CK's Gallery of Dictators

[Coconut Kid]

I find that shifting around trying to get a near perfect "balance" of attributes is a rather tiresome routine because of the number of choices. Also, the result hardly seems like a real person -- a Police Chief with a Green Thumb? Why?

First, a short critique of PopTop's stuff: I really don't appreciate the portraiture. It doesn't make the cut for the '50s newspaper engraving style. PopTop provided 25 pre-programmed dictators; that's really over-kill. The left & right triangles by the first name is not the best intuitive way to look through them.

I think seven would have been a great plenty, six for one each from the factions and a seventh to illustrate "Adventurers." I'll list the backgrounds and associated rises to power for each category, along with my preferred attributes.
.
Capitalists

• Bob 'Bottom Line' Jones
  • Harvard University
  • Self-made Man
  • Developer
  • Born with Silver Spoon in mouth
  • Elected as Capitalist
  • Installed by CIA
  • Capitalist Rebellion
    • Entrepreneurial
    • Financial Genius
    • Hardworking
    • Athletic
    • Administrator
    • Cheapskate
    • Short Tempered
    • Great Schmoozola
    • Womanizer
    • Compulsive Liar

Communists

• Jose 'Red' Blanco
  • Moscow University
  • Leftist Author
  • Man of the People
  • Farmer
  • Elected as Socialist
  • Intalled by KGB
  • Communist Rebellion
    • Hardworking
    • Empathy
    • Charismatic
    • Administrator
    • Well Traveled
    • Alcoholic
    • Paranoid
    • Kleptomanic
    • Ugly
    • Flatulence

Militarists

• 'Machine Gun' Zimmerman
  • Generalissimo
  • Chief of Police
  • Elected as Fascist
  • Military Coup
    • Charismatic
    • Hardworking
    • Athletic
    • Administrator
    • Womanizer
    • Great Schmoozola
    • Compulsive Liar
    • Compulsive Gambler

Religious

• 'Step-Mother of God' Soledad
  • Biblical Scholar
  • Elected for "Family Values"
  • Religious Appointment
    • Incorruptible
    • Charismatic
    • Empathy
    • Hardworking
    • Religious Zealot
    • Ugly
    • Moronic (not a conflict with religious scholar)
    • Pompous

Intellectuals

• Juan 'Doc' Polilla
  • Professor
  • Elected as Socialist
    • Scholarly
    • Well Traveled
    • Diplomat
    • Charismatic
    • Coward
    • Paranoid
    • Flatulence
    • Tourette's Syndrome

Environmentalists, was a sub-set of Intellectuals in '50s & '60s.

• Florera Gomez
  • Naturalist
  • Elected as Socialist
    • Green Thumb
    • Charismatic
    • Administrator
    • Hardworking
    • Kleptomaniac
    • Alcoholic
    • Ugly
    • Pompous

Adventurers

• Luigi 'At Sea' Bartinelli
  • Booze Baron ("reformed" smuggler)
  • Bought the Election
  • Heir Apparent (some families have wide influence)
    • Entrepreneurial
    • Financial Genius
    • Short Tempered
    • Coward
• (pick name)
  • Pop Singer (any entertainer)
  • Bought the Election
  • Heir Apparent (some Daddies/Mommies are just all sugar)
    • Well Traveled
    • Diplomat
    • Tourette's Syndrome
    • Great Schmoozola
• Frankie Franklin
  • Travel Agent (money laundry "bug" with free hotel)
  • Hotel Corporate Buyout (Tropican Democracy is For Sale!)
    • Athletic
    • Sociable
    • Coward
    • Great Schmoozola
• Luigi 'Sweet Pea' Bartinelli Jr.
  • Fortunate Son (of a God Father)
  • Heir Apparent
  • Bought the Election
    • Empathy
    • Entrepreneurial
    • Paranoid
    • Short Tempered
• Digby O'Dell
  • Miner (lucky prospector claiming his find)
  • Military Coup (bribed the local constabulary with shares in the strike)
  • Bought the Election
    • Entrepreneurial
    • Hardworking
    • Compulsive Gambler
    • Ugly

.
That makes the shopping list a bit more interesting, at least to me.

 

[Coconut Kid]

Capitalists

Bob 'Bottom Line' Jones is the man of the hour at the U.S. State Department Tropico Desk.

