What determines my influence sphere? (My Space Territory bubble on the world map)

[Hebrux]

I tried exploration and mining but I'm not sure exactly what determines which area of space comes under my sphere of inlfuence

[Nightskies]

Colonies. Only colonies. The more populous the colony, the bigger the influence. I suspect it might also be tied to development, maybe more dominantly by.

I still haven't figured out how it works when it comes to multiple empires with colonies in a single system, though...

[Dray Prescot]

Mining Stations do seem to generate a weak claim on a system but a new Colony in a nearby system can push that claim back and allow them to build their own Mining Stations and even colonize in that system.

But when they get really far from one of your colonized Worlds that may not work to generate a claimed system.

But when I look at an actual Map of a game that been played for awhile with multiple Empires with multiple colonies and stations, it can be hard to figure out what is causing a particular system to be claimed by one side or another. I can easily find systems with stations from more than one Empire, where one Empire has that system in it's Influence zone NOW, but it may have been different in the past.

[Nightskies]

You're not the first to say stations affect Influence. I think this is worth testing using the editor to verify if it does.

If development does influence ... Influence... then a mining station over luxuries indirectly improves it.

[Bethencourt]

If a system under your influence is explored firstly by you it will fall within your frontiers not the others empire territories that may also have influence over it.

[Nightskies]

Quick testing of taking an established empire with over 260 stations, scuttling every single one, and the borders didn't change.

It's not conclusive. Perhaps they influence how it expands. It seems, though, that stations don't have anything to do with shaping empire borders.

It did shift the dotted lines, though. Those mysterious things nobody can seem to agree on what they mean. See on the Discord if you're interested.
https://discord.com/channels/811584976839508019/951503019428683818/1205297243901403176

[Bystandard]

Originally posted by Nightskies:

Quick testing of taking an established empire with over 260 stations, scuttling every single one, and the borders didn't change.

It's not conclusive. Perhaps they influence how it expands. It seems, though, that stations don't have anything to do with shaping empire borders.

It did shift the dotted lines, though. Those mysterious things nobody can seem to agree on what they mean. See on the Discord if you're interested.
https://discord.com/channels/811584976839508019/951503019428683818/1205297243901403176

A lot of those line represent the flow of materials in the economy. Others are migration patterns due to quality and habitability and addition types are specific to race migrations. Sometimes a planet you colonized for one race is better suited to another. These rapidly appear and disappear or send a strong signal then over time a weaker one.