Moral[]
In the early days of imperial expansion, every citizen of the Empire worked for the Empire. Adversity was commonplace and expected, expectations were low, and the Morale of the people was not a serious issue. As years pass however, the new Colonies develop and civilian populations around the Empire grow. The Morale of your imperial and civilian populations is now extremely important. In Sword of the Stars II, Morale can be positively and negatively affected by economic factors like debt, taxation, trade, and surplus; victories and defeats in combat; losses of worlds, systems, stations and provinces through war or natural disaster; construction of civilian stations and formation of super-worlds in the Forge and Gem categories, and a variety of Diplomatic Actions and events. Morale losses in any System can be reduced by the presence of police and propaganda ships. Within Provinces and the Empire as a whole, citizens respond positively to the formation of new Colonies, and they appreciate a cushion of Savings kept in the Empire’s bank account. Morale can also be improved by giving the civilian population more freedom, by increasing the population limits on a Planet or by opening a System to civilian-funded Colonization and Mining.
Increasing population limits may slowly erode the resources of a planet however, and opening Systems to civilian development may also have unforeseen consequences. Revenues from civilian-funded Colonies are lower than those established by the Empire, and civilians often suffer from poor risk assessment. They may choose to start a mining venture or a new Colony in a contested or lightly defended area, and find themselves attacked by raiders or enemies of your Empire, which can cause not only another drop in Morale, but Diplomatic problems as well.
Rebellion & Revolution[]
When Morale drops to 25% on a certain Planet, things can turn critical, and a rebellion may take place, turning that planet independent. Since different Planets in the same System often have similar issues, whole Systems may also go Independent at once. If every System in a single Province goes into Rebellion, it will spark a full-scale Revolution, which is a far more serious matter than any single Planet or System trying to throw off your rule.
During a Revolution, the entire Empire is thrown into turmoil. Two opposing factions will form, Loyalists and Rebels. Every Fleet in your Empire will be assigned to one of these two factions, based on the home world of its Admiral; if the Admiral was born on a Rebel world, the Fleet will serve the Rebels. The Player will control the Loyalist faction, and the Rebel faction will be AI-controlled. The Rebel faction will function in every way as an Independent empire, and will build its own ships, research technology, and form diplomatic alliances like any other AI-controlled empire in the game.
War between the Loyalist and Rebel factions in a Revolution will continue until the last Fleet of the Rebel is destroyed or surrenders. Only the development of the Ombudsapiens technology can mitigate the bloodshed of Revolution, by giving the entire Rebel faction a percentage chance of surrender after each military defeat. A player who has developed the technology to Occupy, Annex and Eclipse enemy factions may also find it easier to end the Revolution by demanding the surrender of rebel worlds, provinces, or the rebel empire as a whole.