Political "mini game"

EVE Technology and Research Center Player Features & Ideas
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tl:dr there are a lot of role players in game wouldn’t it be nice to have something that doesn’t involve too much undocking? (for the participant which would be a governor of a station)

Taking the area of syndicate in particular where each station is supposedly self governed I feel a political and economic style mini game may provide a boon for the area and add something different to EvE, at least in this area of space which could improve activity and trade in the region too… though if successful and varied enough it could possibly be a good idea for lowsec too?

Basic premise is a player can vie for governership of a station in a variety of ways but i think courier missions would work best as a starting area (providing station with goods and transport services) with some random low level(ish) combat or repair missions (kill the rats on the station, moon or planet) or repair station services, guns etc… (in space in the station general area)
Any goods moved needn’t be huge and this is just an idea on how to initially get started and obviously continued effort would keep your station standings up…

Political and economical game could basically be some sort of city builder like sim city (as an example) but with less city building and more maintenance/emergency crews and ‘event’ decisions; all with various costs and effects of course.

City would simply be a multiple level station layout, already with basic buildings/machines but space for more with upgrades available when researched/bought.
The governor would have to maintain a crew of engineers, scientists, tourists… maybe these could be imported from the market items - creating an as yet unknown trade in all those ‘livestock’ drops that do nothing… like militants… tourists, scientists, mercenaries, slaves…

Rewards for governance of the system could be basic, like isk and lp, bragging rights and a viable role play presence that actually has an effect…
Rewards could also include station benefits such as those you might see on service modules and rigs you get on citadels (obv if built in station) maybe with reduced fuel costs if only because fuel blocks are a nightmare to make and move and i feel would effect the minigame negatively (the point being to increase activity tenfold and create a different dynamic than that of citadels…)
System wide effects could also be a thing, increased defensive guns, inspace sites that could be destroyed by other players but provide bonuses otherwise)

As an initial basic idea I can see it would take a lot more planning and work to implement as an effective fun addition but ideas could come straight from the community and could be added over time.
For example vanguard could tie easily into this as either defence against mercs or sabotage/kidnap/acquire/assassinate etc missions.
Small constellation facwar style gameplay could open up now and then for system control of specific resources or system wide bonus changes (though id make that rarer over all day every day…)
Players could mess with station services like a few years ago (maybe make that a mission for those in the minigame rather than just trolling)
Corps and alliances involved would obviously need to be deckable; but perhaps costs would be less or could be a ‘‘decision’’ that comes up as part of the minigame towards another station faction…
And of course stations could work together towards a common goal, maybe something like a warp gate to another station in range, killable or at least damageable… cooperations should be limited between a small number of stations of course to avoid the whole of the area coming simply another dominion of a large entity…
The possiblity of other options like cyno jammers, beacons and what not similar to those available to null sov areas… or the ability to cause complete chaos… blackout, weather or other effects…

I think the possibilities are somewhat endless which is why I dont want to go into it too much suffice to say the intaki syndicate is a perfect place for this sort of thing; not so much other pirate areas as i feel the intaki syndicate are a lot different to pirates… for a start they dont have any rats or mining gangs…

Anyway, just an idea…

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Some players do play the political mini game in EVE already and don’t even have to undock much for it.

Player corporations, alliances and coalitions have a lot of politics, diplomacy, economy and war where you could have fun if that is the kind of gameplay you are looking for. Governship of structures, ‘city builder’ to maximize the utility of your area of null sec and real bragging rights when people recognise your name as one of the CEOs of big null sec empires. Politics, but with real people and not with predictable scripted NPCs.

I get the feeling that what you are looking for already exists in EVE, you just need to look in the right place.

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The political game that you talk about is already there. Sans any real pre scripted missions. There is a reason that we gain loyalty points for working with one faction or one or more of the four empires. Why there always seems to be a disconnect between a capsuleer and the authorities at large.

We have our own politics. They have theirs. Theirs only impinge on ours in limited ways. By gaining loyalty points a capsuleer could be seen per game mechanics still loyal to his his/her nation/empire.

As capsuleers we do not really have all that much say as to how the average noncapsuleer npc lives, plays, works, and dies. We are after all as near immortal as you are likely to get in the game.

Our politics are not about arguing over whether a road is going to be built or bridge that needs to be repaired. It is about controlling a section of space and playing capture the flag as to whether a group of capsuleers can hold it against the rest of New Eden.

