[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
Hehe. I was just playing. I am all for tweaking the economic factors of the game. Although there are times that I just want a military game too, so I hope that if this stuff is added it's optional. I just don't know if I want to have to build houses for all my people on top of everything else we already have to control. At least not all the time.

A few suggestions to allow some of this stuff without requiring it.

1. Don't change the current population/cargo/facilities limits, but DO allow some kind of population expansion facility to be modded in that will change the max population allowed the way cargo facilities can be now.

2. Add a population happiness value that is triggered when planetary population is at maximum. By default leave it zero, but this would allow mods to change this and have overpopulation become a real concern.

3. Add an ability for facilites that will allow them to not count against the facliity limits of a planet. This could be used for subteranean facilities, or for "Cloud Cities". (Anybody ever wonder why you can build a facility on a Gas Giant but can't build the same facility in the atmosphere of a rock planet? I do. ) Even better than that would be some kind of "Facility Complex" which would count as one facility, but allow you to put a fixed number of "Sub-Facilities" within it. You could almost do this the same way you do ships and stuff now. Have a "complex" design file with different size complexes would allow different facilities, and each sub-faclility would be like a component. If you wanted to change one of the facilities, you could make a new facility complex design and "upgrade" it. "Urban Planning" SEIV style. But again, make it moddable but not required.

Geoschmo

Well, if SE V is as modifiable as SE IV I don't see why you couldn't strip a lot of the economic things out and have a nearly pure wargame if that's what you want. That strikes me as something like buying a Corvette to fry eggs on the engine block, but what the heck... it's your money.

Idea 1 -- there should be several completely different means of increasing planet space.

One would be 'subterranean' options, as you suggest but only a race who can handle that sort of living should be able to use that. Humans would get pretty depressed living 500 feet underground.

Another would be something I've been suggesting for years now: orbital elevators and a 'ringworld' around the planet. Surely you've head of the 'orbital elevator' that might be placed on the equator and allow direct access to orbit without rocket launches? Now imagine a spce station out at geosynchronous orbit so large it forms a complete ring around the planet. Extra facility and population space.

Idea 2 -- Yeah, there's Yet Another Happiness Modifier that would be useful. 'Planet full' or something like that. I'll add it to my list along with 'Per 1M of Enemy Population killed' and 'Per Enemy Planet in System' as well as 'Per each our planets in rioting' modfifier for global empire effects.

Idea 3 - Yes, this is basically a repeat of idea 1. Once there is a 'Population Capacity' power for facilities you'll be able to mod something or other. Designing facilities sounds messy. I'd much prefer to stop building individual facilities, though. Instead have just a 'type' indicator that you've created this sort of complex/facility on the planet and then have 'sliders' for the proportion of the planet's resoures (space, population/labor) to devote to each type. There could then be a new effect to higher technologies. They could reduce the space required for the same level of production, effect, etc. Upgrade your computer complexes from 'mainframe' to 'LAN' & get more space on your planet!

[ July 05, 2002, 17:49: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]