10-07-2004 09:40									#1
	Factional Abilities Increase the size of your Attachments

'k....I did a bit of research before I started writing the journal entries I've done so far, looking in on the old Firaxis SMAC journal entries.

One thing I learned was that the factional abilities in SMAC were in a state of flux right up until the game went gold, and I can certainly believe that.

A very wise thing, too, IMO, since those are the sorts of things that require a lot of experimentation and such.

To that end, I'm posting some thoughts on how those abilities might "look" - just kicking ideas around.

Thoughts?

-=Vel=-

	10-07-2004 09:40									#2
	Full PM-box? Change here!

Factional Abilities Revision 2.0

Castillar (Religious Faction)
+1 Influence per three (3) provinces controlled
Leader (Lady Ahnwick Castillar)
Loyalty Cap +5% (unifying beliefs)
May pay 10 Influence to reveal to them any and all intercessions on the board, and 10 Influence to "break" or undo any intercession they discover
Barred from choosing elemental magic schools (artificer and miracle only)
Research Penalty on all religious buildings is doubled (increasingly narrow-minded world view)

Mourngrym (Money Bags Faction)
Mercenaries cost two (2)g less to hire (lots of connections)
25% less likely to be stolen from (paranoid, hightened security measures guarding their precious wealth)
If theft is successful, amount stolen is 25% less than normal
Choose - Gold converts to: Influence, Mana, Espionage points (if events are active) (lots of connections)
Bonus to the Base Value of controlled provinces (+5gpt) (superior management of people and resources)
50% More likely to see corruption
+10% bonus to succeed at any espionage action undertaken.

Fury (Warrior Faction)
+1 to all Attack Rolls with Cavalry (superior combat training)
Two (2) Leaders (Sir Kenna Fury, Lord Michael Fury)
No Honor Drift for much of the game (if events are active) (unassailable reputation)
Longer training times (more rigorous training)
Newly captured provinces have 15% higher loyalty than is the norm (strong marital traditions and basin-wide respect)
Higher troop maintenance costs (strong--and elaborate--martial traditions)

Council of Seven (Common Man Faction)
Capture and Convert (if events are active)(amnesty for common folk caught up in the war)
Public Works (if events are active) (public minded)
Loyalty Cap -10% (free citizens more difficult to control)
Buildings must be "prototyped," tested, and discussed in committee before they recieve the Council's seal of approval. The first council building of a given type costs 50% more CP's than normal. Once the first building completes, the CP cost for that building returns to normal.

Order of Mystics (Wizard Faction)
Two (2) schools of magic (highly magical)
Can build Sage's Laboratories and Focusing Sigils at start, even without the tech (highly magical)
Any Wizard territory containing a Focusing Sigil is more difficult to scry, reporting false, misleading information about building types (number is correct, types are random) and troop strengths (+/- 40%).
Head start on research & Cheaper research (innovative thinkers) (+100 research points at game start, 10% reduction in research costs)
Honor Drift doubled (commoners mistrust them)
Influence penalty for Laboratories and Sigils are doubled (Church already suspicious of them)

	12-07-2004 02:03									#3
	Inflate your Upload Space

Same with this thread...what I'm looking for here are brainstormed ideas on exactly what sorts of bonuses or effects we can give the various factions to make the in-game dynamics more interesting. This, and it's sister thread on the buildings represents a tangible, profound way you can influence the shape, look, and feel of the game...

-=Vel=-

	14-07-2004 15:30									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

What I'd like to see is fundamental asymmetrical balancing. Unfortunately, that's really hard to do and takes a lot of effort. You're able to introduce asymmetrical elements to an extent by giving factional abilities, bonuses, penalties, etc. a la SMAC. But fundamental asymmetrical balancing would require revising all the game mechanics for each faction. When it works, it makes the game ten times more fun, but it's also 50 times harder to accomplish.

The best example I've seen of fundamental asymmetrical balancing is Starcraft. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that game, Vel, but each faction uses entirely different game mechanics and gameplay to achieve the same ends.

For instance, troop supply/upkeep for Zerg is done with overlord units, which double as detectors and mobile air carriers. Whereas for Terran units, it's with building supply depots that can be used to block buildings and are repairable. With Protoss, you use pylons, which double as building enablers. Every game mechanical system is designed from scratch for each faction, as if they're from three totally different games, and yet they all address the same gameplay factors and are balanced perfectly.

Terran buildings can fly; protoss buildings have shields; zerg buildings can morph into new types of buildings with different hp. Even the way the buildings are constructed are different for each race.

If you want to implement fundamental asymmetrical balancing, the factions and the game systems for each faction would need to be totally revised.

For instance, perhaps the Council of Seven invests in the wisdom of the people rather than in buildings. Thus, the buildings in their provinces act as multipliers for special units, but the buildings don't produce gold/mana/influence the way they would for other factions. They can train mobile units like Sages, Religious Scholars, Moneylenders, etc, who produce research points, gold, etc. These units can be moved from province to province, and the provincial builds act as a multiplier for the output points of these units in their province. And these units are engaged in any battle in their province, so enemies would try to kill these units. Each unit is "homed" to a province (the way SMAC vehicles are "homed" to the city that produced them), and the population of a province determines how many Specialized units it can support, creating a natural ceiling.

The Council of Seven could have certain provinces specialize in particular multipliers and send all the Specialized units of that type into that province. This makes their defense centralized around one province, but also creates a weakness in that this province is the lynchpin and they're placing all their eggs in one basket. But if the unattended provinces are conquered, the "homed units" are lost unless rehomed to a province with available excess population. Thus, keeping all of them pent up in one province wouldn't necessarily save the specialized unit if his home province is conquered. This creates a whole different playing dynamic, with different strengths and vulnerabilities and a new way of playing the game.

That's just an illustration of how you can create totally disparate gamesystems for different factions. It would be really difficult to do fundamental asymmetrical balancing for Five factions though, since it means redesigning systems from scratch -- FIVE separate times. And then BALANCING each of the 5 different game systems.

If you've never played Starcraft, I recommend it as an example of how beautiful fundamental assymetrical balancing is when done right. They've gotten the right balance after numerous patches and years.

But since this would require a radical redesign, I'm not sure it would be feasible or desireable.