Colony Crises
| A crisis is virtually unavoidable at some point, and hostile fleets continually probe your defenses, but where there is danger, there is often opportunity. | ||
–In-game description | ||
Colony Crises (previously known as Hostile Activity) is a major event in Starsector. It begins when a colony is established by the player.
Up to 600 points can be accumulated, affected by a variety of factors that mostly have to do with how much attention your faction is receiving.
Participating factions will send fleets to harass and potentially destroy the player faction's trade shipping. Additionally, if the crisis meter reaches 600, a major hostile event such as a raid on the player's colonies will take place. Major events can be prevented temporarily or permanently through various faction-specific measures.
Overview
Every faction in the game, other than the Independent, may, under certain conditions, start harassing your colonies. This applies an ongoing effect unique to the faction, mostly in the form of that faction's fleets harassing your colonies, and add points to the event, depending on how much your colonies annoy them.
Unless stated otherwise, all fleets involved in this event are "operating in a legal gray area", and fighting them with transponder on will only cause a -5 relationship penalty.
Once the event reaches 500 points, one of the factions will be picked for a major attack on your colonies. If the progress is reduced to 475 points, the attack will be cancelled, potentially allowing a "reroll" of the faction. Once the even reaches 600 points, the chosen faction will start planning the attack, and the number of points will reset to 200. The planned attack will be visible in a separate intel, and it usually takes about 2-3 months for it to plan, launch, and reach your colony.
The attack will usually consist of multiple fleets and require player intervention to be defeated. It's not necessary to destroy all fleets - defeating the main fleet is sufficient, but defeating some of the side fleets may sometimes work as well. Successfully fighting off the raid will often, but not always, make their faction leave you alone from then on.
General factors
Defensive measures
- Patrol HQ: x0.9 progress.
- Military Base: x0.7 progress.
- High Command: x0.5 progress.
Only the highest level structure across the player faction is used.
One-time factors
- Hostile ships destroyed: one-time reduction based on the amount. Only battles involving the player fleet count. Any hostile ships killed will count (not just pirates and Pathers); e.g. a punitive expedition defeated by the player will reduce hostile activity.
- Pirate Base destroyed: 40-80 point reduction based on the base tier, but only if the base was affecting at least one player colony.
- Luddic Path Base destroyed: 50 point reduction, plus 20 for every active cell on a player colony, to a maximum of 150. Only applies if Pather interest on player colonies is nonzero.
Blowback
Reducing progress through one-time reductions such as destroying hostile ships accumulates blowback at the same rate, which contributes 5% of its accumulated points per month to event progress. Thus one-time time factors will only postpone rather than prevent an event.
Faction factors and events
Hegemony
Trigger
The Hegemony becomes interested in your colonies if you are using AI Cores. The AI inspectors will attempt to stop illegal AI core use.
The Hegemony's contribution crisis meter is based on the total AI core usage on all player colonies of size 4 and up, with diminishing returns. A Gamma Core is worth 1 point, a Beta Core 2 points, an Alpha Core 4 points, and an Alpha Core colony administrator 10 points.
Joining the Persean League will suspend Hegemony contribution to hostile activity (but will not cancel AI inspections already in progress).
Ongoing effect
Hegemony technology investigation fleets will fly around your colony, harassing neutral fleets. They may intercept your fleet and demand to inspect your ships, causing damage to CR if you comply. Refusing will cause them to attack you.
Major attack
The Hegemony will send one or more inspection fleets to a selected colony with AI cores. The colony must be at least 180 days old and have 8 or more points of AI usage[1] (so sufficiently distributed AI usage, with no AI admins, will avoid inspections).
The inspection fleets have three levels, with the level rising each time an inspection event is defeated (by fighting the fleets, or tactically bombarding their origin market before they depart). An inspection that successfully completes or is bribed does not raise the level.
- Level 1: 150 fleet points[2]
- Level 2: 600 fleet points
- Level 3: 1,400 fleet points
Bribing an inspection costs 1 SP 0% XP and 150,000c × 1.5^(number of past inspections), capped at 500,000c.
Resolution
Once three inspection events have been defeated, the Hegemony threat will cease. The player can speak to Baikal Daud on Chicomoztoc to 'discuss' the matter, which will earn 3 story points.
