Does this so called griefing actually starve Guild Software of subscribers?

Regardless, work is being done to resolve this and other prominent game play issues. It is just a matter of time....

The UIT have trade advantages faction advantages at the cost of lesser defense in their system. Most of the noobs join UIT, so itani and especially serco numbers are down. UIT is simply closer to the action. Making money has a downside that other people want that money. If you prefer not to be griefed, start in serco or itani space.

Nil zero defenses is not for UIT space despite this so called trade advantage which will see changes with Faction changes.

Each nation deserves a respective and lethal defense and inner offensive forces for new players sake against 'noob griefers'.

The real problem is there there's no penalty for repeatedly and maliciously killing anyone. In fact, the game encourages this behavior, the name of it IS VENDETTA, after all. Once you've reached -1000 standing with a nation, there's no more penalty to apply, so you're essentially free to do whatever you like, as long as your goals don't include hanging out in that nation's space for too long, or docking at their stations.

The SOLE reason that UIT is a target for griefers is because there are non-UIT stations in UIT nationspace, where griefers can dock, rearm, refuel, and home, while attacking the UIT stations with impunity. That's the reason you see almost ZERO occurence of this in Itani or Serco space - there are no grayspace stations for Itani- or Serco-hated players to dock at. Most griefers in UIT space care nothing for losing a 50,000 credit ship if they can make the game a little more... "interesting" for other pilots.

Think of the UIT nation as Afghanistan, where the pathetically weak government claims the whole country, but central authority and power really only extends out from Kabul for a few miles, and that's it. Local cheftains, warlords, and other petty strongmen (read: pirates) control the rest of the country.

I'm relatively sure that absolutely nothing will be done about this situation until the devs get the new dynamic faction system working.

THEN you'll be able to have other penalties that are based on standings between nations, etc. And if you continually kill people based in UIT stations, the UIT government might have a word with the local Orion station in Dau about harboring a known mass-murderer. And how their trade contract, up for renewal, might not get renewed if they don't ban you from docking at that station...

"the UIT government might have a word with the local Orion station in Dau about harboring a known mass-murderer"

I assume you don't mean yourself, Leber... because I don't think you can stay sober long enough to commit mass murder of anything but your liver and brain cells...

I remember reading a while back that the guys who make Ultima Online did a study on griefing. They found that they lost one out of every ten customers because of it. And how bad was it? They sent out a guy naked with only an axe. Time and time again he was killed by PKers even though he represented no threat to them and had only a single piece of wood. I hope those border defenses that Incarnate and co. is working on are up soon this thing gets reduced.

Gosh, good thing this isn't Ultima. In most other MMORPG's, you can't ever hope to defeat someone who has been playing longer than you have. In VO, a newb can come in, learn the combat system, get himself a decent Vulture or IBG Cent, and he's slaughtering vets in no time. Because it's TWITCH-based, once you get to pilot level 4 or so, the ships more or less even out and the only thing that matters is your own SKILL. Which is why this game is so great.

Oh, and...

The issue is one of giving a newbie sufficient time to acclimate to the game's mechanics, so they can do their "twitch" thing and kill the vets. If they're assassinated too early in their education, they simply become frustrated and abandon the game. I'm familiar with the issue, and my various "layered defenses" and other things are intended to help (see newspost, etc).

Help. But not prevent ya'll from being slaughtered like sheep on occasion :D

And when it does happen, it'll be an 'event' and the newbs will know it ain't happening every time they get out of the capital system.

Get out? Ha. Let's see if they're not still poppable right there in their own capital systems.

oh woops, I meant station : /

That's the only place that should be 99% grief free :P

Heh. They'll be popped there, too.