Is it just me or are the governments obviously imbalanced?

picks = abilities (no idea where "picks" came from.)

Why, from MOO of course...

M

~SDC~

Good point! It does show imbalance, either in goverments or in the abilities prices.

MxM

Sort of a self-proof there... they should be brought into line.

~SDC~

Of course, if you lose control of the senate, those bonuses become penalties... something that doesn't happen with the racial abilities. It really sucked when I was playing as War Party and lost control of the Senate right before the AI attacked me.

J

Jeff is totally right. The bigger the bonus, the bigger the penalty when you lose control. Nothing wrong with that.

You could always stay impirial and never lose the bonuses though.

~SDC~

I wish the game made the economy boost from other governments explicit. As it is, I'm not sure it's worth it to go to republic.

As for the penalties, that's counterintuitive to me. I'd think you'd end up getting the bonuses of the party that won, instead. Presumably, that would be penalty enough because your strategy would be built around your bonuses, not theirs. As it is, it's like double-punishment.

~SDC~

With your example, the way I look at it is the War Party bonus is useful only when you're at war, which at least in my case is very rarely. On the other hand, the Technologist bonus comes in handy throughout the game regardless of the victory condition you're aiming for.

Bonus vs Penalty:
Even with my luck, I've never lost control of the senate for more than 2 turns, so I'm not sure the potential penalties outweigh the bonuses.

I was thinking about this myself yesterday, and like you I calculated the various costs for the different government bonuses.

After working it out, I came to the same conclusion as you, that some obviously cost more than others, but after thinking about it some more, I think they do balance out reasonably well.

I usually go with Federalists, as I like the improved economy bonus, but I usually take an improvement in economy as an attribute as well (Seeing as how money drives everything from production to research, I want lots of it!). When you do this, it slightly skews the value for each government, as quite often it is cheap to get up to 20% for an ability, but it costs more for the next 20% or so. I guess you could say the same for doing that with the improved hit points from the war party, but I dont usually find I need that much hit points on my ships, whereas extra money is always helpful.

Has anyone noticed if it's easier to control the Senate if you are one party versus another? It seems as though my War Party is finding it easier to stay in control in this game than in the last game I played where I was the Federalist party.

If you are at war, or in danger of war, the war party does very well in the polls. In times of peace, though, the war party doesn't do so well; but I've never seen another party seize control of the Senate (I am always the federalists).

From my deductions, the Other party votes represent whats wrong with your CIV.

IE if the Federalists have a large say, or win, your econ is probably 3rd rate or your losing money fast.
When the populist get a lot of votes your morale needs improving
When the war party gets votes,your either losing a war, or a have too weak a military

etc etc

I could be wrong, but it seems this way in my games

~SDC~

I've found it relatively easy to keep my party in power (I've played with the Technologists, War Party, and Federalists so far). The War Party isn't any easier or harder, IME, to keep in power. It's just a matter of keeping the citizens happy with performance.

I did find it strange, as technologists, that after upgrading from Republic to Star Democracy, I won more elections, but hey.

~SDC~