Stars!-R-Us Article

Pre-version 3.0 Diplomacy
by: Jason Cawley

Voytek wrote:
> I'd really, really like to have an option for conquering my former good
> and honorable neighbour without killing all his people (until it's
> really, really necessary >:).

OK, a couple things.  One, I like the idea of conquered pop, but then I like the idea of more than one race per planet and "domestic politics" and all that sort of thing, but more than one race on a planet is in the feature pit.

Two, you can still do this sort of thing today - to some degree.  It takes two to tango, however.  If he wants to fight to the end and be totally destroyed, he can refuse to listen to any offers from you.  Some players will do this.  But often you can simply make a deal that turns them into an ally-vassal of sorts, in return for living.  If all you offer is "living" he is likely to turn on you at the first opportunity, but then that's what you'd deserve ;-) Whether it is in your interest to do this sort of thing depends on overlapping habitat, PRT special abilities, and the like.  So the point is, add a little imagination to diplomacy, and if the other fellow will "play ball" you can do this today.

e.g. don't invade, but park enough in orbit with some bombers set not to attack yet, and send a demand for mineral payments or ships built and transfered, else you will bomb.  This leaves him the option of resisting, of course, but you did want to leave him that option (though in another form).  That would be close to "conquest".

Or e.g. "we will grant you peace on these conditions - you build no BBs, you pay us 1000 minerals a year for 10 years, you set to friend us and our allies, you take no indepenent course in foreign affairs.  If you comply, in 10 years we will treat you as a dependent ally, and the payments and restrictions will be lifted or eased."

Doesn't give you the full exploitation of his planets, but if he really acts like a vassal-ally, his output does serve your cause.  Anyway, you don't have to kill your honorable enemies when you beat them, unless they insist upon it ;-)

Three, Jeff McBride is always promising espionage for 3.0 - whether this will allow the equivalent of guerilla war/secret resistance on the part of a race that nominally has submitted I don't know, but I'd think it would.

Just some random thoughts on this stuff...

Sincerely,

Jason Cawley

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