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Foundation The Game
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Foundation: the Game or Fondation: le Jeu is a French online browser game based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. There are two versions of the game, each consisting of a single galaxy: the French language VF was created first in 2001 and the English language VA in 2003.Each have been running almost without interruption until September 2007 when the English version was closed down. An English version is available once again, however many features are untranslated and the community is primarily French. Gameplay Overview Missions Each player progresses through a series of missions, most of which last for a maximum of two weeks. Each mission must be completed successfully in order to promote to the next. A newly registered player will begin the game as an Independent Lord. Independents Lords Independent Lords have simple missions which consist of only capturing planets, with no maximum time limit, modelled after the Kingdom of Anacreon in the first novel of the Foundation trilogy. New players start as an Independent Level 1 (I1) with three leaders and four planets named after themselves, while level 2 (I2) players start a mission with four leaders, five planets and an X27 Cruiser. Both levels have a sphere of influence of 10×10 planets, however they are rarely aligned with the standard sectors. When a player starts their mission they can see the planets of other Independent Lords who are already in their sector, however most planets will be hidden. I1 missions are completed when a player captures their fifteenth planet, and an I2 when the 25th planet is captured. A player can be given planets by others and have more than fifteen, however they will not finish their mission until they capture one. Their planets are not retained when they start their next mission. Once a player has promoted to I2 they are unable to play the I1 mission again, however players who demote from higher levels, or who gain veteran status, may play I2 multiple times. After promoting from I2, a player can begin their E1 mission. The Empire Generals (E1) and Marshals (E2) of the Empire have a maximum of two weeks to take control of their assigned sectors for the Empire. E1 players get assigned a single standard sector of 10×10 planets, while E2 players are assigned two sectors with either 10×20 or 20×10 planets. The player is given all Empire-named planets under control of the Empire AI in addition to new planets to fill any empty spaces in the sector. Empire planets which are neutral or controlled by other players are visible, but not given, to the new General or Marshal: capturing and keeping these planets is the aim of the mission. E2 players in sectors with over 120 Empire planets are able to rename planets they control, which take the player's name rather than the Empire's. These planets no longer contribute to their score, so unproductive planets are often renamed to make the mission easier. At midnight (GMT+1), on the second Sunday after the player begins their mission, the scores for all players finishing at that time are calculated by subtracting the number of player controlled Empire planets from the total number of Empire planets. The best scoring players are promoted (E1 to E2, E2 to M2) and the worst scoring players are demoted (E1 to I2, E2 to E1). E1 players scoring averagely can be reassigned to another sector (still as an E1), however E2 players must either promote or demote. If an E1 who has been registered for over a month achieves a perfect score of zero before the final Sunday they can accept a promotion to E2, in which they are assigned two new sectors immediately. Merchant Guild Players who promote to the are given a maximum of two weeks to obtain as much gold as they can. At midnight (GMT+1), on the second Sunday after the player begins their mission, the scores for all players finishing at that time are calculated by subtracting ten times the number of player controlled planets from the total gold stocks on those planets. The best scoring players are promoted (M1 to M2, M2 to F1) and the worst scoring players are demoted (M1 to E1, M2 to E2). M1 players scoring averagely can be reassigned to another sector (still as an M1), however M2 players must either promote or demote. Prior to 2006(?) M2 players could be reassigned as well, and if they demoted it was to M1 rather than E2. The Foundation The Foundation Priests have a maximum of 2 weeks to solve deviations in their sector which appear at certain times. A deviation is a planet deviated to a player, and there can be an unlimited amount. Deviations are caused by new planets being found and politics being done. The Foundation Priests have an advantage, however, even though they can only see neutral planets at the start of their mission. Once on of their leaders gains 10% influence on a 100% neutral planet, it automatically becomes theirs. At midnight (GMT+1), on the second Sunday after the player begins their mission, the scores for all players finishing at that time are calculated