A Guide to Minor Factions and the Background Sim

[CMDR Endincite]

True in 99% of cases.
I witnessed at least two nondetermenistic expansions:
1. Expansion went to system 24,39ly from expansion source, skipping system 24,03ly with free slots. It was in April, prior to 2.1 however.
2. System 21,01ly away from source was picked instead of system 20,65ly away. Both systems had 6 factions before expansion. It was in December.

The simplest explanation is that BGS used rounded to integer distance to pick expansion target.

Prior to 2.1 the expansion rules were quite different.
IIRC:
1. Look for system within 25ly with less than 5 factions. Barring that,
2. Look for the faction with the lowest influence in that radius, and expand to that system and fight them for position. This sometimes led - in fact it was the only way, I think - to native factions being pushed out of their home system, and thus the confusion since about a few remaining faction that haven't been forced into Retreat, which is the usual way for them to return to their native system.

 

[MottiKhan]

Ugh, yeah we got stuck in a cycle of endless recurring conflicts for a while. It only broke when we entered pending war with another faction while during an active election (day 3 I think). System extremely busy with insane daily influence changes. My suspicion is that something in the state change mechanism has changed or is malfunctioning since 2.2 dropped.

edit: also saw coup blocked for a month due to other states. Skimmer grinding is poison.

We've had chain wars consistently happen when we initiate a coup and then wind up with over 60% influence at the end of the war. They can be broken by lowering influence to below the 60% threshold at the end of the war. Once lowered, you can raise your influence back up without it happening again.

 

[Schlack]

We've had chain wars consistently happen when we initiate a coup and then wind up with over 60% influence at the end of the war. They can be broken by lowering influence to below the 60% threshold at the end of the war. Once lowered, you can raise your influence back up without it happening again.

Sorry, I should have been clearer, the chain conflict described was not a coup situation.

 

[Jane Turner]

Neither was the one above - we have put the side we want to trigger a war agianst elsewhere back to 1% this time - surely there can't be a 4th consecutive war in the same system!

 

[CMDR pollycough]

Hello again all.

So with a new patch we, like other groups I expect, begin a new round of testing to see what works and what doesn't this time around.

Before I go and spend a few days testing one particularly troubling report though, I thought I'd ask here for recent experience.

Suffice it to say, someone I trust to know what he's about is convinced the 'coup' trigger for conflict - a non-controlling faction reaching 60% or thereabouts - isn't working at all.
Does anyone have recent experience with this? The mechanic would seem to serve a very good purpose and if it isn't working...well that's an issue.

I had one trigger on the 4th at 64%, The war went active and will finish tomorrow.

 

[Walt Kerman]

I realize the thread needs updating.

I'm currently taking a break from the Mercs and the game, primarily because.... my computer broke down. But I suppose I can put some time into updating this.


If you have advice or any sections you would like to be added, please comment and say "Walt Kerman" somewhere in the post to ensure that I see it. I'll portion a bit of time off each evening and we will get this sucker up to date.

I have collected some interesting data points over the past year that I think will be useful. Some are provided by Communism Interstellar or other groups tracking sheets, but I will have to ask for permission to post graph examples made from those data points.

 

[Marcus Machiavelli]

Here you go then .... "Walt Kerman" you rock dude! Thank you for all your then/now/future hard work in helping us all!
ps. Thank you Communism Interstellar too, as you guys and girls also rock!

 

[Jane Turner]

Obviously you can post anything from us Walt

 

[irongut]

Massacre missions don't actually provide inf because no missions provide inf during war state.

If you look at the tables provided by the devs in the op, for War and Civil War it states: Only combat missions and actions contribute

This certainly was the case in the past and I had been operating under the assumption that it was still true. I don't know when this changed but I have now tested Massacre and Asassinate Deserter missions and no influence was gained from either. In both cases I ran two missions and in the test system I would have expected 3.6% gain from each test. The only time the influence has changed in the last 3 days was when I cashed the bonds I had earned doing the massacre test.

- - - Updated - - -

Any chance on an up to date version? This seems to be working well enough for my purposes but something more accurate would be great.

Have FD publsihed an update or is it from good ol player investigation and science?

I have my own updated version that I've been working on but there are a few states like Bust that I don't have much experience with. I'll have a word with Walt about including it in updates if he doesn't have anything better.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Massacre missions don't actually provide inf because no missions provide inf during war state.

Massacre Missions act as distinct Multiplicators during Civil/War state and have a profound effect. Combat Mission.
One of the key BGS issues for dedicated BGS workers have been and remain "Credit grinders" that just grab tons of Missions to execute Massacre Stacks and get rich. Simply because they have a very significant effect on the Conflict.

On top of that, for some reason they're in the same bracket as the "Terrorist Missions" (i.e. kill Refugees/Traders/Authority etc.), thus causing strong Lockdown trends as a side-effect (despite that they should be 100% legitimate and legal War Support Missions).

In the most recent War, I gave a typical input (System was entirely unsupported for a very long time, zero Influence movements over many months).
Well, the 1st day saw a surprising -0.8%

After going "all in" and getting me Massacre Missions myself (new Mission System spawned them, before 2.2.03 I hardly ever saw them for my Faction) plus abandon a few for the other side :
A +25.2% move within 24hrs...

I'd say they're quite effective.

