turnip's wonderful list of things that will mutilate and kill you

Started by turnip, October 07, 2013, 11:48:41 PM

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turnip

This is a suggested list of potential new enemies. Pirate raiders are great and all (They'd be better if they wore mexican-cartel style bandannas and were covered in tattoos and shizzle), but I for one would like to see some more enemy diversity as time goes on. Most of these are also Factions, and will only launch raids against you if relations are low enough.
Here are some potential enemies to eventually consider adding in:

Marines! The Empire has claimed this Rim World. A coordinated squad of highly trained marines, they heard about your colony while executing a group of raiders and decided to remove the heresy, steal your resources and practice their shooting. Six high-level Humans (Five marines and one Commissar, the Pirate King of the group), with advanced weaponry and armor. The marines don't consider you enough of a threat to really plan against, and their tactics won't be much better than the average raider group, but they'll still be a challenge for any colony. Marines will not stop fighting until every last one is dead. Impossible to recruit, and will constantly try to escape if captured. May or may not attack warden.

Androids! EXECUTE EXECUTE.exe. Yes indeed, Androids. The Androids don't have uniform groups, and vary between one and three without any sort of leader. They have built-in weapons that act as a high-power pistol and, if harvested, can be used as a weapon on someone's arm(Once harvesting is implemented). Androids are strong single targets with excellent shooting, hand-to-hand and tactics, another endgame opponent. Androids are impossible to knock out, and therefore impossible to recruit, they won't stop until they are dead or their flee.exe kicks in after taking a certain amount of damage. Androids attack because of haywire programming, or being sent after your colony by a more advanced group...

Tribesmen! We were here first. These guys suck. No, really. The small fringe tribes that managed to survive you, the raiders, the marines, the void gods, and god knows what else are left really hating everything smarter than a rock with googly eyes. Armed with stone-age spears and slings, tribesmen will attempt to kill any colonist they see with their good hand-to-hand. They come in large groups, almost naked, and with no tactics other than "CHARGE AND KILL OOOGA BOOGA". Early game opponent. Recruiting a tribesman is harder than recruiting a raider, but not impossible by any means. A tribesman will never use a gun or research, as they fear the things, and are poor socializes, but are strong and good at growing, hauling and mining, much like oafs. Tribesmen are reptilian, and their hard scales are their only armor. A Chieftain is their Pirate King, who will sometimes be using a more dangerous weapon like a bow or bronze spear.

Criminals! There's a buck to be made on this world, and you can bet the Mafia is on it. Smugglers, harvesters, and extortionists. Not like raiders, Criminals are organized crime organizations who have a specific goal in mind. Some of them will want to talk to your leader before doing anything, offering them protection in order for a constant tribute of something- Metal, food, money. Some will want to run weapons and drugs through your colony as a resupply point, and while accepting will grant you some cash, the raiders may show up better armed later. Some will just straight-out attack you for your healthy organs and metal supplies. Criminals, on average, are better armed and organized than raiders, although still not devastating. A mid-game enemy, and usually showing up in groups ranging from 3 to 6 with an underboss as their Pirate King. Easy to capture and Recruit, same as raiders.

Assassin! Always in groups of one, the assassin has superhuman combat abilities and uses advanced weaponry and armor. The assassin also avoids detection until someone (Or a turret if he doesn't disable them) has him in their direct line of sight, and, if not careful, may be able to sneak into your base unnoticed. The assassin aims to kill one person in your group, and will leave once the deed is done. Who could have ordered such a thing? The Mafiosos to the north? The Empire to the West? Dave? Assassins will only attack if hired by a faction, or someone in your colony, if they either SERIOUSLY hate the guy, or if they think they would be able to get into your base far easier with him dead. Colony leaders are particularly susceptible to this. Will die instantly if captured due to hidden Cyanide pill.
Assassins may be considerably harder to put in than other units, due to their weird mechanics. Sorry about that.

