And here I thought this would be a thread about chip makers and the direction of the PC industry...
There is something to be said for 'characters' in the Intel system like MOO 3 uses instead of just generic 'spy projects'. But there are many 'projects' that could not possibly be the work of one or even a handful of individuals. Puppet Political Parties, for example, represents an entire political movement. That would take thousands or tens of thousands of 'operatives' to create and manipulate. A 'hybrid' system using both 'characters' and generalized projects would be kinda messy and difficult to code. I think the style of the Intel system in SE IV is the best way to go for a game on its scale.
There are still many problems with balance, yes. I'd like to see PPP give some sort of
warning as the political movement builds towards declaring independence. Surely you would notice the political movement even if there is a 'hidden hand' guiding it that you cannot see? Also, it should be possible to leave troops on a planet an dhave them remain loyal, actually fighting to keep control of the planet if it tries to break away.
Lots of other intel projects need similar fleshing out into more logical detail of 'cause and effect', including other counter measures than just pouring huge amounts of points into counter-intel projects. Boarding parties should be able to act like troops on ships that are subject to 'crew insurrection' for example.
All intel projects need to be affected by the context in which they occur. It should be much harder to carry out intel projects on a homeworld, but much easier to carry out projects on an occupied world inhabited by an 'alien' species, and FAR easier on an occupied world inhabited by the species of the empire originating the intel project. Other factors like proximity of the world to the 'borders' of the empire, presence of troops, and other things should also have an effect.
[ March 19, 2003, 05:07: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]
Re: Thoughts on future of Intel
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