Threats to power?

[kittyz]

Hi I'm new to these forums and have been playing tropico for a good few years(I also have the paradise expansion pack). 

In all my time of playing I have had a US threat to power, I've had rebels and I've had quite a few military coups!  However I have never had a threat from Russia or an uprising, although I have had quite a few protesters running around.  I was wondering if anyone as ever experienced an uprising or a serious threat from Russia, like the gunboat from the US?  I'm begining to think that these threats, especially the uprising doesn't exist!

[Coconut Kid]

The "Uprising" is not common, but has been experienced enough to have been discussed here a few times. You may wish to do an "advanced search" for old threads on uprisings if you really want to read about them.

The "Threat From Russia/CCCP" will be triggered only if you ally with them and build their "Foreign Military Base" - and then do a complete about-face and suck-up to the U.S. (I don't think I need to give an experienced player a blow-by-blow on how to do that.) It really can happen.

 

[kittyz]

Thanks for your help I'll do a search for some uprising threats.  I'm always reluctant to alliance with either Rusia or the US, probably because my islands always swing from communism to capitalism and vice versa.  Can you ever break an alliance one it's been made?  I haven't tried to and don't believe it is possible...is it?

[sethwbcl91]

No, it is not. You must choose your allie wisely. I side with the US all of the time.

[Capitaligous]

No, it is not. You must choose your allie wisely. I side with the US all of the time.

 Yes, sethwbcl91 is right. The US is a good aly.

[Captain Carrrghter]

The only conceivable reason to ally with Russia is to stave off an imminent invasion by the USA.

[JakiusCeasar]

US becomeseven better in a tourism paradise.

[sethwbcl91]

Yes, the USA gives you a lot of tourists and money. I know this because I have seen many threads with the topic, "Is it true that the US gives more money than Russia?", there are screenshots showing it. Also, I find that when you send a trade delegation that the US gives you better things than Russia does.

[JakiusCeasar]

Yuppers, them dang Marxist never give you nice things, so why side with them, to get your brains blown out by a can of "Police Action"

[Capitaligous]

Yuppers, them dang Marxist never give you nice things, so why side with them, to get your brains blown out by a can of "Police Action"

     

              Boy, that is funny!!

[Coconut Kid]

... Can you ever break an alliance once it's has been made?  I haven't tried to and don't believe it is possible...is it?

The manual does indeed indicate that Alliance w/ Russia/U.S. is permanent.

You now have a thread of jokes, laughter, advice that the U.S. alliance is the only way to go. But you have NO serious game play about alliance with Russia, or about your initial question.

But then who cares about skill in the playing the game? One's number of posts is far more important.

[Captain Carrrghter]

... Can you ever break an alliance once it's has been made?  I haven't tried to and don't believe it is possible...is it?

The manual does indeed indicate that Alliance w/ Russia/U.S. is permanent.

You now have a thread of jokes, laughter, advice that the U.S. alliance is the only way to go. But you have NO serious game play about alliance with Russia, or about your initial question.

But then who cares about skill in the playing the game? One's number of posts is far more important.

I did state the only reason I could think of to ally with Russia... why open yourself to the possibility of Russian invasion with an alliance? Especially when your relationship to the U.S. is a factor in determining your tourism revenue?

CK, if you do have a good reason to ally with Russia, please let the rest of us know.

Uprisings tend to occur most frequently on high levels of political difficulty, and even then I'm only in danger if my economy has tanked so badly that I can't buy my way out of trouble.

[Capitaligous]

 Once I've got an alliance with the US everything with my tourist attractions gets even better. But Russia? Bah... what do they allow you? Better Corn Seeds? 

[Coconut Kid]

I did state the only reason I could think of to ally with Russia. ... why open yourself to the possibility of Russian invasion with an alliance? Especially when your relationship to the U.S. is a factor in determining your tourism revenue?

CK, if you do have a good reason to ally with Russia, please let the rest of us know. ...

I apoligize to you, CC, for overlooking your cogent comment.

Frankly, I have rarely used the Foreign Policy Edicts beyond the "Praise" one.

However, to answer your question, allow me to quote the Bradygames Game Guide. It is provided on CD with the Mucho Macho edition.

"Their aid packages are very similar, except that developmental aid from the U.S. is of higher tech." In general, that means Russian developmental aid is more useful earlier in the game, and U.S. developmental aid is useful later in the game and is associated with a tourist economy.

"If you plan to pursue a foreign policy game, decide before you start the game which power you want to work with. Then build your dictator accordingly, choosing attributes with lots of pluses toward either the U.S. or Russia." Since it is possible to play a successful and enjoyable game without using any of the foreign policy edicts, I think that advice is good. The intent to use foreign policy edicts puts the game into a different category. It is too bad that the hotel revenue bug practically forecloses playing a game which either excludes or makes very minor use of the tourist industry.

