This is meant to create an opportunity for discussion. This is just my opinion, but I'm not sure if others see the same thing.
My assertion is this: Map conquest is currently too slow.
To summarize my reasons:
An explanation:
Better member retention and entertainment.
A map from 2014 has nearly the entire map filled. Because of this, most Writers would be interested in joining a Major Faction and getting involved in the map game. This is because the planet of their character's origins would be under a Major Faction's sphere of influence, and Major Factions are the most visible factions on the board. A Nightsister immediately has an excuse to join the Mandalorians - or another Faction if they aim to remove Dathomir from Mandalorian influence.
For the current map, a Nightsister is in limbo on where she'd go and would have to actively search for a Witches faction or alternative option.
The benefits of this are immediately getting new Writers and Characters involved with a group. It's like getting someone in an MMORPG involved in a guild quickly - since this is a social game, the faster you can get in a social group the more likely that person will enjoy the game and stick around.
Less cost in time to paint map = Less sunk cost when losing Map territory
The current map can easily show how long it takes to gain territory. Every Hex completely filled could be assumed to be a month in time required to fill it. The Galactic Alliance has 14 hexes - so that could be at least 14 months of planning and doing Dominions to built up their territory. And it's close to that if the Feb 2016 map is any indication. With the right Invasion from the First Order, several months of work can be destroyed in the span of a couple weeks.
Because of this perception of a year of work disappearing in a couple weeks - especially for members that have been involved in the Faction for a long time - people may escalate irrational behavior and potentially harmful, unfun actions in order to maintain the Faction's territory.
In addition, filling the map from it being empty would require over 6-7 years of combined work under the current rules. Considering that a year along is very long in roleplaying terms, it makes filling up the map even with multiple factions a daunting task.
Less Space for Dominions leads to More Invasions and Rebellions
In my opinion, Dominions should be a tool to quickly fill up blank-space on the map. It would be similar to a colonization mechanic in a Grand Strategy game., In such games, colonization is very quick to perform once the means and location have been decided on. This is because there's little to no counterplay unless another player/nation is near the colonization site in such games.
But once the blank space has been filled, the rate of wars and conflict quickly ramp up. Star Wars is about galactic conflict and wars, so a Map game would ideally be set up to allow Invasions and Rebellions to be the main threads affecting the Map game.
The moments where there were lots of Invasions and wars on the site were those when the map was nearly full.
Rebellions could be retooled to allow for new Minor Factions to pop up almost anywhere
The biggest reason for why filling up the Map quickly is not desirable is that it prevents new Major Factions from appearing someone.
Rebellions could be retooled to allow for new Major Factions to get in one the Map game at the location they desired. Currently, a Rebellions can only be initiated via the target Major Faction's Dominion or if a Major Faction is recalled. Allowing conditions for a Minor Faction to initiate a Rebellion on nearly any planet would fix this.
My assertion is this: Map conquest is currently too slow.
To summarize my reasons:
- More planets claimed by major factions means new Writers can easily find a Major Faction to join and get involved in the site, increasing member retention
- If Dominioning large amounts of space take a shorter time to do so, people are less likely to act irrationally and emotionally if there's a situation that might make them lose all that territory.
- A fuller map leads to actual wars being roleplayed.
- Changing Rebellion rules will eliminate concerns that a full map prevents new Major Factions from being created.
An explanation:
Better member retention and entertainment.
A map from 2014 has nearly the entire map filled. Because of this, most Writers would be interested in joining a Major Faction and getting involved in the map game. This is because the planet of their character's origins would be under a Major Faction's sphere of influence, and Major Factions are the most visible factions on the board. A Nightsister immediately has an excuse to join the Mandalorians - or another Faction if they aim to remove Dathomir from Mandalorian influence.
For the current map, a Nightsister is in limbo on where she'd go and would have to actively search for a Witches faction or alternative option.
The benefits of this are immediately getting new Writers and Characters involved with a group. It's like getting someone in an MMORPG involved in a guild quickly - since this is a social game, the faster you can get in a social group the more likely that person will enjoy the game and stick around.
Less cost in time to paint map = Less sunk cost when losing Map territory
The current map can easily show how long it takes to gain territory. Every Hex completely filled could be assumed to be a month in time required to fill it. The Galactic Alliance has 14 hexes - so that could be at least 14 months of planning and doing Dominions to built up their territory. And it's close to that if the Feb 2016 map is any indication. With the right Invasion from the First Order, several months of work can be destroyed in the span of a couple weeks.
Because of this perception of a year of work disappearing in a couple weeks - especially for members that have been involved in the Faction for a long time - people may escalate irrational behavior and potentially harmful, unfun actions in order to maintain the Faction's territory.
In addition, filling the map from it being empty would require over 6-7 years of combined work under the current rules. Considering that a year along is very long in roleplaying terms, it makes filling up the map even with multiple factions a daunting task.
Less Space for Dominions leads to More Invasions and Rebellions
In my opinion, Dominions should be a tool to quickly fill up blank-space on the map. It would be similar to a colonization mechanic in a Grand Strategy game., In such games, colonization is very quick to perform once the means and location have been decided on. This is because there's little to no counterplay unless another player/nation is near the colonization site in such games.
But once the blank space has been filled, the rate of wars and conflict quickly ramp up. Star Wars is about galactic conflict and wars, so a Map game would ideally be set up to allow Invasions and Rebellions to be the main threads affecting the Map game.
The moments where there were lots of Invasions and wars on the site were those when the map was nearly full.
Rebellions could be retooled to allow for new Minor Factions to pop up almost anywhere
The biggest reason for why filling up the Map quickly is not desirable is that it prevents new Major Factions from appearing someone.
Rebellions could be retooled to allow for new Major Factions to get in one the Map game at the location they desired. Currently, a Rebellions can only be initiated via the target Major Faction's Dominion or if a Major Faction is recalled. Allowing conditions for a Minor Faction to initiate a Rebellion on nearly any planet would fix this.