As megacorp, how do I permanently extinguish other megacorps?

[taltamir]

I tried playing as megacorp. galaxy is for some reason utterly full of other megacorps. I can't make holdings because a planet can only have 1 holding and they are all full.

No way in hell I can raise the necessary influence to completely destroy them. I tried vassalizing them, they still keep on slapping corporate offices everywhere. I can't even integrate them because megacorps version of vassal bans integration for some reason (its called subsidiary. it starts with a hefty basic resource tithe but integration is impossible). Best I can do is vastly out tech them so they can be demoted to protectorate and THEN I can integrate them. But it is taking forever to do so.

Are there some obvious solutions I am missing here? At this point I am thinking I need to rush colossus so I can declare total war on people.

 

[HFY]

I can't even integrate them because megacorps version of vassal bans integration for some reason (its called subsidiary. it starts with a hefty basic resource tithe but integration is impossible).

It would be super-cool if Subsidiary "Integration" just took over all their Branch Offices.

Like, you integrate their business, not their colonies.

That would be great.

 

[Tamwin5]

I tried playing as megacorp. galaxy is for some reason utterly full of other megacorps. I can't make holdings because a planet can only have 1 holding and they are all full.

No way in hell I can raise the necessary influence to completely destroy them. I tried vassalizing them, they still keep on slapping corporate offices everywhere. I can't even integrate them because megacorps version of vassal bans integration for some reason (its called subsidiary. it starts with a hefty basic resource tithe but integration is impossible). Best I can do is vastly out tech them so they can be demoted to protectorate and THEN I can integrate them. But it is taking forever to do so.

Are there some obvious solutions I am missing here? At this point I am thinking I need to rush colossus so I can declare total war on people.

Imposing ethics turns them into a merchant guilds empire instead of a megacorp, iirc. So that's an option. Just have to swap war policy from unrestricted to liberation only (yes it's weird, unrestricted wars actually does restrict wars).

Rather then visualizing them, you can keep them around as weak megacorps and do hostile takeover CB on them. This gives you all of their branch offices in allies you have commercial pacts with, so you can use this to get free branch offices. Only super viable if you are an overwhelmingly dominant power though, as otherwise they might end up as someone else's vassal or in a federation.

 

[DeanTheDull]

No way in hell I can raise the necessary influence to completely destroy them. I tried vassalizing them, they still keep on slapping corporate offices everywhere.

If you have the military power to subjugate them, you can beat them up and take their lunch money branch offices in a hostile takeover war without paying any influence at all.

A lot of players fixate on the idea of being the one to establish branch offices, and miss the point that other megacorps aren't just your rivals- they are your prey. Or loot pinatas. You want other megacorps in the galaxy, so that they spend their influence paying the cost establishing branch offices on less profitable worlds. If MegaCorp A spends tens of thousands of energy and hundreds of influence setting up branch offices around the galaxy, and MegaCorp B spends tens of thousands of energy-worth of alloys on a fleet that can beat up MegaCorp A, then at the end of the day MegaCorp B will have both a kick-ass fleet AND all the branch offices, and MegaCorp A will be a chump.

Influence- not energy- is the real bottleneck resource of megacorps, and in the early game the only branch offices that are worth the initial investments are the homeworlds. Takes those, and mug your competition for the rest.

 

[Ohirra]

In Spore, you can do an economic takeover to buy the system of a friendly empire and convert it to one of yours.

It would be cool if there was a Stellaris equivalent for Megacorps.

 

[Snorro Soliman]

It would be super-cool if Subsidiary "Integration" just took over all their Branch Offices.

Like, you integrate their business, not their colonies.

That would be great.

That would be awesome.
We even have a proper term for it:
Hostile takeover.
I fully support it!

A thought on the status quo, though:
Ofcourse, vassalizing all other megacorps basically turns you into the galactic equivalent of an investmentfund with majority shareholdership in all its holdings. The ultimate dystopian venture capitalist. Whole worlds, nay empires work for your margins/tithes, with 0% liability. You'll be the biggest business in the business, while doing no business.

