Birthing Vats

[Kajin]

The comments section in the news section got me to thinking. Gonna go ahead and copy/paste what I said in the news section over here.

"Straight up cloning I'm unsure but think it'd be too easy, but what about birthing vats? Colonists that like each other can mix in their genetics and childhood memory scans. Child spends a few months growing in the vat. Out pops a teenager (whatever the minimum age for colonists in the game is. I think I've seen them as young as fourteen or fifteen?) who has some small amounts of skills based on the uploaded memories and is ready to work. Could limit it by requiring some manner of Slug Plug that can only be purchased from passing traders? Basically a ready made recipient for genetic material that takes the genes and then grows into a fully formed human after some time. Could be a good way to get more pawns without having to convert captives or buy slaves."

Thoughts?

[mokonasakura]

I do agree there needs to be a more reliable way to get colonists, so i think this is a good idea.

[REMworlder]

It's really not that hard to get colonists, especially when they randomly join. There are four ways to get colonists right now:

1) Wanderer joins
2) Person chased by raiders asks to join
3) Convert prisoners from attacks, crash landings, cryptosleep
4) Buy from space slaver or pirate

With the upcoming land caravans, that's potentially a second trade-based way to acquire colonists. Even if your colony lacks social skills to enable #3, 1 and 2 are still entirely unaffected by that.

For this idea to be great, it needs to be a bit different. If the vat needs a part from a trader, for example, that still constrains the player the same was #4 does: you have to wait for the right space ship, you need to have enough money.

[Kajin]

I only suggested that as a way to keep such a thing from being incredibly overpowered. I'm gonna disagree with it not being a truly great means, though. It'd fit in perfectly with the relationships update that's coming and it'd give the colony a sense of continuity and community that it lacked before. Truth be told the recruitment methods as of right now are a bit distasteful. Just a random collection of raiders and slaves. Nothing meaningful, especially once they outnumber the original colonists ten to one. Being able to have children would avert that, make everything feel like it's all coming together.

If you wanted to avert that, though, you could always have it so that women in a relationship get pregnant. Once they give birth the resulting infant is then put in the vat for a year or so where it's progressively developed until it's a suitable age. Either way it works to increase your population without having to rely on the currently unreliable means of recruitment and purchase of slaves.

[JimmyAgnt007]

There is a whole discussion on pregnancy and such.  I link it in the Frequently suggested list.  But growth vats are one of the suggestions ive made in the past but for now its not a big deal.  Each storyteller has population limits that it tries to keep so if you want more people then edit those files and the events should happen more often.  That being said, Tynan knows this is an issue and he will get to it when he is ready to tackle it.