Dev Diary #7 - Factions & Politics

Hello all,

I'm Lyubo - the lead designer of Surviving Mars: Relaunched. I've been absent as a writer of these diaries but I am returning for the one where everything is new.

The Politics of Mars

How would a political system look on Mars? I had a lot of time to think on the subject but, I also wanted politics not to become the core of the game or change its soul. I decided on these pillars:

• Politics are a means to an end - a manifestation of the will of the people. As such, the factions and politics on Mars should strictly reflect the needs of the colonists and not try to mimic Earth's politics.
• The new systems should not lead to a game over as that would change the flow too drastically
• The political system should be important but not obtrusive

These pillars were actually very hard and pushed me in directions I did not expect to go so let's see how things played out.

The Earth Council

What would politics look like in a colony with less than 10 people in it? People in small groups tend to get along without the need to make long and tedious meetings and would probably prefer to handle new obstacles as they come rather than through a codified system of laws.

But we also wanted politics to be a part of the game even for new colonies and new players. As a solution, we created the Earth Council - a political system more related to Earth than to the colony but with the intent of pushing the colony off the ground and propelling it on its way.

The Council is made up of the founding faction you have chosen as a player (more on the factions later on), your sponsor, and the sponsors of the rival colonies on Mars. These are the early decision makers that will shape the early politics of your colony.

The Council convenes every 2 sols to decide on the next action - voting on a law, or preparing one. There are some laws that are available from the get-go and do not need preparation so that the Council can make an impact straight from the first session.

The sponsor factions will be pleased by actions that align with their agenda for Mars (as stated in their mission goals). They are mostly benevolent and will be open to most laws without heavy negotiations (promises you make to them in return for full or partial support).

If you are uncertain at any point what law to try to enact or prepare, you can always leave it to the factions in the Council and open the floor to their suggestions. They will appreciate it.

The Word Of the Law

Laws are a way to change the rules of the game (hopefully) in your favour. Some laws, like deregulating the rocket speed standards, are direct and make rockets faster (at the cost of some Research Points in upkeep so the rockets do not blow up). Other laws have different options based on how you want to play the game - your sponsor wants Mars explored, what additional reward will you demand from them in return - funding, research points, or applicants?

Be wary that your sponsor will eventually get tired of you passing laws that ask for additional rewards and you will have a tougher time enacting more laws from the Sponsor relations category.

As a teaser, here are the names of the rest of the other law categories with one law as an example:

• Sponsor Relations - Basic Diplomacy (pick what rewards to receive from the Earth Embassy building)
• Economy & Industry - Production focus (factories producing a picked resource will have better performance)
• Research & Ecology - Research focus (techs from a picked tech tree will cost less Research Points)
• Tech Deregulation - Drone Hub Efficiency (Drone Hubs will be able to operate additional Drones)
• Society - Mars Appreciation (Dome bonuses from Vistas and Research sites will increase)
• Permits & Efficiency - Building codes (building costs in Concrete and Metals will be reduced)

What comes next?

The Earth Council is useful but limited. At some point, all law options may be exhausted and it is time for the colony to have its own political system. This is done by building the new Martian Assembly spire in one of your Domes.

As soon as the Assembly is completed, the Earth Council is disbanded and new Martian factions will appear on the scene. But first it is time to pick a form of government - is the colony a boring old Liberal Democracy, a Theocracy, or even an Anarchistic Commune?

The choice of government will determine the early factions that will fill the Assembly (along with your founding faction), but also how the Assembly seats are apportioned - is it through representatives picked based on proportional support of the factions, or through voting per Dome (similar to the US electoral college), or maybe even a Single Party Assembly?

Then comes the role of the Assembly itself - does it get to decide what laws to vote on? Is it only there to applaud your wise decisions?

Finally, what is the treatment of political opponents as marked by the new detainment centres? Do we simply send all who oppose us back to Earth? Are they tolerated, or are they outlawed?

Each of these options can be changed through the Assembly (as a new Governance category is unlocked) at later points but for now this will be your political system. Each law category will have a lot of new laws unlocked that offer even more options (including that of a pure Dictatorship).

The Factions

Some sponsor factions like the Church of the New Ark continue their existence even when the Assembly is formed but for the most part, the factions that will take seats in it will be new. Here is a list of the factions with a short description:

• Enlightenment Initiative - a progress-through-science faction that is not very keen on large domes and overpopulation
• Flat Mars League - a reality show loving bunch that will focus on their needs and will not want to hear anything about globes
• Free Love - a mostly reactionary faction that is sick of birth restrictions and wants child-friendly domes
• Green Mars Coalition - a traditional green party that wants Mars terraformed
• Green NOW - an anarchistic faction that focuses on Green policies and cannot stand nuclear power and mining
• Helios Consortium - an elitist faction that is focused on luxuries provided and wealth
• The Justice Movement - a reactionary movement that is sick of renegades and wants order
• The Last Transmission Evangelicals - an offshoot of the Church of the New Ark that focuses on frugal living and abhors wasting of resources. They fear the fragility of the colony and will focus on disaster prevention.
• Project Utopia - a liberal faction that is often accused of being out-of-touch with reality and the real needs of the colonists
• Martian First - a faction of martianborn that wants a Mars independent from Earth
• New Sol - far-left anarchist movement that is focused on every colonist having their needs serviced and are very anti-establishment
• The Preservation Movement - a faction that feels that Mars is perfect as it is and want terraforming efforts stopped and no extractors or Domes on the surface of Mars
• Prosperity for Mars - a capitalist faction that wants strong industry and exports as well as a modicum of luxury
• Dominion of Mars - a conservative faction that will focus on order and will not mind a more autocratic approach to governing
• The Workers Collective - a leftist movement that is focused on the rights and needs of the workers of Mars
• The Church of The New Ark - a religious movement focused on increasing the population of Mars, as well as promoting moral values (especially regarding drinking and gambling).

You will probably meet around 3-5 of these factions in a single game (though it is possible for new factions to appear from time to time). Their demands will often clash, so you will need a lot of political acumen to keep them all in check.

Political Crises and Faction Disasters

No matter how skilled you are, politics often feels like herding cats. If a faction is unhappy, it may radicalize (for example, the Green Mars Coalition may transform into Green Now), turn renegade, increase the global political tension, or even dissolve.

When many factions are unhappy, the global political tension rises and a political crisis may occur. During a political crisis, the Assembly (or Council) will temporarily take charge of the politics of Mars and revoke several of the most controversial laws before giving you back the reins of power. 

If you are in a Dictatorship, this will never happen but too many renegades may topple your regime.

The Dream Of Independence

Sooner or later, your sponsor will no longer be as beneficial as they were in the beginning of the mission. As the colony grows, you will get a different set of challenges to complete that eventually lead to Independence, but you will have to wait for the next Dev Diary to hear more about it. 

Closing Statement

The politics of Mars are a complex new system that we made from scratch for Surviving Mars: Relaunched. It took many iterations and elbow grease to get it to where it is now and I really hope all of you will enjoy it. I tried to give you a (not-so-brief) overview of it but there are still many details that you will see on your own. 

🚀 Follow us on our socials: 

Twitter/X: https://x.com/surviving_pdx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurvivingPDX/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@surviving_mars_game

Discord: https://discord.gg/pdx