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[varsovie]

I'd like to see some short interlude events where you wander the palace, speak with servants and guards, maybe even 'sneak out' in disguise and walk among the populace. You could gather news that otherwise wouldn't reach your ears, and make friends with random people who may have skills you can use.

Met a guy in a bar who seems alright? Appoint him planetary viceroy!

Please code a dating sim.

[forsaken1111]

I'd like to see some short interlude events where you wander the palace, speak with servants and guards, maybe even 'sneak out' in disguise and walk among the populace. You could gather news that otherwise wouldn't reach your ears, and make friends with random people who may have skills you can use.

Met a guy in a bar who seems alright? Appoint him planetary viceroy!

Please code a dating sim.

Not quite where I was going, just some side events that happen between turns to help start filling out the lore and giving you a feel for what kind of empire you are running. News reports, servant gossip, etc. If you're letting millions die on some planet so you can build a space station on another, the news would probably cover that right?

[Scoops Novel]

I want to do a lot of events, but what do you mean by day-to-day life?

-Steve

Propaganda events (with say speech writing), interactions with your household servants, grand war councils, relishing your power, lessons from private tutors or the very best university classes (possibly involving political rivals?), traveling from place to place, security alerts, diseases, practicing with that new transhuman hand you got, etc. Not necessarily full on rpg mode, but definitely some involved events, and hopefully a personal sense of "hey, this is why my family bothered". Pangalactic achievements are well and good, but i want to see some adoring masses for my trouble, or at least a interesting new species in one of my private ecosystems.

By contrast, crusader kings would yearly or so have family matters pop up, or an aside about falconry, but more detailed and frequent interactions between the player, his court and his interests would be appreciated in this game.

Well, there will be speeches that you can make voluntarily, and you will have yearly 'state of the Empire' addresses where your Charisma and Intelligence and Power, as well as a trait called Majesty will come into play, and their will be war councils and the ability to move around your Empire (at some risk) to more directly interact with a planet. You will also be able to improve certain stats from taking 'classes' that will cost ADM to take. These won't be 'events', though, just things you can do. What I'm trying to really capture is as you exactly stated, the 'adoring masses' affect, which is why the pop system is modeled in such detail. I want to make the role of emperor big and little at the same time, if that makes any sense, and you have some really good ideas about how that could be visualized, Novel Scoops. I especially like the diseases and the servants. I can do something with that! :-) May I use them?

-Steve

Sure, but the important part is that you and not your stats (albeit indirectly) determine events. For speeches say, you could delegate the task (an option you should usually have as Space Emperor), with a risk of terribleness/deliberate sabotage which may need you to do some quick thinking, or you could write it yourself, based on knowledge of the planet (which might depend on either databanks, spy's or local courtiers at the worst) and your aims for it. Your stammer and lack of eye contact could still throw you under a bus, but it should help. As for those classes, i hope they come with tests and irritating peers/teachers.  I really like the idea of event trees.

I would also recommend the option of having an NPC set up your timetable, just to get that diplomatic, shuttled-around feel.

So let me make sure I have this correct. Do you see these events as almost a minigame, or how would the player actually interact with these events? I'm intrigued; I just want to know what level of granularity you are proposing. The original plan was pretty much 'press a button, see the results'. :-)

-Steve

Well, it depends on what resources you have. Ideally, where it would be interesting for the player to be fully immersed in his environments, he is. That could be when you're trying to subtly determine a spy's true loyalties, in any of many security alerts, currying favour with the locals through one strange custom after another, etc. In such a world, the strategy game would feel more like the minigame, cropping up between public and private life and occasionally taking centre stage. Realistically, i think you could muster up several detailed minigames, though needless to say they have to be good minigames. Either way, i think you have a good opportunity to spice things up by trading on the players telepathy, which again depends on your resources.

