Influence graph again

from Stardock Forums
After each meeting of the UP there is a massive drop in the levels on the Influence chart, why is that? Just because the meeting is over shouldn't mean you immediately lose your influence....should it?

Given that you don't gain influence immediately after taking over a number of planets and taking control of several squares but gain it gradually shouldn't the lose of influence be gradual as well?
163 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Don't think so,
surely you used your influence in voting. What could be nice is to abstain from a vote to keep your influence, or use some influence to decide what to vote on.

Paul.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Yep, you used your influence.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Also, all the AI have their own influence, which they spend too. When you go to vote on something, and you are using your influence, you're calling in favors, throwing your weight around, and promising favors in return. So it is kinda like spending a currency, because if you did it all the time, it would lose effectiveness. So you save your influence until the voting issue comes up (or trade it away before hand), and then it is spent until time accrues enough more influence for the next vote.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
OK. That was certainly as clear to me as mud. I would like to hear this explanation again from another view point. Since I have a strong grasp of program logic, is there a programmer's way of explaining it?
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
The graph shouldn't be using the emassed influence, it should be looking at your per turn influence. We need to fix that.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Ok, it should be trivial to fix the graph, but since we are discussing the way influence is saved and spent, I will try to clarify my post from the 27th.

Every game turn, the influence of colonized star systems is added to their owner's total influence. That is what the graph currently displays, which is why it drops to zero after the UP meets, because it has been spent.

I was attemting to explain why it is rational for this behavior, rather than losing it slowly as Dominic suggested. You want the vote to go one way, but the other civs may have their own ideas. So you have to use your influence to try and sway them to your side. The accumulated influence points represent months of making deals, intimidation, etc, all the work that you have done to make people vote your way. When the UP screen comes up, all bets are in and it's time to show your cards. So all that work has gone towards that one issue. Now you have to start new work for the next one.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Got it.

OK, here is the big question. If the graph is to show the influence for each turn then is there any way to see the balance sheet comparatively. To attempt an answer for my own question, it looks like this shows up on the foregn policy's UP screen. True? If so, then with the graph showing influence by turn and the UP screen showing the accumulation, it looks like we have all the information about influence we need. Do we?
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Yes, the pie chart on the Foreign UP screen shows the accumulated influence. We'll also have a image that you will be able to get to from the sectormap of how the forces of influence are acting on your stars. Then you'll have all the info that you need. :)