Minor Racial Traits

[Hotfoot]

How about some new merchant techs? Either revamping "natural merchants" or adding a new tech tree for merchant-style races. Include new facilities for privateers, or merchant defense convoys. For example, privateer facilities might generate a small number of intelligence points (say, half that of a same-level intel facility), lower happiness in a system by a small amount, and generate small amounts of resources. Merchant defense facilities could maybe increase trade with your allies, or just increase revenue and happiness in a sector by a certain amount. Maybe even generate small amounts of intel on their own for counter-intel purposes (or retaliation against privateers).

How about a series of "tech master" traits? They get access to better mounts or tech for standard tech items, to increase effectiveness by a slight, but noticeable amount. Maybe make "Economic", "Weapons", and "Defensive" masters, for better efficiency at resource generation, weapons/weapon mounts, and armor/shields/ECM, etc.

[Fyron]

You can't lower happiness in a system. Negative values for System Happiness abilities are ignored. They do work for the planet-only affecting ability, but one facility that increases happiness will make the negative be ignored.

[Hotfoot]

Hmm...curious, that.

Well, could it be possible to make the privateer facilities strain relations between empires, or maybe have some effect on trade?

[Fyron]

Unfortunately not.

[Hotfoot]

Curses.

Well then, some detrimental effect for the privateer facility would be nice. Maybe making it worsen the conditions of the planet or something. Maybe even reducing the planet's production rates or something in order to represent the privateers making off with scads of cash...

Or maybe make "privateers" a seperate racial perk from "merchants", and have the merchant defense centers the opposite (and somewhat equal) to the privateer centers.

[Krsqk]

I realize this isn't a helpful new addition which requires no hardcode changes, but...

It would be nice to be able to mix and match multiple attributes for racial traits. For example, a trait which gives the advantages of Natural Merchants and opens a new tech area. Or maybe combo Emotionless Mechanoids.

[Fyron]

Yes, that would be cool. Then, I could make Hardy Industrialists give SYs that have 15% better rates and give a 10% bonus to construction. You'd get 25% bonus still, and could sell 15% better SYs to other empires (or have them captured). As it is now, they have to be SYs that are 25% better, as I do not want to make you take two traits (that could get complicated and be prone to cheating with lots of traits done like that). And, I could keep the plague immunity from Mechanoids and make the trait give new techs and such.

[Q]

Originally posted by Krsqk:
I realize this isn't a helpful new addition which requires no hardcode changes, but...

It would be nice to be able to mix and match multiple attributes for racial traits. For example, a trait which gives the advantages of Natural Merchants and opens a new tech area. Or maybe combo Emotionless Mechanoids.

I agree. The only way you can do it now is to make several racial trait for each of these at a cheaper cost so you can combine them. Example: Mechanoid 1 (immunity to plagues) for 500 points and Mechanoid 2 at 1500 points (universal colony technology) and Mechanoid 3 at 1500 points for emotionless. If you choose all of them you get a race that is immune to plagues, can colonize all planet types and has no emotions.
Clumsy but it works.

[Ed Kolis]

Who says mechanoids have to be emotionless? "Why, all my friends abandoned me in the carpark at Milliways for 50 million years :sob:... and did I ever mention that pain in the diodes down my left side?"

[Fyron]

My mechanoids aren't emotionless! They are thinking of automotons and not just robotic forms in general.