10-26-2010

General Notes:

• Hexagon tiles!
• Some sort of in game Galactipedia, even if it is only a list of components and buildings, would really help
• No productivity slider, separate production and research sliders?

o   Or, no sliders (except tax rate) but you can build nothing or shut down a planet’s research to save money

• No going into debt? If savings reach 0, then production/research is reduced
• No social production

o   Buildings build themselves (that way you don’t need factories on non manufacturing worlds that sit idle when the world is fully upgraded)

• No starport required to build ships

o   Factories just produce ships so if you have a factory on a world, you should be able to immediately build ships

• A system for switching civilization in game, so you can play it from multiple angles?
• No range limitations
• No gateway techs (except leading up to transcendence) and the turns to complete techs should be clearly displayed
• No colony maintenance?
• Maybe you could add an in game community hub for sharing ships/civs?
• No green stars?

Game Customization:

1.       Civilization customization:

a.       No inherent abilities for default races, they should be simply examples and should be fully duplicate able

b.      No point system for limiting civilization abilities, you should be able to make them as strong or weak as you want (but with caps in bonus in any one category)

                                                         i.            Points assigned to abilities would be only for reference to help with balancing

2.       Map customization:

a.       Size of map

                                                         i.            Affects viability of cultural victory

b.      Specific # of stars, rather than rate of occurrence on the map

c.       Total # of planets

d.      Total # of habitable planets

e.      Rate of research

                                                         i.            Affects viability of transcendence victory

f.        Rate of ethical dilemmas

                                                         i.            Affects viability of ethical victory

g.       Rate of anomaly appearance

h.      Population growth rate

i.         Rate of the calendar

                                                         i.            This is only aesthetic, but 1 week per turn feels way too short; I want to be able to play over centuries or millennia

Economy:

1.       Population:

a.       Each billion people eat 1 billion tons of food

                                                               i.      Population grows x population per 1b food per turn times (1 – tax %)

b.      Each billion population yields x credits times tax %

c.       Each billion population (galaxy wide) provides x credits times average galactic tax % (waited for population) times (# of tiles in you territory / # of total tiles) to you

d.      Population bonuses improve the food yield of Arcologies

2.       Trade:

a.       Routes are made through diplomacy

                                                               i.      No freighter ships

                                                             ii.      Each planet can only have 1 trade route

                                                            iii.      Trade routes can be canceled after 10? turns

b.      Each trade route yields no $ itself

                                                               i.      Yield is equal to the sum of the markets on each ends

                                                             ii.      Whoever’s influence the freighter is in gets $ equal to the yield of the trade route

                                                            iii.      Economic starbases can be upgraded to earn a $ equal to a % of the yield of the route when the freighter if in its radius

c.       Trade bonuses increase total yield of markets on your side of the trade routes

3.       Influence:

a.       Cultural facilities and influence starbases produce influence

                                                               i.      Influence value for a tile adjacent to the cultural producer is the producer’s value

                                                             ii.      Influence value reduced by one for every tile between tile in question and the cultural producer with 0 being the minimum (Cultural producer value – distance from producer = influence value of tile)

                                                            iii.      If multiple producers overlap, then value is their sum [(Cultural producer 1 value – distance from producer 1) + (Cultural producer 2 value – distance from producer 2) = influence value of tile]

b.      Influence bonuses increase total productivity of culture buildings on the planet or in the starbase (rounded up)

Influence:

4.       Cultural facilities and influence starbases produce influence

a.       Influence value for a tile adjacent to the cultural producer is the producer’s value

b.      Influence value reduced by one for every tile between tile in question and the cultural producer with 0 being the minimum

                                                               i.      Cultural producer value – distance from producer = influence value of tile

c.       If multiple producers overlap, then value is their sum

                                                               i.      (Cultural producer 1 value – distance from producer 1) + (Cultural producer 2 value – distance from producer 2) = influence value of tile

d.      Influence bonus increases productivity of culture buildings (rounded up)

5.       Freighters traveling trade routes provide $ equal to the total value to the trade route (the sum of the $ earned at each end)

6.       Approval:

a.       Happiness / unhappiness = % approval

b.      For every 10?% approval, conquered planets resist for 1 turn

Planets:

• Colonized by colony ships
• Terraforming:

o   Green tiles = normal construction time (and thus cost)

o   Yellow tiles = requires soil improvement, 2x construction time (and thus cost)

§  Required to colonize planets with no green tiles

o   Red tiles = requires habitat improvement, 3x construction time (and thus cost)

o   (yellow and red tiles are always yellow and red, no building to improve them; you simply need the prerequisite tech to build on them)

