Lets test this persistent universe and see if FD are true to their word.

[Brindarm]

It's clear Lugh is one of seemingly few systems where the influence mechanic is showing regular updates with changes in figures. Several other groups of players have tried to alter the influence in systems but with no success as it seems to be locked or bugged, we simply don't know. However, achieving states such as lockdown, civil unrest, civil war, economic boom, and expansion (is "expansion" the correct term? Where they move their influence) are still possible.

Is it because we're working towards the same goal with Lugh in a structured manner? I can't believe there's different code for Lugh than there is for any other system, so maybe it's just a difference in organisation? I've no idea what's going on in the other systems as I'm concentrating on Lugh, so apologies if you're following the same tactics as us, with the same number of players and same frequency.

It's clear that some people have become very frustrated that they cannot visibly see the effects of their time spent in game (myself included to some degree). Everyone in Lugh have regular updates on their progress. It's a long term goal and that's one of the things that MMOs need to maintain a playerbase. This "political influence" type of gameplay has lead to several groups consisting of hundreds of players working towards a common goal. Whether it was FDEV's intention or not to appeal to the team/goal-based collaborative gamer it has become very popular. The lack of communication risks alienating a large portion of the playerbase.

All we can do is continue to wait for a response

Waiting isn't the only option. If there are many systems with numerous players it's an ideal opportunity to find out what works and what doesn't. That's the best way to discover bugs after all. I don't want instant feedback from the game telling me exactly what has happenned because I delivered such-and-such. I wouldn't get that feedback in the real-world (I'd hand over the goods and walk away without knowing what "Mr Big" had planned for it...)

I'm sure there are still bugs in the game, and we'll find them with a concerted effort and possibly trying to recreate the same conditions in other systems. It shouldn't be difficult to find our current "formula" a few pages back in this thread (look for orfeboy's posts in the fetching blue hue) - with a big enough team of like minded players you should be able to replicate what we're (now) achieving in the other systems. If not, then maybe it is a bug - but you'll have more solid evidence to pass to the devs so they can get to the bottom of it quicker (i.e. we've repeated what is working in Lugh, with x players over y days, averaging z missions each per day but have not seen any movement in system share).

Like I say, apologies if you're already doing this (I haven't read the other threads and don't have time to), but whatever happens, good luck with freeing the other systems.

 

[d33f]

I would like to see GalNet News offer local content.
Example:
CSG have gained 5% over night,
L E have lost 2% over night.
Conflict around Lugh 4 has escalated
Big influx of Non Lethal Weapons has caused civil unrest.

At the moment, I'm getting really bored of running the same cargo runs. And the I've got next to no missions that are worth doing in my cobra. But If I swap to the hauler or even a sidewinder I get much better missions. That I don't understand.

+1, Would be nice to see something like that on GalNet.

 

[orfeboy]

Is it because we're working towards the same goal with Lugh in a structured manner? I can't believe there's different code for Lugh than there is for any other system, so maybe it's just a difference in organisation? I've no idea what's going on in the other systems as I'm concentrating on Lugh, so apologies if you're following the same tactics as us, with the same number of players and same frequency.



Waiting isn't the only option. If there are many systems with numerous players it's an ideal opportunity to find out what works and what doesn't. That's the best way to discover bugs after all. I don't want instant feedback from the game telling me exactly what has happenned because I delivered such-and-such. I wouldn't get that feedback in the real-world (I'd hand over the goods and walk away without knowing what "Mr Big" had planned for it...)

I'm sure there are still bugs in the game, and we'll find them with a concerted effort and possibly trying to recreate the same conditions in other systems. It shouldn't be difficult to find our current "formula" a few pages back in this thread (look for orfeboy's posts in the fetching blue hue) - with a big enough team of like minded players you should be able to replicate what we're (now) achieving in the other systems. If not, then maybe it is a bug - but you'll have more solid evidence to pass to the devs so they can get to the bottom of it quicker (i.e. we've repeated what is working in Lugh, with x players over y days, averaging z missions each per day but have not seen any movement in system share).

Like I say, apologies if you're already doing this (I haven't read the other threads and don't have time to), but whatever happens, good luck with freeing the other systems.

I second this. The hardest part of trying to run something like this is that you have no true idea about what people are doing. You can only ask and hope that those who are involved are doing what you ask of them. It is the only way you can know if tactics are working or not. Lately people on here have (I think) for the most part being following my tactics posts. I do not claim to have cracked this thing but someone has to act as the rallying point for posts and give it a direction. Lots of people on here have offered theories and between all of us have come up with a strategy that seems to be working.

I personally still think our strategy is flawed and there are things I want to try but you have to realise that if you keep swapping and changing people easily become confused and then you have no idea where you are at. Our rise over the past week has been slow but it is still going up so I see no reason to change it and confuse people. When it slows to a stop we will look at it again.

