Horatio has a trait called 'The price of beauty' which adds +20 to ship cost.



This works nicely for knocking down the 'hi, we're your neighbors, just thought we'd drop by WITH OUR FIFTEEN SHIPS' scenario that is so common.



Is there any way to apply this to other factions?

Idaho wrote:
This works nicely for knocking down the 'hi, we're your neighbors, just thought we'd drop by WITH OUR FIFTEEN SHIPS' scenario that is so common.

Er, but what is the problem with that scenario? It seems like a fairly effective way to greet the neighbors, if you covet their possessions.



I would expect a militaristic neighbor to eventually come barging in like that, no matter the cost of ships, right? That's what they're supposed to do. The best solution is to predict their actions and prepare some sort of countermeasures pre-emptively, to at least slow down their approach and give you time to respond...

Copernicus wrote:
Er, but what is the problem with that scenario? It seems like a fairly effective way to greet the neighbors, if you covet their possessions.



I would expect a militaristic neighbor to eventually come barging in like that, no matter the cost of ships, right? That's what they're supposed to do. The best solution is to predict their actions and prepare some sort of countermeasures pre-emptively, to at least slow down their approach and give you time to respond...

So you don't know the answer to my question?

Idaho wrote:
So you don't know the answer to my question?

"The Price of Beauty" is a malus on the Horatio, to help balance out the (rather amazing) bonuses they have to support large population growth. Other factions mostly don't need this malus (or have similar constraints on military strength.)



Generally, the idea is for a faction to skew towards one type of play (military, economic, population growth, scientific research, industrial power, etc.); so, they'll have bonuses where they should be strong, and maluses where they should be weak. Just dumping a military malus on every faction doesn't really accomplish much to define the factions. (I'm not sure if you can get the AI to use custom-designed factions anyway; I'll have to check that...)

Create a custom faction with that malus and let the AI play your custom faction its possible since the last major patch.