ABANDONED WORLDS COME TO FED
by Hazed
"Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo da Vinci
Look at the details of a star system using 'DI SYSTEM planetname' and you will notice that some systems now have a new label: they are marked as abandoned:
> di system rigel
System information for the Rigel system:
Member of the Sol Cartel
System has been abandoned by its owner!
Rigel 4, Rigel system - Owner Pugwash
This means the owner hasn't set foot (or equivalent appendage) in Fed DataSpace for at least 90 days. At least, that's the intention, although when the code was put into the game on Saturday, it was being a little over-enthusiastic and labelled all systems as abandoned! It turned out that it was looking for POs who hadn't been in the game for 90 seconds, not days... By the time you read this, that should be fixed.
The label is affixed to systems when the game fires up. Should Pugwash deign to set her dainty little foot into Fed DataSpace, and pay some attention to her long-suffering population, the system will remain marked as abandoned until the next reset.
A sign stating a system is abandoned can serve as a warning for those looking to build factories that the economy of a planet might be... how can I put it... somewhat volatile if the owner isn't around to keep an eye (or equivalent ocular organ) on it. Rioting populations are likely to wreak havoc on property if they aren't kept sweet, so a planet with an absentee landlord isn't very likely to be a good site for your budding enterprise.
