United Planets: Proposed Issues

from Stardock Forums
Next week we're going to begin implementing the United Planets Security Council.

This is how we have designed it to work:

Each race has X amount of influence points. Think of this as political capital. The United Planets Security Council meets every Y years (once you get trade technology).

Between year 1 and year Y, you amass political capital in the form of influence points. Each star system is worth varying amounts of influence which can be affected by improvements you build. When the meeting begins, you have the influence points you've amassed which determines how many votes you get. (at the end of the meeting, your influence is reset).

The UP meets to change galactic laws and create new ones.

In the subsequent posts I'll mention ones that we plan to implement early on, but feel free to add your own game mechanic changes you'd like to see.
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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Issue #1: By default, the galaxy only permits 1 trade route. Technologies can increase that but the base is 1. Civilizations can vote to increase that to 2 (or decrease it).

Issue #2: Starfaring tax. Civilizations who control a given sector receive a bonus income based on how many how many foreign civilization citizens also live in that sector.

Issue #3: Armed Transports. The base transport has no weapons due to galactic law on "helpless combatants". While some technologies later may allow you to build passive defending transports (i.e. transports that can effectively defend themselves), they can't really attack. A YES vote would increase transports base attack by 2 and allow them to initiate attacks.

Issue #4: Today we convene to create a Galactic Olympics in the name of peace and friendship. We must vote for who will hold the olympics. The winner will receive a 10% bonus to their income for the next 36 months.

Issue #5: War tax. A vote on whether warring civilizations should pay a 5% tax per civilization they are at war with to help take pay for humanitarian care of war victims.

Issue #6: A prestige bonus. Today we vote to determine whether aliens visiting planets may be taxed. The amount of tax collected would be based on the influence points of the star system.

Issue #7: Independence. Today we vote to determine whether the star system should be able to become an independent star system.

Issue #8: Warfare bonus. Today we vote to determine whether maintainence costs on war vessels is cut in half or (or increased in some variations).

Issue #9: Today we vote on whether to allow the construction of Vanguard class star ships. These star ships are powerful Dreadnought class star ships that are also able to explore anomalies.

Issue #10: Today we vote on whether to allow the construction of terror star class star ships. These are gigantic ships capable of destroying entire star systems.

Issue #11: Today we vote on whether to recognize Sithian as a legitimate form of government. This government allows evil civilizations an extra 10% bonus to their economy while reducing military maint.

Issue #12: Today we vote on whether to recognize Utopius as a legitimate form of government. This government allows good civilizations an extra 10% bonus to their economy while reducing social maint.

Issue #13: Today we vote for whether the should be integrated with .

Issue #14: Today we vote for whether colonies can construct death furnaces. These furnaces allow evil civilizations to liquidate "the unwanted" in various ways to increase productivity by 25% while increasing tax revenue (via a tax on them) by 25% on that colony.

Issue #15: Today we vote for whether colonies can construct the Esteem Generator. This generators improve morale by 50% and increase tax revenue by 20% on that colony.

That's a start.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Some ideas for other issues:

Galactic Conference of Scientists
New Site for United Planets Security Headquarters
Centennial Celebration Location

Curtains - Customize Windows with additional styles
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Some more ideas.

Issue: Today we vote on whether to allow a trade federation. All freighters are managed by the trade federation, income from them is reduced (-50% or -25%) but they cannot be attacked.

Issue: Today we vote on the ownership rights of anomolies: Only sector owners can investigate anomolies in the sector.

Issue: Today we vote on forcing race A and race B to declare peace. Instant peace at current boundaries, with no military actions allowed for X turns.

Issue: Today we vote for the rights of minor races. (i) Planet X is protected / unprotected by the UP.
(ii) Minor race X is restored
(iii) All minors are inferior beings and may be atacked
(iv) All minors band into a new major empire

Issue: change the UP influence system. Population does not count / Planet Class does not count / social improvements do not count / battleships count as 2 points / etc...

Paul.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
When "battleships count as 2 points" how about:

Battleships = 2 points,
Dreadnaughts = 3 points.
Rangers = 4 points,
etc..

Cheers,
Jack
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
- trade embargo for x turns (no income from trade routes for the specified period)
- weapons reduction (reduces military ship count by x%)
- freedom/restriction of information (increases/reduces amount of research point sharing)
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Hopefully, if you disagree with the UFP then you can go to war with everyone rather than being unable to violate the rules.

