Landhund wrote:
ZOMBIEFIED!!

Seriously, I think its a bit to much. When you combine those three factions/races/whatever-they-are it could be something interresting.

Thanks Landhund, it would be interesting indeed. I have a more ideas I'll post up, maybe I'll look into one in as you have suggested.



I already see the Pirates are extremely swift at taking out other player's systems, taking themover. So it seems to be in part there in the background waiting for more life to be breathed into them from the good folks at Amp if they are convinced it would be alot of fun playing a Faction concept like this.



Anyways look out for more Pirate Concepts soon on this Thread.

Thanks Jetkar



Plenty of info here on the various ways of implementing a Pirate Faction.



With the custom Faction and Pirate Faction you have, in a sense, Factions 9 and 10 sorted so looking forward to a brighter expansion future for the game.



Any Folks who wish to try out a take on my Pirate Factions ideas, feel free to post here and keep your suggestions to the same thread. There have been some interesting contributions so far. The more we have the more creativity and inspiration we can provide the Devs to add more depth to the game and it's story.

Dr_Mox wrote:
There has been plenty of activity on discussing Pirates and their interplay/impact in the Alpha as it stands.



There appears to be a desire out there in the community to have them do more, even develop into a playable faction (I know probably possible expansion material/DLC after Gold, the Devs got enough on their plates...but what the hey... ).



I was discussing my reply to a recent Thread with some of my mates on TS and they suggested I should create this thread and re-post in part my suggestions.



Here it goes:

Proposal: Playable Pirate Faction for Endless Space

i.e. The Scourge

How would the Faction operate?



This could be one possible playable version of a Endless Space Pirate Faction with their own unique Victory Condition:



The Pirate Faction does not have a border; they are always at War with everyone so therefore never have any possibility of diplomacy other than attempting to be hired as mercenaries occasionally, maybe you could have Diplomacy and threaten factions with a chance of intimidating them enough to give you Tribute.



Their Capital system has to be chosen each turn (representing the clandestine, shadowy, nomadic existence), if enemy shipping encounters your Capital system you lose all production and for that turn until the enemy has left the system.



If your Capital is discovered X (based on difficulty) amount of times you automatically lose the game (could be too harsh but would make you sweat like the old Battleship's game and you trying to keep that last ship hidden from everyone).



As your pirate fleets explore they "colour-in" the galaxy map with their Faction's "Presence".



A star system on the map is uncoloured everytime an enemy fleet is present without the presence of a Pirate Fleet in the system.



For every system under the presence of the Pirate Faction, they take a percentage "cut" of the produced at that system (increased with better Tech along the lines of protection racketeering etc) goes towards the production queue of their Capital System. Uncolonised systems under a Pirate Presence would provide a cut based on the potential of the system at the Tech level of the Pirate Faction; this Tech line would be the Fence capability of under-the-radar/neutral ground dealings outside faction territorial control.



Pirates do not build or develop star systems, they develop Tech, have a chance of stealing Tech and they focus on building Ships for their Fleets which manifest from their Capital System once they are completed on their Build queue. They may have special Tech points on their Research Tree where you can buy Discounts to make it cheaper to Rush production (but that may be quite OP) - reflecting the Black Market.



Pirate Ships have a variety of boons and penalties in how they are built similar to the challenges faced by other Factions however with a Pirate flavour in mind. e.g. risky ship building methods = powerful yet risky/unreliable builds.



The Unique Pirate Faction Victory would be linked to Turf mastery where it is triggered by a % (based on difficulty) of the entire map being entirely under their "Pressence" reflecting thier underworld dominance of the galaxy and it's influence over the governance of the various faction's systems.



You could have fun with the Heros that would spawn from this faction and the possible events where extremely lucrative and dangerous opportunities arise, leadership challenges etc which could fit easily into the Pirate theme.



Pirates could add to the instability of governing systems too, really annoying the other factions that way as well as even and logically having influence over the Trade between them, maybe gaining more Dust that way.



Anyway what fun you could have playing them and encountering them more rounded like this...



So what do you think, what can you add?



If you like the idea of a playable Pirate Faction in Endless Space feel free to join my Group here on the forums (see my sig) for banding ideas about, multiplayer Beta, Gold opportunities...you know pirate banter and such like.

