BATTLETECH - Loathed Reputation makes it impossible to get contracts from that faction !!!

[Hagen-Volker]

One line summary of your issue
Loathed Reputation makes it impossible to get contracts from Pirate faction !!! (or any other)

What platform are you running the game on?

Steam

What operating system do you use?
Win 7
What version are you running?
Service Pack 1
Do you have the Season Pass / Flashpoint installed?
Yes

Please explain your issue is in as much detail as possible.
I am currently NOT allied to anyone and am Loathed by PIRATES Faction. Would like to get contracts with them, so I can improve my standing with them and finally ally. I have been traveling to unaffiliated systems (with pirate activity and without).
I have major reputation loss with ConCap and FWL. Others are neutral to me. No matter which system I travel to ( almost a year ingame) I encounter NO contract with pirates that I can pick up !!!! Even if pay is only 10 % (like it says in the description) I can deal with that !!
You need to make it possible to get rid of the loathed reputation !!!!!!!

Steps to reproduce the issue


Attach DxDiag (PC) or System Info (Mac)

Attach Output Log
Windows:
Mac OS:
Linux: ~/.config/unity3d/Harebrained Schemes/BATTLETECH/Player.log

Attach Crash Log

Attach save file

Attach screenshot / video

 

[Hagen-Volker]

Clarification: I have also been to systems of every other faction ( Magistracy, FWL, ConCap, Feds, Concordat), still no pirate contracts that I could take.

 

[Hagen-Volker]

I am now hated and soon to be loathed by FWL and ConCap Factions. No mater where I fly, what difficulty level (mech skulls), I cant pick any contracts.
How am I supposed to improve my standing with any of these factions ?????

Help!!!!!!

 

[mjbroekman]

This is not strictly a bug as it is the reputation system working "as intended". It is however, very inconvenient. I have a suggestion thread with a JSON workaround that I hope HBS will implement as a hotfix. If not, you can always make the JSON changes to to your SimGameConstants file.

I've added a link to this bug report in my suggestion post here: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-reputation-problem-1-low-reputation.1134610/

 

[Ewen1980]

Got the same problem here. Impossible to get contracts.

 

[mjbroekman]

Still not a bug...but there are workarounds in https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-reputation-problem-1-low-reputation.1134610/ if you want to edit the SimGameConstants while waiting for a response from HBS.

[EDIT: Fixed the link]

 

[Ewen1980]

Hi mjbroekman,
thanks for the response but your link is currently dead.

 

[mjbroekman]

Hi mjbroekman,
thanks for the response but your link is currently dead.

Fixed.

 

[Alessandro78]

after one year still same issue....

 

[Aradiel]

You can go from -100 to +100 without editing the files. Obviously FPs are the easiest way, but even without those, here's how you do it:

1. Set difficulty to easy.
2. Jump to lowest skull system where the faction has a presence.
3. Save game.
4. Spawn contracts.
5. Exit contract screen.
6. Set difficulty to hard.
7. Check contracts.

You will often find that contracts you spawn on easy, can not be accepted, but if you change the difficulty to hard after the contract has been spawned, you can accept it. If none spawn that can be done this way, then reload and spawn some new ones. Don't forget that you have to exit the contract screen when you change difficulty.

 

[OperatorError]

You can go from -100 to +100 without editing the files. Obviously FPs are the easiest way, but even without those, here's how you do it:

1. Set difficulty to easy.
2. Jump to lowest skull system where the faction has a presence.
3. Save game.
4. Spawn contracts.
5. Exit contract screen.
6. Set difficulty to hard.
7. Check contracts.

You will often find that contracts you spawn on easy, can not be accepted, but if you change the difficulty to hard after the contract has been spawned, you can accept it. If none spawn that can be done this way, then reload and spawn some new ones. Don't forget that you have to exit the contract screen when you change difficulty.

I have yet to see a pirate faction FP, but by the time I was done the campaign, I was already cratered for pirate rep, and doing the "Of Unknown Origin" FP makes certain that if your pirate rep wasn't ground completely into the dirt by the end of the campaign, it will be, before you complete the 2nd stage of it.

And I can't even find a system under 4 stars, right now. Hopefully, there's a patch coming for FP that will include a couple for the pirate faction, since I've never been in a position to take advantage of the BM.

 

[Mad2342]

To add to this and possilbly clarify. The problem is more obvious if playing campaign and the story is complete. As difficulty of generated contracts is based on "global difficulty" (which will be 8 and modified by 1 depending on difficulty setting "Enemy Force Strength"), a possible and very small starsystem modifier, and a global var "ContractDifficultyVariance"(default: 1) and these vars in SimGameConstants:

        "LoathedMaxContractDifficulty" : -3,
        "HatedMaxContractDifficulty" : -2,
        "DislikedMaxContractDifficulty" : -1,
        "IndifferentMaxContractDifficulty" : 1,
        "LikedMaxContractDifficulty" : 2,
        "FriendlyMaxContractDifficulty" : 3,
        "HonoredMaxContractDifficulty" : 3,

the game puts itself in a dead end by generating only high difficulty contracts and at the same time having requirements to take these contracts which end up beeing "LoathedMaxContractDifficulty + GlobalDifficulty" (=5) resulting in no chance to take contracts for loathed rep.

Workaround, see above.
For my game i added a small mod which (for CAREER changes the ContractDifficultyVariance from +-1 to sth like [-5, +1]) resulting in low difficulty contracts beeing generated also in late game.
Or you edit the above values to -1,-1,-1,1,2,3,3

And, in my book, this IS a bug. Not a technical one, but still...

 

[OperatorError]

As an update, if you haven't completed the Dobrev FP campaign (it starts as "Of Unknown Origin", IIRC), if you see it all the way through to the end, you can faction rep with every entity that has a faction rating. If this qualifies as a spoiler of any kind, I don't know how to make it less of one, but it is an option for at least getting enough pirate rep to find pirate missions, for those that have FP, and haven't completed that particular FP campaign.