FDev. Not putting in Player Factions
- Thread starter Friendsofbucky
- Start date
- Status
Jesus Christ you really are into that mentality aren't you?
My faction got into the game in less than a month or two, we never "sucked" on the developers and frankly saying that just because someone had something that you don't it's quite stupid in itself.
I'm no white knight, nor am I a hater I'm just abnormal player like you and I've achieved things in game just like any of us could, we sent our request just as they said it, nothing more nothing less and boom there was our faction.
Now as for OP that's quite unfortunate but I've seen that it's quite often that FD takes an eternity before telling someone to have better luck next time, which is quite unprofessional but I wouldn't be surprised if the fact that they probably receive hundreds of requests everyday plays a huge part on that. But still though, they know how many players they have, they should be prepared to act in response.
So no I really don't know why you say the things that you say but each one to their own I guess.
First off, by simply looking at the player faction application and update thread, it looks like they are, in fact, still adding factions but rejecting applications for various reasons.
An absolute minimal amount of "sleuthing" revealed the name of your group, and the entry in that thread with your reject reason:
"Leviathan Scout Regiment ----- Rejected, max factions reached in desired/applied for system."
So there are already too many factions in the system. So choose another system. Is the length of time it takes to get a response to your request annoying? Yes. But as many have said, the factions are presently all but a cosmetic bolt-on, so you're not missing much. And yes, the method of making a request is a bit ham-fisted, I don't see why they didn't whip up a quick web app (with even a minimal amount of polish) to handle it.
As for the random speculation, cynicism and conspiracy theories in this thread, I think my situation can be considered a legitimate case study for this.
I decided to request a player faction, just in the hope it could open up a potential future style of play where you actually own things in the game. There seemed to be breadcrumbs leading toward that potentiality (specifically Colonia and the "owning" of systems out there, and of course the hints of adding faction-owned megaships). I can't recall the exact date I made the request, but I do believe it was some time in 2016. After months of checking my requested system, I simply decided they either had stopped adding factions or my request got lost in the "ether". So about a month ago I'm in the game to get my obligatory one-off viewing of the Thargoids, and I decide to check the system... and bam, there's my faction. No emails, no notices that I ever saw, but there it was! This actually got me to play the game longer, as I went to the system, started on the path to becoming allied, etc etc. By checking the faction thread I now see that my faction was added at the end of June.
This is of course *why* they added factions - to provide a bit of a sense of "ownership" in the game, and to encourage people to play together. Now, here's where my situation burns down some of the conspiracy theories. Some facts about me and my style of play, and about my request for a faction:
1. I only play Solo.
2. As such, I only put the minimum number of "group" members in my faction request - one. Me.
3. I have barely played this calendar year, at all.
4. I am pretty consistently critical of the game, as my post history will attest. I'm not one of the huge haters, but I would definitely have to be considered a "naysayer", a general pessimist, and I have thrown shade in the direction of sycophants and white-knights many times around here.
5. I did make an attempt to follow FDev's fully laid-out guidelines for making a request, and at the same time I tried to come up with a type of faction and stated goal/mission statement that had a bit of flair, mystery and maybe a bit of sarcasm to it. I obviously have no idea if that made a difference, but I did try.
6. Part of trying to meet FDev's guidelines was trying hard to find a system that fit the "narrative" I had imagined in my head. The most important part of that was to find a system that had ZERO other player factions, because I didn't want my narrative to come into conflict with that of others (since, as I stated, I only play Solo). I imagine a lot of people just pick a system they either think is cool or is a system that another group they're aware of is already in. I doubt that helps.
Anyway, in looking at the faction update thread it's pretty clear that quite a few requests were rejected simply because people didn't fill out the request as the guidelines expect. Again, yes, the method they chose for making this request isn't good at all, but I mean come on... if you really want the faction, just follow the instructions.
