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Design / Re: CURRENT STORYLINE -- SPOILERS!
« on: October 14, 2009, 09:10:31 pm »
Hi all, new here. Played through the stable version and was very impressed. Am I late to the story party?
In case I'm not:
First of all I'd like to adjust the scale downwards. Any entity that has devoured a galaxy and has existed for 1 000 000 years should have the power to explode planets on a whim and construct sphereworld-deathstars out of the remains. If we limit the scene to "the local cluster" the 5-7 alien species sound a far more plausible number of enemy types and the player beating the impossible odds doesn't sound too impossible.
I'd like to have a feel that this is a game the Aliens have played before. They've always won. Some of the matches were short, some of them were long and a few were close, but in the end they always win. That is why there are so many different kinds of them coming at you. If you lose the fate of humanity is to be in the composite boots that crush the next species unfortunate enough to be found by them.
Why do the aliens send in only few troops with bad weapons, followed by more and more troops with better and better weapons?
PHALANX Operative: We have reverse engineered your weapons and are working on the armor. No matter how impressive your weapons are we are going to break them and learn how to make them and turn them against you!
Tamani: You think this has never happened before? You think your re-use of weapons is a talent? Amused. All you have we have given you.
PHALANX Operative: What do you mean with that?
Tamani: One brings one's best weapons to battle with the primitives. One has a great advantage. But the primitives gain the weapons. No more advantage. Path of quick disadvantage. One brings weapons more powerful than the primitives one has advantage. When primitives gain weapons one brings more powerful weapons and still enjoys advantage. Path of permanent advantage.
You gain Alien plasma weapons. The aliens deploy plasma proof armor and long ranged particle weapons to outrange you. You get the armor and the particle weapons and they bring particle shields. You can run in the hamster wheel of reverse engineering alien weapons all you like, they have it all mapped out and will keep on upgunning you in the worst possible way unless you find a way to break the rules of their game.
And you'd better break out of the wheel soon, because there is a virus spreading amongst the population. The good news? It gives you telepathy. The bad news? It suppresses your ego and there is a mothership with a million Tamani in orbit who are all singing: "Join us. Serve us. Die for us." While those infected might learn how to reassert their personality some years later that is cold comfort if everyone has become an alien slave by then.
How might you win against an enemy like this? Well, their FTL relies on a gate. The gate lies in the Alien home system and allows them to transport their ships into any nearby system. The ships have a device with one button and one function on board: return. You must destroy the alien mothership in orbit and recovered its Return Device. Only then can you assemble your team of heroes and send them on a one way trip to seal the door.
In case I'm not:
First of all I'd like to adjust the scale downwards. Any entity that has devoured a galaxy and has existed for 1 000 000 years should have the power to explode planets on a whim and construct sphereworld-deathstars out of the remains. If we limit the scene to "the local cluster" the 5-7 alien species sound a far more plausible number of enemy types and the player beating the impossible odds doesn't sound too impossible.
I'd like to have a feel that this is a game the Aliens have played before. They've always won. Some of the matches were short, some of them were long and a few were close, but in the end they always win. That is why there are so many different kinds of them coming at you. If you lose the fate of humanity is to be in the composite boots that crush the next species unfortunate enough to be found by them.
Why do the aliens send in only few troops with bad weapons, followed by more and more troops with better and better weapons?
PHALANX Operative: We have reverse engineered your weapons and are working on the armor. No matter how impressive your weapons are we are going to break them and learn how to make them and turn them against you!
Tamani: You think this has never happened before? You think your re-use of weapons is a talent? Amused. All you have we have given you.
PHALANX Operative: What do you mean with that?
Tamani: One brings one's best weapons to battle with the primitives. One has a great advantage. But the primitives gain the weapons. No more advantage. Path of quick disadvantage. One brings weapons more powerful than the primitives one has advantage. When primitives gain weapons one brings more powerful weapons and still enjoys advantage. Path of permanent advantage.
You gain Alien plasma weapons. The aliens deploy plasma proof armor and long ranged particle weapons to outrange you. You get the armor and the particle weapons and they bring particle shields. You can run in the hamster wheel of reverse engineering alien weapons all you like, they have it all mapped out and will keep on upgunning you in the worst possible way unless you find a way to break the rules of their game.
And you'd better break out of the wheel soon, because there is a virus spreading amongst the population. The good news? It gives you telepathy. The bad news? It suppresses your ego and there is a mothership with a million Tamani in orbit who are all singing: "Join us. Serve us. Die for us." While those infected might learn how to reassert their personality some years later that is cold comfort if everyone has become an alien slave by then.
How might you win against an enemy like this? Well, their FTL relies on a gate. The gate lies in the Alien home system and allows them to transport their ships into any nearby system. The ships have a device with one button and one function on board: return. You must destroy the alien mothership in orbit and recovered its Return Device. Only then can you assemble your team of heroes and send them on a one way trip to seal the door.