Seems like there are all sorts of questions on diplomats lately. How to use them and why use them and why can't I attack or conquer the planet after I land a diplomat.
First the main advantage currently for landing a diplomat on a planet is that you can use foreign aid to build up the planet installations and defenses. As you do so you receive RU's from the empire for doing the work, some of which can be very profitable when dealing with low tec planets, and also you build up the diplomatic level. Originally the design intent was when the diplomatic level was at a certain level you could ask the planet to do things for you. Unfortunately for the immediate future that has to be redone due to the NPC AI being somewhat better than originally intended. Yeah I know shades of SkyNet. But I'm working on separating the NPC AI from the diplomatic relations so hopefully the remaining NPC actions will be somewhat less Armageddon like.
So your best use of diplomats currently is to find the lower tec planets and build installations for them. One word of caution though when the planet says they will pay you for installations it is at their current tec level. As the tec level of the planet goes up the price per installation goes down. So build all you can before retooling their planet.
The second consideration is that once you land a diplomat on the planet you have established an alliance of sorts with the planet if not with the empire as a whole. As such you should not attack the planet in any way or the diplomatic level goes to zero resulting in them not paying for any more installations. There were limits in the code to prevent you from attacking a planet where you had a diplomat but I discovered it was not active due to the NPC AI being disabled. I'm working on redoing that so attacks on the planet you're diplomatically allied with will not go through. More as a logical limit rather than a game limit. After all you wouldn't attack an ally and expect the attack to go through.
Also because the diplomatic rules are not in the main rule book I'm including them here.
Diplomats.
But first let’s examine Diplomats and how they can be used. Diplomats are somewhat complicated so let’s go through first how to get one on a planet.
Diplomat ship. The ship cost is 500 RU’s and the build code is 254. It is a zero ton ship and players have access to them at tec level 10.
Specialty Ship Builds
Ship Build Tonnage Cargo Ship
Type Code Cost Class Capacity Abbrev.
Diplomat 254 500 0 -- DPLS
Ship
The action code for landing a diplomat on a planet is 129. It is a move and do.
Action Codes
129 – Land Diplomat on Planet
Action Code / Location #1 / Fleet #1
Action Code / Planet Coordinate / Fleet Number
However a couple things in bold print so pay attention.
First, the fleet has to be in orbit to land the diplomat. If your empire’s aggression level and the aggression level of the planet are such that it triggers combat then your fleet must arrive unarmed, i.e. zero firepower.
Second, there is no guarantee that the planet will accept your diplomat. If they are a particularly aggressive race, chances are they won’t. But you can continue to try. At some point they might allow your diplomat to land safely and open diplomatic channels.
Third, once diplomatic channels are open your fleets, even armed ones, are free to move over the planet without being shot at. This allows you to land mining centers, Ag centers, Trade Centers, among other things on the planet all without risk of damage to your fleet. However some actions are considered hostile and will trigger combat between your fleet and the planet such as scanning the planet.
Fourth, once a diplomat has landed on the planet your empire and the planet are on good terms. You are not allied with the planet or the empire that the planet belongs to. But you can conduct economic business with them. Initially your diplomatic level is low so they won’t do much for you but you can do a lot for them.
Which brings us to the benefit of diplomats.
Planets of NPC empires in Takamo are the same as any other empire’s planets. However, typically they are not as built up as player worlds. As an empire that is now allied with a planet, you can send them diplomatic messages and they will reply. The format is as follows.
Action Codes
114 – Send Diplomatic Message to a Planet Location
Action Code / Location #1 / Spec. #
Action Code / Planet Coordinate / Message Number
This is the same action code you currently use to send a message to a planet. However instead of actually sending a written message you send a message in code to the planet in the Special Number slot.
Currently there are two messages to send to a planet.
1 - This is a message asking what you can do for the planetary government. Since most NPC worlds are not fully built up they will reply with requests for installations or military or both. And they will pay you to install them and let you know how much they’ll pay. This is a good way to make RU’s and build up defenses on planets you don’t own and get paid in the process. And the lower the tec level of the planet the more they’ll pay. Course some installations are tec level dependent so you will only be able to build or land some installation when their tec level is sufficient. Kind of like selling guns to the natives. That is always profitable.
2 - The second message you can send them is a request for their empire type. They will reply with what type they are, for instance, miner, ag corp, pirate, Etc.
What does this all mean and why would I do this?
Good question. Well first you can make RU’s doing it. Second if you build them up your diplomatic level goes up. When your diplomatic level goes up they will become a worthwhile ally at some point doing things for you, like if they’re an Ag Corp they could send AG Centers to your worlds, or if they’re a Pirate they might raid other players worlds for you, or they might have information of many unknown regions of the Takamo Universe that would be helpful. There are many things that could be useful.
And now some words of caution.
Landing a diplomat on a planet is a double edged sword. On the one hand you can make some decent RU’s helping them build their world. In essence you are also helping their empire as whole become stronger by increasing their RU’s per turn by building production centers, Mining Centers, AG Centers, Trade Centers, etc. For that the empire might reward you.
But you are on good terms with the planet and along with that come all the things allies do for one another or don’t do. You cannot for instance invade the planet or attack them in any way. They certainly would consider that an act of betrayal and respond in kind. If the planet is attacked they might request help defending themselves and if you don’t come to help them the planetary government would certainly take that as a sign of diplomatic relations being broken off. In fact the whole empire might declare war on you.
Bottom line is you’ve established diplomatic ties with the planet. They expect all the benefits that an alliance with you brings. Betrayal by you or one of your allies for instance comes with the appropriate penalties such as you might expect with your own allies.
Can I attack other planets of the same empire if I don’t have a diplomat on one of their planets?
Yes. One planetary government does not really care about other planets in the same empire. However other planets of that same empire might do things for you at the request of the planet you do have diplomatic relations with. It’s a risk but not a particularly bad one.