Maurading Pirates

That do, you know, pirate stuff.

from GalCiv2 Forums
Here is another thing I'd like to see: Maurading Pirates. That do...pirate stuff.

How about a 'minor race' of sorts that was pirates. They could run a protection racket against you (or other civs), for them to 'protect' your trade routes. ("Gosh, wouldn't it be a shame if your trade routes were set on by pirates? I hear they're pretty bad in this sector...let me do you a favor. For three easy payments of 250BC, I'll see to it that those nasty pirates don't bother you.")

They could have a planet to base thier operations out of, but with the ability to evacuate the planet if a civ comes after them in force. Or maybe just have them spring up again, like the cat that wouldn't go away.

How about pirates that spring up from the criminal element of an unhappy planet? A sort of insurgency...maybe a terribly unhappy planet would just become a pirate planet, a splinter off your own empire. Of course, this would require the uber-leader to send in 'pacification' troops to re-take the planet by force.

Woohoo! Pacification troops!

Anyway, I'd like to see pirates be more than what they are now. Maybe it would help if they didn't have a galactic range requirement so they could maurade and pillage anywhere they please rather than just sitting in some corner of the galaxy just waiting to be shot up by someone.
ideas
75,599 views 39 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Bring back the pirates of old; those from version 1.0.
They were something to be feared, and were not lightly dealt with.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Better yet, make their intensity like an option, much like you do with number of planets, stars, and anomalies. That way, players who like having pirates can choose to how severve a problem they will be.

I wouldn't mind playing a few maps where they were set to "Overwhelming".
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ah yes, the old pirates rant. I would love to see more of them but from the couple of other posts regarding bringing them back in force, I don't believe anyone is even addressing this for us. This to me is a shame because pirates seem like a natural addition to this (any space game really) game. Like I said, I would love to see some comments from the devs regarding pirates, but I doubt I will.  
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yes, they do tend to shy away from responding on this subject.

How about it Kryo. Care to comment?
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's very sad. I remember that, while playing one of my first games, before pirates were nerfed, I encountered them.

They annihilated my most powerful fleets -- let me tell you, it was quite a wrench in my plans.

Nowadays, I can often just send a single fighter to deal with them.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I like this idea. It would be neat to have custom pirates!
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Better yet, make their intensity like an option, much like you do with number of planets, stars, and anomalies. That way, players who like having pirates can choose to how severve a problem they will be.

I wouldn't mind playing a few maps where they were set to "Overwhelming".


Oooh, how CivIV! I like it

It is kind of odd how marginal pirates are. It seems, like other posters have said, a natural element, especially in a sci-fi space game. It seems to fit much better in this type of game than the barbarians in Civ (once you hit the Modern era, it starts to get silly).


It seems to be a fairly popular idea...I wonder why they're avoiding the issue? Maybe DA fixes them up or something? I suppose we'll see in Feb07
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Strange how not even Kryo has made even the littlest peep.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah could make it a mega event and have them disrupt trade routes and attack starbases .That forces all allied races to have to stop and mobilize forces to stop them. They would have a planet as their base and be hard to stop . More of a pain than anything cause they hit your economy and that of your allies. Also being a minor race you could also make a treaty with them and cause them to attack your enemies and aggrovate them for a solar year. Course creating a custom opponent would be just as easy and name it pirates.    Caffine is kicking in and my brain is working.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Another cool (and vexing trick) is if the pirates could steal your ships and make them a very powerful race to be reckoned with!
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Another cool (and vexing trick) is if the pirates could steal your ships and make them a very powerful race to be reckoned with!


Oh, that's a cool idea. If you lose combat, instead of getting your ship/fleet destroyed, they just get your ship. I like that. They could start off with a rag-tag fleet, and go after ships they can win against with that rag-tag fleet to get a more powerful ship, etc etc, until they've got a powerful fleet comprised of ships from several major races maurading around the galaxy.

That's a great idea! That would even allow them to steal constructors and colony ships...that could be a serious headache eventually. I like it

Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Strange how not even Kryo has made even the littlest peep.


