Your Cheapest Ideas

Started by Tynan, October 09, 2013, 12:17:07 AM

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TheLastGenius

I have lots of new cheap ideas so here they are
- A whole map job option I.E. Set it so you auto bury corpses or auto pickup fallen cargo, or auto clean blood of your enemies

- A 'Cleanup' tool that lets you completely clean a selected area of rubble, filth, blood, corpses, and smooth over the terrain evenly

- A Dirt/sand floor type so you can make a farm in an area thats already been covered

- A mapping mode that lets you plan an area for free that shows you how it will look afterwards

- Defensive points that let you pick areas your people will automatically go to in the event of an assault

- Non-Lethal weapons like a concussion pistol or stun grenade to let you capture raiders instead of killing them

- Weapons that straight up disintegrate your enemy so you dont have to deal with their bodies with the side-effect of destroying their weapon

- Weapons that are heat or burn based so they cauterise the wound as soon as it's made so the raider wont bleed all over your new carpet

- Special tools that let you do extra thing like disintegrate debris (it will take about an 10 minutes when first acquired) or speed up repairs or place multiples of the same block at once ETC

- Some sort of mobile cover so if one of your people are moving debris or something they can defend themselves

- A triggered version of the blasting charge so it can be used as a mine against radiers

- An advanced research building called the Growth-Pod where you can input the traits and backstorys of your colonists to build a custom colonist and where the adulthood will be identical to normal colonists but the childhood will always be the same - Pod-born +2 to everything but -5 to social

- The ability to force people not to fight and to just run

Thank you for reading and please reply to my ideas :)

apljee

I'd like to see a missile launch thing, where if raiders are coming, (or just for fun,) players can choose a location and it will blow up there (not instantly) but players would need a rocket launch pad.

Tonixzmac


QuoteIf your idea is at all complicated or uses game systems or AI behaviors that are not already in the game, it is not cheap and should be posted elsewhere.

How about a small mini map on the top left corner of the screen just under the stats info.
where i can see a small red dot to indicate some bits off raiders and a green or blue dot indicate my colonist.

ba12348

This ended up being far longer than I originally thought, I just kept coming up with things.

Structure:
-Concertainers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesco_bastion)
Perhaps listed as "Reinforced Sandbag wall," blocks vision, movement, and gunfire like a regular wall, does not contain a power conduit, does not roof an area when enclosed. 
-Dirt and sand flooring
What it says on the box.  Perhaps a pick and additional construction time is required if replacing a stone or concrete floor.
-Manual roofing tool
Lets you designate an area to be roofed, requires construction time and pillars (in the form of single wall sections) for support.  Reduces the chance of whatever is underneath being affected by weather (nutrient paste dispenser, I'm looking at you), but does not remove it entirely.
-Wind turbine
Makes less power than a solar plant, but works day and night, an alternative to geothermal if no vents are available nearby.
-Incinerator
Requires massive amounts of electricity, destroys whatever is put inside after a time, including debris.  Incinerating a body serves as closure, cancelling out any "I saw a body" mood effects.  Can only work on one item at a time.

New gun turret types:
-Advanced Turret
Medium range, medium damage, low fire rate (a sniper tower, but not on nearly the same level as the M24)
-Heavily armored turret
Noticeably higher health, but much higher material cost, also affected by Turret armor research (see below)
-Manned turret
Functions only when someone is inside, higher accuracy than an auto-turret, but can be turned against you if a raider gets inside.
-Fire based tower (more like a flamethrower than Molotov cocktails) Terribly damaging, fear inducing, but very short range, and dangerous to anyone nearby while firing. Anyone.  Significantly larger explosion radius than other towers when destroyed.

Objects/items:
-Placeable bushes, flowers, and trees/cacti
Serves the same purpose as a flower pot, but outdoors, and doesn't require (frequent) maintenance.
-Target Dummy
Gives colonists something to practice their aim on other than Muffalo, has lots of health, but will need to be replaced occasionally.
-Melee weapons
A metal pipe, pointed stick, even a banana*, but some way to improve melee damage, could make guns more rare and valuable if some raiders come equipped with them as well.

