Forbin Project (after the movie)

Aware computer software takes control of all microprosser controled electronics on planet. When this happens the player has three options;

Option 1 - Accept dictates of Computer Brain - 20% economic bonus, but computer brain makes production decisions on this planet.

Option 2 - Shut down Computer Brain.

50% successful, 50% Failure.

Failure causes death of 20% of populace and computer brain commands surviving populace to build defensive systems and conduct defensive research to protect the brain and its planet. Planet is now an independent minor power with incredible intelligence that does not trade with other civilizations and has +50% Resistance to Espionage attempts due to planet wide in-home computer surveillance of populace. Planet gains +20% defensive bonus against invasion as computer controls all infrastructure (imagine cars & trucks that attack, planes that make suicide runs at troop concentrations, dams that open flood gates, etc) and children are educated to obey the Computer Brain. Planet is not affected by influence of other races as brain controls all communications.

Option 3 - Craftly attempt to deactivate computer brain. 5% Per Turn to Successfuly turn-off computer brain. Until you are succeful you gain economic bonus but computer brain controls production. Once brain is turned off you lose economic bonus but regain control of production.

Here's one that 's realistic and can be confined to one or two planets at a time-

catastrophic space debris:
Enough debris accumulates in orbit around a planet from years of sattelite launches, communications, weapons, etc. that they collide with junk, tiny bits of debris, around the planet. This creates a chain reaction, where one sattelite shatters into a thousand pieces, and those thousand hit another dozen sattelites, which shatter themslves, and so on, until there is a cloud of debris around the planet. Sattelite communications are halted, space launches (inc. freighters for cargo, supplies, and ship deployment) are halted. Need to wait until envronmental cleanup can clear up the debris cloud from the orbit. Penalities include no export or import of materials from planet, a drop in communication, and lost production due to disruptin of the communication.

Here's one that 's realistic and can be confined to one or two planets at a time-

catastrophic space debris:
Enough debris accumulates in orbit around a planet from years of sattelite launches, communications, weapons, etc. that they collide with junk, tiny bits of debris, around the planet. This creates a chain reaction, where one sattelite shatters into a thousand pieces, and those thousand hit another dozen sattelites, which shatter themslves, and so on, until there is a cloud of debris around the planet. Sattelite communications are halted, space launches (inc. freighters for cargo, supplies, and ship deployment) are halted. Need to wait until envronmental cleanup can clear up the debris cloud from the orbit. Penalities include no export or import of materials from planet, a drop in communication, and lost production due to disruptin of the communication.

POST 4 Squared
Small galaxy or planet president strangled in controvercy when mistress and wife file joint morality suit against him. Public confedince plummets when they see just how ugly both the mistress and wife are.

Transdimensional Invasion: affects all empires, they form an alliance against an invader from another dimension. The invaders are beaten, but at some cost and gain: Universal boom of research (everybody tries to find better weapons, ships etc) all races gain instanly current research project), Planet resources and capital reduced by 25%, Planets unrest level reduced to zero (everybody wants to fight the invaders),20% of all ships lost in combat, 5% of populated worlds destroyed by invaders (but can be colonised again.

For Better or for Worse: dice roll for all empires in the same turn: If you win you get current Research Project instantly, if you loose you loose one researched project. Or: If you win empire money +50 %, if you loose - 50%. Or: if you win Unrest level drops 50%, if you loose +50%. Etc.

Serendipity: Scientists "stumble" upon the solution for the advance before expected.

Holy Grail: The Water of Life has been found: Do you want to use it, Yes or No?

Evil empires accept: All Warships get first strike against empires at war but at the cost of 5% of the ships:
If declined: All warships damaged 10% but one war ends immediately.

Neutral Empires accept: Cultural influence rises 10%, research drops 10%.
If declined: Unrest level + 10%, Trade Income +10%.

Good Empires accept: population + 10%, Unrest Level +10%
If declined: population - 10%, research +10%

As you can read in my posts, I like Random Events to be going two ways: you can loose something or gain something.

Alternative for Space Monsters: Dice Roll: You win, a Space Monster transforms in One Very Strong Ship, if you loose it eats one of your planets (but this planet can be clonised again)

What about discovery of some ancient "missing fleet" that doesn't know the war is over...

TALKATIVE ADMINISTRATOR

The administrator in charge of development on one of your planets spends all his time speaking to common folk on Planetary Discussion Net. Public morale goes up 10%, but the item currently being built is delayed by five turns.

From what I read about the game's events, they are supposed to be non-Empire-specific (i.e. affect everybody), and non-game-changing (initially, but with potential to grow).

(I also note that most of the ideas above are *bad* events... very few people sugested beneficial events!)

In that vein, I offer:

Dark Matter Cloud: A cloud of Dark Matter is moving through the galaxy, one sector at a time. Scientists discover that it is a form of "anti-information"... All planets in sectors it occupies lose all research contributions (electronic information lost), and suffer population loss (biologic informatino lost). However, scientists elsewhere can research new Information Theory techs to (a) prevent loss, and then (b) eliminate the Cloud. (B) is not required, as an empire could simply protect its own systems and let teh cloud move on its way....


