Shuma
03-04-2003, 11:26 PM
I can't vouch 100% for all the information here. It's based on the spreadsheets and my gameplay observations, so take it all with a grain of salt.
Shuma's Government Guide, or How to Pick the Right Government For You
Picking the right government for your empire is very important. It affects pretty much every area of your civilization. Unfortunately, there isn't much documentation out there, and so making an educated decision is pretty much impossible. My first few games I basically stuck with the default. Hopefully I can shed some light on this currently obscured topic.
First off, with the exception of the Ithkul, all races have the same oppresometer tolerance. The ability to oppress more or less comes from your government. Ithkul recieve a +1 tolerance under all governments, and can work their FLUs to the bone.
Also, as it stands, it behooves a player to switch governments every so often. You get a Heavy Foot reduction each time you do it. You can switch back to your main form after you've gotten your HFoG down. As long as you can keep your unrest under control, it's well worth the trouble. HFoG becomes a huge strain later in the game. Hopefully, this aspect of the game will change, because it seems like an exploit to me. The AIs never take advantage of it, and so will have huge HFoG's later in the game.
I put the information in two formats: a numerical percentage, and a relative rating. I included a rating because the numbers can be deceptive. For example, an Oligarchy doesn't actually decrease your industrial production. However, relative to the other governments, you will be lagging behind, so Oligarchy is given a poor rating for Industry.
Anyhow, on with the show.
The Absolutist Series
The Absolutist series isn't bad, and its main benefit is that it is the default for most races. You don't have to use any points to gain what benefits these governments have to offer. Most of these government types are specialized and usually have significant drawbacks. However, if you can neutralize the problems associated with your government of choice, they can be pretty darn good.
Despotism
Despotism can be a solid government under certain conditions, but is usually not a good choice.
Bioharvesting: 80% (Very Poor)
Mining: 100% (Poor)
Industry: 120% (Good)
Research: 95% (Poor)
Military: 130% (Good)
Recreation: 95% (Below Avg)
Spaceport: 100% (Average)
Heavy Foot of Government: 104% (Poor)
Oppressometer Cost: 93% (Good)
Oppressometer Range: 5 to 9
Forced Labor Range: 3 to 7
Government DEA Unrest Modifier: 50%
Military DEA Unrest Modifier: 150%
Most civilizations don't have much of a need for what Despotism has to offer. It doesn't shine in any economic areas, though the Industry bonus is solid. You take a big hit in bioharvesting, and your research will suffer. However, if you're a militant sort of civilization, or if you are looking to track down those pesky spies, this is the pick for you. Despotism shines in its ability to weed out spies via the oppressometer. Your military DEAs will enjoy a huge boost in effectiveness as well. You can crank up the taxes and really milk your people for all they're worth if you have enough military DEAs to keep the populace contained. You can also cruelly oppress your FLUs and squeeze more production from them than any other government.
Harvesters are the perfect fit for this type of government. They are pretty much invulnerable to spies, and you can max out the oppressometer to put the kibosh on enemy agents if some should miraculously get through. It also fits perfectly with their brutal heritage.
Other races should pick Despotism (or switch to it temporarliy) if they feel they are too weak against spies.
Monarchy
Monarchy is a default for many civilizations. Most would benefit from an early change to Constitutional Monarchy.
Bioharvesting: 80% (Very Poor)
Mining: 100% (Poor)
Industry: 130% (Superior)
Research: 90% (Very Poor)
Military: 110% (Average)
Recreation: 95% (Below Avg)
Spaceport: 105% (Good)
Heavy Foot of Government: 105% (Poor)
Oppressometer Cost: 94% (Good)
Oppressometer Range: 3 to 7
Forced Labor Range: 2 to 6
Government DEA Unrest Modifier: 50%
Military DEA Unrest Modifier: 150%
Monarchies are the most common of the absolutist series. In some ways, they don't have much going for them. Your bioharvesting and research are dead last and the other categories are nothing to shout about. However, your Industry will thrive like no other. Only Parliamentary has such a big Industry bonus. Monarchies are also pretty solid against spies, since you can boost the oppressometer up to 7 if need be. Like Despotism, your government DEAs will not be very effective in controlling the populace, but your military ones will excel.