Selections:
Background

• Harvard University
• Self-made Man
• Developer
• Born with Silver Spoon in mouth

Rise to Power

• Elected as Capitalist
• Installed by CIA
• Capitalist Rebellion

Positive Traits

• Entrepreneurial
• Financial Genius
• Hardworking
• Athletic
• Administrator

Flaws

• Cheapskate
• Great Schmoozola
• Short Tempered
• Womanizer
• Compulsive Liar

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

 

[Coconut Kid]

Communists

Jose 'Red' Blanco has just been awarded the Hero Worker medal by the politbureau.

Selections:
Background

• Moscow University
• Leftist Author
• Man of the People
• Farmer

Rise to Power

• Elected as Socialist
• Intalled by KGB
• Communist Rebellion

Positive Traits

• Hardworking
• Charismatic
• Administrator
• Well Traveled (always running from the police)
• Empathy

Flaws

• Alcoholic
• Paranoid
• Kleptomanic
• Ugly
• Flatulence

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

[Coconut Kid]

Militarists

'Machine Gun' Zimmerman has been twice voted Man-of-the-Year by the inmates of Alcatraz.

Selections:
Background

• Generalissimo
• Chief of Police

Rise to Power

• Elected as Fascist
• Military Coup

Positive Traits

• Charismatic
• Athletic, dodge those bullets!
• Hardworking
• Administrator

Flaws

• Womanizer
• Compulsive Gambler
• Great Schmoozola
• Compulsive Liar

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

[Coconut Kid]

Religious

'Step-Mother of God' Soledad has inspected the Swiss Guard at the Vatican (she pointed out deficiencies to the first sergeant), and she has visited the 'buckle' of the U.S. 'Bible Belt' where Billy Bob G. baptized her.

NOTE: This is a female dictator. To set-up this profile you have to use one of the pre-programmed female dictator profiles and edit it. There is no other option to change the gender of the dictator.

Selections:
Background (Sorry, not a choice here.)

• Biblical Scholar

Rise to Power

• Elected for "Family Values"
• Religious Appointment

Positive Traits

• Incorruptible
• Empathy
• Hardworking
• Charismatic

Flaws

• Religious Zealot a must
• Moronic (not a conflict with 'Scholar')
• Pompous
• Ugly

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

Before you fall off the track, remember this is a game. Historically, some religiously oriented dictators were real nut cases. There are a few choices. I could have called Soledad the Mother-In-Law of God which would be currently topical - if also more offensive to some.

 

[Coconut Kid]

Intellectuals

Juan 'Doc' Polilla Bookworm has been honored for his intellect by so many universities that it is a mystery why he still associates with the island where he was born, Tropico.

Selections:
Background (Sorry, not a choice here.)

• Professor

Rise to Power

• Elected as Socialist
• Heir Apparent
• Elected for "Family Values"

Positive Traits

• Scholarly
• Well Traveled
• Diplomat
• Charismatic

Flaws

• Coward
• Paranoid
• Flatulence
• Tourette's Syndrome

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

 

[Coconut Kid]

Environmentalists, was a sub-set of Intellectuals in '50s & '60s.

Florera Gomez is known by her English speaking friends as 'Karma the Flower Child' whose doting daddy 'owned' Tropico just before he passed on.

NOTE: This is a female dictator. To set-up this profile you have to use one of the pre-programmed female dictator profiles and edit it. There is no other option to change the gender of the dictator.

Selections:
Background (Sorry, not a choice here.)

• Naturalist

Rise to Power

• Heir Apparent
• Elected as Socialist
• Bought the Election, with bales of MJ.

Positive Traits

• Green Thumb
• Empathy
• Scholarly
• Hardworking

Flaws

• Great Schmoozla
• Flatulence
• Ugly
• Alcoholic

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

  What a sweetie to be in charge. 

[Coconut Kid]

Adventurers (all with the same name)

Luigi 'At Sea' Bartinelli just arrived in Tropico with separate sets of papers for several identities:

Booze Baron ("reformed" smuggler)
Rise to Power: Capitalist Rebellion (drinks on the house)
Positive Traits

• Entrepreneurial
• Financial Genius

Flaws

• Short Tempered
• Alcoholic

Pop Singer (any kind of entertainment)
Rise to Power: Bought the Election (free tickets to the next show)
Positive Traits

• Well Traveled
• Charismatic

Faults

• Tourette's Syndrome
• Great Schmoozola

Travel Agent (free hotel comes with a money laundry "bug")
Rise to Power: Hotel Corporate Buyout (Tropican Democracy is For Sale!)
Positive Traits

• Athletic
• Sociable

Flaws

• Coward
• Great Schmoozola

Fortunate Son (of a God Father)
Rise to Power: Heir Apparent (the coconut falls not far from the palm)
Positive Traits

• Empathy
• Athletic

Flaws

• Paranoid
• Short Tempered

Miner (lucky prospector claiming his strike)
Rise to Power: Military Coup (bribed the local constabulary with shares in the strike)
Positive Traits

• Entrepreneurial
• Hardworking

Flaws

• Compulsive Gambler
• Ugly

Poor 'At Sea' just bounces from one job to another. He arrived in a row boat and will probably leave in one.

