[to_xp]Gekko
QCT junkie
being able to build domed cities underwater was the most awesome feature in the Call to Power games and in the Rise of Mankind mod for civ4 imho
so it came to my mind that FFH is the perfect setting for a sea-dwelling amphibious race that would be truly unique and lots of fun to play.
it will definitely be a challenge, design-wise , coding-wise and lore-wise. but imho the pure "drool factor" is enough to give it a try
before I went around adding a whole new race to the FFH universe, I thought it would be better to just use the Aifons instead. I've read some lore about them and they are definitely interesting and deserve to be brought back from the dead
I think it's a lot more interesting to have the Aifons as a sea-dwelling civ, but if people desire them to stay extint, a whole new race can just be created out of the blue of course. everything I'm gonna post here would still apply
Lore:
I'm not sure about a good backstory to justify bringing them back, I'll leave that to some great story-teller or lore expert like MC
for the time being, let's just assume that they re-appeared on creation just as misteriously as they disappeared. no one knows where they have been all this time. probably some evil spell got casted upon them and disrupted the link between Danalin and them, making the God unaware of their existance and bringing him into depression and eternal sleep and dreaming. the Aifons were probably trapped into the depths of the sea and couldn't be find by anyone, hence being presumed extint. but the incoming armageddon and the machinations of Mulcarn have brought them enough power to rise again to the surface and meet the new civilizations of the Era of Rebirth.
gameplay ideas:
currently the seas and oceans of Erebus are a kinda annoying place. I think that along with the Aifons should come a more varied and interesting "sea-life" . fish resource should spawn all across the oceans , not just near coasts. underwater lairs should spawn sea-monsters. mana nodes should be found in the depths of the sea, ready to unleash their power.
Aifon cities will be built underwater of course, making them totally unique and setting them apart from all other civs on Erebus ( even the Lanun are land-based, although they'll never admit it )
most of their units will obviously be able to be invisible while in the sea
first code challenge: it would be awesome to have some more types of sea terrain instead than just coast -> ocean . like sea depths, underwater volcanoes... and new sea resources like kelp, coral etc. it would be extra nice if normal civs would "see" all sea as being the same ( i.e. as it is now ) , while Aifons ( and possibly some other suitable units like OO units, but that might be tricky ) could see underwater and discern different types of sea tyles.
second code challenge: it would be awesome if Aifon cities and improvements ( if we decide to let them built improvements underwater of course ) could be invisible for most units, simulating the fact that they can't be seen since they are deep underwater.
third code challenge: they automatically have "open borders" with everyone ( there are no borders in the sea. so by default they have open borders. they can however, after researching some magic oriented technology, cancel open borders , simulating some kind of magic that doesn't let strangers wander in seas they have claimed for themselves )
fourth code challenge: very hard, probably impossible but would be totally awesome. their cultural borders are invisible until they choose to reveal themselves, come to the surface and meet other civs. then they can choose to let those they see as friends see their cultural borders, and now where the Aifons dwell ( of course some special units will always be able to see them, like OO units and the like.
some of them will be able to travel on land, but only for limited spans of time ( raised by having a "priest" casting a waterbased spell that keeps them comfortable on land ) , but they will have major penalties while on land and won't be able to build cities there. the same will be true for all other civs of course. in order for landbased civs to be able to attack an Aifon city, they will have to cast "Waterbreathing" on some suitable troops. but they will be on a heavy disadvantage and unable to capture the city anyway ( razing is the only option. same is true for Aifons on land, they can only raze cities ) . this will make the Aifons a reclusive civ, more than even the Sidar and rightly so.
they will obviously have a strong synergy with the Octopus Overlords. their hero will be Trenton Majosi, "trained as a master of water magic by Kylorin himself" . their worldspell could be waking Danalin from sleep, giving them some huge boost, and after this has been done, they could create a Ritual ( if Trenton is still around ) to bring him to creation http://fallfromheaven.wikia.com/wiki/Danalin
their choice of technologies will be somewhat limited, since a lot of the techs available to other civs make no sense underwater they will however keep the religious, recon and magic line, and one could even create a Aifon specific branch of techs that make sense underwater, this would be awesome.
some cool units that they could use include Krakens, giant crabs and leviathans.
