Proposed Solution to Mega Evil Empire Problem

ColdSteel · #1 January 27th, 2001, 10:50 PM

I have an idea that might fix what I think is a problem with the Mega Evil Empire settings. Why do I think it's currently a problem? Well, here's been my experience with SE4 to date:

Your playing along, well over 100 turns in. You have 2 or 3 partnerships and a bunch of alliances of various types with the other races. You are doing very, very well. The AIs are fairly passive and all is fairly quiet (and kind of boring). Suddenly, within 1 or 2 turns, every race has declared war on you. They have pronounced you as too dangerous to even tolerate your very existence any longer. You have become..."Mega Evil".

Now, I have absolutely no problem with Mega Evil as a concept and as a game mechanism it is a great idea as it balances the end game. The problem is that it seems far too abrupt and artificial a change in the actual game conditions and doesn't take into effect the different traits and characteristics of the various races in the game. In effect, it just appears like a game flag was tripped and bingo the game suddenly changes totally. And this is indeed what does happen programmatically.

A Proposed Solution:

Rather than having all the Mega Evil Empire settings for each race in the game set at a default of "50", create race specific Mega Evil settings for each and every individual race in the game. That way you would have a different default Mega Evil Empire tolerance level set for each race. Some of the more Xenophobic races could be set to declare you "Mega Evil" at a value of 30. Friendlier races like the Phong could be set to 70 or 80. What this would do is smooth the transition to the Mega Evil state into a more gradual continuum or process, rather than having it as an abrupt and jarring change. With this change, as you get stronger and stronger, your allies and treaties would (fairly) gradually dwindle away over 10-20 turns until all races were arrayed against you.

In order to enhance the effectiveness of this approach, it would also be nice, as the races turned against you, if they would all join in partnerships against you, so that they are arrayed as a single force bent on your total destruction.

Since the setting is already there in each race's AI-anger file so it would be very, very easy for MM to implement the new default values. I don't know how hard it would be to get them to all form a partnership after declaring you "Mega Evil" but it shouldn't be too hard.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments on this as a solution (pro and con) and what you all think each race's Mega Evil default setting should be.

ColdSteel · #2 January 28th, 2001, 02:36 AM

Of course, this might have already been suggested in an earlier topic that I missed? If that's so, then I apologize for dredging it back up.

If that's not it, am I missing something else obvious? Or does everyone just really hate my idea and you are all being polite?

??

Spoo · #3 January 28th, 2001, 06:45 AM

I agree with you, however I think the AI empires should all form non-agression treaties (or keep any higher, existing treaties), rather than parterships. It seems somewhat unrealistic that two empires that have been at war since the begining of the game would become best buds just because neither of them likes you.

------------------
Assume you have a 1kg squirrel
E=mc^2
E=1kg(3x10^8m/s)^2=9x10^16J
which, if I'm not mistaken, is equivilent to roughly a 50 megaton nuclear bomb.
Fear the squirrel.

ColdSteel · #4 January 28th, 2001, 07:14 AM

Hmmm, well how about military alliances then? That would seem to make sense when going against a common enemy.

Atrocities · #5 January 28th, 2001, 08:02 AM

I like your idea ColdSteel. I think it would be an excellent alteration of the game, and one that should be made. Perhaps you could send this idea to Malfador?

Blue Lord · #6 January 28th, 2001, 09:24 AM

It's a great idea, I'm having the same poblem with MegaEvil. I foe of 2 puny systems where I share both of them has a partnership with me, because he don't want's to be crushed (One of the times where the AI is smart) His mood had been murderous for atleast 75-100 turns. I kill a fleet of my second best player in the game, his score drops and MegaEvil go in. Now, the little empire losses it's senses and declare waron me. In the same turn my fighter squads single handly whiped out on system, I launch another fighter squad in his home system and whipe out a battlecruiser and a colony. He then surrenders. I would never had declared war on him, since my larg fleets was busy somewhere else, but did it. A smart guy should just lower the treaty, bot go to war just like that.