Right now the game is experiencing one of the largest capture the flag politics, I would argue, in its 21 year history. That is the ongoing simmering conflict between Goonswarm and the Imperium against the Pandemic Horde. Though if these two were to battle it out in a sector with everyone piling in. It would most likely melt the servers right then and there.

For now The Goonswarm have, per one of their youtube videos, are sweet talking a lot of corps who want to leave Pandemic Horde alliance to join them. I am sure the favor is being returned in kind. And there is your politics.

Though for the rest of us who are not part of either of these two alliances. Politics is always ongoing. Whether someone is feeling a bit miffed and decides to wardec a corporation for reasons. Maybe it is two or more ceo/directors getting together and forming a new alliance. Anything in between that.

Essentially we have our own politics. That does not need to be any more involved in the npc governments then absolutely needs to be. Yes, I am a new player and this is my perspective and opinion, rightly or wrongly, on what I see happening in the game.

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No, it doesn’t exist already; there is no tie in to npc factions and the specific ‘playstyle’ you talk of is so far from what i suggested im pretty sure your trolling?

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Again, no; your talking about sociopolitical ingame alliance stuff; there is no station management, no tie in to NPC factions, no other little niche stuff; tbvh its all ego no game.

Maybe you and the other poster should actually read my post instead of trolling?

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As an MMO player interaction is at the forefront of this game. Politics, city building and the economic site of an empire all exist in this game, but in the multiplayer part of the game.

What you suggest would fit really well in a solo player game, where developers spend lots of time to program all sorts of scripted meaningful interactions with NPCs to keep players engaged for hours.

But why would CCP spend time on something like NPC interactions that can keep players engaged for hours when they can instead provide us a sandbox, a universe and the tools to interact with other players in such a way that we players can create our own politics and empire building that can keep players engaged for decades?

Yes, I am aware I am using a different point of view on empire building and politics than the viewpoint you use. But instead of accusing me of trolling, perhaps try to understand my point of view?

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As an avid roleplayer @Felix_Frostpacker might have some insight to share and some wordsalats to say about this subject. :blush:

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Unfortunately Frostpacker had only ever followed the political roleplay passed down to us by PRINCESS Aiko :princess:

Perhaps you might too ping her for the answer?

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Nah she seems busy these days, don’t want to disturb her with trivial matters like this. :wink:

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See you had found the word salad :green_salad: I left for out for you :grin:

/ Related to this political roleplay example…

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When we play to our own feelings we will always feel that we had already received the item props inside New Eden for our own enjoyment of roleplay.

This is already in game and doesn’t require anything other than roleplay we feel we need.

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There’s already more than enough politics in Eve. No need to turn it into Sim-City as well.

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I really like the idea of a political mini game, however i think this should instead of being a mini game within EVE Online and making the game more complicated.

it should either
A) be a game entirely unto itself (which tbf we don’t need)

B) political aspects of deal making should have supporting mechanics which directly influence the game.

Docking Rights, Facility Usage within stations, Trade Agreements, Non Agression Pacts, Cease Fire Agreements, Mutual Defense Pacts, Temporary, Tax Breaks, Response Fleet Support.

this way if a player in on region of space is getting griefed by other players, they could go and make a deal with the NPC’s who control the space.
“good luck killing me now, NPC’s are my back up”
this would then cause greifers to deal with NPC’s (which is more pew pew fun) as a result of their actions, effecting their standings and thus political power because they want to pew one player or group in particular.

destroying a capsuleer which a group has an agreement with should also reflect negatively on standings for the aggressor and not just engagement timers.

negotiations could be handled on a per player, corp or alliance basis, but this also would make picking sides in terms of politics substantially more critical to the individual player.

contract violations should always be handled on a per player basis with some kind of tiered factor represented as a strike system.

first offence = a minor fine to violating player & warning from the NPC diplo’s to the corporation.

second offence = sizable fine to the violating player in question (with a minor % to the corp and notice of final warning) (the corporation auto kick function could be used in place of agreement violations)

third offence = Immediate Termination of Agreement, Faction in Question immediately wardec via the npc faction (which would also be nice to see NPC’s vs Players a bit more)

this treats everyone within the corp individually and before reaching the third tier of violations the player can be kicked from the corporation to prevent a war dec.

this in my mind means being a CEO also means making more critical decisions on behalf of your group. it also means being able to diplo with NPC & PC groups, becomes semi automated and doesn’t mean diplo players have to get up in the middle of the night to handle drama and other BS, so it effectively makes them instantly enforceable.

