[iceaxe68]

I'm very interested in seeing more story, including conflict.

With that said, I'm not interested in game mechanics forcing or de facto forcing me to pick a side in any particular conflict, be it faction, civilization, city, guild, or personal level conflict. I'm ok with picking a side when it coincides with my character's feelings and beliefs, and is sensible in lore terms. For example, I don't mind that I have to choose a faction to use some of their teleporters, even though (in character) I think both the Karavan and the Kami are lying to us and using us as pawns in some game we don't yet understand. In character (as Sasi), I nominally side with the Karavan in order to use their technology, rationalizing it as a fair turnabout since I believe they are using homins for their own ends.

I also have some neutral alts, and will definitely be wary of anything that simply excludes them, unless there are very good story reasons. In any conflict, there are people who take no side or are ambivalent to some degree about the side they ended up on. The story should take that into account.