Your ideas for origins

[Defiler99]

I'd go bigger. Have a couple of stated reasons that influence what kind of advantages you start with. Like locked away behind an energy shield because you were deemed too great a threat, so your empire starts with combat bonuses or advanced weapons technology or a special shipyard. Or your people angered another race now vanished, so your empire gets a special quest to determine what happened to them.

I like that, definitely. I was just thinking that combining the origin with a civic would let you shape it to your desire.
For example, pick it along with Fanatic Purifiers, and there are your combat bonuses along with the reason for being locked away.
Inward Perfection might be a reaction to it, etc.

 

[OnyxAbussos]

We need one called

MAXIMUM BOOBAGE.
No mechanical effect.
Just an aesthetic difference to the planet/city graphics.

 

[OnyxAbussos]

Not really. Please don't add that.

 

[Incompetent]

+10% resources from the jobs from the start? Wouldn't it be OP?

You could balance it by starting with slightly fewer pops, or with a trait that makes your starting pops less efficient on non-machine worlds (can be removed later with robomodding, but you have to put up with it in the early game).

I'd also note that this origin is a little niche, as it could only work for Machine Intelligences that are neither Rogue Servitors nor Driven Assimilators.

 

[MateuszS]

You could balance it by starting with slightly fewer pops, or with a trait that makes your starting pops less efficient on non-machine worlds (can be removed later with robomodding, but you have to put up with it in the early game).

I'd also note that this origin is a little niche, as it could only work for Machine Intelligences that are neither Rogue Servitors nor Driven Assimilators.

Fewer pops could do it (or maybe make starting planet small?); bots by default have 200% habitability, so giving odd -100% hab trait just because is odd.

Determined Terminators probably also would be excluded, as these folks by default start on tomb world.

 

[Ma®tin]

I would love for the preset empires to be seamlessly integrated into the origins. Like Commonwealth of Man taking advantage of some sort of 'Ark' origin, where smallish number of colonists were sent to inhabit some faraway planet. Could make you start with less pops, or perhaps even lower habitability due to living on non-ideal planet, while at the same time giving bonuses tied to strong will, good education of chosen colonists and strong push for innovation to survive (Like tech bonuses, lowered crime rate, higher cohesion, unity bonus, military bonuses).

As for other origins, being on the receiving end of what a player usually does during a gameplay could be fun. Like playing an uplifted specie, starting out as a vassal of advanced empire or being a biotrophy specie of rogue servitors who either stopped functioning or your habitat/planet/ringworld for some reason got independent from them.

A more complicated idea that came to my mind was settling pre-terraformed barren planets. Imagine settlement on Mars before terraforming it. So perhaps an Origin where there is a tomb world in your starting system, destroyed by catastrophe/war etc. while your start is on barren planet suitable for terraforming, locked in domes (Or to make it easier to work with current systems, being in planet type not suitable for your specie, like 20% habitability). Perhaps with a few unique buildings that would allow survival at such a place at cost of much higher maintenance (domes, underground structures).

 

[--Yigito123--]

You could balance it by starting with slightly fewer pops, or with a trait that makes your starting pops less efficient on non-machine worlds (can be removed later with robomodding, but you have to put up with it in the early game).

I'd also note that this origin is a little niche, as it could only work for Machine Intelligences that are neither Rogue Servitors nor Driven Assimilators.

Maybe their pops could get a unique trait;
Network-Dependant: Our individual robots require hardware and software unique to our machine planet's systems. This can be reproduced in other planets and connected wirelessly; however, it is expensive and resource-intensive.
Robot Upkeep +15%
Pop Assembly Cost +15%
(Or you know whatever cost modifiers are needed for this to be balanced)

 

[Valentin Vattista]

Maybe their pops could get a unique trait;
Network-Dependant: Our individual robots require hardware and software unique to our machine planet's systems. This can be reproduced in other planets and connected wirelessly; however, it is expensive and resource-intensive.
Robot Upkeep +15%
Pop Assembly Cost +15%
(Or you know whatever cost modifiers are needed for this to be balanced)

Why not make this life seeded 2.0 with 0 habitability on other planets

 

[Deknay]

pre-FTL colony Rivalry:

You start bordering another empire of your same species, but with opposing ethics, and rivaling each other.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fail Xeno invasion pre-ftl:

You just have repelled a xeno invasion-raid . You start with:

-no spaceport (but with extra alloys to build it at the start),
-no colony ship or ftl discovered (but with events, projects, or debris you get them)
-3 tier2 corvettes captured
-devastation of 50-70, maybe some buildings to repair...
-50%? researched for many tier 1-2 techs and debris over your planet.
-maybe some events for xenophobia, militarism, pacifism, planetary unification


(Inspiration: Independence day, and many others)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
pre-ftl: Xeno refugees : (or xeno advance ship chashed on the planet)

you were a space age civilization... when an alien ship arrives to your planet

-you start with (or get) 1 xeno pop
-a project to revers engineering their tech (hiperdrive1, red laser and other starting techs)
-temporary buff to your tech
-chartographic data from xenos? some systems around explored (not surveyed)?
-event chain about the arrival... with violence, fear, some maluses, formation of a planetary organization.. wether to leave them free, in camps, kill them, enslave....


(Inspiration: district 9, The Event, others..)

