LompeLuiten
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 3, 2012
- Messages
- 11
As I scout the forums, it seems that everyone has it issues with CIV BE. Is it that bad? It has it issues. For me there are to Mayor Issues:
1. The affinities don’t match that well with the gameplay
2. You are not exploring a new world
I am going to zoom in on the second point: Exploring a new world. You probably don’t completely get what I’m trying to say with that. Let me explain:
You are discovering a new world. A world with many wonders unknow, many creatures to be discovered. You want to get to know this world. So the fist time you set foot in CIV EA, you have “should” have this feeling of wonder. You might not think it’s optimal, but it’s there! A world for you to discover!
And then you play your second game… BOEM! OVER! It’s the exact same drill again. You might find joy in optimizing your play, but you are not “discovering” a new world, you are discovering the same world again.
So how do you make a game that feels everytime like you are discovering a world again. There are 2 main categories:
• Landscape
• Aliens
Aliens? How could you rediscover aliens? I’ll tell you why we should rediscover aliens: Every world is inhabited by other creatures, so every world the aliens are different. So everytime you wonder: What will they be like this time!
So different Aliens every time? That means thousands of alien creatures, that is quite a task for development! So let me be clear about 1 thing: You don’t have to give them other animations to give them a distinct feel (although it does help to have like 10 different art for wolf Beatles) . You just have to change them a bit every time.
So what you do is the following: Every time you start a game, at the background there will be a randomization process. And this process will give different aliens and alien behaviours. So every time you get different aliens to discover.
So I have 3 things that need to be randomized:
• Alien behaviour
• Alien Units
• Unit special abilities
• (optional: Art)
Alien Behaviour
So first there will be decided what the main goal of the aliens is. This is generly 1 chosen at random, but can be 2 on huge maps. In that case, you have 2 factions of Aliens.
So I thought about these choices:
Independed
Every Unit has also an independent goal. If the roll on Main Alien Behaviour is rolled an Independent, then it’s every alien unit for themselves, they will only help aliens of the same type.
Hunter
If they think they can kill your unit (they can attack in groups of the same type), they will attack you.
Grazers:
These are one of the most friendly kind. He just wonders around, moving from plant resource to plant resource, stopping there for 1 turn. O, and your farms do look delicious to. They will destroy farms and plantations.
Cruisers
They move and . Just move, without backtracking, without a specific goal in mind. They don’t ing care if something is in the way: THEY DON’T EVEN CARE IF YOU SHOOT AT IT! They come… and they destroy! (can only be independent)
Devourer
They collect and destroy. They while eat forest, camp on resources and devour improvements. They spawn new nests as they go.
Underground Networkers
These guys make underground networks connecting certain resources together, moving underground. There tunnels are like roads, which are built by the worker class. Where ever these underground roads are, you cannot work that tile. But if you destroy their road with a worker, they will get angry and retaliate.
Colonists
They don’t care who you are, they care where you are. Their Nest have hit points and produce queens, which makes new nest. But they don’t care if you are already there, when deciding their new nest. And if your terrain is 2 spaces near their nest, they will try to destroy the improvements and try to reclaim it (an action of 5 turns, after completed you lose that terrain). Colonist have 2 subtypes:
Queens Nest
In the middle you have a nest with a Queen. And as the game progresses, The nest will grow. And as the nest grows, the queen will grow. Sometimes they produce a new queen to make a new nest.
Spreaders
These creatures make this world for them, the way they like. Everywhere they go they produce a special improvement that does -1 food, - 1 production. Form them it’s 0,5 movement, but for players it’s double movement. This stuff can be removed by workers.
Alien Units:
So now for the Unit randomization: for a standerd mapsize you should take 8 different units from the list of all the units available. So every time you simply don’t know what you will be, and what you have to watch out for.
The randomizer takes at least 1 small unit, 1 medium and 1 large unit. Every unit has its own chance to come up, but the world you have chosen and the main goal will have effect on the chances.
Here are the extra units I propose. The names I just made up, you could change those. The strength is just made up, some play testing should get some exacter numbers.
Queen
Strenght: 15
Move: 2
Special: It's a settler that spawn nests. Cannot be independent.
Description: A mothering GIANT alien that does one thing whole day long: Laying Eggs! And having some sex occasionly.
