Nuking planets is evil

Actually, if you stop and think about it, the number of people that suffer violent deaths in this game is pretty staggering. Frigate / cruiser crews, capital crews, colonizer capital crews, civvie structures, tactical structures, starbases, vasari colony starbases. Death of planet-bound colonists by slow poisoning from high-yield nuclear warheads, being sucked into space by the Egg, or slaughtering friends and family in a Revelation-induced panic.

It's not called 'Charitable Acts of a Solar Empire'

It's not called 'Charitable Acts of a Solar Empire'

LULZ!!!11

you can turn off planet elevators if you don't like seeing them exploding... as for slaughtering civillians...

every frigate has as much crew as the planets have population, with the exception of terran planets.

jjandrah I actually think about that every time I play Sins, and every time I realize I could never be a real general because I wouldn't be able to give the orders to kill that many people.

Well, that's not as if i have not been thinking about it and having a look at the crew figure in the manual.

I know it's not really rationnal but civilians are civilians, military are military even if sins is a game and planet population are just some data.

Nevertheless, i can't be totally ok with that. Don't imagine things, i play the game and bomb planets but if there was a way to play less evil, i would just be happier. That's why i bring the idea of invading planet instead of burning them.

I don't want to be moralistic either, see it the way you want, it just annoyed me enough to write that post.

As one great general said " War is not about getting killed or dieing for your country, its about making the other poor bastards die for thier country! ".  War is hell son, and this game is about war, survival, and killing.  Its kill or be killed. 

Civilians die in war just the same as military, even in todays era of smart weapons.  Just think of how many millions of civs died in ww2 and you'll be fine with nuking planets...

You sound like a Borg or Necromonger, assimalate or die !

if you really dont like killing people, use culture... lol it doesnt kill anyone, all it does is allow you to colonize without having to bomb the planet.

Let's not turn this into a 'horrors of war' thread; it will only result in making people depressed, guilty, and/or angry. Or worse, political.

The other part of the post is requesting to have another way of taking over a planet in the next expansion such that some portion of the population and/or upgrades survive, and I agree that this is a good idea.

What about thousands that are on capital ships?  Maybe we can assimilate them like borgs and make them suffer slowly.

Homeworld: Cataclysm had a version of this functionality. It was an interesting gameplay mechanic, but it required a very specific lore for it to work. I don't think that mechanic fits any of the Sins races very well.

If you think Nuking planets is evil, then you would probably be disturbed at what our whale ship does with the civilians we suck up.

A fleet moves on it's belly. You mammals are very tasty once processed by the Soylent Ray.

Personally I love the nuke an entire planet asect of space games. It's part of the fun, if that's evil, then I guess I'm evil too huh? (Actually I am)

jon

The actual representation of population and crews in this game are purely abstract in nature.  We cannot simply say that an entire crew dies when the frigate is destroyed; for all we know the majority escape in life vessels and there is a space-age geneva convention covering POW's.

Similarly, we can't make too many presumptions about planetary bombardment.  I think we can say that the population number in game does not actually reflect the number of people living on the planet.  It's implied (by the presence of rebels) that these planets may already be inhabited to begin with, but they all begin with zero population.  This leads me to believe that the population number in game doesn't represent the number of people on the planet, but rather those who are part of your society, paying your taxes.  When you pay for infrastructure upgrades, it's not living abodes, but rather administration to bring law and order to the planet.

So, when a planet is bombed from 300 down to 200 population, it might not be accurate to say that a third of the planet's population is now dead.  Rather, a third of planet is now in lawless anarchy and its economy (what is relevant to the game) is what is dead.  Again, we could presume under this theory that most people end up in bomb shelters and weather out the storm.

I guess it would be the best explanation. Also, i doubt the population number is the actual headcount of the population (or the population under your control). Just look at how many little ships fly around the planet and you probably have more pop there than the number displayed...

Am I alone in knowing I could order millions to their death? I am all about cleansing the planets I inhabit. I somtimes close my eyes and picture their little alien news broadcasts predicting the end of their world. Their little alien families jumping into the shelter only to have it melt seconds later. The little alien children who didn't make it home in time and being vaporized as the skipped down the sidewalk.

Man...working in a mortuary really did make me not give a damn anymore.  

Just as long as it aliens and humans. I give a 2 big thumbs up!!

You know, it would be great if we had a strategic choice between nuking a planet and occupying it. Nuking would be much easier and faster, but result in a planet with zero infrastructure anf pop, and extremely low growth rates- mking it a burden to colonize and maintain. Strategic conquest, on the other hand would take more time and resources, but result in a planet with only diminished health and population (or even a level of infrastructure intact). It would make us choose between a "scortched earth" policy, and a slow advance while upgrading your economy.

As for how it could be done.... I'm not sure. Perhaps with a special ability for siege frigates, that deconstructs them while applying damage in planet health and pop (somewhat like the Migrator ability that turns it into a starbase constructor). i'm not sure whether it's possible to flip a planet's allegiance without getting its health and population to zero, though.

Maybe for Sins 2?

and here I was a little disappointed when I found out emtrenchment starbase weren't going to be like Deathstars. I was looking forward to blowing a planet to dust. take that....

I've been PC gaming since the 80s, probably killed a few trillion by now. whats a few more billion at this point.

I'm a bad man.

Tbh I've never thought about it. But then again, I've destroyed entire continents in Alpha Centauri and Civ games. Killed hundreds in the various GTA games. Launched nukes all over the place in World in Conflict. Killed at least a billion insects IRL. And completly annihalted entire solar systems in space empires.

I share the thoughts of the OP. It has always bothered me, for instance, that GalCiv2 gives such an advantage to those who play "Evil," when I want to play "Good." I finally gave in and play smart (evil choices) and make believe it is good. After all, it is just a game and you can change the meaning of what's happening in your mind. Instead of obliterating the aliens, just say that the seige frigates are temporarily stunning them, to be reintegrated as productive, happy citizens as the the occupation progresses, or something like that. The destroyed enemy ships, of course, would have escape pods to minimize loss of life.

I read once that H.G. Wells used to enjoy his times with tin soldiers. He pointed out that dead tin soldiers do not leave behind tin widows and orphans. The same may be said of any digitalized alien casulties.

Do not apologize for being "moralistic." I would much rather have as my neighbor someone like you (who is disburbed by the idea of innocent suffering, even in a game) , than someone who thinks it is cool to imagine he is inflicting untold misery on innocent victims !

Call me Xenophobic if you wish, but when presented a choice between the lives of my peoples lives (even digital ones), and the potential loss of life on both sides that would result from the kind of planetary invasion that you are suggesting (again only digital), I will choose the lives on my people every time. 

Nuke them from orbit.  Its the only way to be sure. (BTW, I always play as TEC)

So yes, in the emotionless mathematics of interstellar warfare, it really is a zero sum game.  

Us or them.

It is your choice, but I choose to save the lives of my personnel over the lives of my enemy, every time.  (unless I can get something that will ultimately save the lives of more of my men from them, then I will save the enemy's life too)

Neighbour issues ? 

Yes, i have the same idea. Upgrading planets is so expensive that i think it is kind of stupid to have to rebuild after burning everything to ashes. It would add interest to the game and allow to play less evil, seems to me like two birds with one stone

Well just think, once you're done nuking it, you'll be the smartest man on the cinder (high five, anyone?)

Or woman

"So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

--Lord Helmet

I LIKE NOVALITH