Rebels! The Empire is a threat, and everyone knows this. Will only show up on planets that have the Empire as a faction on them. Poorly armed and trained Militia, but there's a lot of them. Better than tribesmen since they use guns, but barely other than that. Will attack you if you associate with the Empire, and vice versa, otherwise may appear asking for something or trying to enlist your support in the good fight against the oppresive Empire. Fanatical and very hard to recruit, ironically. Their Pirate King is a Revolutionary Leader, who very rarely has better weapons than the other Rebels. He has a quite high Social skill. Suitable for the Mid game. They show up quite frequently if angered, in groups of 2-8.

Corporate Men! Rimworld metal fetches a high price these days. The Corporation that appears on the Planet is interested in one thing: Metal. As much of it as they can get their greedy little hands on. Might approach you with an offer to take as much Metal as you can give them, usually for a price that screws you over. Much like the Mafia, should you refuse, there might be consequences. Mercenaries show up, led by their Pirate King, a Corporate Underling. Mercenaries and the representative of The Corporation are armed with advanced weaponry and armor, to ensure your support- and metal. Will only resort to violence if you refuse their perfectly reasonable demands twice. Suitable for the late game.

Cultists! The Void Gods ask for blood- Who am I to refuse? Far less likely to attack you if you have built the proper shrines, and will not if you have gone through all the rituals- Yes, ALL the rituals. One cultist might be seen on the edge of your map, only to steal a Muffalo (Poor muffalo), or may come in groups of up to eight, led by a Void Messenger (Their Pirate King), armed with Sacrificial Knives and the conviction of men whose fate is already sealed. Cultists will kill themselves if captured, usually in a gruesome way that will drop anyone who sees it's happiness like a rock. They're quite creative. If your planet spawns with the Cult as a faction, members of your colony may find themselves stricken by it's message, and go on a mad rampage in the name of the Void Gods. Their threat is not their attacks, but what they do to your colony. They find ways to inspire fear, and they plant their message in every corner. The madness of the cult is in the corner of your eye, always.

Scientists! We need more bodies, Herr Doktor. The Scientists are potentially friendly, giving you research in exchange for whatever they require at the moment. If you upset them somehow, they may send Assassins after you, or a small group of Lab Assistants to kidnap one of your Colony members and drag him back. Lab Assistants are unarmed and weak, but sneaky(Not as sneaky as an assassin though) and can disable electricity and turrets. Easily recruited.

Mutants! UIAHGIUHGAIUAHIUGH. The result of Doktor Hendrick's attempts to combine Muffalo with the resident Tribesmen. Disgusting abominations of science, they use nothing but their fists. Mutants might be soft and easily killable weaklings, or scaly, large monstrosities that can crush any man. Either way, they hate you. You should probably hope you don't spawn with Mutants. Mutants never attack in groups, and are suitable for any part of the game due to their variability.

Hounds! TARGET SPOTTED. Not dogs, but rather large, spidery machines armed with a mounted automatic weapon and hatred of humans. These aren't a potential faction, but rather wander the landscape in some games, searching for humans to kill. Always show up in groups of one. Very hard to kill due to being large metal things with automatic weapons. Their desires for blood are unknown. Maybe the scientists made them? Maybe the Void gods sent them down? Perhaps they were summoned by the Cult(OH GOD THE CULT CAN SUMMON NOW). In any event, stay away from them.

And that's all I got. It should be noted that nothing except for the Empire is necessarily Human. The Tribesmen are never, Hounds and Androids are Machines, and everything else might be anything. It's about 25% chance of them being human, 60% of some species of Xeno, and 15% of being rebellious machines.

Anything and everything said here is completely changeable for balance or whatevs. Just some ideas I think would be awesome to get implemented eventually.
EDIT: Please add any ideas you have. More enemies is always a good thing.
Turnips should be a growable plant.

CommieKazie

Marines: 
Even if you weren't a huge threat, they'd still use the best tactics/weapons.  I think a better place for them to fill would be if you're breaking laws.  (Trafficking drugs/slaves/organs with pirates).  Then they'd attack you, and try to subdue your colony.  On the other hand, say you're working with corporate people, legit traders, they may come if you need assistance?

