Game Idea--Capitals
 

I've mentioned this idea in another thread, and since then, I've more or less have a working mod to start a PBW game of capitals.

How it works is that on turn one, all empires will scrap on facility on one of their 5 or 10 starting homeworlds, and in its place build a Palace; thus signifying that world as a capital.

The general gist of the rules I've written down forbid the moving of this Palace for the entire game. No exceptions.

The winner is he who captures a given number of the total capitals. I like the idea because if the number of capitals needed to win is set at the right number, the game has a chance to end before it degenerates into one massive empire or coalition cleaning up the galaxy. But you needn't worry about the game being short. If one empire is about to claim the final capital he needs, he'll probably find himself short on friends.

The game cannot be won through an alliance, whose total capitals are over the number.

The question is how many would be willing, within the next week, of starting a game like this? I have to do a bit of final testing on the mod tonight...then I will put it up on PBW, and maybe here.

Here's a basic list of the changes I've made. They are few in number. And I am thinking about lowering the ground combat turns to 5 and possibly lowering the space combat turns as well. Not sure about that though.

Changes in CapitalMod:
-Upped the "to kill one Pop." to 1000.
-added the Palace facility
-added the Facility #2 file with palace costs upped to 100,000 of each resource.
-Small troop and Troop weapons tech are available on startup
-Medium troops are now reached with troop level 1
-Large troops are now reached with trool level 2
-New massive troops (25k) are reached on level 3
-Taken out the Puppet Political Party intel op.
-Max # of sats per sector = 200 (up from 100)
-Max # of systems = 150

One final thing to keep in mind. This game will rely heavily on people's honor. I am not going to even attempt to stop you from building palaces on all your worlds through my mod, but I hope that all who respond want a fair, fun game.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Hmmm...no takers as of yet. Well, not to be discouraged, I've put the mod up on PBW, and am waiting for it to be added before I open the actual game.

I didn't change the number of ground or space combat turns. I figure to let it go vanilla for the time being. The same with components. I was going to add a slew of weapons platform guns and what not for planet defense, but decided against adding it for this Version as I need more time to perfect them all.

I guess this will really be a beta test game, but to see if the whole concept works with SE4.

I am not sure if I should set a max number of players. If I only get 4 players, you'll have to capture 3 capitals.
5 players = 3
6 players = 3
7 players = 4
8 players = 4
9 players = 5
10 players = 5

not sure where to go from there.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Hey, i thought i said i would be in if you decided to play it on PBW. whatever, could we play like 5-6 turns wihtout the mod colonizing a little doing a little research like a pregame turn or several?

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully for those interested the game will open up by the end of the week. First come first serve.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

It's here! It's here!

I've set up a game on PBW. Feel free to join. Just read the entry and the Mod's READ ME.

If you've ever wished that SE4 empires had meaningful focal points, if ground combat is your specialty, if you despise those who mindlessly glass worlds, if you think planetary defense (rather than system defense) in SE4 is entirely an art waiting to be discovered, this is the game for you.

Join your local space marines and request to be put on the front lines!...to protect your empire's glorious, illustrious, magnanimous, wondermous, age old CAPTIAL!

Role players welcome, but the game has definite goals. One idea I had, if enough role players sign up and want some back story, is this:

The Galactic Republic has decentigrated. Every where emperors, senators, queens and kings vie for the title of Chairman of the Galactic Republic. The galaxy's empires have to subdue X number of votes (ie capitals) to reinstate the Republic (bent to their will of course) and have themself elected to that grand position.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Ok, I applied to join the game, but can't post to the forum yet.

I did have a couple of suggestions:

1) Increase the # of ships allowed. If we are starting with 5 or 10 worlds then we will have a large industrial base. Gotta have something to spend it on. Plus, if you allow tons and tons of units, and only a few ships, then any incoming fleet will get shot down well short of the capital by the hoardes of fighters and drones that everyone will put on their planets.

2) Tech Level & Tech Costs. Since the thrust of this game is on diplomacy etc, and since we are supposed to be commanding fragments of a large and long-lived galactic empire, I don't think it makes too much sense to start us at the lowest tech level. Instead, what about starting at medium tech level but making the tech cost high. That would act to make research happen at a more reasonable pace (especially since our inital research levels will be high) and also allow us to field good tech ships from the start.

3) Quadrant type. I feel that cluster would be bad. I think that the Capital mod would suffer from having too many chokepoints in the warp chain; ideally everyone should be able to attack lots of people, and be vulnerable to attack on all sides. This should keep the politics and diplomacy more knife-edge and chaotic. I think that ancient might be bad for similar reasons.

4) Quadrant size. Small or medium, depending on the # of players. Or Large, but only if you take ancient as a galaxy type. The game feels like it should explode into conflict almost immediately (which was another reason I suggested medium starting tech)

That's about it I think. Sorry if a lot of this sounded like I was giving orders rather than suggestions; it's your show, and I'd like to give the mod a try no matter what you choose.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

F.Y.I., Mensch is out of town for a week, so don't expect an answer right back on this.

Geoschmo

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Oh, forgot to add something. If you do make starting tech medium instead, it may be a good idea to disallow the racial techs. It might be too much of an advantage to start the game with, say, organic armor.

Does anyone know what racial techs you start with when using Medium tech?

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Medium tech start does not give any racial techs in Gold v1.67.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Hi.

