I like alliances, as they allow multiple victers and promotes long term cooperation in a game. However they often turn into a 3+ headed hydra that has a bi-polar disorder and can't make up its mind if it wants to invade someone or trade with them. It becomes hard to keep an alliance on the same page on who to befriend or fight, and its often easy to stop a fight with an alliance by talking to another member more willing to listen.


There are some simple fixes to prevent these issues, but why not add some more fun and complexity as well? 


The main idea is recreate some sore of international politics at different levels; from leaders making deals and decisions directly with each other, up to a pseudo bicameral federal government. When an alliance is formed it starts at level 1 and levels up over time, with more members increasing that rate, to go from the types of diplomacy mentioned above. Alternatively these types can be set at the beginning and renegotiated later.


Each alliance will grant members access to new laws, based on the leading political parties in the alliance, they can enact in their own senates. Each leading party will unlock their own law, with the Major party also enacting a special law as well that effects all members.


There can be different Alliance types that dictate the makeup of an Assembly and number of parties represented, like regular governments. The parties in power will unlock new alliance laws for members to enact back home. These laws scale differently based on the alliance type and how many members are also using that law, to encourage those who work more closely together.

  • Back Room Deals
    • factions get 1 vote
    • factions vote for a single political party, must be unanimous or you leave the alliance.
      • UI would be like a fighting game character select, where you can see the other player's selection. Players will need to all match up to continue or leave the alliance. This can also be only confirmed after the turn ends to allow diplomatic actions to change votes and keep an alliance together.
    • good for a focused alliance who knows what they want.
  • International Courts
    • Systems send an equal number of representatives (2-5) based on local representatives to form an Assembly with 2 leading parties.
    • Factions get 2 votes to decide which special law to unlock for everyone from the 2 parties. must win with majority, no ties
      • Votes can possibly be gained through one or more means, some ideas on how
        • number of heroes on your senate
        • technology unlock
        • a hero skill
        • a new neutral party law
  • Constitutional Treaty
    • factions send equal number of representatives as there are in their systems to form an General Assembly. 3 leading parties. These parties unlock their laws for members
    • An upper house is formed by each faction selecting 2 or 3 heroes. The political affiliations of the heroes makeup the Senate to select 2 leading parties. These parties enact their special laws for all members.
    • Factions get 1 vote per hero they seat on the Senate
      • optional ways to add votes
        • hero levels add votes
        • senator skills add votes
        • ways to add addition seats
        • proportional votes given based on # of representatives in General Assembly
    • A more flexible alliance that gives more options but less direct control over political outcomes.


VOTING


Besides the voting described above in how political parties are represented, other actions an alliance makes must also come to a vote. This includes declaring war or peace on someone, letting new members in, ousting old members, etc. 


The type of alliance will decide how much power factions can have in these votes and ways to increase that power, if any. This could also be a way to create a "Diplomatic Victory" to make a winner out of the winning alliance. 



Anyway, that's my idea on fixing and fleshing out alliances in the game and expanding on the political aspects of the game to create international politics. Let me know what you guys think.