The Mediterranean Syndicate's True Motive Thread - Red Alert 3 Paradox mod for C&C: Red Alert 3

What part do they play in the world especially in the campaign?

By skimming their info on their page on the wiki, it seems all they do is to strive to just make a profit and go to war just to get more people hooked on drugs and make more money via security, but that seems pretty boring doesn't it? Why not expand the part of Romulus(smart name for founder of the company) or have some bloke conveniently named Caesar or Augustus and his sudden emergence into the company as a junior executive and his desire to gain power(using you as his accomplice and 'company partner') to unite the fracturing and slowly splintering Syndicate(bound to have endless corruption) to turn it into a global political power and essentially revive and recreate what is like a Modern Roman Empire, while at the same time achieve the Syndicate's main objective of being the world protector and arms supplier.

The only time the Italians or Romans were ever superpowers in games is a classical/medieval game about the Romans or Empire Earth(in some form).

What do you think? or is the plan and lore of the Syndicate set in stone?

I quite disagree; I think there's no better reason for an evil megacorporation to exist than to make money and gain power. Any other goal would make them seem less evil.

I would think that most campaign missions would either be ways to make money or protecting interests. For example, starting a revolt in Hawaii against Japanese rule (selling them arms, bombs, ect) and give it to the Confederate Revolutionaries for "Good Will" (after it is completly under their control, like they did with Greece in WWIII).

PsychoticLoner wrote: I quite disagree; I think there's no better reason for an evil megacorporation to exist than to make money and gain power. Any other goal would make them seem less evil.

realistically, a whole evil coalition will crumble if they really are EVIL each of them would want to be the sole dominating company and each of them would simply not follow any rules set in place and will constantly backstab each other and eventually crumble into a civil war. They would also murder and torture other executives from other companies just for the lulz and maybe even practice cannibalism just for the status.

Just by protecting their interests and assets in an area does not make them evil, but simply 'just for the money' like all modern day companies do(exploitation of workers, tax avoidances and etc) in my view they are more morally grey than pure evil or just evil.

But that's just my opinion. Maybe it would be like what Protoid said, maybe during the beginning that you help protect assets and serve their interests. But eventually doing that for the whole campaign would make it very short and boring.

you are much wronger then you can expect to be.

besides, they wouldn't backstab each other like you said. why? because they backstab each other in an organized way.

to put it plain simply. The lack of rules in a Sprawl creates rules.

Edited by: GearsGoAwryMan

GearsGoAwryMan wrote: you are much wronger then you can expect to be.

besides, they wouldn't backstab each other like you said. why? because they backstab each other in an organized way.

to put it plain simply. The lack of rules in a Sprawl creates rules.

"besides, they wouldn't backstab each other like you said. why? because they backstab each other in an organized way."

a backstab is a backstab is a backstab.

and I think you probably meant "The lack of laws in a Sprawl creates rules" and rules means that no one is obliged to follow it except through a person's own values, and if they are evil or even, simply just bad they would break it.

in all honesty, they don't seem very evil to me at all. Maybe they just don't fit my definition of evil or power hungry. Making money and grabbing more business is normal except in the real world they don't use guns.

IFork wrote:

and I think you probably meant "The lack of laws in a Sprawl creates rules" and rules means that no one is obliged to follow it except through a person's own values, and if they are evil or even, simply just bad they would break it.

unfortunatyl, that's the point, if you break those "Unofficial" rules, you're as good as dead. the syndicate itself won't even have to intervene to get you dead. the other dudes in the sprawl will do it for them.

and yes, maybe they aren't evil in your view. but would you rebuild your granny into a muderization bot for the profit you could get out of outsourcing her?

oh, and organized backstab has an advantage over normal. the higher lead can plan it beforehand, and consequentally can guide everything.

Edited by: GearsGoAwryMan

Not when you help an upcoming ambitious executive to slowly undermine them and gain support and money (: and then you crush them and gain absolute power.

"and yes, maybe they aren't evil in your view. but would you rebuild your granny into a muderization bot for the profit you could get out of outsourcing her?"

What has selling my granny got to do with the Syndicate?

I would reply but no one would like it, but I have many reasons which are of no concern to you.

and you don't need to guide anyone when they're dead.

As PL put it,Syndicate is supposed to be a mega-corporation and as with any mega-corporations,they seek more money and power. It is the details which will uncover everything about them but the campaign is quite far off seeing as how Paradox Team doesn't get the help it deserves.

