While I like the core concept of the Empire Plan, I'm disappointed by its current implementation, and believe it could be improved with a few simple touches.



For me, the Empire Plan mechanic sits in a comfortable spot between the flexible, upkeep-based civics/social engineering systems of games like CivIV and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and the rigid, culture-based policy system of CivV. Players aren't stuck with decisions they made early for the rest of the game, yet they can't turn their whole empire on a dime the way many civics systems allow, and need to invest in more than just economy to maintain the best bonuses.

However, I think the Empire Plan suffers from being bland in effects and theme. Static bonuses do not engage the player during the 20 turn period they are in effect,and without a name or description these bonuses are just numbers that do not give the player a sense of shaping the empire he rules.

Consider a few examples from other games:

1. A civic that improves military unit construction and reduces war weariness is the logical choice when going to war. But if you call "Polive State," the player will have a very clear impression of how these bonuses are gained (or rather enforced).

2. An option that increases industry and food at the expense of higher building upkeep. Calling it "large-scale investment" or "subsidies" will create a very different impression for the player than calling it "planned economy."

3. Many people who have played Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri praise its social engineering. While attempting to balance the benefits and drawbacks of the different options was certainly good gameplay, I believe a lot of that praise is also rooted in the names the game used for the different options, as it was not afraid to let you run a planned-economy Fundamentalist state that values power and aims to employ thought control on its citizens.





Nonetheless, I think these issues could be fixed with a few simple changes and improvements, resulting in a much more engaging and thematic Empire Plan.

• The 20 turn timer is fine from a gameplay perspective, but it's just a number. Don't miss the opportunity for world building.Just provide a notification the first time the Empire Plan comes up saying something like "A year has passed since the founding of your empire. It is time to employ your political power and guide the efforts of your people." and you will have added a lot of flavor to the Empire Plan and what Influence Points actually are.
• Give the player more interaction with the world and Empire Plan while its in effect. This doesn't have to be achieved through entirely new effects and abilities, but could be done by linking different properties the player can interact with. A +25 Approval bonus on all cities is a massive but unengaging boost. A +5 Approval bonus faces them with the choice of increasing Approval in the short term but having an army stuck in that city, and possibly having to disband it (to the mercenary market) at a later time because he no longer has that bonus and can not afford their upkeep.
• Give names to the abilities. "-25% unit production cost" is a juicy bonus, but it's soulless. Calling it "military draft" gives meaning to what this bonus represents.
• Possibly rename and rework the different Empire Plan branches, keeping the bonuses in each more closely related. Don't name the branches after your division of the tech tree, but after political ideologies and economic systems found on Auriga. For example, a branch called Slavery that provides additional workers from pacified villages at the lowest level, and at higher levels allows for the construction and use of special Slave Labor/Slave Auction/"Volunter" Test Subject boosters that cost almost no industry but have a population cost, while a different branch named Guilds provides +Industry on Boroughs, +Food on exploitation, etc. Furthermore, low-level bonuses could grow stronger if higher levels of the same branch are unlocked.
• Having multiple branches per quarter might also be a good idea, for example placing the Slavery and Guilds branches from the previous example both in an "economy" section of the tree.
• (Faction-specific branches would of course be a great opportunity for world building, but may be too much work in implementing and balancing.)
  
  

Whatever they decide on, I hope that Amplitude will improve on the theme of the Empire Plan and its connection to gameplay.

Now, let's gather any other suggestions for (thematically) improving the Empire Plan, hopefully without putting undue strain on the poor programmers.

Mmmm....

Why is Science and Industry ministry called Science & Industry, when it only has science improvements, except for +25 happiness (which isn't industry anyway)

lo_fabre wrote:
Mmmm....

Why is Science and Industry ministry called Science & Industry, when it only has science improvements, except for +25 happiness (which isn't industry anyway)

I imagine because is a local (city) resource where is an empire-wide resource. The feels out of place there, but could be explained by lore or even just a name ("better living through technology" or "science wonders" or something). I imagine they put it there so they didn't purely have stuff.

The Empire plan is an interresting mechanic which need to be improved alot to have a better immersion in the gameplay.



The-Cat-o-Nine-Tales, I agree with most of your ideas and I hope that Amplitude will notice them.



Especially this point :

The 20 turn timer is fine from a gameplay perspective, but it's just a number. Don't miss the opportunity for world building.Just provide a notification the first time the Empire Plan comes up saying something like "A year has passed since the founding of your empire. It is time to employ your political power and guide the efforts of your people." and you will have added a lot of flavor to the Empire Plan and what Influence Points actually are.

I think it need more depth, like you suggested here

Cat, I have semi-quoted you on the Q&A thread. Hope you aren't angry



Yes, denominating bonuses and effects gives them "soul" and makes the player part of the whole universe. It also improves game atmosphere and immersion.



I am sure Amplitude will improve this aspect of Endless Legend, they can come up with some crazy names

Why would I be angry? Any attention brought to this thread is positive in my opinion, as the devs and other users will be more likely to notice it. Even if nobody at Amplitude reacts for a while, given how busy they are, I'd at least like to discuss this with my fellow players.