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War Weariness

Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2015

As the Terrans, I am in a war with the Drengin.  I conquer a planet.  Billions die.  I conquer another planet.  Billions die.  That planet is reconquered by the Drengin.  Billions die.

The gameplay effect of this massive tragedy is a gaping "meh."  Sure, my production dips a little on the planets contributing the soldiers, but that's not exactly the kind of thing you feel in your gut.  

The deaths of billions, particularly when you lost a planet, should be something that hits you in the gut.  

EUIV has an excellent war weariness mechanic that reflects the crushing effect that lengthy and costly wars have on nation-states.  I am not suggesting that Galciv could or should "cut-and-paste" that mechanic, but some sort of ticking global malus would really add a much-needed cost to waging vast intergalactic war.  It would help me suspend my disbelief a lot more than the current sterile mechanics.