by subtracting the amount of deviations unsolved from 0. The best scoring players are promoted (F1 to F2, F2 to I3) and the worst scoring players are demoted (F1 to M2, F2 to F1). F1 players scoring averagely can be reassigned to another sector (still as an F1), however F2 players must either promote or demote. Prior to 2006(?) F2 players could be reassigned as well. Brotherhoods The aim of the I3 is to establish stable brotherhoods in the galaxy. Given a maximum of 2 weeks, it is the job of the I3 to build embassies until they have the most or second most amount in the sector. A major advantage of this level is that they can start at any time. However, this is not as easy as it seems. Sectors with over 50 embassies, and have a capital, are the most challenging. I3 cannot build embassies in sectors which have over 50 embassies and a capital. The Brotherhood representative then has to dismantle, blow up with explosives, or destroy using X33, enough embassies to lower the embassy count to 49. Then, they have to build the capital (which is represented by yellow text), and then build embassies. The drawback of this is that I3 can only dismantle embassies on planets they own. They must also have 10% influence on planets they wish to build on. This causes a lot of deviations for the Foundation (see Foundation), which can cause conflicts. Some sectors do not have a capital. This means that I3 can build embassies even when the count is over 50. These sectors can sometimes be the easiest. However, it comes at high risk. Capitals suddenly appearing part way through the mission has been known to happen. When I3 become the second in the sector, they have the option of leaving, if they are over their 4th day of mission. If they fail to be the first or second in their sector at the end of the 2 weeks, they are demoted to F2 and lose all their cruisers. If they are the only member in their brotherhood, it will disappear. There can be a maximum amount of 3 I3 per sector. Allied brotherhoods tend to work in pairs, but having 3 in a sector can cause a lot of issues. After 4 days, I3 can 'merge' with any other I3 in the sector. This means that all the embassies they have built for their brotherhood (assuming they are the only member) become part of the other I3's brotherhood. The I3 who merged automatically leaves the sector. If they are not the only member in their brotherhood, no embassies are transferred. I3 can close down embassies of their brotherhood. The result is an item given to one of the leaders of the player who ordered the closure, and an item given to a leader of another member of the brotherhood. The item is randomly chosen. Neutral planets with embassies on can then supply support ships to the brotherhood on that planet, if able to do so. This is very useful to I3, as they can have hundreds of support ships. The Second Foundation The Second Foundation is a highly secretive, almost cult-like organisation. Based on the Second Foundation that Hari Seldon created to help watch the First Foundation, these Speakers have extraordinary powers which help solve deviations and battle the Mule. Veterans Players who reach veteran level means they have completed the requirements for the Second Foundation. Veterans, when in intermission, have the option of changing mission. The Mule The final stage of the game is to become the Mule, however unlike Asimov's character, he is not unique. The Mule's goal is to capture 400 planets, and he has a maximum of nine days to do so and declare victory. Veteran players may request to play the mission once for each of their veteran accounts, for which a new account of a name they choose will be created. Of the 21 VA mules, thirteen were successful. Units Leaders Leaders are the key to the game. Leaders can perform politics, therefore overthrowing planets, they can assassinate other leaders, explore planets, search for new planets, and even meet other leaders on the holo network. When performing politics, it takes 8 hours to gain 10% influence on a planet. When influence reaches 100%, the planet becomes the player's planet. If they overthrow a planet, they gain 1 politics point. Assassination takes 24 hours, minus half an hour for each assassination point that leader has. Assassination points are gained by killing leaders and using special items. Search for new planets is an interesting option. It can take between 4 and 24 hours for a leader to land on a 'new' planet. This is how players can see whole sectors. If a leader finds a planet no-one else has, they gain 1 exploration point. Exploring planets isn't necessarily part of the general game, but it has advantages. There are squares on the planet- the spaceport. which all leaders start on, one square for the production of the resources, 1 square for each of the different warehouses, the shipyard, political centre, mercenary square, shop, and even a police headquarters. If a leader is sent to the political center, they can shorten the time taken to gain influence. However, this uses Time Units, (each leader starts with 24, uses 1 per square, 2 per action, but regenerates 1 per hour) and if