 

Note: I changed my tune a little in the initial post -- I provided different names for each of his back grounds.

[Coconut Kid]

What I have tried to illustrate is a slant toward role playing.

That is, to use the ability to choose Dictator Attributes to describe a reasonably believable, allbeit fictional, person. That is, rather than just stringing together a bunch of pluses and minuses aimed at exploiting game features as the game guide seems to suggest. That is stacking the deck rather than playing the cards as they are dealt.

The Guide says, "As you select ... [attributes], you accumulate pluses and minuses. It is good to accumulate bonuses in a single area, but bad to accumulate minuses in a single area. ... Either take the minuses in areas you don't plan to use, ... Or you can take a bunch of big bonuses in one category and arrange it so that the minuses only affect them a little bit. Strongly consider the victory conditions you selected and the type of island you designed before choosing your qualities. ...

Of course, following that line of reasoning will make it easier to "win" the game. But it also makes playing the game rather bland. Just design all the elements so you can cruise to victory. Why bother to study all that out when you can just set the difficulty levels to sandbox or easy mode?

However, play the game the way you enjoy.

 


When you look at background and rise to power, consider the various factions of leftest\collectivist politics. RedSentry gives a good "thumbnail."

Types of Socialism

actually, communism is a state-less class-less society which follows SOCIALISM (which has been achived in cuba and the ussr under lenin [and no where else]).
communism can only be achived after the entire world has become socialist.

socialism comes in many forms: maoism, marxism-leninism, stalinism, trotskyiteism, and 'new' socialism...those are the major ones, and i guess i'll describe them all (i have time)

marxism-leninism: the original and more pure type. straight from 'das capital' (marx), 'the communist manifesto' (marx/engels), and 'the state and revoultion' (lenin). practiced in cuba and the ussr under lenin.

stalinism: stalinism is fascism under a marxist banner. its just like if hitler, or mussolini would stride around saying "power to the people". the pretend to be marxists but are really fascists. stalin was a hard-core fascist

maoism: same as stalinism but slightly less agressive.

trotskyiteism: very similar to marxism, however it is slightly less socialistic, a bit more to the right. trotsky once said he supports private farms.

new socialism: a knock off of social democracy. basicly, just social democracy but it supports trade unions more.

other types of extreme-leftism:

anarchism: anarchy wants to learn to run before it can walk. it wants to go right to communism without socialism.

syndacalism: government controlled by trade unions. practiced slightly during the spanish civil war and in the ussr under lenin.

note: when i say 'marxism' a mean marxism-leninism but, hell, my fingers are tired.

[one brow]

Tropican Natives

William "Great Guy" Reagan knows everyone, and everyone likes him.  He's been destined to rule, even though he doesn't bring much to the table and is not particulary for or against any faction.

Selections:
Background

• Fortunate Son
• Pop Singer

Rise to Power

• Heir Apparent (Sorry, not a choice here.)

Positive Traits

• Charismatic
• Empathy
• Incorruptible
• Well Traveled

Flaws

• Lazy, if you have that option
• Moronic
• Flatulence
• Pompous
• Coward

Preferred selections are underlined ; unlikely selections are gray.

[Coconut Kid]

Very nice addition. Thanks.

However, I would be inclined to leave out the "Pop Singer" Background.

Again - a good profile.

Thanks!

 

[Brf]

I dunno. Reagan was an actor, so pop-singer isnt too far off. I would have used Elected as a Capitalist, rather than Heir Apparent though, since Reagan followed a Democrat he wasnt an heir, and he touted Trickle Down Economics (The definition of Capitalism) his entire terms.

[Coconut Kid]

Good points Brf.

 

[one brow]

I thought "Pop singer" was also appropriate because it affects all factions, not just one or two.  That's why I rejected "Elected as Capitalist", as well.

[one brow]

"William" is also in reference to a President known for his personal appeal, BTW.

