What I am noticing is that we can affect the standings of different factions by trading with them. For example, if the station you trade with is allied with the feds, then you get a little boost when you trade with or help that station. In Lave, the rare goods trade has apparently driven factions competing with the alliance faction to civil war. Now... the question is: How do we harness it??? The mechanic is there, but does it do more than "look good"? My experience of past iterations of the game tells me DB thinks things out very carefully. Need more data! Need more poking and prodding!
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A manual??? Real men don't read manuals, they hit it with a hammer!