Government Types - brainstorming
Govt Offices already dealt with
1) Corporate States
Inspiration from Imprint
•Lots of advertising everywhere (take company names from wiki & YAH ads). Probably lots of repeat blanket ads from the biggest corporations to stop the others grabbing any of the spaces!
•Lots of sponsorships. "Free trips" downplanet to visit the factory and salesroom of a corporate business located in the middle of nowhere with a tied-in hotel and beach...
•Trade names dominate such things as lists of bar drinks.
•No (or hardly any) independent businesses
•Lots of busy corporate executives buzzing around the orbital
On hold awaiting assimilation of
Redspear's Revelations
Revelatory Redspearean Rejig:
•Just the one corporation (add in some systems with more than one for v.2.0?)
•Advertising to go down and visit the planet (the Corporation benefits from every penny you spend!)
•Advertising for the Corporation facilities on the station (the more expensive bars, hotels, restaurants,
etc)
•"Free trips" downplanet to visit the factory and salesroom of a corporate business located in the middle of nowhere with a tied-in hotel and beach...
•Trade names dominate such things as lists of bar drinks.
•No (or hardly any) independent businesses
•Lots of busy corporate executives buzzing around the orbital
•Corporate Security Guards rather than police
•Lots of poor beggars who can't get jobs - or who got up to the station and then lost their jobs. Could this be where the religions help out?
•
East India Company law courts initially consisted (1600's) of a lawyer and two merchants
•The Corporates control
everything - their own police, their own navy, their own lawcourts, their own communication services, their own banks
etc.
Everything that somebody does is known to the local corporation. The only time there is
any oversight is when they are operating outside of their own systems under another government. Is it due to the Corporates (allying with Commies & Dictatorships) that GalCop will not intervene in solar systems? Democracies might well oppose this, and the other political groupings would be too divided or too weak to influence matters.
2) Democracies
•Domination (but less) by the large corporates as above.
Station Architecture
•Visit the local government offices and listen to a riveting debate (such as the thrilling details of refurbishing the water supply to section 27:3:q).
Events
•At election times, lots of election advertising for the various candidates/parties and local pop-up party HQ's
•Peaceful protests about whatever (worms in the tap water/ too many lockdowns/ improve education for the children/ subsidised flights down planet/ arrest a specific scoundrel for misdemeanours
etc.)
•Political Debates in public spaces
•Witness an assassination of somebody important. Or hear the Tannoy announcement.
Encounters
These religious encounters should only occur if one of the missionaries packages is installed. And not just at democracies but at confederacies, multi Gov's, Feudals & anarchies too (
ie just five of the eight).
• What's The Happy Eye? Don't know. Brainwashed smiling faces offering their pamphlets at spaceports and on stations? (Murgh updated their spiel in his Iron Ass Missionaries).
•Other missionaries (CGC, HWG, Zenarchy monks,
etc.).
3) Confederacy
Mix of the rest - probably tending to the top of this list
Nobody in overall control. Need to work through the implications of this.
I suppose that I see Confederacies, Multi-Govs and Anarchies as being in their own continuum, moving from confederated disparate groups who get along to raving anarchic nutters who don't. In each case, GalCop effectively runs the orbital station, conferring with the Confederacies who cooperate enough to maintain offices up by the GalCop precinct - to MultiGovs where each Gov has its own offices in the entrails of the station (and fighting might well break out between the different groups) - to Anarchies who have zippo. In reality it would be much more nuanced, but this might do for now.
The problem is a heartfelt desire not to bother naming/describing the dozens of different governments for each of the 32 Multi-Govs in Gal1! Working out Zarece (with 3 named cloud cities out of 15+) was bad enough!
Overall based on democracies but without the electioneering (it's not really their station and the various other countries might well disapprove of it taking place in their "shared space")
Station Architecture
•Apart from no opportunity to eavesdrop on political debates inside the Govt Offices, I envision no major differences from Democracies.
Events
•Witness an assassination of somebody important. Or hear the Tannoy announcement.
Encounters
•As for democracies
4) Commies
Inspiration from Captain Hesperus's write up's on the wiki & Ships that pass in the night
As mentioned
above, Commies are competing with GalCop for control of the orbital station. See there for notes on the docking process and details of individual systems.
With commies.oxp loaded, they also have their own stations (if rich enough) and police force/navy: both police and thought-police! There are escaping convicts from the Astrogulags. Commissars whizzing around in limousines. Worker's commuters packed full of hordes of a bedizened proletariat off to perform Stakhanovian feats in the factories and orbital stations.
•Station includes an Execution chamber for disposing of the regime's enemies - a glass-walled area inside a hallway/public space where the enemies are exposed to the vacuum with everybody watching.
•Station includes a People's Arena for sporting events and public addresses (rallying the workers). Cordoned off when not in use.
•Fewer restaurants/pubs for the locals as they are mostly fed in work canteens - which also stops them mixing so much with foreigners.
