Thanks for the discussion. It was a really interesting read (and incomplete for me so far).
Two points.
Xenos
I base my faction estimates on what the factions' alignment in Vanilla was, unless I'm very explicitly informed otherwise. The story was hanging on the dev forums for quite a while before being posted (months, actually), and no one of those who read it ever noted any mistakes in the Xeno part.
However, if you think that something can be corrected - let's correct. What I'm willing to do is to somehow integrate the faction into the Gallic conquest story. The rest is actually up to you, and unless you go way too far from what was in Vanilla (and how actual in-game NPCs behave), it will be acceptable.
Lane Hackers
Honestly, the part about Hackers was written even before we talked about the Vespucci change.
However, I didn't have any incentive to include HF into the Hackers part for several reasons. First of all, Vespucci changes remain strangely unconfirmed. HF are happy, sure, but what about Lane Hackers? What will be their new home, and who will mod this new home into Discovery systems? Questions unanswered, as far as I know. EDIT: Hribek reminded me that they are answered, have to apologize for faulty memory.
So, this part is also open for further consideration. If you think that we still can change Vespucci affiliation, let's change it.
And a few general notes.
CR was mentioned here. Let me share a few thoughts.
CR, year ago or more, said they wanted to become a large faction with bases and stuff. Later, CR first wanted to become a part of a larger "Tau House". Then they wanted to relocate away from Gallia to the opposite end of Sirius, which I had to (or tried to) reject. Just a few weeks ago there was a new proposal from CR side that's perfectly acceptable from modding terms, but tell me this:
considering those mood changes of the leaders, and changes within leadership itself, could I include any parts of CR-related storyline into Discovery 4.85 or now into the history for 4.86?
The answer is "no". It's easier to mod the changes into systems then include a faction into storyline, write in its relations with neighbors, long-term plans... and in several months we get different mood, different affiliation, and even different system.
If player factions want their small story contributions, the answer is: make it simple for us. Inform us. Write your texts that we could include. At least we won't have to spend time on doing something that you might want to change in an instant.
