Pirates get -rep each hour for cols so can build empires

[Camara]

If you want to be a pirate and have loads of cols, the only way of keeping your rep below 0 is to cap cols from other people. If you don't want to do this you can't be a pirate or can only have 1 or 2 cols. Most pirates don't have many cols and this idea will let them big bigger empires, whilst staying a pirate, which is very hard to do with cols. This is what the game is about, building empires...

I would like to be a pirate and maintain my cols, but I can't do it because the only way I could keep my cols, which I have spent the past 6 weeks building, is to regularly cap cols from other people, which I don't want to do.

If you do this, you should also put the option to change into a pirate in the recreate character option, basically changing you current rep into - rep.

[Catfish]

Actually, its very possible to have negative rep and cols. The amount of rep gained per hour is based on the morale level of the cols. So if you REALLY want to be evil, make your cols morale negative. there are bad effects to this, but theres no good reason to be evil in the first place, so yeah

[toast]

well if you arent going to invade other colonies on a regular basis, it is going to be a tad difficult-

basically, if you arent going to engage in piratical activities...you arent going to be a pirate. It is quite possible to stay pirate if you wish. i have had 1 mil + followers and stayed pirate for quite some time. In addition, it isnt that difficult to lose several million +rep.

But the thing is, you cant do any of this unless you act like a pirate. As i see it, basically the only option you left yourself is to jet colonists and sell bio 3. And kill other pilots i guess, but if you dont want to invade chances are you dont want to kill people either.

[Pathfinder1]

what about relocating colonists? I tried to move some from my first to start a 2nd and i think I got some neg's out of it, but i don't THINK it affected the colony itself...I could be wrong though.

[Catfish]

you get an extremely small amount taken away for removing colonists from a colony, but you get it back for putting them somewhere else.

toast's reply was dead-on

[tekkamanblade]

you just need to run a fraction of your colonies with lower morale to cancel some of the rep gains. leaving the dome3's up on planets you know will grow out of control is a great way to do that. let them get low, but before they bottom out, sell dome3. that way you have a heal over time and a burst heal to your negative rep, and the colony gets a window in which to recharge a bit of morale (just enough to prevent riots in the streets) in between cullings.

while its got dome3 it will easily fill up on all resources, then when you sell dome3 you can run it at a loss (less harvesting to keep full millitary) until you start running low on metal and consumer stuff.

a great place to run negative rep colonies is by the pirate bases, that way, pirates invading with nukes from pirate bases will gain rep from invading and lose access to pirate nukes faster.