Reasons for a System switching from Low to Medium security (other than controlling faction)?

[Factabulous]

HIP 16813 seems to have recently (in the last day, so probably last tick) switched from Low to Medium security (people spotted the IF had gone missing).

Looking at my historic data it seems that it was Low security before, and is now Medium (which I think explains the missing IF). Sirius Inc is in charge, and it doesn't look like anyone else has a chance of changing that. There is a Thargoid Incursion, but that's been ongoing for over a week and wouldn't (I think) change the security status.

At the moment it looks like a bug to me - but anyone think of a legit reason for security to have changed? Thx

INARA

The community site for Elite: Dangerous, Starfield, Kingdom Come: Deliverance with the game databases, information, gaming news and other handy content...

inara.cz

Edit: Taygeta (also with Incursion) has done the same.

 

[Jmanis]

Did Powerplay change exploitation or something? (i.e did someone go out of power)

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Investment, Civil Unrest and possibly War (it used to, not sure if it still does) reduce the security level slightly while active, so one of those ending would have increased the security level.

Lockdown increases the security level slightly while active, so that starting would increase the security level.

Possibly some of the new states also have an effect one way or the other.

This sort of appearing/disappearing Interstellar Factor is quite common in systems with a default security near the Low/Medium threshold.

 

[Factabulous]

Hmm, thanks both - having looked back at the data I see lots of systems flipping security states - I never even knew that was a thing

There was a recently ended Terrorist Attack in HIP 16813, so maybe that had pushed Security down and now it's pushed back up to its 'default' Medium - always more to learn!

 

[Factabulous]

... hmm, looks more like Civil Liberty pushes security down, though maybe Terrorist Attack has the same effect (otherwise I would have expected security to go up on 02-05) - data from HIP 16813:

2020-01-01 ['Investment']
2020-01-02 ['Investment']
2020-01-03 ['Investment']
2020-01-04 ['Investment']
2020-01-05 ['Investment']
2020-01-06 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
changes Medium -> Low
2020-01-07 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-08 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-09 ['Investment']
changes Low -> Medium
2020-01-10 ['Investment']
2020-01-11 ['Investment']
2020-01-12 ['Investment']
2020-01-13 ['Investment']
2020-01-14 ['Investment']
2020-01-15 ['Investment']
2020-01-16 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment', 'Terrorist Attack']
changes Medium -> Low
2020-01-17 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment', 'Terrorist Attack']
2020-01-18 ['Investment']
changes Low -> Medium
2020-01-19 ['Investment']
2020-01-20 ['Investment']
2020-01-21 ['Investment']
2020-01-22 ['Investment']
2020-01-23 ['Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-24 ['Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-25 ['Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-26 ['Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-27 ['Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-28 ['Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-29 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
changes Medium -> Low
2020-01-30 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment']
2020-01-31 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment']
2020-02-01 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment']
2020-02-02 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment']
2020-02-03 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment']
2020-02-04 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment']
2020-02-05 ['Civil Liberty', 'Investment', 'Terrorist Attack']
2020-02-06 ['Expansion', 'Investment', 'Terrorist Attack']
2020-02-07 ['Expansion', 'Investment', 'Terrorist Attack']

 

[Factabulous]

I should have stopped looking

I went back and did the same look at states-over-time in Taygeta and that has been in 'None' for the last few days - but changed from Low to Med security. Maybe the number of lawful kills in a system also affects security? With the current incursion there are a lot of people killing the Thargoids so maybe that has pushed up Security

The more I look at this game the less I know

 

[Ian Doncaster]

... hmm, looks more like Civil Liberty pushes security down, though maybe Terrorist Attack has the same effect (otherwise I would have expected security to go up on 02-05) - data from HIP 16813:

Looking at Colonia, looks like both Investment and Civil Liberty decrease security. Possibly this system needs both at once to drop from Medium.

2020-01-05 ['Investment']
2020-01-06 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
changes Medium -> Low
2020-01-07 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-08 ['Civil Liberty', 'Expansion', 'Investment']
2020-01-09 ['Investment']
changes Low -> Medium

Something doesn't look right here, however - this Expansion is far too short.

 

[DNA-Decay]

My first thought without parsing the data was that “lawful killing increases security”.

Which doesn’t match my real world expectations. But it is what “tough on crime” conservatives seem to think.


Garbage worldview, I reckon.

 

[Alone Wulff]

Wiki says:

"During Civil Liberty, a sustained period of stability has boosted confidence in faction security. A system's security level is temporarily increased by one stage (Low to Medium, or Medium to High), and NPC criminal activity has a lower chance of occurring."

Although I haven't seen an increase in my system's security and they've been experiencing CL for a while.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Wiki says:

"During Civil Liberty, a sustained period of stability has boosted confidence in faction security. A system's security level is temporarily increased by one stage (Low to Medium, or Medium to High), and NPC criminal activity has a lower chance of occurring."

The Wiki's BGS articles are often wrong. It definitely causes a security decrease - though it may also reduce the chances of overt criminal activity.

 

[Alone Wulff]

The Wiki's BGS articles are often wrong. It definitely causes a security decrease - though it may also reduce the chances of overt criminal activity.

I'm not saying you're wrong about Wiki but I do question the logic of reduced security during a time of stability. In that, maybe reduced security is "not working a intended"?

Also, if criminal activity is essentially based on system security, how could it decrease during a time of Civil Liberty if the security level drops a level? Surely criminal activity would increase. Surely there's a(nother) bug there somewhere.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

I'm not saying you're wrong about Wiki but I do question the logic of reduced security during a time of stability. In that, maybe reduced security is "not working a intended"?

It could be.

On the other hand, the Lockdown state (lowest security slider state) actually increases the system security level.

There's probably two separate meanings of security here:
- the security slider state, representing how successful the authorities have been at suppressing criminals
- the system security level, representing how much effort they put in to suppressing criminals.

Civil Liberty: there is little criminal activity. Restrictions on civilian activity are relaxed.
None: there is some criminal activity and some restrictions on civilian activity.
Civil Unrest: there is significant criminal activity currently overstretching the authorities. Restrictions on civilian activity in theory exist but are not enforced effectively.
Lockdown: a state of emergency has been declared, with extreme criminal activity in open conflict with the government forces. Significant restrictions are placed on civilian activity as e.g. reservist forces are called up.

Also, if criminal activity is essentially based on system security, how could it decrease during a time of Civil Liberty if the security level drops a level? Surely criminal activity would increase. Surely there's a(nother) bug there somewhere.

There's a few different types of criminal activity, though - Civil Liberty might be good for smugglers and interstellar factors criminality, while still reducing the number of active pirates in a system. It's possible that where the reduction from Civil Liberty is sufficient to cross a High-Medium or Medium-Low boundary, the effect of crossing the boundary is a net increase in criminality, too.

In practice everything is of course so abstract that it could be argued to be right whatever the outcome.

 

[Jmanis]

I was going to reply, but Ian summed it up beautifully.

Worse security state = more counter measures, and better security state = less counter measures.