Androids:
Would be better if they augmented any attacking group, because why the heck would a lone android decide it was going to attack you?

Tribesmen:
Like most of it, but why do they have to JUST be your enemy?  Perhaps you can crash (or acquire) an anthropologist who could communicate and trade with them?  Next thing you know you've got RimWorld Thanksgiving.

Rebels: 
If they're going to be able to hold their own against the Empire as you've created it, they're going to have to be on-par with the Marines.  Perhaps different tech, different looks, and different tech-trees that they allow you access to, but similar in combat worthiness.  (Think Star Wars).  If the Rebels are as you describe there's no way they'll hold their own on a planet (much less galactic) scale.

Scientists: 
Maybe the occasional mad-scientist, but for the most part it'd make more sense if they just passed through, maybe gave you boosts to your research if you helped them (give resources, or send colonists to aide in their study).

"Hounds": 
Like my comment on the androids, unless they're paired with a faction that would make no sense.  Why would giant killing robots just roam around?


I think you're missing two aspects:
1)  Not everything should be trying to kill you.  I think having a bunch of factions would be good.  But you should have diplomatic options with them.  Perhaps pleasing one group aggravates another (so you can never have everyone happy).  This makes you choose between having every group irked with you, or having some groups love and aide you, while others try and attack you.  Of course raiders are gonna raid...

2)  Flora and Fauna!  I think the game NEEDS to be playable with only wildlife.  Of course I want these factions too, but having enough flora and fauna to make a compelling game would make Rimworld feel MUCH richer.

Perhaps a massive venus-flytrap that can attack things?
Giant spiders?
Coyotes, big cats.  Just stick an alien feel on most animals that exist.  Elephant-like things would be cool.

My biggest interest would be a zerg/tyranid like species (doesn't have to be so aggressive and blood-thirsty.  But invasions of lots of things.  Starship troopers!)

ALSO!!! MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!
Sandworms.
Dune was on the inspiration list.  Gotta go on.
Riding them is optional.
Remote control cars with C4 on them to kill the worms a-la Tremors 2?  That'd be cool too.

Tynan

Quote"CHARGE AND KILL OOOGA BOOGA"

Before I finish reading this I just want to ask if you're available to do some dialogue consultation on the game? :D
Tynan Sylvester - @TynanSylvester - Tynan's Blog

Tynan

You're a great writer and there are some fun ideas here. I actually kind of like the Assassin thing, not necessarily with all the attached bells and whistles, but just the idea of a single extremely dangerous character. Tribesmen I've been wanting to do for a while, and hopefully will be able to soon. Killer robots were in the game back in January (during the tactics game phase), I just have to make 3 frames of art for them to reactivate them.
Tynan Sylvester - @TynanSylvester - Tynan's Blog

walti921

Wow well written OP that made what looked like a lot of text very readable AND entertaining.

For me having different "factions" seems like an important factor, you have suggested some great ones already! I also think its important to have different ways of dealing with enemies other than perforating them with flying metal. So some form of diplomacy in game which helps determine which enemies you face seems like an excellent idea.... even if its only paying a bribe or something simple at first.

Also Id love to see more wild animals/alien monsters.

In how many sci-fi movies or books do people ever crash on a planet with no horrifying predators???
short answer: NOT MANY
So i think in the interests of staying true to the genre we need a few different species of native predators. A bit of diversity in the kind of threats you face cant help but make the game more entertaining after all and i think guys with guns only give you so much mileage.

Sky_walker

Aye.
Riddick probably comes first as an inspiration, but there are dozens of amazing ideas to pick from (dune worm... please....).
Self-sustaining colony with hydroponic glasshouses.

turnip

Sorry for not responding earlier, was attending to other thingies.
Quote from: CommieKazie on October 08, 2013, 01:51:29 AM
1)  Not everything should be trying to kill you.  I think having a bunch of factions would be good.  But you should have diplomatic options with them.  Perhaps pleasing one group aggravates another (so you can never have everyone happy).  This makes you choose between having every group irked with you, or having some groups love and aide you, while others try and attack you.  Of course raiders are gonna raid...