•Businesses are all part of GOoM or equivalent.
•Screens in public places blaring out agitprop. Maybe use the billboard images from the Commies oxp? And Laeninpropaganda.jpg?
Possible billboards of the glorious leader (there are 100+ little images hidden inside
Library.oxp)
Supreme Comrade Rattski?:
Encounters
People's Policepersons (and Thought Police in mufti) all over the place keeping tabs on what goes on. Occasional GalCop arbiters who can intervene if the commies step over the line. How about Policepersons outside all churches, for example, with GalCop arbiters turning up if there is a service going on? Or see a conversation taking place in a hallway- and then suddenly the Policepersons turn up and drag all but one (the Thought Police stoogie) away, screaming and kicking? Or see a group of 1-12 Policepersons exit a side corridor with 1-6 handcuffed citizens, moving towards the lifts?
•Police/Police arresting somebody/Police arresting somebody else/Police threatening somebody/Police marching somewhere/Police marching to the People's Palace with arrested suspects/Thought Police (in mufti) calling in police to arrest somebody/Thought Police (in mufti) arresting somebody/Thought Police (in mufti) threatening somebody
•Political refugee begging for safe passage out/Political escapee begging for safe passage out
•Family member/lover/chum of escapee wishing to send a message to escapee on system x.
•Possible encounter with commissar's entourage who push everybody out of the way - or possible sighting of them from a distance in a large hallway or some such.
Events
Acclamation of Stakhanovite worker in Arena and over station Tannoy/Political march (in approval of the wonderful government-against local evil system-against evil capitalists-against capitalist GalCop-against letting in foreigners)/Public Execution in vacuum chamber/March of the Trades Unions for MayDay or equivalent)
Some of this might better wait until putative integration with Diplomancy OXP which creates wars/alliance
5) Dictatorship
Inspired by Flavour Expansions (2006)
Very similar to Commies above - but the dictatorships tend to be a little poorer/weaker and Juntas are
not co-ordinated throughout the galaxies whilst the Imperials are not co-ordinated as well as the commies are.
Docking process for each of these as per commies above. It's just that the people meeting you off your ship wear different uniforms!
5a) Junta (Agricultural)
Are there Imperial Astrofactories for the agri-Juntas? I think so, but...
Junta enforcers, Revolutionary guards. Prison ships?
Station architecture
•Station includes an Execution chamber for disposing of the regime's enemies - a shooting range in a public space where the enemies are shot by a firing squad with everybody watching. the family are charged for the bullets if they want the body back afterwards.
•Station includes a National Arena for sporting events and public addresses (rallying the people). Cordoned off when not in use.
•A number of the businesses are owned by the army/navy.
•Censored bookshops
•Screens in public places blaring out agitprop. Possible billboards of the Generalissimo (there are 100+ little images hidden inside
Library.oxp)
Encounters
Same as commies. Note that there are no police or commissars. Just army/navy.
Events
Acclamation of the Generalissimo in the Arena and over station Tannoy/Political march (in approval of the wonderful government-against local evil system-against evil commies-against commie GalCop-against letting in foreigners)/Public Execution/March of the Army-Navy for Coup d'Etat day or equivalent) - make it "Random" whether Orbital is run by the army or the navy?
Some of this might better wait until putative integration with Diplomancy OXP which creates wars/alliance
5b) Imperium (Industrial)
Imperial Astrofactories, Imperial Censors, Imperial Lictors, Imperial Quaestors, Prison ships, Imperial Freighters & Imperial Tankers.
Unsure whether each planet has its own emperor or whether they are all part of the same Empire. This seems to have been left vague.
Station architecture
•Station includes an Execution chamber for disposing of the regime's enemies - electrocuted standing up.
•Station includes an Imperial Forum for public addresses (rallying the people). Cordoned off when not in use.
•A number of the businesses are owned by imperial sycophants.
•Censored bookshops
•Screens in public places blaring out agitprop. Possible billboards of the Emperor (there are 100+ little images hidden inside
Library.oxp)
Encounters
Same as commies. Note that there are police and secret police.
Events
Acclamation of the Exalted Emperor in the Forum and over station Tannoy/Political march (in approval of the wonderful Emperor-against local evil system-against evil commies-against commie GalCop-against letting in foreigners)/Public Execution/"Triumphs" - display of military prowess)
Some of this might better wait until putative integration with Diplomancy OXP which creates wars/alliance
5c) Theocracy: Church of the Holy Witchspace Guard (Mainly Industrial) -
awaiting Montana05's .oxp
High Temples (converted Tetrahedra), Orders Squire, Orders Knight, Orders Paladin. Church Cleric Craft, Church Pilgrim Ships. (See
here).
Station architecture
•Station includes an Execution chamber for disposing of the regime's enemies - under a lens massively magnifying the rays of the sun - they go up in a puff of smoke!
•Station includes a Cathedral with a Courtyard for public addresses (rallying the people).
