If You Were On The USS Unity...

[MilesBeyond]

Which faction would you have joined?

I'm sure this has been done before, but I couldn't find one that was recent.


I suppose you can do SMAX factions if you really, really want to, but their ideologies don't seem to be nearly as well fleshed out.

Remember that many factions need at least some of whatever it disagrees with (Miriam still has scientists, Deirdre still has some sort of industrial infrastructure, etc) so that's not necessarily they only qualifier.

 

[Kilkakon]

Morgan for me! I'm quite a business-minded person that's had to be deliberately generous haha. Although I'm a Christian, the Believers are too... warlike for me.

 

[MHaruspex]

Yang.

Frankly, I like his vision of a utopia and trust the guy's judgment. It just seems logical to me that the more power a government has, the better - after all, a government, unlike a business or special interest group of some sort, will have the big picture in mind.

Just for kicks:
Yang > Zakharov > Deirdre (Why's she always referred to by her first name?) > Santiago = Lal > Morgan > Godwinson

 

[Herfelt]

Zak is the obvious choice for me. Im an engineer who likes science.

Yang's socialism is also appealing, but I don't like the whole control/police-state-part. I would like a free society.

Democracy and knowledge would be my choices for the social engineering tabel. I would probably prefer planned over green for economy, but sustainability in regards to the enviroment is also important for me.

 

[MilesBeyond]

I would go with Lal anyday. I love his emphasis on freedom and individual rights. I'm a Christian, but the Lord's Believers are, uh, a bit extreme? I value the importance of science, especially in a frontier society like this, but Zak's tendency to suspend ethics in favour of discovery isn't really something I can get behind.

Lal all the way. Enlightened and balanced, his bases seem like a great place to live.

As far as Social Engineering go: Democracy, Planned, Knowledge, Eudaimonia (if I get that far).

I usually play with those, too, even though with Demo and Planned Eudaimonia becomes more or less redundant. I'm a builder at heart, so for me it's less about winning the game and more about creating the ideal future society (though I do usually manage to win as well).

 

[Disgustipated]

This is a tough one. I am a middle of the road type guy who is an economic conservative (yet I also believe in protecting the environment- call it a future investment), but social liberal on some issues. I'll go through each faction and express my thoughts.

Morgan is out because he's too greedy and focused on wealth above all else.

Gaians are out because well... come on. While I believe in protecting the environment, mankind still has to live and make some life for himself.

Spartans- War all the time? No thanks. Although maybe they don't have to be at war all the time, they just use a large military to keep the peace. That part I might agree with.

Hive- I hate communism and I hate socialism.

University- I do believe in intellectual pursuits, but I also find them a bit elitist and arrogant.

Miriam- I dislike organized religion. Okay for other people, not for me.

Peacekeepers- This seems like a close fit. They were the very first faction I played with on my first game. They seemed closest to the U.S. I'd have to go with these guys. I still enjoy playing them because they do support democracy, freedom of speech (some of Lal's quotes in this game are awesome), and a well balanced approach to wealth and technology. Lal's my man.

 

[Kilkakon]

Poor faction leaders. Half of them have no followers. :O Talk about one man (or woman) army!

 

[attackfighter]

I would join the Spartan faction. It is the only faction that actually gives its people something to strive towards. Spartans are taught to be strong, well-trained and independent.

All of the other faction ideologies basically just focus on how their state operates and expect their people to conform to the states agenda on their own initiative. They don't breed their people for success basically is what I'm saying.

Also asides from the Spartan Federation, they all have major subjective flaws. Dierdre and Morgan promote hedonism; Yang enslaves his people; Mirriam's society is socially oppressive and unnatural; Lal's is just... an arbitrary form of government, that likely endorses the same flawed values that our current society does; Zhakarov's, while not actively harming it's populace like all of the others, is still bad since it ignores everything not directly related to academics.

Also the people who didn't pick a choice are likely hedonists and thus should fall under Dierdre or Morgan... just saying.

 

[Dreadnought]

Morgan, without a doubt. I'd focus much more on economic progress than social progress on planetfall.

 

[attackfighter]

There should've been a poll

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Lal. tolerence and choice.

 

[MilesBeyond]

There should've been a poll

You're right. I wonder why I didn't do one initially. Mods, is there any way one can be added?


One of the things I appreciate about the game is the way that the seven different factions carry differing views to extremes without ever coming across as straw men.

I used to think Miriam was some technophobic whack job, but if you read her quotes, it becomes apparent that she's not opposed to technological advances so much as she is skeptical of mankind's ability to handle them. We are much more intelligent than we are wise, I suppose she would say. In fact, as the game progresses, and policies like Thought Control and secret projects like the Dream Twister come into place, I can't help but wonder if maybe she's right.

Same thing with Yang. Instead of some gross caricature of communist China, we see a guy trying to build a utopian society through absolute governmental control.

All throughout, you never really get the sense that the game is setting up different factions as being "right" or "wrong," which in a game this heavily based around ideologies, is no mean feat.

 

[attackfighter]

You're right. I wonder why I didn't do one initially. Mods, is there any way one can be added?


One of the things I appreciate about the game is the way that the seven different factions carry differing views to extremes without ever coming across as straw men.

