In some ways you are correct. The impact of the BGS on the wider game is not as explicit as we might wish. But then in some of the examples above the imperium and the feds are not @ war. in fact they expend a LOT of energy getting close to war but not actually starting one.
However the BGS is the mechanism that decides who owns what system and what assets and what state they are in and ultimately what missions are generated. So yes, it does affect you, but i agree its subtle and not in your face. Given the scenrios and BGS update in 3.3 I expect the influence to increase not reduce, but it will still be background.
ED is a kind of subtle game in many ways - it really does allow you to engage in certain types of gameplay and ignore others. But in a game that is deliberately designed without a narrative and which is marketed on the basis of "blaze your own trail" then the ability to set your own goals and find your own way is important. So, choosing a faction to support and setting goals to expand it into an other system is as legitimate a goal as earning a billion credits, buying a conda getting a thousand kills, unlocking guardian tech or any of the other things players do and enjoy.
A lot of players engage in the BGS because the system interests them or because they have an affinity for one of the factions or simply because thats the station the call home. But all of them because they enjoy it. Its a game - it provides fun. So if engaging in the BGS isn't for you thats fine. It does not however mean that you get to dismiss the players that enjoy this playstlye as meaningless.
And botting does matter. Because it has the capacity to destroy the fun for all those people. And their enjoyment is just as meaningful as yours. The bots impact on the BGS is we believe incidental, because they are earning credits to invest in PP. Again that might not be something you care about but some players do. Running missions to a CG is no harder than what they already do, again you might not care about that either, but the stats suggest a lot of people turn up to them every week. And if it is possible to run bots undetected for these tasks then they will only get more sophisticated. So while it is doubt full that they will have full-on combat abilities at some point they may get sophisticated enough to impact on something you DO care about.
No, no - don’t misunderstand - I do realize the reasons folks put so much time and energy into BGS play. It might not be MY idea of a good time, but that fine. And I certainly get that botting is detrimental to those doing this the right way.
My point is, this particular avenue aside, nothing here would leave the game in an unplayable state. And that is why this aspect of game play has only the most minor and subtle effects.
And yes, I also know how system states influence things like missions and signal sources. But something that is glossed over here is this:
The Holy Order of A has control of the only large station in system B. This makes people happy, especially those who support The Holy Order of A. When they are in a Boom state cargo is plentiful and all is right in the universe.
The Discord of C however, has other plans, and ousts the Holy Order of A. The system plunged into a week of bloody civil war. Millions of NPCs and one newbie commander lose their lives, and The Discord of C claws their way to victory. On the next system state tick, there is a Boom in the system, cargo is bountiful and profits are high. Just as it was under the old regime.
The phrase “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” echos through my thoughts for some reason. But as I said, this does keep anyone or any group from breaking the game. If you missed it years ago this happened in EVE when Goonfleet merged with Band of Brothers, and brought the game to a virtual halt. These sorts of things happen in other games as well. It may be all well and good when entirely human-generated, as this typically IS part of normal game play. When it’s not, companies usually react quickly and harshly. Elite, however, is different. It protects us from ourselves, by specifically not letting any of us actually reshape the galaxy in any significant way.