[IDEA] [COMBAT] Stations and Civilizations

Matlkael

A conflict system idea.

Aside from the player civilizations (Scatterhome, Song, and Celestine), we also have these accessible NPC ones that also have stations:

• Nabian States (Gallen and Paskal Stations)
• Selassian Dynasty (Eta Zeniah and Izaren Stations)
• Diamond Belt (Fontain Station)
• Arcturus Nebula (Atheni Station)
• Iron Corsairs (Bakal Station)
• Ibyssian Brotherhood (Kholod, Rensu, Ixodon Industries Shipforge)
• Syndicate (Khayrat Station)
• Grensuhlians (Pylos Station)

I am not including Vyan Shroud (Barbella) and Hreysil (Inkke and Elonova), because they seem more like 'geographic locations' than fully-formed 'states'. And that's important for the whole theme of this proposal. I am also not including the civilizations with no stations (Zinari Empire, the Fatar, and the Vonikin Krel) because this is supposed to be a "land-based" thing, mostly.

So. We have all these wonderful free real estate neighbor civilizations. We should do something with them!

The idea is that we, the enterprising spacer civilizations, should be able to form relations with these others.

These relations can be formed in two ways: Alliance or Conquest.

(Yes, the following is going to be heavily inspired by Lusternian village revolts.)

Every now and then (similar to how cosmpiercers go into a vulnerable state), the listed stations will become unstable. This is an opportunity for the three PC civilizations.

Just like cosmpiercers, there will be 3-4 control points in each station that will allow the hacker to REPAIR TERMINAL FOR ALLIANCE/CONQUEST. The repair is a channeled action (like WILDERNESS TRIANGULATE). That will grant 10 points towards their faction, and the control point will enter a short (1-2 minutes) cooldown until it can be repaired again. Note: repairing for conquest will grant -10 points; repairing for alliance will grant +10 points.

The faction that first reaches 1200 in absolute value of points will win the instability and secure the station. 

What's the difference, then, between an alliance and a conquest?

ALLIANCE

• grants a bonus 1% CAC augmentation (depending on that civilization's speciality)
• costs less RL daily resource demand
• faster transport in the station

CONQUEST

• grants a bonus 2% CAC augmentation
• costs more RL daily resource demand
• ambiance messages throughout the stations (think of holographic banners depicting the conquering faction in the room descriptions)

First, the CAC bonuses. Each civilization has a different area they'd boost:

• Nabian States (Gallen and Paskal Stations): Captaincy Experience
• Selassian Dynasty (Eta Zeniah and Izaren Stations): Hacking Experience
• Diamond Belt (Fontain Station): Stats
• Arcturus Nebula (Atheni Station): Damage
• Iron Corsairs (Bakal Station): Ship Damage
• Ibyssian Brotherhood (Kholod, Rensu, Ixodon Industries Shipforge): Experience
• Syndicate (Khayrat Station): Hacking Experience
• Grensuhlians (Pylos Station): Captaincy Experience

Again, these are on top of the individual CAC boosts that players can use.

The daily resource demand pulls from the faction's storage. If the faction does not have enough resources, then they lose the CAC boost despite still controlling the station (until its next instability, at least).

Controlling all of the stations (either via alliance or conquests) doubles the CAC boost:

• Damage: maximum of 4% (conquest of Atheni)
• Stats: maximum of 4% (conquest of Fontain)
• Ship Damage: maximum of 4% (conquest of Bakal)
• Experience: maximum of 12% (conquest of Kholod, Rensu, and Ixodon)
• Captaincy Experience: maximum of 12% (conquest of Gallen and Paskal for 8%, and Pylos for 4%)
• Hacking Experience: maximum of 12% (conquest of Eta Zeniah and Izaren for 8%, and Khayrat for 4%)

The idea is a more land-based conflict system to go with cosmpiercers. The numbers (and the whole idea, really) can be worked on.

Matlkael

An additional idea to this is sort of like a running "relations tally". For example:

SECTOR-WIDE RELATIONS OF THE SONG DOMINION
Nabian States                                          +100
Selassian Dynasty                                   -2000
Diamond Belt                                           +400
Arcturus Nebula                                        -100
Iron Corsairs                                             -100
Ibyssian Brotherhood                              -1000
Syndicate                                                  -300
Grensuhlians                                             +400

As your faction aids or conquers the NPC civilizations, your relations with them improve (or worsen). We can add further things to this, or maybe the relations will be used as a basis for how those factions react to yours during big events (like, say, if the Ishvana suddenly attacks again in earnest).

Cubey

The difference between Lusternia and Starmourn is that the player civs aren't the only bastions of civilization around - the other empires are hardly the equivalent of villages to turn into client states at players' convenience. They're more like equal actors of the sector, and an attempt to subjugate Nabians, Selessians or what have you would probably take a lot of effort, manpower and time ingame: definitely more than a Lusternia's village revolt.

The idea is sound mechanically, my objections are purely from a lore perspective.

Matlkael

Yeah, that's partially the reason why the Alliance side exists: it aims to recognize that the NPC civilizations are in equal standing to the PC ones, and so they can form a partnership of equals (theoretically).

Jerom

Maybe it's just me but I'd prefer to have something that involves hacking instead of a channeled action.

Hacking needs more love, honestly. It has no use outside of cosmpiercers.

Matlkael

Hacking is fine, sure! Might be better, actually, since I just remembered that nanoseers have adjacent-room interrupts.