With this post, I want to discuss minor faction rep, the hypothetical ‘Flying Dutchman’ problem, and ways to fix it.
tl:dr: Make the hostile status non-permanent for minor factions, at least decay a small percentage each day in real time.
For major factions, there exists decay (and conversely anti-decay) that exists to prevent permanent damage to relations. For minor factions, no such system of decay or anti-decay exists, leading to irreparable damage when pilots get careless with minor faction reputation. If provoked and undisturbed for a significant amount of time with no negative action towards the belligerent, normally hostilities start leading to mediation towards detente (barring those who have an archnemesis).
With the way minor faction rep is set up, it is possible to encounter a scenario I am coining the ‘Flying Dutchman problem’: a scenario where a ship cannot dock at any port, doomed to sail (or in this case, fly) forever, leading to extensive difficulty acquiring repairs, parts, and for a long while, a total lockout to a number of the game’s mechanics, which is quite devastating to anyone in the long run, considering a pirate cannot sell their ill-gotten gains at a black market, a player who joined a squadron, only to be unable to do anything for their player faction be barred from doing anything if there were problems in the past, or a wild card (like myself) who cannot, well, be a wild card. And even if it is purely hypothetical, the impact of being a ‘Flying Dutchman’ is quite problematic. No resupply, no repairs, no refuel, no way to turn in anything to contacts, and most importantly, no place to respawn nearby if you get sent to rebuy for any reason.
To remedy the ‘Flying Dutchman’ scenario, the only way to do so is via bounty huntingfor that faction in a hazardous resource site, and visiting an interstellar factor, which may or may not be in a hostile port or outpost. For a non-controlling faction, the damage is nigh-permanent and is virtually irreparable, as you are unable to sneak in to a hostile port to atone for any transgression, whatever they may be.
To prevent the ‘Flying Dutchman Scenario’ I want to suggest an anti-decay that gradually lowers hostility to make it possible to get in good graces. (It isn’t common sense to make amends with an enemy, so why do I care? I’m a wild card!)
Edit: permanent was updated to reflect there is a possibility to fix minor rep.
tl:dr: Make the hostile status non-permanent for minor factions, at least decay a small percentage each day in real time.
For major factions, there exists decay (and conversely anti-decay) that exists to prevent permanent damage to relations. For minor factions, no such system of decay or anti-decay exists, leading to irreparable damage when pilots get careless with minor faction reputation. If provoked and undisturbed for a significant amount of time with no negative action towards the belligerent, normally hostilities start leading to mediation towards detente (barring those who have an archnemesis).
With the way minor faction rep is set up, it is possible to encounter a scenario I am coining the ‘Flying Dutchman problem’: a scenario where a ship cannot dock at any port, doomed to sail (or in this case, fly) forever, leading to extensive difficulty acquiring repairs, parts, and for a long while, a total lockout to a number of the game’s mechanics, which is quite devastating to anyone in the long run, considering a pirate cannot sell their ill-gotten gains at a black market, a player who joined a squadron, only to be unable to do anything for their player faction be barred from doing anything if there were problems in the past, or a wild card (like myself) who cannot, well, be a wild card. And even if it is purely hypothetical, the impact of being a ‘Flying Dutchman’ is quite problematic. No resupply, no repairs, no refuel, no way to turn in anything to contacts, and most importantly, no place to respawn nearby if you get sent to rebuy for any reason.
To remedy the ‘Flying Dutchman’ scenario, the only way to do so is via bounty huntingfor that faction in a hazardous resource site, and visiting an interstellar factor, which may or may not be in a hostile port or outpost. For a non-controlling faction, the damage is nigh-permanent and is virtually irreparable, as you are unable to sneak in to a hostile port to atone for any transgression, whatever they may be.
To prevent the ‘Flying Dutchman Scenario’ I want to suggest an anti-decay that gradually lowers hostility to make it possible to get in good graces. (It isn’t common sense to make amends with an enemy, so why do I care? I’m a wild card!)
Edit: permanent was updated to reflect there is a possibility to fix minor rep.
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(That'll teach me to go double checking on google - shame more OPs won't do that for themselves 
