Politician Archive

There is a post related to bringing NPC Cities to life. I posted a response that can be found here which I will also duplicate here.

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Developers&message.id=55491&highlight=#M55491

My goal was to find a way to link Player Cities and NPC Cities along with enhancements to bring them to life and to give the Politician a Role in it.

“I'm looking for feedback on what you believe would make the NPC cities more vibrant and alive for all players. Your feedback is appreciated as we make the environment of the game feel more like Star Wars.”

I’ll start by saying I am a Politician and have been since the birth of Player Cities. My city, Dune Retreat, is one of four that have survived retaining city status in our region of Tatooine on Scylla. If the dog sneezes many Player Cities will collapse which would represent the loss of millions of invested credits and the devaluation of player property.

I would strive for a solution that would create closer ties between the Major Cities (NPC Cities) and the Suburbs (Player Cities) which would give a role for the Politician in this as well as the competing interests between Imperials, Rebels and Opportunists (Neutrals and Criminals). Cities are places of commerce, intrigue and political wrangling and if there appears the risk of Rebels asserting overt presence the risk of a serious Imperial Crackdown.

Each Major City would have a sphere of influence which would extend to Player Cities. A resident of a Player City would also have a vested interest in the regional Major City as it would impact the local commerce as well as local security issues and political life.

Master Merchants, Dancers, Musicians, Doctors, and Smugglers would be able to “Bid” on leasing space within the Major City. The bid amount would be the “Rent” on the space which would cover four weeks of use at which time another lease bid would occur. If the space is not retained the former occupant would have exactly one week to vacate the premises before its contents are destroyed and the new occupant gains the opportunity to move in.

There should be a bidding advantage to those who are Regional Residence and cities within the area should have financial gain as a result of the bidding process. The bid of a Regional Resident would be supplemented by 50% such that a 100,000 cr bid would register as 150,000cr. 25% of the revenue generated by bids would be distributed into the coffers of local cities (Rank would count as the number of shares the city would be eligible for)

A master merchant can have exactly one Shop in one Major City. They would have the ability to “Sublet” space for another merchant to place a vendor within his/her shop. The shop would be limited to a total of 4 vendors and would be “predecorated”.

A master dancer or musician would be able to establish a Casino in the city with gambling tables and hired help (NPC entertainers who can only handled BF and Wounds). Performances they hold within the Casino would result in results superior to those gained elsewhere. They would be able to establish an entry fee to recoup the costs in addition to revenue from the gaming tables.

A master doctor would be able to establish a medical clinic within the city with bacta tanks and an entry fee. The bacta tanks could be used to clear wounds as a HOT (Heal over time). Within the Medical Center doctor buffs would be more effective than outside of them.

The crime lair would be a place where the scum and villains of the galaxy could gather. The character who has the leased space would, in effect, be a crime lord. Each major city would have space for three crime lords who would always effectively be at war with each other and with the city militia. They would be able to “Shake down” NPC in the city to extort money. Excessive shakedowns could result in bounties being placed on the heads of these criminals

Each Major City should have a sphere of influence which would encompass Player Cities. The residents of those cities within the sphere of influence would each have a vote for the regional governor who would have to be a Master Politician and regional citizen to qualify. Those who have leased space within the Major city and are not regional residents would get 2 votes each.

BEFORE being elected each candidate would register the Mandates of rule that they would put into effect if they are elected and if elected those Mandates are also voted as the policies of the city. Some mandates could result in backlash to the city and the politician.

For example: A Mandate of “Will be an autonomous city free of Imperial Rule” would result in a bounty on the politicians head and if that mandate is voted in along with that politician the Empire will launch a series of attacks. Successful defense would give the Rebels a strengthened presence while defeat would result in the Mayor being ousted and an Imperial Military Governor would assume Martial Law over the Region.

For example: A Mandate of “Will declare unconditional fealty to the Emperor” would result in a friendly garrison of Imperial troops to be at the disposal of the city militia and those cities would effectively become “Crackdown” cities (Not the current watered down version)

The City Militia is a 2nd elected position within the city and would be able to appoint two deputies. To qualify the candidate must be a regional citizen, have Marital Policy 4 and have the Master Squad Leader profession. The Militia would have the ability to control multiple NPC troopers in keeping the peace within the city borders and enforce local mandates (No Spices, No Overts, No Spamming, No Death Blows etc) which would be set by the Regional Governor.

By establishing links between the Major Cities and the Player Cities it will give greater purpose to both while providing content for various professions. In areas where multiple cities with competing interests are in the area around the city it could provide some interesting intrigue and in cases where a factional side chooses a course of action