History VideoGame / TheLastFederation

%%* LastOfHisKind: The player character.

* SpacePirates: They start to pop up as soon as species achieve spaceflight, when the species doesn't trust the hydral. They also periodically appear when the population becomes worried about population growth.
* StarfishAliens: The Obscura are particle-based lifeforms.

* TwoDSpace: Combat takes place in 2D-plane.

* VideoGameTime: Averted. No matter what the player does, the time goes on. Entering a combat means that the outside time will advance based on how long the combat took. On the other side of the coin, this means things take a while to happen, but the player is given numerous ways to burn solar months helping their plans along between big events instead of just waiting.

* WhosLaughingNow: When the Peltians declare war, they talk with glee about how it's ''their'' turn to be the aggressors. In fact, they are so cowardly that they won't attack unless they're absolutely sure the victory is imminent. Which means that if they ''do'' declare war, their enemy will get obliterated without your intervention.

* ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: One of the basic tools available to the player. Research (or steal technology from someone else), then gift it to someone else. You can also convince one species to give tech to someone else, which makes the races like each other better. In the early game the player can give spacefaring technology to a species, instantly propelling them to space age at the "cost" of allowing them a say in solar affairs.

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Very much averted -- all the alien races are essentially playing a FourX game with each other, and you can choose to simply sit back and watch the simulation play out.

* ARareSentence: The computer's reaction when the Peltians take over a planet.
-->'''Computer''': What did... You have to come to see this. Peltians just took over a planet. Looooooool.
* AGodIsYou: The game could probably be best summarized as a [[Series/BabylonFive Vorlon Simulator]].

* RapidFTLProliferation: The various planets will independently discover interplanetary space flight after some time. The player may accelerate this by visiting each planet, but the number of spy probes increases as more planets learn how to navigate space (although the impact is reduced reputation for whichever spy detects the ship.)

* RealTimeWithPause: The galaxy map works like this.

* SpacePirates: They start to pop up as soon as species achieve spaceflight.

** The [[StarfishAliens Obscura]] are always hostile to all other races, and, in Invasion Mode, they will do everything in their power to [[KillEmAll kill everyone.]]

* PlanetOfHats: Acutians are [[CorruptCorporateExecutive ultra-capitalist]], Andors are [[{{Utopia}} peaceful and good]], Boarines are [[TheHermit isolationist and solitary]], Burlust [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy will only consider war]], Evucks are [[CrazySurvivalist paranoid and amoral]], Peltians are [[NewAgeRetroHippie peaceful communists]] and [[JokeCharacter crap at ground combat]], Thoraxians are a HiveMind and [[ExtremeOmnivore will kill everyone if given a chance]] and Skylaxians are [[ProudScholarRaceGuy highly advanced]] [[TheSocialExpert diplomats]] with a CodeOfHonour.

* HydraProblem: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hydrals]] were giant four-headed snake-like aliens, although there's no evidence that the heads could grow back.

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch[=/=]TokenHeroicOrc: The player character was this to the (now extinct) Hydral race. Understandably, none of the other peoples of the galaxy particularly trust them at the beginning. ''Betrayed Hope'' [[AvertedTrope averts]] this by putting the player in a scenario where they have to conquer each of the other races and recreate the Hydral Empire.

* NonEntityGeneral: Inverted. The player entity pulls a lot of strings, but you're never on one faction's side any longer than a single battle. Thus, it's possible to get a race to do something even if they hate if, if you get another race they like to do the asking. The game calls this "backdooring".

* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Your flagship ''was'' the prototype model, and the Last Hydral completely wrecked the R&D facility while getting it. By the time you've installed some Hydral technology that only you can use, nobody else can reverse-engineer it, either.

* HiveMind: The Thoraxians.

** GeniusSweetTooth: Inverted. The Evucks, by contrast, can't stand it.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: About half the races are land-grabbing bastards; the other half, while not particularly evil, can get aggressive, territorial and sneaky - and don't forget that the player character is likely to resort to quite a bit of skulduggery and double-dealing to get their Federation going with a minimum of fuss.

* ButtMonkey: In-universe, the Peltians. They are always likened to animals ("weak, like animals"), have the weakest armies and can easily be intimidated. When you sell their people to slavery, you can gain ''positive'' influence on them because they become so scared of you. They are usually very easily wiped out if the player does not help them.
** A serious case of WhosLaughingNow when they research the unique upgrades that give them [[DeathFromAbove 125 times the orbital bombardment capability of any other race.]]

* ColonyDrop: The way the Acutians finished off the Hydrals. [[spoiler:The Last Hydral can also convince the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEOs]] to do it again on a race they hate enough, at the cost of the Acutians ending up [[EveryoneHasStandards hated by everyone else]].]]
--> '''Protip:''' watch the sky for any moons you don't recognize.

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Very much averted - all the alien races are essentially playing a FourX game with each other, and you can choose to simply sit back and watch the simulation play out.