I would focus on exceptional circumstances for minigames, such as might be seen in event trees. After all, no-one really cares that much about (most) state of the union addresses, but if, say, a speech is due to a planet of loyal but clandestine aliens, and you're expected to give a inspiring speech based on piecemeal intelligence and whatever you can glean from their strange minds, well that's a bit more engrossing.

I very much want to say Telltale style dialogue trees and/or text adventures during interactions with planetary nobles. I freely admit that you'd have to take a very different approach to make it interesting, but it would go a long way towards building character.

[Zireael]

Fixes
* Hotfix to fix major crash bug with certain computers not running an exclusively English character set - basically the SpriteFont was running out of characters and couldn't cope, causing a crash whenever certain non-standard characters came up.

*yells happily*
I'm SOO getting the new build when I get back home!

[Texashawk]

Fixes
* Hotfix to fix major crash bug with certain computers not running an exclusively English character set - basically the SpriteFont was running out of characters and couldn't cope, causing a crash whenever certain non-standard characters came up.

*yells happily*
I'm SOO getting the new build when I get back home!

If you wait until later this week, you can have all this!! :

Imperia V.310 Change Log/Readme
7.11.14

Notes
* Please uninstall any previous version of Imperia before installing a new version. I have not yet added patch ability. The good news is that the install is relatively quick.
* I am updating the Sourceforge Imperia wiki periodically and this will be the best document for questions and how to play Imperia. Please refer back to it frequently.

Fixes
* Fixed issue where game would crash after dismissing 2nd viceroy in the game
* Fixed issue where logistical stations would not receive food/materials for their planet
* Fixed a small glitch where if you loaded a game anywhere other than the quadrant screen, it would be blank and you would have to refresh it first
* Fixed a terraforming crash bug where it attempted to calculate the terraform amount using a viceroy on an unowned planet
* Fixed some save game issues with character intelligence and greed not saving properly, causing very high intel values upon reload
* Fixed an issue with saves that would cause save games to get exponentially larger if unchecked, although it would not affect the game itself
* Fixed emperor not aging issue
* Fixed several trade/logistic issues; trade should be more consistent and smooth
* Fixed crash issue with adding a system capital and moving the system governor
* Fixed annoying UI bug where holding down RMB while moving over a system would jump to that system.
* Fixed wordwrap function where the last word in a string block might not wrap correctly, causing it to draw off the screen
* Fixed crash bug when hotsaving a game anywhere other than the game process (i.e. the title screen)

