Five player game options

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Ophiuchus
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Posts: 3433
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Wall IV

Five player game options

#1 Post by Ophiuchus »

So in the slow game we have five players and by chance ended up (currently) in a three-empire vs a two-empire situation.
And I think we have allied/team victory conditions, so it makes sense to fully cooperate and not defect if your "side" is already winning.

I am not sure how well developed theSilentOne and Oberlus are, but current intel is not suggesting their empires are greatly in the lead.

So I am mulling what to do with this situation.

Maybe the winning should be "split" in a tournament situation. So each empire gets an even split (0.5 for each player in a two-empire alliance). If teamwork/short games are stressed, such alliances could not be broken after a certain point. This is like meh.

What would be necessary to play a Comsat (BattleTech)/Guild (Dune)/trader faction (e.g. if 2 2-player teams formed, the last empire gets that role) that should become as powerful (in a sense) as a 2-empire team?

One idea for game progression would be
  • the teams fight against each other, meanwhile the single provides services and has time to build up. One team wins and takes the exploits (the single will probably try to delay this). Then the winning team fights the single (which is probably not powerful enough).
  • the teams fight against each, a team attacks the single (taking some stuff from the single); the single joins the non-attacking alliance
  • not allowed: the teams team up to destroy or shrink the single (which will probably succeed); afterwards the teams fight each other
I see here only two winning strategies for the single empire
  • annoy an empire so much they will start to attack you so you can join an alliance
  • grow and trade so much that you are becoming as powerful as two empires in the four empire space (not sure this is possible)
Another idea would be to give single some overpowered (maybe single-use) tech/artifacts so attacking it has much more cost than benefit. Also some stuff to trade in negotiations.
That would give the single room to breath and trade.
E.g. it could concentrate on cryo colony tech early and become the colony provider for the two teams (they give the species to the single in order for the single to grow them that species).
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.

Look, ma... four combat bouts!

Ophiuchus
Programmer
Posts: 3433
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Wall IV

Re: Five player game options

#2 Post by Ophiuchus »

Maybe a trade-partner relationship (between peace and alliance)
  • no vision of partner's territory
  • no refuel/refill in partners' territory
  • use services from partner's supply network (e.g. solar generator, exported luxury items) - this might interfere with dislikes
  • use bonus from growth specials on growth focus(?)
The single could switch to war if a partner sends scouts or similar.
Or have a special policy which allows it to attack in its own supply without having to go to war.

For handling dislikes, the single could prepare a disconnected supply network per trade partner if the partner pays for it.
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.

Look, ma... four combat bouts!

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