*Monty Python, self defense against fruit.

Fire control:
-Fire cabinet
Re-tooled equipment rack, contains the tools listed below. 
-Fire extinguisher
Equipped as a weapon, makes colonist more effective while fighting fires, entirely useless for combat though.
-Turnout gear
Also equipped like a weapon, makes colonist fire-proof, good for rescuing other colonists trapped in fire.  Possibly slows movement speed, so it shouldn't be worn all the time.
-Fire should probably be more of an issue if these are implemented, spreads faster, much harder to beat out by hand, starts more frequently from faulty machines and power conduit.

Research:
-Turret armor
Each level increases health slightly, costs metal as well as time to research, each tier costs more than the last.
-Electrical efficiency
Power plants make slightly more power, and batteries store more. 

Behavior:
-Recreational activities, painting, reading, radio?, actively socializing.  Gives colonists something to do that improves their mood, perhaps too long without recreation could be enough to cause a breakdown on its own.  Each activity has different effects for each colonist, based on traits.
-Several levels of mental breakdown, the "kill everyone" breakdown, run away (can still be arrested and convinced though), fetal position (requires rescuing, bed time, and a doctor to become active), again, based on traits.
-Improved path finding, do chores based on walking distance, not "as the crow flies."  I've had colonists walk all the way around a mountain to get food, walking past metal, because the food was technically closer to where they were when they selected the task.  Also improve efficiency, when a miner finishes and heads for bed, have him carry an armful of metal to the stockpile if he is also a hauler.
-Separate Hauling and Dumping tasks, hauling brings in supplies, dumping gets rid of debris and the like.
-Deny areas to certain colonists, my haulers usually end up running between my hydroponics building and stockpile, not collecting the metal someone else has mined, because the food is closer to the stockpile.
-Panic button, allows you to designate a "retreat" and a "muster" area, and assign each colonist to one of the two.  Hitting the button immediately sends all colonists to their assigned areas, protecting the unarmed ones from raiders, and summoning the armed ones to defend the colony.

I know cooking and actual medical attention are already in the works, so I wont mention those. 

Side note to Tynan:
I program buildings, not games, but it has been my experience that most people have absolutely no idea what four hours of programming means in terms of results.  I don't know how much work each of these suggestions means for you, they just seem simple to me (alright not the behaviors section, most of that is pretty major).

Varock0

I have a problem with the graves they just take too much space in a long game. One way to hadle that is to shoot with a T9 on the graves to burn them but it would be much nicer if there was a better way to cremate them, in a stove or sth like that.
I also experienced some huge electric discharges wich led to huge explosions. I think it would be nice if you can do this on purpose on a specific destination to kill raiders.

RRT877

Hi,

I'm a huge fan of Dungeon Keeper and I always build my Base like in there old times.

Usually I first dig out a 18x18 room ( 9x9 Dungeon Keeper equals 18x18 in Rimword ).

Then I start to place furniture like Beds and Stuff.

After a while I'll add some nice Floor.

And after that I'll upgrade the Walls and this is a bit complicated for me ..

.. dig the old "stone" walls away and then place structure walls.

Nits not a huge Problem if I upgrade one room after another but if I try to do this with to neighbour rooms - I often loose were there walls exactly were.

-

So please let us build structure walls on naturals ones, like it is possible to build growing area on existing plants.

The colonist then would automatic dig the Wall away ..

Drip T Rat

- The ability to designate colonists as Leader, Sharif, Head Gardener ect. for a stat bonus and added depression to the others if a colonist with a tittle is killed.

- lots of people have discussed having the colonists form relationships. Why not continue on to children and eventually families?

RRT877

Emergency light Tech.

If the Power is low, lamps will automatic activate a lees power intensive red light. The Colonist can see but still get the "in darkness" malus.

