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[Terethall]

When you get intercepted after making trades, and you allow a scan but then refuse to airlock your contraband, or if you just refuse the scan, the game doesn't warn you that this means war and will set your relations to the faction to -50. Once you go to actually engage their fleet, it does, but unless your fleet is very small, this is sometimes the only option. Once you're in the situation where you've refused you do get a warning about attacking the picket, but you can't go back and be like, actually, nevermind, I don't want war, I'll pay a fine and allow a scan etc. It seems like players should have an idea of what effect their action will take.

It's also weird that these picket fleets will suicidally refuse to let a giant player fleet disengage, requiring you to pop them like a grape and thus ruin your rep. It seems like if the player fleet is small, they should be able to disengage and only take maybe a 20-rep hit (or -25, or -30; just not -150). If the player fleet is big, the picket should stand down because it realizes that standing in your way means guaranteed death and is pointless. Same -20 rep hit and they let you go.

[iceball3]

Thank you for the heads up on that! I haven't actually refused to dump goods yet, so it's good to know what you're getting yourselves into.
Perhaps instead of actually attacking you, in most cases instead the fast picket should attempt to disengage, report you to their authorities, and mark you as a criminal with associated fines, etc? Something a bit more formal than establishing you as a kill on sight enemy who can only escape their vilification by completing 50 contracts with your transponder off.

Similarly, perhaps the player should be allowed to chose their posture towards an approaching fleet like AI does (neutral, preventing easy engagement, etc) if simply so that whatever dialogue options might come up on the comms, the player has a choice in opening or restricting the opposing fleet's actions in the event that diplomacy succeeds/breaks down.

Could make a difference to faction reputation hit if it's the difference between your fleet actually hunting down other fleets, or just not rolling over and dying when attacked (I'm looking at you, pirate faction.)

[Terethall]

Perhaps instead of actually attacking you, in most cases instead the fast picket should attempt to disengage, report you to their authorities, and mark you as a criminal with associated fines, etc? Something a bit more formal than establishing you as a kill on sight enemy who can only escape their vilification by completing 50 contracts with your transponder off.

Yeah, exactly -- either you're so big you can't disengage, in which case the picket will probably not try to fight you because it's suicide for them and will let you go with a bounty on your head or a fine when/if you get caught again, or you're small enough that they might try to fight you, but then you can try to disengage in a pursuit battle so you don't have to fully go to war with them. It seems weird for two factions (e.g. Hegemony and player faction) to go to war over some recreational drugs when I don't even think being caught with AI running your colonies does.

But even if we didn't get that, some kind of warning when you go to refuse a scan (or refuse to drop contraband) that gives you the same warning about going to war that you get when you engage their fleet, since that becomes the only option once you refuse a fast picket's demands.