So, pretty much every space empire in space operas and sci fi tend to be evil douchebags with their horribly oppressive or otherwise terrifying reigns.
What would be a good way to portray a spacefaring empire in a more positive light without resorting to "Rome 2: Electric Boogaloo" or making an "empire" with none of the qualities that make a nation merit the title?
Pic related, almost every space empire in fiction tends to either be Space Rome or pic related.
Would making it less like the Roman empire and more like the UN help? Where distinct factions rule side by side as a single larger body, so it's not one set of assholes everyone kneels to but a bunch of sets of assholes that work to find and expand on common ground?
>>43975749
>>43975586
Space Babylon? No puns intended.
>UN
Isn't that Star Trek humanity with less aimless optimism?
>>43975586
The Federation
Star Wars isn't the only space opera you fucktard
>>43975785
That sounds pretty good to me, I'm down for less aimless optimism in general.
>>43975586
read a book nigger
>>43975803
I think he's thinking about the word Empire. I mean, Romulan Empire and Klingon Empire from Trek. The Centauri in Babylon 5 call themselves a Republic but have an Emperor. The Imperium of Man and the Tau Empire would both be aggressively evil by any other setting's standards, etc.
In short: "Empire" is the slightly more villainous equivalent to "Federation" for sci fi.
>>43975586
Empires are inherently evil.
>>43975586
Traveller's Third Imperium is arguably a good empire. They're very hands-off and pro-freedom, and so they allow member worlds a great deal of freedom to set their own rules and deal with their own problems. They generally only get involved when piracy ramps up or a local planet-to-planet dispute escalates far enough to threaten to disrupt trade, or when there's terrorism involved, or somebody starts using nukes and other WMDs, which are the sole prerogative of the Imperium itself.
>>43975865
>That sounds pretty good to me, I'm down for less aimless optimism in general.
Well it might end up setting on a decent balance between Star Trek's LOL WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT, Eclipse Phase's WE FIGURED IT OUT BUT THESE *OTHER [conservative american strawmen]*' ARE CRIMPING OUT STYLE and 40kids EVERYTHING IS FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED approaches.
>>43975803
Star Wars is less Space Opera and more Space Sword & Sorcery, if you think about it.
>>43975586
Design it as a loose group of nations with strong local government and weak national government. So you would also have the option of scale between doing planets or systems or even a mix or something totally diffrent.
Think the HRE where you elect the representative of one of these places as well but having limited power.
>>43975586
Depends on your definition of empire. If you mean: Nation that deliberately exploits their newer acquisitions for the benefit of their older area's that have all the political, economic and military power, then no, you aren't going to find many good examples.
On the other hand, the Andermani Empire from the Honorverse is probably an excellent example of a "good" imperial power. Its all about fishing in troubled waters and slow steady expansion.
>>43975959
That's a federation, not an empire. Just like the HRE was a federation, not an empire.
>>43976000
An Empire is an autocratic government which rules over multiple distinct cultural groups.
>>43976038
>not an empire
noun
1.
an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority, formerly especially an emperor or empress.
Just give the ruler the title of emperor and you are golden.
>>43975586
The Culture.
But the real question is:
>How do you make the evil oppressors interesting to play?
Traitors and saboteurs are everywhere. They damage interplanetary trade and sow dissent in the population. They steal our supplies and weapons, then turn around and use them against us. We work with leftover equipment from the Clone Wars and whatever recruits we can find for what little pay we can offer. Our marksmanship training badly needs better funding. We hardly have enough Tie Fighters to protect capital ships, let alone conduct air support operations for our infantry. If it wasn't for the apprentices randomly showing up to face the rebellion, we'd be fighting windmills.
And try to get a hold of a rebel once you encounter a cell, those bastards are slippery as hell. Let them get out of your sight for a second and they vanish into the civilian population. Reconnoiter in force and they will ambush and withdraw. Now you have weakened unit strength and a dubious chase on your hands. And you just know they got a ship somewhere, they always do.
Ever try to blockade a planet with a hand full of destroyers? Planets are fucking huge! And a ship only has to break atmo to go into hyperdrive. Depending on the ship that can leave you a window of mere seconds to distinguish violent rebels from innocent transports, calculate a firing solution, and engage. These moments end the careers of admirals.
