How would generational ships manifest in gameplay?

[gunnergoz]

When I think of generation ships I think of how dysfunctional human beings can become when too cloistered for too long, unable to mix with new societies and new ideas. Living in such close quarters for so long invites inbreeding and closed-mindedness. If anything, I would expect generation ships to deploy settlers who are, first of all, unused to open spaces and possibly fearful of them, thus preferring life in shelters or tunnel systems; second, highly unskilled at dealing with other, unknown social groups; and thirdly, possibly psychotic in their approach to life and conflict, having had little or nothing else to set social norms and limits by other than their own little closed world.

In other words, I'd expect generation ships to disgorge assemblages of very weird, very hostile and very suspicious individuals, some of whom may have collectively forgotten what they were sent out to accomplish. You want "Space Nazis?" Here's where you would find them. Along with "Space Amazons" and "Space Cowboys" and "Spaced Out Freaks." Did I mention the Space Zombies?

 

[Galgus]

You got me thinking about this concept and how it would work.

Replace the settler unit with a unit that creates a special tile improvement that serves as a "government node." The gov't node can only be placed on a tile that is the minimum possible distance a city can be built from the megacity central tile or another gov't node. It will claim the tiles around it at the same rate as an outpost. These gov't nodes reduce the growth cost for the megacity by (insert carefully calculated and tested formula here). The nodes will need to come with specialist slots since they normally come from buildings. I'd have them give slots of every kind but can only have so many filled at a time per gov't node.

Give these gov't nodes health and an attack like a city but keep the power about what the average of a military unit of that level would be but with higher health. Destroying the gov't nodes can cause effective growth penalties (losing the bonus would spike the growth costs quickly and stall the city out) and will become an outpost for the opponent. Claiming opponent outposts and cities creates a gov't node for the megacity.

I'd call them Stations personally, and let them be traded with like other Stations.

In that way they could claim resources while still being focused on funneling everything into a megacity.

 

[GenyaArikado]

In other words, I'd expect generation ships to disgorge assemblages of very weird, very hostile and very suspicious individuals, some of whom may have collectively forgotten what they were sent out to accomplish. You want "Space Nazis?" Here's where you would find them. Along with "Space Amazons" and "Space Cowboys" and "Spaced Out Freaks." Did I mention the Space Zombies?

Gimme dat space muslim amazon society XD

On a serious note, whoever people designed the generational ship plan probably would have thought of that and designed some sort of educational program to avoid that stuff.

 

[Lord Tirian]

On a serious note, whoever people designed the generational ship plan probably would have thought of that and designed some sort of educational program to avoid that stuff.

Because indoctrination programmes always work sooo well!

 

[Halbbruder]

You got me thinking about this concept and how it would work.

Replace the settler unit with a unit that creates a special tile improvement that serves as a "government node." The gov't node can only be placed on a tile that is the minimum possible distance a city can be built from the megacity central tile or another gov't node. It will claim the tiles around it at the same rate as an outpost. These gov't nodes reduce the growth cost for the megacity by (insert carefully calculated and tested formula here). The nodes will need to come with specialist slots since they normally come from buildings. I'd have them give slots of every kind but can only have so many filled at a time per gov't node.

Give these gov't nodes health and an attack like a city but keep the power about what the average of a military unit of that level would be but with higher health. Destroying the gov't nodes can cause effective growth penalties (losing the bonus would spike the growth costs quickly and stall the city out) and will become an outpost for the opponent. Claiming opponent outposts and cities creates a gov't node for the megacity.

I like this approach but instead, as the nodes will function like permanent outposts/stations, they can claim more territory and depending on whether there is a rich food source around the node, you can claim more food when trading with it. Moreover, the government nodes should also provide a culture and science boost too of sorts.

