Proposal: Tactical Space Support

[GC13]

Perhaps it's all for the better. The more I think about it the more I think that inter-racial attitude needs to not be the only stat that tracks racial relations, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting to that "Hydral working in the shadows" state we all want to be at.

[ptarth]

The "Hydral working in the shadows" bit grabs your sense of adventure and mystery, but our Hydral seems to graffiti his name over everything he does. He doesn't have any amount of subtle yet.

Along, I favor the following:

• More intelligent war decisions, retreats, sieging, war declarations, etc. The AI is too suicidal to make good decisions. The winner then boils down to the Skylaxians unless someone gets really lucky or the Skylaxians make some really bad decisions.
• More complicated trade and pact system allowing more Racial Options.
• Goals for the AIs to strive towards. Currently we have: accidental domination of the system when you kill everyone else.
• Racial AI able to represent a game state and then plan to pursue goals.
• More territory/bonuses for the AIs to fight over. There is no way to expand besides taking over planets (a hostile act) or building outposts (too easily destroyed).
• Use race relationships to influence how races treat each other and what decisions you make. If someone you don't like is getting powerful, then seek out allies or... secretly sabotage them.
• Make strong parallels to a 4x game, but the Player Hydral is not a major power (or in Civilization Terms: He is a Barbarian, not a Civilization). He is on the outside of the power structure of the normal races. He only has limited physical holdings, but can provide influence in various situations and locations.
• Boost the power of the Black Market/Mercs and Pirates to make them major players in the system.
• Give the Hydral Player a whole slew of incognito actions, some direct, but others via purchasing services from Race, Black Market, and Pirates.
• If a particular "bad" incognito mission turns out poorly, it might get back to the other Races, but in general, no one knows who did it.
• Add the Federation as an Active Force in the system, just like a race. Each member race of the Federation gets to participate in the deliberations of the Federation.
• When the Federation is formed, have a meeting with all of the potential members. Each race delegation tries to advance particulars of the Federation that they want (just like the Hydral Player does). The characteristics of the Federation are the compromise that is eventually worked out.
• Allow the Federation laws to be changed. The Hydral Player could turn out to be The Federation: President, Dictator for Life, Champion, Advisor, Visier, Jester, minor member, regular member, etc.