So let me see if I understand...

Briefly speaking, if the shadow of the policy triangle overlaps one of the "intermediate nodes", that intermediate node will be activated and give you an extra bonus that is a combination of characteristics from the 2 nearby main branches. If that is the idea, then I think it's great!



I also like the idea of "hybrid bonuses" by TheWhetherMan:

I don't think another small FIDSI bonus is worth the extra noise. I like the idea of hybrid bonuses, but I'd make them active "perks" instead. Some examples:



EESI: science stockpiles from exploring ruins.

EPM: reduces/removes retrofit gold cost.

EPEE: buying buildings gives temporary happiness in that city.

MSI: science and/or industry buildings give the garrison XP per turn.

My modifications for the above comment:

EESI: Industry Stockpiles from Unspoiled Ruins AND Science stockpiles from Temple Ruins etc...

EPM: Good idea, and the next node in the same area >> Reduce buying cost of heroes and mercenaries

EPEE: Selling resources, units and heroes to the Marketplae gives you Influence points as percentage of Dust profits (or just more Dust?)

MSI: Good idea , and the next node in the same area will give garrisoned units more defense points per science/industry buildings



There is one small problem with this proposal from the OP: What if I decided to take the Military plan level 2 and Expansion plan Level 2? Since the shadow of triangle will be smaller, does that mean I will get less bonuses than if I took 2 adjacent branches? If so, opposite branches become underpowered when taken together. We need to modify the positions of intermediate nodes to compensate OR we could add implicit bonuses from opposing branches. For example:

EEM: +5 approval for every battle won for 10 turns, +5 approval for every city captured for 10 turns (except in the captured city) or something similar... In the advanced branches >> -5 approval from enemy faction that lost the battle

EPSI: Industry bonus from trade routes etc...



And finally, it would be SUPER AWESOME if each government type had access to different bonuses from the basic OR intermediate Empire Policy branches.

I don't think another small FIDSI bonus is worth the extra noise. I like the idea of hybrid bonuses, but I'd make them active "perks" instead. Some examples:



EESI: science stockpiles from exploring ruins.

EPM: reduces/removes retrofit gold cost.

EPEE: buying buildings gives temporary happiness in that city.

MSI: science and/or industry buildings give the garrison XP per turn.

Too involved and complex for my tastes to be honest. I like it just the way it is.

I would like to this middle bonuses have maluses too. Like if you push your government to war and to science and industry, your people will start to generate less dust and be less happy, cause reasons. But for the start this is GREAT IDEA!!! really great and I wish they would implement some of this.

Empire plan certainly needs some sort of rework. This alternative works pretty well - would prefer more independent axis though, however I do like the idea of cross effects that this one has.

Twinsen wrote:
This is a very nice mechanic and I would love to see this being implemented... but I would prefer the Dev to fix some critical stuff such as errors, crash and AI, then work on balancing and lastly add these interesting stuff...

For sure, making fixes to crashing and errors is priority, that goes without saying. Never suggested otherwise. Hopefully we'll be over this unfortunate period soon - from the discussion standpoint, let's assume were already past this point. Balancing is another issue, since it's never gonna be perfect - it's always ongoing process somewhere in the "background" so it also can easily be ignored from our community perspective. I mean, I'm sure they know it and are working towards resolving it now - but this thread is really about what could happen next.



So, what do you guys think? Anyone feeling knowledgeable enough to propose a draft of what the secondary nodes could give when unlocked, and how to change the primary axis nodes to balance? I sure don't Probably needs either an amplitude employee or somewhere that has been playing since beta, or pre-release at least.

This is a very nice mechanic and I would love to see this being implemented... but I would prefer the Dev to fix some critical stuff such as errors, crash and AI, then work on balancing and lastly add these interesting stuff...