LotOR Dev Diary #6 - The Galactic Republic
Published on October 29, 2021 by The24thDS
Introduction
Greetings fellow senators and Old Republic enthusiasts, this time we will talk about how the Galactic Republic is presented and a couple other things. But first, a reminder about the lore surrounding Legacy of the Old Republic:
The galaxy is unexplored and vast. After venturing too far into parts unknown, two spacers from the Core discovered the Sith Empire in the Outer Rim. A war between a coalition of aligned worlds in the Core and the invading Sith Empire led to galactic isolation, unease, and fear of the unknown. Yet, a new generation of explorers and colonists is ready to leave the boundaries of their homeworld and create an age of prosperity and exploration.
While technically the Galactic Republic existed for roughly 25.000 years, adapting that system goes against our design goal for the mod which is to be similar to vanilla. Legacy of the Old Republic will start without a Galactic Republic directly at gamestart and the four core founders will get the option to form it in the early game. This system is similar to creating the United Federation of Planets in “Star Trek: New Civilizations.”
DISCLAIMER: The following images have been taken from a Work In Progress version of the mod and don't represent the final product.
The Galactic Republic - How to form it?
The Galactic Republic uses the Galactic Community system from Stellaris with a couple of important changes. For example the addition of a Supreme Chancellor which can be voted by the current members of the Republic as well as a new joining mechanism.
Almost every empire can join the Galactic Republic with a couple of logical exceptions like the Sith Empire or the Mandalorians.
To join the cool people club, you need to have good relations with at least one current member of the Galactic Republic and have a common border with them. The shared border is to prevent empires from across the galaxy (such as those in the Unknown Regions) to join the Republic, thus allowing for a more natural expansion.
Fulfilling both requirements allows you to click on the “Apply” button. Afterwards a unique resolution is created to let the current members vote on if they want to have you as a member.
Planet States are the only exception from this, they have a random chance of joining the Republic if they border at least one of the members and have good relations with them.
The AI will do this automatically and there are a couple of things influencing it for example:
Even chances (random_list 10) to apply or not apply, modified by (to join)
- factor = 1.5 if plentiful influence
- factor = 1.5 if Xenophile
and (NOT to join)
- factor = 2 if Xenophobe
- factor = 2 if Militarist
- factor = 5 if bad relations with ANY member
- factor = 10 if rivaling ANY member
This way every new Galactic Republic should form slightly different and provide a different approach to the player.
The Galactic Republic - What does it do?
The Galactic Republic provides all the benefits of the normal Galactic Community as well as a couple of more unique things.
As usual you can vote on regulations and try to get more political power on the galaxy map, but you can also aspire to lead the republic towards its next golden age.
At the moment the Galactic Republic provides you a unique Tradition focused around diplomacy, improved leaders and stylish new uniforms for your people! (note: these don't work with every alien race yet)
The Galactic Republic - Supreme Chancellor
A Supreme Chancellor is the de facto Leader of the Galactic Republic. They can make use of some special resolutions to provide stability or change to a more permanent chancellorship.
Most of these features are not touched yet beside some smaller things like the Galactic Defense Force using Republic Ships. We will most likely leave it for a future Republic themed update.
But how do you become the Supreme Chancellor?
With a lot of hard work and dozens of hours of overtime, you too can essentially bribe your way to the top. Even if our Galactic Republic isn't as corrupt as the future version, favors and deals will always make up most of the diplomatic decisions.
There is a rather complex system behind the nomination process but to break it down, you nominate yourself (your current ruler) which factors in favors owed to you, your diplomatic strength and some other things.
After the initial round, the top 3 countries with the most Nominations will be put to a direct vote.
The AI will always vote for itself if nominated, will prefer voting for countries with good/excellent relations and will never vote on countries rivalling or at war with it.
and with some luck, you too can be the next Supreme Chancellor!
This is all for now, the next dev diary will be about Release Content, Beta and what to expect for later on.