Changes/Additions
* Added Emperor screen, basic functionality
* Added universal tooltip system that will allow easy programming of tooltip help for virtually any part of Imperia! Added for this version: tooltips for all Character actions.
* Added numerous additional conversation strings to further personalize interactions
* Added Nationalist/Tyrannical continuum and added effects
* Added Nationalist/Tyrannical value effects for every character action
* Added hit to Nationalist rating if you cancel a good Edict equal to double the original effect (to prevent cheese ‘start Edict, cancel Edict’ techniques)
* Added next/previous buttons to Intel screen for easier navigation
* Added additional sort hotkeys to the Intel screen (Unrest - 'U')
* Added a check to each planet each turn to adjust the bio rating based on the primary designation
* Added more labels to Intel screen for additional designation types
* Added system trade screen window. This shows downstream trades (moving goods towards trade hubs) and upstream trades (moving goods towards planets that are in short supply). This is the first step in improving the trade/logistical UI.
* Added expanded trade mode UI on quadrant map. This mode will show lines and arrows showing upstream and downstream trades, as well as the amounts moving to and from each system.
* Adjusted trade logic so that planets will not send materials if they are below the goods alert threshold
* Added flag for characters who ask for a starbase to be built in conversation will now no longer hold up construction of it regardless of influence or loyalty
* Added UI feature: right-click will exit any main screen (intel, emperor, etc). ESC will also do the same
* Added remaining Edict alerts on system screen showing what is being built and what estimated time remains
* Updated look of planet status information on system screen for easier readability
* Added mouseover/contact capability for planetary viceroy on system screen
* Added character PoSup foundations: When you have at least level 3 intel on a character or active informers, you can see their PoSup. Will eventually lead to things such as breakaway systems, planets, and sectors if your PoSup is low, theirs is high, and they don’t like you
* Added new Character Action: Have personal conversation - this is another way to increase your knowledge of this character, and when the needs and wants system is implemented, it will give clues to what they want and covet, helping to improve relations with that character (if desired)
* Added toggle on quadrant screen to remove sector lines (default option on ‘no submode’ display mode) – hotkey ‘S’
* Added ‘Stockpile Goods’ character interaction. This will always succeed and basically allow the planet to no longer be required to send most of their excess goods to their downstream hub. The character will be grateful and this is seen as a Nationalist act.
* Added ‘Send Goods’ character interaction. This may NOT succeed depending on many factors and will always make the character less loyal and depending on their personality (and the state of the planet) more angry. This is why you should be careful before taking a planet out of the trade network – you may not easily be able to get those goods back!
* Added build number to main status bar
* Added Emperor Continuum display to main status bar for consistent reference without always having to go to the Emperor screen
* Changed alerts to only appear when the planet has a year’s worth or less of goods depending on their usage. Fixes alerts generated by new or small planets that don’t have large stockpiles yet
* Changed trade system to disregard planets that are being abandoned for consideration for alerts, economic stimulus, sector expansion and needed goods – i.e. they will not be sent further goods or expand on their own
* Added cool new Imperia desktop icon by Cor’e

Balance
* Raised cost of Logistical Station slightly
* Adjusted Nationalist effect of most Edicts downward slightly
* Adjusted Tyrannical effect of most Edicts upward slightly
* Adjusted Tyrannical effect of more Designations that promote military or heavy production or excessive government
* Lowered the chance that characters will reduce government unless they are very loyal and/or strongly Nationalist
* Lowered pool recharge rates across the board
* Changed character reactions to show ‘neutral’ until you have reached a certain level of interaction with them in order to promote more interactions and initial learning about your leaders’ personalities
* Changed Emperor power calculation to take into account your Will and Charisma rating, also dropped somewhat the PoSup rating factor. This will serve to have an initial lower rating early in the game, but more room for growth without having a super high PoSup later
* Added major Popular Support hit for abandoning a planet, moreso for abandoning a system/sector, this prevents abandonment unless as an absolute last resort

Unresolved Issues
* None

Just sayin'. :-)

-Steve

[Texashawk]

These are all great ideas.  I'm excited about the event trees. Also the idea of day-to-day events. The month per turn scope would probably allow this. I'm intrigued by the idea of 'the 4X is the mini-game within the character sim'. Don't know that I want to go that far, but it does show how personal I want the experience to be in Imperia.

-Steve

[Mapleguy555]

Definitely posting to watch.

[stabbymcstabstab]

PTW.

[Scoops Novel]

These are all great ideas.  I'm excited about the event trees. Also the idea of day-to-day events. The month per turn scope would probably allow this. I'm intrigued by the idea of 'the 4X is the mini-game within the character sim'. Don't know that I want to go that far, but it does show how personal I want the experience to be in Imperia.

-Steve

[Zireael]

Posting to say I was finally able to play for quite some time without crashing. Getting good at it is whole another kettle of fish...

[Texashawk]

Posting to say I was finally able to play for quite some time without crashing. Getting good at it is whole another kettle of fish...

Glad to hear it Zireael! Hope you had fun! 

-Steve

[Zireael]

Ok, then the game runs fine for me.  I've also been known to end some games due to needing to look up more info.  It's a learning curve to learn how to cultivate all the resources.

