The Strategist custom faction project

[vyeh]

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?

Anything that is in the faction.txt file, e.g.

##
##SAMPLE SENTENCES FOR TRANSLATORS
##
## [Together we shall both] preserve Planet's native life [and ...]
## [My intent is] to guard, understand, and preserve Planet's native life
## [She is bent on] stamping out all legitimate human development of this planet
## [You seem bent on] stamping out all legitimate human development of this planet
## [I shall not stand here while you] cripple any and all efforts toward human progress on this world
## [She spends her time] dancing naked through the trees
## [You spend your time] dancing naked through the trees
## [I have been accused of] spouting tree-crazy prattle
## [Your] tree-crazy prattle [does not impress me]
## [Think how this could benefit your] environmental initiatives
## [I trust your] pagan rituals [are proceeding to your satisfaction]
## [It is customary to remit me a small] ecology tax [...]
## [...for the services my forces provide in] preserving and cataloguing Planet's native life
## [I shall instruct] my Environmental Police [to see that no such...]
## [You are in contravention of] the Planetary Ecology Code
##
## END OF SAMPLE SENTENCES FOR TRANSLATORS
##

Also there will be text, like titles, names etc., e.g.

Gaia's Stepdaughters, The Green, Gaians, ..., Deirdre
Lindly, Scott, Lindly's Rest
Lady, beautiful, tree-crazy, ecologically sensitive, eco-daft,
Nature Loony

base names, eg.

#BASES
Gaia's Landing
Gaia's High Garden
...
#WATERBASES
Garden of the Deep
Deirdre's Fishery

blurb, e.g.

#BLURB
In the great commons at Gaia's Landing we have a tall and particularly
beautiful stand of white pine, planted at the time of the first
colonies. It represents our promise to the people, and to Planet
itself, never to repeat the tragedy of Earth.
^
^ -- Lady Deirdre Skye,
^ "Planet Dreams"

some datalinks, like background, e.g.
^LEADER: {Deirdre Skye}
^BACKGROUND: {Free Scotland, Unity Xenobiologist}

and specific diplo language, e.g.
#FACTIONTRUCE
#xs 440
#caption $CAPTION7
"This senseless destruction will surely cause irreparable harm
to Planet's ecology. I urge we mend our differences and
pledge Blood Truce."

"It is as you say. This violence must end."
"Hah! Your rocks and plants won't save you now, $NAME3!"

#FACTIONTREATY
#xs 440
#caption $CAPTION7
"I sense you are a friend of Planet, $TITLE0 $NAME1. I suggest
we sign a Treaty of Friendship, that our peoples may live
side by side in peace."

"Agreed. Walk with Planet, $NAME3."
"No. This 'Friend of Planet' stuff gives me the creeps."

This is a collaborative effort and some of the text will come out of the graphics and I know Buster's Uncle will certainly have an opinion, just as I know you will have an opinion when I start fiddling with faction stats.

(And Buster's Uncle demands feedback on graphics!)

[vyeh]

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...

Portrait choice is fine although I wonder if we will want to modify the background after we figure out the faction's "personality."

Anyway, the first game I CMN has a problem (different difficulty levels) and I'd like to see if I can salvage the game for the players.

I'm excited to see Hydro joining us. For a faction people might actually be interested in playing against, I think the most important thing is to give it an interesting personality.

In ACDG6, I have been impressed with the Atlanteans. I like the way the faction enters into a treaty with everyone. I think Maniac mentioned that the fact that Atlanteans preferred a default SE is the reason they are friendly to everyone.

[vyeh]

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.

Chess is a nice unifier to give some distinctness. The essence of strategy is to be able to choose among several possibilities. What I want to take away is any brute force, whether it is producing large number of units or overwhelming tech or overwhelming credits.

One attraction of efficiency is that the effects are hard to see until you have a lot of bases. Similarly a support penalty doesn't kick in until you have a certain number of units.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

vyeh, that all sounds good; I agree. I especially like

What I want to take away is any brute force, whether it is producing large number of units or overwhelming tech or overwhelming credits.