Agrasive Vegitation
Strength: 15
Ranged Strenght: 8
Range: 2
Move: 0
Special: Grow: Spawns to adjecent tiles to a nest or to others, or out of a forrest
Description: An area full of giant venus trapps, acid spuwing flowers and other plant where the only thing you want to do with them is putting them down with a sea of NAPALM!
If independend: Attack everything in range... I told you they were argrasive.
Suicide bomber
Strenght: 20
Move: 2
Special: takes +500% damage, destroys improvement from where it’s fighting
Description: You know what a bomb’om is? Jeah, those ers of Mario that blows themselves up. Now Image an army of these suckers.
If independent: Grazers
Chitin
Strength: 5
Move:2
Special: have an increased Spawn Rate, can be choses multiple times with different abilities
description: These Creatures are smaller than Wolf Beatles, but they make it up in numbers. Be ready to be swarmed.
If independent: There goal will be Devour or grazer or underground networker or spreader. They will create nest for themselves.
Swarm
Strength: 5
Move: 2
Special: hovering, take a maximum of 10 points of damage
Description: Imagine a enormous cloud of acid spewing grasshoppers. You got the image? GOOD! There coming your way.
If independent: There goal wil be devour. They Multiply if they eat, but die if they didn’t eat enough. But don’t worry, they will spawn again even if there all dead.
Dragon
Strength: 30
Move: 7
Special: hovering, can move after attacking
Description: A ING DRAGON! What else did you expect to find here
If independent: It’s goal will be Hunter or/and devourer. They will build a nest.
Lurker
Strength: 9
Move: 3
Special: Ignore terrain movement cost, +100% when attacking,
Description: A huge pack of killer Hounds
If independent: There goal is Hunter
Resilin
Strength: 15
Move: 1
Special: Can’t attack, Can fortify
Description: See resource
If independent: There goal will be Underground networking. They Build Nests
Brute
Strength: 18
Move: 2
Special: absolutely nothing
Description: Jeah, you did need a middleclass of big boys. There weren’t any. For the rest: use your imagination.
If independent: Gazer or Hunter or underground networker
Rhino
Strength: 20
Move: 4
Special: Only uses the whole 4 movement, when attacking. Otherwise he uses 2. Can attack multiple times a turn
Description: Imagine a Rhino, only 10 times the size…. YOU!!
If independent: Grazer or hunter
Hydra
Strenght: 10
Move: 2
Special: After every combat he gains a bonus with: +10% strength.
Description: HAIL HYDRA!
If independent: Grazer or hunter
Spore Shooter
Strength: 10
Ranged strength: 20
Range: 3
Move:1
Description: Just as an enormous artillery, only then completely organic, shooting giant spore bombs. Jeah, this is backed-up by sience-fiction
If independent: Hunter or grazer. They are more likely to bomb you, because they can do it from a safe distance.
Titan
Strength: 45
Move: 1
Special: Can’t move through forest, can be a moving nest
Description: A ing colossal creature Cruising the steppes of the world. They are so big, some creatures can build nest on them.
If independent: It’s goal is Grazer.
Wyvern
Strenght: 15
Operatiol range: 6
Special: It works like a airplane. It flies from it’s nest
Description: As a close ralitive of the dragon, it is almost the same. Only a bit weaker
If independed: there goal is Hunter. They always have nest on mountains. The nest is destroyed if the last Wyvern is dead.
Flying Raptors
Strenght: 6
Operation Range: 4
Special: It works like a airplane. It flies from it’s nest
Desciption: Because the Wyvern needed a smaller brother
If independed: there goal is Hunter. They always have nest on mountains. The nest is destroyed if the last flying raptor is dead.
Sea Serpents
Strenght: 18
Move: 6
Special: Sea creature
Despriction: Sea serpent?
If independed: Hunter
Piranha
Strength: 5
Move: 3
Special: sea creature, Can’t be targeted with ranged units, can’t become amphibous.
Despciptions. Imagine Piranha’s. Only then in the numbers of shools. Just like the movie.
If independed: Hunter and devour. They’ll eat your !
Sea Turtle
Strength: 150
Move: 1
Special: is next to a unit, also a land tile (can’t build city’s on it), alway’s independed.
Description: You tought Krakens were big: This creature is so BIG, it can have forrest growing on it.