anyone who is a diplo also now holds more power in the game especially as a solo player who can influence the politics in an enemy groups space.

a small player with this would now have a voice and anyone griefing them and thier corp into the ground could suffer politically.

the political aspect should also entirely be built around the lore of the game and being currently aware of on going activities which effect the game, so some kind of news feed which can be filtered by faction as well as the ability to understand a factions history, politics and agenda would really compliment this.

any OMEGA player who have corporation HQ’s or home clones within [faction territory] should get some kind of vote regarding FW within the game. (so even if you don’t FW you can vote on your factions specific direction)

The Poltical Mechanics should also be available to alpha clones providing they have the ISK to make the agreements

with that said all agreements should be confirmed with ISK payments
and should always be on a temporary basis calculated entirely off of current standings at the time of making them.

this also means further social & connection skills within each group could be created. and put into the game to improve standings.

it then:

  • benefits players to know about the lore and history of the game
  • brings actions happening around/to you to the fore front for player & NPC Motivation.
  • adds a buffer and justified reason in game should you have a negative experience.
  • brings the in game lore and politics to the forefront of the game and easier to digest for players based on a per faction basis.
  • players get to side with NPC factions and treated with more advanced AI mechanics like Trigs / Edencomm.
  • gets players involved regarding the future direction of the game and crafting the game’s history.
  • will allow changes to be made on a regional basis depending on what players votes are (aka for new structures and such)
  • teaches newer players the importance of researching political groups and make informed decisions when voting. (an applicable real world skill)

as good as it is to have groups of players working together for a goal, the primary issue is that over the years the game has removed the aspect of the few against the many (rooks and kings is an example of this) but with some good grinding which gives you political power in game you could negotiate an agreement with other group entirely.

NPC’s groups would obviously hold up their end of the deal but maybe PC group’s won’t it all comes down to who you negotiate with.

and honestly I think breaking an agreement should have serious negative standings on ALL factions within the game.

you loose standings with say Guristas but not as much as caldari and everyone else half of that simlpy because you broke an agreement.

Edit:
I’m also for the idea that Players could become the representative of NPC factions when dealing with other factions or Player organisations. (but obviously more than one representative per faction)

this could lead to situations where factions who are being beaten back with corruption / suppression mechanics could become very political and politically negotiate their way through it.

this also means players poitical activities and advocates could see them even given shout outs within the scope videos “A Delegation of Capsuleer Representive of the Triglavian Collective successfully negotiated trade agreements on behalf of the following groups…” yada yada yada.

players could also make the effort to campaign and instigate the effort to have system effects implemented in certain systems on a temporary basis within NPC / Empire space.

if you want to simply control this stuff yourself as a player organisation then conquer it yourself and whatever the vote is internally within your organisation you can then do as you please… but this could lead to in fighting as people can vote as they wish and not as they’re being told to

cough “CSM” cough cough

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This ^^

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not that my above post wasn’t a wall of text enough but an additional thought is that you could also see factions which are made up of several corporations shift and change due to the political landscape, which will also effect the geopolitics of the game.

for example: Thunkker Tribe (which is made up of 3 corps, thus making it an alliance) is not part of the minmitar republic however they’re on good standings with them… what if they for some reason actually joined MR or maybe completely switched sides and joined up with blood raiders.

additionally as more applicable things.
such political campaigning COULD be used to effect basic trade goods such as wheat, medicine and what items are legal / contraband
this could also see raising of demand or prices (or both) for basic trade goods & Passengers aiding with inter regional trading.

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Maybe we could have a political poll minigame about your walls of texts asking the forum voters how many of them even bothered to read those posts.

:smirk: :innocent:

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I have thought it would be interesting if a character could run for Gallente President. I have zero clue what that person would do once they got the job, but an election would be similar content to running for CSM.

Is it worth the dev time to set up the mechanics, the monitoring, etc…? not in the least.

Politics, is huge in this game once you get out of the POD on occasions.

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cough “CSM” cough cough

Do we have a current CSM for roleplay?

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In case they won the elections they would live in Parchanier afterwards:

parchanier_president_hq_const
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Above: New Federation President HQ under construction in Parchanier system

Soruce: Galactic Hour News Roundup: Federation Day Celebrations Overshadowed by Diplomatic Incidents Across New Eden | EVE Universe

:wink:

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Who is CSM Aguard?