What I've found out:
Materials: Balance by 1) Connecting Starbases strategically (preference for those that can either unlock more colonization missions or add more materials to your empire, as they take a lot to build and once you add a planet to the network with a deficit, you're getting less materials coming in, as you can't go under zero); 2) Establishing colonies and manufacturing outposts based on (mostly) mineral values, although tectonic activity and habitability are also factors (I find that I really don't have enough high-mineral options to even bother looking farther early on, but it's not the only thing to look at).  Surveying mineral-poor planets might help, but it's not as good at the previous options.  Expanding the Economy also helps, as the manufacturing sector might get boosted along with everything else, but again it's unreliable (your farming planet's viceroy might not bother expanding the manufacturing, and viceroys have preferences for the various employment sectors, most of which won't benefit manufacturing...but at least greedy viceroys seems to like the manufacturing district for the extra tax revenue).
And as the trade network is rebuilt, the empire won't see as many materials lost due to inefficiency.

Wealth: Expanding economic sector and spending some turns just talking to viceroys rather than contracting for expensive edicts tends to do wonders.

ADM: Administration, as far as I can tell, can mostly be boosted by requesting the planetary viceroy to "increase government subsidy", which doesn't scream "click here for more ADM", but it works.  Viceroys will only grant the request if they (reasonably) like you and the planet/empire's income can afford it.  I say "reasonably" because average-loyalty viceroys still seem willing to grant the request, presumably because you're giving them more power and bigger offices.  Since viceroys are a tricky and mysterious lot, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are like Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation: So much against government regulation that they'll never approve your request to "increase government subsidy".  I also wonder if greedy viceroys would be keen on "increasing government subsidy", as you're essentially creating more untaxed entities at the expense of taxed sectors.
Also, larger worlds have larger ADM caps.  Biomass might also help.  I'm guessing the "Government Nexus" classification boosts planetary ADM.  I've also notices "Science Refuge" also boosts ADM, although I don't think the more generic science planet does as much/at all.  University Administration rather than University Laboratory, basically.

Viceroy Loyalty: A way to expand a sector viceroy's loyalty is to add a system to their sector.  It's not cheap, and you've got a potentially weaker new sector in the future, but the viceroy seems equally happy if the system is surveyed or not, so you can just give random systems to your sector viceroys and put more of the burden of surveying and exploiting the systems on them.  He he he...

Best Advice: Don't build too many starbases too fast.  Pace them out with other things, or you'll have nothing to work with.  I also generally don't advise too much exploration and expansion early on.  Certainly don't survey unknown systems unless you're desperate for better worlds.  Try to expand where your existing starbases let you, as they're all expensive.  Expanding in current systems is generally easier/cheaper than new systems, especially in systems with strong system capitals.  Large changes are expensive, and you start out relatively weak.  It's mainly about addressing your random empire's weaknesses.

Thanks for the tips.

1) Would you could consider an "easy start" option with less planets in less sectors?
I think I would have fun more fun that way than fixing the gigantic mistakes of the previous administration.

Seconding this so much, especially as I can't figure a way to connect sector hubs to empire hub.

BTW, this is sort of an 'undocumented feature' (like a lot of Imperia! HA!) in the Intel screen but there are hotkeys to sort the lists:

'P' - Sort by population
'B' - Sort by Bio rating
'A' - Sort by Admin rating
'C' - Sort by Cash flow
'S' - Sort by Strategic Material rating

That's a great tip to have!

[Zireael]

Can't wait for .310 to come out, as I have a game that keeps crashing. Makes me angry, as it's the first time I've lasted any length of time.

[Texashawk]

Can't wait for .310 to come out, as I have a game that keeps crashing. Makes me angry, as it's the first time I've lasted any length of time.

I may release it tonight. There's only one feature that is missing, and it is much more stable and user-friendly. The save will not be compatible, however! As far as trade, you need for your sector capital to be designated as a trade hub in order to send materials to the imperial capital.

-Steve

[Texashawk]

A sneak peak of the first of some minor* graphical upgrades to come...



 

*and by minor I mean total

-Steve