a leader reaches 0 TU's they cannot move. If they are not on the spaceport and do not have a personal shield, leaders can be killed if a cruiser bombs the planet. Also, if a leader has less than 5 TU's and is not within 5 squares of the spaceport, they cannot leave the planet. Items Planets There are 4 types of planets Neutral, which belong to no-one Empire, which will be under the control of a General when he arrives in the sector Mulebot planet, which are under the control of the Mule, and Player planets, which belong to whatever player they are owned by All planets are capable of producing gold, tin, iron, food and manufacturing. Some planets produce all, some produce none. Most planets produce 2 or 3 of those goods, which can then be used to trade for others. The political stance of the planets does not effect what it produces and when. Ever planet has a cycle. It can range from 10 to 48 hours, in human time. At the end of the cycle, a ship is produced if tin and iron are available. A unit of food and manufacturing is used, to feed the people and keep them happy. Whichever resources are producing (symbolized by a 'yes') produce 2 goods. This means if a planet is producing food but not manufacturing, at the end of the cycle it will lose a manufacturing and gain a food unit. Ships Although they look different, there is no difference in the firepower or defence systems in the ships used galactically. When attacking another planet, players receive support ships from their planets and those of their allies. Support ships can only be sent from planets with over 5 ships. This means that if the player sends 5 ships to attack, and he has 3 planets with 8 ships, then he will receive another 3 ships in support. Cruisers There are 5 models of cruisers. They are not used like planetary ships- these are high-tech weapons. The earliest model is the X27. When ordered to bomb a planet, it will destroy its integrity divided by the number of ships in the planet. For example, if the integrity of the cruiser is 100% and the planet has 11 ships it will destroy 100/11 = 9 ships. If there are no ships at the target, it will bomb the warehouses instead, destroying 50% of stock. When bombing, they will lose 1% health per ship they destroy if they are at 100% of integrity, the damage they take is greater if their integrity is already compromised, though. When they return to the neutral zone, 6 hours after ordered to attack, they will rearm and start to repair at 3% of their total integrity per day. If the owner is allied to a Foundationer, the cruiser will be repaired at 15% of its integrity per day though. They can also protect planets. If they are ordered to protect a planet, other cruisers cannot target that planet (except the X33 which will be able to do so at a greater risk of crashing). They defend against normal ship attacks as the equivalent of 20 ships but they do not draw support from other planets to help them if the planet has 0 ships. X31 is a newer model. Equivalent in capabilities to the X27 model and upgradable to the X32 model X32, also called interceptors, have the same options as the X27, except that X32 can be named and have the patrol option. When sending a cruiser to patrol, it loses 2% of its integrity each 2 hours when they execute their microjumps, at these moments it attempts to intercept enemy ships and destroy them if they are found. If nothing is intercepted and an hostile player has more than 5 cruises in his neutral zone there is a chance the X32 will perform a suicide attack against it heavily damaging and possibly destroying up to 10 cruisers. This is highly effective, albeit costly, when at war. X33 are by far the most deadly cruisers. X33 cruisers have been developed for targeted strikes against enemy facilities, capable of striking at the heart of any known planet. Four areas can be targeted: the Embassy area, Mind Stat Devices, the Hangars (Classic targeted bombing raids) and the town centers (kills all leaders without shields that are located in the Urban Center making politics). Strikes are instantaneous. However, when these cruisers strike, there is always a chance of them crashing. Even at 100% health, and attacking a planet with 0 ships, there is a slight chance. The more ships on the targeted planet, and the less health the cruiser has, the greater the chance of crashing. Ship Carriers are cruisers with the ability to transport ships from and to a planet instantly. They can hold up to 64 ships. Each time a ship leaves the carrier it loses 1% of its integrity (which is repaired over time as the X27). It cannot operate bellow 50% of integrity or if there are already 10 or more ships in the planet. In the same manner it cannot take ships from a planet with 3 or less ships. It can only operate on planets owned by the player who owns it. Cruisers at full health are symbolized by a 100%. A cruiser parks is where the cruisers stay when idle, the neutral zone. If a player has over 5 cruisers in the neutral zone, a cruiser patrolling can intercept them and suicide, unless those players are allied. 
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