You are the last Hydral. The Hydrals were the tyrants of the solar system by dint of achieving space flight before anyone else and shooting down everyone who tried to join them.. Their empire doesn't last: the Evucks dropped a DepopulationBomb, and the Acutians [[ColonyDrop attached rockets to a moon and crashed it into the Hydral homeworld, completely destroying it]]. The player, having broken with his people, was away from the homeworld and crash landed on one of the other populated worlds. Biding his time, the last Hydral waits in captivity until the species reaches spaceflight, at which point he steals their unique flagship and escapes.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Burlust. They declare a war at drop of a hat, even if they don't have realistic chances to win.
** The [[StarfishAliens Obscura]] are always hostile to all other races, and in Invasion Mode, they will do everything in their power to [[KillEmAll kill everyone.]]

* AbusivePrecursors: The Hydrals.

* [[AGodIsYou A]] SufficientlyAdvancedAlien [[AGodIsYou Is You]]: The game could probably be best summarized as a [[Series/BabylonFive Vorlon Simulator]].

* ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: One of the basic tools available to the player. Research (or steal technology from someone else), then gift it to someone else. You can also convince one species to give tech to someone else, which makes the races like each other better.
** In the early game the player can give spacefaring technology to a species, instantly propelling them to space age at the "cost" of allowing them a say in solar affairs.

* LastOfHisKind: The player character.
* LegionOfDoom: [[spoiler:If two or more races outside the Federation both have interplanetary empires and like each other, they can form the Solar Axis Pact, one of several potential rivals for the Federation.]]
** Also, the [[spoiler: Trifecta of Superiority]]

* LostTechnology: Hydral technology. Entire missions are about discovering weapons and abilities for your ship.
** The expansion of the same name adds Hydral techs to the tech tree, and gives the races unique abilities that unlock based on TIME rather than research.

* NoPlaceForMeThere: [[spoiler:Once the system is united, the player character sets his ship to leave the system]]

* PsychicPowers: Evucks ultimate weapon.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The Hydrals were [[HydraProblem four-headed snake-like aliens]]... and [[AbusivePrecursors jerks]] to the other races.
* SinisterGeometry: The Obscura's hat.

* TheAlliance: [[spoiler:The Burlusts, Acutians, and Boarines can form the Union of Independent States as an alternative to the Federation if the latter is growing too powerful too quickly.]] The Federation itself also has some shades of this, as it is very decentralized in practice.
* TheEmpire: [[spoiler:A race with overwhelming power may form the Fear Empire. Unfortunately the game's goal is to unite the solar system under a Federation, so letting these guys win is a game over.]] The Hydrals also ruled one before their planet blew up.
* TheFederation: Ultimate goal of the game. How peaceful it is depends on what species you can convince to join it and how you guided their development.
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Very much averted - all the alien races are essentially playing a FourX game with each other, and you can choose to simply sit back and watch the simulation play out.

* VideoGameCaringPotential / VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Oh, it's there. Player can either try to peacefully unite the entire system, or rescue a planet from an economic collapse... or do everything to make the said species hated by everyone, steal their technology, assist in attacking their homeworld and generally destroying their chance to live.

* WhosLaughingNow: When the Peltians declare war, they talk with glee about how it's ''their'' turn to be the aggressors.
** In fact, they are so cowardly that they won't attack unless they're absolutely sure the victory is imminent. Which means that if they ''do'' declare war, their enemy will get obliterated without your intervention.

* ColonyDrop: The way the Acutians finished off the Hydrals. [[spoiler:The Last Hydral can also convince the CEOs to do it again on a race they hate enough, at the cost of the Acutians ending up [[EveryoneHasStandards hated by everyone else]].]]

* ColonyDrop: "Protip: watch the sky for any moons you don't recognize." The way the Acutians finished off the Hydrals. The Last Hydral can also convince the CEOs to do it again on a race they hate enough.

* ColonyDrop: "Protip: watch the sky for any moons you don't recognize."

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Burlusts. They only respond to threats or bribes.

* StuffBlowingUp/SuicideAttack: What the Peltians are very good at. Their ground forces are the worst in the game and they can easily be beaten. The Peltians know this... and specialize in suicide attacks and orbital bombing to great effect.

You are the last Hydral. The Hydral were the tyrants of the solar system by dint of achieving space flight before anyone else and shooting down everyone who tried to join them.. Their empire doesn't last: one race dropped a DepopulationBomb, another race [[ColonyDrop attached rockets to a moon and crashed it into the Hydral homeworld]]. The player, having broken with his people, was away from the homeworld and crash landed on one of the other populated worlds. Biding his time, the last Hydral waits in captivity until the species reaches spaceflight, at which point he steals their unique flagship and escapes.

* HiveQueen: Thoraxian queen. You can assassinate her, at which point the Thoraxian planet will be thrown into chaos until a new queen rises. They replacement also hate your guts, making direct deals with them MUCH harder from then on.