Reputation

This may sound silly to some, and some may even think I'm like this in real life, but I have trouble getting my reputation squeaky clean. So maybe some tips on getting a "Noble" integrity might help me get those submission pacts I so yearn for.

[RedFred]

It is extremely difficult to "become" noble. Better to stay there from the start of the game than trying to rebound from a no-no.

Stuff that will affect your rep: declaring war (except when you have justification) and building bases in a non-enemy's territory. Gosh, there has to be some other stuff, but it has been a while since I pulled any fast ones. See what a good boy I usually am!

If you haven't lifted atrocities add: gassing non-aliens, PBing somebody, nerve stapling your citizens.

Probe actions excepting infiltration (which is okay) MAY affect your rep.

[gwillybj]

Since I play Peacekeepers a lot, here's how I try to stay Noble:

Don't screw anybody over. Be cooperative with Techs and Energy, not overly generous, though, but don't let anybody walk all over you, either. If one faction asks you to join a Vendetta, decline, then get friendly with the faction they wanted you to fight. When someone demands a Tech from you, try to trade for it or sell it, but do ultimately give it to them (I like the reply: "Oh, all right. Have it your way, then.") You will probably find yourself 2nd or 3rd in overall power, but often first in Tech or Wealth.

If someone does press a Vendetta against you, try to contact them every turn until they finally reply. Most often they will say something to the effect that the vendetta is a waste of life and resources and they will offer some kind of deal for Truce and sometimes they will go right to Treaty. Take it. On the next turn, ask them for Treaty or Pact, whichever is next higher. Don't press for it, just ask once each turn. If after 5 or 6 tries they still won't sign, stop for a few turns, then try again. Of course, while you're going through all of this with one faction, you will be going through it with another or 2 or 3.

If you are trying for Transcendence Victory, it will happen, but not until almost Retirement age.

[RedFred]

gwillybj mentions a lot of stuff that will help you diplomatically, but will not affect your reputation as the game sees it.

You can actually do a lot of nasty stuff and stay "noble". You can be uncooperative with giving tech or energy. You can get into a Vendetta at the request of a Pactmate. You can stay in Vendetta all game and either not answer when the AI asks for truce, or refuse the truce. You can probe as long as the AI doesn't think it is you that did it. You can violate borders as much as you feel like for as long as like. Just be sure you withdraw when you get the screen that has an option to zip you back home. You can bribe a faction to start a war with someone you aren't even at war with. You can take your native life and hit 'release into the wild' right beside your friend or pactmate. My favourite move is to cross the border with my crawlers and usurp the AI's resources.

What if your reputation's already bad? Wicked?

Can you get your reputation up again?

[RedFred]

The AI has a long memory. If you are good for a long time you might move up one notch. I don't think it is possible to move all the way up from wicked to noble.

[Sprayber]

Does anyone here care if their reputataion is bad? Sometimes I do and try to keep it up but a lot of the times I just don't care. I maintain good relations with my pactmates that I need and thats it. Question. If you are bad to others, will it affect you relationship with your pactmates. Besides using PBs, and nerve stapling.

[knowhow2]

Sprayber;

I would say that as soon as you do something wrong against someone, the AI would remeber it. But as long as as you don't get that peticular AI upset in any way you two will be just fine. But if that day arise when you two DOES have a disagreement, THEN you evil deed will come up again. Sort of like "you have done your last atrocity vendetta upon you" (or something like that). Or when you have betrayed somebody in the past your new found friend (treaty or pact) would say something like... my idoelogy and your ideolgy would dominate ... bla bla ... but I would watch my back and not be as foolish as (the one) you broke treaty/truce against... (I should have check out the exact words, but being lazy, I didn't, sorry) So there a huge reason why you shouldn't let your rep loose. Besides from not having to many friends, it is virtually impossible to win on diplomatic, even if 5 out of 6 factions are submissive to you. When it comes to Supreme Leader they rather die than follow you. I once had a game, playing Yang and using lots and lots of nervegas (after I repealed the UN chart) against the other human factions (miriam, domai, roze), although having morgan and aki submissive for quite some time and pact with a magnanimous santiago. Just when I reached 3/4 of the votes I went for the diplomatic victory. All of them choose to defy me except Aki. From that point on I just have to destroy them all. Destroying everyone of them took about 13 turns extra. So unless you want to play an extra 10-15 turns extra every time, keep you rep somewhat clean.

edt. repeal the UN chart first before nervegas and PB use.
[This message has been edited by knowhow2 (edited March 13, 2001).]

By repealing the UN charter, that would make it ok to gas your opponents to stone age, would it? Or create a new Freshwater Sea in place of Yang's Seat of Proper Thought? Your reputation wouldn't fall?

[D]

I am with redfred. I have always had noble integrity and I always so no to everything excecpt when I am offered a pact or lending money. I never gas anyone or use planetbusters or even missiles. Does the difficulty matter when becoming supreme leader? Cause I did it on citizen level with all my submissives voting for me and I had all the SP's to boost planetary votes.

[RedFred]

ILT, having never launched a PB, I am only going by what other people have said. Perhaps a more warlike poster could confirm.

[Garth Vader]

As a more warlike poster, I have to say I don't really care about reputation. So I don't notice if it drops at any time. What I will say is if you use gas, even if the prohibitions are repealed the faction you use it on will not ever surrender, and will defy the will of the council in a diplomatic victory.

[D]

Does winning conquest with Morgan count as warlike? I always say no to the comps because I can't think of helping out the enemy excpet for money where you can make a nice profit. I also plan on going to war with them anyway. Die comps.

