The Strategist custom faction project

[vyeh]

Background:
CFC Alt. official factions in progress post #21
CFC Alt. official factions in progress post #22
Apolyton More alternate official factions post #44
Apolyton More alternate official factions post #45

Summary: Buster's Uncle had an idea for an original faction: the Strategist. He quoted Captain Picard on the Romulans: "It's always a game of chess with them." His idea is about constant maneuvering and gamesmanship.

"... And the bases would be simple towers ..."

My initial reaction to the Strategist was a faction that emphasized efficiency over "brute" forces such as industry or support.

However, I am not wedded to efficiency.

What I am interested is a collaborative effort to design a faction with a distinct personality that would be interesting to play and would also be interesting as an AI opponent.

I see 3 areas that create personality:

(1) Graphics -- obviously the leader head, but I am also intrigued by the idea of crenelated towers for the bases.

(2) Quotes -- the words the AI uses.

(3) Faction Characteristics -- I'd like to see something distinct from the current SMAC and SMAX factions. Three factions have efficiency modifications (-1 for PK; +2 for Gaians; +2 for CyCon). It should be balanced.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I began at 2:41. Killing the watch dead, dead, dead took under five minutes, and I was uploading the shot at 2:52. This is ready for scan lines and dropping into a faction as-is now.

I am great.
[Third thread I've posted that in. The portrait is suddenly in demand, and I wanna use him for the Strategist, too. The subject of the portrait is a RL think-tank guy.]

This one's up for grabs or will need some customizing to make me happy about using him in 2-3 factions.

He must feel like the prettiest girl at the ball right now...

***
v, I'm gonna need a logo concept. What about a black chess Knight? Oh. That nails it, I think.

[vyeh]

With crenelated towers, I think of the faction leader as having a serious affectation (that gives him personality). Why not make him obsessed with chess to the point that his base looks like a rook?

A black chess knight would be great. (Or any chess piece).

Third thread? So much different from scient's practice of threadjacking a thread that had been inactive for 3 months, expanding the scope beyond the original title and then doing most of his posts there.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Yes, of course- my thinking is very like a rook, but not exactly the standard Staunton-design look, as I think a literal-looking chess piece would be too much. But not far from that, either, just more realistic as an actual building.

You've never explicitly acknowledged the portrait I propose.

As I've said, I'm also planning to put him against the Brian faction's background. I don't know yet if that will take me minutes or hours. If PhotoShop will select the background neatly and without fuss, I’ll have that version up soon, else still sometime today.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Hey v, do you wanna start the dupe thread at CFC, or shall I take care of it?

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I fine with him being overtly chess-obsessed, BTW. The Brian background, rook bases and knight logo are a start, but I think we could easily get carried away with the chess to the detriment of the faction (too corny), and I'm speaking as someone who runs/promotes a chess club.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Make that, not a start, but plenty.

However, I do see him using terms like draw and checkmate in his dialogue.

We just have to make sure it comes off as a serious faction, as the gimmick could detract from that

[vyeh]

Hey v, do you wanna start the dupe thread at CFC, or shall I take care of it?

Why don't you wait until we have a draft strategist.txt?

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I was thinking of the possibility of that merger no one will comment on, and I'd do all the duping work myself if I had to, but-

You're the boss.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

…I told Darsnan, and I told Maniac that I’m quite frustrated that no one will even bother to tell me they don’t care about the N*matt clone leader issue. I want to use him, but I do care. Please guys, work with me here. I don’t raise issues and ask questions because I enjoy typing.

Otherwise, happy. I have to draw in some of the background over the sides of Brian's head, but Nem*tt pasted in without too much trouble. Expect a post of the results by ten.

v, I'm gonna be sore as hell if it turns out you don't like the portrait choice after I kept asking and then did all this work...

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Easier than I expected.

[Hydro]

I can draft some quotes. I pulled up some TXT files for the factions. Are those the quotes you mean? Or do you mean something more on the lines of the tech quotes?

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Welcome aboard, Hydro. I believe he means the faction quotes primarily, but that's not really my thing, or I'd do it myself, so I'm not sure.

Please express any notions you have. We're in the spitballing stage, and I'm sure your thoughts about tech quotes are welcome and useful.

Thoughts about the portrait are more than welcome, too. I get a lot of good ideas bouncing off people.


Have you seen that Maniac would like your opinion of my SMAniaC makovers? I would, too. The thread is next door, and I'd love to have the comments of a long-time SMAniaC-head.

[Hydro]

Buster,

I tried to go the the link that Maniac sent me for the SMAniaC redu but the forum seems to be down. I'll try later.

To 'spitball' a bit, some quotes from Sun Zhu would be more than appropriate. A strategist implies military, or is there more to it than that? Or would it be more like a combo of Sparta and Morgan - eco and strategic?

Hydro

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Buster is my niece.

CFC is undergoing maintenance this evening- mighty early- starting at ten. Try the parallel thread under this one. I duped the opening post with all the links there, and the important ones since.


I dunno. Is this diplomacy dialogue we’re talking about? vyeh is keener on the chess side of it than I am, ironically, but I think that’s not quite the concept. Military has been done and done and done. This faction does military, sure, a lot. A whole lot. But chess teaches you that if one line of attack isn’t playing out, you look for a new tactic.

So I think a lot of flexibility is called for for the faction. perhaps they’re prone to attack on many fronts at once, or only the most promising line, but ready to switch from military to economic to diplomatic as conditions warrant.

I’m not married to him even using any chess terms in his dialogue. You might want to think about how a games-theory guy might talk. I’ve forgotten most of what I ever knew about games theory, but he'd talk about things like optimal outcomes and probabilities a lot.

He’s a product of strategic think-tanks, I figure.

Is that helpful?