Does a Faction's Rank-Limitations keep you away from joining?

[Athenian]

An interesting topic. The real question is : why would someone willingly submit to the set of self-imposed restrictions of a faction? It might be a liking for the faction's RP; the possibility of teamwork, and whatever. No one is stopping them from doing their own thing (...well....not always...but you know what I mean).

Members come and go in Disco factions, because they are just factions and not clans - the ability to move on when you get bored or jaded or just get more interested elsewhere is actually one of Disco's great strengths.

Much depends on what you intend to achieve with your faction. Are you deliberatley setting out to recruit new players or veterans?

I personally think that there has to be some possibility for advancement within factions for people that show skills. That advancement doesn't always have to be reflected in bigger ships. In fact when I promoted a few people, there was a pretty even split between thsoe who would be willing to have access to a shared account with a gunboat on it and those who had no desire whatsoever to fly one, simply because they either didn't like them or sucked in them.

Having said that, it might be worthwhile explaining why the restriction exists. For me, the good rep of a faction can be easily destroyed by the poor behaviour of one single member. The extent to which that person's behaviour can affect others on the server is much more easily contained if they were unfair to someone in say, a bomber rather than a Cruiser.

Disco's engine attempts to adapt to create a system where you can have both small fighters and huge battleships. Most players of Freelancer played it and enjoyed it as a fighter oriented game, hence a lot of the problems, both in terms of game engine and player interaction, with the bigger ships.

If someone opts to join up with us, considering how awkward I have made our recruitment system, it sends me a clear message: this is someone who is willing to try a different route and approach to the game; one that I think is worthwhile. Having said that, shared accounts might be an idea. I think flying a larger ship shouldn't necessarily be discounted out of hand or reserved for experienced players or superiors in a faction. Often, very experienced players can be total dicks.

My basic rule is this - if they stick it out in a small ship, learn to survive, and don't act like nubtards when things go awry, then they can fly the same VHF or bomber as everyone else in the faction. Following these restrictions can often re vitalise someone's experience of Disco. I still love flying my Hussar with the BPA, the first faction I joined. Right after I sold my Corsair Praefect. It completely transformed my experience of this game.

Great topic to discuss.

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Former member of "the most paranoid group of people in the community"
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