Locust race trait idea

[Melendor]

I read some people suggesting new mechanics for races. They would change drastically the gameplay. I found ideas about robots, hive and stone races. I am bringing the locust trait idea.


The concept:

Your race would completely consume the resources of the planets, leaving it useless after some time (toxic, frozen, molten of barren, you could choose when creating the race). Your population would be obliged to found a new home (and consume it).


Making it balance is not easy, let’s try:

• Locusts people produce a Consume Point every month. A planet would be consumed after Size x 120 of Consume Points are produced on it. So a full occupied planet would collapse after 10 years.
  
  
• Locusts wouldn’t have Spaceports. There would be a Mothership instead. MS could be build from planets and there would be one MS per planet, just like Spaceports.
  
  
• Once the planet is consumed the population would be transfer to the MS. They will be sleeping, so they will not produce anything or consume food. They can be resettled.
  
  
• During the collapse of the planet 75% (?) of the costs of the buildings will be returned.
  
  
• A MS with population inside would work just like a colony ship. After it colonizes a planet all the population inside would be transfer to it. If there are more population than space, the rest of the people will be stay sleeping, waiting a resettle.
  
  
• The locusts would have a production bonus (in order to compensate the time wasted with travels), maybe 20% (?).
  
  
• The locusts would have a reduction with resettle cost.
  
  
• The Mothership should be stronger than the spaceport.
  
  
• Maybe the locust would need a Habitability bonus.

Well, here are my reverie. Do you like the concept? Any suggestion to the mechanic?

 

[The Danish King]

Would be really hard to balance, but I like the idea in general. Maybe not leave the planets they occupy "barren", so noone would ever live there again (too much of a game changer and EVERYONE would try to attack your locust race).

Maybe just give it a hefty modifier if someone wants to colonize a planet you have consumed (say 2000 energy and 2000 minerals to restore it to it's original biosphere).

 

[Zulfurlubak]

I love the idea and I was thinking about something similar, like zerg/tyranids style gameplay.
In fact, I would like to see playable races with completely different gameplay.
Like, instead of having minerals and energy you have only one resource - biomass. You get more biomass from continental/gaia/ocean/tropical worlds and less from the rest ,assuming the fact that there is less organic life on those planets. You could regulate the amounts of biomass harvested from each planet tile. When set to low, tile itself and any pop living on it are kept alive for infinite amount of time (or even regenerate slowly), setting it to medium would consume the pop in 10 years (for example) and tile would turn into barren and unworkable, setting to high would make the pop and the tile expire even faster, in 2 years, but would produce even higher amounts of biomass per month. And you could use this biomass to produce your organic ships, armies and temporary upgrades on planet tiles.

 

[Exarian]

No way! This game is for federation-loving "tall" democracies only

 

[laptor]

I saw that mechanic in Endless Space. Unique mechanics could be a nice addition to the game!

 

[Wickershamfollower]

wouldn't it be increasingly difficult to gain science and minerals as the game goes forward? Your borders wouldn't change but everyone else's would continuesly become larger until you have no other planets to settle on. Nice idea though.

 

[Melendor]

Maybe it would be necessary build some (3-5?) buildings at the same time.

For sure the locusts could always conquer, purge and consume.

 

[Cannes]

wouldn't it be increasingly difficult to gain science and minerals as the game goes forward? Your borders wouldn't change but everyone else's would continuesly become larger until you have no other planets to settle on. Nice idea though.

There would of course be an internal progression and growth. So that more and more motherships and other capabilities would be built up over time.

 

[Trithemius]

The Cravers called and want their Locust Points back!

I think trashing planets permanently would make some of the vics too easy. One can already do this with the Swarm!

 

[Radically Right Wing]

I read some people suggesting new mechanics for races. They would change drastically the gameplay. I found ideas about robots, hive and stone races. I am bringing the locust trait idea.


The concept:

Your race would completely consume the resources of the planets, leaving it useless after some time (toxic, frozen, molten of barren, you could choose when creating the race). Your population would be obliged to found a new home (and consume it).


Making it balance is not easy, let’s try:

• Locusts people produce a Consume Point every month. A planet would be consumed after Size x 120 of Consume Points are produced on it. So a full occupied planet would collapse after 10 years.
  
  
• Locusts wouldn’t have Spaceports. There would be a Mothership instead. MS could be build from planets and there would be one MS per planet, just like Spaceports.
  
  
• Once the planet is consumed the population would be transfer to the MS. They will be sleeping, so they will not produce anything or consume food. They can be resettled.
  
  
• During the collapse of the planet 75% (?) of the costs of the buildings will be returned.
  
  
• A MS with population inside would work just like a colony ship. After it colonizes a planet all the population inside would be transfer to it. If there are more population than space, the rest of the people will be stay sleeping, waiting a resettle.
  
  
• The locusts would have a production bonus (in order to compensate the time wasted with travels), maybe 20% (?).
  
  
• The locusts would have a reduction with resettle cost.
  
  
• The Mothership should be stronger than the spaceport.
  
  
• Maybe the locust would need a Habitability bonus.

Well, here are my reverie. Do you like the concept? Any suggestion to the mechanic?

This is obviously a very good idea and would add a whole new level to the game, but this should not be a starter species that the player can design, this kind of mechanic is what the Prethoryn should be using.