I actually think that something like this would in some ways be better than the current affinities.



Perhaps build it into elements of diplomacy and happiness. In the fluff, pilgrims are not huge fans of the United Empire, so perhaps there should be a penalty to things like trade and happiness for border worlds. Not huge, you don't want it to be so significant that UE and Pilgrims are always at war, but enough that you might choose the sowers to enter into an agreement with first.



There is fluff(by which I mean backstory) for all of these races, it wouldn't be difficult to grow that into a general attitude alignment. You could even have positive effects when at war with a hated enemy for example. Perhaps even an underlying population attitude that changes throughout the game based on real and random factors. Thus you mihgt be politically in bed with the Sophons, but your people think they are a mob of arrogant nobs.



etc

I like the idea of more brutal empires as well as interactions with your empires people and a good/evil system. If the Cravers destroyed every system they conquered, converting all the material into an obscene boost in their production, you would be absolutely terrified of them. I also like the idea of being able to fund certain groups in your empire for increased gains at the cost of the disapproval of others.



Taking it one step further, rebellion shouldn't just be a level of approval, it should literally mean that there's a political upheaval and that if you don't fix it, there's going to be a revolutionary war and possibly a new rival empire.



Finally, with the (hopefully) upcoming interactive random events, there could be a whole new level of depth to the game where everything you do shifts your good/evil alignment, each with it's own rewards and consequences.

saj14saj wrote:
I am new to ES, but have been doing 4x since the beginning of PC gaming.



I don't have any objections to factions and events, but if they exist, they should have some strategic or tactical implication that is non-trivial. They should increase the depth of interesting choices. Otherwise, they become tedious interruptions to click past, since games of this type are played many times, until all of the content is memorized.

Well events are tipicly included to stire up trouble for the players who are winning thus preventing games that are decided in the first 30 turns.



Personally I love events that can win the game for themselves, nothing like a horrific space entity that eats stars eh?

I am new to ES, but have been doing 4x since the beginning of PC gaming.



I don't have any objections to factions and events, but if they exist, they should have some strategic or tactical implication that is non-trivial. They should increase the depth of interesting choices. Otherwise, they become tedious interruptions to click past, since games of this type are played many times, until all of the content is memorized.

@Igncom1 - nice example of a continuous dynamic event and quite befitting of the current real world financial economic crisis! haha lol. Back to your example: binding the player to previously made commitments is a really nice touch, especially if, in the long term, something can come back to bite you in the ***. Also, it would be a quite accurate reflection of the realities of life and maintaining an empire... btw, what was the price of profit? I reckon with every decision putting off wiping out the pirates oneself one just made it worse! lol



@Wenchbane and @VinceES - that's right, that was exactl what I was thinking. It's just whenever I play I get the feeling that I, in my role as the leader of an empire in ES, should be concerned, if not outright fearful, of species like the Cravers or the Hissho. But for some reason which puzzles me, I'm not. They're just there and I don't mind, which is odd and somehow, I feel, not the way it should be...

Hi !



This would be just great. I understand your feeling, and, on a web browser game created by a friend several years ago (Galaxia 3800), a race called the Spatterhyes, gave a quite big malus on populations depending on the range. This lead to an all out war just to create a no-spatterhye-land...

A part from that, I'm not fond of "good VS Evil". I don't think a specie would be really evil. It could be dangerous, attacking everyone in the universe, but because it experience a secret fear (have you read the books by David Weber about "Muniteer's Moon" serie ?). And I don't think an "Evil" specie would be able to conquer space one day...An evil specie would be a bit busy with itself...

@ n18991c



The idea is awesome! Totally understand the Craver concept, maybe add something that "unsettles" the fringe systems? After all who wants a swarm of crazy bio-mechanical food disintegraters sitting just a link away??



@ Igncom1



That oddly sounds similar to an idea I proposed a while back about events that "escalate" in severity and effect. Check that one out here and pop some ideas in, it would be much appreciated

here's the link: /#/endless-space/forum/28-game-design/thread/12521-suggestion-escalating-events



Am hoping with the new G2G vote that maybe the Devs might incorporate something from that thread...

Hmm, Good thought here, I like your idea about dark and light side. For example, depending on what you chose in certain multiple choice events will give your empire like a reputation and their alignment.

If I were to suggest, continuous dynamic events.



Say you get a event where bankers are asking for loans, if you give them money you get more dust per turn, and if you don't you increase the opinion of the population.



So you go ahead and give them loans, turns later another popup about an increase in piracy linked to the loans you put forward, you can curb the pirates to increase trade money, or you can fun them yourself for a large profit.



You curb stomp the pirates but this creates a number of pirate fleets throughout your territory, and during the fighting, the next event shows that the actions of the pirates has put the other empires on edge, you can put them at ease with a bribe, increasing relations or you can begin to force pirates into their territory causing more pirates to spawn in their systems.



You force the pirates into enemy territory and clean up your own problem, another even popups up showing that there is a pirate armada on its way from deep space to your empire, the armada is massive with up to 50 fleets, you can prepare your defenses and boost your production for a short time for a malus in growth and science, or you can pay a hefty fee and cause the armada to go for an empire of your choice.



You pay the fee and have the armada destroy an opposing empire, but now the pirates have conquered systems and are a new empire in the game, with a huge starting fleet.



Tell me, what was the price of profit?