Also, some other UFP proposals:
one sentient, one vote -- why should rich powerful planets have more say?
one planet, one vote.

Are there going to be any outside forces that everyone will be able to agree on? -- Tax to reduce piracy.

Are there going to be any humanitarian issues? Help the Wardell system from going super-nova.

Are we going to raise a clone army?

Frank
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Just keeping this thread fresh. We're working to get as many new UP Issues into the game as possible, and make them all fairly substantial. Many of the above suggestions are in the works, or already in the game.

Keep the ideas flowin'! :D
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Issue: let's make a galactic encyclopedia of technology (GET) ;) . All UP members must contribute (now and till amended) with technology texts of their discoveries XX years after making that. Any race using those discoveries will pay a X% fee to the original developer for up to YY years. Wars will not affect this royalty since it will be via UP offices.

Issue: amend any previous decision (decision n°XX)

Issue: all UP members can lend discovered technology. Any race using those discoveries will pay a X% fee to the original developer for up to YY years. Wars will not affect this royalty since it will be via UP offices.

Issue: a race (any race) can declare a maximum of X solar system(s) as open (undefended) for meeting and trading and galacting understanding. Involved planet(s) will not contribute to influence points, cannot build battle ships (any with attack factor >1) but are protected by UP. This status will last for a minumum of XX years renewable.

Issue: any race can give one solar system to the UP for their galactic offices loosing control of it. It will become a melting pot. They will get XX% (XX= base*planet class) more influence points for the next Y UP sessions (can also be a linear decreasing function) and the sector XX% more influence points & economy). Blind Offers are to be made at the beginning of the council and in case of more than one offer, the biggest class planet will be taken. A draw means no choice for this council. After a planet has been chosen, UP will stay there for the game.

Hope it helps :)
Gherardo
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Belonging to the United Planets is optional. However, once you quit it, you can no longer conduct trade which can be devastating.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
Issue: Today we vote on galactic armament limitations. In order to prevent large scale warfare, everyone will be limited to two ships capable of aggression per colony. Any ships in excess of this amount must be scrapped immediately.


You said that the UP only convenes every Y amount of years. Would it be possible for them to occasionally hold emergency meetings, outside of their normal schedule? Say you finish research on a particularly dangerous or somehow unsavory technology (bioweapons, mind-altering tech, planet busters, etc). The United Planets pops up the next turn to vote on wheither use of this technology should be banned. Or at least, it should come up at the next meeting.
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
Who gets to choose what the UP will vote on?

Will you have to 'pay' in money or influence to choose the vote topic? I could see a game becoming very bogged down if every UP occurance resulted in 20-30 votes.

Paul.
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
One issue is what to do when a race decides to ignore a UP ruling. Does that cause a trade embargo? A ware with the other races? Loss of influence? Something else?

Another is the issue of the UP and war. Can the UP tell two warring planets to knock it off? (I'd like to see this option in plain old diplomacy as well)

Finally, I would like to see the UP used by the weaker races to keep the stronger ones from getting even stronger, all in the context of the UP not being allowed to make a race-sepcific action. For example, they can't say "The Drengins are limited to 20 battleships", but they can say "All members are limited to 20 battleships" even if that only affects the Drengins.

A race should be able to withdraw from the UP, with consequences. (And later rejoin)

An interesting twist would be to have races in alliances to vote as a bloc - i.e. first vote within a bloc and then the whole bloc votes as the majority within that bloc. Not sure how to deal with the possibility of A being in an alliance with B and C but B and C not allied.

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
Is there going to be some background for the forming of this galatic planets? I just think it would be kind of weird if all of a sudden all the aliens decided to vote on stuff, what if you have never even met some of the aliens. Maby it should be some sort of tech u can get that starts it off or something.
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
How about if a race ignores the UP the next vote is a trade embargo against the offending race.
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
Also the current vote is yes or no. How about abstain ?
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
Darkhelmet,
currently the UP occurs a fixed period afer trade is discovered (or so the intro to it suggests)

Paul.
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
Ohh, never noticed that, lol... sorry. Maby I missed the intro somehow(not a bug, I probably just didn't notice it, I will check...).