WORM SIGN!!!...I'm talking about sandworms here.

[thenightgaunt]

With the hinting in the last post on the blog that an Extreme Desert biome is on the way, it had me thinking of Dune.

Desert colonies are fun and a real challenge, but an extreme desert needs an extreme monster. Say, some sort of sandworm like beastie? So maybe not 100% Dune sandworms (for copyright reasons) but some sort of big nasty burrowing monster that randomly eats things out in the sand. Keep in mind that Tremors ripped the whole idea off of Dune without getting in trouble so some variation from the core concept will keep you safe.

So in game terms, how do you think this would work?
Stone would be safe, and sand deadly, but how to you get across into Rimworld a concept like "walk arythmically" or whatever non-dune version you'd want to use for the game.

I'm thinking that make it a chance each day that the worm would show up and eat something out on the sand. Man or beast.
But then guarantee it's appearance if explosives are used on the sand.

[REMworlder]

The harsh desert biome definitely needs something to make it unique so it's not just a big frying pan with sand in it. Sandworms could be really cool, even if they only cause earthquakes as a result of lots of pawns being close together or something.

Introducing some sort of padded or sand flooring that deters sandworms could work too; flooring selections are kind of lackluster so that would be a nice addition anyways.

Brainstorm on what could attract sand worms:
-Food. Leads to super-fortified granaries.
-Gunfire. Player 3's entered the game.
-Some type of valuable good analogous to spice that might be found commonly in extreme deserts, like maybe uranium or some new valuable yet to be introduced.

For additional character sandworms could be only active during the day, leading to nocturnal colonies. Or vice-versa, leading to colonies that completely shut down after sunset.

But sandworms in general would be chill.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Tremors worms would be a lot more realistic size for the game instead of the DUNE giant worms.  That being said "Spice" would be neat to have in game.  Something to make meals super tasty, beer, medicine, all the stuff spice is used for in DUNE. 

[thenightgaunt]

Tremors worms would be a lot more realistic size for the game instead of the DUNE giant worms.  That being said "Spice" would be neat to have in game.  Something to make meals super tasty, beer, medicine, all the stuff spice is used for in DUNE.

Maybe both? Smaller worms for a more common enemy attracted by explosions and other big noise. Then a chance every time (say 5% or less) that it summons the big worm. Smaller worms would definitely work better though because they wouldn't get stuck on rocky desert maps in "mountainous" areas.

Though for a big worm, why not treat it like the ones from Dune. Just a giant mouth opens up out on the sand?

[thenightgaunt]

...Brainstorm on what could attract sand worms:
-Food. Leads to super-fortified granaries.
-Gunfire. Player 3's entered the game.
-Some type of valuable good analogous to spice that might be found commonly in extreme deserts, like maybe uranium or some new valuable yet to be introduced.

For additional character sandworms could be only active during the day, leading to nocturnal colonies. Or vice-versa, leading to colonies that completely shut down after sunset.

But sandworms in general would be chill.

Great ideas there.
I like the idea of spice or some other rare substance out there. Maybe left behind by the worms.

I think you've inadvertently brought up an important point with some of your suggestions. Would they work better as regular monsters like the scarabs where they can break into a subterranean base by chewing through the doors or digging? Or would they be better as something that could only appear in the sand? Maybe as a static event like a mouth opening up in the sand, or tentacles popping up to attack victims? Not really moving but much more random seeming.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Playing SIMAnt back in the day there were antlions in the ground that ate you if you got too close.  randomly spawning.  i see that as being the way to do worms in RW.  Though I think they should be limited to soft terrain like sand and soil. 

Spice should be the reward for killing them or something.

[StorymasterQ]

Yes! SimAnt! I was racking my brain yesterday about where I've seen something like that. I agree with the antlion thing, that could be something in RimWorld Extreme Desert. It's a non-moving, avoidable danger, when it's revealed. When it's not, it can be devastating

[JimmyAgnt007]

Antlions would be pointless once discovered tho so they should be super valuable to kill but too well defended to use guns against.  They can fling grenades back at the throwers so you need to get in there with melee. 

[Regret]

Antlions would be pointless once discovered tho so they should be super valuable to kill but too well defended to use guns against.  They can fling grenades back at the throwers so you need to get in there with melee.

Interesting ideas.
Putting such a dangerous enemy on the map requires reworking the pathing so pawns know to avoid the Ant-lion, otherwise every hauler has a good chance of dumbly walking into it's maws.
I would make them shoot-able/grenade-able for balance and simplicity's sake.

[Reviire]

I have no idea if this would work, my knowledge of code is horrendous.

But for large worms, why not have them "jump" out of the ground? Have them appear at one spot, where they would move to another, and disappear. (So it looks like they're jumping out of the ground, but it could really just be some hacky stuff.) Add effects where they enter/leave.