I'd say the Silicoids could benefit from a Monarchy the most. It's arguable, definitely. The research hit is not something they can really afford, but Monarchy's bioharvesting problems are eliminated. Meklars and Cynoids also do well under a Monarchy. Their massive industrial bonuses are increased even further, and again, the bioharvesting hit isn't bad at all.
Any empire that likes Industry will get along well with a Monarchy.
Oligarchy
Oligarchies can be summed up in one word: research.
Bioharvesting: 90% (Poor)
Mining: 90% (Very Poor)
Industry: 100% (Poor)
Research: 120% (Superior)
Military: 100% (Poor)
Recreation: 100% (Average)
Spaceport: 105% (Good)
Heavy Foot of Government: 99% (Average)
Oppressometer Cost: 101% (Below Avg)
Oppressometer Range: 2 to 6
Forced Labor Range: 2 to 6
Oligarchies exist to promote research, plain and simple. In most other economic categories they are below average. They aren't really a good choice for most empires. You can't really go too crazy with the oppressometer, so spies will be able to take a crack at you. However, don't be afraid to pump it up temporarily to take care of spies if they are running rampant against you.
Any research race will be able to speed up development even more with this government. Imagine Psilons or Nommo powered up with an extra 20% research. As long as you can bring your tech advantage to bear, the hits in the other areas won't matter.
Constitutional Monarchy
Constitutional Monarchies are average performers, suitable for any empire that doesn't want to weaken itself in any one area.
Bioharvesting: 100% (Average)
Mining: 100% (Poor)
Industry: 100% (Poor)
Research: 100% (Below Average)
Military: 100% (Poor)
Recreation: 120% (Superior)
Spaceport: 100% (Average)
Heavy Foot of Government: 101% (Below Avg)
Oppressometer Cost: 100% (Average)
Oppressometer Range: 2 to 6
Forced Labor Range: 0 to 4
C. Monarchies are nothing special, and so I would recommend them to an empire trying to balance its skills in all areas. You're not going to shore up any weaknesses here, nor will you stand out in any one area. There isn't much to say about C. Monarchies because they are pretty generic. If you're not sure what to go with, the C. Monarchy is always a solid choice.
The other government series will follow if you guys find this information useful.
Shuma's Government Guide, or How to Pick the Right Government For You
Picking the right government for your empire is very important. It affects pretty much every area of your civilization. Unfortunately, there isn't much documentation out there, and so making an educated decision is pretty much impossible. My first few games I basically stuck with the default. Hopefully I can shed some light on this currently obscured topic.
First off, with the exception of the Ithkul, all races have the same oppresometer tolerance. The ability to oppress more or less comes from your government. Ithkul recieve a +1 tolerance under all governments, and can work their FLUs to the bone.
Also, as it stands, it behooves a player to switch governments every so often. You get a Heavy Foot reduction each time you do it. You can switch back to your main form after you've gotten your HFoG down. As long as you can keep your unrest under control, it's well worth the trouble. HFoG becomes a huge strain later in the game. Hopefully, this aspect of the game will change, because it seems like an exploit to me. The AIs never take advantage of it, and so will have huge HFoG's later in the game.
I put the information in two formats: a numerical percentage, and a relative rating. I included a rating because the numbers can be deceptive. For example, an Oligarchy doesn't actually decrease your industrial production. However, relative to the other governments, you will be lagging behind, so Oligarchy is given a poor rating for Industry.
Anyhow, on with the show.
The Absolutist Series
The Absolutist series isn't bad, and its main benefit is that it is the default for most races. You don't have to use any points to gain what benefits these governments have to offer. Most of these government types are specialized and usually have significant drawbacks. However, if you can neutralize the problems associated with your government of choice, they can be pretty darn good.
Despotism
Despotism can be a solid government under certain conditions, but is usually not a good choice.