[Coconut Kid]

I find that shifting around trying to get a near perfect "balance" of attributes is a rather tiresome routine because of the number of choices. Also, the result hardly seems like a real person - a Police Chief with a Green Thumb?

First, a short critique of PopTop's stuff: I really don't appreciate the portraiture. It doesn't make the cut for the '50s newspaper engraving style. PopTop provided 25 pre-programmed dictators; that's really over-kill. ...

Since I posted that, it has become even more evident to me that a real weakness of the game is the tendency to try to distort the game play by constructing silly dictator profiles.

I reviewed PopTop's 25 preprogrammed dictators today. I am still of the opinion that they spent too much effort on this phase of the set-up. There should have been no use of major figures from major counties (e.g. Peron & Pinochet). A couple of Marxist Revolutionaries and a couple of Military Thugs, all from minor "Tin Pot" countries along with six prototypes for the six factions would have provided plenty of game variations.

I suppose it makes no difference so long as the players enjoy what they do, but it seems to me that too many of them get engrossed in the plusses and minuses of the dictator's profile rather than the core of the game.

Sigh. 

[Coconut Kid]

... it has become even more evident to me that a real weakness of the game is the tendency to try to distort the game play by constructing silly dictator profiles.

I reviewed PopTop's 25 preprogrammed dictators. I am still of the opinion that they spent too much effort on this phase of the set-up. There should have been no use of major figures from major counties (e.g. Peron & Pinochet). A couple of Marxist Revolutionaries and a couple of Military Thugs, all from minor "Tin Pot" countries along with six prototypes for the six factions would have provided plenty of game variations.

I suppose it makes no difference so long as the players enjoy what they do, but it seems to me that too many of them get engrossed in the plusses and minuses of the dictator's profile rather than the core of the game.

Now I wish to link this thread to my thread about "political & economic" game play considerations. Then perhaps I will go on to update this thread. At least it will keep up some traffic on this site.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tropico/cafe/index.php?topic=10969.msg208078#msg208078

 

[Coconut Kid]

Capitalists: Bob 'Bottom Line' Jones is the man of the hour at the U.S. State Department Tropico Desk.

• Background
  • Harvard University
  • Self-made Man
  • Developer
  • Born with Silver Spoon in mouth
• Rise to Power
  • Elected as Capitalist
  • Installed by CIA
  • Capitalist Rebellion

[/list]

Let's change the name! 'Bottom Line' - Billy ; Bobby; Barby; Bitsey (Ol' "Bettin' Bitsey")

Then let's reexamine the Background and Rise to Power lists.

Background:

• Primary:
  • Harvard U.
  • Self-made Man
  • Silver Spoon
  • Developer
  • Pop Singer (any entertainer)
• Secondary:
  • Miner
  • Booze Baron
  • Fortunate Son
  • Travel Agent
  • Naturalist (mistaken for another)
  • Professor (mistaken for another)

.
Rise to Power:

• Primary:
  • Capitalist Rebellion (?)
  • Installed by CIA (as above, but better?)
  • Elected as Capitalist (not good for a dictator)
  • Hotel Corporate Buyout
• REALLY Secondary:
  • Bought the Election
  • Heir Apparent
  • Military Coup
  • Elected for "F.V." (Liberation Theology)

I know less about "capitalist rebellions" than I do about CIA "installations". I think the CIA likes to use a fake rebellion to cause a regime change; and that dates back to the 1950's.
The positive & negative traits are mostly open -- but using a few would make one blush. That's like a capitalist who was "Incorruptible." >>grin<<

[Coconut Kid]

Communists

Jose 'Red' Blanco has just been awarded the Hero Worker medal by the politbureau.

Background

• Moscow University
• Leftist Author
• Man of the People
• Farmer

Rise to Power

• Elected as Socialist
• Intalled by KGB
• Communist Rebellion

Add the name Tigressa for the female dictators, and then again we examine the Background and Rise to Power lists.

Background:

• Primary:
  • Moscow U.
  • Miner
  • Farmer
  • Man of the People
  • Leftist Author
• Secondary:
  • Fortunate Son
  • Chief of Police
  • Naturalist (mistaken for another)
  • Professor (mistaken for another)

.
Rise to Power:

• Primary:
  • Communist Rebellion (KGB probably had a hand in)
  • Installed by KGB (as above, but better)
  • Elected as Socialist (Way-Station Communist)
• Secondary:
  • Military Coup
  • Heir Apparent
  • Bought the Election

Again, a couple of traits should be embarrassing to your selections - Incorruptible and Religious Zealot.

