System Suggestion: Endeavours

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UberWaffe
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 8:33 am

System Suggestion: Endeavours

Post by UberWaffe »

Summary:
Multi-step event chains,
started by faction with targets / options based on endeavour type,
that can have effects like an event when a step (or entire chain) is completed.

Problem:
  • Player has no means to freely choose between focussed councillor actions (early game) and more hands-off nation maintenance mode for councillors (late game). Adjusting mission phase length introduces other problems, and limits user choice in case they do want to make a concerted effort in councillor missions.
  • Some research projects (such as globally-once-only claim projects or regional GDP boosts) seem a bit out of place as 'pure research'.
  • No existing mechanic (or easily mod-able solution) for factions to spend resources that pile up (that aren't the current bottleneck).
  • No existing mechanic (as far as I know) for factions to trigger an event-like action.
Suggestion:
A new button at the top of the screen, next to Intel, called 'Endeavours'. (The name 'Projects' was taken. Lawsuit pending.)

Opening the screen would show you a list of all ongoing endeavours, as well as a button for initiating a new one.

An endeavour is simply a chain of events, along with a set of choices / options, when the endeavour is first started.
Each step may require time, resources and/or an assigned councillor to progress it to the next step.
Each step, upon completion, may have effects like an event has.

Example: Reinforce public opinion (available once Arrival Governance is researched.).
Description:
Improve our public opinion in all nations where we have executive control. Assigned councillor will be unavailable for the duration, and will provide a small public opinion boost based on their persuasion stat, and the resources spent on the endeavour.
Note: Assigned councillor is locked in and treated as repeatedly 'going to ground' for the duration of the endeavour.

Options:
  • (Required) Councillor to assign: [Councillor selection list]
  • (Optional) Funding (Boosts the opinion gained per phase, but with diminishing returns. Cost scales with number of controlled CP): [X funding to spend]
  • (Optional) Influence (Boosts the opinion gained per phase, but with diminishing returns. Cost scales with number of controlled CP. Less effective than funding.): [X influence to spend]
Info:
  • Duration: 4 mission phases
  • Estimated public opinion gain per mission phase: Minor

(In terms of MVP for the feature, the above could even just have fixed costs and not scale with councillor stats. 4 events in the chain, each lasting 1 mission phase, granting the opinion boost via existing effects.)
Similar endeavours for defending interests in all controlled nations at once for a large cost.
Or spending ops to have a chance of revealing one or more undiscovered alien activity.
Etc.


Other uses would be moving the unity movement projects to endeavours. (Technologies would remain as is, just projects turned into endeavours.)
Then it could cost not only research, but influence, funding, ops, etc. and could even include events / choices along the way as well.

In terms of research points cost, a % setting would be available on the Endeavours overview screen, that indicates the maximum % of research points income that is first directed to paying endeavours costs (if needed).
Hand in hand with the above, I would allow all endeavours costs to be paid in parts.
I.e. when a new endeavour with cost is started, the endeavour shows what remaining 'cost' needs to be paid for the current step in the chain. The player has two buttons, one is 'Pay' (which simply pays as much of the cost as possible), and another for 'Partially pay', which allows the faction to pick exactly how much to allocate (for now) towards the endeavour.
Endeavours only proceed (start ticking down their time component, if any) once all payments for the step is done.


This would also allow for a pretty powerful system for modders to make use of.
Ex: allowing for creating claims on the fly through an endeavour (target = a region of a rival nation), cost scaling on target's population, GDP, and other stats.
Ex: Late game exotics tech + Large amount of exotics and research -> unlock 'building' exotics refineries endeavour, which makes that nation generate tiny amounts of exotics with its economy priority.


Examples of other possible endeavours:
Spend large amounts of ops, funding and research -> remove a single point of fallout from target region.
Spend large amounts of funding, boost, and volatiles -> Adds Stratospheric Aerosols. Small % risk of causing disaster.
Spend large amount of Ops and some amount of research -> Adds XP to target councillor.
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