Some help with a faction set

[Buster's Uncle]

Apollonians sounds right to me - that's what I immediately thought of.  However, you could go with Sun Worshippers or something on that theme (or one is tempted to suggest Selfish Objectivist B***ards).

[JarlWolf]

Objectivist/Libetarian Bolsheviks-- an industrial collectivist meritocracy out of JarlWolf's nightmares.

If they are a collectivist meritocracy then how is it from my nightmares? Such a society would be in my interests no?
A nightmare society for me would be a Corporate backed Fascist Police state that is free market economy, barely any government civil services for it's people. Add in a theocratic religion in there and its a hell for me.

Unless you meant something else.


As for the Apollo Industries, name: Apollites, or Apollans. You could also go with the Apollanites.

[Buster's Uncle]

Oh - forgot to say that I don't care about multiple legitimate posts.  Don't worry about it if you have something to say.

[Sigma]

Objectivist/Libetarian Bolsheviks-- an industrial collectivist meritocracy out of JarlWolf's nightmares.

If they are a collectivist meritocracy then how is it from my nightmares? Such a society would be in my interests no?
A nightmare society for me would be a Corporate backed Fascist Police state that is free market economy, barely any government civil services for it's people. Add in a theocratic religion in there and its a hell for me.

Unless you meant something else.


As for the Apollo Industries, name: Apollites, or Apollans. You could also go with the Apollanites.

Hahaha I actually ran that faction once. I ginned up the University into the Weyland Yutani corporation and ran Police State/Free Market, with my values shifting to whatever was convenient at the time. It was hilariously sub optimal and I handled my police problems by building Punishment Spheres in conquered bases and using them basically as forced enlistment camps to churn out units.

What I was referring to more is that Roark appropriates Bolshevik and collectivist rhetoric, and he might actually believe it, but the reality of the situation is that his objectivist tendencies are to let the Market decide everything, leading to the Drone problems that they experience as well as their inefficiency. So there's a built in hypocrasy of what he's saying verses out the faction actually functions.

Naturally, then, part of the player's role is to realize that workers' and builders' paradise through the course of the game through social engineering and base design.

[Buster's Uncle]

Also, objectivists/libertarians have a very strong tradition of being virulently, almost mindlessly, anti-communist...

[Sigma]

Also, objectivists/libertarians have a very strong tradition of being virulently, almost mindlessly, anti-communist...

Yeah, basically the only real thing that link's Roark's philosophy with Bolshevikism is a rejection of the bourgeois, but even how they use that term differs. Roark for instance would think that it's pretty keen to get filthy rich as long as you earned it by working hard and being objectively better than everyone else.

What do you think of the stats? I considered adding +1 Economy as another bonus but if they run Free Market/Wealth that could get ridiculous.

[JarlWolf]

Mhm... my Imperium faction is like that except for there is more of a defined distance between privileged and poor: People who are economically savy/connected live like aristocrats and then the rest of the people are literal slaves.

[Green1]

BTW, I was distracted trying to fight off Antimind, a classic NN faction that has been giving SP folks hell for almost a decade, that I have neglected to talk on forums. Welcome to AC2!

I think AC, as I have mentioned before, is one of those classics that never die much like Age of Wonders or Master of Magic that still to this day have active communities. Maybe not on the order of Civ Fanatics, but active nonetheless and will still be here come Civ 6.

Your factions look very interesting and I collect good, story driven factions for my sandbox. I like some of the ideas. In the USA, objectivists come from 2 sources: Anne Rynd followers and a few from the Temple of Set/LaVeyan Satanism (which, ironically is a recognized religion by the US military). You may want to go with something like that for objectivist factions.

[Sigma]

BTW, I was distracted trying to fight off Antimind, a classic NN faction that has been giving SP folks hell for almost a decade, that I have neglected to talk on forums. Welcome to AC2!

I think AC, as I have mentioned before, is one of those classics that never die much like Age of Wonders or Master of Magic that still to this day have active communities. Maybe not on the order of Civ Fanatics, but active nonetheless and will still be here come Civ 6.

Your factions look very interesting and I collect good, story driven factions for my sandbox. I like some of the ideas. In the USA, objectivists come from 2 sources: Anne Rynd followers and a few from the Temple of Set/LaVeyan Satanism (which, ironically is a recognized religion by the US military). You may want to go with something like that for objectivist factions.

Thanks Green1! I've been following your AAR4 thread and it's really riveting! I remember dismissing the AntiMind when I first saw it appear on Network Node waaaaay back when the site was still up, but now it's like a weird half-remembered nightmare come back. I may have to play against them sometime!

Yeah this is definitely the Ayn Rand kind vs LaVey kind. I'd like to think that that all of these factions can be played either as villains or heroes, but I'm probably a bit harsher on the Apollonians than the others because of my distaste for that philosophy. The way to go about viewing them as protagonists is to look at Roark's ideology as being that everyone has something that they are good at, and people should be given the freedom and opportunity to maximize their skill in that area in order to become Objectively Great. Alternately you can just play the game as Andrew Ryan and enjoy being a kind of crazy ultra egotist who traveled to space to escape American building regulations.

EDIT: I completed the pcx file for the Colonial Authority. I used the Usurper's base set because I think they're pretty awesome and they fit the faction very well, but I could change them in the future. Leader portrait is Michelle Forbes as Admiral Helena Cain from Battlestar Galactica. The logo is also from BSG, as is the diplomacy image. It seemed to fit quite well.

[sisko]

i see some attachment counters that read 'downloaded 0 times' in this thread, so here's an advice for Sigma: using spoilers for the .txt files and embeding the pictures will make the life easier for those willing to help.

[Sigma]

Yeah I noticed that too. How do I embed pcxs?

