A detailed guide to Dynamic Reputation:

[Blaze]

I posted a guide the other day detailing the mechanics of how Dynamic Reputation works that some may find helpful, given the number of questions I've seen about the new system. Also included in it is a method of how to 'take it easy' such that you can play FL more like prior X3 titles and not have to worry much about accidentally pissing off different factions.

It is a complicated feature and I don't really blame people for being confused or sometimes annoyed by it (particularly if you're coming from older titles), but once you understand how it works, hopefully you'll see how it's really quite intricate and makes you Think some more, as fitting for this game ;-)

At any rate, it's also my first guide, so if there are bits that are confusing or things you'd like elaboration on, please don't hesitate to comment. Cheers, and have fun :-)

[Blaze]

Hoping maybe someone who knows can comment or point me to a resource so I can add this to the guide:
Is there a known list of actions that raise/lower rep with a faction? For instance, I discovered that destroying Split ships in Pirate space increases rep with Pirates despite that both factions are neutral to each other, which I hadn't expected.

[Xpain]

I really appreciate your efforts trying to sugar coating this experiment, it is an interesting idea that make the game unplayable for me in this state. I am not confused,
It doesn't make sense that attack an everyone's enemy make me lose relations with a faction, that like has happened to me, has helped me to destroy that enemy before become my enemy, because I attacked their enemy at his enemy sector, this kind of crazy things is what are doing the system confusing, lol. Resuming, mission in Pirate sector destroying Xenon, Argon come by and help me before I lost reputation with the same Argon that have helped me.
Then the game become a " I need this thing and for that thing, I need to be friend with this faction, that will make enemy of this other faction that have other thing that I need", rinse and repeat.
It is so simple and logic that it need a guide full of tables and data to explain it.

For me, one of the best things of most games in the X saga is the freedom to do whatever you want, this experiment only add limitations and add zero fun to the game.
You will find more things that aren't expected with this relations system.

At Egosoft forum I can see that a lot of players share my point of view.

I repeat myself and I do really appreciate your guide and I am happy that you and others are having fun with this game.

[Blaze]

Hey, thanks for the feedback and appreciation. I've seen your posts and others on the forums and yeah, you are correct that for some, this system is disliked. This guide is mostly for those who don't understand it, which I also see quite a number of posts about.
If you are OK with modding, from my understanding it is simple enough to disable[forum.egosoft.com] the system[forum.egosoft.com], but that's also not a solution for everyone.

I guess at the end of the day, FL is a different game than other titles in the X3 series, so maybe you prefer the older ones; but I like this one :)

[Deathifier]

Some feedback for your advanced implications:
Gains to reputation when you are at 3 red bars with any faction doesn't apply derived standings, as you've stated in the guide.

You can use this to intentionally push a faction to 3 red bars then boost it back up.
For example I have had consistent problems with corporations (as they generally hate each other) so after testing it on Strong Arms I then pushed each of the corps, one by one, down to 3 red and then sent an agent to boost them up, and now we're all friends and OTAS is selling me destroyers.

A single agent needs ~200 influence to go from 3 red to 5 green (max if you are friends with their enemies) and a single agent with 1000 influence can easily send you from 3 red to high in 7 green, allowing you to buy M2's and just about everything except some stations and equipment.

So the solution to the dynamic reputation system is to annoy anyone who is already mad at you, then use diplomacy to be friends.

The only issue is that some ships remain hostile after improving reputation so limiting exposure whilst a faction is hostile is important, however with some planning the worst of this can be avoided.

[Blaze]

Originally posted by Deathifier:

Some feedback for your advanced implications:

Thanks; I wasn't certain whether the negative cap would apply in its entirety to an agent's notoriety gain, but if so, then it becomes far easier to be friends with literally everyone. I feel like that's a bit of an exploit and should probably be fixed if possible... but will add it to the guide in the meantime.

[Deathifier]

Well I got to be friends with everyone but Terran (as I haven't met them in my current game yet) so it does indeed work in v1.1 at least.

As for exploit I disagree.
Whilst you can get to be friends you still hit the caps that prevent you being allied with everyone, so you still have to juggle to rep around if you want to get specific things from factions that don't like each other.