...although overwhelming anything isn't going to tend to be a problem, unless you give them stats that make an aspect overwhelming... I see them as not having really terrible stats in any one place either- more, slightly plus ones, perhaps a lot of robust; flexible. Balanced calls for negative stats, but neg stats reduce options for the faction. A delicate balance will have to be found.

I see why you want Darsnan's input later, as the concept and your ideas for implementation both call for a faction that, in practice, is overwhelmingly SMART. We’ll have to find a way to fake that.



I do hope the staff here appreciates your hard work on their behalf. This project, done this way, is a great idea for keeping things jumping, ought to result in a kick-ass-good faction, and I personally don't hate the part that has you and others taking/expressing an interest in my work at all..

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Also, I'm not married to the background, though I'm surprised you're not either.

That background is a bigamist.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Also also, there's this: do we want it to look like a uniform at all? I think we don't. I could turn it into a Neru jacket easily- it's already most of the way there.

(Eager to make changes to the N*matt tripplets, but that's not why I think so.)

[vyeh]

A military or quasi-military look might not be a bad look for a strategist.

If you want a balanced faction, it can't be all good. If you make support negative, it just means that there is a greater cost to having a large number of units. That may make the option more expensive but it doesn't eliminate it.

[Hydro]

Text: OK, I'm clear now. I'll do a little research on 'strategist' to see what comes up. Most of the factions have a short story line/quote when you select them. I'm not sure where that originates.

Buster's Uncle - I'll review the images when I get back from work tonight (asuming I don't get home too late).

[vyeh]

Is it #BLURB?

[Hydro]

Not sure. I'll check to see if it is a blurb or a reference to a tech.

A few 'spaghetti' (throw it on the wall and see if it sticks) ideas for The Strategists:
* Free starting unit: Former (able to better utilize resources using superior decision making skills)
* Strategy-related abilities: +1 efficiency, +1 support, maybe rush buy bonus?
* Ability penalties: -1 police, others?

For the SE, is this assuming SMAX or SMAniaC? SMAniaC generally lets the AI do better. I’ve seen them use supply crawlers on occasion, and some factions (such as Atlantians) regularly do very well. The AI formers and prohibition on mines/solar without requisite tech (and the stupid farm+mine) makes the AI plant forests, and get decent terraforming.

Hydro

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

A military or quasi-military look might not be a bad look for a strategist.

It's just that the look does say military, and we don't want another tank-rush faction. I think entirely civilian is better for the personality, but I'm listening.

If you want a balanced faction, it can't be all good. If you make support negative, it just means that there is a greater cost to having a large number of units. That may make the option more expensive but it doesn't eliminate it.

I'm just suggesting that perhaps you use more PEN and ROB than whole-number stats, for greater subtlety and flexiblility. The faction might not have any major plus or minus stats. But again, I barely know what I'm talking about in this area.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I like how you think, Hydro.

[vyeh]

SMAX, although since it is a faction file it could be used with SMAniaC by editing the SMAniaC alphax.txt (but it might have to be tweaked to perform well; I am not sure how Maniac modified the standard SMAX factions for SMAniaC).

PEN or ROB? What does this mean?

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

A few 'spaghetti' (throw it on the wall and see if it sticks) ideas for The Strategists:
* Free starting unit: Former (able to better utilize resources using superior decision making skills)
* Strategy-related abilities: +1 efficiency, +1 support, maybe rush buy bonus?
* Ability penalties: -1 police, others?

For the SE, is this assuming SMAX or SMAniaC? SMAniaC generally lets the AI do better. I’ve seen them use supply crawlers on occasion, and some factions (such as Atlantians) regularly do very well. The AI formers and prohibition on mines/solar without requisite tech (and the stupid farm+mine) makes the AI plant forests, and get decent terraforming.

Ought we consider giving them a nutrient and/or energy bonus in forests to encourge that? I can see this as a builder faction, among other aproaches they employ; it's a strategy.

We should think about the agression level we want, because this can't be an AI faction that declares vendetta and bum-rushes you at first opportunity. They'd wait until the time is right. Truce-prone, I think.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

PEN or ROB? What does this mean?

That's the abreviations used in ACEdit. ROB is robust, and I was thinking PEN is the half-negative. I'm getting over my head here.