Feature Request - Varied Faction Stories

[thegreybetween]

Greetings,

I love the Ikkuro, but it is exhausting to deal with the Damazy event again and again, which got me thinking...

I know this is a big ask, but a worthwhile consideration for a future "story pack DLC" or something: What I'd love to see is a bit more variety in the faction (race) story events. If each faction had 2-3 different potential story lines, and only one of them was active for a given playthrough, that would add a ton of potential replay value to different runs, and allow us to better tailor the experience we want in most cases.

For example, the Teekan story line always includes the sleeper colony in the home system. When I play Teekans, I know that I will end up with a second colony in my system every time. But what if the Teekans had 3 different possible story lines, and only one of them triggered with a given play, so that the second colony wasn't a guarantee? Each different story could highlight different aspects of that faction's play style, encouraging players to better explore the faction and adapt their early game to that story's focus.

The Humans have the Ghost Fleet. It is so ingrained into the early game plan that it could practically be listed as a faction perk. But imagine if there were a few possible Human story lines and the Ghost Fleet wasn't a certainty. Maybe you play a run which instead introduces a nearby Ackdarian empire that, through story prompts, is primed for an early FTA or Defense Pact, focusing on diplomatic gameplay? Or maybe a plotline that leans into espionage, with related "ancient" facilities and wonders to boost that part of the game instead?

You could enhance the game creation setting so that instead of just "Race Events: On/Off", you could choose between "Off", "Random Story", or "Select Story 1/2/3". The default would probably be "Story 1" (which would be the one basic story that each faction currently has), to introduce new players to the "classic" experience for each faction.

I'd love to see an option to play the Ikkuro and enjoy an Ikkuro-centric story that didn't mandate quelling arachnid treachery every damned time

Anyway, food for thought. Thanks for considering my request. Cheers!

[StormingKiwi]

+1.

I have long been a believer that the art of factions should have been more superficial, with elements like faction background/stories being randomised, and design bays on ships being more up to the AI personality or player's freedom to define the faction's doctrine / playstyle.

It is always a shame when there are multiple empires of the same faction, e.g. all human, but their personalities are virtually identical.

I agree it would be cool for each faction to have a couple of different stories, one of which could happen in a particular session. At least the human ghost fleet has two outcomes: between diplomacy and conflict.

I also think the event system in general should be more randomised. For most events, there are specific outcomes from choices, some of which are better than others.

[Parrius]

I think this is a great idea for a future content addition. After all the factions have been released, it would be great to go back and add a few more stories for each race.

[Parrius]

Whatever happened to trade sanctions? Or refusing to trade luxury resources?