It also lets people bail themselves out from a bad situation - too many hostile entities, or deep hostile with one party that they want to remedy, without simply inverting the hostilities.

It also takes some work to get down to 3 red with minimal collateral damage.
With the changes to missions in v1.1 they don't seem to have as much effect at 1 red and 2 red, destroying small ships at 2 red doesn't seem to do much, and capping ships seems to move it the most - but as you do all that the races whose sectors you are in often disagree and all sorts of ships turn up to stop you, and some of those stay mad at you for quite some time.

In addition ships you met whilst hostile, esp. for the first time, or that spawn whilst you are hostile, have a tendency to stay hostile - including weapons platforms and stations - and can't always be corrected by apologising in comms.

So I think just getting to being hostile with a faction has enough negatives and at least this way someone can work towards a somewhat peaceful universe, at least temporarily.

[Deathifier]

Looks like v1.2 made some changes.
The dynamic rep still doesn't apply if the rep is gained at 3 red bars, but the effect of agents has been obliterated and a max influence agent only seems to creep partway in to 2 red bars now.

That said it seems plausible that with careful planning, and high enough rep with other factions, it is still possible to at least make a faction non-hostile without turning their opponents hostile - it just takes more agents now.

[Blaze]

Originally posted by Deathifier:

Looks like v1.2 made some changes.

Many thanks, I haven't tested it myself yet. Let me know if you find other changes or subtle things that may be worth including!

[Vanythe]

I honestly don't understand why is it so hard to make it optional? I hate having to modify the game files just to play it like a normal X game again. Your guide somewhat helps but the problem is still here.

[galadon3]

Wow, I am so happy I found this thread first and read through half this guide before wasting some hours. Guess thats a direct de-install.
The system sounds horrible, convoluted and in the way its basically static because of relations between the races that are set in stone, pretty horrible.
Old Pirates had a better system just by having actually shifting alliances and enmities between the nations wich made working with that system more then looking at a spreadsheat (or reading through the optimal set of allies - enemies) and then slaving away grinding the right rep in the right order. Wich is basically the complete opposite to "think".

[qubeley mk3]

Play X3 like this makes me feel like a fool

[Waves&Rocks]

I love X3 its fun to go out and work your way up however every mission i do is disliked by someone i tried doing tourguides for non military pedestrians that visited pirate basses and argon basses and paranid basses and you name it but even that dropped reputation. you cant even do tourguides if your reputation is leaning to far one way how is that faction sensitive? why would you shoot the bus driver? I would like to keep rep with pirates and yaki without loosing my rights to visit all the major systems. their has been so many new things added to this game that make it interesting like all the new ships and probably a new race i feel has been hinted at but this reputation scale puts up to many restrictions and i feel like i am being made to make decisions that don't make sense. I've had to restart so many time because i do a quest i think couldn't passably harm relations with anyone but apparently their is no way around it everyone just wants to hate you so pick a faction and damn the rest it would seem or just float around like a turd in the wind not allowed to do anything but look.

[Deathifier]

If you want to be somewhat friendly with almost everyone and still do missions your only realistic option is to do missions for Teladi and have Pirates and Yaki as enemies.

You could in theory also be friendly with Pirates however your mission options shrink considerably as Teladi combat missions sometimes pick Pirates as the enemy even though the Teladi technically don't hate them.

[[XU]Cycrow]

keeping the pirates, and especially the Yaki friendly along with everyone else is going to be pretty much impossible.

you can generally keep the commonwealth happy with abit of work though.

The missions do tell you who the mission is for. Therefore you will know you will gain rep with that faction, which will result in losing rep with their enemies.

you can view who their enemies are in the Encyclopaedia

[S_Spowart]

This game is starting to become unplayable. Trying to raise rep with Argon, yet it goes up, then within seconds of stopping shjoopting at Xenon in Argon space the rep goes back down again.
I try by using agents, same thing happens. You have gained recognition, 3 seconds later you have lost it all again. I have no ships in Argon space, and appart from a station in Teladi space they are all in the unclaimed sectors.
I tried setting the friend foe settings so that they were all friend except for the enemy of the race I was trying to buid recognition with. Didnt make any difference.
Seems like it would be easier making friends with Vladimir Putin, and Iif I ever came face to face with him I would stab him in the back quite literally lol.