Philip Devine
Designer / Developer
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
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Hi again everyone, we've recently posted more details on the economic system in Falling Stars: War of Empires. As a huge fan of science fiction in general, one of the recurring themes in futuristic empires is that of economic struggle, and no other universe illustrates that quite as well as Frank Herberts Dune.
The information below attempts to expand upon the idea of "Hydraulic Despotism", which is this act of maintaining power through controlling a scarce but intrinsically value substance.
Each game has its own unique set of cause and effect economics. Resources will shift in price throughout the galaxy based on the rarity, supply, and demand of that commodity. If a player decides to use a vast amount of carbon nanotubing for their reinforced ground troop armor, that resource will be more scarce and expensive for other players until it can be replenished. Likewise, if a resource goes unused for a long enough time, prices will drop and players must decide if it it is in their strategic advantage to use those resources while prices are low.
Fiat currency it's also utilized in the game. Planets are rich in many resources, and the sum of those values are represented as that planets total value. This resource value is then used to purchase ground forces, fleets, technology, or sometimes even political influence.
The bartering system serves as a form of diplomacy and trade between you and the planets in your empire. Each planet may specialize in an industrial good such as fighter class ships, research and development which aids in technology advances, resources that can be used to sway the galactic market, or political influence that aids in securing political agendas.
Maintaining these relationships is a difficult task. Each planet also has a history of allies and enemies that has developed over the millenia. By conquerring an ally of one of your planets, you risk receiving sanctions on your existing trades or having them cut off completely. This can be offset by laying waste to their enemies as well. Some planets may even increase their trades with you for defeating one of their foes.
However, inhabitants can choose not to barter with you for a number of reasons. If you have already conquered them to exploit their resources, then they have no reason to work with you. If they already have a trade agreement with you and you decide to conquer them anyways, not only do you lose that agreement but any other planets you have trades with will have a 25% chance of breaking all ties with you as well for being untrustworthy. Players must choose carefully how they run their empire.
The information below attempts to expand upon the idea of "Hydraulic Despotism", which is this act of maintaining power through controlling a scarce but intrinsically value substance.
Each game has its own unique set of cause and effect economics. Resources will shift in price throughout the galaxy based on the rarity, supply, and demand of that commodity. If a player decides to use a vast amount of carbon nanotubing for their reinforced ground troop armor, that resource will be more scarce and expensive for other players until it can be replenished. Likewise, if a resource goes unused for a long enough time, prices will drop and players must decide if it it is in their strategic advantage to use those resources while prices are low.
Fiat currency it's also utilized in the game. Planets are rich in many resources, and the sum of those values are represented as that planets total value. This resource value is then used to purchase ground forces, fleets, technology, or sometimes even political influence.
The bartering system serves as a form of diplomacy and trade between you and the planets in your empire. Each planet may specialize in an industrial good such as fighter class ships, research and development which aids in technology advances, resources that can be used to sway the galactic market, or political influence that aids in securing political agendas.
Maintaining these relationships is a difficult task. Each planet also has a history of allies and enemies that has developed over the millenia. By conquerring an ally of one of your planets, you risk receiving sanctions on your existing trades or having them cut off completely. This can be offset by laying waste to their enemies as well. Some planets may even increase their trades with you for defeating one of their foes.
However, inhabitants can choose not to barter with you for a number of reasons. If you have already conquered them to exploit their resources, then they have no reason to work with you. If they already have a trade agreement with you and you decide to conquer them anyways, not only do you lose that agreement but any other planets you have trades with will have a 25% chance of breaking all ties with you as well for being untrustworthy. Players must choose carefully how they run their empire.
