400	5	doc 3	0	x
600	6	doc 4	1	__Bank Doc 5	bank
800	7	doc 5	0	x__Life Saver	doc 5	9
1,000	8	doc 6	1	__Bank for Doc 8
1,200	9	doc 7	0	x
1,500	10	doc 8	0	x__ Generous in Serv	doc 8	9
1,900	11	Expl 2	0	x
2,350	12	expl 3	1	__Bank Expl 5	bank
2,,800	13	expl 4	0	x
3,300	14	expl 5	1	__Reduced Exposure	expl 5	3
3,800	15	Salv 2	0	x__Unseen Traces	expl 5	18
4,400	16	salv 3	0	x
5,000	17	salv 4	1	__Bank for salv 5
5,700	18	salv 5	0	x__Light-Foot Tracker	salv 5	3
6,400	19	Expl 6	0	x
7,200	20	expl 7	0	x
8,000	21	expl 8	1	__Legacy Seeker	expl 8	3
9,000	22	Salv 6	0	x
10,000	23	salv 7	0	x
12,000	24	salv 8	0	x
13,000	25	Expl 9	1	__Bank for Expl 11
14,000	26	expl 10	0	x
15,000	27	expl 11	0	x__Driven Prospector	expl 11	3
16,000	28	Salv 9	1	__Patchwork	salv 8	6
18,000	29	salv 10	0
20,000	30	salv 11	1	__Scrappy Recovery	salv 11	3
22,000	31	Expl 12	0	x
25,000	32	Expl 13	1	__Rarest Find	expl 11	11
28,000	33	Expl 14	0	x
31,000	34	Expl 15	0	x
34,000	35	Salv 12	0	x
38,000	36	salv 13	0	x
42,000	37	salv 14	1	__Digging Deeper	expl 11	6
47,000	38	salv 15	0	x
52,000	39	salv 16	0	x
60,000	40	salv 17	1	__Rescue Mission	salv 11	3
Total	40	40	14

+

SPOILER: Click to show

A.) In this case selecting 8 contacts with De Valtos resulting in enemy.
One of the D.V. contacts would have allowed me to recruit doctors.  One to recruit Diplomats.
I really needed to recruit diplomats to control intimidation tests.  Diplomats have High Intimidation skills.
I really wanted to recruit more doctors early in the game because of constant multiple medical failures during flight.
It took along time to generate a contact that provided either service, got hammered with costly failures.

B.)  Failing Intimidation tests while traveling:  Big impact on crew morale, more time in spice
dens, increased desertion, damage to ship.  Pretty much every time you fly, you get multiple
intimidation failures.  So I found myself paying for spice and repairs almost every time I landed
on a planet.

[fallen]

John Robinson - it is absolutely a bug and I'll put some more priority on getting it fixed for you. Apologies. It is not intended.

[John Robinson]

Apr 7, 2019 15:39:58 GMT -5 fallen said:

John Robinson - it is absolutely a bug and I'll put some more priority on getting it fixed for you. Apologies. It is not intended.

I couldn't make up my mind to post this as a bug or a suggestion.  So it ended up in this sub-forum.

It's not impossible to work around.  I was able to make some mid game adjustments. 

Team Vagabond has hit level-32 now.  I'm using what I learned, and adjusting for the problem in my next team.

Can you flag this thread to "sink".  That arrow pointing down thing that buries the thread?

I'm grateful for your help, and feel guilty for bringing it up at such a busy time.

[fallen]

John Robinson - lol don't feel guilty. We ask everyone to post their bugs and issues whenever they have them. We aren't asking for the community to ease up on us just cause we're working on a big project. It is interesting to see some players take this as an advantage. It is the first time I've seen that posted. This is reported pretty often as a bug by other players, so I have a vested interested in fixing it Less bug reports equals more time on other fun stuff!

[drspendlove]

Intimidate fails are relatively minor failures. That said, pirates are good for a skill save talent there. Diplomat is a very narrow specialist job that most builds won't require once you have even a single intimidate save talent. Just a side note.

[grävling]

Intimidate *mission* fails are rather minor fails. But its absolute hell for levels, and levels, and levels if you build something with exp in D or E, and your novice crew knife each other on ship (failed int save). Buy a crew BH, Zealot or a Pirate (or Xeno hunter if that is the plan)
and get the skill save as I do, or make an int-focused profession as an officer -- as I think John Robinson was suggesting. At least before I got ill I we were discussing/debating the value of a diplomat officer vs a 2 low level dips at crew.