I am a vengeful queen.

Seat of Power came out last month and seemed to slip under people's radars, and I got it as part of a care package from a friend. In the game, you play as a political leader from a variety of perspectives, and your task is to ensure that your government survives a century under your leadership. The game takes place on a colony with a variety of randomized governments and leadership personalities based on how other players play the game.

Right out the gate, I chose traits based on my own political leanings and beliefs, which gave me problems with some fractions of the population. These problems eventually grew to propaganda against my leadership (against ANYTHING I did, including setting the groundwork on three universities and ensuring -everyone- got fed after our colony lost contact with the Systems Alliance) and eventually, outright revolt and assassination attempts.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in my attempts to make the colony as safe and prosperous as I could, by year 30 the majority of the colony had turned into a failing utopia with rampant crime and regular element zero spills due to sabotaged power plants, which resulted in blackouts and further riots because of some stupid thing or another.

I cracked down on revolts and crimes, and my crackdown resulted in an armed conflict with a more stable rival.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm not cut out for politics, and Sarahopolis didn't make it to year 65, or even 50.

How did your game go, if you've played it?

First game spiraled into anarchy and everyone died. Second game I got assassinated very quickly too.

I am not very good at this game.

I've actually gotten into a bit of a contest with partner #2, I think racking up Culture and Unity points is the way to win, and he favours Economy.

Generally, I have a rougher start than he does, but by the mid-game things even out a bit. After many trials we're getting into the 50's and 60's, but neither one of us has won yet.

Ugh, I can't imagine a less appealing scenario for a game. I'd rather spend my time in a fantasy world where good aim makes problems go away.

I'm tempted to make Trex play, though, if only to give her some context for what I put up with in my job.

I suggest this! It would be good to have her understand some of your responsibilities.

[here] is a link to the site. The current module, 2.7.55, was released last Thursday and costs 250 credits.

Haven't actually beaten it, but I've made it pretty far. Not due to any particular economic or political savvy, mind you, but I pretty much legalize everything and spam entertainment to distract them so they don't pay attention to how much bad shit I'm doing.

I will be able to buy all the Unity and Culture once my colonies are fully upgraded. Just you wait.

Thanks for the recommendation VigilantVanguard. Just started my seventh game now (First six ended up in abject failures, which is fine, I learnt a bit from those), and thirty years in, already have a unified star system.

A few tips for the newbies though:
1. NEVER discount Avengers and Loricas: They're ubiquitous for a reason. Avengers are cheap and rather effective, so it keeps the military budget drain down. Same with the Loricas, Cheap and rather easy to maintain thus cutting down the expenses of a larger fleet.

2. Protesters can be ignored for a bit, but not forever: As stated, you can ignore any protests for a bit, just so long as your police force isn't going into crackdown mode on them. You will have to eventually address some of the issues they are going on about though, but you can compromise on the amount you do have to give.

3. NEVER abuse sentient rights: Simply put, if it becomes a crisis where these are being violated, the media is going to start looking your way. Once they are, it's all over. They can be stalled for it to be brought back up to acceptable levels however. Generally speaking though. This one only applies to the larger nations though, a small-backwater planet isn't as newsworthy as a interplanetary/interstellar nation doing the same thing.

4. Mandatory civil/military service: Best way of dealing with unemployment hands-down, and a rather permanent solution thanks to the skills most of them pick up afterwards. Also tends to solve military manpower shortages as well, and provides a nice source of labour for civil projects.

5. Foreign corporations, or why one should say no: Simply put, there' two reasons for this, economic development, and monopolies. If a large corp wishes to invest in your nation and you have a lacking private sector, it's much better off just telling them no. They do end up subverting your influence to the point where you end up a puppet for them and the worst part is, you can't charge them any taxes for operating in your nation. Wait until the domestic corporations are strong enough to compete (With a couple of advantages handed their way, just make them minor though.) before letting extraterritorial companies set up shop

6. Dictatorship, AKA control is best: Starting out as a dictatorship tends to be the easiest option, since you are able to easily set up laws, programs and the like. Once the basic layout is set, feel free to start changing the system of government if you feel like it. It's harder to push in any new changes in legislation in any other system, and the unrest from it is ignorable if the military has enough assets to enforce itself on the populace.

7. Calm, but decisive: When dealing with other powers, any weaker yet aggressive state is fair game the minute they send a threat to you, and is a pretty good way of obtaining new colonies as well (If you don't mind parceling of a bit of the military to make sure it integrates well enough.). This ties in to the next point...

8. Salarian Diplomacy, AKA formal declarations of war are for suckers: Never announce any war declarations, hit your foes hard and fast before they can mobilise. You can gain a great deal more from this than if you ended with a slugfest that takes out a large portion of both sides ships and worlds. Just don't overextend yourself unless you want to find your capital world under siege from another enemy force though.