This mod interest me. Where can i download it?
And is the IA has been modified to be playable alone against computer?
Thanks.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

What happens if a capital gets captured? Does your empire continue on so you can try to take it back? What happens if a capital gets glassed? What happens if enough capitals gets glassed so that no one can win the game? What happens if you take a capital and just before the enemy comes to reclaim it you scrap it!?

Just some questions, because it is quite easy to accidentally glass a planet in simultaneous combat.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Back from my romp through Chicago and the uppity Hamptons http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

To first answer Gusty-boy's question:
The mod can be found on PBW in the mod section. And no, from the get go, I know there is positivly no way to get the AI to act territorial or recognize certain planets as "important." So this mod is only for humans.

Lots of good questions Bman, and please reapply to the game. I wasn't going to accept anyone until after I got back.

1) I was hoping this to be a defensive game, as I think SE4 sort of lacks a pure defensive mode for most players, but I do see your point. However, nothing stops a player from carrying around 500 fighters as well...I will up the number of ships somewhat. I've never played a game that had more than 200 ships actually, so that number sounds astronomical to me.

2)I think the Medium/high for research is a great idea. I will append that as well.

3)Yes, ancient and cluster aren't such great ideas, and even spiral has a good number of choke points even for a large galaxy so that leaves only midlife...or what ever it is called. the default one.

4)I hope it does explode!, and after enough people apply (if that happens), we'll collectively decide the size and number of capitals to win.

5) only racial ability I am disallowing is the ancient trait. All others seem fine to me, and won't really unbalance the game, as none of them give advantages to troops, as far as I know.

These should be on the read me, but as I think my read me is a bit confused, I'll try to restate.

6)If your capital is glassed, nothing really happens to you empire other than the fact that you lost a homeworld, and are one less capital away from winning. You keep playing.

7)Yes, you continue on, and try to get it back, as it is one of few, you will want to retake it as quickly as you can. It isn't just another highly developed world...it is the key to winning.

8)Ok. This mod changes the data files so that it takes 1000k of damage to kill 1 million pop. That's a hell of a lot. So unless, your enemy has 25 dreadnoughts devoted to napalm5, it won't happen easily...least not to your homeworlds with 4-8 billion.

8a)If your capital is glassed, the world, as a capital is gone forever. It really isn't beneficial to anyone to glass capitals (or other planets for that matter). In making damage 1000k to 1mil pop, I hope it is now more expensive and awkward to go-a planet killing, than it is to capture them. The planet (once capital) can be recolonized, but it is no longer a capital, and the future colonizer of that world, cannot build a new palace there...as it is no longer a capital.

8b)If you need 4 to win and so many capitals are glassed that only 3 remain, then the game ends as a stalemate. That may seem disappointing, and I tried to allow for the re-establishing of capitals, but it is just too difficult a thing to manage. The less minute, and complicated rules we have, the better....and I doubt many capitals will get glassed.

9)Scrapping capitals is disallowed. I can't do that in the game, from a host point of view, but it will be obvious to the attacker. And as capitals start with billions of pop, and you can only abandon a world with 50 mil or less, this also can't be done "overnight."

9a)TO that trading planets is disallowed. Allowing others to glass your planet so as to prevent a third party from winning is disallowed.

And please, SIGN UP! Newbies! Old-hands! Pros! Vagabonds!...well, just make sure you plan to stick around.

Mensch

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Bump..still need players.

I don't want to sounds like the US Army, but if it helps...

EMPIRE OF ONE!
Be all that you can be...in the space navy!

Pays for college and service guarantees citizenship.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Hi !!
When will you start your game?
if it is ok with my Calendar i wish to join http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
thanks a lot.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

"And as capitals start with billions of pop, and you can only abandon a world with 50 mil or less, this also can't be done "overnight.""

It can be. All it takes is one ship or base with Cargo 1 and some patience.

Just an FYI.

Phoenix-D

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

We'll start when we get enough players. I'd like at least five, but I think we could do it with 4.

"some patience"

And as it is disallowed, those caught attempting such chicken ****e strategies will be prosecuted to the full extent of fundamentalist Norak law.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

We have 3 players...

Plenty more open spots.

Join up now...game is called Capital City.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Bump...

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

5) only racial ability I am disallowing is the ancient trait. All others seem fine to me, and won't really unbalance the game, as none of them give advantages to troops, as far as I know.

Organic troops armed with Electric Discharges can be built nearly twice as fast as normal troops.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Tested (not that I don't believe you), and I see your point:

Small troop:
(cockpit + 3 electric discharges)--100 build in 4 turns

(cockpit + 3 ground cannons)--100 build in 7 turns.

*Damn organics (one of my beefs is that the stock game is so mineral heavy

Well, as we really don't have enough players yet, I will put this on the back burner, and when or if we ever get enough to start, I bring it up and see what everyone thinks.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

i have sent my empire...
waiting for other players...
please come on...

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Alright folks!

I've been laying low for a while. Just experiencing some general life burnout, but I am glad to see that I've got four for the capital game.

This is basically the Last chance for any remaining stragglers. Come on in.

I'll be uploading my empire within the next 24 hours, and after that, we can start. I'd really really like five players (or more), as I think we have little choice but to make it a 3 capital to win game, and I would like to keep the game from turning into a one man show as the big cheese hunts down his third capital.

You've got a day or two to decide.

Re: Game Idea--Capitals
 

Yea! Five people.

I am uploading my empire tonight.

I think 5 starting planets & medium galaxy?

Three capitals to win...