 

[FinellyTrained]

Actually it would make sense to think about peaceful takeover in contrast/addition to current hostile takeover (war).
Peaceful takeover could be something like: pay certain amount of energy monthly to turn another megacorp into a subsidiary, then pay certain amount to annex them. Call it merger&acquisition operation or something.

 

[zZander56]

Being able to compete for branches outside of war would be nice.

 

[TheRevanchist25]

I mean. if Microsoft can randomly decide to buy half the gaming industry one year without killing anyone (probably) why can't I? How come Phil Spencer can just whip out a giant checkbook and get what he wants, but I need to waste precious resources I-I mean lives, yes, lives on military actions to achieve the same thing?

 

[HFY]

if Microsoft can randomly decide to buy half the gaming industry one year without killing anyone (probably)

If you recall the Microsoft antitrust case, testimony and evidence said they ruled their industry through fear.

It would be cool if your MegaCorp could build sufficient foreign government corruption (through Espionage and diplomacy) that other empires feared you like the software industry feared Microsoft.

 

[taltamir]

I honestly want to get rid of that silly "only one empire can build a branch office" rule.
Instead multiple branch offices should be actively competing with each other via trade war. So many neat options

> invest into business
> bribe local politicians
> use espionage to help your branch office / harm the enemy branch office

etc etc.
also criminal megacorps need to be less awful to have on your planet. as it is the only response to one is a war of extermination.

 

[FinellyTrained]

Theoretically a branch office can be reimagined like a planetary corporation which is an amalgamation of its biggest enterprises.
Then multiple megacorps can invest energy and depending on the investments get a share in corporation profits. Investments if kept continuous would maintain the yield.
There can be a lot of mechanics like state-controlled PCs, rules to maintain local controlling interest, antitrust regulation, cutting into the profits if the corporation is solely owned, galaxy-wide council antitrust decisions and so on.
Commercial pacts would allow a greater degree of profits and criminal megacorps can get a buff to their profits based on the crime level before the reduction maybe, i.e. practically on population. And they also won't be affected by antitrust, nation control and so on measures.
Why not, might be. Just need to be careful to not accidentally double the galaxy's economy, so technicians would not become even more useless than they already are.

 

[Sinister2202]

I guess you can roleplay as one of those conglomerates that no one ever hears about, but controls all the popular brand names and subsidiaries.

It would be super-cool if Subsidiary "Integration" just took over all their Branch Offices.

Like, you integrate their business, not their colonies.

That would be great.

Seriously surprised this isn't the case still.

 

[TheRevanchist25]

I guess you can roleplay as one of those conglomerates that no one ever hears about, but controls all the popular brand names and subsidiaries.


Seriously surprised this isn't the case still.

You mean Monsanto?

 

[zZander56]

It would be super-cool if Subsidiary "Integration" just took over all their Branch Offices.

Like, you integrate their business, not their colonies.

That would be great.

You should honestly just have control of Subsidiary branch offices. They could get say half of the branch value, while you get the other half and any production from the buildings + control over which buildings are built. Additionally having the ability to build branches in subsidiary space even if they're a corp would make Corporate Subsidiaries a really nice choice (representing a domination of the Megacorp's markets by their parent corp.)

 

[Tamwin5]

You should honestly just have control of Subsidiary branch offices. They could get say half of the branch value, while you get the other half and any production from the buildings + control over which buildings are built. Additionally having the ability to build branches in subsidiary space even if they're a corp would make Corporate Subsidiaries a really nice choice (representing a domination of the Megacorp's markets by their parent corp.)

Yeah, Subsidiaries should directly give a portion of trade value (and branch office value if applicable) to the parent corp. Actually considering the name I'd be down for subsidiaries being exclusively for megacorps as subjects of megacorps, and then let megacorps just have vassals and tributaries for normal empires. But just TV and branch office income tax would be the easier change.