Artefact Ideas

Discussion for the Next Big Thing, which is purely theoretical.
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Arcalane
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Arcalane »

Aurafire wrote:Here's a few ideas off the top of my head:

Clockwork Seraphs:
Once found, these powerful automated strike crafts come to life and are tied to defend the planet where they were discovered.
Except we don't plan to support strikecraft in any fashion. They're just too much trouble to handle. See notes on Revenant for the other option (ie, making them into ships).

~~
Aurafire wrote:A gigantic effing missile:
An interplanetary warhead. One shot. One kill. One use only.
We already have plans for independent strategic weaponry; that is to say, ISBMs. More info on those when we're closer to release.

~~
Aurafire wrote:Liquid November:
This artifact covers and blocks the light of a star for X amount of turns, preventing any more jumps into or out of sector for X turns, due to screwed up navigational systems.
I think navigational errors are going to be the least of your concerns if you block out the star's light. Just sayin'.

~~
Aurafire wrote:Mirrored Mercury Array:
Focuses starlight to an intensely accurate degree, allowing the user to shoot down some of his enemy's ships mid-warp.
I'm not sure exactly how you plan to do that, bar opening a passage into lanespace, whiiiich is only really feasible at the inter-system nodes unless you like vast energy expenditures.

Besides, there are far more efficient ways of screwing up somebody's ship in lanespace. Largely involving going into lanespace and fighting them there.

It's complicated, I should put down more notes on how it works.

~~
Aurafire wrote:Revenant:
An AI computer program left behind from said strange-alien-long-gone race. Revenant is able to remotely access the wrecks of ships within a system and somehow override their mainframe to turn the wreckage into automated ships capable of serving in a fleet.
Destroyed ships are automatically assumed to be in no state to fight any more (having been quite thoroughly blown to pieces and all), and are automatically converted into harvestable debris fields, which can grow and shrink over the course of time as a result of more ships being destroyed/debris being harvested/gradual decay over time/etc.

A couple of planned events/things will let you reactivate/acquire a handful of the pre-Collapse Empire's* ships, as a sidenote.

*For those of you who haven't been following the excuse plot, humanity used to be an Empire, then there was the Collapse, and now the Empire is gone. Salvaging pre-Collapse tech can be pretty profitable but it won't give you a huge leg up.

~~
Squishy wrote:Battle Moons:
Giant space titties that shoot ass-reaming lasers, or tides of missiles, or a sea of projectile fire, or all three! Like the Death Star or such namesakes found in War Planets.

Takes forever to move, if it can. Probably costs a few resources to fuel movement, on top of maintenance and upkeep to keep it active.
Probably not going to happen, but if it did, I'd imagine they'd count as immobile/semi-mobile system locations (ie they are "anchored" to their home system but can move around within it to a certain degree, whether or not this does anything important is up in the air) with innate defenses and inbuilt repair/manufacture capabilities.
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Son Tzu
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Son Tzu »

How about a temporal warp device, allows discoverer to go back X number of turns and change faulty strategy, others not allowed to change theirs
Don't worry chaps, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist

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Anna
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Anna »

That sounds like it could cause complications and annoyances more than anything else. At least to me.
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Arcalane
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Re: Artefact Ideas

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♥HEARTS BOXCARS♥ and I agree on at least one thing: we both hate time travel.

Therefore, there will be no time travel shenanigans.
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Son Tzu
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Son Tzu »

Mmkay, how about a high tech virus that impedes others ability to gather resources, or damages their tech level
Don't worry chaps, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist

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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Droid »

That sounds more interesting.
However, it shouldn't just magically do it after its discovered...it'll have to be...introduced to whoever you want to screw over.

Like the Space Locusts.
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Son Tzu »

Naturally. Perhaps you could deliver it in the form of a diplomatic gift or something.
Don't worry chaps, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist

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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Squishy »

Son Tzu wrote:Naturally. Perhaps you could deliver it in the form of a diplomatic gift or something.
I like the way you think.


We need artefacts that aren't only just bits of mechanical benefits, but such that can have potential use as chips to be utilized for player interaction and roleplaying.
Realism, seriously? It's a space ship game. Realism was thrown out the window a long time ago.
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Arcalane
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Re: Artefact Ideas

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Squishy wrote:We need artefacts that aren't only just bits of mechanical benefits, but such that can have potential use as chips to be utilized for player interaction and roleplaying.
Technically they all would be. Any sufficiently powerful artefact, regardless of actual effects, is going to be/should be a chip of sorts when it comes to interaction.
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Aurafire
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Aurafire »

Arcalane wrote:
Aurafire wrote:Here's a few ideas off the top of my head:

Clockwork Seraphs:
Once found, these powerful automated strike crafts come to life and are tied to defend the planet where they were discovered.
Except we don't plan to support strikecraft in any fashion. They're just too much trouble to handle. See notes on Revenant for the other option (ie, making them into ships).
Alright. Make it a few destroyers, or something.

~~
Aurafire wrote:A gigantic effing missile:
An interplanetary warhead. One shot. One kill. One use only.

We already have plans for independent strategic weaponry; that is to say, ISBMs. More info on those when we're closer to release.
Awesome!

~~
Aurafire wrote:Liquid November:
This artifact covers and blocks the light of a star for X amount of turns, preventing any more jumps into or out of sector for X turns, due to screwed up navigational systems.

