Feudalism

Feudalism is one of the available governments in Master of Orion II.

In race creation, feudalism is considered a negative trait and gives an additional 4 race picks.

Background
A feudal government structure rests on the inherited titles and holdings of an elite class, somewhat as in medieval Europe. An emperor keeps the throne of a feudal government by balancing and subtly encouraging the rivalries between the more powerful members of this class. There is little loyalty to the central government, and local barons are always on the lookout for personal gain.

Effects

 * -20% morale penalty on colonies without marine barracks or armor barracks (the population needs to be kept in line).
 * 8 turns to assimilate a unit of population in conquered colonies.
 * Your own colonies assimilate instantly.
 * -33% to ship production costs due to the warlike nature of the government.
 * -50% penalty to research.
 * Losing your capitol means your entire domain is thrown into chaos and all colonies receive -50% morale until a new capitol is built.

Advanced government
Upon unlocking the advanced government technology, a feudal empire becomes a Confederation:


 * 4 turns to assimilate conquered population units.
 * -66% to ship production costs.
 * Your population takes 4 turns to assimilate per unit.

Strategy

 * Feudalism is a difficult choice for a beginner, as the penalty to research hamstrings your race in this area. For custom races, offsetting the problem with the Creative racial trait is an option.
 * By extension, you will have to step up your espionage and military efforts. The discount for ship production, particularly under a Confederation, means that you can try to outproduce your opponents and bury them in extreme numbers of ships.