Extragalactic Comet: A rogue planetary body has been sighted entering the galaxy. It moves each turn through the galaxy at basic hyperdrive speed... a curiosity! Is the rogue a natural phenomenon or artificial? Empires can send Survey ships to investigate it (minor research benefits), or even land a colony upon it (major research benefits - but colony lost when it exits the galaxy). Evil empires receive a Weapons-tech bonus (accelerating mass to hyperdrive speed), Neutral empires receive a Hyperdrive-tech bonus (new drive theories), and Good empires receive a general tech bonus and minor influence bonus (research and public relations benefits).

Intergalactic spam, malign companies flood your empire with spam causing all acumulated research points on the tech your researching to be negated. As your society tries to purge itself of this unholy blight for 5 turns your economy/production suffers 5-20% (:(

Planetary rogue, one of the smaller planets, a nearby starbase and whatever ships may orbit it under your control is catapulted out of its system to one several sectors away. penalty to morale\happiness\economy\production but planet is culturally unconquerable for a moderate duration, enjoys a temporary defensive boost and gives you a new base of operations far away from your home systems.

Planetary impotence. (:( The men of a given planet have suffered a fate worse than death. A plague of impotence has ravaged the men of >planet nameplanet name<

planetary impotence. (:( The men of a given planet have suffered a fate worse than death. A plague of impotence has ravaged the men of (planet name) until the plague is cured: 95% penalty to population growth as well as 65% penalty to morale/production. choices are:
Good-This is the 23 century d!@#$t! Send in the Viagra until a cure can be found.
Neutral-Send in a few medical ships to assist in the situation.
Evil-Immedietly transport all women off that horrid world! Forget about those poor b@#$%^&s on (planet name). I dont think the first one posted because of the swearing.

OK here is one. . .

SPACE FROGS - Killer Space frogs invade a planet and threaten to destroy all life on that planet as it is known. There is no way to stop this massive horde from their intended course as the planet sees it.

Then out of the far reaches of space comes a Hero who is the Developer of the only known answer to this massive problem. . .it is . . .

Frogboy Yes, Frogboy the Super Hero!

He fearlessly removes the Space Frogs from this planet and is then hailed as the only one to be able to save the people from such a terrible fate.

They erect a statue of this champion in the middle of each large city on the planet and the population growth increases, Food production increases, manufacturing doubles and the overall happiness of the planet goes to 100%. This lasts throughout the rest of the game or until the planet is attacked by an outside entity. Which then ahs the normal effect on the planet like any other one in the game.

OK, Now How in the world can this one not be out into the game!!!

Toothy

EDIT: To Above

Which then has the normal effect on the planet like any other planet that is attacked in the game.

OK, Now How in the world can this one not be put into the game!!!

REFUGEES :

this event should be more likely to happen when another (mighty empire) attacks a weak nation. Then there are a lot of refugees wanting to become citizens of your empire.

Since I'm not a beta-tester, I don't know exactly how you represent it but to accept them would

1) increase your population

2) if you're GOOD it should :

2a) make your country momentarily politically less stable, make the populist party more popular (populists don't like refugees) and so on...
2b) after a while (not immediately) it should boost your culture, to represent the fact that once the strangers integrated to your society, it's culturally more rich.
2c) in the meanwhile it should have an economic cost - you have to feed the refugees.
2d) it should give you sustainable cultural influence/sympathy from the refugees's original nation.

3) if you're Evil, you can use the refugees as slaves...

Just my 2 cents... I think this kind of events can be interesting.

finally, there's no reason REFUGEES should happen only in the case of a mighty empire attacking a weak nation.

In fact that should depend of the cultural strength of the civ being suffering from the war. If it's culturally weak, it should emit a lot of refugees.

Note that the same could happen to YOU ! If you've got a weak culture and your citizens are suffering, they might want to flee !

I don't know how minor races should be handled in this respect. I don't know the game well enough.

Space Cloak Rabbits, on a newly estasblished colony you find a small mammal very similar to the bunny rabbit, only with chamelion like blending ability. scientists believe it to be highly nutricious and easier to find if hybridized with regular earth rabbits do you:
Good-No we're good, no need to eat em. Or change em, if people want a color changing pet however... moral bonus
Neutral-hybridize some, if people want to eat em its their choice- slight reproduction bonus
Evil-Round them all up! Hybridize them all! Ship rotisserie ovens! Instill the fear of the empire into their cute little noses! huge reproduction bonus

Galactic Bestseller\Blockbuster- some talented soul in your empire has created a work of art so powerfull, so beautifull it transcends race and touches every being in the galaxy. Big cash bonus, temporary influence boost, temporary morale boost.

Free colony ship: A colony ship once thought to be lost suddenly reappears over your homeworld with its population, crew and cargo unchanged. blame it on some anomoly.

Mirror, Mirror
================

A strange discovery in a remote quadrant releases an unknown energy force throughout the galaxy SWITCHING the alignments of all races!

Research must be done on the object to reverse the event. But perhaps some races inhibit research? Things are fine just the way they are!

Artificial "north star" im not sure if this is a random event or something to be researched and constructed but: Your race creates or stumbles upon a device that acts as a huge bright beacon, in space and in the night sky of every planet in the galaxy it can be clearly seen. Comforting omnipresent reminder of the empire improves morale, cultural standing and boosts influence.
by the way i remember reading something here about a beacon, if im copying any ideas from anyone (albeit unknowingly) sorry.