[sisko]

you can't, but you can convert to jpeg or other common format.. attaching jpeg/png/gif images will display the image at the end of the post. if you want to embed anywhere inside the post you should use our gallery ('Media' in the main forum menu) to host the image

[Sigma]

That's a bit better!

EDIT: looks like I need to tweak the logo a little bit. The left side got a little messed up.

[Sigma]

Apollo Industries is complete! I actually completed the Alien text on these guys so the txt is 100% finished!

(click to show/hide)

Apollo Industries, The Industrialist, Apollonians, M, 1, Roark, M, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0,
TECH, Indust, SOCIAL, +INDUSTRY, SOCIAL, -EFFIC, UNIT, 5, DRONE, 4, HURRY, 75, SHARETECH, 4,
Economics, Free Market, INDUSTRY,
Economics, Green, nil,
Apollonian, Apollo,
Elizabeth, Louis, Northern Foundry
Architect, inspiring, egotistical, industrious, grandiose,
Selfish Hypocrit
usher humanity into a new Golden Age of productivity and industrial wonders
to build a society of free industry, unfettered by petty regulations
feeding his own ego at the expense of his clueless disciples
feeding your own ego at the expense of your clueless disciples
reduce Planet into a vast monument to your imagined greatness
delivering interminable speeches extolling the virtues of greed and selfishness
delivering interminable speeches extolling the virtues of greed and selfishness
conducting unsavory industrial practices
industrial malpractice, M1
building projects, M2
"New Golden Age", M1
payment, M1
maintaining Planet's industrial infrastructure
my Industrial Police
Planetary Bill of Worker's Rights

#BASES
Olympus Heights
Worker's Wage
Prize of Labor
Architects's Pride
Atlas University
Gleaming Gulch
Phaeton's Folly
Sweat of Your Brow
Burden of Greatness
Duty to Achieve
Farpoint Foundry
New World Industries
Advance of Humanity
Vulcan's Forge
Bolshevik Barrack
Act of Will
Sun God City
Draftsman's Delight
Hammer and Anvil
Mechanic's Marvel
Wonder of the World
Constructor Colony
Factory Central
Virtue of Self
Bane of the Parasite
Apollo Transcontinental
Apollo Technologies
Apollo Metalworks
Apollo Construction
Apollo Enterprises
#END

#WATERBASES
Fountainhead
Mercury Sea
Apollo Naval Works
Shipwright's Succor
Mariner's Might
Oceanic Ventures
Deep Sea Factory
#END

#BLURB
^  We were born into a world where those with the ability
to create were hamstrung by the narrow visions of those
who could not, and where the worker was denied his dues by the
social parasites who profited from his toil. But we have been
given a chance to forge a new society free of such inequities,
where the laborer who sweats under this foreign sun will
receive in full the fruits of his activity.
^
^        -- Architect Henry Roark,
^           "The Builder's Burden"

#DATALINKS1
^LEADER: {Henry Roark}
^BACKGROUND: {Union of American Commonwealths, Unity Construction Overseer}
^AGENDA: {Free Industrial Society}
^TECH: {Industrial Base}

#DATALINKS2
^+1 INDUSTRY:   {Well motivated work force}
^-1 EFFICIENCY:  {Internal economic competition}
^Free Supply Crawler at Planetfall
^Extra Drone per 4 Citizens {No social safety net}
^75% Hurry Costs {Fully staffed factories}
^{May not choose Green Economics}


#FACTIONTRUCE
#xs 440
#caption $CAPTION7
"This Vendetta is a disgusting waste of resources and
manpower, $NAME1. A Blood Truce is the only sensible
decision to make for both of us."

"Of course, let's put an end to this senseless waste."
"There's no price too high for wiping your gutless
ideology off the face of Planet!"

#FACTIONTREATY
#xs 440
#caption $CAPTION7
"$TITLE0 $NAME1, your respect for industrial rights and
ceaseless quest for greatness rivals only my own. A Treaty
of Friendship would only serve to enhance both of our
endeavors."

"Certainly! Our people will work side by side to create a bright
future."
"I'd rather sacrifice my people to the mindworms than to your ego, $NAME3.
At least the mindworms are quick about it."

#ALIENFACTIONTRUCE
#xs 440
#caption $CAPTION7
"Even you must realize that this war has been a huge waste of
resources, $NAME1. You must agree to a Blood Truce."

"Waste: undesirable. War: must end. Agreement: Truce."
"Cause: justifies resource expenditure. $NAME3: begging: unsuccessful."

#ALIENFACTIONTREATY
#xs 440
#caption $CAPTION7
"$TITLE0 $NAME1, though our races are different we both seek to create
a strong, prosperous civilizationon this world. My workforce would be
a valuable asset in your ventures. A Treaty of Friendship would make
such an arrangement official."

"Human laborers: beneficial to Progenitor. Treaty: confirmed."
"$NAME3: personality: self-interested. Treaty: inadvisable."

# ; This line must remain at end of file

That means I have two more factions left to round this out. I don't currently have any strong ideas on what they should be, so instead I'm going to focus on graphics for the ones that I do have.

[ete]

hm, seems mostly balanced, though Industry+ and a nice Hurry modifier may be too much together. Not insanely broken by any means, but after ability to hit +1 eng/square and pop boom, Industry is the most important SE setting and there's not a very significant counterweight (the two cannon factions with industry bonuses had -2 Econ and -2 Research). Effic- and not being able to run green won't come into play until mid-late game, and the drone problem is not that significant.

I'd suggest doing at least one, maybe better two, of the following:
Remove Hurry 75%
Effic to -2
Negative interest, perhaps 5-10% (workers taking a share of profits)
Adding in another penalty, like -1 Planet, -1 Support, or a base size reduction