A Guide to Minor Factions and the Background Sim

[Jmanis]

Yes, 'cost effective' isn't the right phrase. What I should have said was 'time effective' - I was really only looking at the first example - but still a bad choice of words.

Are we sure that it's the number of missions undertaken that affects the influence most or the value of missions? Or is it a combination?

For example, there are missions that offer 3m or so for the destruction of 50 pirates. Hunting down and destroying ships takes much longer than it used to. That 3m can be earned quicker by doing a couple of long-range deliveries or a succession of more local missions.

Which is the best use of time and therefore the most effective?

Or is it better to have more fun chasing down the bad guys?

So given the increased difficulty of CZs (which wouldn't be so bad if there was a low-intensity zone in the system I'm fighting in, character doing this doesn't have much cash and is in a cheapish vulture) if "value" is what matters nowadays, it's much more time and value-effective for me to run missions than to kill ships. I can quite easily drop a mission worth 200k in the time it would take to kill a ship or two. Sure you can stack the CZ missions, but most of them are for 6+ kills and, well, stacking still feels really cheap and as if it shouldn't be a thing. Maybe why they give 0 influence at the moment?

Noting the value comment, my own mental jury is out on this one. It's really hard to judge, but I've had nights where I run 20-odd missions at 200k each and get not much progress influence, then other nights I run two or three worth a 1-3 million credits, and I get a similar change. Dunno if it's the cap setting in or that the mission reward is what matters now (though this would conflict with the ingame representation of low/med/high influence gains from missions, not that i've seen anything besides medium to date. Have seen low rep gain)

 

[Becks]

In the light of recent events I'd like to ask the thread about information about the Lockdown state.

How much effort does it take to lock down a system?
Does population play a role?
How much effort is needed to counter a lock down state?
What are the exact effects (aka which services are affected, which factions are affected)?

Thanks in advance for every constructive answer.

 

[Marra Morgan]

In the light of recent events I'd like to ask the thread about information about the Lockdown state.

How much effort does it take to lock down a system?
Does population play a role?
How much effort is needed to counter a lock down state?
What are the exact effects (aka which services are affected, which factions are affected)?

Thanks in advance for every constructive answer.

Here's what my group understand about Lockdowns:

Lockdown is triggered by high levels of smuggling / piracy /murder
It'll spawn Seeking Goods (illegal) convoys and Checkpoints
The Commodity Market, Mission Board and Outfitting services are closed for faction's affected stations
Apparently you can bring it to a quicker end through Lockdown missions and bounty hunting

 

[goemon]

Here's what my group understand about Lockdowns:

Lockdown is triggered by high levels of smuggling / piracy /murder
It'll spawn Seeking Goods (illegal) convoys and Checkpoints
The Commodity Market, Mission Board and Outfitting services are closed for faction's affected stations
Apparently you can bring it to a quicker end through Lockdown missions and bounty hunting

very much that.

@becks how much effort is necessary, depends on population size, and whether other cmdrs in system counter your actions. e.g. it will be close to impossible to get a system to lockdown with RES and bounty hunters in system. in a 6 mio system we had a dozend cmdrs shooting system sec and smuggling illegal goods for three days in a row (some hours each day), before lockdown pushed in (that was in 2.0). missions are also adding to that state - this is why you will find "classical" smugglers location like maia, robigo etc. quite often in lockdown.

it is very easy though to push a controlling piracy faction into lockdown, though, especially if there are RES in system - because they will spawn pirate ships, and they will not give out bounties to counter the effect of shipkills. that for exampel you can see in terra mater happening quite often.

 

[Matzov]

In 2.1.01 I tested wazrone missions and they gave me 0 influence gain in a small system (bugreport https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/258600-BGS-No-influence-gain-from-combat-zone-mission, still unanswered).

This was my groups experience too. CZ missions seemed to offer negligible effect.

 

[Walter2]

In 2.0 warzone missions were effective. Branch warzone missions were 2x more effective than "standard" under some circumstances.

In 2.1.01 I tested wazrone missions and they gave me 0 influence gain in a small system (bugreport https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/258600-BGS-No-influence-gain-from-combat-zone-mission, still unanswered). Maybe they already fixed it.
In 2.1 bonds are much more effictive compared to 2.0.

This was my groups experience too. CZ missions seemed to offer negligible effect.

Not my experience in a couple of systems. Cashing in every time you reach 200,000cr is beneficial (boring and annoying when you'e on a roll, but beneficial), but population size is important.

 

[Sentenza]

Anyone worked the negative influence on a faction for a mission FAIL? I saw the formula for mission influence but it seems like hitting a small faction is harder than hitting a big faction, so I theorized that negative influence might be directly proportional to faction influence - say, a failed medium mission might generate a -0.25% hit for a 25% faction. Anyone?

 

[Jmanis]

Not my experience in a couple of systems. Cashing in every time you reach 200,000cr is beneficial (boring and annoying when you'e on a roll, but beneficial), but population size is important.

So last night I handed in:
4 combat zone missions
8 Wartime Rebel Transmissions Salvage missions
2-3 Strategic Data Deliveries

I didn't hand in any combat bonds. There was literally 0% change in influence in the system.

