Horizons Player Factions

[jrdrex]

Not sure if this belongs here or not, but figured this is where I would start.

I am intrigued by the Player Faction concept. I know it is all BGS but it gives my small group of friends a purpose that we can all work towards together. It also allows us to play different aspects of the game such as mining, trading, exploration, etc. (You get the picture).

One of the prerequisites is to find a system that you would like to join. This is 1 area where I am confused (and trust me there are many) on what I should be looking for in a system. Here is my stab at it, looking for the communities knowledge to assist, and opinions are welcome.

What I should look for:
1. State = Boom or Expansion
2. Economy = Tourism (Passenger missions) / Refinery (Mining Missions) / Agriculture (Trading?)
3. Multiple Ports (mostly Large to accommodate fleet growth)
4. Ringed Planets - Mining and RES sites (Metalic Rich preferred)
5. Planetary Landings for Materials (any particular type? Rocky/Icy etc?)
6. Multiple Minor Factions to work against. Does the Government type matter (Corporate, Dictatorship, Anarchy, etc)?
7. Faction Matter? We havent chosen any as of yet. If we choose Independent for example, are we limiting ourselves by not selecting Fed/Empire on unlocking ships?
8. Power Matter?

Am i missing anything?
Is there a particular ranking you would give these in order of importance?

As you can see I have alot of questions... my apologies.

Thanks in advance for the assistance of all who respond.

 

[Marcus Machiavelli]

Hey jrdrex, you missed out on population. A small population is easy to move in the BGS so look for that.
1. State always changes so do not worry about it.
2. A system has an economy but so does each base so you can have a military economy base in a Refinery system.
3. Good idea.
4. Very good idea
5. good thinking, but anything is good.
6. Your government matters, so think about if you want wars or elections, this is a big topic so ask more questions.
7. Role play this as it does not "really" matter but look at this https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ng-after-2-3?p=5418892&viewfull=1#post5418892
8. Role play.

I am guessing you have seen this? https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=193064

Also sign up on INARA and make allies! Here we are https://inara.cz/wing-history/793/

You have these forms to fill out once you have found your system https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...inor-Factions-Submission-Form-and-Information

My whole group loves having our own faction and bases and taking over other systems! It is really the only thing that keeps us playing hard core after 2 years now!

 

[Sapyx]

1. State changes so quickly, any Boom you find will be long over by the time your faction is inserted. Further, States are affixed to Factions, not systems as a whole. Thus the ruling faction can be in Boom while the faction languishing at the bottom of the heap can be in perpetual Famine. Your faction, if/when it is inserted, will start off with a State of None; where it goes from there is up to the players. You want it in Boom? You'll have to run the missions needed to keep it in Boom.

2. All economy types can generate most kinds of missions; the economy type primarily determines which commodities are going to be available, and which in demand. If trading's a major component of your BGS work, the what you want to find is a good "networked" system: one with complementary systems surrounding it. An Agricultural system surrounded by a bunch of Industrial and High Tech systems is good. An Extraction system surrounded by nothing but other Extraction systems is not so good.

3. Multiple ports allows for variability in ownership. If you're looking to conquer a system quickly, then just one or two ports might be preferable. Also be aware that systems with a large number of ports will usually have a large "population" statistic, which means you will have to work harder to try to force a change to the BGS.

4. Yes, if mining is something you want to be doing. Though again, consider the neighbouring systems; a Refinery system with a dozen Pristine systems around it is better than a system where the nearest Pristine rings are 100 LY away.

5. Landable planets are fine, though your faction gains no benefit from you mining "your" planets.

6. You are inserting a new minor faction. For ease of conquest, you want fewer rivals to power, not more. As for government type, the only thing you really need to consider is which government type you are wanting for your own faction, and what you want to do to try to see your faction come to power. Some faction types go to Election with certain other faction types, rather than War, so if you're hoping to use warzones to boost your faction influence, make sure you actually can go to war with your rivals.

7. Which superpower you're allowed to align your faction with does depend on which system you choose to start in; after the Anlave/ConTraiL debacle, FD will now not let a new player faction change the system's allegiance. For example, if you're a Federal faction, you can only insert your faction into a system already controlled by the Federation.

8. Powerplay Powers don't really matter, though it would probably be helpful if you made sure your new faction was not incompatible with the local Power's preferred governments list. Each Power is "strong" or "weak" versus certain government types; if your minor faction is "weak" for your local Power, then players loyal to that Power will attempt to overthrow your faction and install one that is more to their Power's liking.

Finally, be aware that, wherever you end up having your faction inserted, you will likely upset a tiny number of players who have been quietly supporting the non-player-founded factions in that system. They will not have asked for your presence nor will they have been asked if they minded if a new player faction was inserted into "their" system; they will likely oppose you, unless you reach out to them and try to get them onside first.

 

[goemon]

Am i missing anything?

missing and essential:

- traffic. check the traffic report. depending on your groups size a potential system can be very hard to move with a lot of random traffic. as a ballpark you should be able to field at least 2 times the random traffic, better much more.

- bounty hunter report. if a lot of bounties are redeemed everyday, the system can be very hard to move.

we regularly read of smaller groups (<100 cmdrs) picking a system in the center of the bubble with some shiny res close to station, only to find out later that they can't make a dent in that system due to traffic or bounty redeems

- population: a smaller population system is easier to move - which can be good and bad at the same time. you should avoid a huge population system, as you most probably can't move it at all.

- powerplay: make sure, if you pick a goverment type not in favour of the power the system is in, that you are prepared for a perma battle for powerplay commanders wanting to flip the system

- player factions around? if yes, research whether you can imagine to cooperate with them, or whether you are likely to get into a conflict by expanding into the same system(s).

generally, i would recommend as a start to pick some system at the edge of the bubble, and to back a NPC faction for some time. expand it to 2-3 systems. doing so will give you an impression whether you like the playstyle at all, and what to look out for as a homesystem for your faction.

 

[jrdrex]

Wow! There is a lot of really great info in here. Thank you all for contributing and helping me make a little sense of what it is I'm looking to get myself (any my group) into.

Let me consume all this information/links and I will come back with, I'm sure, more questions. [big grin]

Thanks again for putting me on the right path!

If other's find this in the meantime and would like to add more info please do so. Will be helpful to me but also the community at large that may have a hard time knowing what to ask, what to look for, etc. [up]