that's it for now, I'll be adding more ideas to this thread as they come. I'm really looking forward to people's feedback and suggestions about this, I think it's an ambitious project but it can definitely be done if the community drops good ideas, and I'm sure it would be awesome and lots of fun if added to the game
so it came to my mind that FFH is the perfect setting for a sea-dwelling amphibious race that would be truly unique and lots of fun to play.
it will definitely be a challenge, design-wise , coding-wise and lore-wise. but imho the pure "drool factor" is enough to give it a try
before I went around adding a whole new race to the FFH universe, I thought it would be better to just use the Aifons instead. I've read some lore about them and they are definitely interesting and deserve to be brought back from the dead
I think it's a lot more interesting to have the Aifons as a sea-dwelling civ, but if people desire them to stay extint, a whole new race can just be created out of the blue of course. everything I'm gonna post here would still apply
Lore:
I'm not sure about a good backstory to justify bringing them back, I'll leave that to some great story-teller or lore expert like MC
for the time being, let's just assume that they re-appeared on creation just as misteriously as they disappeared. no one knows where they have been all this time. probably some evil spell got casted upon them and disrupted the link between Danalin and them, making the God unaware of their existance and bringing him into depression and eternal sleep and dreaming. the Aifons were probably trapped into the depths of the sea and couldn't be find by anyone, hence being presumed extint. but the incoming armageddon and the machinations of Mulcarn have brought them enough power to rise again to the surface and meet the new civilizations of the Era of Rebirth.
gameplay ideas:
currently the seas and oceans of Erebus are a kinda annoying place. I think that along with the Aifons should come a more varied and interesting "sea-life" . fish resource should spawn all across the oceans , not just near coasts. underwater lairs should spawn sea-monsters. mana nodes should be found in the depths of the sea, ready to unleash their power.
Aifon cities will be built underwater of course, making them totally unique and setting them apart from all other civs on Erebus ( even the Lanun are land-based, although they'll never admit it )
most of their units will obviously be able to be invisible while in the sea
first code challenge: it would be awesome to have some more types of sea terrain instead than just coast -> ocean . like sea depths, underwater volcanoes... and new sea resources like kelp, coral etc. it would be extra nice if normal civs would "see" all sea as being the same ( i.e. as it is now ) , while Aifons ( and possibly some other suitable units like OO units, but that might be tricky ) could see underwater and discern different types of sea tyles.
second code challenge: it would be awesome if Aifon cities and improvements ( if we decide to let them built improvements underwater of course ) could be invisible for most units, simulating the fact that they can't be seen since they are deep underwater.
third code challenge: they automatically have "open borders" with everyone ( there are no borders in the sea. so by default they have open borders. they can however, after researching some magic oriented technology, cancel open borders , simulating some kind of magic that doesn't let strangers wander in seas they have claimed for themselves )
fourth code challenge: very hard, probably impossible but would be totally awesome. their cultural borders are invisible until they choose to reveal themselves, come to the surface and meet other civs. then they can choose to let those they see as friends see their cultural borders, and now where the Aifons dwell ( of course some special units will always be able to see them, like OO units and the like.
some of them will be able to travel on land, but only for limited spans of time ( raised by having a "priest" casting a waterbased spell that keeps them comfortable on land ) , but they will have major penalties while on land and won't be able to build cities there. the same will be true for all other civs of course. in order for landbased civs to be able to attack an Aifon city, they will have to cast "Waterbreathing" on some suitable troops. but they will be on a heavy disadvantage and unable to capture the city anyway ( razing is the only option. same is true for Aifons on land, they can only raze cities ) . this will make the Aifons a reclusive civ, more than even the Sidar and rightly so.
they will obviously have a strong synergy with the Octopus Overlords. their hero will be Trenton Majosi, "trained as a master of water magic by Kylorin himself" . their worldspell could be waking Danalin from sleep, giving them some huge boost, and after this has been done, they could create a Ritual ( if Trenton is still around ) to bring him to creation http://fallfromheaven.wikia.com/wiki/Danalin
their choice of technologies will be somewhat limited, since a lot of the techs available to other civs make no sense underwater they will however keep the religious, recon and magic line, and one could even create a Aifon specific branch of techs that make sense underwater, this would be awesome.
some cool units that they could use include Krakens, giant crabs and leviathans.
that's it for now, I'll be adding more ideas to this thread as they come. I'm really looking forward to people's feedback and suggestions about this, I think it's an ambitious project but it can definitely be done if the community drops good ideas, and I'm sure it would be awesome and lots of fun if added to the game