A point that the OP may not be considering - if there were no minor factions, that would wipe all the player factions right out of the game. So...probably isn't going to happen any time soon.
A point that the OP may not be considering - if there were no minor factions, that would wipe all the player factions right out of the game. So...probably isn't going to happen any time soon.
Heres a few tips with faction levelling.
Exploration:
Instead of running faction missions to get influence with that faction fly out of the bubble in a random direction scanning every system with an advanced discovery scanner and detail surface scan any high metal content, ocean or habitable worlds you find. If you do this for say 1000ly round trip and sell your cartography data back to the station that the faction owns then boom youre allied in 1 click.
Nearly 3 times more than you needed. 7.5 mil in profit from just about anything gets you allied. Less if you are allied with their superpower.This is true. I went from cordial with the Workers of Lave Liberals to almost allied once just by selling 20 million credits worth of exploration data.
While I agree that the BGS mechanics for conflicts, expansions and retreats need addressing on some levels, the actual realistic changes most woudl want would actually be more harm than good.I am split on this one.
1) I don't think that Minor Factions should be eliminated.
I think that the game has a place for both the Major and Minor factions.
Whereas the Major factions are the Tories, Labour, Republican, Democrat, etc of the Elite universe; Scientology, Lib Dem, Monster Raving Looney Party, Green Party, UKIP are the minor faction equivalent.
Depending on how much they are supported, their power (and reach) waxes and wanes. If enough people support them, they serve a purpose. If they don't, then they become a backwater faction that people ignore / poke fun at.
2) I do, however, think that Factions should be changed.
Factions can expand into and retreat from neighbouring systems, depending on their influence.
Factions are currently safe in their 'home' system, i.e. the system where they were first inserted into the game.
I don't agree with this safety blanket.
If no one is supporting a faction in a system, I would like Frontier to allow them to retreat from that system, irrespective of whether it was home system or not.
For example: Our player faction is currently comfortably controlling our home system, to such an extent that the non player faction also homed in our system have a very low influence %. Sufficiently low that if they were in a non home system, they would most likely have retreated by now.
The mechanics of the factions are already established - a faction will be able to expand into an adjoining system only if there is only space. If a system already has 7 factions present, there is no space for a new faction. A system will typically have three or four 'home' factions present, meaning the scope for expansion factions to flex the neighbourhood is limited.
I doubt that it will fundamentally change the game if a faction could retreat from their home system as a doubt many are sufficiently low that they would qualify but it would give an extra dimension to the BGS simulation.
On retreat-to-destruction of native factions: come and have a look at Colonia sometime, where on average each system only has a single native faction, and other factions will regularly expand and retreat, especially if the controlling faction is taking steps to maximise its influence.The mechanics of the factions are already established - a faction will be able to expand into an adjoining system only if there is only space. If a system already has 7 factions present, there is no space for a new faction. A system will typically have three or four 'home' factions present, meaning the scope for expansion factions to flex the neighbourhood is limited.
I doubt that it will fundamentally change the game if a faction could retreat from their home system as a doubt many are sufficiently low that they would qualify but it would give an extra dimension to the BGS simulation.