Luddic Church
Trigger
Colonies that fit certain criteria may attract immigrants from the Luddic Church, creating the Luddic Majority market condition if the colony increases in size while being suitable:
- Habitable
- Has a job for them (Farming/Aquaculture or Light Industry)
- Does not have industries they disapprove (Mining, Refining, Heavy Industry, Fuel Production, Tech-Mining)
- Does not have a Military Base or High Command (Patrol HQ and defensive buildings are fine)
The condition gives the colony +1 stability, +1 production for their preferred jobs, and +20 to +30 population growth. However, it also draws the ire of the Knights of Ludd, ostensibly over potential spiritual dangers to them (though probing them over it indicates that missing labor quotas may be the real cause).
If the requirements are not met, the Luddic Majority condition will lose its effects, and will be removed completely the next time the market grows in size.
Ongoing effect
Knights of Ludd fleets will fly around your colonies. They are not hostile, but will harass the fleets in the system. They might intercept you and demand a tribute; refusing will make the fleet attack you.
Major attack
A large Knights of Ludd expedition will fly to your colony and camp the system. This event will cause 0-2 unrest on the target colony per month (depending on the strength of the expedition relative to the defenders), and if stability drops to zero, the Church will take over the colony.
Resolution
There are two ways to make peace with the Luddic Church:
- Go to their colony and negotiate peace. The agreement will remove the effect of Luddic Majority.
- Fight off their major attack. Doing so will also double the effect of Luddic Majority.
Luddic Path
Trigger
Technology and AI core use create Luddic Path interest. Interest needs to be at least 7 for a Pather cell to spawn. The Pather contribution to the crisis meter is based on the total interest on all player colonies, with diminishing returns.
Ongoing effect
Pather cells will be created in the offending colonies, lowering stability by 1 and occasionally attempting terrorist attacks.
Major attack
A large Pather fleet will attack your colony. Defeating it will disrupt all cells in the sector for one cycle, and permanently remove the Path contribution to the crisis meter.
Resolution
A Pather fleet that runs into the player may demand a tithe in return for being left alone. If the player has colonies targeted by Pather cells, they can counter-offer with a bigger "tithe", scaling with number of colonies, their size, and Pather interest, usually somewhere between 200,000c and 800,000c; this bribe will negate Pather activity in the colonies for 730 days.
A permanent agreement can be reached as a part of the Scythe of Orion quest.
Persean League
Trigger
The Persean League becomes interested in your colonies when you have either at least two colonies, or one colony of size 5 or bigger. Their goal is to make you join the league.
Ongoing effect
League fleets will "patrol" around your colony. They may intercept your fleet and demand to inspect your ships, causing damage to CR if you comply. Refusing will cause them to attack you.
Major attack
A massive blockade will target your colony. It will inflict -60% accessibility on the colonies in the system until the timer runs out, or the main fleet or both supply fleets are defeated. Once the blockade is lifted, the League will stop attacking your colonies, and you will receive +30 relations with the independents and Hegemony.
Resolution
There are three ways to end the League threat:
- Go to Kazeron in Thule to discuss joining the League with the Prime Demarchon, Reynard Hannan. You will be required to give up 20% of your colony gross income and get a Persean League commission. They will also protect you from Hegemony's AI inspections.
- Presenting at least two "strong arguments" for joining the League will enable a "good deal" that reduces the fee to zero. The available strong arguments are: defeating the blockade; paying a kickback to gens Hannan (5% of colony gross income); and raiding for, and then offering to return, the Pristine Nanoforge on Kazeron.
- Fight off their major attack.
- Saturation bombardment of a League colony. This will prevent joining the League in the future.
After the blockade is defeated, you can still join the League. It is also possible to leave the League after joining, or to rescind the kickback to gens Hannan.
- The player may later rejoin once, but only if a good deal was not secured. Leaving without a good deal will result in hostile action by the League.
Pirates
Trigger
The pirates will always attack your colonies, until their part of the event is resolved. Monthly score is given based on the biggest colony's size and stability. If multiple colonies have the same size, one with the highest stability is used.
The rate is: 10 + size - stability.
Pirate base in the <system> system: varying amount, depending on the number of colonies in range per month.
Ongoing effect
Pirate fleets will attack traders going in or out of your colony, causing shipping disruptions.
Major attack
In the pirate crisis, the pirates will launch a large raid on the player colonies. If successful, they will inflict a large stability penalty to the targeted colony.
