Galgus
Emperor
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2012
- Messages
- 1,705
For joy of designing, discussing design, and an excitement for the game, I present the concept of Federations.
Federations are essentially formal alliances between players and outposts that form the basis for a Federation Victory.
However, their primary purpose is to add diplomatic depth to the mid and late game as well as a role-playing element for a vision of humanity's future.
1. How they form
Colonies, player and AI, can invite other colonies and city states into their Federation starting at a mid game unlock point when affinities have formed.
This is easier said than done, and is intended to be far more challenging than, say, earning a Defensive Pact in Civ 5.
For an AI colony or city state to join, you must either have nigh perfect relations with them or, more likely, pay a cost in favors to make up the difference between current relations and perfect relations.
Attracting aggressive or guarded colony personalities into a federation will be more difficult than attracting than those who more open to cooperation.
Crucially, attracting a colony with a different affinity than yours is far more challenging, but not impossible.
This may well lead to colonies sharing affinities uniting against those they disagree with while weaker colonies look to their stronger comrades in affinity for protection.
Human players simply decide whether or not to join, though they can be forced into it if they gave a set amount of favors.
2. How they break
Colonies are not forever locked into a federation upon entering into it, though leaving one holds consequences.
Succession can be done either through an open and peaceful announcement or by betrayal, but both will harm one's standing with federation members more than if they were always neutral.
Peaceful announcement takes some time as the colony formally decouples itself from the federation, during which federation members can call in favors to try to thwart the process.
Additionally, peaceful announcements can only be made once a colony has been a federation member for a considerable span of time.
Betrayal on the other hand is far more sudden and damages relations with federation members heavily while making every faction on the map trust you less, but it has its perks.
The most brazen form of betrayal involves declaring war on a fellow federation member for a surprise attack, which instantly drops you from the federation.
Colonies gain an formidable bonus to spying on their federation members, making espionage the more cunning route for traitors.
Being caught in white hat espionage damages one's standing in a federation and can count as betrayal if they are caught often enough.
Black hat espionage counts as an immediate betrayal, but large-scale black hat operations against a federation could cripple it before your underhanded conquest.
Be warned, though, that nothing will unite a federation in your destruction so much as your betrayal.
Would-be federation founders should also be wary of who to trust in their federation.
To make things less predictable, AI's will have their loyalty to their allies and federation randomized each game: pay attention to how they honor agreements to judge them.
Of course, in a player only game betrayal will simply earn the scoundrel a reputation as a Machiavellian jerk who is not to be trusted.
3. The perks and drawbacks
The main advantage to joining a federation is a possibility of peaceful relations and an ally in war.
Federations can propose and vote on matters concerning joint efforts to construct group projects - like national wonders for the federation - such as a massive museum of old earth, matters of war, and voting to elect a Head of Federation who chooses a bonus effect shared by all coalition members.
Getting the bonus you want may require you to be influential in your federation through popularity or calling favors or forming a smaller federation.
(Keep in mind that federation members may be willing to "sell" favors for the right price.)
The original founder of a federation automatically has 1.5 votes rather than one, making them a tiebreaker.
I would like to note that outposts have no effect what-so-ever on federation votes.
This perk-choosing Head of Federation status cannot be gained by those outside a federation, but it is not so extreme as to put them at a major disadvantage.
This Head of Federation status is crucial if one is shooting for a Federation Victory.
One of the main drawbacks is a need of majority vote to declare war or peace, though one can do or refuse either unilaterally at the cost of leaving the federation with only a minor "betrayal" penalty, which is less severe if they leave due to the federation declaring war or do not declare war until the peaceful announcement phase has passed.
If an enemy declares war on one colony in a federation, it declares war on every federation member unless they immediately leave the federation.
To reiterate from the previous section, the threat of betrayals could loom like a Sword of Damocles over a large federation: inducing a perhaps justified paranoia among members.
4. Federation Victory
To win a Federation Victory, one must be the Head of a Federation that includes every colony with their capitol city in the game.
Once this happens, a countdown starts towards the victory that resets if the Head changes or someone drops out.
This can entail wiping out other colonies who would not join or were not desired for the Federation: so it can vary between shades of pure diplomacy and conquest.
If the timer for victory ends, the Head of the Federation officially gains the victory, but in a sense all (remaining?) players share in the triumph.
However, since some AIs and players will not be content with second best, this countdown can and likely will be rife with betrayals.
Stable Federations that united or conquered the planet may crumble into chaos as conspirators seek to secure their domination and wipe out all who would oppose it.
This, in my opinion, could lead to a very interesting and eventful end-game.
Some may see a strong federation as something to manipulate to another end, while others will simply strive to unite humanity on the planet.
5. Conclusion
Federations is a mechanic built around true diplomacy and trust: intended to help alliances and betrayals feel more impactful and emotionally real.
In the spirit of Beyond Earth looking towards branching futures for humanity, a Federation Victory represents uniting humanity into a peaceful alliance: facing what the future may bring together.
