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One thing that has always intrigued me about the 4x or Space Empire genre was the possibility it gave of minute to minute decision making. A would be conquerer must be cognizant of the limitations of interstellar communications when deciding when or if to send that fleet to intercept an enemy.

I was putting together some ideas that I wanted to try in a VBAM campaign I want to start up very soon. One thing that I have toyed with is breaking down both empire to empire communication and ships movement. So in essence there would be three pulses per turn, roughly 1 week, where ships can move and diplomacy can happen.

Now the downside to this is the extra work, extra time, extra detail. A player may have enough time to make decisions on his current turn once every two real world weeks but might not have the flexibility to react to the pulses. It also requires more micro-management.

The upside, from my POV is that it allows more flexibility in movement of units and in communication between empires. It allows reaction time in weeks instead of monthly turns. It allows subtle nuanced concepts like construction taking X Weeks or X pulses, where a ship might be available in pulse 1 of turn 7 and can fight in a battle in pulse 3 of turn 7.

So its an idea. Any thoughts? Good or bad... is there a rule or option for this already that I am missing? Any feedback is appreciated.

I know Tyrel has some optional communication rules somewhere that limit system to system communication. If enforced and monitored this limits instant communications and reactions.

For instance, a homeworld or the far side of an empire won't even know the war has started before the first systems start to fall.

Never seen it applied and maintained in a multi-player game, tho.

If you're willing to have that extra workload for that specific aspect, go for it. It surely makes for a more detailed approach to handling communications and movement, depending on the number of players it may be just fine.
Anyways is good to ask the players. Are they willing to have the turns slower than usual for the added control and detail?

Cheers,