Revising the lore of each civic

[Raven Destroyer]

Computation would be more like "This Civilization uses advanced technology to calculate the most efficient methods of power"

also the old banditry was "Soilders are organized bandits." (Couldn't pass up that joke)

 

[KaTiON_PT]

@Raven Destroyer just to follow the template, what do you think of something like:

"This civilization employs the most advanced computers to calculate who should have power."

Though I feel this is what Machine Rule is going for.

EDIT: And the last technology before the repatable is to find a way to break out of the simulation. So who (or what) can calculate the most can also be relevant.

 

[pepper2000]

I like the changes. Sorry that I am not monitoring as closely as I was before; I still hope to get back to modding and finish some of the things I had been working on before my computer broke.

I would lobby to keep the last two Government civics. It's more than just "XYZ in space!". We should expect that there are social structures required to government an interstellar/intergalactic civilization that are fundamentally different than those required to govern a terrestrial nation, just as a nation-state is much more than a big city-state. Each individual planet or planetary system is largely autonomous, with its own language, currency, culture, biology, etc. The Galactic Federation exists to keep the peace in an era when each of these civilizations is most independent but they need to coordinate, e.g. to delineate who has access to what transtellar resources and pooling resources to deal with military threats. As in Star Trek, it looks more like the United Nations than a national government.

With Intergalactic/Universal Empire, the pendulum again swings toward a more cohesive civilization as easy faster-than-light travel and eventually time travel break down barriers. But there are still the complexities of a highly multi-layered society in which the central government, such as it is a true government, cannot control ordinary lives of a wide multiplicity of types of biology and consciousness spread across galaxies and eras. Unlike the Galactic Federation, the Universal Empire seeks to maintain a cohesive cultural and national identity while allowing that each star system and galaxy has its own cultural identity.

I envision Machine Rule as rule directly by AI. Either the AI is put in charge, or it takes over somehow. But it is also good to leave these things somewhat open to interpretation.

 

[raxo2222]

I like the changes. Sorry that I am not monitoring as closely as I was before; I still hope to get back to modding and finish some of the things I had been working on before my computer broke.

I would lobby to keep the last two Government civics. It's more than just "XYZ in space!". We should expect that there are social structures required to government an interstellar/intergalactic civilization that are fundamentally different than those required to govern a terrestrial nation, just as a nation-state is much more than a big city-state. Each individual planet or planetary system is largely autonomous, with its own language, currency, culture, biology, etc. The Galactic Federation exists to keep the peace in an era when each of these civilizations is most independent but they need to coordinate, e.g. to delineate who has access to what transtellar resources and pooling resources to deal with military threats. As in Star Trek, it looks more like the United Nations than a national government.

With Intergalactic/Universal Empire, the pendulum again swings toward a more cohesive civilization as easy faster-than-light travel and eventually time travel break down barriers. But there are still the complexities of a highly multi-layered society in which the central government, such as it is a true government, cannot control ordinary lives of a wide multiplicity of types of biology and consciousness spread across galaxies and eras. Unlike the Galactic Federation, the Universal Empire seeks to maintain a cohesive cultural and national identity while allowing that each star system and galaxy has its own cultural identity.

I envision Machine Rule as rule directly by AI. Either the AI is put in charge, or it takes over somehow. But it is also good to leave these things somewhat open to interpretation.

Those government civics are still here.

Galactic Federation

Old: A loose confederation of star systems.
New: This civilization is run by a decentralized federation of independent star systems.

Universal Empire (was Intergalactic Empire)

Old: An empire across galaxies.
New: This civilization is run by a central authority that manifests itself across the entire universe thanks to faster-than-light communications and travel.

On unrelated thing I changed things around your module, mostly resource producers.

 

[KaTiON_PT]

Religion

Irreligion

Old: Your nation doesn't have a form of religion or spirituality.
New: This civilization lacks (or refuses) the concept of religion and spirituality.

Folklore

Old: .
New: Countless forms of popular beliefs and traditions exist in the place of an organized religion.

Divine Cult

Old: .
New: The leader or leaders are worshiped as if they were living manifestations of their god or gods.

Prophets

Old: .
New: Individuals regarded as being in contact with divine beings periodically introduce new religions to the people.

State Church

Old: .
New: The leader or leaders act as the religious heads as well.

Free Church

Old: .
New: Although a preferred religion exists, there is an effort to make the state and the church be independent from one another.

Intolerant

Old: .
New: Other kinds of religious belief beyond the accepted one are shunned and risk being purged.