For what it is worth I will say this: It is my personal belief that stations hold large chunks of the 'pie' of influence. When you work out of particular stations and complete a mission or do a trade you are affecting that station. When you do a delivery mission to another system you are gaining influence for your faction in that other system. This I believe is where your expansion comes from. As you gain influence you steal it from other factions within those stations and it then becomes yours. That is why you will see a rapid rise in the beginning as it does not really matter what missions you do as there are plenty of sources to steal that influence. Later as these stations get sapped of their influence they have less to offer and so although mission debriefs show you that you got a rise to your faction in actuality you may have gotten nothing at all. The further you go the more you have to scratch out that influence and find where it is hiding.

I believe you guys have hit a wall because you are spending more time doing missions in the new system than the parent system. You need to export your influence to the new system. The other system is producing huge influence because they own all the stations and control trade. You need to steal a station and to do that you need to destroy a faction to 3% or thereabouts. To do this you need to do delivery missions from your home system into the new system and wrestle the influence from them. Pick the weakest faction that owns a station. then figure out which missions damage them that come from your parent system and do those missions.

 

[rdizz]

And then there is a small possibility that it is all random and just a background sim, that players really have no control over. You may just see numbers go up and down but nothing comes of it.

I have been helping with this and my stats show something different. I only play in open mode exclusively.

 

[orfeboy]

And then there is a small possibility that it is all random and just a background sim, that players really have no control over. You may just see numbers go up and down but nothing comes of it.

I have been helping with this and my stats show something different. I only play in open mode exclusively.

Of course that is possible but to be honest what else are you going to do? If I was not doing this I would be bored of the game by now. There is only so much space trucking and visiting nav beacons you can do. I choose to believe the system is working (in a fashion) and will continue to push this. Michael Brookes has only just stated today that the mission system is getting a complete overhaul and that the background sim is very important to them and they want to get it right. So have a little patience. Are you having fun? That is all that really matters.

If nothing else we are providing FD with valuable data here. If the system does not work prperly we are giving them the opportunity to gauge what is not working and how it must be fixed. That is a good thing. I can't imagine how hard it is to write a system like this. If they get it working right that is pretty awe inspiring. So for now at least we are getting our influence up and as the fixes come that will put us in a very good position to push this over the line.

 

[rdizz]

Of course that is possible but to be honest what else are you going to do? If I was not doing this I would be bored of the game by now. There is only so much space trucking and visiting nav beacons you can do. I choose to believe the system is working (in a fashion) and will continue to push this. Michael Brookes has only just stated today that the mission system is getting a complete overhaul and that the background sim is very important to them and they want to get it right. So have a little patience. Are you having fun? That is all that really matters.

Exactly the reason I'm doing it as well.

 

[Cmdr Sharky]

I personally still think our strategy is flawed and there are things I want to try but you have to realise that if you keep swapping and changing people easily become confused and then you have no idea where you are at. Our rise over the past week has been slow but it is still going up so I see no reason to change it and confuse people. When it slows to a stop we will look at it again.

How about having a weekly push? Announce an activity on a Monday or a Friday and ask people to focus on that for the next week.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

And then there is a small possibility that it is all random and just a background sim, that players really have no control over. You may just see numbers go up and down but nothing comes of it.

That would be disappointing, and I see no reason to assume that FD have out-and-out lied about how player actions can affect factions. Maybe it doesn't work because of bugs, but that's another matter.

 

[FU5E]

I would like to see GalNet News offer local content.
Example:
CSG have gained 5% over night,
L E have lost 2% over night.
Conflict around Lugh 4 has escalated
Big influx of Non Lethal Weapons has caused civil unrest.

At the moment, I'm getting really bored of running the same cargo runs. And the I've got next to no missions that are worth doing in my cobra. But If I swap to the hauler or even a sidewinder I get much better missions. That I don't understand.

Awesome. Vote +1

 

[Brucolac]

I don't think systems can flip on their own, it most likely it require developer input. You can't expect the game to allow flipping of allegiance after a week of players running missions. Civil wars take time, I'd say come back in a few months when FD has approved the flip and written the necessary GalNet lore for it.

The problem with realistic timescales is that no-one is going to keep trying for 6 months to get one system in the galaxy to swap sides.

 

[Nightstorm]

I would like to see GalNet News offer local content.
Example:
CSG have gained 5% over night,
L E have lost 2% over night.
Conflict around Lugh 4 has escalated
Big influx of Non Lethal Weapons has caused civil unrest.

Agreed. As I mentioned a week ago, taking these facts and wrapping them into a narrative news story should be pretty easy to do, so the %age facts could become:

The Crimson State Group has seen a increase in influence overnight at the cost of Lugh For Equality and Lugh Defence Force.

