Ethical dilemmas a trivial matter?

So I'm one of the only 2 civs left on a huge map in 2232 owning 20 some odd planets and I start getting bombarded with all these ethical dilemmas which I didn't see for the first few years at all, but now getting several a year. I've got over 300,000 billion citizens and getting like 3,000 BC a week in surplus and I get to make decisions on how to deal with say a plague for example that threatens to kill off up to 100 million people if I don't spend like 150 BC to cure it. Alternatively I can sell the fluid in the boils that people develop (which was an incredibly funny choice btw) for a massive 240 BC.

From a utilitarian perspective, I'm not given a reason to care. Basically you just pick the alignment that you want to align yourself with and turn to more pressing matters. The whole thing would be far more interesting if the choices really had some greater impact. The temptation to do something evil or the a great cost of doing the right thing in a situation are completely lost when the events are so insignificant.

I'm sure most people would be upset if they got a random dilemma that forced them to do something evil to save their civilization and that it's hard to choose what a good scale is for a potential disaster simply based on what turn it is into a game, but if they are going to present you with what seems like more and more of these as time passes, couldn't they scale a bit more? Maybe they could be a random percentage (within limits) of your total population / weath / etc instead of just a number (which I assume they are based on consistently low figures like this) In this way you wouldn't be confronted with meaningless choices, well at least not all the time. I mean if I were really in charge of 1/2 the galaxy, I'm not even sure if this event would even be brought to my notice.

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By now you REALLY should have xeno ethics, and the lovely bonuses it affords. The dilemnas are for begin game.

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Somehow I didn't get many random events in the earlier part of the game. I got the choices later on, like Metaphase. I have no idea if it is an anomaly or if it is somehow linked to the way I play or something.

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Xeno ethics you say... so once you research that the random ethical events don't appear anymore? I guess if that's the case it wouldn't be necessary to take it too far...

I haven't researched that before, looked like mainly diplomatic / cultural bonuses while I've been focusing on economy production and science and ending with conquest victory. This is only my second non campaign game, I guess I tend to forget I'm a GC2 n00b when I'm already beating bright with brute force and no allies. It just feels so much like MOO2 and Civ that I felt right at home. (^ ^ ; )

I actually could have won the game many years ago, but it's too early for me to end it, I'm still experimenting with the weapon techs and seeing what all the tech trees offer since they don't say much about what the improvements actually do. I know I could look it up somewhere, but it's more fun for me to discover them in game so it feels more like... well... a discovery. Just gaining levels on my fleets by killing the fodder they produce for me while I get to death ray and max out my 20+ starbases... I was planning on designing my end game ships, building / upgrading to them and giving my last enemy the entire galaxy save 1 planet, then taking it back again, but I guess I'll end it and start a new one based on the knowledge I've gained... Dominating isn't as fun as it seems, the challenging rush to get to the top and dethrone whoever is there currently is.

I was actually planning on using diplomacy and culture this time, but the Terrans expanded practically on top of me, and we raced system to system side-by-side during the colonization period, with almost all our systems shared, they didn't like me much and declared war on me out of the blue, so I militarized and made all the shared systems whole. They brought it on themselves, but I guess they were even more mifted at me like I was at them since I got most of the good planets in all the systems

Uh, what was the original topic again? Oh yeah... lost track there for a bit...

I guess increasing incidents were trying to tell me it was time to choose an alignment. I don't recall seeing any of the AI's having done that though when I was looking at espionage... though I was mainly looking for weapon techs.

*edited for a smiley face that I didn't want

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Yup, xeno ethics stops the choices. If you choose evil, allows you to extort money from trade, free evil tourism, free planetary invasions, secret police projects, and VERY powerful weapons only evil may get (but not as good as doom ray, which rocks). Neutral gives a +1 advantage in invasions, neutrality learning centers (the most powerful research center), more trade routes (money) more tourism from neutrals, free terraforming, happier people. While you are good, people like you more, VERY powerful defences, good tourism, more likely to surrender to you, loyal people.

As for weapons techs, just go up laser. You've seen those nice purple beams the DL shoot at you? Doom ray. Great fun.

Oh, and if you give away all planets but one, the planet will be lost in a culture takeover. Game over.

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