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'PUBLIC OPINION'

[:: Legends Of The Jedi ::]

Planets have an opinion of each government clan on a scale of 0 to 100, with 50
being the baseline (neutral opinion). An approximation of each clan's support
can be shown on SHOWPLANET <planet> AI, but to get exact numbers and
information about the factors affecting support, use SMALLTALK on the planet's
citizens or vendors.

Effects:

Low public opinion can cause crime to go up on its own if military presence
isn't high enough to outweigh it.

Having a good opinion on a planet allows you to operate with higher taxes,
since the good opinion will absorb some of the negative impact of high taxes.

If another clan is trying to capture one of your planets diplomatically, they
will need a significantly better public opinion than you, so maintaining a good
public opinion makes this more difficult.

When public opinion of the current government is at least 40 ("neutral" or
better), population will grow over time. Increased population translates to
higher tax revenue.

Automatic Public Opinion Factors:

Planet attributes: Planets have flags which give them a base opinion of certain
clans. Some planets dislike being ruled by authoritarian governments, for
example. See HELP 'PLANET FLAGS' for a list.

Taxes: A tax rate under 10 will make the population happy, and a rate above 20
will make them upset. Raising or lowering past these thresholds will increase
the effect.

Crime: High crime will generally make the population unhappy, with wealthy
worlds being more heavily affected and corrupt worlds caring less.

Public opinion is raised by:

Direct outreach: Players can use the PROPAGANDA skill to boost opinion of any
clan, and members of the current government can use bribe to boost opinion of
their own clan, up to a maximum of +30.

Commercial activity: Getting players to trade cargo or buy from vendors on a
planet will make the planet happier, up to a maximum of +20 (or +30 for
commercial planets).

Public opinion is lowered by:

Direct outreach: Players can use the PROPAGANDA skill to lower opinion of any
clan, down to a maximum effect of -30.

Violent acts: Blockading a planet, killing its citizens, and bombarding it will
all reduce opinion of the clan doing that activity. See HELP BLOCKADE and HELP
BOMBARD for details on those.

Embargo: While a planet is under embargo, it will gradually get unhappier with
its government, up to a maximum effect of -20.

Tips:

* Effects to public opinion which are based on player activities (anything but
ideological differences and taxes) will decay toward 0 at about 3 points per
day.

* Citizens, police, and criminal respawn every 20 minutes, so if working on
public opinion, it can be most efficient to visit multiple planets in a loop
while you wait for citizens to reappear.

* Evil clans may find it difficult to win over the public. In some cases, the
most effective way to stay in power is to show military might.

See Also: CRIME, 'MILITARY PRESENCE, 'PLANET FLAGS', 'CLAN EVENTS', LEADPLANET,
CAPTURE