Bioharvesting: 80% (Very Poor)
Mining: 100% (Poor)
Industry: 120% (Good)
Research: 95% (Poor)
Military: 130% (Good)
Recreation: 95% (Below Avg)
Spaceport: 100% (Average)
Heavy Foot of Government: 104% (Poor)
Oppressometer Cost: 93% (Good)
Oppressometer Range: 5 to 9
Forced Labor Range: 3 to 7
Government DEA Unrest Modifier: 50%
Military DEA Unrest Modifier: 150%
Most civilizations don't have much of a need for what Despotism has to offer. It doesn't shine in any economic areas, though the Industry bonus is solid. You take a big hit in bioharvesting, and your research will suffer. However, if you're a militant sort of civilization, or if you are looking to track down those pesky spies, this is the pick for you. Despotism shines in its ability to weed out spies via the oppressometer. Your military DEAs will enjoy a huge boost in effectiveness as well. You can crank up the taxes and really milk your people for all they're worth if you have enough military DEAs to keep the populace contained. You can also cruelly oppress your FLUs and squeeze more production from them than any other government.
Harvesters are the perfect fit for this type of government. They are pretty much invulnerable to spies, and you can max out the oppressometer to put the kibosh on enemy agents if some should miraculously get through. It also fits perfectly with their brutal heritage.
Other races should pick Despotism (or switch to it temporarliy) if they feel they are too weak against spies.
Monarchy
Monarchy is a default for many civilizations. Most would benefit from an early change to Constitutional Monarchy.
Bioharvesting: 80% (Very Poor)
Mining: 100% (Poor)
Industry: 130% (Superior)
Research: 90% (Very Poor)
Military: 110% (Average)
Recreation: 95% (Below Avg)
Spaceport: 105% (Good)
Heavy Foot of Government: 105% (Poor)
Oppressometer Cost: 94% (Good)
Oppressometer Range: 3 to 7
Forced Labor Range: 2 to 6
Government DEA Unrest Modifier: 50%
Military DEA Unrest Modifier: 150%
Monarchies are the most common of the absolutist series. In some ways, they don't have much going for them. Your bioharvesting and research are dead last and the other categories are nothing to shout about. However, your Industry will thrive like no other. Only Parliamentary has such a big Industry bonus. Monarchies are also pretty solid against spies, since you can boost the oppressometer up to 7 if need be. Like Despotism, your government DEAs will not be very effective in controlling the populace, but your military ones will excel.
I'd say the Silicoids could benefit from a Monarchy the most. It's arguable, definitely. The research hit is not something they can really afford, but Monarchy's bioharvesting problems are eliminated. Meklars and Cynoids also do well under a Monarchy. Their massive industrial bonuses are increased even further, and again, the bioharvesting hit isn't bad at all.
Any empire that likes Industry will get along well with a Monarchy.
Oligarchy
Oligarchies can be summed up in one word: research.
Bioharvesting: 90% (Poor)
Mining: 90% (Very Poor)
Industry: 100% (Poor)
Research: 120% (Superior)
Military: 100% (Poor)
Recreation: 100% (Average)
Spaceport: 105% (Good)
Heavy Foot of Government: 99% (Average)
Oppressometer Cost: 101% (Below Avg)
Oppressometer Range: 2 to 6
Forced Labor Range: 2 to 6
Oligarchies exist to promote research, plain and simple. In most other economic categories they are below average. They aren't really a good choice for most empires. You can't really go too crazy with the oppressometer, so spies will be able to take a crack at you. However, don't be afraid to pump it up temporarily to take care of spies if they are running rampant against you.
Any research race will be able to speed up development even more with this government. Imagine Psilons or Nommo powered up with an extra 20% research. As long as you can bring your tech advantage to bear, the hits in the other areas won't matter.
Constitutional Monarchy
Constitutional Monarchies are average performers, suitable for any empire that doesn't want to weaken itself in any one area.
Bioharvesting: 100% (Average)
Mining: 100% (Poor)
Industry: 100% (Poor)
Research: 100% (Below Average)
Military: 100% (Poor)
Recreation: 120% (Superior)
Spaceport: 100% (Average)
Heavy Foot of Government: 101% (Below Avg)
Oppressometer Cost: 100% (Average)
Oppressometer Range: 2 to 6
Forced Labor Range: 0 to 4
C. Monarchies are nothing special, and so I would recommend them to an empire trying to balance its skills in all areas. You're not going to shore up any weaknesses here, nor will you stand out in any one area. There isn't much to say about C. Monarchies because they are pretty generic. If you're not sure what to go with, the C. Monarchy is always a solid choice.
The other government series will follow if you guys find this information useful.