Using the HQ Stations

After playing Torn Stars for a bit, I wondered about all the stations without an ingame function. Are there plans to use the HQ, Defense Docks, FTL Relays etc.?

I thought maybe I needed to go to the faction HQ to bribe my way on to their lists of approved (friendly) or allied ships. But it looks like I can upgrade my status anywhere.

It would also make it more exciting to approach and upgrade a faction disliking you if you needed to find and dock at the faction HQ.

Also - howcome the Casinos and administrative stations are not buying luxuries? I would have thought that was only the natural order of things in such a universe [8D]

I totally agree with casinos and admin station buying luxuiries , it seems very logical .
And what about good old illegal cargo smuggling ?
I'd love to see some questionable reputation agri-settlements selling POT !!! Or even more questionable pharmaceutilcals production stations selling illegal prescriptions . You could get their location from rumor sellers , be chased down by the police and it would go perfecly together with unstable LP's , so you can avoid police check-points .
This is my idea for turning this mod into a youth-corrupting game , isn't it nice ?

We have plans to work in HQ's more intuitively to the game. In the future I believe they will be the only place one can upgrade faction standings. I could be wrong there though. As for Casinos buying luxuries...seems reasonable. However, they may not need that many, and might have their own contracted supplier. Leaving nothing for freelancers such as yourselves. Keep in mind that vast areas of the Middle States are serviced by mega-transport companies

Still, good points raised by CarstenB.

How about faction dependencies? It seems counter-intuitive that anyone could maintain Allied status with two competing factions.

Maybe dependencies could result in competing factions automatically disliking you when you upgrade your status to Allied with a faction. I would consider the faction spy networks adequate to the task of obtaining that kind of records almost immediately.

Maintaining friendly relations with competing factions should be possible however, only allied status should have special significance.

I also had a less thought through idea about buying Letters of Marque from factions. Making you a "legal" pirate with a tiny bit of protection from the faction. Not sure how it could be implemented though.