ALSO!!! MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!
Sandworms.

I don't think I made it clear enough, but most of these factions do start off with neutral relations towards you. Some of them, i.e. Mutants, will attack no matter what, but most will only attack if you anger them. Many of them you can start trade relations with, although some (Like the corporation) Won't trade in your best interests.

Adding Flora and Fauna is something I'm interested in too, I just wasn't thinking of them when I made the list. Sandworms are awesome, though.

As far as Hounds/Androids go, hounds can be part of the mystery: Why indeed are there giant killer robots walking around? Who put them here, and why do they hate humans so much? Androids I was thinking would most likely be sent after you by the corporation/scientists, or attack you with haywire programming if either of those two are present.
Quote from: Tynan on October 08, 2013, 02:40:01 AM
Quote"CHARGE AND KILL OOOGA BOOGA"

Before I finish reading this I just want to ask if you're available to do some dialogue consultation on the game? :D

Aw shucks. Feel free to email/PM me with whatever, I put in an old account as my email but I can still access it.

Quote from: walti921 on October 08, 2013, 06:05:25 AM
So i think in the interests of staying true to the genre we need a few different species of native predators. A bit of diversity in the kind of threats you face cant help but make the game more entertaining after all and i think guys with guns only give you so much mileage.

Absolutely. I was thinking more of organized baddies with gunz when I made the list, but I'm all for predatory animals.
Turnips should be a growable plant.

Zeiph

Are you talking velociraptors ? Because if you are, I'm in !

AspenShadow

Quote from: Zeiph on October 08, 2013, 12:37:14 PM
Are you talking velociraptors ? Because if you are, I'm in !

Haha my mind went straight to a Jurassic Park place too, I think it's pretty much a given there'll be a Predatory Raptor-ish creature in the game.

- I like the idea of Venus-Flytrap-esque flora and maybe vines that creep towards heat and could overgrow your base if you're not careful (a different slower kind of invasion), then there are the standard parasitic plants that latch onto others and a colonist harvesting from such a plant might get poisoned.

turnip

Threw together some very, very basic flags in about 10 minutes. These are just potential designs for the future. (I'll post this in Fan Art as well.)
Empire (Space Marines):

Rebels:

Cult:

Corporation:
Turnips should be a growable plant.

Zeiph

The corporation one may need a rework in my opinion, but the rest is quite good ! Nice work :D

turnip

Quote from: Zeiph on October 08, 2013, 03:03:26 PM
The corporation one may need a rework in my opinion, but the rest is quite good ! Nice work :D

Yeah, I kinda blanked on the Corporation one so that one really sucks. People are welcome to make it better, though.
Turnips should be a growable plant.

Zeiph

I'll pass on that, I burnt all my art skills to crop my forum avatar !

AspenShadow

Quote from: Zeiph on October 08, 2013, 03:07:52 PM
I'll pass on that, I burnt all my art skills to crop my forum avatar !

Lol seems worth it.

If you need any extra labour I'm pretty good with digital art (better with editing than blank-slate creation) myself. You shouldn't have to do it all yourself.
Addition: Well, with Kalesin as well.

turnip

Quote from: AspenShadow on October 08, 2013, 03:23:05 PM
If you need any extra labour I'm pretty good with digital art (better with editing than blank-slate creation) myself. You shouldn't have to do it all yourself.
Addition: Well, with Kalesin as well.

The Scientists and Mafia I didn't really think up a flag for, and improvements are always welcome. If you've got time to kill, adding in some flags/new factions would be great. Deep factions(along with deep characters), would really help the game imho, and the community should help out with what they can. No obligations to do anything though. The Corporate flag really needs some work too.
Turnips should be a growable plant.