Psionics and Spice.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Alrighty, right now we have a resource that we can't manufacture (neutroamine).  Some people don't like this but Tynan wants trading to be necessary.  I suggested that certain resources be biome specific, such as neutroamine being harvested from a flower in the jungle (cuz that's where we get rare medicines right?  Also where we need the most meds.) But that's just one resource and there are a lot of other biomes.  So for now it should stay as it is but an idea I had for a new resource based on psionics.  Spice!  and of course it gets harvested in a desert biome.  (Yay for Dune references)

The way I see Psionics working is that, there is a psionic skill.  This would replace the current traits as the higher the skill the higher the sensitivity.  Thus making the psychically deaf trait a bad thing.  As you train up the skill it drains your other skills, perhaps starting with the highest ranked one. (maybe doesn't progress if there are no other traits to drain)  Eventually resulting in there only being a level 20 in psionics and 0s in everything else.  The skill will let you use artifacts as weapons, animal control to attack enemies, making them go insane and attack each other.  Also whatever new nifty powers Tynan wants like lightning or fire.  Your skill level determines how powerful the power is.  Can you only control squirrels or can you make boomalopes blow themselves up.

Non combat skills can be anything from mental powers to remove bad moods or memories, seduction, animal taming, fast moving resources, or even predicting the next event.

Spice comes into play as a tool to help you.  Firstly by stopping your psionic skills from degrading, then boosting your passion for it.  Also, for non psionic and psionic alike it can prevent health problems or making you partially immune to diseases before you even get them.

Any other ideas?  Maybe new and rare, biome specific, resources?

[keylocke]

i just drop by to say yea.. i also wanna manufacture neutroamine instead of being forced to trade for it.

trade for raw materials should be optional rather than a necessity. buying finished products = that's fine. but forced to buy raw materials that you need to craft something? that ain't good. it's like the gold chokepoint when building a multianalyzer.

otherwise, i'd rather just have the game add a trader who specializes selling drugs/meds so i don't have to manufacture it since i'm gonna end up buying it anyways..

not much point doing research/crafting if you still buy the stuff, coz in the end game, you net so much silver you don't really care much about spending anyways.

[Thundercraft]

...I suggested that certain resources be biome specific, such as neutroamine being harvested from a flower in the jungle (cuz that's where we get rare medicines right?  Also where we need the most meds.)

I do like the idea of certain resources being biome specific. And I think players should have a way to manufacture neutroamine, even if it's only possible in a certain biome.

The way I see Psionics working is that, there is a psionic skill.  This would replace the current traits as the higher the skill the higher the sensitivity.  Thus making the psychically deaf trait a bad thing.  As you train up the skill it drains your other skills...

I'm undecided. I guess it would depend on exactly how it's implemented and how balanced it would feel. Though, I do think it might be interesting to require colonists have a certain skill to be effective with artifact weapons.

Where I thought you were going with the subject of "Psionics and Spice", though, was to suggest that colonists - with the right research - be able to manufacture a special "Spice" or some drug that would give the user temporary and partial relief to events like Ancient Ship Crash and Psychic Drone. And I would support such an idea.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Where I thought you were going with the subject of "Psionics and Spice", though, was to suggest that colonists - with the right research - be able to manufacture a special "Spice" or some drug that would give the user temporary and partial relief to events like Ancient Ship Crash and Psychic Drone. And I would support such an idea.

Actually that was one of the ideas I had while driving in the car but forgot about when I got home. 

[buttflexspireling]

  Most Rimworld players seem to be awaiting
the omega genomic telepathy imprinting
de-buff patch. Also, many seem to think that
the imprinting upon colonist nervous systems
concerning various flu-like symptoms of
genomic telepathy imprinting de-buffs would
prove to be fatal for many who resist follow-up
treatment.

[Lightzy]

Didn't bother to read the post

I'm +1'ing it based on the topic alone

[Redimus]

What if it was balanced with the sanity system? Psychic powers and telekinesis do amazing things but using them too much is damaging to the psyche of the user, possibly even permanently so.

Maybe instead of a skill system like you mentioned it could be a permanent ability that requires a certain tech level, training, meditation, or idle time to unlock or ready for use? As an example you might have a colonist that's a latent empath which gives them a sizable, permanent bonus to their social skill but that ability has to be unlocked by either researching psychic powers at a tech bench or giving that colonist lots of free time to train or meditate.

[JimmyAgnt007]

While I think there should be a lot of traits assosicated with psionics if it gets expanded, also tied to the sanity system, I think there should always be the skill price.  You dont want them as godlike beings so much as glass cannons.  Rare, expensive, and usually kept in reserve.  Even to the point of sticking them in stasis when you dont need them.  Unlocking stuff with tech and the bench is a good idea, but they should be kept limited so that it would be insane to have a whole colony full of them. 

[MAKAIROSI]

I'd simply say, a level 20 Psion is another way to win the game.
Building the ship = you left the planet,
level 20 Psion = you became the planet's God,
everyone became robotic = you started the matrix,
you study artifacts and tombs = you eventually become one with the planet (hello alpha centauri)

etc

But psionics as gameplay is, i think, too much. We don't even have robots yet, which would be a lot simpler than "magic".

[JimmyAgnt007]

Interesting, perhaps the level 20, instead of becoming a god as a victory goal, the transcend and toss events your way to help you, or hurt those they didnt like in life.  Maybe if they hate certain people they will attack them.  So depending if they are a cannibal or psycho they can do different things.  Demanding human sacrifice even.

Robots would be easier, and I would like to see them, but this isnt about that.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Ive been doing the sea ice challenge and I have something to add to the idea of biome specific resources.

Ever see the movie Demolition Man?  The little blue balls that freeze things instantly?  What if that was a new resource that could only be refined at sub-zero temperatures like -50 and the colder it is the faster it gets made.  The use?  For building stasis pods or for a special freeze gun that causes massive frostbite on the target.  In order to keep people in any biome from building a freezer and simulating the cold temps, we could say that it requires access to the waters below the ice or 'outdoors' status.

So, to sum up.  Spice in the desert, Neutroamine from plants in the Jungle, and Zero (as in absolute) Pellets on Sea Ice.

[Limdood]

i like neutroamine being craftable, but am overall ambivalent, since aside from go juice and wakeup sales for PROFIT, i really don't use enough Neutro to need to produce it.

not at all interested in the spice or psionics ideas.  It wouldn't make me quit, but it would drastically lower my interest in the game.  Not interested in a competing AND conflicting colonist-stats system.

[JimmyAgnt007]

i could see there being a toggle for psionics or an option in the scenario editor to disable it

[Ace_livion]

I like the first suggestion, it would make a great addition to the whole multiple colony's / moving you colony feature.
like a start out on a easy biom.. then move later on to a biom whit rare spices/fancy stuff that would otherwise had been difficult to start at.
I personally thinks that great.

the other suggestion i "kinda" like to but i have problems seeing it be more then a Mod atm.
not that it bad, it have a lot of potential.
it simply just make to much of an impact on the vanilla gameplay. and will require a lot of re-balancing.
taking a lot of time away from the likely other key features the developers are working on (heaven know what they are but surely important, thanks for fixing all those bugs we never experienced )

[JimmyAgnt007]

well i always favor bug fixing over new features.  this has always been a 'when its appropriate' suggestion.

also i just thought of the ice thing so i know it needs a bit more thought before it gets into the game.  My goal is simply to figure out a unique resource for every biome.