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Topics - Likif

#1
Call it tactics or an exploit, but currently the best way to counter AI assaults is to build a walled-in colony with just one entrance and post a bunch of turrets in close view of this entrance inside the walls. Whenever the AI attacks, you just wait for the attackers to beeline for the one entrance and be mowed down by the turrets when they break down the autodoor.

This means the game loses its challenge, since there's not a whole lot of other stuff to worry about once the base really gets going.

I suggest the following solutions:

More expensive turrets
Easiest solution. Turrets are efficient, cheap and easy to build en masse. Make them more expensive or less useful.

Blackout device
Moderately easy solution. Technologically advanced AI factions might use a blackout device that works like a solar flare (but shorter duration) when assaulting. This would make depending on turrets a risky strategy.

Destroy the base
Instead of going for just pawns and turrets, the AI targets all structures in the colony in the vicinity of pawns and turrets. This means it would try to break down walls that would otherwise funnel the AI assault force into the free-fire zone on the other side of the entrance. Perhaps difficult to program.

Hole-in-wall approach (or 'the Kool-Aid')
(in conjunction with above tactic) The AI has something dedicated to making holes in the walls. A single shot grenade or rocket launcher would do the trick, or perhaps explosives, C4 style, with dedicated AI.

Sappers
The above would not work that well if the player is using a hollowed-out mountain as base. How about the AI setting up base close to the player colony, but on the other side of the mountain, and then it starts tunneling into the mountain toward the player?

Besiege the entrance
If the player has the single-entrance setup, the AI sets up a base just outside that entrance and waits out the player, who is pretty much forced to sally out.

Fog-of-war
Finally, the game really should have a fog-of-war, like so many other games. This would make the AI generally and mortar sieges in particular harder to counter. You would need scouts to find the enemy and direct your artillery fire, and perhaps you would not be warned about AI assaults before you actually see them...
#2
New to the Rimworld experience, and enjoying it a lot! Rimworld is unique in that it is like a Sims/Simcity/RTS-hybrid. Which brings me to my suggestion:

Romance!

People living closely together tend to develop emotions towards each other: Getting together, makin' babies, splitting up, becoming enemies, what not. It's a very big part of human life, so in the context of creating a 'storytelling' game this is the biggest missing element. And with the mood parameter it wouldn't be a major undertaking to implement, but very entertaining and engaging, I think. And women might find such an element even more entertaining than men, so the game would broaden its appeal.

Friendships and animosities would be similar, but not as complex.

Specific mechanics suggestions

Characters would randomly develop attitudes toward other characters, with conversations greatly increasing the odds:

- Likes / Dislikes character X

This could be on a scale, for example: To like, to be friends with, to be in love with. To dislike, to be hostile towards, to hate.

Being in love with someone eliminates the chance of falling in love with other characters.

If two characters of different genders like each other, then this could happen for a positive mood effect:

- Romantically involved with character X

This has a large positive mood effect, especially in the beginning of the relationship. If only one of the two characters is in love with the other, and a relationship is not formed for a while, then a negative effect is applied:

- Unrequited love, with character X

If characters in a relationship have a royal bed, they would sleep in it together for another mood bonus.

- Sleeps next to love interest X

If they cannot sleep together, then there is a smallish negative mood bonus.

- Unable to sleep next to love interest X

Then there is a chance that the relationship can end, which would have a fairly large negative mood effect for a while:

- Broke up with character X

This also has a large chance of either negatively affecting the character's attitudes towards each other, bringing it down to friendship, or in certain cases, it could instead create Animosity which would trigger 'Unpleasant conversation" instead of regular conversations with the character in question, as with the 'Abrasive' trait.

If the relationship goes on for a while, the chance of it ending is reduced.

Then you could also have Jealousy occur where a person falls in love with someone who is already in another relationship. This would be a negative mood effect, of course, but also triggers unpleasant conversations with the objects of jealousy.

You could have a small chance of (jealous) characters breaking up other relationships and forming a relationship with a character they are in love with. This would incur a large chance of creating animosity between the two characters in the new relationship and the one abandoned - especially if he/she is still in love.

And for really spicing things up, you could then have a very small chance that jealousy creates a brawl or even a murder....

If a character dies, then a negative mood effect happens for other characters who liked that character on a scale, so if a character was in a relationship with the dead character, they have a large negative factor applied:

- Lost a friend/lover

Traits

You could have a lot of entertaining traits that affect the odds, such as:

- Attractive / Unattractive (increases/decreases odds of other people liking the character)
- Charismatic / Dull (same as above, for added colour)
- Promiscious / Shy (increases/decreases odds of relationships happening, but also breakups)
- Faithful / Unfaithful (increases/decreases odds of jealous characters breaking up a current relationship)
- Forgives easily / Holds grudges (increases/decreases odds of animosity)
- Homosexual (only forms relationships with characters of same gender - not incompatible with jealousy!)
- Bisexual (forms relationships with characters of both genders)
- Homophobic (increases odds of disliking characters in homosexual relationships)

What do you think?