I used to think Miriam was some technophobic whack job, but if you read her quotes, it becomes apparent that she's not opposed to technological advances so much as she is skeptical of mankind's ability to handle them. We are much more intelligent than we are wise, I suppose she would say. In fact, as the game progresses, and policies like Thought Control and secret projects like the Dream Twister come into place, I can't help but wonder if maybe she's right.

Same thing with Yang. Instead of some gross caricature of communist China, we see a guy trying to build a utopian society through absolute governmental control.

All throughout, you never really get the sense that the game is setting up different factions as being "right" or "wrong," which in a game this heavily based around ideologies, is no mean feat.

Well, with Miriam I think there really was an attempt to make her look bad. Literally. She's a ginger with beady little eyes and this kind of "if looks could kill" stare. Not to mention her voice actress portrayed her as being a really imposing preacher-type-person. I think maybe there was a disconnect between the writers and the people in charge of voice work, art, etc. because as you said she was written as being more than just a generic nutjob - but the way she's portrayed in everything but the writing would make you think otherwise.

Yang doesn't seem to be trying to make a Utopia in the way we (as Westerners) would think of it, so I'd disagree with you there. To a Western audience, Utopia basically means having all of your wants and needs fulfilled without having to lift a finger. Yang's utopia represents an entirely different take on paradise - he's a lot more philosophical in his approach and preaches things like mind over matter, the virtues of hard work, etc. These are all things that could be considered as part of a utopia, but it'd take an entirely different perspective from a Western one to appreciate that.

 

[Petek]

You're right. I wonder why I didn't do one initially. Mods, is there any way one can be added?

At the top of the thread is a link titled Thread Tools. When you click on this link, do you see an option to Add a poll to this thread? If so, you should be able to create a poll. If not, I should be able to create the poll. Let me know what you want it to say.

 

[GoodGame]

I think LAL was the safe pick ideologically, but not actually great in-game. I guess it depends if you want to win, or just ask philosophical questions.

 

[Kehgrehdid]

Like other posters, I'm a Christian, but I'd have some issues with the Believer's methods. On the other hand, I certainly want to make sure I stay alive, and I like high-tech weapons, so I would most naturally want to be a Spartan. Whether or not I'd actually make it as one is another matter, since their discipline seems pretty harsh, and I have a lot of respect for our servicemen, knowing I probably couldn't take what's routine for them. But assuming I could hack it as one, I'd be a Spartan with Believer sympathies. As a matter of fact, that's often how I play. I tend to like roleplaying a bit. (Often in Civ IV, I enjoy loading up a galleon with missionaries and sending them on "missions trips.") Since I like capturing mind worms, it often becomes me, Miriam, & Deidre against the others. Morgan and Lal I'll leave alone unless someone else starts it, while I am almost always an enemy of Yang & Zakh.

So basically, a Spartan with the latest & greatest weapons, with Believer sympathies.

 

[Grump]

Storywise the 'good' guys are Lal Deidre Sinder Roze and Ulrich, they're probably the safest bet... the baddies are Yang and Miriam, Chau Dawn, the Usurpers, the rest are morally gray but tend toward bad.


Whoever would go with Yang is crazy. He may hide behind the Eastern wise man schtick but the game makes it clear he is Big Brother Oceania on steroids. Miriam seems to be the most hated by players for some reason even though Yang's whole philosophy is at its core all about oppressing and controlling others while Miriam's way doesn't (have) to be as aggressive as she makes it. There's no reason to suspect that the Believer people have it any worse than the Hive dwellers do.

 

[attackfighter]

Yang is a nihilist. He thinks that pain, oppression, etc. don't matter because there's no absolute standard to judge them by. I'd agree with him on that. That said, I still wouldn't join his faction because, being irrational, I couldn't disregard my instincts in this case, regardless of the prize.

I'd disagree with Deirdre being a good guy. Firstly, she is a girl and not a guy (joking). But seriously she has no problem with unleashing mind worms on her foes and given the way mind worms operate that should count as an atrocity. She also values the environment more than human life. At best you could consider her morally grey... but I'd go so far as to call her downright bad.

As for Miriam - she isn't a bad guy. She's against technological progress and she's a bit crazy, but that's it. The quotes never reference her intentionally harming her own followers or others, so in that regard she's better than Deirdre. (edit: well actually there is one quote that suggests she may have harmed her followers, near the very end...)

As for the rest, I cannot comment as I barely ever played SMAX.

 

[uplift17]

Deirdre! She gets some flak because people think she puts ecology above humanity, but her quotes make it pretty clear that she's all about harmony. The Citizen's Defense Force Quote is confusing to me, though; I can't tell if she's sending out the mindworms or defending against them.

After that, probably Zakharov, who has a lovely dedication to pure science (though his ethics are clearly shaky) and Lal, who is a classic small-l liberal. If we're talking SMACX, riding the pirate seas with the Pirates or the Data Angels would be fun.

The interesting thing is that they really are all incredibly nuanced when reading through the quotes; like other posters said, a close reading of Miriam indicates she's got equally valid ideological points with all the other faction leaders.

 

[attackfighter]

The Citizen's Defense Force Quote is confusing to me, though; I can't tell if she's sending out the mindworms or defending against them.

The quote is an excerpt from the Our Secret War series which documents her proxy war with the Spartans. It's safe to say that she's observing her mind worms overrun a Spartan base in this instance.