suggestion : relations

[palmiche]

Of course, you probably couldn't align with e.g. the Ares, who hate you because you're a Terran\human.

Racism is old as the man is. If youre "black" and you move to a neighborhood of "skinheads" you can't expect to be treated as a king no matter how well you behave.

In the prisons in different countries the prisoners are usually divided by their racial group. AFAIK if you belong to a given group you have to prove yourself to that group before you can become an active member.

[Guest]

I think that you should be able to align with the Ares. However, you should have to meet several conditions.

A. (most important) YOU MUST NOT BE OR HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE FLEET OR MILITIA!
B. you must prove yourself by becomming an enemy of the commonwealth.
C. You must not be aligned with another militant faction (but you do not need to be enemies of) such as the Ranx, Sung, or the Commonwealth Militia *.
D. you must prove yourself by pro-Ares missions *.

*should be a requirement for joining all factions.

[sysgod]

Freelancer has a neat repuation system, and it's a vaguely similar game (but in 3D).

Reputations are interlinked, with each faction having its own allies and enemies. Sorta slashdot-eqsue. Friends of your enemies will be neutral or hostile, and vice versa. You can change your alignment by shooting at your friends, making them your enemies and thus bringing your previous enemies into neutral. Then you run missions for them and they start to become friendly. If you're neutral with an enemy's ally, you can also land on their base and bribe them to fix your reputation.

You start off friendly with the local police and military, friendly or neutral with the local industries, and hostile or neutral with the local criminals, outcasts and other riffraff.

The initial systems (civilised systems with police and militiaries) are pretty weak, with weaker ships and weapons. As the game progresses you move further out into the fringe systems, further away from the authorities, and eventually you must change your alignment towards the criminals and other anti-establishment type factions to get the best ships and weapons.

Seems somewhat similar to Transcendence - the Commonweath aren't exactly forthcoming with the Big Guns*, so you must resort to the fringe types for the good stuff.

*Frankly, after defending Point Juno I reckon they owe me an experimental stealth gunship/supply ship for fighting the Iocrym.

[palmiche]

I think that you should be able to align with the Ares. However, you should have to meet several conditions.

A. (most important) YOU MUST NOT BE OR HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE FLEET OR MILITIA!
B. you must prove yourself by becomming an enemy of the commonwealth.
C. You must not be aligned with another militant faction (but you do not need to be enemies of) such as the Ranx, Sung, or the Commonwealth Militia *.
D. you must prove yourself by pro-Ares missions *.

*should be a requirement for joining all factions.

I must say I disagree with that because:
1 - In real life you can be aliged with as many factions as you want as long as you keep all factions happy (Spys, Undercover Agents, Moles, etc.)
2 - There is no point in forming an alliance with people that have been hating you for centuries because you won't be a freelance enymore as they will use you and finally kill you or something else when they have nothing more to expect from you. This is the case in the real life.

[the_holy_thom]

In real life you can be aliged with as many factions as you want as long as you keep all factions happy (Spys, Undercover Agents, Moles, etc.)

True, but it's not easy, espeically if you've made a name for yourself by blowing up one of the factions

[palmiche]

True, but it's not easy, espeically if you've made a name for yourself by blowing up one of the factions

Yes, but the decissión to blow up a faction must be up to you and no a MUST from any of the factions but a choice you can make. Is something like:
"We sell laser cannons but if you cleanse the Ranx from the system we would allow you to see some wares we have in the back of the shop"

[Guest]

[quote=palmiche]1 - In real life you can be aliged with as many factions as you want as long as you keep all factions happy (Spys, Undercover Agents, Moles, etc.) [/quote]

I suppose, but you must not have an ID chip on you that shows your alignment

[quote=palmiche]2 - There is no point in forming an alliance with people that have been hating you for centuries because you won't be a freelance enymore as they will use you and finally kill you or something else when they have nothing more to expect from you. This is the case in the real life.[/quote]

I think there is a point, namely, not having to fight them and gaining access to services/weapons. However, saying that there is or is not a point is not the same as saying such an action is impossible/improbable. As for "freelance", is an Fleet Commander/Admiral (sry spell) "freelance". If they kill you, it is your own fault for not being able to deal with them!.