Secular

Old: .
New: Everyone should have the freedom to follow the religion they see fit.

Antireligion (was Anti Religion)

Old: Anti Religion increases taxes and science in all cities and all specialists get +1 culture. Government doesn't allow state religion and religions are not allowed to spread to your cities.
New: Any kind of religious worship is discouraged and this may even be enforced in private places.

Syncretic (was Syncretism)

Old: Syncretism is a system of thought that attempts to unify religious, scientific, political, and philosophical thought into a coherent whole.
New: A unified belief, developed from the amalgamation of religion, science, politics, and philosophy, exists in the place of religion.

Cosmic Enlightening (was Cosmic)

Old: Cosmic Destiny
New: Millennia of philosophical and scientific progress, coupled with alien interactions have birthed a new style of religion where its practitioners believe it is objectively and intrinsically useful to all forms of life.

Divinity

Old: Become gods
New: Technology has become so advanced that it is indistinguishable from magic, and some might even use it to act as deities in less developed civilizations.

 

[HorseshoeHermit]

I don't have any relevant knowledge of history, anthropology, or political science to contribute to the content of this project, but I can tell you

1. Eliminate boilerplate text (something that's repeated in every case and therefore void of meaning)
2. Don't be encyclopedic, not in tone, or detail. The civic screen just needs flavour and punch; a sound bite.

Bad: This civilization depends on war as a way to train its younger people and considers participation the way someone becomes an adult.
Good: War is a (the?) way to train the younger generation, and how to become an adult.

Bad: This civilization considers that power belongs to whoever its deity (or deities) favor and in many cases it is a monarch that asserts this claim.
Good: Power is recognized in whomever is favoured by the god or gods. [Something snarky about the epistemic "challenges" of determining a god's favour.]

 

[KaTiON_PT]

@HorseshoeHermit thanks for the input, I will revise all texts once I get home.

 

[tmv]

Prophets

Old: .
New: This civilization does not have a preferred religion and individuals, regarded as being in contact with divine beings, periodically introduce new ones to the people.

"Prophets" allows state religion, so that seems to be wrong (think Old Testament Israel).

 

[KaTiON_PT]

@HorseshoeHermit what do you think of the revised text for Military to see if I'm correctly following your suggestions?

Military

Militia

Civilians independently take up arms in the eventuality of conflict.

Banditry

Outlaws carry out military actions, usually as a sentence.

Tribal Warfare

War is a way to train the younger generation.

Conscription

Compulsory enlistment of civilians in order to maintain a sizable military force.

Mercenaries

Paying soldiers who may or may not share an allegiance for the nation.

Pacifism

War is considered without merit so resources are redirected towards other more worthwhile ventures.

Vassalage

In recognition of their services, loyal servants are given a part of the country for them and their families to rule and, in return, they maintain a military force comprised of its inhabitants, which are then provided to the overlord in times of need.

Voluntary

Civilians volunteer into the armed forces and are given additional benefits for the time spent in service.

Robotic

Employment of remote controlled and robotic units so as to diminish casualties.

Cloning

Genetically enhanced clone soldiers defend the nation.

Starfaring

Total mobilization of all forms of life across known space.

Time Drafting

Time travel as a way to bring back to life the strongest warriors and the most skilled officers.

Interdimensional

Utilization of powerful eldritch entities to battle across infinite realities.

 

[Galadrion]

Voluntary

Civilians volunteer into the armed forces and are given additional benefits for the time spent servicing.

This should probably read "...time spent in service." The other phrasing carries a rather different meaning for anyone who's ever been "serviced" by a recruiting officer...

 

[Thunderbrd]

This should probably read "...time spent in service." The other phrasing carries a rather different meaning for anyone who's ever been "serviced" by a recruiting officer...

lol True... the distinction is... erm...

 

[KaTiON_PT]

Oops, my non-native English is to blame. Thanks @Galadrion.

EDIT: Alright, revised all entries according to the suggestions given by HorseshoeHermit.

 

[HorseshoeHermit]

@HorseshoeHermit what do you think of the revised text for Military to see if I'm correctly following your suggestions?

Militia
✓ Civilians independently take up arms in the eventuality of conflict.

Banditry
✓ Outlaws carry out military actions, usually as a sentence.

Tribal Warfare
✓ War is a way to train the younger generation, and partaking is how they become adults.
Looks awkward to me, but that's for an English student to fix.

Conscription
✓ Compulsory enlistment of civilians in order to maintain a sizable military force.

But I don't like the word 'sizable' here.