This has been added to summary list under Game Play > General > Pirate Faction

SteveTheWild wrote:
Perhaps they could be something like the anti diplomacy race. Rather than encouraging mutual trade, they get double the usual values for trade, but don't give anything to the people they are trading with, kinda like they are intercepting the trade lanes and taking both of the trading races goods.

That sounds interesting, maybe it could also work along the lines of: If All Factions Except Pirate have a Strategic Resource/Luxury Resource Then Pirate Gains the Strategic/Luxury Resource at Capital System.

Perhaps they could be something like the anti diplomacy race. Rather than encouraging mutual trade, they get double the usual values for trade, but don't give anything to the people they are trading with, kinda like they are intercepting the trade lanes and taking both of the trading races goods.

Proposal #4 Reavers

I think they do build but are alot more manageable. Though the ai players seem to have a bad time in dealing with them occasionally. AI definitely needs to improve on many fronts, no doubt it will.



Have seen then make little mini empires from worlds they have taken out.



A new Pirate Concept is nearly ready to publish here on this Thread for folks to check out. Yarrr!

Just you little question:

Am i the only one who thinks that the pirates are a little bit overpowered in late-game? I mean, one flied with 6000ower:? Or am I'm just playing to peacefull?

Rum all round! Yarrrrr!



Some good comments recently here, thanks for the feedback!



They certainly have got player's attention in the Beta and in the Alpha, they are already developing a reputation and it would be brilliant for Amp to bring the concept forward into the future.



They could well make for a fantastic story for a future DLC or expansion like folks have suggested.



Feel free to come up with concepts here if you want; nice start Landhund!



Any more Pirate types out there? Feelig a little Pirate-ish? ^^

Feel free to join us and discuss ES Pirate stuff also over at our Endless Space Pirates Group on these forums or join our Multiplayer Steam Group (links in me Flag err Tag below) under the same name for Endless Space plunderin and revelry!! Yo ho ho indeed!

What about that:

-The faction have its base on/in an Asteroid/-belt and can change the position of it to another Astroid/-belt whenever their want to.

-The other Factions can hire them as mercs for ... nearly everything.

-They dont "build" ships, but they are buying them ONLY at/in (not sure what word to use here ) their homebase.

-they can "infiltrate" the systems of the empires to get information and/or dust (like in Star Wars: Empire at War - FOC)

-As traits: "Poor Industrialists", "Poor Colonists", "The Nether Market", "Thick as Thieves", a variant of "We hunger only for you" so they need no food, "Fast, Furious and Reckless" with some other stats, maby some others...



Just some ideas.



EDIT: Would be a great concept for a DLC/large mod

But that would give us 9 factions instead of 8! We cannot have an odd number of factions!



Seriously though, +1 to this for sure.

These would make for rather amusing options in game, it's always fun to not really care about most of the victory conditions and just go "Yohoho!" And cause as much mayhem as you possibly can.



Also, perhaps give them the ability to disguise as another faction to incite wars?

There has been plenty of activity on discussing Pirates and their interplay/impact in the Alpha as it stands.



There appears to be a desire out there in the community to have them do more, even develop into a playable faction (I know probably possible expansion material/DLC after Gold, the Devs got enough on their plates...but what the hey... ).



I was discussing my reply to a recent Thread with some of my mates on TS and they suggested I should create this thread and re-post in part my suggestions.



Here it goes:









How would the Faction operate?



This could be one possible playable version of a Endless Space Pirate Faction with their own unique Victory Condition:



The Pirate Faction does not have a border; they are always at War with everyone so therefore never have any possibility of diplomacy other than attempting to be hired as mercenaries occasionally, maybe you could have Diplomacy and threaten factions with a chance of intimidating them enough to give you Tribute.



Their Capital system has to be chosen each turn (representing the clandestine, shadowy, nomadic existence), if enemy shipping encounters your Capital system you lose all production and for that turn until the enemy has left the system.



If your Capital is discovered X (based on difficulty) amount of times you automatically lose the game (could be too harsh but would make you sweat like the old Battleship's game and you trying to keep that last ship hidden from everyone).



As your pirate fleets explore they "colour-in" the galaxy map with their Faction's "Presence".