9. Diplomacy part 2, Or why you shouldn't fire first: As sated above, you shouldn't leave yourself open for a third party to strike at you. The best way to do this is via peaceful dealings with less-aggressive neighbours, treaties, pacts, trade deals, anything that keeps both sides pacified. Alliances are best signed with militarily powerful neighbours, and weaker states in that order. At first glace, signing such a document with a larger power has it's downsides (Namely, they do want favouritism, and for you to end up somewhat like them in form), it does bring in the benefit of military protection. Likewise, smaller powers will be a drain on your military, but you can easily gain a few easy worlds from it.

And finally; 10. ALWAYS WATCH THE RELAY: Simple thing really, you can easily tell what comes in and out of a cluster purely by keeping tabs on the relays leading and and out from it. Good way to avoid being jumped by a few Hierophants suddenly in a place you don't want them. Those things are nasty, and tend to bring an entourage to match.

Hope this helps a few of you people get started with this, or give you a few ideas.

Yes the Bread and Circuses strategy seems to be incredibly effective, to the point where it seems too effective. There is one point where the public broadcast of the execution of political dissidents can count towards entertainment. Granted, unless you have stopped foreign media (which is by no means a guarantee), other powers will not like this.

There appears to be rumours of a multiplayer open beta for the next patch. It wonders if we should have a game when that is released.

You know, with the breaking news about the rachni, you could have picked a better title.

Not when your elites keep scattering at the first hiccup.

A lot of the responses to abuses of sentient rights or spectacles like public execution are being driven by the self-concept stats, which are kind of hidden on the culture screen.

The free Drell Republic (not actually a republic) will triumph! ...Except our currency just broke?

Why does one waste their time with such activities? Would not a piece of (moderated and censored for its consumption) be much better than the mind erasing activity of HVgames?

^


Because you've got so many alternatives. Don't you have a drell birthday party to protest?


To the others, my colony isn't doing so well without me. It was once a thriving metropolis, and is now, unfortunately, little more than a wasteland filled with the former metropolises that I created. I think there's somehow mutant monsters prowling around the unsafe surface-levels of the city, and the few surviving elite of my colony live in the sun-graced rooftops of heavily fortified towers.

This one has no conflict with the days of birth of drell and it has hosted several such events in its time here.

Good day.

Uhh... Just wow Vigilant. Just how exactly did you do that. That's the sort of thing you'd think would be impossible to get, nonetheless impressive though, even if it's a somewhat post-apocalyptic world.

And Humble Hanar, if you're going to suggest an alternate media, please actually state the media you would prefer us to view.

Anyway, around the 50 year mark with my current game, and things are still smooth sailing. Colonised a couple more worlds in another system, starting up some infrastructure there. Mostly been a quiet 20 years in game though, just steadily building up fleets and colonies. Hopefully I'll have the forces built up that taking the relay system (That is, the system that holds all the mass relays.) shouldn't be too difficult, but I'm expecting trouble in regards to that.

I tried playing the game - I got it for free from a salarian I know, and while I can appreciate the work that went into it (every single bit of Drell history is in there, half of it I didn't even know about till I played) but I dislike the lack of options to form raiding communities. I mean, they wouldn't last long, sure, but I wanna be honest about stealing from other colonies and people, rather than swindling it from them while they're in an economic crisis.

Still, if you like that kind of thing, go ahead.

Oh, and the combat is much better than I thought it would, if anyone wants to play some of the multiplayer with me, I'll be glad to.

The two of them have gone at it for what feels like an eternity. I have not yet played the game, but I feel that if I was put in front of it I would know what was going on thanks to those two.

I guess it beats some of those 'reality' shows the two of them enjoy.

I got it on an employee discount, and I'm surprisingly hooked on it. I've done three playthroughs where I aspire for year 50- playthrough 1 was a Yes-Man who was assassinated by, I'm not joking, the pessimistic hipsters who didn't like how I didn't give them anything to protest about- not even many armed forces!

Second one was a power-mad dictator after year 25 slowly turned evil by the world around him. Killed off by pollution levels thanks to building underground nuclear facilities and leaving them by accident. Made for a nice explosion and "Waking the roommates at 5AM because I didn't turn the volume down and they think the Reapers are attacking."

Third playthrough? I'm doing a cross-species run where my planet's going solo from the Council and forging for itself- by raiding planets in the Terminus systems. It's going surprisingly well- I'm investing in mind-control weaponry. :)

Notable Failure States of the Free Drell Republic

Year 64: Runaway greenhouse effect+methane packet under capital.
Lesson: Laugh it up, hanar players!

Year 72: Evolving, semi-sentient nanoplague.
Lesson: I don't want to be Noveria. Fuck you, tech firms. Regulate everything!

Year 32: Mining concern dug up Dragon's Teeth
Lesson: Some of the "possible Prothean artefacts" aren't.
Lesson 2: This is Seed 235582aaab24, I want to see if other people find the teeth too.

Such lamentable play styles! You mewl about your soft values and common good for all, when the right way is to exert power, right of the strongest! It is why my Hegemony reigns supreme on the continent and all the other states are either subjugated or willingly turned vassals in recognition of my might.

True statesman sets their homeland above the others and leaves the charity projects to those who ignore the call to power, and settle contently to the dregs of society!