An absolute minimal amount of "sleuthing" revealed the name of your group, and the entry in that thread with your reject reason:
"Leviathan Scout Regiment ----- Rejected, max factions reached in desired/applied for system."
So there are already too many factions in the system. So choose another system. Is the length of time it takes to get a response to your request annoying? Yes. But as many have said, the factions are presently all but a cosmetic bolt-on, so you're not missing much. And yes, the method of making a request is a bit ham-fisted, I don't see why they didn't whip up a quick web app (with even a minimal amount of polish) to handle it.
As for the random speculation, cynicism and conspiracy theories in this thread, I think my situation can be considered a legitimate case study for this.
I decided to request a player faction, just in the hope it could open up a potential future style of play where you actually own things in the game. There seemed to be breadcrumbs leading toward that potentiality (specifically Colonia and the "owning" of systems out there, and of course the hints of adding faction-owned megaships). I can't recall the exact date I made the request, but I do believe it was some time in 2016. After months of checking my requested system, I simply decided they either had stopped adding factions or my request got lost in the "ether". So about a month ago I'm in the game to get my obligatory one-off viewing of the Thargoids, and I decide to check the system... and bam, there's my faction. No emails, no notices that I ever saw, but there it was! This actually got me to play the game longer, as I went to the system, started on the path to becoming allied, etc etc. By checking the faction thread I now see that my faction was added at the end of June.
This is of course *why* they added factions - to provide a bit of a sense of "ownership" in the game, and to encourage people to play together. Now, here's where my situation burns down some of the conspiracy theories. Some facts about me and my style of play, and about my request for a faction:
1. I only play Solo.
2. As such, I only put the minimum number of "group" members in my faction request - one. Me.
3. I have barely played this calendar year, at all.
4. I am pretty consistently critical of the game, as my post history will attest. I'm not one of the huge haters, but I would definitely have to be considered a "naysayer", a general pessimist, and I have thrown shade in the direction of sycophants and white-knights many times around here.
5. I did make an attempt to follow FDev's fully laid-out guidelines for making a request, and at the same time I tried to come up with a type of faction and stated goal/mission statement that had a bit of flair, mystery and maybe a bit of sarcasm to it. I obviously have no idea if that made a difference, but I did try.
6. Part of trying to meet FDev's guidelines was trying hard to find a system that fit the "narrative" I had imagined in my head. The most important part of that was to find a system that had ZERO other player factions, because I didn't want my narrative to come into conflict with that of others (since, as I stated, I only play Solo). I imagine a lot of people just pick a system they either think is cool or is a system that another group they're aware of is already in. I doubt that helps.
Anyway, in looking at the faction update thread it's pretty clear that quite a few requests were rejected simply because people didn't fill out the request as the guidelines expect. Again, yes, the method they chose for making this request isn't good at all, but I mean come on... if you really want the faction, just follow the instructions.
I like having a PMF, gives us a focus for our activities. Hoping Squadrons builds on this.
Its a shame OP that FD took so long to respond to you. Maybe your application got lost or something. You might have to wait for a response from Brett on this.
As for the PMF haters around here, its cool. If someone doesn't like the gameplay provided by having a PMF, or even adopting an existing faction and working for it, then that's fine, as long as they understand some people do enjoy this sort of gameplay.
Its a shame OP that FD took so long to respond to you. Maybe your application got lost or something. You might have to wait for a response from Brett on this.
As for the PMF haters around here, its cool. If someone doesn't like the gameplay provided by having a PMF, or even adopting an existing faction and working for it, then that's fine, as long as they understand some people do enjoy this sort of gameplay.
Well we really do not need any more independent factions 2 jumps away from sol.
PMF are eating the Federation from inside, and yes Hutton Truckers I am looking at you.
Simon
I don't know why you ripped my quote into two there, and in mid-sentence even. In itself, that first part makes no sense at all .
When you want to comment on individual points (i do that too) at least leave the sentences intact, please ?
