|
|
Post by luraz on Feb 13, 2011 4:56:03 GMT -5
Hi guys, Just started to play this game and it is a cool game on android. I bought the elite version, but I have a question. What is the deal with the factions? I choose a syndicate faction, start doing missions for them and soon got good reputation with my faction, but a bad reputation with the other factions. - Why do we choose a factions if I have to do missions for all of them? - Also, I get confronted with a ship from the other faction in my own territory. It sais this ship has no authorization to search our ship in this place, because it is not their territory. STILL, I get attacked when refused to cooperate with them. I defeat them and gain negative reputation with all other factions.. - After a while I get all kind of bountyhunters after my ass and I can't even play normal anymore... So, what is the deal with this factions if u are not able to play for 1 faction? Or am I missing something over here? Plz tell me:) Thx for the help!  |
|
|
|
Post by diablodestroyer on Feb 13, 2011 8:56:50 GMT -5
Hi,
Welcome to the world of star traders.
Basically this game gives u choice, in a setting where u can really decide what u want to do and when you want to do it. However, it seems that a safe way of playing is to have positive rep with everyone else to reduce the number of hostile encounters. At least thats the way i play the time. So basically you choose a home faction with the intent to at least have that faction as your friend. I am not sure that u will lose reputation with ur own faction if attacked by enemy ships in your own territory.
Anyway, you are indeed able to play for one faction, but in the real world scenario, its safer to appease all other factions lest they send bounty hunters to hunt for you as in your case. You probably should try to keep ur rep to low negatives first, and wait to get ships with better sails and engines before going hardcore against the other factions. Then the bounty hunters sent to you are merely just providers of free materials to sell and earn more money.
It takes some time to understand how to play this game but dun give up too soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by ghrasp on Feb 13, 2011 9:04:07 GMT -5
The factions are more or less self serving and corrupt. When you start the game, you have an "ok " ship that your father left you. You are level one. You more or less can fly the ship and land it successfully. My advice would be to at the beginning keep out of trouble. Run from pirates. Surrender to military. Build some experience and levels. If you offend a faction, bribe them at the palace. Once you are no longer wet behind the ears, capture a ship that suits your needs and then make people mad at you. I tend to put my first experience points into pilot and intimidate. This reduces fuel used.
|
|
|
|
Post by luraz on Feb 13, 2011 17:06:53 GMT -5
Well, this game does not really give u a choice. You can choose a faction, but it doesn't mean anything in the game, because you will have to stay friends with all of them to survive. So I ask myself, why do I choose a faction if it does not mean anything in the game itself. I also noticed some game play non realistic elements, example:
- My first turn I went to my capital. I got stopped by a ship from another faction and they do NOT have authorization to stop me, because they are in my territory. Still they stopped me and if I surrender, they take my goods and I miss my contract...
- Pirates stop me. If I surrender, I will loose my goods, but if I battle them, I will get a bad reputation with other factions and get a lot of bounty hunters after me...So again, this does not make sense.
I really like the idea of this game, but I have them feeling this game play is not realistic.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cory Trese on Feb 14, 2011 4:23:44 GMT -5
Luraz,
I am afraid you are missing some of the details of how the game's mechanics work. I really appreciate the feedback and I'd like to help you understand how the Reputation and Factions system works.
Your home Faction is the one with which you are the least likely to loose Reputation. The selection of the Faction the start is your character's native Faction -- the nation of space faring people who are most likely to trust him. They may receive reports that he is killing their allies or fleeing from the military, but they are less likely to believe it, or take it too seriously.
First: the choice of initial faction is critical and over the course of the game can mean hundreds of Reputation difference.
Second, Faction Military ships will search anyone who stops. If they do not have authorization to search your ship, they cannot report you for crimes. However, if you consent to a search, they will check your ship. If you have contracts (but NOT the starting contract, or other "Message" contracts) or illegal goods you will suffer a Reputation loss.
In the current version, if pirates stop you and you battle them you will not loose Reputation with any Factions. In previous versions you would loose Reputation with the Faction that owned the Pirate Ship. This offended other players so it was removed from the Android version of the game.
---
The key point in the Reputation management game is the "criminal status" flag. When your reputation drops below a certain point (around -11 depending on a few factors) the Captain is branded a criminal.
The Factions are grouped into two groups -- Syndicates and Houses. When a Captain's reputation reaches the criminal point with ANY Syndicate Faction, he gains the Syndicate Criminal Status. That status causes other, non-aligned Syndicates to seek to arrest and collect the bounty on the Captain.
So, as the posting players mentioned, buying Pardons is very useful to keep various Factions from declaring you a criminal. Buying a pardon at one Syndicate also clears your Syndicate Criminal Status as well.
---
Some players seem to believe that the ideal technique for survival is being friendly with all Factions. I do not play that way and the game's primary balance mechanisms certainly allow for a realistic level of conflict between the Captain and some of the Factions.