If one should decide to rise to the intellectual challenge of playing games which exclude or minimize tourism (or even perhaps to use a universally applicable script to counteract the hotel revenue bug), then one might wish to try successively both the "communist" and "capitalist" options (there are discussions which posit that the framework of the game makes it impossible to use a true capitalist position) to see which works better. Part of that could be seeing what effect a foreign patron of a similar economic bent would have.

In my humble opinion, using the foreign policy edits to ally with the U.S. when using the tourist industry as primary is like "piling-on" since the hotel revenue bug guarantees that one has to be really stupid to lose for economic reasons.

So, as to good reasons to ally with Russia - I think there are some there, but it depends on your approach to the game. I'm sorry that I can not rise to the occasion and produce a list formated such as "Prevent an immanent invasion by the other power."

O.K. - now it's time for everyone to jump-on!

 

[Capitaligous]

 I've jumped on already. 

[Sticker]

Typicaly, I like to ally with the Russians, mostly because I run a very communist island.  In general, I try to even out everything, although I only do that because its much easier to increase income disparity and get things rolling, but I prefer a challange.

And, if you do run a Communist state, their packages are more useful than the US's.  With a communist state, there isn't even a reason to "go electrical" until about 1985 and at that point you don't need foreign aid.

[JakiusCeasar]

Yuppers, them dang Marxist never give you nice things, so why side with them, to get your brains blown out by a can of "Police Action"

wow, that's porbally the most  redneck sounding comment I've ever made! But it is funny!


READ BANNED BOOKS!!!

[sethwbcl91]

Yuppers, them dang Marxist never give you nice things, so why side with them, to get your brains blown out by a can of "Police Action"

LOL!!!

Typicaly, I like to ally with the Russians, mostly because I run a very communist island. In general, I try to even out everything, although I only do that because its much easier to increase income disparity and get things rolling, but I prefer a challange.

And, if you do run a Communist state, their packages are more useful than the US's. With a communist state, there isn't even a reason to "go electrical" until about 1985 and at that point you don't need foreign aid.

So you don't have tourism, or factories. I wouldn't know how, or why, I would run a Communist Country.

wow, that's porbally the most redneck sounding comment I've ever made! But it is funny!


READ BANNED BOOKS!!!

[Privateer0]

What makes you think a communist state wouldn't have factories? The whole idea of communism had to do with means of industrial production and was supposed to be a workers' movement.

CK, what's this hotel bug you are talking about? I agree that in general tourism makes the game a bit too easy. I also don't really like the feeling of having a tourist island. It feels more like you are running a Holiday Inn branch than a nation.

I go with industries in almost all of my games. Once I even tried to pull of a purely agricultural island, a literal banana republic! It didn't work very well. Since crops are so cheap, I wasn't able to sustain a very big population and eventually just couldn't fulfill the growing needs of my population. It was fun to try, though.

[Brf]

CK, what's this hotel bug you are talking about?

Hotel revenue is added twice to the treasury.

[Coconut Kid]

@ Privateer0

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~tropico/cafe/index.php?topic=9278.msg187704#msg187704

 

[Privateer0]

CK, what's this hotel bug you are talking about?

Hotel revenue is added twice to the treasury.

Thanks, Brf. I thought those hotels were a bit too profitable!

[Brf]

Thanks, Brf. I thought those hotels were a bit too profitable!

So did we... That is why we did the treasury tracking and confirmed 100% that hotel revenue is added twice. 

 Technically it is a bug, but you can justify it by saying that hotel rents are twice the reported values. $100, instead of $50 for instance 

[JakiusCeasar]

YAY! and better yet, my hotels are packed even with a 50$ fee. I'll call the extra 50 the minibar tab!

[JakiusCeasar]

What makes you think a communist state wouldn't have factories? The whole idea of communism had to do with means of industrial production and was supposed to be a workers' movement.

CK, what's this hotel bug you are talking about? I agree that in general tourism makes the game a bit too easy. I also don't really like the feeling of having a tourist island. It feels more like you are running a Holiday Inn branch than a nation.

I go with industries in almost all of my games. Once I even tried to pull of a purely agricultural island, a literal banana republic! It didn't work very well. Since crops are so cheap, I wasn't able to sustain a very big population and eventually just couldn't fulfill the growing needs of my population. It was fun to try, though.

I was talking in means of the game, genrally the capitalist like industry. You know, Maybe I try another no tourist gamr. I did one with pure manufactuing , did well until the 90's where the teamsters got the brain-eating plauge. I tend to run a mix of the two, so if something messes up one, it doesn't toally kill my economy.