Tower of Babel

[Impaler[WrG]]

Herc says no as well

Complicated ideas tend to get rejected because a DG is already a hugly complex things and if we dont aply the KISS principle here it can easily spiral out of control.

[Kody]

Yeah, but I like hugely complicated ideas.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by Impaler[WrG]
Theirs a huge contradiction going on here.

If this faction alows people to "partisipate" in the game without joining any other faction (which mind you we desperatly NEED) and yet it only has one base and it can do nothing then asy such partisipation is Empty and meaningless.

No contradiction - the whole point of this 'faction' is to encourage those who would not normally join to choose and join a faction through seeing what the game is like - getting their feet wet with the game before having to be tied to a particular faction for good. I would say this is far better than to have people just not join at all for fear of being stuck with a bum faction.

And I too strongly support further development of this idea. It's the best one I've seen since the disappointing poll result on number of DG teams.

Giving Babel some kind of Council responsibility might be getting a bit much, and even a Council vote would be risky, as you would in effect be giving the more populous teams another vote (ie everyone could join Babel and therefore the faction with the most members could influence their affairs/votes). Let's run with this neat idea (designed to help people into a faction and the game, not restricting them FROM factions), and not make it OVERcomplex with internal machinations etc. Do that in your own factions.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Engaging new members is a laudable goal but it dosent require an ingame faction.

Consider how much "getting your feet wet" you actualy achive. You have 1 base, theirs no input on turn play because that would slow the game down too much, theirs no intenal or external politics (you cant very well Pact with factions and then let people join other teams). Theirs no military production or war, theirs no expantion or meaningfull reserach.

No one is going learn anything about how to play the game by being in this faction. All they get to do is open up a save and LOOK AT their nice little base in a sea of Blackness (ask the Pirates that gets borring).

My point is having a base dose not move you any closer to achiving your goals and only diminishes the game for the REAL factions.

[MrWhereItsAt]

But you are getting a MAJOR introduction to the RP that seems to drive most of the factions in this game. It is this that will supposedly drag people into the game. People voted down the idea of a DG for learning the ingame how-to-play stuff in favour of RP. That seems to be what the factions are about (ALL of them so far), so an introduction to that would be far more of an indicator of what the game will be like than one in which you get into the gameplay itself.

[Impaler[WrG]]

And AGAIN I reitersate having 1 base has nothing to do with ROLE PLAYING

[Frankychan]

For. Despite it taking a faction-slot, this idea, if properly implemented, could possibly create a new aspect of SMAC that we all have never thought possible.

The potential of playing the game in a manner not thought of by the designers is very intriguing to myself.

[Nubclear]

Franky, geton MSN.

[Enigma_Nova]

I support this.
I ask now about the matter of rewards.
How the heck do we determine who gets council votes and ECs?

Is this the Mayor's job? It can't be majority, since the most populous faction gets a runaway.

In the Scen. Editor, I figure the best way to do this is:
1. Set all factional contact to zero
2. Set up each player with a Probe Team next to Babel. this enables them to contact Babel from the start, and provides Infiltration (on the proviso that the probe team is DESTROYED later).

3. Set up Babel as a city with all the techs, a lot of formers, most facilities and a LARGE amount of population.
If Babel has ALL techs, and infiltration from everyone...
The Planetary Datalinks becomes a little more powerful.
Its rewards start to mean something significant.
You'd have to make it so that no player could probe Babel (after the initial infiltration).

Babel then becomes a notable in-game force for its ability to pimp votes.
The CMN may offer map information by means of Babel. (RP)

Babel is starting to become a good idea.
I support it.

[Maniac]

Just like Jamski, I don't like this idea either.

If I have anything to say about it, the Spartan Federation will not recognize the authority of the United Nations, Tower of Babel or anything similar. We are a sovereign faction, and we do not want to be forced to live by the misguided principles of other factions or be forced to follow silly council resolutions.

[Enigma_Nova]

Would you recognise a competition that nets you 50ECs?
Think of it as a mercenary mission.

[Voltaire]

Kody, thank you for suggesting me for the Mayors position. I indeed would be interested, pending approval from the majority of the players of course. But it’s too early to start deciding that, first we need to get the whole Babel idea off the ground.

Originally posted by Enigma_Nova
How the heck do we determine who gets council votes and ECs?

Is this the Mayor's job? It can't be majority, since the most populous faction gets a runaway.

I’d agree, it cannot be by majority vote. Nor do I think the mayor alone should get to decide on the issue. The compromise position I think should be allow those who are not members of other factions to have a say, that way you avoid having bias on the part of the voting members, seeing as those who are not affiliated with another faction ought to be disinterested.

[foolish_icarus]

If the Tower is supposed to be an instrument of the council, and if there is a problem with it participating, it could always be made to just abstain. If it becomes too much of a "threat" to one or a few factions, send a few units and try to destroy it. If you can get away with it--the Tower has the potential to become the perfect excuse/rationale/flashpoint for all sorts of interesting things

[Enigma_Nova]

I have a better idea, Voltaire.

How about:
The people who are members only of Babel get to set a 'confidence' in members from other factions.

That way you can support those people who are RP with voting power, and deny such power to those who are working for their own faction only.

[Voltaire]

Originally posted by Enigma_Nova
I have a better idea, Voltaire.

How about:
The people who are members only of Babel get to set a 'confidence' in members from other factions.

That way you can support those people who are RP with voting power, and deny such power to those who are working for their own faction only.

An interesting idea indeed. I like it. We will have to put all these to a vote to determined which get through.