hevans900
Chieftain
I had this idea while theory-crafting in one of Ryika's threads. It has since expanded and I feel now requires its own thread. This discusses both Sponsor trait balance and a way of making each Sponsor feel more unique.
Many people have complained since the release of Beyond Earth that the Sponsors are lacklustre from a lore perspective - how can we root for futuristic personalities that represent nothing that exists in our world today? It was easy to get behind Catherine or giggle over Ghandi nuking the crap out of the USA in CiV.
Where exactly is my incentive to rally behind 'Suzanne Fielding' leader of the imaginary American Reclamation Corporation?
I have come up with a series of Sponsor-Specific quests that will hopefully add some much needed immersion to our new leaders and spice up the early game a bit. I have no idea how feasible it is to mod these, and for now this is purely a lore-crafting exercise.
The premise is simple. Re-working each Sponsor's trait such that it begins weaker (and in some instances I have changed them all together) and can be upgraded through a unique quest, one for each sponsor. Each Sponsor quest has two potential trait upgrade outcomes. The quests are designed to give real character to the leaders and give you a choice in how you shape your empire as Rejinaldo, or Elodie or whoever.
The first one is Elodié, who's base trait I have changed because her current one just flat out sucks:
Franco-Iberia
Base trait: Gain a free virtue every 20/15/10 game turns
Legacy Imperative:
“We are unfathomably far from Terra, but we must not forget our origins even on this triumphant day. After basic life-essentials have been set-up here we should make it a priority to erect statues to our long-dead brethren back on Old Earth… for we can never forget those that we left behind.”
- Construct an Old Earth Relic in Le Coeur
“The populace love their new monument, we’ve even built a Renaissance-Era Café underneath it to commemorate our long lost Paris…”
“On to more pressing matters – our forward scouts were expected to have reported in by now. We must investigate this radio silence.”
- (generate a derelict settlement within 4 tiles of Le Coeur)
- Perform an expedition at this settlement
“We have found our scouts’ forward base – it has been sacked. Recon team Alpha noted blast marks around the structure’s airlock and a complete depressurisation of the habitat. A peculiar green hue was noted around the blasted metal, our scientists tell us it has been effectively melted by an unknown low pH substance. No bodies or any sign of a struggle.”
“We must make a decision; do we expend more of our precious initial resources in search of our citizens, or do we leave them to their fate and honour their sacrifice?”
- Choice: A (save them)
“We cannot and will not leave any man behind. Initiate a search and rescue sortie.”
- (spawn a free marine in Le Coeur)
- Kill two alien wolf beetles (spawn them near Le Coeur)
“We have saved our brethren and at the same time discovered alien life on this planet. It was immediately hostile – possibly due to the actions of our scouts. We have exterminated the creatures and learned much of this planet’s ecosphere through their autopsy.”
REWARD – TRAIT UPGRADE A: Gain a % of defeated opponents’ Combat Strength as Culture (20/40/60%), explorers gain 1/1/2 movement speed and 10/15/20% bonus Combat Strength versus Aliens.
- Choice: B (leave them)
“We loathe to leave our men in the field but our immediate situation threatens every man and woman on the ground. We must consolidate our infrastructure before venturing out further.”
- Build a Clinic in Le Coeur
“In the long run this was the logical choice, we will forever remember their sacrifice. We now have a solid infrastructure baseline upon which we can build and prosper on this alien planet.”
REWARD – TRAIT UPGRADE B: + 2/4/6 culture from Clinics, workers gain 1/1/2 movement speed
Many people have complained since the release of Beyond Earth that the Sponsors are lacklustre from a lore perspective - how can we root for futuristic personalities that represent nothing that exists in our world today? It was easy to get behind Catherine or giggle over Ghandi nuking the crap out of the USA in CiV.
Where exactly is my incentive to rally behind 'Suzanne Fielding' leader of the imaginary American Reclamation Corporation?
I have come up with a series of Sponsor-Specific quests that will hopefully add some much needed immersion to our new leaders and spice up the early game a bit. I have no idea how feasible it is to mod these, and for now this is purely a lore-crafting exercise.
The premise is simple. Re-working each Sponsor's trait such that it begins weaker (and in some instances I have changed them all together) and can be upgraded through a unique quest, one for each sponsor. Each Sponsor quest has two potential trait upgrade outcomes. The quests are designed to give real character to the leaders and give you a choice in how you shape your empire as Rejinaldo, or Elodie or whoever.
The first one is Elodié, who's base trait I have changed because her current one just flat out sucks:
Franco-Iberia
Base trait: Gain a free virtue every 20/15/10 game turns
Legacy Imperative:
“We are unfathomably far from Terra, but we must not forget our origins even on this triumphant day. After basic life-essentials have been set-up here we should make it a priority to erect statues to our long-dead brethren back on Old Earth… for we can never forget those that we left behind.”
- Construct an Old Earth Relic in Le Coeur
“The populace love their new monument, we’ve even built a Renaissance-Era Café underneath it to commemorate our long lost Paris…”
“On to more pressing matters – our forward scouts were expected to have reported in by now. We must investigate this radio silence.”
- (generate a derelict settlement within 4 tiles of Le Coeur)
- Perform an expedition at this settlement
“We have found our scouts’ forward base – it has been sacked. Recon team Alpha noted blast marks around the structure’s airlock and a complete depressurisation of the habitat. A peculiar green hue was noted around the blasted metal, our scientists tell us it has been effectively melted by an unknown low pH substance. No bodies or any sign of a struggle.”
“We must make a decision; do we expend more of our precious initial resources in search of our citizens, or do we leave them to their fate and honour their sacrifice?”
- Choice: A (save them)
“We cannot and will not leave any man behind. Initiate a search and rescue sortie.”
- (spawn a free marine in Le Coeur)
- Kill two alien wolf beetles (spawn them near Le Coeur)
“We have saved our brethren and at the same time discovered alien life on this planet. It was immediately hostile – possibly due to the actions of our scouts. We have exterminated the creatures and learned much of this planet’s ecosphere through their autopsy.”
REWARD – TRAIT UPGRADE A: Gain a % of defeated opponents’ Combat Strength as Culture (20/40/60%), explorers gain 1/1/2 movement speed and 10/15/20% bonus Combat Strength versus Aliens.
- Choice: B (leave them)
“We loathe to leave our men in the field but our immediate situation threatens every man and woman on the ground. We must consolidate our infrastructure before venturing out further.”
- Build a Clinic in Le Coeur
“In the long run this was the logical choice, we will forever remember their sacrifice. We now have a solid infrastructure baseline upon which we can build and prosper on this alien planet.”
REWARD – TRAIT UPGRADE B: + 2/4/6 culture from Clinics, workers gain 1/1/2 movement speed
