New Group Starting BGS has some questions.

[Karina Ivanovich]

A few friends and I were planning on starting a minor faction to have some fun with the BGS. We were warned on reddit that we might have a lot of problems with starting one in Empire space because of other groups being threatened. We were advised to post on the forums and so I have a few questions to ask if anyone would be kind enough to answer them.

1. What makes a system desirable or not?

2. How do I find a system good for a new minor faction? And how can I tell if we are too close to another group's systems without manually checking every system?

3. Are there any places that you know of off the top of your head in Empire space that might be open to us carving out our little niche?

4. Is it possible for a small group to effectively manage 1 or 2 systems without too much difficulty? The BGS is kinda what my group of friends really wants to focus on, and we want to do it ourselves if possible, not relying on other pre-existing groups.

5. Where should I post and who should I talk to if we plan on starting one and don't want to step on any toes?

6. We were looking into the Mandra system as it seemed isolated from any player faction and still relatively close to where we currently base. Is this a horrible idea?

 

[Ian Doncaster]

1. What makes a system desirable or not?

With the increasing number of player-backed factions, probably all of them are - or will be.

There is the additional factor that if your region is in a powerplay bubble, the controlling power will have some interest in making sure that the systems are of a favourable government type. (The odds are more in your favour if you plan to be an Imperial faction)

2. How do I find a system good for a new minor faction? And how can I tell if we are too close to another group's systems without manually checking every system?

You'll need to check manually. You can use EDDB or EDSM to get a list of nearby systems from your desired starting point ordered by distance, then check the faction lists there as well.

4. Is it possible for a small group to effectively manage 1 or 2 systems without too much difficulty? The BGS is kinda what my group of friends really wants to focus on, and we want to do it ourselves if possible, not relying on other pre-existing groups.

In the absence of active opposition, yes, so long as the system population isn't too large and the passing traffic level isn't too high. Ideally you probably want low-to-medium population (check the system map) and low passing traffic (check the traffic reports when docked at the station).

Easier to find on the fringes of the bubble rather than in the heart of a superpower.

Good diplomacy will generally beat anything else when it comes to avoiding active opposition, and you don't need to be big to do that. Most groups will probably want to avoid fighting if they can avoid it.

5. Where should I post and who should I talk to if we plan on starting one and don't want to step on any toes?

The local Powerplay supporters are most likely to have toes, so contacting them will probably help. So long as you have a favourable government type for them they likely won't mind too much, though.

From there it's probably a matter of looking around for nearby PMFs and seeing if you can get in contact with their backers.

6. We were looking into the Mandra system as it seemed isolated from any player faction and still relatively close to where we currently base. Is this a horrible idea?

Bearing in mind here ... I don't know the area at all, so this is just what I can see at a quick glance.

It doesn't have a player faction in it, it has space to add one, and the population is a good size. Local powerplay is ALD, which should be fine for an Imperial faction if you pick a suitable government type, but bad for an Independent one.

There are a lot of player factions in nearby systems - small ones in Amitrite, Tialocan, and Bragur - and some more as you look further out. Anywhere that central is likely to have similar issues. I don't have the local knowledge to tell how expansionist any of those groups are - if, like you, they'll be happy with just a few systems, you're probably fine. If they have dreams of building their own regional empire, you're probably going to end up fighting them at some point.

There are relatively few systems in range that aren't already full to 7 factions, so your first expansion might be tricky.

For somewhere that central, it doesn't look too bad to me - but I'm not an expert on Imperial space and you should probably try to find someone who is.

 

[Dommarraa]

A few friends and I were planning on starting a minor faction to have some fun with the BGS. We were warned on reddit that we might have a lot of problems with starting one in Empire space because of other groups being threatened. We were advised to post on the forums and so I have a few questions to ask if anyone would be kind enough to answer them.

1. What makes a system desirable or not?

2. How do I find a system good for a new minor faction? And how can I tell if we are too close to another group's systems without manually checking every system?

3. Are there any places that you know of off the top of your head in Empire space that might be open to us carving out our little niche?

4. Is it possible for a small group to effectively manage 1 or 2 systems without too much difficulty? The BGS is kinda what my group of friends really wants to focus on, and we want to do it ourselves if possible, not relying on other pre-existing groups.

