Post by spike on Mar 6, 2011 16:59:22 GMT -5
Unless this is a bug - but I supect it's a feature - I just figured out that those Contracts you get at Independent worlds, aren't working for Independents. You are still working for a Faction.
When considering taking a Contract at an Independent world, there is nothing to tell you which Faction is the sponsor. You can only find out after you take the Contract (Status - Contracts).
I didn't realise this until now. It explains a lot of why I was struggle to manage my faction reputation!
Now the idea of doing a Contract, without knowing who you are working for, is pretty cool. So instead of the sponsor being there in Contracts - Status, maybe the sponsor remains unknown. Maybe you have a chance to find out, based on some stats, Political Officer, Spy Officer, etc. Maybe you only find out after the mission is completed - maybe never. Maybe you have to try to deduce it from the faction loss/gain you made. Easy enough to do unless complex alliances exist - which is most of the time.
However unless Mystery Sponsor Contracts are a deliberate feature of Independent worlds, maybe it would be good to identify the sponsor Faction in the text of the Contract, in the offer screen, prior to accepting the Contract? If Mystery Contracts are a deliberate feature, it would still be a good idea to stress in the offer text that this Contract is for "entities unknown".
I was also slightly disappointed that there are no genuine Independent Contracts. It could be cool to build reputation with Independent worlds. It could slowly unlock benefits such as better Contracts, better prices, better Upgrades maybe. Or even, - in a major change to the game - you would have to build Rep and even Rank with every individual Independent world, before you could buy restricted goods or Military equipment there. Does it really make sense that every Independent world is a free-for-all? Surely at least some of them would be wary of selling to outsiders? Only a hard core few would be true black markets, turning a blind eye to anyone with ready credits.
When considering taking a Contract at an Independent world, there is nothing to tell you which Faction is the sponsor. You can only find out after you take the Contract (Status - Contracts).
I didn't realise this until now. It explains a lot of why I was struggle to manage my faction reputation!
Now the idea of doing a Contract, without knowing who you are working for, is pretty cool. So instead of the sponsor being there in Contracts - Status, maybe the sponsor remains unknown. Maybe you have a chance to find out, based on some stats, Political Officer, Spy Officer, etc. Maybe you only find out after the mission is completed - maybe never. Maybe you have to try to deduce it from the faction loss/gain you made. Easy enough to do unless complex alliances exist - which is most of the time.
However unless Mystery Sponsor Contracts are a deliberate feature of Independent worlds, maybe it would be good to identify the sponsor Faction in the text of the Contract, in the offer screen, prior to accepting the Contract? If Mystery Contracts are a deliberate feature, it would still be a good idea to stress in the offer text that this Contract is for "entities unknown".
I was also slightly disappointed that there are no genuine Independent Contracts. It could be cool to build reputation with Independent worlds. It could slowly unlock benefits such as better Contracts, better prices, better Upgrades maybe. Or even, - in a major change to the game - you would have to build Rep and even Rank with every individual Independent world, before you could buy restricted goods or Military equipment there. Does it really make sense that every Independent world is a free-for-all? Surely at least some of them would be wary of selling to outsiders? Only a hard core few would be true black markets, turning a blind eye to anyone with ready credits.
