An organic Ravenous Hive/Devouring Swarm just told my machine empire (of Determined Exterminators) that they were going to eat us. o.O

[spacefiddle]

......that says it all really

I think there could be a lot more interesting interactions between meetings like two devouring swarms.... devouring swarms meets an assimilator.... etc

I DO like how there's already some of this in the game, like the odd time I meet another D.E. they immediately want to be BFFs, but.... if nothing else.... this specific Ravenous Hive interaction needs some new copy written, harhar. It's a little silly for Edgy McNomLord to give me his seriousface doom speech about "we smell prey" and I'm like "nah man that's just the machine oil" and I don't think we're made of the right kind of "minerals" for organic consumption.....

 

[HFY]

On the one hand, it would be cool if a Devouring Swarm could cyborg-enhance its drones to the point that they CAN eat alloys.

But right now, yeah, that sounds like some bad dialog.

 

[Exasperation]

purge_processing = {
    token = purge_processing
    pop_escape_chance = 0.20
    pop_decline_rate = 50 # 1 pop per 2 months, overrides BASE_POP_DECLINE, will only work on purge types
    
    pop_modifier = {
        pop_happiness = -10
    }

    potential = {
        host_has_dlc = "Utopia"
        exists = from
        from = { NOT = { has_authority = auth_machine_intelligence } }
    }
    
    allow = {
        hidden_trigger = { exists = from }
        custom_tooltip = {
            fail_text = CAN_NOT_EAT_MACHINES
            OR = {
                NOR = {
                    has_trait = trait_mechanical
                    has_trait = trait_machine_unit
                }
                from = { has_valid_civic = civic_hive_devouring_swarm }
                # devouring swarms can CRONCH. in edge cases.
            }
        }
        custom_tooltip = {
            fail_text = "lonely_hive_mind_pops_kill_themselves_purge_type"
            is_lonely_hive_mind_pop = no
        }
        custom_tooltip = {
            fail_text = PURGES_ALLOWED
            from = {
                OR = {
                    has_ethic = ethic_gestalt_consciousness
                    has_valid_civic = civic_fanatic_purifiers
                    has_policy_flag = purge_allowed
                    # AND = { #species rights are disabled for presapients
                    #     has_policy_flag = pre_sapients_eat
                    #     prev = {
                    #         is_sapient = no
                    #     }
                    # }
                }
            }
        }
    }
    ai_will_do = {
        factor = 50
        modifier = {
            factor = 0
            NOR = {
                has_trait = trait_delicious
                from = { has_valid_civic = civic_hive_devouring_swarm }
                AND = {
                    is_sapient = no
                    from = {
                        has_policy_flag = pre_sapients_eat
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 0
            from = {
                has_valid_ai_personality = yes
                NOR = {
                    has_ai_personality_behaviour = purger
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

From the species rights definitions. Note the comment that says "devouring swarms can CRONCH. in edge cases."; that's talking about eating robots.

 

[spacefiddle]

Well yes, I know they can currently do it, obviously. I don't need to look in the code to see what's already going on in the game ;P. My point is that it's silly.
But even leaving out the mechanic, I'm talking about the text being the exact same as if it was talking to squishy organics, which is even sillier. If it's going to make an exception to logic for itself in order to keep game mechanics smooth, it should have its own specific text that addresses the edge case, and not only SHOULD it, but stuff like this is always a great opportunity to have the result be something more interesting / unexpected / funny.

Also,

fail_text = "lonely_hive_mind_pops_kill_themselves_purge_type"

...awwwwww

 

[Ninjamestari]

Hmm, it makes sense that lithoids would also be inedible for normal swarms.

 

[spacefiddle]

Hmm, it makes sense that lithoids would also be inedible for normal swarms.

Oooo... good point... but, as with Machine Empires, if they decided to simplify it and ignore the whole "lack of nutrients" thing, they should at LEAST have some specific, explanatory, or amusing dialogue for these logically-invalid reactions.

Because since you don't know, when playing and it happens for the first time, that there's a comment in the code saying "eh let's just fudge it," the result will be that it seems incorrect or broken when it's seen for the first time. While most players may not be able to peek at the source code and see it's intentional, they ARE aware that most organic creatures can't eat metal or rocks

 

[Ninjamestari]

Perhaps machines and lithoids could be used for their components and raw materials, giving you minerals and alloys instead of food.