[knowhow2]

It'sLikeThat,

With the UN chart repealed, you can use as much nervergas and planetbuster you want without having your rep drop (I am not 100% sure but 90%). But as mentioned above, those factions that you use it against will hate you forever, even if they turn submissive (pact to serve), so in case of dimplomatic victory, "forget about it"
AND as soon as any disagreement arise with any other factions, the will use this to call vendetta upon you.

[Rift]

quote: Originally posted by Sprayber on 03-13-2001 02:32 AM Does anyone here care if their reputataion is bad? Sometimes I do and try to keep it up but a lot of the times I just don't care. I maintain good relations with my pactmates that I need and thats it. Question. If you are bad to others, will it affect you relationship with your pactmates. Besides using PBs, and nerve stapling.

I couldn't care less about my integrity. My current rep is Infamous ::grins::. I've broken about 2 treaties, and countless truces. But my personal vision of war is that you have to do whatever you can, no matter how dirty, to achieve victory. It's worth it, since I currently have 3 submissives (Zak, Morgan, and Miriam). The others I'll kill later. By the way, I think reputation does affect your relationship with your pactmates, because Deirdre renounced her pact with me when my integrity went from Scrupulous to Wicked in a matter of turns...and I was running Green. This might not be true, because Santiago is still holding her pact with me...then again, perhaps it's because the Spartans are weaklings, while the Gaian's are second in the power chart.
A side note: does anyone know why every time when you become so powerful that your line hits the top of the power line graph, it takes a sudden nosedive?

[Sir Hawkeye]

I think that's a side effect of the chart changing scale. I think it corrects that when you see the chart next, or I might just be crazy.

-Rale Hawkeye-

[Sprayber]

quote: Originally posted by Rift on 03-13-2001 07:00 PMthen again, perhaps it's because the Spartans are weaklings, while the Gaian's are second in the power chart. A side note: does anyone know why every time when you become so powerful that your line hits the top of the power line graph, it takes a sudden nosedive?

This happens often to me. My pactmate usually renounces the pact if i'm first and they are second. It's just a matter of time.

[Skanderbeg]

quote: Originally posted by Rift on 03-13-2001 07:00 PM A side note: does anyone know why every time when you become so powerful that your line hits the top of the power line graph, it takes a sudden nosedive?

The powergraph is calculated by several things: population, number of SP, and the strength of your army RELATED TO THE STRONGEST WEAPON AVAILIABLE TO ANY FACTION.
So, for example, if you have big hordes of chaos weapon and build your first single shard unit, the strenght of Your army is calculated in relation to shard and no longer to chaos weapon. And by the powergraph calculation, the strength of Your army has decreased about 1/3, but in reality You are of course getting stronger.

To the reputation thing: You need a good reputation only when You are weak, because You need friends then. If You are strong enough to kick everybody's butt, why care about reputation? It can be great fun to be the evil guy.
Last game, Morgan was between me (the "Peacekeepers") and the Caretakers.
I needed his bases as stepstones for my X-Choppers against Booger, but he (we hade truce) refused to pact. I gave him a planetbuster to taste before I conquered what was left and gassed the Caretakers.
Oh, and I never repeal the charter. It is sometimes really funny to drive the other faction leaders mad with my evil behaviour.

"Don't cry for mercy, 'cause You know there will be none"
Virgin Steele, "Rising Unchained"

[This message has been edited by Skanderbeg (edited March 14, 2001).]

[Sikander]

Count me as one who maintains a good rep. I do it by never making a treaty that I'm going to break. If I start on the same continent as another faction, then we are going to war in the long run. I will not give them anything. They will almost always go to war with me eventually, and usually sooner than eventually. Then it is time to acquire a submissive.

When a faction is not on my continent I will accept a treaty of friendship. This can be a boon, and eventually they will declare war unless they are too weak to be of any consequence. Either way, an AI which is not on my continent is rarely able to bother me much. I never give tech or money to the AI unless I am helping them against a common enemy, though I will trade tech at almost any point in the game.

I call this the xenophobe technique, and it works pretty well. It assumes that I am more or less at war the entire game, and tries to make the diplomatic situation reflect that by ignoring the AI until it declares war, and then shooting on sight. It is a lot easier than dealing with a 'friendly' or neutral AI faction who just has to screw with you. If you are at war, you just sink their transports, or burn their bases.

quote: Originally posted by knowhow2 on 03-13-2001 06:58 PM It'sLikeThat, With the UN chart repealed, you can use as much nervergas and planetbuster you want without having your rep drop (I am not 100% sure but 90%). But as mentioned above, those factions that you use it against will hate you forever, even if they turn submissive (pact to serve), so in case of dimplomatic victory, "forget about it" AND as soon as any disagreement arise with any other factions, the will use this to call vendetta upon you.

Submissives will declare war with you?

[knowhow2]

quote: Originally posted by It'sLikeThat on 03-14-2001 12:07 PM Submissives will declare war with you?

When you 're going for a diplomatic victory you need 3/4 of all the votes on the planet to win. But you ALSO need all the other factions to submit to you, if any of them defy you, you haven't won a dimplomatic victory (which makes it so much harder to win than conquest, still it gives you the same amount of points.... ) When this happens, those who submit to you will swear a pact to serve and they will all declare vendetta on the remainder factions. All factions can defy you as supreme leader even those whom already has submit (submissive, right word?) to you earlier. In short, yes they will declare war against you (also happens when you use PBs on any faction before repealed UN chart, but I guess you already know that one )