• Special Planets:

o   Aquatic: requires the ?(moderately cheap) tech to colonize

o   Toxic: requires the ?(moderately cheap) tech to colonize

o   Radioactive: requires the ?(moderately expensive) tech to colonize

o   Heavy Gravity: requires the ?(moderately expensive) tech to colonize

o   Barren: requires the ?(very expensive) tech to colonize

• Construction does not require production

o   When ordered, you pay $x for 5? turns

o   Development bonus reduces $x cost

o   Can build multiple at same time, if you have the income or savings to support it

o   When you upgrade a building, the old one is instantly decommissioned and you are refunded ½ it’s build cost

• Planetary Bonuses

o   Bonuses are planet wide

o   Research:

§  Ancient Artifacts: +20?% research planet wide

§  Ancient Relics: +50?% research planet wide

§  Precursor Library: +100?% research planet wide

o   Production:

§  Mineral Deposits: +20?% production planet wide

§  Rich Mineral Deposits: +50?% production planet wide

§  Precursor Mine: +100?% production planet wide

o   Trade:

§  Gemstones: +20?% trade route yield planet wide

§  ? :+50?% trade route yield planet wide

§  Precursor Bank?:+100?% trade route yield planet wide

o   Population:

§  Fertile: +20?% population

§  Rich ecology: +50?% population

§  Precursor Garden: +100?% population

o   Influence:

§  Ancient Ruins: +20?% influence

§  ? : +50?% influence

§  Precursor City: +100?% influence

• Homeworld starts at 10g, 10y, 10r

o   Homeworlds never have planetary bonuses

1.       Each buildings takes up 1 space

a.       Civilization Capital (+4x food, +4x trade route yield, +4x production, +4x research, +4x influence, 1 free on homeworld instead of Planetary capital, requires no space)

                                                               i.      12b food w/ basic tech?

                                                             ii.      $60b trade yield w/ basic tech?

                                                            iii.      $120b to 120 production w/ basic tech?

                                                           iv.      $120b to 120 research w/ basic tech?

                                                             v.      4x influence w/ basic tech?

b.      Planetary capital (+x food, 1 free per planet)

                                                               i.      3b food w/ basic tech?

c.       Arcology (+x food)

                                                               i.      3b food for basic?

d.      Market (+x trade yield)

                                                               i.      $15b trade yield for basic?

e.      Factory (converts $x to x production)

                                                               i.      $30b to 30 production for basic?

f.        Power Planet (+x% production rate)? (Personally, I don’t like this and think that this function is better filled by economic starbases)

g.       Lab (converts $x to x research)

                                                               i.      $30b to 30 research for basic?

h.      Research Corporation (+x% research rate)? (Personally, I don’t like this and think that this function is better filled by economic starbases)

i.         Museum (+x influence)

Technology:

• You assign research for your civilization
• Labs produce research
• Research is saved and when you have enough for the tech you aimed at, you get it

o   Switching tech has no penalty

o   Overflow research is saved

Starbases:

• Built by constructers
• Can’t be built in another’s radius
• Require a constructer ship to add a module

o   Extra fees may apply

• 10? hp for every module

1.       General:

a.       Stellar Wake

                                                               i.      All ships that start turn in starbase effect radius get +x movement

b.      Warp Disrupter

                                                               i.      All enemy (at war) ships that start turn in starbase effect radius get -x movement

c.       Perimeter Scanner

                                                               i.      +x sight radius

2.       Military:

3.       Influence:

4.       Economic:

a.       Space Factory

b.      Merchant Docks

Ships:

• Built using production

o   Production bonus reduces ship cost

• Can be purchased with money around any world

o   the cost of buying is x (10?) times the build cost of the ship

o   no limit to how many ships can be bought, even around one world

• Each component costs x Production, adds 1 size, and adds 1 hp

o   Some components may be larger and so have 100?x cost, 1x size, and 1x hp

o   Hulls do not count as components and are completely free

• When you upgrade a ship, the cost is the cost of the new one – ½ the cost of the ship being upgraded
• Class sizes

o   Tiny

§  1-10 size range

o   Small

§  11-20 size range

o   Medium

§  21-50 size range

o   Large

§  51-100 size range

o   Huge

§  101-200 size range

1.       Beam Weapon (+5x energy attack)

2.       Mass Driver (+5x mass attack)

3.       Missile (+5x missile attack)

4.       Shield (+3x energy defense, +x mass defense, +x missile defense)

5.       Armor (+3x mass defense, +x missile defense, +x energy defense)

6.       Point Defense (+3x missile defense, +x energy defense, +x mass defense)

7.       Engines (+x speed)

8.       Sensors (+x sight)

9.       Colony Module (allows colonization, can move population)

10.   Constructor module (can build or add a module to a starbase)

11.   Lander (can invade planets)

12.   Abilities (free, but each ship can only have 1)?

a.       Tracking Laser

                                                               i.      +100% attack and defense when targeting tiny ships

b.       