[Coconut Kid]

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tropico/cafe/index.php?topic=3798.msg65495#msg65495

Poptop Brent provided some great info on how dictator profiling will work in the game.  You can read it over at [dead link]. It appears that it will actually be a pretty big part of gameplay, especially in determining the difficulty rating of the game.

[Coconut Kid]

Blast from the past:

Claremore, OK, resident John Grant will be featured as a character in the upcoming PC game, Tropico. Tropico is a 3D building sim that allows users to oversee all resources needed to develop a remote Caribbean island -- from cash, labor and time to food, minerals and crops. Grant entered and won the "You Rule" contest sponsored through developer PopTop and publisher GodGames. He will appear in the game as the dictator character, Palido Jaguar. Tropico has gone gold and will ship to stores nationwide on April 24, 2001.

[Coconut Kid]

Suites
These are just a few suites of attributes that you might find useful in creating a new presidenté. Of course, the wide variety of attributes make for a game infinitely more variable than the few following choices might indicate, so be sure to experiment a bit with the different traits to create a dictator perfectly to your liking.

The Caribbean Breadbasket

Background: Farmer
Rise to power: Communist rebellion
Qualities: Hardworking, entrepreneurial
Flaws: Kleptomaniac, ugly

This is a model for a highly agrarian culture, mostly based around farming, with perhaps some mining or factory work thrown in for variety. Among other things, you'll get a 20 percent increase in respect to the communist faction, a 10 percent boost to overall productivity, and a 60 percent increase in farm productivity (in addition to the overall productivity boost). You'll be making far more food than your people will actually need, so the 10 percent bonus to export prices from the entrepreneurial quality will help you convert even corn into cold, hard cash.

Booze Up and Riot!

Background: Booze baron
Rise to power: Elected as capitalist
Qualities: Hardworking, financial genius
Flaws: Coward, ugly

The main goal here is to get your sugar farms and rum distilleries set up quickly, then proceed to rake in the dough. You'll be rolling in gold if you actually get the ball rolling with this combo, but it's generally a roll of the dice as to whether you'll have adequate sugar croplands near your starting point. At any rate, your factories will be getting a 40 percent productivity boost, and each load of rum that goes out will be selling for double the price. If you want a more generalized factory economy, substitute self-made man as your background instead of booze baron. This will get you an additional 15 percent to factory productivity and will leave you more adaptable to the vagaries of your island's environment.

Spring Break Destination

Background: Pop singer
Rise to power: Elected for "family values"
Qualities: Hardworking, green thumb
Flaws: Coward, short tempered

If you intend to create a tourist paradise, you must boost your tourist ratings with your initial attribute choices, especially if you hope to lure in the fickle upper-class tourists. This choice of attributes will get you an immediate 20 percent gain to your tourist rating, along with a 50 percent reduction in pollution, which will further help you bring in the tourists. You'll get a 10 percent boost to overall productivity to help your economy through the slow, pre-tourism period, as well.

My Way or the Highway

Background: Generalissimo
Rise to power: Military coup
Qualities: Charismatic, hardworking
Flaws: Alcoholic, pompous

If you don't particularly care how you make your money, but want to make sure that nothing goes on in Tropico without your express say-so, this combination of traits will make you the most feared man in the Caribbean. You'll get a huge 50 percent bonus to respect from the militarists, and your soldiers will be 15 percent more effective in putting down any naysayers. You'll start out with a 40 percent penalty to liberty, but sometimes the peons just need a strong hand to guide them.

[Coconut Kid]

I need some advice on what to pay the professions for wages. How much do you pay uneducated people, educated people, college educated, police and military? ...

First: Let's understand that they are probably more correctly called "occupations" rather than professions, but that's a nit-pick. It helps to understand the game world to know that the education levels also mean social class levels.

Now the player needs to know that he needs to determine a wage distribution pattern of amounts to match his selection of El Presidente's characteristics. That selection determines which faction(s) will dominate his administration.

While pay seems to dominate the happiness factor of "Job Satisfaction", the player also has to play the factions who brought him to power. Instituting a wage distribution plan of the capitalist philosophy if playing as a communist will screw-up the faction relationships.

Basicly, DO NOT rely only on pay to manipulate employment. For one thing, it can lead to a quick bankruptcy.

It's hard for me to admit that it took this long to understand that the set-up had such a great impact on factions and how much the factions could impact on job satisfaction.

I guess I really have to revise my stuff here from a new focus.