MrHudson

Autotraders - they aren't affected by Social skill but are a bit cheaper.

xmakina

For the player:
Notepad / Sticky notes
Screenshot taker / Polaroid camera

palandus

My cheapest ideas would be:

Research topics that improve variables currently ingame such as:
-> Carrying Weight (How much stuff a colonist can carry)
-> Expanded Store Stocks (Allowing ships to carry more stock and more credits)
-> Amount of Food produced by Gathering a Potato in a Growing Area
-> Amount of Metal produced by Mining an Ore Vein
-> Increased duration of ships sticking around (Allows you to trade with a given ship for longer)
-> Increased hitpoints of turrets
-> Increased power production of Solar Arrays
-> Increased power storage of Batteries
-> Reduced power consumption of Lights
etc...

Floors
-> Different tile shapes (ie Diamond, Hexagon, Pentagon, etc...)

Furniture
-> Power-Saving Lamps (Ones that only turn on during the night)
-> Double-Door (A place where you can place a single large door that takes up two spaces)

Trade Commodities:
-> Alcohol, Silk, Salt, Pepper, Oil

Bit tired, so can't think of anything else. Will probably post again later.

DeltaV

Energy Efficiency: New technology, 3000 research. Causes lights to automatically switch off when nobody is in the room or when everyone in the room is asleep. Does not apply when there are hydroponics tables in the room.
Quote from: Douglas AdamsIt is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

palandus

#507
Equipment: (Takes up weapon slot; can be placed on Equipment Racks)
-> Omni Repair Tool = Repairs far faster (200% faster) than normal.
-> Diamond Power Drill = Drills far faster (200% faster) than normal.
-> Craftsman's Toolbox = Constructs far faster (200% faster) than normal.
-> Grower's Toolkit = Grows and Cuts plants far faster (200% faster) than normal.
-> Miniaturizer Backpack = Allows someone to carry far more goods (300% more resources) than normal.
-> Science Kit = Research far faster (200% faster) than normal.

Weapons:
-> Heavy Pistol (think Desert Eagle) = Similiar to pistol but deals more damage, is armor piercing, and has slightly more range.
-> Machine Pistol = Similiar to pistol but fires more shots (Burst of 3), and has slightly less range.
-> Rocket Launcher = Fires a rocket-based explosive that detonates wherever it lands. Slows down the user using it.
-> Light Machine Gun = Fires a lot of shots (Burst of 7), but slows down the user using it. Somewhat inaccurate at longer range.
-> Automatic Shotgun = Fires more shots than the regular shotgun (Burst of 3), but has shorter range.
-> Belt-Fed Automatic Shotgun = Fires a lot of shots (Burst of 7), but slows down the user using it. Ineffective except at close range, due to recoil.
-> Grenade Launcher = Fires an explosive device that detonates at the destination. Fires explosive/fragmentation grenades.
-> MP5 = A more powerful submachine gun than the Uzi and more accurate. Burst of 5 shots
-> Dual Wielding = Allows a colonist to pick up a second guy of the same type. Fires both weapons (doubles burst size; ie two pistols = Burst of 2), but reduces range of weapons.
-> Dual Wieldable Weapons = Pistol, Machine Pistol, Heavy Pistol, Uzi, Molotov, Grenades, and MP5

Furniture:
-> Benches = Something two people can sit on
-> Wall Torch = Produces light, but doesn't prevent colonists from moving into or past it.
-> Punching Bag = Allows colonists to train Melee Fighting in a safe environment.
-> Target Dummy = Allows colonists to train Gun Fighting in a safe environment. (Would be very useful if you had someone with high Social and high Guns but ManualDumb traits so that they could be used as the top marksman in emergencies. Makes them more useful, as everyone else is honing their skills)
-> Lamp Post = Similiar to other lamps, but protected from the rain so it doesn't short-circuit.
-> Organically Powered Generator = Produces energy in exchange for food (potato-powered). Doesn't produce a lot of energy.

