Violence is the Last Refuge of the Incompetent...

[FerdinandVeblen]

And thus, we should have means to sabotage other empires beyond naked force. Some of this is in the game already, some would probably be good for DLCs/mods/etc. Why face a battlefleet head-on, when you can:

- Incite unrest among enemy POPs who share your ethos or species
- Establish trade relations decades before the war... then activate the kill switch in all the equipment you sold your enemy in the peace
- Mind-control the enemy Star Emperor with psychic robots
- Install a computer virus in the enemy's wormhole network to reroute their ships.

And if Fanatic Pacifist Fallen Empires are in, they should be the absolute best at this. It should look like they're putting up no resistance, you're taking their worlds... and then your whole empire starts falling apart

 

[barny]

I'm actually fully expecting an espionage DLC during the first year after release, probably together with a trade DLC.

 

[leviathan172]

This is probably the first game in awhile that I am actually looking forward to lots more DLC, can't wait.

 

[Joe Joerson]

Of course this should work perfectly well until you find a certain sterile psychic...

 

[Admiral Howe]

Of course this should work perfectly well until you find a certain sterile psychic...

One of Asimov's better creations.

Also, OP, I prefer: "War is merely diplomacy continued by other means."

 

[Koplin]

Hands down my favourite author of all time.

I thin kthe DLC I'm most excited for is the espionage "game", whatever that might be. As I look to employ a Xenophile/Pacifist mindset, I would love to win a game without ever having to fire a (see: too many) shot(s).

 

[13Foxtrot]

Being a pacifist doesn't necessarily make you good at espionage....Some of the activities within "espionage" clearly are not pacifistic in nature.

also, a violent nation could be very good at espionage as well.

 

[KonradKurze202]

I'm actually fully expecting an espionage DLC during the first year after release, probably together with a trade DLC.

Personally I'd prefer a dedicated DLC for trade and a dedicated DLC for espionage rather than one that introduces both, but trade and espionage would go well together (civilian trade is a common method of infiltration afterall).

 

[Koplin]

Being a pacifist doesn't necessarily make you good at espionage....Some of the activities within "espionage" clearly are not pacifistic in nature.

also, a violent nation could be very good at espionage as well.

When the time comes to act, and, as a pacifist, I have the choice of all out war or subtle subterfuge at every possible government level of the empire I am at odds with, I'm taking the path of least resistance.

 

[XRW]

Instead of pop unrest (because it's little more than a nuisance) you can fund another empires factions. In game you can fund a faction and thus it gets more support and members are more reluctant to leave, perhaps a revolt is harder to put down due to better equipment. As the victim Empire you can use counter espionage to detect large flows of money. Hmmm why is this faction on a poor planet suddenly so powerful? Assign spies to trace the money. There your spy works and when they finish you find they were being funded, and a chance at finding out who was funding them. Perhaps an embargo against that specific empire will cut off foreign funding from them. For a much larger influence cost and higher chance at getting caught you can try routing the funding through a 3rd empire.

 

[Alexander Seil]

I'd like to see intelligence mechanics focused on corrupting the Leaders, which would cover many cases you could consider, including faction support.

However, I'd like to see impactful, flavorful options and not just "+X to Faction Attraction." I want to be able to hand a disgruntled species in another empire a virus bomb that only targets the dominant race. Or corrupt a planet governor into outright defection.

The counterintelligence mechanic can be centered around a new Leader type (let's call them Agents), assigned to other leaders (i.e., every leader position gets a second slot). These would monitor regular leaders they're assigned to, and generate various event chains depending on what these regular leaders are doing. That leads to false accusations, corruption of the Agents themselves and other !FUN!

 

[Winterwolf00]

Or release a sterility plague on them without them even knowing and them slowly assimilate them.

 

[6076]

>Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent
That's because it's super-effective!

 

[TheBeautifulVoid2]

Instead of pop unrest (because it's little more than a nuisance) you can fund another empires factions. In game you can fund a faction and thus it gets more support and members are more reluctant to leave, perhaps a revolt is harder to put down due to better equipment.

This is a great idea. Among other things it makes a genuinely good anti-blobbing mechanic which adds depth without complexity, and that's the holy grail of design.

 

[Borgrabbit]

This is definitely going to be in coming DLC.

 

[FerdinandVeblen]

Being a pacifist doesn't necessarily make you good at espionage....Some of the activities within "espionage" clearly are not pacifistic in nature.

also, a violent nation could be very good at espionage as well.

Oh, of course. But I don't think a Fanatic Pacifist Fallen Empire would last so long in a big mean galaxy without some pretty good soft power/espionage/shenanigans. Other than that, anybody should be able to use espionage/propaganda/etc.

 

[FerdinandVeblen]

Instead of pop unrest (because it's little more than a nuisance) you can fund another empires factions. In game you can fund a faction and thus it gets more support and members are more reluctant to leave, perhaps a revolt is harder to put down due to better equipment. As the victim Empire you can use counter espionage to detect large flows of money. Hmmm why is this faction on a poor planet suddenly so powerful? Assign spies to trace the money. There your spy works and when they finish you find they were being funded, and a chance at finding out who was funding them. Perhaps an embargo against that specific empire will cut off foreign funding from them. For a much larger influence cost and higher chance at getting caught you can try routing the funding through a 3rd empire.

This sounds awesome... and should also be in Victoria III

 

[schultz]

Wait a minute...if violence is the LAST refuge of the incompetent, then what do incompetents turn to first?

But seriously, I am VERY much looking forward to an espionage aspect to this game.
The possibilities of covert operations are extensive.

Different computer viruses, some of which can dramatically slow research, or cause drains in energy.

Biological warfare. Assassination. Bribery. Defection of leaders. Sabotage. Fomenting unrest.
And if your empire excels at espionage, you might even be able to make it look like your actions were committed by another Empire, or a faction within the target Empire.

And lots of these features might require a more extensive tech "tree". The more unique techs I can research, the happier I am.

 

[TheBeautifulVoid2]

Wait a minute...if violence is the LAST refuge of the incompetent, then what do incompetents turn to first?

In my experience? Committee meetings

 

[Voidlord]

In my experience? Committee meetings

Or blaming everyone else for their incompetence...