 

[Urloc the Great]

We need one called

MAXIMUM BOOBAGE.
No mechanical effect.
Just an aesthetic difference to the planet/city graphics.

What does "boobage" mean?

 

[AlazkanAssassin]

What does "boobage" mean?

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/submission/4784/boobage

 

[OnyxAbussos]

PULSAR:
Your system orbits a pulsar.
Therefore, uhhh... hmmm...
Maybe just extra energy and physics deposits right off the bat. Plus the environmental thing.

 

[Dmitrius]

Wow there are a lot of really good ideas on this forum. Really proves how sound the decision was to add the feature.

Mine would be a race of undead that have regained sentience after centuries. Massive bonus to habitibility, rapid assimilation of other species, but no growth until certain techs unlocked.

 

[OnyxAbussos]

Wow there are a lot of really good ideas on this forum. Really proves how sound the decision was to add the feature.

Mine would be a race of undead that have regained sentience after centuries. Massive bonus to habitibility, rapid assimilation of other species, but no growth until certain techs unlocked.

1. Agree on the soundness. Exactly.

2. UNDEADZ.
2A. Necrons ftw.
2B. Are they individuals or Gestaults?
2C. Hit point Bonus to troops? Or Undead troops who kill an Organic troop have a 5% chance to spawn a new Undead troop? Or is it better to just ignore this part in troop combat (cuz your laser guns vaporize the enemies = no dudes to bite)? Maybe they just auto regeneration when not in ground combat.
2C. I love the concept generally. Especially the part of no pop growth but rapid assimilation.
2D. Recommend that Undead is a Trait. Can only be removed by full Full Bio Ascension. Trait makes no growth plus assimilation plus [X].
2E. Leaders have long life? Immortal? Very Slow Learners?
2F. Repugnant maybe?

 

[SaintD]

Wow there are a lot of really good ideas on this forum. Really proves how sound the decision was to add the feature.

Mine would be a race of undead that have regained sentience after centuries. Massive bonus to habitibility, rapid assimilation of other species, but no growth until certain techs unlocked.

They would have to inherently be able to steal pops the same way as Barbaric Despoilers. Also, they would need the same mechanic as Lithoids in having a pile of extra population in tile blockers so they can do at least something to get going in the early game.

They're still pretty terrible from a gameplay perspective though, as zero pop growth means that if you don't have weak victims available to you at galaxy generation, you're done.

 

[Dmitrius]

They would have to inherently be able to steal pops the same way as Barbaric Despoilers. Also, they would need the same mechanic as Lithoids in having a pile of extra population in tile blockers so they can do at least something to get going in the early game.

They're still pretty terrible from a gameplay perspective though, as zero pop growth means that if you don't have weak victims available to you at galaxy generation, you're done.

Yeah, but then Origins should allow for interesting challenges, giving a unique experience. I mean the ability to gain huge numbers of pops at a time without upkeep costs makes them a real steamroller. Not for everyone obviously

 

[Dmitrius]

1. Agree on the soundness. Exactly.

2. UNDEADZ.
2A. Necrons ftw.
2B. Are they individuals or Gestaults?
2C. Hit point Bonus to troops? Or Undead troops who kill an Organic troop have a 5% chance to spawn a new Undead troop? Or is it better to just ignore this part in troop combat (cuz your laser guns vaporize the enemies = no dudes to bite)? Maybe they just auto regeneration when not in ground combat.
2C. I love the concept generally. Especially the part of no pop growth but rapid assimilation.
2D. Recommend that Undead is a Trait. Can only be removed by full Full Bio Ascension. Trait makes no growth plus assimilation plus [X].
2E. Leaders have long life? Immortal? Very Slow Learners?
2F. Repugnant maybe?

I think it's an origin that gives a trait. Thinking about it again you would need enough pops to begin with to have a fighting chance of getting the ball rolling at start (but this should still be a massive challenge).

Pop theft is absolutely essential for this I think. You should be able to do this faster than the average despoiler though to make up for no growth otherwise.

Actually the more I think about it the more I'd want a full species pack lol. Undead ship types with holes in the hull covered in blood stains.. undead pop icons. That would be awesome.

Oh and agree with your other points

 

[OnyxAbussos]

Would their planets tend to turn Tomb World after the space zombies have owned it for 10 years? 20 years? Or is that too much of a game changer?

 

[OnyxAbussos]

WAIT...
Biggest roadblock to launching this.

What happens when a single Zombie immigrates into a non-Zombie empire? Or when a non-zombie conquers a zombie world?

It would end up converting the whole empire, right?

I mean it wouldn't "just" (if successful) steamroll the galaxy through genocidal conquest. It would assimilate the whole galaxy even if the Zombies were fanatic pacifists, right?

Do the Zombie Worlds automatically switch ownership, or is it just that basically all species eventually gain the Undead trait?

 

[Urloc the Great]

I think it's an origin that gives a trait. Thinking about it again you would need enough pops to begin with to have a fighting chance of getting the ball rolling at start (but this should still be a massive challenge).

Pop theft is absolutely essential for this I think. You should be able to do this faster than the average despoiler though to make up for no growth otherwise.

Actually the more I think about it the more I'd want a full species pack lol. Undead ship types with holes in the hull covered in blood stains.. undead pop icons. That would be awesome.

Oh and agree with your other points

You could build some robots to bridge over the period where you can't abduct pops.