Sabotage?

[zposse]

For the record, I don't want this idea added to the original game.  However, I am wondering if this could be incorporated for an alternative version, perhaps in a modified form.

What if there was a "sabotage store" in the city?  You could walk into that store, and for a fee, sabotage any plot on the map so it would not produce units the next turn (poison the water, damage solar collectors, etc.)?  You can do this to already developed plots or undeveloped plots (so that they will not produce once a mule is placed).  There are a couple of drawbacks, but I do have suggestions to get around them:

Drawback #1:  The other players can see you sabotaged their plot, and the sabotaged player can either leave that plot undeveloped or move his mule out.

Suggestion:  Once a player enters the "sabotage store", he becomes invisible to all other players.  Once he sabotages the chosen plot, he is given a short amount of time (~3 to 5 seconds) before he becomes visible again.  This way, you can "guess" what was sabotaged (what plots the saboteur is close to once you see him again) but not be completely sure until production occurs.

Drawback #2:  Hurts the overall colony score.

Suggestion:  Instead of killing off all production in that plot, what if the production in that plot was funneled to the saboteur?

Drawback #3:  For a small cost, you can cause a lot of damage via sabotage.

Suggestion:  What if there decent chance (say, 25-30%) that you'd be caught red handed?  This could be announced during the production phase.  The penalty would be a 20% "criminal tax" on every unit transaction (buying or selling) during the auction phase.  Furthermore, the recipient of the intendend sabotage could receive a "criminal catching compensation/reward" (either a fixed amount or the "criminal tax") from the colony.  This reward would compensate a player if the other 3 players all gang up to sabotage his plots.  An alternative to the full "criminal tax" (which could be a lot of money) all going to one person might be 10% going to the intended sabotagee and 5% going to the other 2 players.

Thoughts?

[Tei]

I think it can be more interesting that way:

A mercenary spy visit your colony, he is for hire to savotage the colony.
The players enter auction mode, the one that wins, choose if the savoteur will destroy the store or not, and will pay the ammount in auction.

That way, a player can try to pay the mercenario to stop him from savotaging the store. is a event (so is not game changing, it just adds some spice to the classic style of mule ).

[CXZman]

That first idea would be better imho if sabotage was only "declared" by a player and then "bought/discuss" in auction by everyone.

Here's how it would work :

1. some player go to the Land auction room (renamed "Land auction/sabotage" room).
2. he goes to a plot that don't belong to him. By pressing action button, he declares that one to sabotage and pays 150 $ (cost to be balanced). Only one sabotage by plot, only one sabotage by player. A plot to be sabotaged will be mark by a little bomb icon on the top right of the square.
3. at the beginning of production, a sabotage auction phase begins for each plot that have been targeted that way (screen returns to main map to show which is current plot before next auction begins).
During that auction, three players choose a price they're willing to pay to call for sabotage, and one player (the plot's owner) choose a price he's willing to pay to cancel that sabotage. The winning player of this auction is the only one to pay.
4. If the plot's owner won, no sabotage. If any other player won, sabotage occurs : MULE is destroyed. If there's nothing on that plot, that plot is lost.

EDIT : and if no one won the auction, or if someone managed to raise that price high above any budget, nothing happens, sabotage is canceled (the one that initiate sabotage still pays 150$ though).

Benefits of this new game option :
- it could reverse a crazy situation where only one player managed to screw all other three. So there would still be a lot of tension until the very last round.
- it could reverse it for many players at many rounds.
- it could release pressure on an overflooded market by instantly create shortage of some sort.
- you could use of diplomacy in that game !! Youhou   by suggesting others to fight that lead player, you can take over the game, and still never pay any sabotage yourself.

Big problem :
- MULE stops being a parallel competitive game and starts being an open war.


But I think it still make sense anyway

[rommager]

Interesting idea, but the game would cease being M.U.L.E. and would become something different.  You can sabotage other players already without resorting to a sabotage store.  Buy up all the energy and create a shortage, screwing everyone in the process, or setting all the mules in the store free, etc.

I really think that any major play elements like this are great for starting a new game project that is inspired by M.U.L.E.  The idea does sound fun - I just wouldn't want to try to slap it on someone else's masterpiece that is M.U.L.E.

[gdgdgdgd]

NO, that would ruin the game, no sabotage.