Post by severian on Sept 26, 2006 15:59:10 GMT -5
I was thinking about warfare and tithes today, and why I don't really have much interest in tithes/warfare. "Why not?" I wondered. Could it be that combat does little more than destroy all my buildings inspiring nothing more than a short flood of random items which are rarely worth the cost of rebuilding? Certainly having vassals is a nice way to get your rank up, and bounty items are welcome when they're available, but why couldn't there be something about getting into a fight that would help support your evil plans?
I saw, as the biggest deterrant, the low value of the tithes you get from a conquored opponent. Why are they low value? They're random - you don't really get what you need.. sometimes a DDRL or an ICBM comes your way, but often you end up with a few random hunks of BAUX or COAL that don't really help you achieve your ultimate plans. Combine that with the mandatory rebuilding process that accompanies most combat, and you have an activity that may hurt you more than it helps.
BUT, what if you could PICK the tithe items your opponent had to give you? Then wouldn't that be a nice way to secure the resources you need to realize your goals?
What follows is a really loose implementation of such a system intended only to inspire some discussion about this idea.
So, combat proceeds and a victor, along with the duration of the subsequent vassalage, is determined through the normal means. However, the nature of the tithes is determined somewhat differently.
Tithes come in, say, 4 ranks.
Minor tithes are COAL(x2), BXT, SAND, PIRN
Moderate tithes are FOOD, ALU, GLASS, STEEL, URO
Major tithes are DMND, EUR, AID (worth 2 items)
Crippling tithes are DDRL, ICBM
How awesome/opportunistic the ass kicking was determines what sort of items are exchanged each turn.
This list is the same list from the docs.. I've just changed "objects" to "value"
Base tithe value: 1
The master is Fascist: +1 tithe value
Governmental hatred: +1 tithe value
The vassal possesses the master's Palantir: +1 tithe value
The vassal has more buildings than the master: +1 tithe value
The vassal has twice as many buildings as the master: +1 tithe value
The vassal is not idle: +1 tithe value / 40 objets in inventory (rounding down)
The vassal has been idle for 7 days: +2 tithe value
The vassal has been idle for 7 days: +1 tithe value / 20 objects in inventory (rounding down)
The master has four times as many buildings as the vassal: -1 tithe value
The vassal's government is Anarchy: -1 tithe value
So, the resulting tithe value determines the rank of the item that can be demanded in some way, maybe like this:
Minor tithes - 0-1 points
Moderate tithes - 2-3 points
Major tithes - 4-5 points
Crippling tithes - 6 or greater points
So then the master selects what he/she wants from each rank, and the vassal must try to satisfy the master if they can. I'm not really sure what happens if they can't satisfy the master. Do you try to satisfy them with multiple items from a lower rank? I'm also not sure if the master should be able to demand an item in the middle of a turn - like a trade for no items that the master picks (YOUR MASTER DEMANDS A DIAMOND DRILL!! - you have no choice but to comply). Then the master can try to squeeze a good item out of their vassal. The level of the tithe would determine the maximum value of the item they could demand, I would guess.
Anyhow, it's a half-baked idea, I know, but I thought it was curiously enticing and figured I might as well put it out there. It's probably already too complex to find its way into the game but what the hell
I saw, as the biggest deterrant, the low value of the tithes you get from a conquored opponent. Why are they low value? They're random - you don't really get what you need.. sometimes a DDRL or an ICBM comes your way, but often you end up with a few random hunks of BAUX or COAL that don't really help you achieve your ultimate plans. Combine that with the mandatory rebuilding process that accompanies most combat, and you have an activity that may hurt you more than it helps.
BUT, what if you could PICK the tithe items your opponent had to give you? Then wouldn't that be a nice way to secure the resources you need to realize your goals?
What follows is a really loose implementation of such a system intended only to inspire some discussion about this idea.
So, combat proceeds and a victor, along with the duration of the subsequent vassalage, is determined through the normal means. However, the nature of the tithes is determined somewhat differently.
Tithes come in, say, 4 ranks.
Minor tithes are COAL(x2), BXT, SAND, PIRN
Moderate tithes are FOOD, ALU, GLASS, STEEL, URO
Major tithes are DMND, EUR, AID (worth 2 items)
Crippling tithes are DDRL, ICBM
How awesome/opportunistic the ass kicking was determines what sort of items are exchanged each turn.
This list is the same list from the docs.. I've just changed "objects" to "value"
Base tithe value: 1
The master is Fascist: +1 tithe value
Governmental hatred: +1 tithe value
The vassal possesses the master's Palantir: +1 tithe value
The vassal has more buildings than the master: +1 tithe value
The vassal has twice as many buildings as the master: +1 tithe value
The vassal is not idle: +1 tithe value / 40 objets in inventory (rounding down)
The vassal has been idle for 7 days: +2 tithe value
The vassal has been idle for 7 days: +1 tithe value / 20 objects in inventory (rounding down)
The master has four times as many buildings as the vassal: -1 tithe value
The vassal's government is Anarchy: -1 tithe value
So, the resulting tithe value determines the rank of the item that can be demanded in some way, maybe like this:
Minor tithes - 0-1 points
Moderate tithes - 2-3 points
Major tithes - 4-5 points
Crippling tithes - 6 or greater points
So then the master selects what he/she wants from each rank, and the vassal must try to satisfy the master if they can. I'm not really sure what happens if they can't satisfy the master. Do you try to satisfy them with multiple items from a lower rank? I'm also not sure if the master should be able to demand an item in the middle of a turn - like a trade for no items that the master picks (YOUR MASTER DEMANDS A DIAMOND DRILL!! - you have no choice but to comply). Then the master can try to squeeze a good item out of their vassal. The level of the tithe would determine the maximum value of the item they could demand, I would guess.
Anyhow, it's a half-baked idea, I know, but I thought it was curiously enticing and figured I might as well put it out there. It's probably already too complex to find its way into the game but what the hell