I'm not a dev, so I wasn't involved with the pirate-nerfing. There were complaints on a regular basis though about how strong they used to be.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm not a dev, so I wasn't involved with the pirate-nerfing. There were complaints on a regular basis though about how strong they used to be.


Wow...I'd say "wow, are you kidding?" but I left my Captain Obvious outfit at work.

What version of GC2 has un-nerfed pirates?
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There were complaints on a regular basis though about how strong they used to be.


Ahhh the old complaint department. Seems that one way or another, complaints seem to do in the better features more than the lesser features.  
Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm not a dev, so I wasn't involved with the pirate-nerfing. There were complaints on a regular basis though about how strong they used to be.


You are not a dev, but you are part of the team and have better access and a closer relationship to them.
Isn't there some way to un-nerf them to somewhere between where they were and where they are now?

The way they were, when they first appeared it seemed like they had stolen all of the currently researched techs, and would get new techs as soon as anyone researched them. They also seemed to have full logistics from the outset, since they could make such huge fleets.
They almost never sat still, but immediatly went on a starbase-killing-rampage.

They were actually fun to have in the game.

Now they are brain-dead weaklings.

There has to some middle ground between these two states.

What about just a simple entry in Prefs.ini for 'PirateStrength' - something of that nature - that would at least give us some kind of control over how pirates act?
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Now they are brain-dead weaklings.


I agree with you whole-heartedly on this but I just played a game (v1.3)where it actually took a decent sized fleet of mine to defeat the pirates. They were still totally brain dead as there seemed to be no method to their madness, but they weren't easily dispatched. So that last comment was aimed towards you misaniovent. Whether you were serious or not about the "one fighter to beat them" line, I can't tell. But with the pirates I recently ran into, if you have a fighter that could defeat their fleet, I want one!  
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I had them popup in a DA game. They had five small ships with 2 beam attack each, and just sat there till someone killed them. For comparison at the time I had 7 missile attack and some defense on my ships.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I am not sure Pirates is a realistic issue. It is not like the Pirates you find at sea, i mean anyone can get their hands on an ocean going vessel, but space ships...

In this game you need a starport to launch spaceships. If you don't have a starport, you cannot build spaceships, it's as simple as that. So have you ever seen any spare starports hanging around that pirates could use? have you?

Unless there was some kind of support or backing from one of the races, There is no way pirates make sense.

Reply #20 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Unless there was some kind of support or backing from one of the races, There is no way pirates make sense.


How do you figure that one? Pirates obviously would start out by stealing a ship now wouldn't they? Or, as in a few rare cases, a wealthy person could decide they wish to "fight the power" by being a Robin Hood type, or just want the thrill of speeding through the galaxy aquiring more ships and wealth. Regardless of how it happens, there would never, ever have to be some kind of "support" for Pirates to come about.
Support for Pirates from other civs would happen for various reasons, usually warfare/espionage. This could either be a one or two sided deal. Both parties could end up making out without much risk involved to either of them. However, if one group wished to have a "scape goat", the tables could easily be turned to make it look like either the civ was at fault, or the Pirates, pending on the situation.
Support for Pirates just to "be", is not a valid argument.  
Reply #21 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Who backed Jack Sparrow?

Pirates back themselves through their plunder. They are independant entities that operate on their own.
Reply #22 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I haven't seen a pirate event in ages, and I do think they added a cool extra dimension to the game. It would be nice to see them come back, especially now that there are asteroid fields - what would make a better hiding place for a pirate base?

Maybe if we make all of our posts in pirate talk all over the forums, we will be taken more seriously. ARRRR! Where be that ol' sea dog Frogboy?

On second thought, probably not...
Reply #23 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
probably just get shuffled into common topics.
Reply #24 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
especially now that there are asteroid fields - what would make a better hiding place for a pirate base?


Didn't even think of that one. Excellent idea!  
Reply #25 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Arrr, the Fuels Chief's a "real" sailor, innee then?

1) Fluffed pirates seem more fun than nerfed ones, especially with an on-off option or better yet an intensity slider or option set.

2) A "whining complainer" is someone who makes points and/or uses language you don't like. IMO, you're best off ignoring such annoyances unless they provoke a constructive response from you.