Currently updated as of patch 1.06
I wanted to collate all the comments devs have made about system influence and factions in Elite. This is a work in progress. Feel free to add links in the comments if you find them and I'll work them in. If you already have some of this and wish to merge this content with yours, feel free - I may have missed your posting.
Thanks to the community members who have added to this and to the devs - particularly Mr. Brooks - for being willing to talk about it.
[I'm working on the formatting - thoughts about how to format better are welcome]
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INFLUENCE - FLIPPING SYSTEMS [and stations]
1. Influence is per system not per station [This also means doing missions for a faction in system B will not raise its influence in system A]
2. Influence is gained through missions, bounty hunting and trade.
3. Currently there are times when a faction with very little influence can't generate missions. The devs will balance this.
4. Influence can cause civil wars which can flip stations.
5. A Civil war is a state that occurs between 2 factions in a particular system. It can result in flipping a station. If the controlling station is flipped the system flips.
6. Systems have controlling stations and if these are flipped control of the system flips.
7. To capture a controlling station you need to capture the lesser ones first.
8. Capturing the minor station can result in increased trade which also increases influence.
9. The controlling station is usually the largest station in the system.
10. We cant cause colonising of new systems yet.
11. At the moment taking over a system peacefully is planned but with no E.T.A.
12. The market of the station is owned by a minor faction that owns the station.
13. Booms can change the market BUT NOT whether or not it's agriculturally/high tech focussed etc.
14. System population has some affect but not as direct as first thought.
15. We really do make a difference but there are some bugs.
16. As of patch 1.06 several bugs have been fixed. (We hope.) Read below for news of patch 1.06
FUTURE CLARITY
1. Frontier have said they may make things clearer.
2. Future colonization choices haven't been decided yet but will likely be affected by player activity
BUGS
1. If you believe a system is buggy, ticket it WITH evidence.
2. What is useful evidence?
Step 1: What actions you have taken
Step 2: What result you are expecting to see
Step 3: What result (If any actually occurred)
KNOWN BUGS
1. Minor factions in multiple systems can sometimes lead to influence in the wrong system [Resolved in patch 1.06 see below]
2. Sometimes influence system changes can stall. [Resolved in patch 1.06 see below.]
3. Sometimes a faction in a system goes into civil war with its self.
4. Sometimes there is no way to help minor factions who currently have little to no influence in a system. This will be dealt with after the other two major bugs. [ I believe it is possible to attack system authority ships etc. which may result in loss of influence for the main faction and consequentially a potential increase for some of the minor. - Haven't located a quote to confirm this though.]
I wanted to collate all the comments devs have made about system influence and factions in Elite. This is a work in progress. Feel free to add links in the comments if you find them and I'll work them in. If you already have some of this and wish to merge this content with yours, feel free - I may have missed your posting.
Thanks to the community members who have added to this and to the devs - particularly Mr. Brooks - for being willing to talk about it.
[I'm working on the formatting - thoughts about how to format better are welcome]
---------
INFLUENCE - FLIPPING SYSTEMS [and stations]
1. Influence is per system not per station [This also means doing missions for a faction in system B will not raise its influence in system A]
Originally Posted by donpost
Thank you for the reply - it was very helpful
.
EDIT: Final question from me (I promise!): If a minor faction is in system A AND system B, will doing missions/trading with their stations in system A affect their influence in system B? i.e. is influence global?
No - influence is per system.
Michael
2. Influence is gained through missions, bounty hunting and trade.
Originally Posted by talshiarr
Thanks for your time and explanations, Michael, there's a lot of us that appreciate it. Here's my final question (I promise!). If the system has just one station like my test area and two factions reside on it, will doing missions and bounty hunting for the minor faction eventually raise its influence to the point that the station can enter civil war and flip? I want to kick these criminals out!
That should be the case.
Michael
3. Currently there are times when a faction with very little influence can't generate missions. The devs will balance this.
4. Influence can cause civil wars which can flip stations.
5. A Civil war is a state that occurs between 2 factions in a particular system. It can result in flipping a station. If the controlling station is flipped the system flips.
6. Systems have controlling stations and if these are flipped control of the system flips.
7. To capture a controlling station you need to capture the lesser ones first.
8. Capturing the minor station can result in increased trade which also increases influence.
Originally Posted by Enride
Michael, thanks for taking the time and shed some light onto what is going on behind the scenes. I think many who read this will, just as I, become more confident in the "work" we put into our digital careers to pay off eventually!
It also have me very excited for the future.
One question.
You say "controlling station". Does this mean that every system has one station that sets the ownership of the entire system?
So fighting for the other stations is fruitless in order to change the ownership?
Yes and no. They're not pointless because ownership of a station that has a market means it can gain influence through trading which can be a big boost.
Michael
9. The controlling station is usually the largest station in the system.
10. We cant cause colonising of new systems yet.
11. At the moment taking over a system peacefully is planned but with no E.T.A.
12. The market of the station is owned by a minor faction that owns the station.
13. Booms can change the market BUT NOT whether or not it's agriculturally/high tech focussed etc.
14. System population has some affect but not as direct as first thought.
15. We really do make a difference but there are some bugs.
16. As of patch 1.06 several bugs have been fixed. (We hope.) Read below for news of patch 1.06
Originally Posted by CMDRKNac
Is safe to say that changes in queue are saved and efforts not wasted so we can continue efforts despite bugs? The influence update got us from 55/21 to this (including civil war critical, which wasn't there before):
They are in the queue, but I don't know what the fix will be so I can't guarantee their safety but we'll obviously do our damnedest to preserve it.
Michael
FUTURE CLARITY
1. Frontier have said they may make things clearer.
2. Future colonization choices haven't been decided yet but will likely be affected by player activity
BUGS
1. If you believe a system is buggy, ticket it WITH evidence.
2. What is useful evidence?
Step 1: What actions you have taken
Step 2: What result you are expecting to see
Step 3: What result (If any actually occurred)
KNOWN BUGS
1. Minor factions in multiple systems can sometimes lead to influence in the wrong system [Resolved in patch 1.06 see below]
2. Sometimes influence system changes can stall. [Resolved in patch 1.06 see below.]
3. Sometimes a faction in a system goes into civil war with its self.
4. Sometimes there is no way to help minor factions who currently have little to no influence in a system. This will be dealt with after the other two major bugs. [ I believe it is possible to attack system authority ships etc. which may result in loss of influence for the main faction and consequentially a potential increase for some of the minor. - Haven't located a quote to confirm this though.]
Originally Posted by Flying Scorpion
When do you plan on adding a way to help minor factions that have very small % of influence in systems?
It's on the bug list, but we need to address the two big issues first and then we'll look at the next in the list.
Michael
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