5. Where should I post and who should I talk to if we plan on starting one and don't want to step on any toes?

6. We were looking into the Mandra system as it seemed isolated from any player faction and still relatively close to where we currently base. Is this a horrible idea?

1. Thats up to you. Decent Outfitting is nice, short distance from Star is nice (Mandra is HORRID), Rez or Mining Hotspots are nice, not being hassled by others is nice (Mandra wins for that one), all depends on what your Faction is interested in
2. Inara will help find local Player Factions - On the right is Nearest Player Factions, but nearest to what, I dont know https://inara.cz/galaxy-playerfactions/
3. Nope
4. As long as the traffic is not too high, and the population is low, no problem at all.
5. If you are not stepping on toes, nobody cares
6. Distance to Star is horrible, which would be a pain for you, but could work as a good defence. There are not many places to expand to, most are pretty full, which might indicate it is a busy area. Its is exploited by Arissa Lavigny-Duval, so consider that as PP actions can stomp all over small factions.

 

[Karina Ivanovich]

So as a follow up, I should look for a system in the fringes if I want a place to start a faction?

Also, if I'm reading this correctly factions can only expand into a system with less than 7 factions? But everywhere I look is either no stations or 7 factions. Is there not really many viable places left to start a faction, and would a minor faction just never grow if all the close systems have 7 factions?

After looking around a bit we are thinking about This System as it seems to be better suited to our needs and we could expand. Hows it look to you guys?

 

[Adept Geraden]

If an expansion target system has 7 factions already, you can always get one of the non-local factions in that system to retreat first.

 

[Ryan Murdoc]

Also please be warned that with the latest update new BGS mechanics have been implemented - and they're as smooth running as you'd expect them to >.<

Until FD have taken some action and repaired the mass of problems that have arisen maybe it'll be a good thing to wait. Unless you don't mind being thrown in cold water...

 

[Armholeeio]

New to BGS , my advice..... Fleeeeeee before it takes you and never lets go......... this is the Land of the lost we are taken by the Bgs monster never to be free for casual blast so in ED.

 

[Lee Taylor]

It's definitely worth picking a system on the fringes. Also, do your homework and try to drop somewhere at least 30 ly from an active player group's faction. It's with getting in diplomatic contact with that group before you finalise on a home system. You will want to avoid conflict with other players if possible; it's just a waste of time.

It's also worth checking out which powerplay group is in charge in your chosen location. Different powerplay characters are strong against certain government types and will welcome a new faction of the appropriate type, even support it with you.

The less traffic you have in a system, the better. Low traffic systems are much easier to manipulate and require less management.

 

[Marcus Machiavelli]

Karina, first of all WELCOME!
The BGS is the only thing that has my group playing this game for 3 years.
We have found that diplomacy is the key for us with other player groups and INARA is good for this.
HAVE FUN!

 

[Mangal Oemie]

I put a FAQ together in the player group subforum that has some useful tips for selecting a home system: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...-maximizing-BGS-success-through-area-scouting

 

[glojo]

So as a follow up, I should look for a system in the fringes if I want a place to start a faction?

Also, if I'm reading this correctly factions can only expand into a system with less than 7 factions? But everywhere I look is either no stations or 7 factions. Is there not really many viable places left to start a faction, and would a minor faction just never grow if all the close systems have 7 factions?

After looking around a bit we are thinking about This System as it seems to be better suited to our needs and we could expand. Hows it look to you guys?

Well done for asking and I guess you will go where you think best but please consider this snippet

Population To me when starting out in a first system do you want a population of possibly 4 billion? I would suggest you steer clear of the highest populated systems, and the reasons for this is the bigger the population the more influence needed to manipulate your faction.

Just my two penarth and please feel free to give us a shout.

 

[_Flin_]

1. What makes a system desirable or not?

Good outfitting and shipyard, large landing pad, large commodity market with desirable economy, medium population (a few million), station close to system entry, mining spots and RES for bounty hunting.

2. How do I find a system good for a new minor faction? And how can I tell if we are too close to another group's systems without manually checking every system?

By searching. Sounds dumb, but you should put effort into this. It will be hard to find "free" systems pretty soon.

4. Is it possible for a small group to effectively manage 1 or 2 systems without too much difficulty? The BGS is kinda what my group of friends really wants to focus on, and we want to do it ourselves if possible, not relying on other pre-existing groups.