 

[Jane Turner]

Walt Kerman I'll do a couple a day for your approval

States. Lockdown no longer blocks Expansion or conflict election states


Hirarchy of states is Government Change states > reloaction states> Disorder states> Economic states> disaster states


Expansion. Currently expansion occurs when a faction is over 75% and there is no Government change state active or pending in their other systems. Expansions will go into the closest system with 6 or fewer factions present within 30 LY. If no such systems exist, then instead of an expansion, the faction enters an investment phase at the end of the expansion period which increases the expansion range to 60LY (? - we've not tested it this is an assumption). If more than one system is over 75% then the expansion will start from the 1st to cross the boundary. Expansions can be directed by choosing the origin system and selectively removing a faction from a target systems where there are 7 factions present. Expnasions may occur from systems that you do not control so long as the >75% influence and no blocking state conditions are met.

 

[worith]

Hi guys,

Is there a sheet (or any information source) which compile BM opening in function of type of governement ?

 

[goemon]

I realize the thread needs updating.

I'm currently taking a break from the Mercs and the game, primarily because.... my computer broke down. But I suppose I can put some time into updating this.


If you have advice or any sections you would like to be added, please comment and say "Walt Kerman" somewhere in the post to ensure that I see it. I'll portion a bit of time off each evening and we will get this sucker up to date.

I have collected some interesting data points over the past year that I think will be useful. Some are provided by Communism Interstellar or other groups tracking sheets, but I will have to ask for permission to post graph examples made from those data points.

great to read from you, walt kerman!

i think it would be good to use the BGS livestream table in the OP: http://i.imgur.com/cwqqik4.png

 

[goemon]

Hi guys,

Is there a sheet (or any information source) which compile BM opening in function of type of governement ?

i don't know of one, but you could start one

 

[Walter2]

You think that's wierd, lately every time I get a capital ship CZ it is bugged and my faction (Empire) get a Farragut with a name like INV Duval and the Indies get a Majestic with a name like FNS Farragut!!! Really breaks my immersion and annoys the hell out of me. Before 2.1 or 2.2 the Indies didn't get a cap ship at all but if an Empire or Fed faction was present they could get their cap ship. Now it doesn't seem to matter as long as one side is Empire or Fed then both sides will get a cap ship, often the wrong ones.

I can confirm this. We were fighting as independents against the Empire - 10 August 3302 - when this happened:

The Farragut was Empire controlled and we had the Majestic. It is possible to drive off a cap ship, but I twice managed to bring this Farragut (it turns up with a different name each time, but with the same number) to a complete stop with my little Vulture by up-close but safely targetting a spot on its back. Once that's done it just sits there.

 

[Walter2]

Expansion. Currently expansion occurs when a faction is over 75% and there is no Government change state active or pending in their other systems. Expansions will go into the closest system with 6 or fewer factions present within 30 LY. If no such systems exist, then instead of an expansion, the faction enters an investment phase at the end of the expansion period which increases the expansion range to 60LY (? - we've not tested it this is an assumption). If more than one system is over 75% then the expansion will start from the 1st to cross the boundary. Expansions can be directed by choosing the origin system and selectively removing a faction from a target systems where there are 7 factions present. Expnasions may occur from systems that you do not control so long as the >75% influence and no blocking state conditions are met.

In Colonia this week we had a faction that was pending expansion but went straight into investment skipping the expansion phase. There was nowhere it could have gone to in expansion - it was either already in the local systems or they had seven factions - and it has nowhere to go after investment.

 

[Sentenza]

You think that's wierd, lately every time I get a capital ship CZ it is bugged and my faction (Empire) get a Farragut with a name like INV Duval and the Indies get a Majestic with a name like FNS Farragut!!! Really breaks my immersion and annoys the hell out of me. Before 2.1 or 2.2 the Indies didn't get a cap ship at all but if an Empire or Fed faction was present they could get their cap ship. Now it doesn't seem to matter as long as one side is Empire or Fed then both sides will get a cap ship, often the wrong ones.

No I just had two consecutive wars, in the first one only the federal faction had a capital ship, in the second one no capitals at all.

 

[Aris_]

If you look at the tables provided by the devs in the op, for War and Civil War it states: Only combat missions and actions contribute

This certainly was the case in the past and I had been operating under the assumption that it was still true. I don't know when this changed but I have now tested Massacre and Asassinate Deserter missions and no influence was gained from either. In both cases I ran two missions and in the test system I would have expected 3.6% gain from each test. The only time the influence has changed in the last 3 days was when I cashed the bonds I had earned doing the massacre test.

I also test them and i agree general name is engage and destroy missions did about 18 in a system no change , caution do not mix them with the single trg assassination missions they work ok for inf

 

[Sentenza]

If you look at the tables provided by the devs in the op, for War and Civil War it states: Only combat missions and actions contribute

This certainly was the case in the past and I had been operating under the assumption that it was still true. I don't know when this changed but I have now tested Massacre and Asassinate Deserter missions and no influence was gained from either. In both cases I ran two missions and in the test system I would have expected 3.6% gain from each test. The only time the influence has changed in the last 3 days was when I cashed the bonds I had earned doing the massacre test.

Massacre missions now have the reverse effect actually: they do not advance the influence of your factions, they thrash the other side instead and put it in lockdown.

 

[Schlack]

We have noted a concurrent Investment and War State. If I recall correctly a similar circumstance has been noted in this thread previously.

In the war system the CZs are in ceasefire (we are not sure when the conflict began so it may be ending at today's tick). The different info screens are showing different information:

Right hand panel shows the faction in Investment
System map shows the faction at War
Mission menu shows the faction both in investment & at war
Other systems where this faction is located all show investment.

What state dictates effective actions in war system and investment systems is unclear at this stage. It is also unclear whether this is a bug or some mechanism to allow the new investment state as additional/ancillary to existing states. Its a head scratcher!