I think the Syndicate is always trying to expand their sphere of influence- more markets, more sprawls...they are kind of trying to take over the world with money I think.

(Like the Empire.)

Mostly they are just greedy and completely unethical, though.

Edited by: Galgus

IFork wrote:
in all honesty, they don't seem very evil to me at all. Maybe they just don't fit my definition of evil or power hungry. Making money and grabbing more business is normal except in the real world they don't use guns.

There's more difference than that. In the real world they follow the law, and basic human morality. Slander a real corporation, and they'll sue you. Slander the MS, and a psychotic man will later vivisect you with mono-molecular wires.

or just take you so they can make you into one.

I nearly ranted off about rl corporate immorality but I stopped myself in time. RL companies cannot be compared to ones in RA3 as they saying goes, "fair trade is not a crime".

Only problem is, the Syndicate is not a single major company but rather a collection of independent companies that joined in a consensus to form a single large company through a partnership and obviously, since the Syndicate grew each of them would be thinking of being the HEAD of the company, the top dog, the ones that gets all the power and money. They would obviously want to topple 'Romulus' since he's the one that is currently overseeing the whole company, so obviously I'd like to see civil discord among the companies in the campaign (around the late point of the campaign when the Syndicate is at the height of its power) to a point where they will collapse and each company will try to vie for the political/corporate vacuum that has occurred to form a singular stable mega corp.

I could see that happen. It makes sense in regard to Corporate/Syndicate politicking, and it doesn't depend on the "Roman" imagry.

It still does in some ways,if it can't happen I'd just like to see the Syndicate fall into a civil war.

I just think Romulus is so mysterious, intimidating, and lethal if you mess with him that few would dare try to overthrow him.

Edited by: Galgus

Besides, he's good for business. He gives the Syndicate direction, keeps them on tasks that strengthen the whole. When he indicates he'd like to see X country explioted or Y law overturned, companies will be more willing to invest in doing so knowin they'll be backed up by others.

IFork wrote: It still does in some ways,if it can't happen I'd just like to see the Syndicate fall into a civil war.

That's like having the manager of a company make a coup against a ceo, the syndicate would fall apart, even if they are evil, they are smart, and would not hurt themselves, thereby losing money.

They know that to survive, they can't throw away anyone useful.

And why would the henchmen care if the syndicate fall apart? If they make money on it...

g.a wrote:

IFork wrote: It still does in some ways,if it can't happen I'd just like to see the Syndicate fall into a civil war.

That's like having the manager of a company make a coup against a ceo, the syndicate would fall apart, even if they are evil, they are smart, and would not hurt themselves, thereby losing money.

They know that to survive, they can't throw away anyone useful.

They are separate individual companies united by one guy(remember even if you are 'evil' everyone has their own motives and will) as Sketch pointed out and at some point (at their height of the power at near the end) someone is going to try to assassinate Romulus (Et, tu Brute?) so that he wouldn't be the center of power and all the money(for the sake of personal gain) but eventually things will start to get sour before the finale to reunite and stabilize the company and become the sole power of the world.

Edited by: IFork

Ya, the syndicate isn't really the dudes that care about the prisoners dilemma, they always do what's best for the invidual

Actually, they have all sorts of reasons to care about the prisoners dilemma, they just solve it differently. The Allies encourage cooperation by rewarding it; in the Syndicate, the corperations let Romulus punish people who defect and hurt the whole. It's like, why do criminals let mob bosses boss them around? Because the mob boss will enforce cooperation and prevent you from getting stabbed in the back. Similar deal here.

yus, as long as Romulus are still there, one can imagine what would happend if he got sick...

open_sketchbook wrote: Actually, they have all sorts of reasons to care about the prisoners dilemma, they just solve it differently. The Allies encourage cooperation by rewarding it; in the Syndicate, the corperations let Romulus punish people who defect and hurt the whole. It's like, why do criminals let mob bosses boss them around? Because the mob boss will enforce cooperation and prevent you from getting stabbed in the back. Similar deal here.

except the mob boss is just a boss of several different mobs with different ideals and motivations with their own bosses. It's like having someone unite the Corleons, Tattaglia, Barzini and Stracci under one guy.

Edited by: IFork

If there was a coup in the syndicate, it would fall apart in a day, the fact that they have a leader creates basic rules and a basic government, without romulus there is nothing stopping everyone from murdering each other within the companies, which again, would make them lose money, no one cares for power in the syndicate, only money, if it was the other way around, the story would be different.