Topic 1: With a fixed number of players, increased activity in one area MUST be accompanied by reduced activity somewhere else. If player count is capped, activity is capped. It's like squeezing a balloon--the amount of air does not change, it just moves from one area to another, when it is directed into one area it must leave the original area to get there. Could activity be boosted in Kusari? Abosuretry but it would mean sucking some action out of the other areas. Which other factions do you want to kill off so that Kusari can have activity? Worse is that the number of active players was getting low (until update 4), so you had fewer resources available to staff the same number of factions. Some of them HAD TO COLLAPSE. Math is not your enemy but its not your friend either.
Topic 2: The IDs for Hogosha and Union Corse have no defined activity. The engagement rules are the same as most of the shipping IDs, except the shipping IDs usually have an additional "can hunt $faction" clause, and the Corse doesn't even have a named enemy. The IDs do not say "can pirate" so no piracy is actually allowed anymore. They cannot escort. They cannot claim bounties. They cannot use cargo ships above 4100 units. These IDs have no defined purpose. They are role-play IDs not game-play IDs. They should be remade from scratch with some kind of game-play function in mind. Until then its right for them to rot.
![[Image: smuggler-threat-0-1.jpg]](http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x57/UrsusMorologus/Freelancer%20Discovery/smuggler-threat-0-1.jpg)