The raw data is already available, so to my mind you only need the system to sort of recognise that. It could also give a hint as to how close pending states are to being fulfilled, with phrases like "on the brink" or "the first signs of".

 

[Cmdr Sharky]

The problem with realistic timescales is that no-one is going to keep trying for 6 months to get one system in the galaxy to swap sides.

Yes, pretty much all games have to operate on an unrealistic accelerated timescale. It's silly that we can buy a new spaceship and earn back the purchase price within a couple of days. We can click a button an repair a crippled ship in an instant. But that's the nature of games, they are a simplification of the "reality" that they represent. A "population boom" event should take 20 years to play out, unless they have accelerated cloning technologies.

 

[Gdank]

I look at it like politics ... currently we have the Conservative's in office and they are in control of the UK. If Labor started to gain popularity and it was a 70/30 split in their favor, Labor don't get to take over instantly they have to wait for an election - in which time the split may go up or down.

Therefore while one faction is at 65% doesn't mean they get to take over instantly ... it probably means some time in the future if they stay at 65% or greater then things will happen; this is so that stations / systems don't keep swinging allegiances without long term influence stability.

 

[orfeboy]

I look at it like politics ... currently we have the Conservative's in office and they are in control of the UK. If Labor started to gain popularity and it was a 70/30 split in their favor, Labor don't get to take over instantly they have to wait for an election - in which time the split may go up or down.

Therefore while one faction is at 65% doesn't mean they get to take over instantly ... it probably means some time in the future if they stay at 65% or greater then things will happen; this is so that stations / systems don't keep swinging allegiances without long term influence stability.

I don't see it that way. We seen from Balandin Gateway that station ownership both exists and can be changed in the game. This therefore has significance. I believe station ownership is the key to this. LFE have 33% left. I believe this is spread across their 4 stations. If we keep dropping them they will soon lose one of those stations. Then we steal all the trade from that station and it will be the beginning of the end for them.

 

[Elementical]

Is it because we're working towards the same goal with Lugh in a structured manner? I can't believe there's different code for Lugh than there is for any other system, so maybe it's just a difference in organisation? I've no idea what's going on in the other systems as I'm concentrating on Lugh, so apologies if you're following the same tactics as us, with the same number of players and same frequency.

I believe you guys have hit a wall because you are spending more time doing missions in the new system than the parent system. You need to export your influence to the new system. The other system is producing huge influence because they own all the stations and control trade. You need to steal a station and to do that you need to destroy a faction to 3% or thereabouts. To do this you need to do delivery missions from your home system into the new system and wrestle the influence from them. Pick the weakest faction that owns a station. then figure out which missions damage them that come from your parent system and do those missions.

The problem seems to be that influence simply doesn't change no matter what actions are taken. If it does change then it's a bug with the display. The influence figures are exactly the same for weeks and don't move. This has been brought to the attention of the dev team and they've acknowledged that they're aware of the issue but it might take time to track it down. Various different states can still occur such as lockdown, civil unrest etc. Something is working but other things are not.

The current mission system also has an overwhelming bias towards increasing economic boom and reducing economic bust, but there are plans for a missions update

Missions is due for a major update which I'll go into more detail in a dev update soon.

Michael

 

[Cmdr Sharky]

Is it because we're working towards the same goal with Lugh in a structured manner? I can't believe there's different code for Lugh than there is for any other system, so maybe it's just a difference in organisation?

More likely a bug, some attribute of the system or faction that is causing the code that updates the influences to fail.

 

[Nightstorm]

More likely a bug, some attribute of the system or faction that is causing the code that updates the influences to fail.

Yes, we've never had the percentages freeze, just sometimes they went in the wrong direction

 

[rdizz]

Someone just recently added a post to a thread stating back in Gamma the devs said that influence will not cause any changes in the system... Not sure how true that it is.

Edit. There is a new post by Michael stating that the influence is actually affecting the wrong system and they are working on it.

 

[Michael Brookes]

I don't think systems can flip on their own, it most likely it require developer input. You can't expect the game to allow flipping of allegiance after a week of players running missions. Civil wars take time, I'd say come back in a few months when FD has approved the flip and written the necessary GalNet lore for it.

They can - however looking into Lugh it looks like there has been a civil war which meant that ownership of one of the stations changed. There's now a cooldown period after the civil war - however I'm not sure that civil war will trigger again for controlling station so it won't happen in this case. We'll investigate to see if that is the case and fix it if it is.

Michael

 

[Michael Brookes]

Someone just recently added a post to a thread stating back in Gamma the devs said that influence will not cause any changes in the system... Not sure how true that it is.

Edit. There is a new post by Michael stating that the influence is actually affecting the wrong system and they are working on it.

Only if the minor faction is in more than one system.

Michael

 

[rdizz]

Hellz ya lol now it's all worth it again. Back to Lugh