New PBEM: Custom Faction Battle

[Senethro]

H.Humpel, I'm not sure you're reading the factions you're proposing :/
Ghandi Indian's are right out and I don't feel the need to supply an explanation.

The Strangers... seem close to being balanced in terms of their ability to win but look to me to have only the options of building efficiency immune ICS and building huge waves of rovers/copters. I'm having difficulty imagining how they function. They aren't encouraged to build up due to huge drone problems, they aren't encouraged to build out due to huge efficiency problems. What I see is a small knot of 1x1 spaced bases with huge forests of crawlers parks spewing forth an endless army.

They're not even as flexible as the Hive. I'd put money on the Hive to beat them from an equal start. In other situations they'd be unstoppable as long as an ally supplied them with equal tech.
I'm going to disallow them on the basis of being rigid and unfun.

[Lazerus]

I'd say they're stronger then the Hive by a great deal, Demo/FM/wealth removes their effic penaltiy, gives them +2growth, +3 econ and +4 industry with the ability to switch to planned and popboom !!!
As for the drone problems, zak copes easily enough with 1 per 4 citizens and with all the cash (likely to get govt aswell with +50% votes) and massive industry building the VW and rushin some rec commons is a piece of cake.

[Senethro]

For some reason I thought the Strangers couldn't use Wealth and that said -50% votes, not +50%. Opinion changed, they're much too strong.

[Lazerus]

Had a go at evening it out abit for Humpel, this is alot weaker. Opinions on it ?

#BLURB
First there was darkness. Then came the Strangers. They were a
race as old as time itself. They had mastered the ultimate ability:
To alter physical reality by will alone, but they were dying.
They left their world, seeking a cure for their mortality. Their
endless journey brought them to a small, blue world. [Our] world.

-- Daniel P. Schreber
"Dark City", datalinks

#DATALINKS1
LEADER: {Mr. Book}
BACKGROUND: {}
AGENDA: {To find the human soul}
TECH: {Social Psych}

#DATALINKS2
+2 INDUSTRY: {May "tune" anything into existance}
+1 POLICE: {May simply wipe memories of insurgent humans}
-1 GROWTH: {Struggling against mortality}
-2 EFFICIENCY: {Maintaining controll of large groups is hard}
-1 SUPPORT: {Maintaining controll of a human army takes a lot of resources}

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Senethro
As we've just gone beyone my threshold of 5, lets split into two games, currently of 3 players each but I'd welcome a 4th.

Start a new thread...?

OK, I'll take the first 3 players who don't, um, "mind" being MC'd by my Kra-Lek. I'll then start a new thread where the 4 of us can discuss game options.


D

[Kataphraktoi]

''Had a go at evening it out abit for Humpel, this is alot weaker. Opinions on it ?''

less bonuses, more character. cant you give them +\- in something else than SE?

[Lazerus]

Or

#BLURB
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight
you, then you win.

-- Mahatma Gandhi


#DATALINKS1
LEADER: {Minister Rabindranath}
BACKGROUND: {United Nations Unity Proyect, Indian Colonization Agency}
AGENDA: {Colonization of Chiron, Democracy}
TECH: {Biogenetics & Ethical Calculus}

#DATALINKS2
+2 GROWTH: {Rapid family growth}
-1 INDUSTRY: {Attempt to remove brutal labour}
-2 ECONOMY: {Greed must not consume all}
-2 MORALE: {Pacifistic people}
Extra TALENT for every four citizens: {Spiritual cult is spreading}
May exceed HAB COMPLEX population requirements by 3: {Used to living in extreme habitation condition}
May not use Wealth value: {Ascetic inclination}

[Lazerus]

less bonuses, more character. cant you give them +\- in something else than SE?

I don't really know what they're meant to be parasitic aliens maybe ? was just trying to flatten the massive bonuses

[Kataphraktoi]

Ok. Was just saying more than 3-4 SE bonuses are fugly and boring. your edit of the ghandi faction looks better...

...if not radical underpowered or maybe the easy popbooming will balance it out

[Lazerus]

Could always scrap the growth and reduce the efficiency penalties and say aversion democracy for "the strangers" faction. That would be pretty much balanced.

As for ghandi yeah he does look underpowered and the only style i could think of was too popboom all specialist bases and have little "edens" sitting around all happy being polite probably remove the industry penalty from him to give him a kick.

[Senethro]

Here is my own take on the Strangers, trying to inject a little flavour into the faction.

#DATALINKS1
LEADER: {Mr. Book}
BACKGROUND: {}
AGENDA: {To find the human soul}
TECH: {Social Psych}

#DATALINKS2
+3 INDUSTRY: {May "tune" anything into existance}
+1 POLICE: {May simply wipe memories of insurgent humans}
-2 EFFICIENCY: {Maintaining controll of large groups is hard}
75% Psi Combat. (i.e, a 25% penalty)
Aversion: Green
Penalty: Democracy (i.e. -4 support when running Demo.

[Kataphraktoi]

Hmmm planned+wealth+3v1=strangers win? make that a +2 industry and i would call it OK

remember you only need demo for a few turns, otherwise they could run no government SE.

[Senethro]

Economic Paralysis

[Kataphraktoi]

Free market and wealth, till you get cruisers, and IA. then switch to planned+wealth and max out with probes to keep up in tech. alternativly,stay in FM to rush easier with cash

-4 efficency? ill take that anyday to have +5 industry or +4ind\+2 econ\-2effic without research penalty's along the way

[Kataphraktoi]

Consider free market\wealth

+2econ
-2 effic
+4 industry
-2 morale

This is Super Drones, and if you think a piddly hit to effic is going to compensate for all that, you arnt thinking clearly although we could play with that and see what happans