What's your faction?
- Thread starter JeffRyan
- Start date
Voted independent, but I could easily be swayed to be part of the Alliance.
For a very VERY loose comparison, the original Frontier games chose factions based on the two major sci fi franchises of the day, namely Star Wars and Star Trek. So, the Federation is like the federation in Star Trek, while the Empire and Alliance come from Star Wars. But obviously there can be no ties to those franchises, so the game mythos has developed its own canon surrounding the aforementioned factions. (The Independents are systems that are not affiliated to any of the above three major factions and are therefore each independent in their own right.)
For a discussion of the three factions and their place in the game fiction, check out Michael Brookes' first fiction diary video.
For a very VERY loose comparison, the original Frontier games chose factions based on the two major sci fi franchises of the day, namely Star Wars and Star Trek. So, the Federation is like the federation in Star Trek, while the Empire and Alliance come from Star Wars. But obviously there can be no ties to those franchises, so the game mythos has developed its own canon surrounding the aforementioned factions. (The Independents are systems that are not affiliated to any of the above three major factions and are therefore each independent in their own right.)
For a discussion of the three factions and their place in the game fiction, check out Michael Brookes' first fiction diary video.
While Wars and Trek almost certainly had some effect on the naming of the factions, I don't think it was ever quite that straightforward. Most of the mythos you see surrounding them in ED actually comes straight from the old games.
The Federation was always depicted as capitalistic and militaristic, quite unlike Gene Roddenberry's idealised utopia. They used morally questionable tactics in war just as much as the Empire did (one of the stories in FE2 was about them drafting unemployed citizens to forcibly undergo cybernetic surgery to fight the Empire's genetically manipulated soldiers and regarding their cyborgs as little more than property afterwards)
The Empire in turn had the more Star Trek looking ships. They also seemed to have some kind of feudal hierarchy of noble ranks going on and hereditary rule, suggesting a quite different political structure to Palpatine's Empire, where it was just him and some governors.
They were both a mix of influences. I'd say the Empire was just as much influenced by Asimov and Frank Herbert's Empires as by Star Wars.
Ah, very good. Then provisionally I would be part of the Federation being as I enjoyed Star Trek, however I will check the link as you advised.
Thank you very much.
Things never are .. now I am not sure any more .. Damn you ED!
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Well, I did emphasize the 'VERY' loose comparison. I also implied that the mythology originated from the Frontier games and not ED. But overall, its a valid point though. The Federation does have ethics issues and the empire can't be compared to the evilly depicted one in Star Wars either.
In fact, Cwini, ignore that first paragraph in my previous mail and go and check out the video link I mentioned previously. It should paint the factions in a more, uh, correct light. :smilie:
Simply put:
Federation is like the USA with the power of the corporations being even greater.
Empire is like Rome with power hierarchy and slavery (but the slavery has some quircks, such as people voluntarily entering into slavery in order to repay their debts).
Alliance is like EU - loose federation of independent worlds with certain shared goals but many individual needs.
Independent worlds are independent, each one different.
Federation is like the USA with the power of the corporations being even greater.
Empire is like Rome with power hierarchy and slavery (but the slavery has some quircks, such as people voluntarily entering into slavery in order to repay their debts).
Alliance is like EU - loose federation of independent worlds with certain shared goals but many individual needs.
Independent worlds are independent, each one different.
Minti2
Deadly, But very fluffy...
Pah!.. Hail the Empire!.......and now am off to make a cup of tea
Pretty apt, although with what's happening with the EU- I would say that the EU is more like a unelected and non democratic bureacratic dictatorship these days- so not really like the Alliance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdob6QRLRJU
I wonder if being Independent might be a bit risky. We know there are 3 big powers in the game, who have probably all signed treaties about conduct and communication in space. Single or small Independent worlds/collectives may not have signed up. Therefore, are they unprotected or even considered illegal?
I can definitely see the Alliance offering protection/recognition to all vessels in its territories but maybe not so much the Federation or Empire. Politics or conflict may very well determine a more uncaring or even aggressive response to Independent ships and citizens.
In addition, if two Independent systems are at war with each other, how are players to side and identify between independent sub-factions? Is our faction association just a personal RP element or is it displayed as part of our player identity and therefore relevant to game interactions?
I can definitely see the Alliance offering protection/recognition to all vessels in its territories but maybe not so much the Federation or Empire. Politics or conflict may very well determine a more uncaring or even aggressive response to Independent ships and citizens.
In addition, if two Independent systems are at war with each other, how are players to side and identify between independent sub-factions? Is our faction association just a personal RP element or is it displayed as part of our player identity and therefore relevant to game interactions?
I've been toying with the idea of independent - but not sure how practical that will be in game. Presumably you'd be seen as low rep with all the big three..
Unless of course there was some in game way of being useful to all of them in different ways - a triple agent!?
Perhaps a bit of a mercenary like Clint's "Joe" character in a Fistful of Dollars - where he plays the Batxers off against the Rojos (gets pretty heavily turned over in the process) but comes out okay in the end. Of course that would necessitate being proficient at combat - which remains to be seen.
That - mixed in with a bit of smuggler/fixer type character..
Unless of course there was some in game way of being useful to all of them in different ways - a triple agent!?
Perhaps a bit of a mercenary like Clint's "Joe" character in a Fistful of Dollars - where he plays the Batxers off against the Rojos (gets pretty heavily turned over in the process) but comes out okay in the end. Of course that would necessitate being proficient at combat - which remains to be seen.
That - mixed in with a bit of smuggler/fixer type character..
FE2 had an "independent" starting position, where you started at Lave, with a Fugitive legal status at both the Empire and the Federation.
It doesn't really make the game considerably harder, as you can just avoid Federal and Imperial systems (or you can enter them to harrass their shipping lanes - the authorities never really respond to piracy if you don't go to the vicinity of stations)
When you got rich enough you could just pay off your criminal status and then enter the factional systems peacefully, if you felt like it.
And while I never played FFE much or got into its backstory, it seems the Alliance was friendly to independents.
So just based on the earlier games, you will have a quite great deal of freedom to do what you like, work as a mercenary for the factions or just ignore them. I don't think ED is meant to be about factional warfare, it's just something in the background to provide interest.
Can't say's as I like any of those options… guess I"m independent for now...