Mercenaries
✓ Paying soldiers who may or may not share an allegiance for the nation.

But grammatically, shouldn't that be 'have allegiance to the nation' ?

Pacifism
✗ War is considered without merit so resources are redirected towards other more worthwhile ventures.
try: War is considered without merit, so resources are redirected to [an explicit listing of the things in Pacifism's mechanical bonuses?]

Vassalage
✓ Subservient vassals hand over troops as tribute for the safety and lands granted by the overlord.

The terms 'vassal' and 'safety' look wrong here. Safety in which sense? And 'vassal' is what's being defined.
We basically need to summarize the feudal contract.

Voluntary
✓ Civilians volunteer into the armed forces and are given additional benefits for the time spent in service.

Robotic
✓ Employment of remote controlled and robotic units so as to diminish casualties.

Is it supposed to be exclusive use of equipment?
Exclusive use of remote-controlled and robotic equipment for military action.

Cloning
✓ Genetically enhanced clone soldiers defend the nation.

Starfaring
✓ Total mobilization of all forms of life across known space.

Time Drafting
✓ Time travel as a way to bring back to life the strongest warriors and the most skilled officers.
but again, seems structurally poor as English.
try: Using time travel to staff the army with the fittest warriors and most skilled officers from throughout past and future.

Interdimensional
? Utilization of powerful eldritch entities to battle across infinite realities.

dude what

 

[HorseshoeHermit]

It deleted my check marks!

 

[KaTiON_PT]

The last civics are all wacky far-future stuff, so liberties can be taken in its lore.

Thanks for everything HorsehoesHermit!

 

[tmv]

We basically need to summarize the feudal contract.

Perhaps like this (sorry, English is not my native language): In recognition of their services, loyal officers / servants are given part of the country for them and their families to rule, and in return, they maintain a military force from the inhabitants of this part which they provide to the ruler of the country in times of need. Edit: Rinse and repeat.

A bit cumbersome, but I hope it contains everything important and perhaps someone else can make it a bit more concise.

 

[KaTiON_PT]

@tmv I went with:

"In recognition of their services, loyal servants are given a part of the country for them and their families to rule and, in return, they maintain a military force comprised of its inhabitants, which are then provided to the overlord in times of need."

Appreciate the help.

 

[HorseshoeHermit]

? Vassals promise a headcount of soldiers to their overlords in exchange for economic powers over land.

Misses out on the fact that the vassals themselves become bannermen.

? Military readiness is maintained as a pact with overlords who delegate rule of lands something something

Going into any significant explanation highlights how the feudal contract is actually a complex interrelation of economic, military, and statist policies. It would be best to keep the language used here "modular", in leaving the non-military aspects variable for other civic categories to specify. However, it seems to me that Vassalage is irreducibly hierarchical, and possibly recursive.

 

[KaTiON_PT]

All of them are though ones. Summarizing complicated concepts in a small phrase tends to be like that.

 

[KaTiON_PT]

Society

Primitive

Old: Your nation's society is in its most primitive form.
New: The people are primal and savage, barely different from non-sentient animals.

Tribal

Old: .
New: Blood relations are very important as clans are formed based on how close people are with each other.

Caste System

Old: Decreases great people birth rate and culture in cities and causes unhappiness in largest cities; Increases Farm and Fishing boat food production; Increases Mine, Lumbermill and Quarry production; Increases Plantation, Camp and Silk Farm gold production.
New: The people are divided into different social classes based on parentage.

Bourgeois

Old: .
New: A class of educated and wealthy people has formed inside the bigger cities and society has adapted around fulfilling their needs.

Proletariat

Old: .
New: The working class has attained sufficient rights so as to influence the society to a high degree.

Feudal

Old: .
New: The society is structured around accords derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor.

Egalitarian

Old: .
New: Equality between all classes is paramount in this society, as it maintains that everyone are of equal worth.

Nationalist

Old: .
New: The people share a passion to the homeland and its culture, language and common ancestry, and everything revolves around improving it.

Marxist

Old: .
New: A classless society, whose ambition is meeting the needs of everyone.

Corpor-Nation

Old: Your nation is now a corporation.
New: Corporations form the basis of society, where people are organized into industrial and professional groups since birth.

Biological Castes

Old: Castes based on biology
New: Genetic engineering coupled with cybernetic augmentations have segregated the members of this society into different classes based on their mental and physical abilities.

Immaterial

Old: Post-material society
New: Advances in technology have allowed this society to become a purely information one, whose members can be physical, digital or incorporeal.