Yes. It is possible, and on the fringes it is very easy. You should grab yourself an in-game faction and try it.

5. Where should I post and who should I talk to if we plan on starting one and don't want to step on any toes?

Come to Alliance space, choose an Alliance faction, and the Alliance player factions will help you if you want to

6. We were looking into the Mandra system as it seemed isolated from any player faction and still relatively close to where we currently base. Is this a horrible idea?

Yes. Do you really want to fly 126k LS every time you visit the headquarter?

 

[Karina Ivanovich]

Hey thanks for the advise. We would like to play the BGS so I guess huge population would be a big nono. With some internal discussion we narrowed it down to one of these three sytems. If I might be bold enough to ask your advice which looks better?

This one looks like the best to me with the downside of the port being planetary.

This one is ok but not terrible though the 2 secondary starports are a ways away.

And this one actually looks amazing to live in except that the shipyard and outfitting look abysmal.

Any thoughts or ideas would be very welcome from anyone!

 

[glojo]

Quick question for perhaps Karina,
The BGS is always in a state of flux (have to be careful of my spelling)

When the group I was in started off, we nominated a system, the developers gave us the controlling station plus we started with 80% influence.

When I decided to start my own faction things had totally changed, we selected a system, got put into it with just 8% influence and then we either sunk or swum. How will it be for you please?

_flin_ makes a good point about distance from where you jump into a system. For me I found a very nice location well away from the bubble and all the Powerplay factions, I decided to just take the main station and then spread our wings, to me there is no right way of doing things, if it works for you then good luck but as has been well said, 126k is an unnecessary distance to travel as there will be far better places for you to select.. Remember that as this game progresses, that pesky bubble gets bigger and look at them there Thargoids. They are spreading out all over the place.

For me, I do not care about Empire or Federation, we buy ships from either side and try not to tread on anyone's toes. When we selected our first system I did not care about Empire or Federation, I just wanted to be away from the bubble and away from Powerplay (I had enough of that when the BGS first started. Been there and got so excellent tales to tell Once you do decide where to go, if you meet up with a player faction then my personal recommendation would be to try and talk to them. Far better to make friends as an enemy can really spoil your game REMEMBER you cannot see other players if they play in private or solo. Likewise, if you decide you feel safer playing in 'Private' you will never meet any other human players and that might be your loss?

 

[Marcus Machiavelli]

Hey thanks for the advise. We would like to play the BGS so I guess huge population would be a big nono. With some internal discussion we narrowed it down to one of these three sytems. If I might be bold enough to ask your advice which looks better?

This one looks like the best to me with the downside of the port being planetary.

This one is ok but not terrible though the 2 secondary starports are a ways away.

And this one actually looks amazing to live in except that the shipyard and outfitting look abysmal.

Any thoughts or ideas would be very welcome from anyone!

Hey Karina! I like the third one as my group LOVES a planetary city!
We go for what "feels" like home rather than what is the "best"

 

[DNA-Decay]

I had a look at some of your choices.

They seem viable, and you seem to be able to tell what the problems are with each.

There’s been good advice in the thread so far.

It takes time to wrap your head around the strategic position of any system.
Better to do some homework, than to choose badly and be stuck with a set of problems.

 

[Ryan Murdoc]

We go for what "feels" like home rather than what is the "best"

We go for everything that isn't ours yet. No exceptions made

 

[Ka_Tor]

Well, i myself picked a home system that would be less desirable for most players (my assumption). Large Population, 3 billion, and all of the stations about 300,000 lys away from the entry. Also the System is outside on the edge of the bubble. Supported a minor faction for awhile and then I convinced some friends to purchase the game and started a PMF in the system. As expected the majority of them didn't enjoy the game as much as i do.

Edit: I also picked it because it has an ELW with the Controlling base orbiting it. RP

 

[_Flin_]

This one is ok but not terrible though the 2 secondary starports are a ways away.

I'd choose this one. It is the only one with a large space station close to system entry point.
And this will really help a lot.

My favorite faction has a home station that is a few k Ls away from system entry. It really wastes a lot of time over the years to fly there, even if it is only 1 or 2 minutes at every visit.

 

[Karina Ivanovich]

Thanks everyone for the advise! I submitted the request yesterday and we just got accepted! H.A.L.P. is now officially in the game as a PMF!