It's fairly obvious that both the Ashdar Imperials and the Gremak have hereditary monarchies, about which little needs clarification. At least in general outline, we have an idea of how political power is gained amongst the Orthin and the Phidi, although the specific mechanisms by which 'scientific prestige' becomes 'political power' in the Orthin oligarchy is not entirely clear (although the obvious answer is that the Orthin governing body directly recruits new members into its ranks from amongst the heads of prominent research institutes based on the sole judgement of members of the Orthin governing oligarchy). What I am interested in knowing are the specifics behind the Yoral khaganate, the Ashdar Colonial praetorship, and the Human admiralty. Is the Yoral khaganate a hereditary monarchy, or does it pass between different clans after the old khagan dies? Without any emperor to appoint new Praetors (which, if I'm reading things correctly, is a title somewhere between 'General' and 'Governor'), how is the Colonial praetorship filled? How are new Human admirals selected? Bonus points if any details on the government of Human refugees producing such figures as 'Administrator Abbott' are provided.

The setting implicit in Stars in Shadow is already quite interesting, and I'd love to have some more glimpses beneath the surface.

The Yoral are organized into regional clans, the chieftains of which may or may not be hereditary (according to differing local customs). The Khagan is the chieftain of chieftains, chosen by the council of clan heads. The title is not strictly hereditary, but a Khagan's offspring will often be top contenders for the title if he dies (in a manner other than losing a war).

The Ashdar Colonial Praetor is an elected position, similar to a Roman Consul, chosen by the Ashdar equivalent of the Senate.

The Humans who form the playable faction don't really start with a clear organization; they're essentially refugees aboard ships. Whoever controls each ship (through whatever means) takes the title of Captain, and whoever leads a group of ships (again, through whatever combination of persuasion or force) calls himself Admiral. There is not a clear line of succession. As they settle a new planet, however, Humanity is abandoning its nomadic traditions, and so you can imagine any alternative form of government that you like.

The other human minor factions each have a different story, but they are all refugees or remnants of some previous fragmented organization.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated!

(All that said, given the starting setup the playable Humans have, I suspect that the elephant in the room for becoming Admiral is whoever becomes Captain of that heavy cruiser- controlling that pretty well guarantees being able to control the other seven ships in the refugee fleet.)

Certainly a good point.

nweismuller wrote:Thanks for the information. Much appreciated!

(All that said, given the starting setup the playable Humans have, I suspect that the elephant in the room for becoming Admiral is whoever becomes Captain of that heavy cruiser- controlling that pretty well guarantees being able to control the other seven ships in the refugee fleet.)

The Battlestar Galactica remake has this sometimes as a plot point. They have a civil government but the military are the ones with the guns and the only means of defense against the cylon threat. Makes for some tense arguments where "power" comes from =)


Someting I just stumbled over: As human, I found a Gremak marauder colony with human slaves.
I invaded and found 3 populations there: Gremak colonists, Gremak Marauders and Human Slaves.
Everyone was unhappy that I invaded their planet. (never change a running system )
The human slave population had the option to be liberated or sacrificed, I did the first of course =)

- The former slaves became regular, but happy, human colonists at once.
(I expected happy human refugess that take some time for integrating into my empire. )

but more curious:
- The gremak marauders where also now somewhat happy that I liberated them! (all Gremak where still mad at me for invading)
Does that mean that the marauders are some kind of underclass/servant caste of the regular Gremak?

The Marauders should now be units instead of population, acting similar to tanks, and so if you've captured some, that's probably a bug.

Arioch wrote:The Marauders should now be units instead of population, acting similar to tanks, and so if you've captured some, that's probably a bug.

In newly created galaxies games, there should no longer be marauder "population", only marauder raider units (which share the same icon, but, have different semantics). But, in games that were created back before the raiding mechanic changes, those marauder flavored gremak populations will still exist, and while they won't ever integrate into your other population types, I don't think those old populations will lead to any crashes. They're the last of their kind, soon to be replaced by a newer, more militaristic marauder variant

sven wrote:

Arioch wrote:The Marauders should now be units instead of population, acting similar to tanks, and so if you've captured some, that's probably a bug.

In newly created galaxies games, there should no longer be marauder "population", only marauder raider units (which share the same icon, but, have different semantics). But, in games that were created back before the raiding mechanic changes, those marauder flavored gremak populations will still exist, and while they won't ever integrate into your other population types, I don't think those old populations will lead to any crashes. They're the last of their kind, soon to be replaced by a newer, more militaristic marauder variant

Then I better keep this savegame as a reservat for endangered species
But funny how little things, like this morale/population bug, are able to tell a story. Even if it just forms in your headcanon

I'm still looking into that Gaia planet by a red giant sun. Talk about back story.

Though I'm still looking for some space monsters or giant doom clouds coming to threaten my planets.

Space monsters are on the way.

Arioch wrote:Space monsters are on the way.

Cool =)
What will they do in the game? Live in systems like pirates? Be a wandering/random encounter entity?
Can they be reasoned with? (Give money or stuff so they go away/leave you alone)

SirDamnALot wrote:

Arioch wrote:Space monsters are on the way.

Cool =)
What will they do in the game? Live in systems like pirates? Be a wandering/random encounter entity?
Can they be reasoned with? (Give money or stuff so they go away/leave you alone)

Similar to pirates. We eventually hope to have a variety of different space monsters that will behave in a variety of different ways.

I don't think this one wants money.

Arioch wrote: I don't think this one wants money.

Does it want people sacrifices?
Could be a thing, until you can blast it from the skies, it buggers you with food demands. If you appease it, you face moral problems.
(Except the Gremak, they have slaves to spare )

So, further question: how is the Rastaban Senate (or whatever it's called) chosen?

nweismuller wrote:So, further question: how is the Rastaban Senate (or whatever it's called) chosen?

Presumably the members are elected.