TheDS
Regular Riot
Being able to control the army of another is BEGGING for abuse. Why risk your own troops when you can risk those of the other guy? I know it happened a lot in history, but you're going to see it taken to a whole new level in a game. "Oh please, don't give me free units that I didn't have to build and don't have to take care of and can use to soften the enemy's defenses for my own troops to take the city, Briar Fox!"
OTOH, being able to ping a location on the map where you'd like a given vassal to focus his military operations would probably be okay, and have the same overall effect you're looking for. The vassal would be free to ignore it, or to carry it out as they see fit. I'd only allow a single such place, to avoid abuse, AI confusion, and weakening the AI unnecessarily.
And while I would like to be able to release or absorb vassals, under the current mechanics, it's simply too ripe for abuse. "Oops! I shouldn't have vassalized you, so I'm cutting you loose to attack and conquer you now that my troops are healed." Or, "I'm liberating this colony because the cities are crap, but later, if the AI (which doesn't mind such mindless activities) manages to make the land worthwhile again, I want to reannex it."
Something that could be fixed right now is: when someone asks me to vassalize them, there should be some kind of warning to let me know that the guys they're at war with will immediately declare war on ME! On top of that, the players that are at war with the weak nation should have the option to NOT declare against the new master and his merry band (this happens for people and AIs).
I have no strong objections to suggestions #1 and #3, though I wish it to go a little further: if there is NO possibility of the vassal wanting to be free (willing vassal or colony, but not capitulation) then any techs they research that you don't have should NEVER be redded out (unless you require the prereqs or some other valid reason). I shouldn't have to spend a ton of EPs to steal a tech I told the bugger to research, especially after I just gifted him TWENTY FRIGGIN' TECHS to enable him to research it in the first place!! That I get an unmentioned EP discount is beside the point - I shouldn't have to waste EPs on these guys.
OTOH, being able to ping a location on the map where you'd like a given vassal to focus his military operations would probably be okay, and have the same overall effect you're looking for. The vassal would be free to ignore it, or to carry it out as they see fit. I'd only allow a single such place, to avoid abuse, AI confusion, and weakening the AI unnecessarily.
And while I would like to be able to release or absorb vassals, under the current mechanics, it's simply too ripe for abuse. "Oops! I shouldn't have vassalized you, so I'm cutting you loose to attack and conquer you now that my troops are healed." Or, "I'm liberating this colony because the cities are crap, but later, if the AI (which doesn't mind such mindless activities) manages to make the land worthwhile again, I want to reannex it."
Something that could be fixed right now is: when someone asks me to vassalize them, there should be some kind of warning to let me know that the guys they're at war with will immediately declare war on ME! On top of that, the players that are at war with the weak nation should have the option to NOT declare against the new master and his merry band (this happens for people and AIs).
I have no strong objections to suggestions #1 and #3, though I wish it to go a little further: if there is NO possibility of the vassal wanting to be free (willing vassal or colony, but not capitulation) then any techs they research that you don't have should NEVER be redded out (unless you require the prereqs or some other valid reason). I shouldn't have to spend a ton of EPs to steal a tech I told the bugger to research, especially after I just gifted him TWENTY FRIGGIN' TECHS to enable him to research it in the first place!! That I get an unmentioned EP discount is beside the point - I shouldn't have to waste EPs on these guys.
