GalCiv2 had a very rough allusion to oppression in that certain Government Types could raise more in taxes at the expense of requiring higher approval levels to stay in power. I think it'd be interesting to see this taken a step further, and allow rulers in Elemental to have varying levels of oppression on their people. Higher or lower oppression have different costs/benefits:
Oppression:Pros:Lower chance of rebellionCan cut off trade to other kingdomesCan conscript troops more quickly and more cheaplyMore black market activity
Cons:When rebellions happen, they're worseOther kingdoms/empires won't like you as much, especially if they have low oppressionMore black market activitiy
As always, thoughts and comments are welcome.
wait, both pro and con are 'more black market activity' so... ; yeah.
I vote that less oppression means less black market activity, because more would be out in the open.
Master of magic had a tax system that would effect how happy people were with you, I figured there would be something similar rating happiness that would factor in by oppression (people can be oppressed and still be happy)
True, but it would be nice to see a slightly more complex mechanism than the one we had in GalCiv II where you simply had happiness, population growth and taxes; I really like how Ynglaur's suggestions enrich this aspect.
Another thing is to consider oppression in captured areas, which could work in a similar way as Centurion or Master of Magic as you mentioned it: some people are more resistent to oppression or will revolt faster. Or something a bit akin to Alpha Centauri, if we continue down the path of similarities: oppression is only possible if you have a sufficient force of troops on site.
Or how about a militaristic government type that allows for a high level of oppression (and conscripts of course Ynglaur) but it will cause a rebellion in areas where you lose a battle? Makes for a more riskier playstyle.
I think a factor to include with the oppression vs. revolt is how many generations have been oppressed. If it goes from free country to iron curtain in 1 generation, there IS going to be talk of revolt. However, if over the course of many generations 'big brother' slowly closes his fist, then there won't be a sudden backlash of revolts, especially of there is strict oppression of free-trade with non oppressed peoples or new ideas that would bring thoughts of non-oppressed kingdoms.
I like Noctilucus' idea of oppression by geography a lot. Oppress some peoples, and coddle others.
I figured black markets can thrive at either extreme. Under very oppressive regimes, there's a strong incentive to avoid The Man. In very open regimes, there's lax oversight. It's probably lousy economic theory, though...
Landisaurus: that could be slightly harder to implement though; I like how it goes against GalCiv II's mechanic where morale would slowly decrease over time (in case you were in debt or too long at war).
Ynglaur: so the conclusion is that the black market always thrives? I think that's pretty much consistent with reality
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