It's not a fair fight. And so unnecessary. If everyone just stayed peaceful and dispatched a representative, we could have a galactic senate again.
>>43976091
The Emperor of the HRE didn't actually rule anybody. It was a loose federation of archbishoprics and principalities which elected one among them to act as their police officer. Calling yourself an Emperor does not make you one, fulfilling the definition of an Emperor does.
>>43976101
>Our marksmanship training badly needs better funding.
The stormtroopers in the original films were great marksmen. They only missed when they'd been ordered to allow Luke to escape with Leia. (And when Ewoks, but the whole Ewok thing was bullshit that should have been Wookiees instead.)
>>43975586
>What would be a good way to portray a spacefaring empire in a more positive light without resorting to "Rome 2: Electric Boogaloo" or making an "empire" with none of the qualities that make a nation merit the title?
Pit them against enemies that are even worse than they are.
>>43976168
>stormtroopers in the original films were great marksmen
um-?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFeJUfHu0GM
>>43976140
Exept he did?
When the empire went to war he lead the troops from all under him, he was the highest authority.
>>43976212
He first among equals, not an autocrat.
>>43975586
Star Trek. The series you are looking for is Star Trek. The Federation specifically.
>>43976245
The definition of empire is not autocratic
>>43976000
Or, as of the later books, the Star Empire of Manticore, who expand (mostly) by invitation
>>43975586
To Make it a not evil empire make the people about bringing order rule of law science technology culture prosperity protection and then don't go and reveal it to be all a load of shit to justify Being a complete dick
>>43976293
Wouldn't that be
>an "empire" with none of the qualities that make a nation merit the title?
Sounds more like a union to me.
>>43975586
The Empire is manipulated by 3rd parties.
>>43976335
Let me elaborate.
The Star Empire of Manticore is an outgrowth of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, an executive constitutional monarchy based in the (you guessed it) Manticore Binary System. For most of its history, the Star Kingdom was content to claim sovereignty only over its own system. That first began to change with the discovery of a wormhole nexus associated with one of their stars, and Manticore began claiming possession of systems containing the outlying wormhole termini. If someone was already living there, Manticore would typically negotiate to have sovereignty over the wormhole itself and leave it at that.
Eventually, a big war breaks out between Manticore and a neighboring, expansionist power. During this war, one of the liberated worlds petitions for membership in the Star; after some hemming and hawing, they're let in. At about this point the war falls into a lull, and Manticore resumes poking at their wormhole to see if they can find any more termini. They do, and follow their standard procedure of claiming sovereignty over the uninhabited star system it comes out in.
However, there are a whole bunch of essentially Third World star nations nearby, all of them nervously eyeing another, much less-nice empire. When Manticore shows up, a whole bunch them take a look at recent history and ask to be let in. Manticore basically decides "we can integrate one planet okay, but umpteen dozen? We gotta figure out a different way to handle this" - and thus is born the Star Empire, in which pretty much all the decision-making power resides in the hands of the old Star Kingdom government, while still claiming sovereignty over numerous other areas.
Now, Manticore are by and large good guys, so this situation is meant to be temporary, they're trying to raise their acquisitions to their level rather than drain them of resources for the homeland. But they're still an empire, at least from a certain point of view.
>>43977837
I'm amazed anyone read the HH books that far.
>>43976178
My heretic.
Asimov's Foundation series. Yes, the whole idea was inspired by Gibbon's Decline and Fall, so the Empire is sort of Roman, but it doesn't beat you over the head with ROME IN SPACE. Nor is it particularly evil.
>>43975586
>what is legend of the galactic heroes
>>43976263
The definition I'd always heard is that an empire is one nation ruling over multiple cultures. Which, depending on your definition of culture could mean every modern nation bigger than Luxembourg is an empire. So do whatever.
>>43977837
>all of them nervously eyeing another, much less-nice empire
>>43975586
Well, the Protoss Empire isn't.
>>43976140
The archbishoprics and the smaller principalities almost entirely fell under direct imperial authority most of the time, along with the orders of imperial knights and ministeriales. Only the largest and most powerful principalities managed not to and the wars of religion, 30yw, etc were as much about the electors not getting their powers curtailed as they were about religion.
By your account France wasn't a kingdom because the duke-peers were as powerful as the king before Louis XI.
Also Dune already did the HRE in space.