New Concepts:
-> Armor Piercing Weapons = M16, M26 and the Enfield naturally penetrates bullet proof armor. Otherwise bullet proof armor/plating reduces bullet damage by 33%.

Research:
-> Advanced Turrets = Unlocks Sniper Turret, Mortar Turret and Suppression Turret
-> Longer Barrels = Increases effective range of all weapons.
-> Armor Piercing Bullets = Increases damage of all bullet-based weapons. All bullet weapons can now penetrate armored targets.
-> Bullet Proof Armor = Provides colonists with some protection from bullet-weapons and makes turrets take less damage from bullets.
-> Metallurgy = Increases metal yield from mining.
-> Agricultural Practices = Increases food yield from growing.

Research Unlocks:
-> Sniper Turret = Fires a single bullet at long-range. Deals light damage, but has greater range than M26 Sniper Rifle.
-> Mortar Turret = Fires an explosive mortar at medium-range. Explodes on contact and induces fear into targets (Think Shell-shocked effect)
-> Suppression Turret = Fires a constant stream of fire at short-range. Deals high damage and induces fear into targets. (Fire is hot)
-> Longer Barrels = Increases range by 15%
-> Armor Piercing Bullets = Increases damage by 10% and ignores bullet-proof armor.
-> Bullet Proof Armor = Reduces bullet damage by 33%. If the enemy's weapon can penetrate armor this has no effect.
-> Metallurgy = Increases metal yield by 50%
-> Agricultural Practices = Increases food yield by 50%

Trait Change to Manual Dumb:
-> Make it so that people with Manual Dumb can clean and fight fires (normally its just fight fires). Since cleaning levels no skills and only makes the environment look better for morale purposes, I think it would make sense to allow cleaning, if they can firefight. Ones normally with Manual Dumb are usually useless to the colony except in VERY specific circumstances. I'm looking at you Nobles and Assassins. It would make it so that they at least do something semi-useful for the colony AND clean up blood splotches.

Woyzeck

A lot of ideas being bandied about here aren't sounding very cheap, and get into a lot of very narrow and complicated mechanics. One of the great strengths of gameplay like that Rimworld provides is rooted in simple mechanics that interact and/or randomly come into play simultaneously to create complex situations.

Raiders, as they are now, have some issues - they show up, shamble into our gunfire like Chinese conscripts at Chosin, and appear to have no goal but to smash furniture and set walls on fire. I have a few ideas that may be sufficiently "cheap" to implement, and which could broaden the potential situations and options players face:

1 - Split hostiles into two potential factions, "raiders", who attack for material gain, and "cultists", a faction roughly akin to the Thugees (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee). The Cultists would also be seeking loot, however, their ideology would also cast their acts of murder as benevolent - they're sending their victims off to paradise, or providing human sacrifices that will prevent some great catastrophe.

Either way, as far as game mechanics go, the Cultists would behave in a manner more like the present-game raiders; they come to destroy, will destroy everything and kill everyone if allowed, and will trudge onward into gunfire with little concern for their mortal existence. Maybe later on down the road a Trojan horse/colony infiltrator mechanic can come into play as well.

2- Alter the standard Raiders' behavior in two (relatively) simple ways. First, make them less suicidally aggressive. Give greater weight to their AI seeking cover, and lower their threshold for punishment before beating a retreat.

Secondly, change their goal. Their aren't after your doors, walls, and furniture anymore - they're after your stockpile. If they reach a stockpile, they will begin taking resources (perhaps only cash, for simplicity's sake) out of it, and will continue to do so until either driven off by losses or they extract a certain amount of loot, which would be based upon the size of the raiding party. Attacking them while they do this will kick them back into attack mode until all -drafted- colonists are out of sight again. At that point, they'll return to looting the stockpile.