EDIT: Bugreported here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...n-factions-in-war-state?p=4219250#post4219250

Even if these missions aren't meant to increase influence, I think the text is midleading.

 

[Walter2]

So last night I handed in:
4 combat zone missions
8 Wartime Rebel Transmissions Salvage missions
2-3 Strategic Data Deliveries

I didn't hand in any combat bonds. There was literally 0% change in influence in the system.

EDIT: Bugreported here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...n-factions-in-war-state?p=4219250#post4219250

Even if these missions aren't meant to increase influence, I think the text is midleading.

Apologies - I misread. I only ever do CZ work and only take missions for the CZ and never consider related combat missions - probably why I'm getting a result that others aren't.


But we have considered conflicts to be more than a little iffy since 2.1 - and FD very quiet on the subject.

 

[_Flin_]

not permanently. investment state is said to improve situation temporarily. but for adding services to a station a community goal and a patch is necessary.

Are you sure about that? Is it known how development level works and whether you can influence it?

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Anyone worked the negative influence on a faction for a mission FAIL? I saw the formula for mission influence but it seems like hitting a small faction is harder than hitting a big faction, so I theorized that negative influence might be directly proportional to faction influence - say, a failed medium mission might generate a -0.25% hit for a 25% faction. Anyone?

Afaik this was turned off some tume ago because of the nuclear option to stack missions and abandon them.

So imho no direct BGS failing malus.

 

[Sentenza]

Afaik this was turned off some tume ago because of the nuclear option to stack missions and abandon them.

So imho no direct BGS failing malus.

Mission ABANDON was turned off as it was too easy, mission FAIL should still work.

 

[goemon]

So last night I handed in:
4 combat zone missions
8 Wartime Rebel Transmissions Salvage missions
2-3 Strategic Data Deliveries

I didn't hand in any combat bonds. There was literally 0% change in influence in the system.

EDIT: Bugreported here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...n-factions-in-war-state?p=4219250#post4219250

Even if these missions aren't meant to increase influence, I think the text is midleading.

thanks for testing & sharing!

 

[Vingtetun]

Anyone else getting weird results from war states?

2nd war for us, no cz spawned either time, influence in all 7 of our systems plummeted. Our largest system dropped by 25 percent.

We are having to win wars in the pending phase to survive. Grab a 25 percent lead then wait for the war to finish and hope our other systems survive the drop.

 

[goemon]

Are you sure about that? Is it known how development level works and whether you can influence it?

as sure as you can get with the BGS. so far, nobody as managed and reported to get additional services/better outfitting/more ships in shipyard permanently. I'm also taking from the fact, that additional permanent station services (like for exampel: meta alloy repaired stations) are always needing a patch.

 

[goemon]

Anyone else getting weird results from war states?

2nd war for us, no cz spawned either time, influence in all 7 of our systems plummeted. Our largest system dropped by 25 percent.

We are having to win wars in the pending phase to survive. Grab a 25 percent lead then wait for the war to finish and hope our other systems survive the drop.

weird more in terms of war wents pending, then goes away without getting active, then suddenly goes pending again. or CZs in ceasefire. but yes, it looks as if there is something wrong with wars. @vingtetun sorry for maybe to obvious, but make sure you check all bodies in a system. i have fought some war, where CZ were spawning at the binary 200 k ls away from any station...

 

[Sentenza]

Anyone else getting weird results from war states?

2nd war for us, no cz spawned either time, influence in all 7 of our systems plummeted. Our largest system dropped by 25 percent.

We are having to win wars in the pending phase to survive. Grab a 25 percent lead then wait for the war to finish and hope our other systems survive the drop.

Yeah this is the infamous war bug in action.

 

[Walter2]

Although FD are replying to bug reports, none of the BGS-related reports for 2.1 have been addressed as far as I can see.

No change there, then.

 

[Vingtetun]

weird more in terms of war wents pending, then goes away without getting active, then suddenly goes pending again. or CZs in ceasefire. but yes, it looks as if there is something wrong with wars. @vingtetun sorry for maybe to obvious, but make sure you check all bodies in a system. i have fought some war, where CZ were spawning at the binary 200 k ls away from any station...

Trust me. We scoured the system. All of it. Thoroughly.

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Anyone got links to bug reports for the 'infamous war bug'(sic) so I can compile in an email with our stats and notes.

 

[Sentenza]

Trust me. We scoured the system. All of it. Thoroughly.

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Anyone got links to bug reports for the 'infamous war bug'(sic) so I can compile in an email with our stats and notes.

There are several, this one links the others. They are investigating (c)

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/260821-BGS-Conflict-States-now-shared-across-all-Systems-for-a-Faction-GalMap-Status-bugged-Influence-System-bugged?highlight=faction+drop

The "missing CZ" part is way older and around since forever, but at least it affected only the system at war.

 

[Matzov]

Not my experience in a couple of systems. Cashing in every time you reach 200,000cr is beneficial (boring and annoying when you'e on a roll, but beneficial), but population size is important.

Yes, killing ships in CZs and bonds works fine (and frequency of handing in seems to matter more than total) - in our experience too. I, and I think you realised this a couple of posts later - but for clarity - I was speaking only to Missions related to combat - so kill x amount of ships, assassinate etc... These seem to have no effect on war state as Jmanis's test looks to have confirmed.