While all this sounds fine and dandy I have to warn about one thing.
The goal here for all factions isn't really to draw in people that spend enough time on the forums and even contribute by it to its roleplay / development.
It's the people that spend most of their time in the game that we want to draw in and include. So while Nooblet and some others defend the independancy if their characters with valor, we really should leave them doing that, because they do a good job. We should be focusing on those that aren't contributing much. Basically those that don't read forums, or in game news until some "shizzle" hits the fan and their way of making money needs to change.
In game news for official factions rocks, and its a good perk you can add that we can actually use. But the playerbase of people using it won't raise at all. All the people I described above aren't interested in that at all. So, if you want to make official factions having some advantage over MAJORITY of the players around, make them have some advantage that those uninterested in anything but money can appreciate.
That usually means more money, faster trade routes or some way to control certain commodities to official factions only. Then, as those people actually join up the factions, the rest will follow, because you have their attention. That way the rest of playerbase doesn't lose much, but the officials do gain plenty.
Example: Plutonium - Okinawa. For official GMG / Kishiro / Interspace the cost is 200 per unit, for unoficial is 700.
That way the factions can even put some weekly fees to their members, and then pay 10% monthly to the Government (Samura to Kusari Emperor), and that way even Government can get included in the game. Maybe I'm thinking too globaly, but it would be nice if Governments can fund starting corporations one day, or actually keep their lawful forces on some minor (but still important) payroll.
![[Image: omgsig.png]](http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/3852/omgsig.png)