A star system on the map is uncoloured everytime an enemy fleet is present without the presence of a Pirate Fleet in the system.



For every system under the presence of the Pirate Faction, they take a percentage "cut" of the produced at that system (increased with better Tech along the lines of protection racketeering etc) goes towards the production queue of their Capital System. Uncolonised systems under a Pirate Presence would provide a cut based on the potential of the system at the Tech level of the Pirate Faction; this Tech line would be the Fence capability of under-the-radar/neutral ground dealings outside faction territorial control.



Pirates do not build or develop star systems, they develop Tech, have a chance of stealing Tech and they focus on building Ships for their Fleets which manifest from their Capital System once they are completed on their Build queue. They may have special Tech points on their Research Tree where you can buy Discounts to make it cheaper to Rush production (but that may be quite OP) - reflecting the Black Market.



Pirate Ships have a variety of boons and penalties in how they are built similar to the challenges faced by other Factions however with a Pirate flavour in mind. e.g. risky ship building methods = powerful yet risky/unreliable builds.



The Unique Pirate Faction Victory would be linked to Turf mastery where it is triggered by a % (based on difficulty) of the entire map being entirely under their "Pressence" reflecting thier underworld dominance of the galaxy and it's influence over the governance of the various faction's systems.



You could have fun with the Heros that would spawn from this faction and the possible events where extremely lucrative and dangerous opportunities arise, leadership challenges etc which could fit easily into the Pirate theme.



Pirates could add to the instability of governing systems too, really annoying the other factions that way as well as even and logically having influence over the Trade between them, maybe gaining more Dust that way.



Anyway what fun you could have playing them and encountering them more rounded like this...



So what do you think, what can you add?



If you like the idea of a playable Pirate Faction in Endless Space feel free to join my Group here on the forums (see my sig) for banding ideas about, multiplayer Beta, Gold opportunities...you know pirate banter and such like.

ZOMBIEFIED!!

Seriously, I think its a bit to much. When you combine those three factions/races/whatever-they-are it could be something interresting.

My ES Forum Group have come up with some suggestions for Ship Design Names.



We have several design discussions and creative development going on there so if you are interested in the possibility of adding your thoughts to the design/creation of a Pirate Faction in Endless Space or are simply inclined to Yarr! now an then when playing any game then feel free to join our merry band of galactic cutthroats and space rogues on the forum communities: link is here



Here are some of the ship naming suggestions being banded around:



Courtesy and thanks to Loudpreditor-

Scout - The Cat Of Nine Tales



Colony Ship - The Swashbuckler



Defender - The Keelhauler



Courtesy and thanks to DeathSarge-

Destroyer - Privateer

Corvette - Skiff

Cruiser - Galleon

Battleship - Man o' War

Dreadnought - Jack of Blades



Myself atm -

Cruiser - Man o' War

Battleship - Scourge of the High Stars

Dreadnought - King o' Tyrants



Scout = Sloop

Colony Ship = Galleon (always armed)

Corvette = Brig

Destroyer = Frigate

Cruiser = 3rd rate

Batteship = 2nd Rate

Dreadnought = 1st Rate



Yarrrrrrrr!

Mansen wrote:
Wait... you want a faction to start on a "planet" with no food production at all? :/

Guess where that Starter Colony ship is going then?



Who knows they may strike it rich and its a Huge Garden of Eden Asteroid! Yarr!



Good place as any really for them going by the theme. Its all ideas besides I'll be generous and make sure they also have to start with one pistol with a single charge and one bottle of Rum too. lol

Wait... you want a faction to start on a "planet" with no food production at all? :/

DeathSarge wrote:
Most entertaining pirates/barbarians I've seen in a game by far are the faction in SoaSE. In the Diplomacy expansion you could actually hire them to pick on other empires as well as the AI doing the same to you beyond the regular bounty effect. In a mod called Maelstrom they upped the strength of the pirates giving them capitol ships and the ability to colonize planets besides their home base in each system giving the pirates a large threat rating in medium to long game lengths.

Yes indeed DeathSarge, the SOSE Pirates are quite something. Loads of fun backstabbing Race X and Ally Y while pointing the finger at someone else once the Pirates have pillaged their way across your rival's territory! lol



That is a good example where alot more depth can be added to a feature that in alot of 4X games is tagged on like an afterthought...dont forget about the Pirates! Avast!

