I have seen several threads asking about making tributaries without war because subjugation is so difficult. While I disagree about subjugation being difficult, even when fighting against a federation, I think there are times when you should not have to wage a war to be able to levy tribute.
For example, in a play through I recently did, I defeated a federation and subjected one of the members by decimating their other member, and only invading a couple planets belonging to the species I subjugated, which was cool. Later I defeated a fallen empire, and not long after that an awakened empire that had taken over 1/4 of the galaxy. I then conquered another regular empire. I then turned my attention to a small empire that had always hated me. I had 8 fleets with over 150k fleet power, while they had 1 fleet with 35k fleet power and a couple smaller fleets. I demanded that they become my tributary, and they refused. I stopped playing at this point because the game kept crashing on me because I had too many habitable worlds in the game, but the point is, I could have conquered their empire in about 15 minutes, and it would take that long only because invasions sometimes take a little while. What empire in their right mind would risk war with an empire that could conquer and enslave them and not even receive a scratch in return. Better to pay the tribute.
I think there should be a system where if you have fleet power a certain large amount greater than another empire, you can successfully demand tribute because of intimidation. Of course certain empires with certain ethics might be immune to intimidation, but most would not be. Also, perhaps factors such as defeating an awakened empire would also have an intimidation effect on other empires. And I don’t mention this because I want an “I win” button, because I have not problem waging war and I actually would have enjoyed crushing the insolent pups who defied me. I want this in the game because it only makes sense.
Any thoughts?
For example, in a play through I recently did, I defeated a federation and subjected one of the members by decimating their other member, and only invading a couple planets belonging to the species I subjugated, which was cool. Later I defeated a fallen empire, and not long after that an awakened empire that had taken over 1/4 of the galaxy. I then conquered another regular empire. I then turned my attention to a small empire that had always hated me. I had 8 fleets with over 150k fleet power, while they had 1 fleet with 35k fleet power and a couple smaller fleets. I demanded that they become my tributary, and they refused. I stopped playing at this point because the game kept crashing on me because I had too many habitable worlds in the game, but the point is, I could have conquered their empire in about 15 minutes, and it would take that long only because invasions sometimes take a little while. What empire in their right mind would risk war with an empire that could conquer and enslave them and not even receive a scratch in return. Better to pay the tribute.
I think there should be a system where if you have fleet power a certain large amount greater than another empire, you can successfully demand tribute because of intimidation. Of course certain empires with certain ethics might be immune to intimidation, but most would not be. Also, perhaps factors such as defeating an awakened empire would also have an intimidation effect on other empires. And I don’t mention this because I want an “I win” button, because I have not problem waging war and I actually would have enjoyed crushing the insolent pups who defied me. I want this in the game because it only makes sense.
Any thoughts?