Yes and I think so.
Although I don't think just 1 person can make much of a difference unless that player is both high ranking (Rank 5) and has a very large cargo ship.
Most sabotaging will be from truckers hauling materials to systems that are losers for the faction, pushing them from Prep systems to Expansion systems, then ensuring that they are Expanded into.
Locate a Prep system that has a super low income (5 cc per cycle) or a negative income (-4 CC per cycle). Then truck as many materials as you can to the system during prep. (This is why Rank 5 and a large cargo ship is needed. You may need to hit a 3000+ point Prep value or more to push it to the top of the list).
If the system is both a very low cost, and a negative income generator, you can usually sneak the system onto the Expansion List if the Power has enough extra CC to spend that it will pick up the system.
If the system makes the Expansion list, then you would need to do the particular requirements to have a successful Expansion of the system. If the Power has trucking for both Prep and Expansion, you would need to truck during both steps. If the Power has Combat Expansions, you would need to switch to a combat ship (or loadout) and work the specific battle zones in the Expansion system for that power.
If you work on Fortification, only contribute to the ones that are losses for the system, especially if they are being undermined.
Stay away from the high income systems during Fortification, especially if they are being undermined.
Although I don't think just 1 person can make much of a difference unless that player is both high ranking (Rank 5) and has a very large cargo ship.
Most sabotaging will be from truckers hauling materials to systems that are losers for the faction, pushing them from Prep systems to Expansion systems, then ensuring that they are Expanded into.
Locate a Prep system that has a super low income (5 cc per cycle) or a negative income (-4 CC per cycle). Then truck as many materials as you can to the system during prep. (This is why Rank 5 and a large cargo ship is needed. You may need to hit a 3000+ point Prep value or more to push it to the top of the list).
If the system is both a very low cost, and a negative income generator, you can usually sneak the system onto the Expansion List if the Power has enough extra CC to spend that it will pick up the system.
If the system makes the Expansion list, then you would need to do the particular requirements to have a successful Expansion of the system. If the Power has trucking for both Prep and Expansion, you would need to truck during both steps. If the Power has Combat Expansions, you would need to switch to a combat ship (or loadout) and work the specific battle zones in the Expansion system for that power.
If you work on Fortification, only contribute to the ones that are losses for the system, especially if they are being undermined.
Stay away from the high income systems during Fortification, especially if they are being undermined.
No its not,its exploitation of poor game mechanic.The Ruler of the power would veto such an expansion.Easy to solve no negative point system appear in the list or there is CC THESHOLD under which the system will not be accepted,again its is not vaild you are exploiting a poor idea.
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FD have said that it is a valid tactic. It is the most direct & effective means of attacking an opponent, however there are widespread concerns that this creates a toxic (EVE-like) atmosphere of suspicion, distrust and vitriol.
Theres a good discussion on the matter here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182952
Theres a good discussion on the matter here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182952
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Hello commander,
Hm, this is a valid question indeed... and thank you for putting it up for discussion! Whatever the outcome, one cannot deny that you make an effort for fair play on a metagame level
Personally I do not perceive your desired path as a fair choice, but that's just me and I don't want to rant around here...
I wanted to suggest that you make a poll out of that question... I would truly be interested in the results we get from the forum community here.
Haggis McMoose,
Sucker for statistics
Hm, this is a valid question indeed... and thank you for putting it up for discussion! Whatever the outcome, one cannot deny that you make an effort for fair play on a metagame level
Personally I do not perceive your desired path as a fair choice, but that's just me and I don't want to rant around here...
I wanted to suggest that you make a poll out of that question... I would truly be interested in the results we get from the forum community here.
Haggis McMoose,
Sucker for statistics
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It is a border case of being valid, but its really frustrating for smaller powers who have enough to deal with. An individual can easily skew a small power who has less members to even things out.
Here's my take on the thing.
The way 5th columning works at the moment, you end up sowing discontent and hatred amongst other players, souring their experience of the game. That's why I hate the prep 5th columning - the minor effect is that you can push a bad system onto a power, but the major effect is that you're ruining the game for others. Not so much because it's a bad system, but because it's obviously an attempt at ruining the game for others. It's right up there with constantly interdicting someone without interacting with them, except now you're doing it to hundreds or thousands of people at once.
If you do 5th columning in different ways, it'd be much more acceptable to me. For example - suppose a power is in turmoil. The organized players would like to fortify the good systems and leave the worst systems unfortified with the hope that they get undermined and put onto the next turmoil list if the worst came to happen. 5th columning to actively fortifying the bad systems as they get undermined is a far more acceptable method (to me), and far more devious, because the victims can't tell the difference between it being done by ignorant players and malicious players.
5th col actions would be acceptable of there was a mechanism to counter them- right now there isnt one, other than burning lots of cash. Right now I'm going to be burning about ten million to stop an idiot wrecking lots of hard work, just because they are lazy and want a merit grinding system one jump from my capital.