Also, the nodes should have some way of having their defence increased but still being lower than city strength as game progresses, otherwise later in game, enemies could just roll over the nodes. Or maybe, instead of making as stations, they function as improvements instead and also function as forts for units to garrison themselves in. Enemies can have the option to pillage the improvement. If it is pillaged, the territory and food trade is lost and if it remains pillaged for long, the improvement vanishes.

And of course, the Venice-like sponsor should be able to generate trade routes x2 as quickly with population, something like 1 every 3 population and be able to generate twice as much science from trade routes.

 

[GenyaArikado]

Because indoctrination programmes always work sooo well!

Beyond Earth universe sounds like the kind of place were they would.

 

[Galgus]

Gimme dat space muslim amazon society XD

On a serious note, whoever people designed the generational ship plan probably would have thought of that and designed some sort of educational program to avoid that stuff.

No seeding would be complete without a thorough record of human history and culture - clinging to that could help some social cohesion.

 

[Acken]

Did they even hint there would be gameplay difference ?
Because I'm going to bet they'll just have some generic bonus like exising sponsors.

 

[Promethian]

I like this approach but instead, as the nodes will function like permanent outposts/stations, they can claim more territory and depending on whether there is a rich food source around the node, you can claim more food when trading with it. Moreover, the government nodes should also provide a culture and science boost too of sorts.

Also, the nodes should have some way of having their defence increased but still being lower than city strength as game progresses, otherwise later in game, enemies could just roll over the nodes. Or maybe, instead of making as stations, they function as improvements instead and also function as forts for units to garrison themselves in. Enemies can have the option to pillage the improvement. If it is pillaged, the territory and food trade is lost and if it remains pillaged for long, the improvement vanishes.

Ah I lost a bit in my revision (it was an unintelligible mess when I first wrote it out). Have their power scale with affinity, upgrading at certain thresholds like units. Keep the power at about average power for a unit at that level but give them more health and recovery like a city.

 

[Mustakrakish]

I think the biggest difference would be that they already have a culture. The hypersleep colonists are not a cohesive society. Even if they all trained together and were selected from groups with social ties, they are still members of a larger mission with relatively loose ties.

A generational ship is a town. There are families or even dynasties, there are uncles and grandmothers and children and cousins. There are generations of friendship or feuds between families, perhaps even full-fledged social castes. They don't have a chain of command, they have a government. They have history.

In game, this could be reflected by free (or very rapidly acquired) virtues and/or much higher culture output to show that these people aren't building a new society, they are a society appearing wholesale.

When I think of generation ships I think of how dysfunctional human beings can become when too cloistered for too long, unable to mix with new societies and new ideas. Living in such close quarters for so long invites inbreeding and closed-mindedness. If anything, I would expect generation ships to deploy settlers who are, first of all, unused to open spaces and possibly fearful of them, thus preferring life in shelters or tunnel systems; second, highly unskilled at dealing with other, unknown social groups; and thirdly, possibly psychotic in their approach to life and conflict, having had little or nothing else to set social norms and limits by other than their own little closed world.

In other words, I'd expect generation ships to disgorge assemblages of very weird, very hostile and very suspicious individuals, some of whom may have collectively forgotten what they were sent out to accomplish. You want "Space Nazis?" Here's where you would find them. Along with "Space Amazons" and "Space Cowboys" and "Spaced Out Freaks." Did I mention the Space Zombies?

I think these two posts have a good idea and logic behind them, no? It gives us what we like most, variety... and we like variety, right? RIGHT? To the point of possible polar opposites? Like space nazis, isolationists psychos/fanatics VS life cherishing govermentally/socially advanced societies. Eh? Eh?

As to bonuses, pff, plenty can be thought of, without relying on boring "start with old world relic" crap (I'm looking at you firaxis). Like start with one full tree of SP, but acquire new SP waaaaay slower than the rest due to so conservatively already established society or something like that. Get twice as much gain from internal trade (assuming trade route system is scrapped and for a lack of better solution, replaced with BNW one, if nothing else). That's to name a few.