Reliability = How many alliances you have broken. Maybe "forget one"(-1 to value) every (other?) week.
Neutrals = Factions that are not part of an "Alliance"
Alliance = A set of factions that are all allied with each other. Probably should make them more cohesive so that allies ally with ally's ally. No I can't think of a better way to put that.
Alliance Size = If you are able to easily track it, I would say judge Alliance Size by the number of allied STATIONS not Factions.
Small Alliance = An Alliance with 10-15% alliance size or less. Could be compared to total number of stations or compared to the largest Alliance depending on your preference and or balance.
Civil War! = Up to half the Player Alliance may break off from the Alliance and start their own Alliance or all become Neutral. Chance to be hostile to player alliance based on Reliability
and possibly number of factions at war with Player Alliance compared to Player Alliance remaining size.
Alliance :
What is the Player Alliance Size?
0-40% - How long since the Player was last allied?
Just declared war on ally this week - Nothing Happens.
It hasn't been long since last Ally - Nothing Happens.
Been a little while - Are there any neutrals?
No - Is there a Alliance with +10% or more of your size?
No - Is there an Alliance with -10% to +10% your Alliance Size?
No - Nothing Happens.
Yes - Are you at war with them?
No - Nothing Happens.
Yes - Chance to declare peace with someone at war, depending on Reliability and largest non-Player Alliance compared to Player Alliance. Higher Reliability,
Higher Non Player Alliance Size and longer duration of the war with the Alliance increase chance of Declaring peace with target Alliance.
Yes-Are you at war with them?
No- Nothing Happens.
Yes - Are there any Small Alliances that you are at peace with?
No - Are there any Small Alliances that you are at war with?
No - Haha you are being overwhelmed. SMALL chance of a Faction not more than 10% of the Alliance breaking away from them and joining you.
Yes - Chance to declare peace with the Small Alliance depending on Reliability and duration of war with the Alliance.
Yes - Would your Alliance size be more than the largest Non Player Alliance Size +10% if you Allied with them?
No - Chance to ally with them depending on Reliability
Yes - Are they at war with the Largest Non Player Alliance?
No - They declare war on the Largest Non Player Alliance and post a message implying they may join you later.
Yes - Chance they will join your Alliance.
Yes - Declare an ally with a neutral.
40%-90% - What is the largest non-Player Alliance?
None to -41% of Player Alliance Size -Is there a Non Player Alliance?
No - Are there two or more neutrals?
No - Chance of Civil War!
Yes - Ally Neutrals together up to max of Player Alliance size + 10%
Yes - Ally neutral(s) to a Non Player Alliance with an increased chance of more neutrals the smaller the largest Non Player Alliance compared to the Player Alliance.
-40% to -11% of Player Alliance size - Are there any neutrals?
No - chance of Civil war!
Yes - Ally a neutral to a Non Player Alliance.
-10% to +10% of Player Alliance Size - Are you at war with the Largest non Player Alliance?
No - Might want to start. Chance of War being declared.
Yes - Excellent.
+11% to +50% of Player Alliance Size- Are you at war with the Largest non Player Alliance?
No - War is declared. Possibly declaring a Final or Galactic war which has all remaining Alliances and neutrals join the Player Alliance or the largest Non Player Alliance.
Yes - Fun times. Chance of defection by a smaller Faction within the Largest Non Player Alliance. Increased chance with greater difference in Player Alliance and Non Player Alliance size.
+51% - +100% of Player Alliance Size - Are you doing your math correctly?
No - Recheck your math. If Player Alliance Size is minimum of 40% of the total station count, and you have more than 50% larger than that opposing it, you have more than 100% of stations.
IE: Lets say 100 stations, Player owns minimum of 40, largest Non Player Faction has 50% more ( 40 + (50% of 40 = 20) 20 = 60) then 40 + 60 = 100 or all stations.
Yes - Very good, Carry on.
90%-100% - Do you have any Non Player Factions in your Alliance?
No - Really? You win....Wait no. REBELS! SPAWN MORE FACTIONS! KILL THE INFIDELS!
Yes - They don't like your Monopoly and declare Civil WAR! Are you the largest Faction in the Player Alliance?
No - Split the Alliance with the largest Non Player Faction vs the Player faction going down the list and adding factions to whichever side is smallest at the time.
Yes - Are you more than half the Faction size?
No - Split the Alliance with the largest Non Player Faction vs the Player faction going down the list and adding factions to whichever side is smallest at the time.
Yes - EVERYONE IS AGAINST YOU! Crush the Dogs!. No real change in the mechanic, this would be passively done by the same algorithm that would do the last two items.
War :
No time right now.
This type of system would produce more of a Us VS Them kinda feel with emphasis on ending with two alliances, while still allowing third party alliance. This would ideally result in you having an ever growing alliance against you as you gain allies and or stations for your faction, while forcing you to eventually put down every other faction to rule the system as you are forced to constantly fight your old allies to continue your march toward a Totalitarianist Regime.Or whatever your faction believes in. And then it would all go to Hell in a Handbasket and you get to try to maintain order. If you implemented the logic and kept atleast one war going at all times, you wouldn't have to do much in the way of random wars or alliances because just the fact that a war is going on with atleast one faction or alliance that has atleast one station would keep the game changing and so the logic would just re-apply and continue progress. Also Players have been known to be %^$@s and mess things up occasionally when bored
. You could do a simpler version of the logic with less care toward "balance" for non player factions to encourage multiple Alliances until they get absorbed into one side or the other.
If this sounds interesting to you let me know and I can flesh it out some more and include some war logic that isn't apocalyptic.