Constantly losing MIN reputation

[kzwix]

So, here is the deal:

I started as a Spear of the Patriarch. Meaning I'm Split, and at war with the Argon.
I raised my rep with all the other factions (including Antigone, which started at -15), but I want to kill the Argon, they're still at -26.

I'm obviously often attacked by argon ships, even in non-argon sectors. However, when I have the gall to defend myself in order, well, not to die, I lose reputation for the defense, and more if I kill them. I don't like being penalized for merely defending myself (when a few fighters try to destroy a station I'm building in Teladi territory (my TEL rep is +29), I'd expect THEM to be warned, then maybe attacked by police. But nope.

Recently, in the said TEL sector, however, I noticed TEL ships fighting ARG ships. So, I thought that their dastardly actions might have started a war. I gladly went to help my allies against the nefarious Argon, and my kill awarded me... Negative Reputation, with MIN. Not TEL, who owns the sector, but MIN.
From what my radar shows me, MIN do not own any ship or station in the vicinity. And they don't own the sector either, as it's a TEL sector.

So... what am I missing, there ? Why do they keep punishing me when they shouldn't even be involved in the first place ?


[Edit: Ok, neither MIN nor TEL are at war with ARG, from what the encyclopedia says. However, I still don't understand why MIN reacts to my killing ARG in a TEL sector, when they don't have a station or ship closer than a few hundred Km from the fight]

[Targ Collective]

The only thing I can think of for this is a common gripe: Pirates sometimes fly under MIN colours and therefore you can lose MIN rep for defending yourself against them. No, it doesn't make sense to me either.

[kzwix]

Nah, I'm not destroying MIN ships, I'm destroying ARG ships. In a TEL sector.

And MIN doesn't like it :'(

[Targ Collective]

If that is the cause then it must be a Police Authority thing. Ministry of Finance are the Teladi Police Authority. What you see as a war MIN sees as criminal activity. Your solution? Either keep from attacking the Argon if you want to keep MIN rep or escalate - it's hard to get evidence of crimes uncommitted so you need a No Survivors policy. I mean, you were going to do that *anyway*...

[KextV8]

It's cause Argon and Teladi are friends. Min is the Teladi police force. Attacking their friends in their space will result in a rep drop.

[oddible]

This is my biggest gripe with the game period. Reputation and sovereignty are stupidly designed. But let's clarify things a bit. We as the player are NOT any faction. We may be Split or Teladi or Human but we are not ZYA or TEL or ARG. We are a Corp, mercenaries. So on one hand if we act up, we don't have a faction to fall behind.

However, and here's where it gets dumb, sovereignty is NOT respected in this game and that is beyond stupid. Imagine this scenario. You commit a crime in Morocco. You fly to Germany and are chilling in a cafe in Würselen. A Moroccan military commander just happens to be walking down the street in Würselen sees you and recognizes you and punches you and tries to tackle you. You punch him once to get away and run off to the polizei to report being attacked. The German police wave to the Moroccan military guy as they beat you to a pulp. Freaking dumb right? That is sovereignty Egosoft style.

A few recommendations:
- the aggressor always receives a local -20 no matter what faction if they are in another factions' space
- killing an aggressor in another factions' space shouldn't give you rep loss with the sector owner
- local -20 rep should not cause police to chase you outside their their own space
- if you are already -20 with both factions (normal, not local) then they can cross borders
- factions should NOT engage normal enemies in another factions' space unless you are -20 with both factions

[Raptor34]

This is my biggest gripe with the game period. Reputation and sovereignty are stupidly designed. But let's clarify things a bit. We as the player are NOT any faction. We may be Split or Teladi or Human but we are not ZYA or TEL or ARG. We are a Corp, mercenaries. So on one hand if we act up, we don't have a faction to fall behind.

However, and here's where it gets dumb, sovereignty is NOT respected in this game and that is beyond stupid. Imagine this scenario. You commit a crime in Morocco. You fly to Germany and are chilling in a cafe in Würselen. A Moroccan military commander just happens to be walking down the street in Würselen sees you and recognizes you and punches you and tries to tackle you. You punch him once to get away and run off to the polizei to report being attacked. The German police wave to the Moroccan military guy as they beat you to a pulp. Freaking dumb right? That is sovereignty Egosoft style.

A few recommendations:
- the aggressor always receives a local -20 no matter what faction if they are in another factions' space
- killing an aggressor in another factions' space shouldn't give you rep loss with the sector owner
- local -20 rep should not cause police to chase you outside their their own space
- if you are already -20 with both factions (normal, not local) then they can cross borders
- factions should NOT engage normal enemies in another factions' space unless you are -20 with both factions

By that point you should as well ask for losing rep with all allied factions.
It's more like after committing terrorism in one country you flee to their ally and it's all good. That is what's freaking dumb, though for the record I have no problem with it and actually do prefer it.

[kzwix]

Ok, so, I'm losing MIN reputation because MIN is the police in TEL sectors ? That would explain a lot.

Incidentally, my problem was "solved" by an ARG destroyer, which promptly took out the station I was painfully trying to build in said TEL space (for the 50% profitsssss)


But I still think it's a shame that attackers do not get penalized for attacking me or my properties in ally space. Were I enemy with TEL, I'd be fair game. But here, I've had ARG fighters attack my station for minutes without any visible negative consequences (except against me, when I dared to retaliate).

If we are both allies to the TEL, we should be treated equally, which means at the very least temporary reputation loss for attacker ships (or warnings to the AI, to "cease and desist", before it escalates).