Hello, it's been two days but I thought I'd take a stab at two of the questions. Using a droid, I can't answer the first.
"2) I don't really understand what rumors are: are they a better type of contract, except that they're dependent on being at a specific place at a specific time?"
Rumors are intelligence warning you of specific things happening in the quadrant. They are NOT contracts. Instead, they are simply news. They provide warnings of new threats ... and new opportunities.
For instance, one rumor will tell you that there is a greatly increased chance of encountering an alien ship in a particular sector. That's an opportunity if you're a dedicated alien hunter -- and a threat to be avoided if you're anyone else.
Likewise, one rumor will tell you that there is a shortage of a certain product on a planet. That's bad if you intended to buy a product there. But if you own a BIG merchant ship with big cargo holds, you can scoop up boatloads of the stuff on other planets and sell them there at a huge profit. So if you're a merchant, this is great news. If you're a bounty hunter or a military officer, you don't care.
"3) I'm also quite lost on Faction interactions, and what is considered a "criminal" act or not: are all the factions constantly at war?"
Faction relationships change like the weather. One minute they are at war, the next they are blood brothers.
How to NOT be a criminal in Star Traders (it's easier than you think):
A) Never trade at a planet under trade embargo (viewable under faction conflicts). Trading against an embargo is the fastest way to lose reputation. Get reputation below 0 and you're a criminal. Between 0 and -15 you can make it right by going to any faction palace and paying a fine, which will reset your rep to 0.
Below -15, the palace is closed to you and bounty hunters of any stripe will actively hunt you on that faction's behalf.
This is where independents are life-saving, because they are never embargoed. While the prices are terrible, at least you can always refuel without making enemies!
B) Do not attack a merchant ship, a bounty hunter, or a naval vessel flying that faction's flag. If you DO attack , you can increase the reputation penalty by some combination of looting the ship, enslaving the crew, or selling it to a salvage yard, or all of the above at once.
You are under no obligation to surrender to a pirate of any flag. No faction will punish you for defending yourself from a pirate -- with one exception which I'll discuss under 3. But as a rule pirates may be attacked and looted without fear of reprisal from any faction. Pirates are the scum of the quadrant, and even the factions who employ them have no use for them.
C) Do not attack the ships of a faction with which another faction has an alliance. You will lose rep with the allied faction even in the case of self-defense against a pirate attack.
D) If approached by a faction warship, you must acknowledge or surrender. Failing to do so will result in negative rep points, though a trivial amount compared to , say, blowing up your pursuer
.
E) DO acquire trade permit and military rank with all factions. A trade permit immunizes you from pirates of that faction, and also means faction bounty hunters will not attack you if you are carrying restricted goods (artifacts, electronics, weapons). Military rank protects you from faction military and gives you access to the military base so you can repair armor , guns, and buy torpedoes.
Do E, observe the trade embargoes, molest no one, acknowledge all warships, and you will live as peaceful a life as possible in the universe of star traders -- which is to say, you will still be attacked by independent pirates and bounty hunters and aliens, but everyone else will leave you alone.
2) When am I allowed to attack another ship without criminal repercussions?
You may always attack an independent of any profession without repercussion. They have placed themselves outside the protection of faction law, and so they are unpersons in the eyes of the factions.
Unless the faction has an ally (which WILL penalize you), pirates of any faction may be attacked and looted but NOT destroyed or enslaved without penalty.
3) What's the difference between "ignore", "acknowledge" and "surrender" when facing a ship?
"Acknowledge" means that the two of you go your separate ways after a friendly hail. Whenever acknowledge is an option, it always ends the encounter peacefully without incident or repercussion. So if you're a merchant, you should always use this option. This is also why you want trade permit and military rank, as it gives you the option with faction ships.
"Ignore" means you attempt to get away from the other ship. You can do this without penalty to any save faction warships. Ignoring a faction warship costs you 1 rep . Easy to repair at the palace if you don't do it too often. It's the 'speeding ticket' of star traders.
'Surrender' means you permit the other ship access to your cargo and person. What happens next depends on what you're carrying and how the factions feels toward you.
I've never seen anyone surrender to a merchant or smuggler, so I don't know what happens next.
Surrender to a pirate, if you have a trade permit with their faction, results in nothing happening. Surrender WITHOUT such a permit means they will loot your hold of whatever they want and possibly wound you in the process.
Surrender to a bounty hunter or warship means they will confiscate any restricted cargo you don't have a trade permit for, and any contract cargo , causing you to fail a delivery mission -- unless you have some way to protect it, say with a smuggler's hold.
What happens next depends on what the faction thinks of you.
If you have positive rep, you are now free to go.
If your rep is negative, this means prison time -- you lose some game time wiling away your life aboard a prison ship.
If your rep is TOO negative , you will be executed. Heaven help you -- death for the offenders of a faction is both painful and prolonged.
Surrender to an alien or narvidian ALWAYS results in execution for you and your crew.
Respectfully,
Brian P.