In independed: Cruising Around like a siegewurm. Can only be attacked by sea units.
Known creatures if independent
Wolf Beatle: Grazer or hunter or devourer or spreaders. Build nests. ,can be chosen multiple times with different abilities
Raptor Bug: Hunter
Siege worms: Can only be independent or Underground networker. If independent they are cruisers.
Drones: Hunter
Manticore: Grazer or hunter
Sea dragon: Hunter or grazer
Kraken: Hunter or cruiser
Unit Special abilities:
After the Aliens are chosen, there will first be a process in which some units might become independent. The rest will be in on the common goal. And after that, every unit will be given 1 or more special abilities, like:
Amphibious: can move over water and land, can be given to sea and land creatures.
Hikers: Can move through Mountain tiles
Stealth: like a yellow submarine
Builder (aligned with the goal they have)
Miasmiactic: Can make Miasma
Fire breathing: +3 strength if under 10, otherwise: +30% rounded up
Strong: +1 strength if under 10, otherwise +10% rounded up
Weak: -1 strength if under 10, otherwise -10% rounded down
Hovering: Jeah, the creatures that don’t start with it, can now get hovering. Flying (firebreathing) Piranha, here they come! (or a hovering Kraken)
Heavy breeders: if they spawn, they spawn in pairs
Fast: +1 movement
Extra fast: +2 movement
Slow: -1 movement
Generate: +10 HP regain every turn
Acid spewing: unit gains a ranged attack of 50% of its strength, with range 1. Can still attack normally.
The bonuses are not completely at random. For every creature there is a chart in which it gives the chances of the abilities appearing. This is altered a bit by the gaol and the world that is chosen. If the randomizer rolls 0 bonuses, he makes a roll to choose one of the bonuses. If it rolls for example Fast and Slow, than Fast will be the dominant one, and will be taken.
Art (optional)
So to really give a distinct feeling every time, then you should have different artworks for same creatures. What I should do is to give them a
• Insect skin
• Mammal skin
• Reptile skin
• Humanoid skin
All together (sea creatures and siege wurms excluded). Give the same unit different names, and they will have a hard time finding out that they are actually the same. And if you are really wild, you could change also make a few skins for insects, given them different names.
So what do you guys think of this? If you liked it, I can try to make one about different landcapes?
1. The affinities don’t match that well with the gameplay
2. You are not exploring a new world
I am going to zoom in on the second point: Exploring a new world. You probably don’t completely get what I’m trying to say with that. Let me explain:
You are discovering a new world. A world with many wonders unknow, many creatures to be discovered. You want to get to know this world. So the fist time you set foot in CIV EA, you have “should” have this feeling of wonder. You might not think it’s optimal, but it’s there! A world for you to discover!
And then you play your second game… BOEM! OVER! It’s the exact same drill again. You might find joy in optimizing your play, but you are not “discovering” a new world, you are discovering the same world again.
So how do you make a game that feels everytime like you are discovering a world again. There are 2 main categories:
• Landscape
• Aliens
Aliens? How could you rediscover aliens? I’ll tell you why we should rediscover aliens: Every world is inhabited by other creatures, so every world the aliens are different. So everytime you wonder: What will they be like this time!
So different Aliens every time? That means thousands of alien creatures, that is quite a task for development! So let me be clear about 1 thing: You don’t have to give them other animations to give them a distinct feel (although it does help to have like 10 different art for wolf Beatles) . You just have to change them a bit every time.
So what you do is the following: Every time you start a game, at the background there will be a randomization process. And this process will give different aliens and alien behaviours. So every time you get different aliens to discover.
So I have 3 things that need to be randomized:
• Alien behaviour
• Alien Units
• Unit special abilities
• (optional: Art)
Alien Behaviour
So first there will be decided what the main goal of the aliens is. This is generly 1 chosen at random, but can be 2 on huge maps. In that case, you have 2 factions of Aliens.
So I thought about these choices:
Independed
Every Unit has also an independent goal. If the roll on Main Alien Behaviour is rolled an Independent, then it’s every alien unit for themselves, they will only help aliens of the same type.
Hunter
If they think they can kill your unit (they can attack in groups of the same type), they will attack you.
Grazers:
These are one of the most friendly kind. He just wonders around, moving from plant resource to plant resource, stopping there for 1 turn. O, and your farms do look delicious to. They will destroy farms and plantations.