However, the Captain must be careful of the shifting Alliances and Conflicts between the Factions. His Native Faction will be the quickest to forgive and the fastest to befriend, but he will need more than one friendly Faction to survive the vast spaces of Star Traders RPG.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cory Trese on Feb 14, 2011 4:33:46 GMT -5
"My first turn I went to my capital. I got stopped by a ship from another faction"
That is an obvious flaw in the game's beginning. On everything below crazy you are now 100% certain to be encounter free for the first 10 turns. That should make the introduction phase easier as new players get a handle on moving around and doing contracts.
Anyone have a comment on that???
|
|
|
|
Post by oldalchemist on Feb 14, 2011 11:47:08 GMT -5
I think I got creamed one time before I could reach the capital. I just started over.
Regarding reputation with other factions: Once I get rolling with a captain, I try to keep six positive reputations. If I do a job against Cadar, it's likely that when I'm done, I'm on a Cadar planet. Pop in to the palace, pay for a pardon or update my permits, and consider it a cost of doing business. If there's no trade embargo (the worst type of war!), I sell off some goods and butter up the faction.
Keep military rank with everyone you can. It seems to buffer bad actions. I think you can get demoted, but while you've got rank with a faction, I don't think you can be a criminal. Keep your permits up to date and buy promotions when they're available.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cory Trese on Feb 14, 2011 12:30:09 GMT -5
I will try this technique =)
|
|
|
|
Post by lonewolf6668 on Feb 14, 2011 16:20:08 GMT -5
Yes good technique I use it with my explorer captian on hard difficulty
I have +800 rep with thulun and javat +500 with all the rest
First you need to do 2 contracts for a faction if they have 0 rep with you to be able to buy a trade permit then I started out just exploring planets for the artifacts and electronics and would sell them to factions that I had permits for and who had a trade alliance. On hard difficulty there are a lot more trade embargos but I got lucky once in my 200 years and had 3 trade alliances with house thulan at the same time.
If needed while there were embargos I would take message or transport contracts mostly against independants(chance of deception of being a faction) in order to pass the time till the embargos go away. I did not take many bounty/kill contracts untill I had all factions above 300 rep.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cory Trese on Feb 14, 2011 21:07:50 GMT -5
Starting to worry the game is too easy. =(
Your technique makes Impossible pretty survivable.
EDIT: the second and third games did not go as well. Trade Wars caught up with the Captain
|
|
|
|
Post by luraz on Feb 15, 2011 3:31:46 GMT -5
Hej Cory,
Thx for your reply and explanation of the game. I now understand the working of this factions system. Still I think it would be cooler,that these factions should be more important in the game. It would make the game really fun if factions could start REAL wars with eachother and that there were bounderies between factions. I know that every faction is different in playstyle,but if u look at the faction system now,its like the united states of Amerika or the countries in the EU. Even if you are playing for a certain faction,you don't have the feeling of being a REAL part of this.faction.. Still its a great game;)
Btw. i really got attacked in my first turn when traveling towards my capital and I really think I have the newest version. Rpg elite and fully updated.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cory Trese on Feb 15, 2011 3:42:20 GMT -5
I will investigate. 3.4.3 is the most current edition and should include the fix for encounters on turns less than 10.
We are working towards a way to allow parts of the Elite map to shift back and forth between factions based on the Conflicts system.
Right now physical Sectors do not change hands but the economies, powers, trade routes and prices/supplies of the Factions are deeply rooted in the Conflict system.
PS: Thanks for sticking with it and reading all the details. The Faction system has a lot of moving parts and you will probably continue to notice nuances for some time -- indeed even I am occasionally informed of facts I did not know =)
|
|
|
|
Post by oldalchemist on Feb 15, 2011 11:22:43 GMT -5
If you're at 0 rep with a faction, sell Records instead of doing contracts. There's less risk unless you're facing a Trade Embargo (BOO!) or a Spy War. Buy the records from Independents or even from the same faction exchange at a small loss.
Does the 6 friendly factions strategy make the game too easy? Maybe, but you're still targeted by Independent Pirates and you've got to keep the balance, constantly keeping permits up to date and dumping tons of cash into promotions. It's a lot of work to reduce risk that way.
Political Officers ought to be able to help you sell under an Embargo anonymously (not 100%, but maybe you can buy a fake Trade Permit somewhere...) Man, I hate Embargos.
|
|
|
|
Post by luraz on Feb 16, 2011 2:38:27 GMT -5
Np mate;) Im looking forward to the new faction system. Now it is time to start a new game! Hehe,c ya
|
|
|
|
Post by oldalchemist on Feb 16, 2011 12:24:59 GMT -5
Hey, I just re-read the stock rumor about when an exchange is flush with traders. It says that prices are flat, stocks are large, and that this is a good time for anonymous trades. Does that mean that you can dodge an embargo if the exchange is really hopping?
|
|
