Overhaul for Alien relations: Beyond Barbarian Difficulty Aliens are not a threat in Beyond Earth, even with the Frenzied Aliens setting.They have the potential to be a great immersive mechanic and an early/ mid game threat, but they are little more than a speedbump for some expansion locations as of now.I hope to make fighting Aliens into a tactical risk where players can use an Alien war as a form of soft warmongering, and mold them into greater threat or a more valuable ally.Aggression IssuesAliens will become more aggressive when attacked, but that bar is set so ludicrously high that it cannot become relevant before Alien units are obsolete.If players dont come close to a nest, linger around Siege Worms, or let them approach unguarded workers, they have nothing to fear from them.Firaxis seems to have dumbed down the danger of Aliens to the point that they are less a nuisance than Barbarians.Test EvidenceJust today, I did a quick test on a Marathon game at Apollo difficulty with Frenzied Aliens on, and played for 200 turns dedicated to nothing other than constant Alien Xenocide.Countless Aliens died, Nests fell, rose, and fell again, and I even managed to kill two Siege Worms using Marines, Combat Rovers, and the help of Comrade Kozlovs city barrages.Not once did the Aliens turn yellow or display behavior that was not purely defensive and territorial.If such a rampage does not draw their ire, what would?Would it even matter that they are angry if all of them remotely near me are dead?I welcome you to try this if you doubt me, as it was admittedly enjoyable despite the disappointment.Proposed OverhaulTo make them a serious concern, the Ultrasonic Fence building and its quests would be removed.Additionally, non-Siege Worm Aliens will be able to improve a Xenomass tile to add Miasma to it and spawn an Alien Nest if it is left unguarded.Aggression CategoriesI dont know exactly how BE calculates Alien relations, but for the sake of this thread Ill use an Aggression Points system with thresholds for relation levels.Aggression thresholds rise by 10 for each player over 4, to compensate for increased likelihood of Alien hunters.Green - Neutral - 0 AggressionAliens will make attacks of opportunity on unguarded workers and Siege Worms may kill units next to them.Territorial and hostile near nests, but barely a threat outside them.Yellow - Hostile - 50 AggressionAliens will attack humans when able and chase them some distance, but will otherwise remain near their nests.They may attack cities, but will not set out to do so.Alien spawn rate increases, Worm activity increases, and maximum number of Aliens increases.Red - Frenzied - 100 AggressionAliens actively seek to eliminate humanity, and will swarm Cities in an attempt to destroy them.Alien spawn rate, Worm activity, and maximum number of Aliens peaks.Blue - Friendly - -50 AggressionHarmony level 1 Virtue replaced with a constant -1 count to Alien Aggression per turn if they have not initiated combat with them in the last 30 turns.Raises to -5 per turn if the player has a Nest in their territory, and Aliens will not attack a city with a Nest in its territory and a point in Harmony.Aliens recognize that specific players colony as a friendly entity and will not attack them.They become Hostile to players the friend is at war with if they have three more ranks in Harmony than the enemy, and Frenzied if they have more than six.(Requirement doubles for Siege Worms and Kraken.)Allows trading with Alien nests, to be elaborated on further below.Aggression AccruementAggression gain is a global system, so players can put pressure on all rivals by kickingSiege Worms and Kraken gain aggression at half the normal rate, and start the game with a 50 aggression buffer before they can leave the Green state.Aggression depletes at a rate of -.1 per turn for each Alien nest if the Aliens have not been attacked in the last 30 turns.Aggression gain, alien spawn rate, worm activity, and maximum number of aliens double in Frenzied Aliens mode.__Alien attacks Human - +1 Aggression.Human attacks Alien - +3Alien is killed - +10Nest is destroyed - +50Siege Worm / Kraken killed - +30Alien FriendshipIf a player manages to become friendly with the Aliens, they may establish a trade route with Alien nests.According to the Domesticate Wildlife quest:Our research shows these Aliens can not only be trained to perform complex tasks, but can even show affection. How ill this information affect our future relationship with these creatures? Should we put them to work on our farms or give them peaceful homes with our families?With this, players can receive a small bounty food from the Aliens trained to interact in this way while augmenting them based on their Harmony level.Alien combat strength will very slowly improve to match the trader(s) Harmony affinity level, though Siege Worms and Kraken only gain a bit of strength at the highest ranks.Harmony players will thus be able to trade with the Aliens to improve them and prosper, as well as use them in war as mentioned earlier.It is my hope that these changes would make both killing and befriending the Aliens more meaningful and fulfilling.They can be a form of soft warmongering or more directly aid a Harmony player in their conflicts.The Might tree has more purpose, Harmony acts very differently with Aliens, and the Purity anti-Alien bonus gains a purpose. ift.tt/12OcRes
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 18:06:19 +0000
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