[Suggestion] Realistic inter-faction rivalry/antagonisms

[Marc_Hicks]

During the last 12 months, the two things I have most clearly noticed is that, barring multiple hostile actions against a Faction, it's actually really difficult to get below neutral with factions. The other thing I've noticed is that it is terribly easy to become friendly with every faction in a system......which I find odd for what we are told is a "cut-throat galaxy" .

So what I'd like to see is the majority of factions having one or more in-game rivals/amtagonists. These rivalries could come in the following flavours:

Background Simulation Based: These would be initially short-term rivalries generated by changes in Faction/System state....like Expansion, War, Civil War & Lock-down. If one faction hurts another faction's influence via this change in state, then a short-term rivalry could result-a rivalry which could eventually become permanent.

Lore Based: These are rivalries that would be based on in-game lore....as determined by the Devs or by players who "control" the faction.....this would also include Factions who become permanent rivals based on regular BGS-based clashes.

Ideology Based: Some Factions will just be naturally antagonistic towards each-other due to the kinds of factions they are-Anarchy Factions will be the natural rivals of Dictatorship Factions, & Communist Factions would be the natural rivals of Corporate Factions. However, Anarchy & Corporate Factions could also tend to be rivals of other Corporate or Anarchy factions within the same system....common sense should obviously prevail, along with the aforementioned Lore.

Power/Super-Power Based: An Obvious one-Factions affiliated to the Federation will most likely tend to be rivals with Imperial or Alliance affiliated Factions. Likewise, Factions affiliated to different Powers might also tend to be antagonistic toward's one another.

The key would be to have some obvious, visual indicator of which factions-if any-are antagonistic towards the faction you're currently viewing.

 

[Marc_Hicks]

So, how would this impact game-play?

Well, the way I'd prefer to see it work is that, as you rise in reputation with a faction-from Neutral to Cordial-the more difficult it would be to gain rep with that faction's direct rivals and/or the more rep you'd need to get to Cordial with that rival faction.

Between Cordial & Friendly, your reputation with any direct rival Factions would start to decrease in proportion to your reputation gains. Likewise, any hostile act performed against a rival faction-on behalf of its rival-would count 1.5x the normal reputation loss & (optionally) for bounty gains.

From Friendly to Allied, your reputation with the rival Faction would continue to decline proportionately, but now the hostile acts would count double in terms of reputation loss.

No further changes would occur from Allied up.

Other potential "penalties" from siding with a Faction with rivals would be (a) an inability to side with the rival faction, in Conflict Zones, (b) if you enter a system that is in a War state involving the rival faction, then ships belonging to that faction will view you as hostile.....& treat you accordingly, & (c) an inability to join Community Goals run by that rival faction.

I could see such a system also being applied to our reputation & rank with the Super-Powers......as part of an overhaul of the military career system.

The benefit of such a system is that it makes our relationship with factions, & Super-powers, feel more *real*....and carry far greater long-term consequences.