Most entertaining pirates/barbarians I've seen in a game by far are the faction in SoaSE. In the Diplomacy expansion you could actually hire them to pick on other empires as well as the AI doing the same to you beyond the regular bounty effect. In a mod called Maelstrom they upped the strength of the pirates giving them capitol ships and the ability to colonize planets besides their home base in each system giving the pirates a large threat rating in medium to long game lengths.

Heres another Pirate Faction concept as a possiblity to fit into ES:



Home Planet: Huge Asteroid

Diplomatic: Neutral

Gameplay: Pirate and Enslave

Main Victory Type: Economic/Population



The Esper Tyranny are the most hunted Pirate Faction in the known galaxy. Their dark, slick and brutal ships prowl the space lanes to predate on any unprotected shipping, searching for opportunities to sneak under the system defences of worlds to strip them of their populations and possessions; all of which is traded for a tidy profit on the Esper Slave Worlds that sit among the pockets of mostly ignored free space left in the galaxy. Led by a Code laid down by the Transmorphygant Tyrant; the chaotic nature of these pirates of mixed race, creed and religon have been held in check for eons, turning them into a ruthless and organised criminal cartel of intergalactic proportions. No authority in the galaxy has ever discovered the true Esper Capital, some whisper that it exists between the reality of life and death, an ancient starport created by the Endless, the last of its kind among all of the relics left by them. Some even dare to suggest that the Tyrant itself is an Endless being, a being who for some dark or uncomprehensible purpose feeds upon the souls of the living deep within a vast chamber the size of a small moon filled entirely with the Dust tributes of a thousand worlds!



Esper Traits

Slavers = After the successful invasion of a populated system; for each turn thereafter until it is either interrupted through a successful enemy invasion or the entire system is depleted of Pop (reverting back to a neutral system) one unit of population will be converted into 100 Dust. The invaded system provides no additional Dust from the Pop in the system other than through depletion via slavery.



Underground Tech Trading = All Research is conducted by purchasing Tech using Dust, all Science Points are converted to Dust instead on any Esper colonies at the ratio of 2 SP to 1 Dust.



Scavengers = All Industry is converted into Dust instead on any Esper colonies at the ratio of 2 IP to 1 Dust.



The Nether Market = All Star System improvements and Ships are built using the total Dust production of the system they are being built at. As a result every product that the Espers can build has a Dust price. You can use your Dust treasury to speed up the build like any other Faction.



Poor Colonists = -1 Pop on all worlds to a minimim of 1 Pop.



Fast, Furious and Reckless = +3 movement on Ships, +20% Max and Min Ship Weapon Damage, -15% HP on Ships.



Pirates! = For every Trade Route established in the Galaxy gain +50 Dust.



Thick as Thieves = -20% Research Points on system.



The Code = +5 Ship Experience on Empire, +5% on Military Power on all Fleets when invading.

Kingherod wrote:
No, I don't like it. Interesting idea and you have put a lot of thought into it. Perhaps you could make a gameplay mod or an adventure mode that incorporated this idea.

Making a Mod is a possibility and seeing them get alot more attention and love from the Devs is alot more desirable.



Too many games have this Quasi-Wild Card Faction element that somehow seems more like a nuisance to be switched off in the options screen than actually adding anything useful to the gameplay experience of the player.



The CIV series gradually cottoned on to the idea of doing more with the Barbarians including building up Neutral City State Factions as a kind of spin off to the concept.



I'm not necessarily advocating that path for Pirates in Endless Space, what I am advocating is that if Endless Space is going to have this sort of mechanic, more thought definitely needs to be put into it.



Given how much of a Dark Future background this game has, it would be a ripe development point to bring a Faction of Pirates into the story rather than sit around in the background and be for the most part ignored into speculation.



There is a ton of potential and a ton of fun in making something out of them. Its been great seeing a fair few threads commenting on the possibilities they could present to enrich the gameplay experience.



Just imagine the Heroes you could get from a faction like this... what interesting and colouful backgrounds they'd have at the very least...

No, I don't like it. Interesting idea and you have put a lot of thought into it. Perhaps you could make a gameplay mod or an adventure mode that incorporated this idea.