Resolution
Pirates will stop attacking you if you either defeat their major attack or obtain protection from Jorien Kanta, pirate warlord located in Kanta's Den in the Magec Star System.
Resolving the pirate crisis will grant all player colonies Piracy Respite market condition, which grants 10% bonus accessibility. The bonus is increased to 20% if the player has Kanta's protection, regardless of whether it was obtained before or after defeating the major attack.
Kanta will demand a tribute in exchange for her protection. A list of acceptable tributes is:
- One million credits
- One thousand crates of Volturnian Lobster
- A large Omega weapon
- ISS Hamatsu, obtained during Project Ziggurat quest (fails Callisto's quest, makes her unavailable as a contact)
- A Remnant capital ship (Ship will become a part of station's description)
- Combat Drone Replicators
- Dealmaker Holosuite
- Pristine Nanoforge (will be installed in Kapteyn Starworks; stealing it will revoke protection
- Orbital Fusion Lamp (will be installed in Kanta's Den, generating a demand of 10 Volatiles)
- A blueprint for a capital ship that pirate faction does not have
- Betray a contact with the highest relationship (-75 relations with a contact, lose it as a contact)
- A favor of Kanta's choosing 1 SP 100% XP (may be approached later with a mission to tac bomb a military base; rejecting removes protection)
The following can be offered, but will be rejected:
- One hundred thousand credits
- Ziggurat
- Corrupted Nanoforge
- Planetkiller
Pirate base deal
If you go to the pirate base targeting your colonies and talk to the pirate boss, you can make an agreement with them. It costs 10% of your pure colony income, but turns the modifier into a negative, reducing danger instead. The deal can be ended at any time, and will also end if the station is destroyed.
Remnants
The Remnants will take an interest in any colony sharing a system with a Remnant Nexus. The only way to remove their threat is to destroy the nexus in question.
The Remnant crisis involves multiple Ordos being sent to conduct a saturation bombardment of their unwanted neighbor. Even if these fleets are defeated, more may be sent later.
Sindrian Diktat
Trigger
The Sindrian Diktat becomes interested in your colonies if you are producing at least 5 units of fuel.
Ongoing effect
Major attack
Several large fleets will be sent to carry out a saturation bombardment of your Fuel Production.
Resolution
Their interest can be neutralized by raiding Sindria and taking their Synchrotron Core, or talking to an official on Sindria and accepting a deal that gives them 50% of your income from fuel exports.
Defeating the major attack results in a 25% increase to income from fuel exports.
Tri-Tachyon
Trigger
Tri-Tachyon becomes interested in your colonies when you are exporting at least 5 units of at least two different commodities that make money, other than Food, Domestic Goods, Ore, and Metals.
Ongoing effect
Independent fleets (identified by the name 'Commerce Raider') will harass your colony, attacking trade fleets in system and in hyperspace. These are quite powerful, with S-modded ships.
Major attack
A massive mercenary raid will be sent at one of your colonies. If successful, they will disrupt many structures. The mercenaries can be bribed for 1,000,000c to raid Hybrasil instead, by talking to the admiral of the command fleet.
Resolution
Rayan Arroyo can give you some hints about resolving this after you meet him during Kallichore Archive.
The attacks can be resolved by finishing a separate major event, Tri-Tachyon Commerce Raiding, through a combination of:
- Destroying trade fleets and smugglers going to or from Tri-Tachyon colonies, regardless of fleet affiliation.
- Disrupting industries in any Tri-Tachyon colony.
- Destroying the independent-flagged commerce raiders around your colonies.
Destroying or bribing the mercenary fleets in the major attack is not enough to stop Tri-Tachyon by itself, but it will contribute towards finishing the commerce raiding event (80 points for defeating the fleets, or 100 for bribing them), and reduce Tri-Tachyon's contribution to the overall Colony Crises meter to 0.25× of normal.
After the commerce raiding meter reaches the maximum, the attacks will cease. After that, you can to talk to a Tri-Tachyon contact of High or Very High importance (including Arroyo, but only if he is developed) to finalize the deal. Both player and Tri-Tachyon colonies will gain increased accessibility, by a percentage equal to the sum of the other faction's colony sizes. This agreement will remain in place even if the player and Tri-Tachyon later become hostile, but can be unilaterally terminated by the player.
References
External links
- Major events