Post by iuewen on Oct 5, 2012 16:29:35 GMT -5
Hello,
In an effort to stir up some discussion (and as an attempt to utilize these past two years of psych classes), I am wondering if an active attempt to avoid attacking Communist players is made on part of the battler. For those who may not know what Communism does:
Communism
Hates: Capitalism, fascism, syndicalism
Legendary for their relentless espionage efforts, the commies take pride in undermining bourgeoise regimes, for the people!
Spies report presence of ICBMs and palantirs
Field agent survival rate doubled
Diplomats have a 50/50 chance to survive warfare, becoming informants*
Diplomats cause corruption
Tithes against are -1 tier
Chance of causing corruption is halved (ie. 5% / 3 hours)
* Provided the defender has buildings left for them to hide in afterwards.
Communism is a strange government. It is a lot like Technocracy, as the only two government types with absolutely no growth potential; rather, their strengths lie with the defensive capabilities. I find myself wondering at the scalability of the Communist defensive network (whereas the Technocrat's defense is airtight, only breached during Stormy weather, which is rare), as the Communist relies on a huge bank of Glass and constant Palantirs to even remain viable.
Communist is a very ~weak~ government choice. I'd put it at the 'weakest' slot, if not for the highly irritating 'shipped things to Timbucktu' random event that Customs Houses have, which provide a detriment from running Bureaucracy. Though, with that said, once global trades go in, Bureaucrats are going to be in high demand. This leaves Communists in a very precarious position of having really no ways of providing a defense network against non-local targets, and having to compete with palantir production against the entire map and everyone touching your palantir-vassals that you are unable to see. The ability to see ICBMs and Palantirs sounds cute, but I've yet to see it really pay off. It would be an interesting change if the Communist was able to see the building countdown timers, and Factory production rates, etc. Perhaps even see the materials on-hand, storage space, etc. This could provide a bump. Communists are further crippled by being forced to sustain themselves on a Sand tile if they want to have any chance at keeping this network alive.
Not to say that a Communist cannot be successful on a non-sand tile, just that the Communist will not be able to keep the defensive network active against those that habitate a sand tile and are able to perma-produce Palantirs. The government has no *really* bad downside, the 5% corruption chance is nowhere near as crippling as the -PM production bonuses of some other government types. Communist can be a valid choice to swap to once you place a load of Diplomats worldwide (though I am fuzzy on how you will place a new Diplomat if one is killed, short of moving your entire battle mine in range of them again) to provide a 50% survival chance.
With that said, this post was more about exploring the other side of the Communist government type...
All weaknesses aside, Communism holds a unique bonus, and that is the -1 Bounty Tier during combat. This is a uniquely psychological aspect to combat, where you are provided with a theatre for combat, and one member will provide a much lower (or none at all) payoff for attacking. I am of the mind that -1 bounty tier is really only going to deter you if you are a fascist hunting for bounties, and would not hesitate to vassalize someone rolling Communist during a rampage, even knowing that I won't be receiving a free hull upgrade if I attack them.
However, this is not about my personal views so much as everyone else's views about this aspect. Does the negative bounty tier affect your choice of targets when you go to attack someone? Do bounty tiers even come into play in your mind when you are attacking someone? Please leave your thoughts below.
In an effort to stir up some discussion (and as an attempt to utilize these past two years of psych classes), I am wondering if an active attempt to avoid attacking Communist players is made on part of the battler. For those who may not know what Communism does:
Communism
Hates: Capitalism, fascism, syndicalism
Legendary for their relentless espionage efforts, the commies take pride in undermining bourgeoise regimes, for the people!
Spies report presence of ICBMs and palantirs
Field agent survival rate doubled
Diplomats have a 50/50 chance to survive warfare, becoming informants*
Diplomats cause corruption
Tithes against are -1 tier
Chance of causing corruption is halved (ie. 5% / 3 hours)
* Provided the defender has buildings left for them to hide in afterwards.
Communism is a strange government. It is a lot like Technocracy, as the only two government types with absolutely no growth potential; rather, their strengths lie with the defensive capabilities. I find myself wondering at the scalability of the Communist defensive network (whereas the Technocrat's defense is airtight, only breached during Stormy weather, which is rare), as the Communist relies on a huge bank of Glass and constant Palantirs to even remain viable.
Communist is a very ~weak~ government choice. I'd put it at the 'weakest' slot, if not for the highly irritating 'shipped things to Timbucktu' random event that Customs Houses have, which provide a detriment from running Bureaucracy. Though, with that said, once global trades go in, Bureaucrats are going to be in high demand. This leaves Communists in a very precarious position of having really no ways of providing a defense network against non-local targets, and having to compete with palantir production against the entire map and everyone touching your palantir-vassals that you are unable to see. The ability to see ICBMs and Palantirs sounds cute, but I've yet to see it really pay off. It would be an interesting change if the Communist was able to see the building countdown timers, and Factory production rates, etc. Perhaps even see the materials on-hand, storage space, etc. This could provide a bump. Communists are further crippled by being forced to sustain themselves on a Sand tile if they want to have any chance at keeping this network alive.
Not to say that a Communist cannot be successful on a non-sand tile, just that the Communist will not be able to keep the defensive network active against those that habitate a sand tile and are able to perma-produce Palantirs. The government has no *really* bad downside, the 5% corruption chance is nowhere near as crippling as the -PM production bonuses of some other government types. Communist can be a valid choice to swap to once you place a load of Diplomats worldwide (though I am fuzzy on how you will place a new Diplomat if one is killed, short of moving your entire battle mine in range of them again) to provide a 50% survival chance.
With that said, this post was more about exploring the other side of the Communist government type...
All weaknesses aside, Communism holds a unique bonus, and that is the -1 Bounty Tier during combat. This is a uniquely psychological aspect to combat, where you are provided with a theatre for combat, and one member will provide a much lower (or none at all) payoff for attacking. I am of the mind that -1 bounty tier is really only going to deter you if you are a fascist hunting for bounties, and would not hesitate to vassalize someone rolling Communist during a rampage, even knowing that I won't be receiving a free hull upgrade if I attack them.
However, this is not about my personal views so much as everyone else's views about this aspect. Does the negative bounty tier affect your choice of targets when you go to attack someone? Do bounty tiers even come into play in your mind when you are attacking someone? Please leave your thoughts below.