Cruisers
They move and . Just move, without backtracking, without a specific goal in mind. They don’t ing care if something is in the way: THEY DON’T EVEN CARE IF YOU SHOOT AT IT! They come… and they destroy! (can only be independent)
Devourer
They collect and destroy. They while eat forest, camp on resources and devour improvements. They spawn new nests as they go.
Underground Networkers
These guys make underground networks connecting certain resources together, moving underground. There tunnels are like roads, which are built by the worker class. Where ever these underground roads are, you cannot work that tile. But if you destroy their road with a worker, they will get angry and retaliate.
Colonists
They don’t care who you are, they care where you are. Their Nest have hit points and produce queens, which makes new nest. But they don’t care if you are already there, when deciding their new nest. And if your terrain is 2 spaces near their nest, they will try to destroy the improvements and try to reclaim it (an action of 5 turns, after completed you lose that terrain). Colonist have 2 subtypes:
Queens Nest
In the middle you have a nest with a Queen. And as the game progresses, The nest will grow. And as the nest grows, the queen will grow. Sometimes they produce a new queen to make a new nest.
Spreaders
These creatures make this world for them, the way they like. Everywhere they go they produce a special improvement that does -1 food, - 1 production. Form them it’s 0,5 movement, but for players it’s double movement. This stuff can be removed by workers.
Alien Units:
So now for the Unit randomization: for a standerd mapsize you should take 8 different units from the list of all the units available. So every time you simply don’t know what you will be, and what you have to watch out for.
The randomizer takes at least 1 small unit, 1 medium and 1 large unit. Every unit has its own chance to come up, but the world you have chosen and the main goal will have effect on the chances.
Here are the extra units I propose. The names I just made up, you could change those. The strength is just made up, some play testing should get some exacter numbers.
Queen
Strenght: 15
Move: 2
Special: It's a settler that spawn nests. Cannot be independent.
Description: A mothering GIANT alien that does one thing whole day long: Laying Eggs! And having some sex occasionly.
Agrasive Vegitation
Strength: 15
Ranged Strenght: 8
Range: 2
Move: 0
Special: Grow: Spawns to adjecent tiles to a nest or to others, or out of a forrest
Description: An area full of giant venus trapps, acid spuwing flowers and other plant where the only thing you want to do with them is putting them down with a sea of NAPALM!
If independend: Attack everything in range... I told you they were argrasive.
Suicide bomber
Strenght: 20
Move: 2
Special: takes +500% damage, destroys improvement from where it’s fighting
Description: You know what a bomb’om is? Jeah, those ers of Mario that blows themselves up. Now Image an army of these suckers.
If independent: Grazers
Chitin
Strength: 5
Move:2
Special: have an increased Spawn Rate, can be choses multiple times with different abilities
description: These Creatures are smaller than Wolf Beatles, but they make it up in numbers. Be ready to be swarmed.
If independent: There goal will be Devour or grazer or underground networker or spreader. They will create nest for themselves.
Swarm
Strength: 5
Move: 2
Special: hovering, take a maximum of 10 points of damage
Description: Imagine a enormous cloud of acid spewing grasshoppers. You got the image? GOOD! There coming your way.
If independent: There goal wil be devour. They Multiply if they eat, but die if they didn’t eat enough. But don’t worry, they will spawn again even if there all dead.
Dragon
Strength: 30
Move: 7
Special: hovering, can move after attacking
Description: A ING DRAGON! What else did you expect to find here
If independent: It’s goal will be Hunter or/and devourer. They will build a nest.
Lurker
Strength: 9
Move: 3
Special: Ignore terrain movement cost, +100% when attacking,
Description: A huge pack of killer Hounds
If independent: There goal is Hunter
Resilin
Strength: 15
Move: 1
Special: Can’t attack, Can fortify
Description: See resource
If independent: There goal will be Underground networking. They Build Nests
Brute
Strength: 18
Move: 2
Special: absolutely nothing
Description: Jeah, you did need a middleclass of big boys. There weren’t any. For the rest: use your imagination.
If independent: Gazer or Hunter or underground networker
Rhino
Strength: 20
Move: 4
Special: Only uses the whole 4 movement, when attacking. Otherwise he uses 2. Can attack multiple times a turn
Description: Imagine a Rhino, only 10 times the size…. YOU!!