•A number of the businesses are owned by the church.
•Shops selling religious artefacts (for services, for pilgrimages, icons for the home,
etc.)
•Censored bookshops
•Screens in public places blaring out agitprop. Possible billboards of the High Priest (there are 100+ little images hidden inside
Library.oxp)
•The only churches are HWG - others are hidden away and will have the Inquisition on guard outside!
Encounters
Same as commies. Note that there are police and
the inquisition.
Events
Acclamation of the High Priest in the Cathedral Courtyard and over station Tannoy/Political march (in approval of the wonderful Church-against local evil system-against evil heretics-against heretical GalCop-against letting in foreigners)/Public Execution/"Pilgrimages")
Some of this might better wait until putative integration with Diplomancy OXP which creates wars/alliance
6) Multi-Government
Mix of the rest - probably tending to the bottom of this list
Nobody in overall control. Need to work through the implications of this.
With Factions.oxp there are shooting matches between the various political groupings. With Free Trade Zones.oxp there are converted RH's by the Witchpoint beacon.
"Free Trade Zones exist because of the highly complex legal nature of Multi-Government planets, their collective paranoia over perceived sovereignty infringements by GalCop, and their general inability to make collective decisions"
7) Feudal states
With feudal states oxp there are Royal Hunting Lodges at the more advanced feudals for jousting/gambling as well as the Royal Court on the planet beneath (11/32 in G1, 12/32 in G2). Missions to collect tribute from the remaining lesser feudal states. Knights jousting in Jägers, Korvettes & Zerstörers.
As well as the nobles, the established church - if any - will have much influence/power. We already have the Church of Giles the Creator (CGC) and that of the Holy Witchspace Guard (HWG). Also the Witchspace Lobster church on Lobstoid worlds with the right political complexion. I'm not sure that any of the others qualify. If you want to include
Randomius Factoria, I'll want to rewrite the wiki page!
Station architecture
•Possibility for some/all feudal orbitals: The station area is broken up into fiefdoms, under the influence of various feudal lords from down beneath. The main area (BB's Coriolis Map) is under the King and his trusted Viceroy, but other areas (quadrants? sestieri? - other sides of the Coriolis) are controlled by others. GalCop try and keep the peace between them.
In such a case there would be flags/coats of arms showing allegiance to the various quadrants, as well as regular games between them (think
Italy: annual horse race, annual regatta, etc. For feudal orbitals say annual archery competition, or an annual tug-of-war competition, or an annual shooting competition, or an annual barrel-rolling competition, crossbow contest, flagwaving contest, choral contest, football match, jousting, fencing, or Oolite
sports match).
I like this approach, but if it is true for Feudals, it should also be true for Multi-govs and at least some Confederacies too. I think the naming and labelling would be a disaster waiting to happen
•Cathedrals?
•Viceroy's Palace with moat?
•Statues of various nobles/senior clerics, lots of coats of arms on doorways for example.
•Quirky shops/businesses
•Guilds which dominate their local business sectors. Impressive Guild houses (think Venice).
•Square for duels?
Encounters
•Nobles/Prelates with entourage and guards
•Ladies with entourage and guards
•Guildmasters
•Squabbling knights
•Beggars
Events
•Duels?
•Annual parade of nobles, knights, guilds
etc.
•Tournaments as mentioned above.
•Pilgrimage (arrival of downplanet pilgrimage to visit the holy relic of St <Random>'s kneecap in the Cathedral).
Anarchy
Station architecture
•Since the station is run by GalCop only, one might expect the big corporates to dominate business matters as they can pay for the privilege
(but not totally control them as they do in their own corporate states)!
•There might be one or two of the wealthier "countries" downplanet who can be bothered to afford minor counsulates up on the station. Not sure that they are worth bothering with for v.1.0.
Encounters
•The religious encounters from democracy above would be less frequent than in the other systems due to the regular destruction of their ships by the surrounding pirates.
•Pirates. Smugglers. Ne'er-do-wells. Rapscallions. Ragamuffins.
Events
•Occasional riots?
•Stuff inspired by Redspear's brilliant rework of Solo's Alt Stations (Tannoy calls duplicating his proto-Coriolis broadcasts).
This post is a WiP!
Musings.
If we can incorporate some of this - and then cross-match it with the differences due to species - and the Rough Guide planets - we will have a
lot of predictable variety
and also some unpredictable variety (the way it should be, I think). Adding in the fine detail (
eg Commie tourist office museum displays) could wait for v.2.0.
Rough Guide has some 18 systems. We can add to them Digebiti and Teorge which also have a lot of lore.
When we finish, I will have added to the Rough Guide pages (see Laenin!). Maybe we should publish the updated version as a Ship's Library book to download and to read in the bookshops!
As development continues, we'll add directories and navigational aids. Maps are a good thing, but as I wrote above- they just take a lot of time to do. Still, I may try to make a basic map(s) & see how that works for everyone.