Multipolarity II - Game Thread

[Patriotic_Fool]

I don't see how you can go wrong if the values are small.

Coming from lighthearter's game, the national abilities were insanely OP. I had an ability that gave me 10% espionage chance, and had I not been wiped out , I could have couped an entire nation.

The industry mechanic was even worse. The trait made it cost only 2 income to improve a province's industry, whereas normally it was 3.

 

[NinjaCow64]

I don't see how you can go wrong if the values are small.

What if one extra spy at the beggining of the game allows a nation to snowball into a super power for no other reason than the extra spy? In some ways it would be worse, considering that Tani wouldn't be able to fix that after the game starts.

 

[Ailedhoo]

I think we should consider not having starting stats, just for ensurance of ballance. The industrial factor in IOTE2&K's one could take may result in a increased override of industry equalling larger armies when crisis comes. Hence let us make our specialisation via game progression then at the mear beginning.

 

[mayor]

Ditch them, kill them, lock them, I don't care, just don't put them in MPIII

 

[Tani Coyote]

Actually I gave everyone fairly high starting stats to make it requiring a fair amount of investment to really gain a huge advantage over anyone ... I think that'll assist balance enormously. :V

 

[filli_noctus]

I'm going to join the "toss 'em overboard" crowd.

 

[Tyo]

I don't see how you can go wrong if the values are small.

Coming from lighthearter's game, the national abilities were insanely OP. I had an ability that gave me 10% espionage chance, and had I not been wiped out , I could have couped an entire nation.

The industry mechanic was even worse. The trait made it cost only 2 income to improve a province's industry, whereas normally it was 3.

The kantibor(I think that's the one) let you increase investments to all techs by 20%. They make a pretty big difference. And they don't increase the fun had. They're just random buffs put there for no reason. All they do is contribute to the imbalance of the game.

 

[Sonereal]

I don't see how you can go wrong if the values are small.

Coming from lighthearter's game, the national abilities were insanely OP. I had an ability that gave me 10% espionage chance, and had I not been wiped out , I could have couped an entire nation.

The industry mechanic was even worse. The trait made it cost only 2 income to improve a province's industry, whereas normally it was 3.

Industralists benefit from having infrastructure that costs 33% but that means, for everyone else, infrastructure only cost 33% more. The investment an Imperialist or Maritime player could make toward Army/Navy respectively meant that their investment was worth 50% more than the Industrialist.

The Covert Power was the worst bar none. The 10% boost to espionage didn't offset the fact Industralists could produce 33% more spies.

Industralists were the Jack-of-all-Trades, but they easily can beat a Covert Power in the CP's own game, while losing to the specialized Imperialists or Maritimers. The Imperialists and Maritimers could win, in their theater again anyone but another of the same trait. A covert player had an advantage over Imperialists/Maritimers but it didn't really matter, since the 10% boost to espionage didn't offset the 100% lost of territory a flat war would produce.

In MP2, however, there was a bigger problem. Some corporate powers were simply better than others, and the fact you can secretly buy them made them imbalanced. Corporations worked less like corporations and more like power-ups with names attached. The main question is "did it increase fun?". Which I would say no. Corporations could've been removed from the game and fun would not have decreased because of it. The mechanic was too shallow.

 

[christos200]

Corporations could've been removed from the game and fun would not have decreased because of it.

I agree. I hated Philanthropy.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Sore loser.

The problem with national powers is that they aren't typically well-balanced. It was only with great reluctance I carried them over into MPR, and actually looking back I don't even know why I did. Ditch 'em; they overcomplicate the game and are prone to abuse, particularly when some people can't properly define them to begin with...

Corporations might've worked as something akin to religion in Civ4, if the benefits were minimal and universal, but as Sone says, they weren't well-implemented conceptually or mechanically, and would actually be better-managed as player institutions rather than automated stats.

 

[Patriotic_Fool]

I hated philanthropy because it didn't prevent any embargoes, and it sure didn't have a positive effect on my NPC relations.

 

[Tyo]

it's not supposed to?

 

[Tani Coyote]

Yeah, Phil was meant to a) swing UN votes, b) increase culture and c) make it harder for clients to break away from you in case you experienced a rapid decline in power.

"Culture is useless!" Not so. It helped clients determine their defection chances, and determined who defected randomly to you. I do apologise that the highest culture isn't an instant-win card, though.

 

[Sonereal]

I think money and military connections plays a bigger role in Saudi Arabia not defecting than American culture being significant, which is just a byproduct.

 

[Patriotic_Fool]

Overall, the 50-100 cash I was shelling out for it was overall useless. Woulda been better invested into VLT or maybe into armies/industry.

And I also think there should have been a minimum level for when you can get a Corporation's powers. If your GDP is less than half the average, or something.

 

[Patchy]

This is all pointless since the next game won't have the corp powers. We established that already.

 

[Tani Coyote]

I consider effective implementation more important than total realism. That has always been the rule.

Culture is more accurately called "Influence," and shows how much pull you have on the world stage.

Culture is also heavily influenced by the strength of your economy and military anyway, so..

"Waste of money." PF. You do understand that buying culture is SUPPOSED to be a waste? It's supposed to be earned through roleplay and successful nation management.

I can't help but note your suggestions aid further power concentration. The whole idea of Multipolarity is the tables can flip at any moment.

 

[Tyo]

Overall, the 50-100 cash I was shelling out for it was overall useless. Woulda been better invested into VLT or maybe into armies/industry.

You mean like it should be?

 

[Patriotic_Fool]

The whole idea of Multipolarity is the tables can flip at any moment.

I didn't know that was possible. Even with nations getting nukes while others *cough* didn't..

I didn't see any table flippin'. No sir. What mechanic will cause a superpower to collapse, or vise versa, tani?

 

[Tani Coyote]

The mass defections on the last turn don't count?

There certainly would have been insane table flipping if I hadn't decided to prevent a massive buyout.

There was no table flipping because you occupied the great power slot for the bulk of the game; that's contrary to the spirit of MP1, where holding onto the predominant power slot for just two turns was near impossible.

As such, I find it odd you are critiquing a lack of table flipping.

Though that tech cartel you formed is the basis of a new rule I've introduced...