I admit that I have always been more of a role player in Civ 5 than one who chases victory screens, but I hope this will also make games more interesting for the more competitive players.
Federations are essentially formal alliances between players and outposts that form the basis for a Federation Victory.
However, their primary purpose is to add diplomatic depth to the mid and late game as well as a role-playing element for a vision of humanity's future.
1. How they form
Colonies, player and AI, can invite other colonies and city states into their Federation starting at a mid game unlock point when affinities have formed.
This is easier said than done, and is intended to be far more challenging than, say, earning a Defensive Pact in Civ 5.
For an AI colony or city state to join, you must either have nigh perfect relations with them or, more likely, pay a cost in favors to make up the difference between current relations and perfect relations.
Attracting aggressive or guarded colony personalities into a federation will be more difficult than attracting than those who more open to cooperation.
Crucially, attracting a colony with a different affinity than yours is far more challenging, but not impossible.
This may well lead to colonies sharing affinities uniting against those they disagree with while weaker colonies look to their stronger comrades in affinity for protection.
Human players simply decide whether or not to join, though they can be forced into it if they gave a set amount of favors.
2. How they break
Colonies are not forever locked into a federation upon entering into it, though leaving one holds consequences.
Succession can be done either through an open and peaceful announcement or by betrayal, but both will harm one's standing with federation members more than if they were always neutral.
Peaceful announcement takes some time as the colony formally decouples itself from the federation, during which federation members can call in favors to try to thwart the process.
Additionally, peaceful announcements can only be made once a colony has been a federation member for a considerable span of time.
Betrayal on the other hand is far more sudden and damages relations with federation members heavily while making every faction on the map trust you less, but it has its perks.
The most brazen form of betrayal involves declaring war on a fellow federation member for a surprise attack, which instantly drops you from the federation.
Colonies gain an formidable bonus to spying on their federation members, making espionage the more cunning route for traitors.
Being caught in white hat espionage damages one's standing in a federation and can count as betrayal if they are caught often enough.
Black hat espionage counts as an immediate betrayal, but large-scale black hat operations against a federation could cripple it before your underhanded conquest.
Be warned, though, that nothing will unite a federation in your destruction so much as your betrayal.
Would-be federation founders should also be wary of who to trust in their federation.
To make things less predictable, AI's will have their loyalty to their allies and federation randomized each game: pay attention to how they honor agreements to judge them.
Of course, in a player only game betrayal will simply earn the scoundrel a reputation as a Machiavellian jerk who is not to be trusted.
3. The perks and drawbacks
The main advantage to joining a federation is a possibility of peaceful relations and an ally in war.
Federations can propose and vote on matters concerning joint efforts to construct group projects - like national wonders for the federation - such as a massive museum of old earth, matters of war, and voting to elect a Head of Federation who chooses a bonus effect shared by all coalition members.
Getting the bonus you want may require you to be influential in your federation through popularity or calling favors or forming a smaller federation.
(Keep in mind that federation members may be willing to "sell" favors for the right price.)
The original founder of a federation automatically has 1.5 votes rather than one, making them a tiebreaker.
I would like to note that outposts have no effect what-so-ever on federation votes.
This perk-choosing Head of Federation status cannot be gained by those outside a federation, but it is not so extreme as to put them at a major disadvantage.
This Head of Federation status is crucial if one is shooting for a Federation Victory.
One of the main drawbacks is a need of majority vote to declare war or peace, though one can do or refuse either unilaterally at the cost of leaving the federation with only a minor "betrayal" penalty, which is less severe if they leave due to the federation declaring war or do not declare war until the peaceful announcement phase has passed.
If an enemy declares war on one colony in a federation, it declares war on every federation member unless they immediately leave the federation.
To reiterate from the previous section, the threat of betrayals could loom like a Sword of Damocles over a large federation: inducing a perhaps justified paranoia among members.
4. Federation Victory
To win a Federation Victory, one must be the Head of a Federation that includes every colony with their capitol city in the game.
Once this happens, a countdown starts towards the victory that resets if the Head changes or someone drops out.
This can entail wiping out other colonies who would not join or were not desired for the Federation: so it can vary between shades of pure diplomacy and conquest.
If the timer for victory ends, the Head of the Federation officially gains the victory, but in a sense all (remaining?) players share in the triumph.
However, since some AIs and players will not be content with second best, this countdown can and likely will be rife with betrayals.
Stable Federations that united or conquered the planet may crumble into chaos as conspirators seek to secure their domination and wipe out all who would oppose it.
This, in my opinion, could lead to a very interesting and eventful end-game.
Some may see a strong federation as something to manipulate to another end, while others will simply strive to unite humanity on the planet.
5. Conclusion
Federations is a mechanic built around true diplomacy and trust: intended to help alliances and betrayals feel more impactful and emotionally real.
In the spirit of Beyond Earth looking towards branching futures for humanity, a Federation Victory represents uniting humanity into a peaceful alliance: facing what the future may bring together.
I admit that I have always been more of a role player in Civ 5 than one who chases victory screens, but I hope this will also make games more interesting for the more competitive players.