And here's where strategic options come in: the maximum amount of resources that can be taken from any one stockpile, would be the total colony resources divided by the total number of stockpiles. So, for example, if you kept one stockpile outside the front gate, and one inside your base, the most the Raiders could loot from the outside one would be one half of your total wealth. If you keep one outside and three inside, the most they could get from outside would be one fourth your total wealth.

And if that's enough to sate the raiding party's numbers, off they'll go, and no one has to get hurt. But if it isn't, they'll start moving deeper, seeking out what else you might have hidden away somewhere - the next stockpile. And if that's still not enough, the next after that.

This gives the player the option of bribing non-Cultist raiders, avoiding at least some combat, cutting down the risk of losing colonists, and cutting down on combat-related hits to happiness.* That is, if the colony's initial offering is sufficient, or if it isn't, that you're willing to let them come in and help themselves to more.

And of course, if you're too low on resources, or the raiding group is too large, well, a dairy cow with dried-up teats isn't much worth keeping around, is it? If they take everything you have and still haven't hit the group's pay-off limit, they go hostile again, and show you what they do to cheapskates who fail to give them everything they want.

Similar to the slave/prisoner prices, the pay-off limit could simply be based off of the experience and health of the raiding group's members, albeit with a formula tweaked to put greater weight on backgrounds/skills with combat bonuses - a bunch of healthy assassins and marines will expect more, a gaggle of wounded oafs, far less.

Of course, players will still have the more challenging option of building high fences, keeping what's theirs, and just shooting the thieving bastards on principle.

*- It occurs to me there could still be a negative morale effect attached to allowing raiders to take resources, albeit one still less than and "witnessed death", "witnessed corpse" - much like the way hunger/ate raw food or paste works now. On the flip side, a positive bonus could be attached to successfully driving raiders or cultists off, perhaps one that is multiplied by their numbers, and then adjusted according to the number of colonists you have. A big colony driving of a few raiders or cultists would only get a small bonus, a small colony driving off a big group would get a big bonus. For those who were manning the line during the fight, this could balance out or even exceed the morale toll of witnessing deaths and dead bodies. A hard fighting colony is a happy colony, as long as they do win in the end.  A colony that engages in paying off the barbarians had better offset the undermining psychological effects with a lot nice carpeting and entertaining distractions.

And if they get hit by a Raider group that wants more than they have, or by a large group of Cultists who will kill them all regardless, well, it's just a shame their soldiers didn't get more combat experience. Those extra levels in fighting skills might have been handy.

It's a system with complex options, but as you can see, the rules and mechanics behind it aren't complex themselves. Most of it comes down to a few simple math formulas, a splitting of hostiles into two groups, and a tweaking of what Raider AI pursues.

henrytm82

Better descriptions or reasons for "capturing" random wanderers for recruitment would be nice. As it is, the only real option is to "arrest" them, which makes me feel like a bad guy. Like, why am I "arresting" him? What'd he do, other than wander into my line of sight? I feel like The Mayor from Walking Dead - I'm kidnapping people and then brainwashing them into staying with me, forcing them to work for me and, if need be, to kill and die for me. That feels dirty.

Maybe instead of just "Arrest" there could be another option - "Invite". Has basically the same effect, but you'd need an open "colonist" bed instead of a "prisoner" bed. It could be based on a character's social skill (or possibly even the pleasantness of the unclaimed bedroom?); and maybe the wanderer is extremely likely to agree if he's unarmed, out of food and low on health - suddenly someone comes by and says "hey, we'll fix you up and give you a place to live if you'll come join our little colony", and he's all "hell yes, I'm dying out here". But maybe he feels like he's in okay shape, and your guy isn't very social, and he passes and continues on his way.

Then you have options (the golden word!): Try again, maybe with another character with higher social. Let him go. Or, you know...be the bad guy and arrest him for "trespassing" ;)

Seems easy enough to implement - all the parts are already there, you just need to make some slight modifications to the system.
"When you know not of what you speak, your mouth is best used for chewing."
-Walter Slovotsky