                                                               i.      +100% attack and defense when targeting small ships

c.        

                                                               i.      +100% attack and defense when targeting medium ships

d.       

                                                               i.      +100% attack and defense when targeting large ships

e.      Targeting Scanner

                                                               i.      +100% attack and defense when targeting huge ships

f.        Tactical Uplink

                                                               i.      +50% attack and defense when orbiting a planet

g.       Illumination Ray

                                                               i.      +50% attack and defense when in nebula

Combat:

• When combat is entered 1 ship from each fleet is randomly chosen to be attacked; if/when it is destroyed, then another is randomly chosen

o   This way combat is more interesting and there is no penalty to having different defenses on each class; you could even have ships with all defenses and no weapons and hope that they are targeted and vice versa

• A number is randomly chosen from 1 to the attacking ship’s weapon attack + the defending ship’s corresponding defense.

o   Probability of damage = attack / attack + defense

o   Damage ratio = attack1/(attack1+defence2) : attack2/(attack2+defence1)

• If the number is less than or equal to the attacking ship’s weapon attack, then 1 damage is dealt.
• If the number is more than the attacking ship’s weapon attack, then 0 damage is dealt.

Fleet:

• Defined as any tile with a ship/ships in it

o   May be as small as one ship

• Maximum allowed is 1000 total size
• Movement = total speed / total size (rounded up)
• W/ combat system, would allow for a swarm strategy: have hundreds of specialized ships, each of which is only 1 component and a hull and have them move and attack as one

Planetary invasion:

• Requires ships with landing craft

o   Landing craft do not reduce population

• Each landing craft provides 1 division for attack

o   Multiple transports can attack simultaneously

o   A transport takes 1 hp of damage for each of its division(s) that is lost

§  If it is only landing craft, it can be destroyed in an invasion

• Each building provides 1 division for defense

o   Planetary can never be destroyed

o   Civilization capital provides 20 divisions and can never be destroyed

• This way warfare is not always galactic genocide, but you can still destroy Arcologies with mass drivers, etc.

1.       Tactics:

a.       Traditional Warfare

b.      Information Warfare

                                                               i.      % chance

c.       Mass Drivers

                                                               i.      (large)% chance for each building to be replaced with fallout

                                                             ii.      Costs $(small)

                                                            iii.      (large)% of defending divisions destroyed

d.      Core Detonation

                                                               i.      (small)% chance for each building to be replaced with fallout

                                                             ii.      Costs $(medium)

                                                            iii.      (medium)% of defending divisions destroyed

e.      Tidal Disruption

                                                               i.      (large)% chance for each building to be destroyed

                                                             ii.      Costs $(medium)

                                                            iii.      (medium)% of defending divisions destroyed

f.        Mini Solders

                                                               i.      (small)% chance for each building to be destroyed

                                                             ii.      Costs $(large)

                                                            iii.      (medium)% of defending divisions destroyed

Interface:

• Flat on the tile under a fleet would be a ring that fills from transparent to solid as the total size of the fleet grows

o   The % of the ring that is filled = total size/1000

• If there are too many ships in a fleet to fit on the little display, they are organized by class

o   Double clicking a class shows you the all the ships in it

?Government:

1.       Traditional: no bonus

2.       Imperial: + production

3.       Republic: + research

4.       Democracy: + population

5.       Federation: + trade

Ethics:

• Every x turns a planet is randomly selected and if you own it you are confronted with an ethical dilemma and must choose between 3 solutions

o   Good = 1 utopia point

o   Neutral = a small permanent bonus

o   Evil = a large temporary or instantaneous bonus

• The choice you made most often is your alignment (if there is a tie, then it is the more recent)

o   Each alignment provides additional bonuses that grow with the number of civilizations with that alignment

• Each race starts with their first one chosen for them

o   Alterians start with 1 utopia point

o   Arceans start with a random permanent bonus

o   Drengine start with a random temporary bonus

• As the game progresses, neutral bonuses get better and evil bonuses get worse to accommodate the approaching end of the game

Victory:

• Conquest: capture every homeworld
• Technological: research transcendence
• Diplomatic: ally with every surviving major civilization
• Cultural: extend your culture over x% of map
• Ethical: amass x utopia points