If independent: Grazer or hunter
Hydra
Strenght: 10
Move: 2
Special: After every combat he gains a bonus with: +10% strength.
Description: HAIL HYDRA!
If independent: Grazer or hunter
Spore Shooter
Strength: 10
Ranged strength: 20
Range: 3
Move:1
Description: Just as an enormous artillery, only then completely organic, shooting giant spore bombs. Jeah, this is backed-up by sience-fiction
If independent: Hunter or grazer. They are more likely to bomb you, because they can do it from a safe distance.
Titan
Strength: 45
Move: 1
Special: Can’t move through forest, can be a moving nest
Description: A ing colossal creature Cruising the steppes of the world. They are so big, some creatures can build nest on them.
If independent: It’s goal is Grazer.
Wyvern
Strenght: 15
Operatiol range: 6
Special: It works like a airplane. It flies from it’s nest
Description: As a close ralitive of the dragon, it is almost the same. Only a bit weaker
If independed: there goal is Hunter. They always have nest on mountains. The nest is destroyed if the last Wyvern is dead.
Flying Raptors
Strenght: 6
Operation Range: 4
Special: It works like a airplane. It flies from it’s nest
Desciption: Because the Wyvern needed a smaller brother
If independed: there goal is Hunter. They always have nest on mountains. The nest is destroyed if the last flying raptor is dead.
Sea Serpents
Strenght: 18
Move: 6
Special: Sea creature
Despriction: Sea serpent?
If independed: Hunter
Piranha
Strength: 5
Move: 3
Special: sea creature, Can’t be targeted with ranged units, can’t become amphibous.
Despciptions. Imagine Piranha’s. Only then in the numbers of shools. Just like the movie.
If independed: Hunter and devour. They’ll eat your !
Sea Turtle
Strength: 150
Move: 1
Special: is next to a unit, also a land tile (can’t build city’s on it), alway’s independed.
Description: You tought Krakens were big: This creature is so BIG, it can have forrest growing on it.
In independed: Cruising Around like a siegewurm. Can only be attacked by sea units.
Known creatures if independent
Wolf Beatle: Grazer or hunter or devourer or spreaders. Build nests. ,can be chosen multiple times with different abilities
Raptor Bug: Hunter
Siege worms: Can only be independent or Underground networker. If independent they are cruisers.
Drones: Hunter
Manticore: Grazer or hunter
Sea dragon: Hunter or grazer
Kraken: Hunter or cruiser
Unit Special abilities:
After the Aliens are chosen, there will first be a process in which some units might become independent. The rest will be in on the common goal. And after that, every unit will be given 1 or more special abilities, like:
Amphibious: can move over water and land, can be given to sea and land creatures.
Hikers: Can move through Mountain tiles
Stealth: like a yellow submarine
Builder (aligned with the goal they have)
Miasmiactic: Can make Miasma
Fire breathing: +3 strength if under 10, otherwise: +30% rounded up
Strong: +1 strength if under 10, otherwise +10% rounded up
Weak: -1 strength if under 10, otherwise -10% rounded down
Hovering: Jeah, the creatures that don’t start with it, can now get hovering. Flying (firebreathing) Piranha, here they come! (or a hovering Kraken)
Heavy breeders: if they spawn, they spawn in pairs
Fast: +1 movement
Extra fast: +2 movement
Slow: -1 movement
Generate: +10 HP regain every turn
Acid spewing: unit gains a ranged attack of 50% of its strength, with range 1. Can still attack normally.
The bonuses are not completely at random. For every creature there is a chart in which it gives the chances of the abilities appearing. This is altered a bit by the gaol and the world that is chosen. If the randomizer rolls 0 bonuses, he makes a roll to choose one of the bonuses. If it rolls for example Fast and Slow, than Fast will be the dominant one, and will be taken.
Art (optional)
So to really give a distinct feeling every time, then you should have different artworks for same creatures. What I should do is to give them a
• Insect skin
• Mammal skin
• Reptile skin
• Humanoid skin
All together (sea creatures and siege wurms excluded). Give the same unit different names, and they will have a hard time finding out that they are actually the same. And if you are really wild, you could change also make a few skins for insects, given them different names.
So what do you guys think of this? If you liked it, I can try to make one about different landcapes?