 

[Exasperation]

Perhaps machines and lithoids could be used for their components and raw materials, giving you minerals and alloys instead of food.

They already do that.

 

[Ninjamestari]

They already do that.

Really? Neat.

 

[spacefiddle]

Really? Neat.

Yup, and as a Machine Empire Determined Exterminator, purging organic pops gives you energy. Which I think is half "what's left in the mechanics that would remotely make sense?" and half Matrix reference.

 

[Exasperation]

Yup, and as a Machine Empire Determined Exterminator, purging organic pops gives you energy. Which I think is half "what's left in the mechanics that would remotely make sense?" and half Matrix reference.

That's not the Matrix reference, the Matrix reference is the Grid Amalgamation slavery type. The flavor text is even "Combined with a form of fusion, we have found all the energy we will ever need.", which is straight out of the movie.

 

[spacefiddle]

That's not the Matrix reference, the Matrix reference is the Grid Amalgamation slavery type. The flavor text is even "Combined with a form of fusion, we have found all the energy we will ever need.", which is straight out of the movie.

"The" Matrix reference...? I'm sorry have you met Paradox Studios? You think they limit themselves to one reference per source?

Edit: speaking of references- the Juggernaut is a sideways Mothership, prove me wrong

 

[HFY]

Edit: speaking of references- the Juggernaut is a sideways Mothership, prove me wrong

Definitely explains the prominent juggs.

Er rather I mean it explains why the Juggernaut gives birth to smaller ships.

 

[Exasperation]

"The" Matrix reference...? I'm sorry have you met Paradox Studios? You think they limit themselves to one reference per source?

Edit: speaking of references- the Juggernaut is a sideways Mothership, prove me wrong

Regardless of any other Matrix references that may be present, the Chemical Processing purge type isn't one, since the Matrix robots didn't use a method like that; instead they used a combination of the Grid Amalgamation and Livestock slavery types (processing dead humans into nutrient slurry to feed the living ones).

 

[spacefiddle]

Regardless of any other Matrix references that may be present, the Chemical Processing purge type isn't one, since the Matrix robots didn't use a method like that; instead they used a combination of the Grid Amalgamation and Livestock slavery types (processing dead humans into nutrient slurry to feed the living ones).

The essential point is that humans are in no way an efficient source of energy, so turning humans into energy instantly reminded me of that silly plot assertion in Matrix.

So there

Also I don'r recall any plot point about them feeding humans with dead humans, which makes that movie even worse if true.... Soylent Green and other tropes aside, humans cannot safely or healthily consume humans for very long.

 

[Lazy Name]

Soylent Green and other tropes aside, humans cannot safely or healthily consume humans for very long.

Isn't it fine as long as you cook it to avoid disease and don't consume the brain? Probably not very nutritionally balanced, but it shouldn't be that much worse then other animals.

 

[spacefiddle]

Isn't it fine as long as you cook it to avoid disease and don't consume the brain? Probably not very nutritionally balanced, but it shouldn't be that much worse then other animals.

Oh hmm. IIRC the problem is something to do with encephalophy - I probably mangled the spelling - so maybe?
of course if the Matrix AIs are just throwing dead humans in a blender, then they have not avoided the problem lol. I suppose they could simply decapitate them first, but then what's a modern on-the-go AI to do with a collection of millions of human heads...?

 

[Exasperation]

It wasn't really a plot point, they just mentioned it once when they were describing how the humans as power plants bit was supposed to work (I say "supposed to" because you're right that the physics of extracting energy from people just don't work out; the machines would have been far better off from a net energy perspective letting humans die off and shutting down all the machinery they were using to keep the humans alive and pacified).

 

[HFY]

It wasn't really a plot point, they just mentioned it once when they were describing how the humans as power plants bit was supposed to work (I say "supposed to" because you're right that the physics of extracting energy from people just don't work out; the machines would have been far better off from a net energy perspective letting humans die off and shutting down all the machinery they were using to keep the humans alive and pacified).

Ironically the way you get more power from dreaming human pods is if there's a bio-only psychic magic power source they're tapping into.

The Matrix only works if it's a retro-causal Stellaris reference.