As for the bold part, that is exactly what i was saying. All OP asked for was to be told sooner, the topic was never about discussing PMFs.
Last edited:
Brett C
Frontier
Player Minor Factions are not an "apply today and it'll be in the game next week" ordeal. Additions are done sometimes on a quarterly basis, generally during major patches and sometimes, albeit rarely, during minor patches/updates.
Yes, there are minor factions that slip through the cracks. Yes, the process currently in use is not ideal.
As it stands currently, minor faction process isn't exactly automated - it's vastly manual, and is a bit error prone. Maybe this will change in the near future.
Can the turn around time from submission -> approval/review/rejection -> addition to game be improved? Yes, possibly, but at the expanse of more errors currently. When i finish my processing, I pass it over to our engineering and design team to process the sheet. Once that is completed, engineering does a dry run on the sheet, this is where i get my data from on additions and rejections.
Been in the game since GPP is what I meant.
Is something going to be done by FD about the ones that did "slip through the cracks"?
i.e.:
- EXO in Wolf 1301 making Wolf Fesh illegal (Crom Silver Fesh was a compromise here)
- Fireflies in Gilya making Gilya Signature Weapons illegal
- Elite Division in Terra Mater who will make Terra Mater Blood Bores illegal, plus this is a permit system (a lesson should have been learned from Phekda)
I think that the inclusion on player minor factions is a valid addition to the game.
It gives a group of players somewhere to coalesce around.
Some factions do lots, others less so. All who want to, should be given the same opportunity that others have had.
I feel sorry for those that had have their applications in for faction introduction for a long time and have only just been informed of a problem. It took our faction a long time to be eventually included in-game and each Brett update was pawed over fearing that we would be flagged as rejected.
The seven faction limit has been known for some time and as a side factor of the time delay for introduction I am sure a few factions have been caught in the over lap.
I have posted a possible suggestion already as a mitigation, I don’t know if it has any legs without knowing how the backend servers interact.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/390872-Non-player-factions-disbanding
It gives a group of players somewhere to coalesce around.
Some factions do lots, others less so. All who want to, should be given the same opportunity that others have had.
I feel sorry for those that had have their applications in for faction introduction for a long time and have only just been informed of a problem. It took our faction a long time to be eventually included in-game and each Brett update was pawed over fearing that we would be flagged as rejected.
The seven faction limit has been known for some time and as a side factor of the time delay for introduction I am sure a few factions have been caught in the over lap.
I have posted a possible suggestion already as a mitigation, I don’t know if it has any legs without knowing how the backend servers interact.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/390872-Non-player-factions-disbanding
Even by their own measurements, this game has only 7 years of support left, and judging the other major franchises, they'll probably think it couldn't come too soon.
IIRC they said at least
AFAIK the only time ten years was mentioned one way or another by Frontier was when DB was asked if he would make an Elite Dangerous 2, in one of the old dev diary videos. He said that because his vision for ED has such gigantic scope, he had no plans for an ED2 and would instead just keep developping ED for as long as the community supported them doing so, even if it meant still working on it in ten years time.
Last edited:
Is there some update planned for the 3.0 major release? I am friends with a group that's waiting for 6+ months, too. Quality and errors aside, this is a pain.
Cough [Squadrons] CoughAs it stands currently, minor faction process isn't exactly automated - it's vastly manual, and is a bit error prone. Maybe this will change in the near future.
Getting player named minor faction should have been privilege not some weird right. Thankfully FD working on more robust system via Squadrons which implies won't underline exclusive control but will give something for players to work with.
Why every player group feels they are 'special' and if they don't get special approach, game will die?
It won't die, but for a game that boasts being able the play the game your own way, why are you attempting to curb my ability to play the game with an existing mechanism that FDev created??
If you put energy into creating a player faction, get the people, choose your space, and then wait 6 months ... your CMDRs will move on to other things. FDev is playing against its own player base by allowing interest to decline in such groups.
Last edited:
- Status