Increased Social Engineering options

[Merchantbard]

Brilliant as the whole "Social Engineering" element is in terms of gameplay here, the available choices don't strike me as covering the metaphorical spectrum of options. Of course, how can one do so when you've only got three possibilities in each category? As a little thought exercise, I thought up the following additions:

Politics
Republica: +1 Efficiency/+1 Support/-1 Morale/+1 Police/-1 Industry/-1 Research
(a government led by a group that is chosen/elected by the populace, which encourages efficiency and organization within the society, but also runs the risk of economic stagnation.)

Aristocracy: -1 Economy/+2 Morale/+1 Police/-1 Growth
(the government is led by a hereditary oligarchy, keeping power by either the consent of the populace or through some level of coercion; this ensures an orderly and motivated society, but the economy and growth suffers from the concentration of wealth and power.)

Economics
Capitalism: +1 Economy/-2 Support/-1 Police/-1 Probe/+2 Industry/+1 Research
(the 'gentler' version of Free Market, where market competition takes place within a system of laws all sides - mostly - observe; said competition encouraging all sides to push the boundaries of established science and industry, but also risks undermining social stability.)

Regulatory: -1 Economy/-1 Efficiency/+1 Support/+1 Planet/+1 Industry/-1 Research
(an economy sitting between the extremes of Planned and Free Market, where the govenrment sets and enforces clear limits on economic - especially industrial - activity, thereby ensuring its ecological and social impacts are limited, but likewise limiting its overall output.)

Values
Asceticism: +2 Efficiency/+1 Morale/-1 Police/-1 Growth/+1 Probe/-1 Industry/-1 Research
(the populace are committed to lives of instrospection and communal effort, their efforts to make a low-impact society encouraging strong focus and minimizing ecological disruption, but also discourages interest in material goods.)

Peity: -1 Economy/+2 Support/+1 Morale/+1 Police/-2 Industry/-1 Research
(the sibling to Fundamentalism, the populace organize around a particular religious creed, one which helps organize and strengthen its internal order, but which limits its economic and scientific growth.)

Future Society
Collectivism: +1 Efficiency/+Police/-2 Growth/+1 Probe/-1 Research
(a milder version of Thought Control, but one chosen by the populace rather than imposed; this gives the population order and makes penetration difficult, but also causes it to stagnate scientifically and socially)

Federation: +2 Economy/-1 Efficiency/+2 Support/-1 Growth/+1 Planet/+1 Industry
(society functions as a collection of semi-autonomous communities, all answering to a central administrative body; things work smoothly, but the bureaucracy needed to maintain such a widely spread-out wears down efficiency and further growth.)

So, any comments?

 

[Defiant47]

I think the game is based around the idea of absolutes. The factions are based on ideologies, and these ideologies are taken to the extreme. Of course you can have scientific research alongside religious piety. Of course you can have a deeply entrenched right to bear arms alongside fiercely peacekeeping beliefs.

All the ideas in this game are taken to their logical extremes. A few examples:

University of Planet is all about research. But they take that to the very extreme. Zacharov goes so far as to perform numerous unethical acts in the name of research.
The Believers is all about religious belief. But they take that to the extreme, as they will reject scientific progress that conflicts with their sacred doctrines.
Morgan is about economic prosperity, but takes it so far as to have a completely free market, which can have devastating effects for the common citizen.

Taking the ideology to the extreme is what Alpha Centauri is all about

 

[Merchantbard]

I think the game is based around the idea of absolutes. The factions are based on ideologies, and these ideologies are taken to the extreme.

Okay, fair point there. And I do realize how the SE matrix goes from one extreme to the next in each category. I just figured expanding it all would allow more complex societies to be represented.

In one of my last games playing the Peacekeepers, I ended up with a Democracy/Green/Power/Eudaimonia configuration. That's probably the weirdest one I've had to date.

 

[Pickly]

A gameplay issue with your options is that they would effect too many variables.

In backstory terms, some of your options do seem represented ("republica" seems pretty much to be what democracy would resemble). in a lot of ways, I could see the "survival", etc. choices as representing the middle (since they have no effects).

However, I do agree in general that Alpha centuri options don't represent a good slice of possibilities for how society could be organized, and that perhaps one extra option in all caterogies would be needed to get a good spread. (though I am not sure for some categories what such options would be, and what their effects would be.) am not sure how this would effect gameplay, though.

 

[Pickly]

Some other ideas for an extra social engineering option per category:

Government:

Technocracy (Requires ethical Calculus): A group of people get appointed to be in charge for some time by an attempted meritocratic method. This form of government increases efficiency, and skilled government workers are effective at organizing and supporting a military, but the lack of focus on ordinary citizen's concerns creates unhappiness.

+2 efficiency, +2 support, -2 police


Economics:

High Tech (Requires Polymorphic software):

This economy is heavily focused on research and information industries. Widespread information sharing boosts efficiency, and familiarity with technology boosts resaearch, but manufacturing and other "hard asset" based infustries suffer from less focus.

+2 efficiency, +1 research, -1 industry


Values:

Stability (Requires Intellectual Integrity):

Societies which value stability generally are productive, and stability keeps unhappiness to a minimum, but a desire not to rock the boat tends to slow scientific investigation.

+2 (or 1) industry, +2 police, -2 research


Future Society:

Collective (Requires Sentient econometrics):

A highly organized society. Identification papers, security, etc. are taken to an extreme. This type of society is well organized, able to build things quite quickly and effectively organize and support a military. It is also difficult ot penetrate by enemy spies. However, the loss of individual initiative hurts this type of society economically.

+2 industry, +2 support, +2 probe, -3 economy.



The main problem with adding social engineering, though, is that alpha centauri has too few modifiers, so it becomes difficult ot add social engineering choices while avoiding too much stacking, or unbalancing stacking, without also creating options that are too similar ot each other. (Plus ensuring that the descriptions make sense)