I think navigational errors are going to be the least of your concerns if you block out the star's light. Just sayin'.
Yeah, I wanted to play it safe by going for something a little underpowered. Howabout this:
In addition to screwy navigational systems, all planets dependent on said star incur huge penalties for production, population growth, moral. Heck, someone could even claim they silently destroyed a star for a few turns to in order to strike fear into the enemies populace.

~~
Aurafire wrote:Mirrored Mercury Array:
Focuses starlight to an intensely accurate degree, allowing the user to shoot down some of his enemy's ships mid-warp.

I'm not sure exactly how you plan to do that, bar opening a passage into lanespace, whiiiich is only really feasible at the inter-system nodes unless you like vast energy expenditures.

Besides, there are far more efficient ways of screwing up somebody's ship in lanespace. Largely involving going into lanespace and fighting them there.

It's complicated, I should put down more notes on how it works.
Alright, but this allows you to do it remotely, without the loss of ships. Just sayin'.

~~
Aurafire wrote:Revenant:
An AI computer program left behind from said strange-alien-long-gone race. Revenant is able to remotely access the wrecks of ships within a system and somehow override their mainframe to turn the wreckage into automated ships capable of serving in a fleet.

Destroyed ships are automatically assumed to be in no state to fight any more (having been quite thoroughly blown to pieces and all), and are automatically converted into harvestable debris fields, which can grow and shrink over the course of time as a result of more ships being destroyed/debris being harvested/gradual decay over time/etc.

A couple of planned events/things will let you reactivate/acquire a handful of the pre-Collapse Empire's* ships, as a sidenote.

*For those of you who haven't been following the excuse plot, humanity used to be an Empire, then there was the Collapse, and now the Empire is gone. Salvaging pre-Collapse tech can be pretty profitable but it won't give you a huge leg up.
Well, it still would be satisfying watching your enemy come to harvest the wreckage of the last battle only to be attacked by lots of weak zombie ships. But yeah, I understand your reasoning.
~~

A couple more:
Biosphere:
The size of a small moon, this station is capable of supporting life and has full movement capabilities. Lightly armed, it provides enormous bonuses to moral and production within a system.

Spark of the Solar Flame:
When released from it's thermonuclear reinforced lunchbox. This flare creates a star. The star can be created in any system, so have fun letting your neighbors feel your fiery vengeance.

Of course, it can be placed near a cold planet to thaw the planet out and give bonuses.
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Anna
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Anna »

Yeah, I wanted to play it safe by going for something a little underpowered. Howabout this:
In addition to screwy navigational systems, all planets dependent on said star incur huge penalties for production, population growth, moral. Heck, someone could even claim they silently destroyed a star for a few turns to in order to strike fear into the enemies populace.
Um... I don't think Arcalane was saying it was underpowered. I think you're underestimating what somehow blocking out all the light of a star would do. You'd pretty much cause mass extinction events on any of the planets in that system. If it works by blocking out light from the star directly, the planets within the system will freeze over, and if it works by blocking out all light from the entire system, then it would probably act like an oven, and global warming would be the least of their problems.

Though I'm not 100% on that last one, the light and heat from the star wouldn't just disappear. Conservation of energy. If the light and heat can't leave the system, then it would build up, resulting in temperatures rising on every planet within it.
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Aurafire
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Aurafire »

True. I was thinking more in terms of game-mechanics wise, not actual physics.


That would be interesting though, now I'll be pondering that particular scenario for awhile.
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Kal Adama »

Another idea:

A container of Imperial-era Nanites that speed the construction of any ships/buildings in a system for two turns.

And

A lane-space beacon that can summon up a pair of Imperial ships, class to be determined by, say, a dice roll.

Nothing overly powerful, but used right, can give the player a significant boost.
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Aurafire »

Adama, Arcalane already mentioned:
Artefacts are meant to have a significant impact on how the game plays out.
Just sayin'.

Anyway, I've gotten some more ideas. I hope I'm helping more than being annoying with all these ideas being thrown out.

Stonehenge:
Mysterious strange ruins that, upon further investigation, turn out to be a powerful surface-to-orbit artillery battery capable of downing battleships in one shot.

Forgotten Titan:
Upon further investigation, this ship appears to be the vessel to carry an unknown highly sensitive material. Data stores indicate this may have been said-alien-race's last hope.

(The highly sensitive material is:)

Quantum-flux serum:
A vial of this serum is incredibly dense. Studies reveal the serum amazingly can be manipulated and programed to form any type of matter in small amounts. Larger studies are technically unfeasible. Few of these vials exist in the solar system(s).

When put together you get!
Titian-AE model:
A ship fully capable of harnessing the Quantum-flux serum. This ship is capable of creating an entire planet detailed down to the mircolevel.

(so what? I stole two ideas from a movie and a video game. they're good ideas!)
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Re: Artefact Ideas

Post by Kal Adama »

Aurafire wrote:Adama, Arcalane already mentioned:
Artefacts are meant to have a significant impact on how the game plays out.
Just sayin'.
Ahem, ever stop and actually read what I posted? Lets say, for instance, your shiny new CAs or BCs are two-four turns away in productions and that shiny BB you're dying to beat your nemesis over the capital system with is six out, your orbital forts are being expanded and upgraded, two squadrons of CLs are being refitted with that shiny new shield system, and all of a sudden - POOF! You've got Nanites! Not only do the nanites halve the construction time of anything in the system they're activated in(forgot to mention that), but the effect lasts two turns. All of a sudden, you've got a shiny new squadron of ships, your fortifications just got new platforms, your ships are now deadlier, and that BB is a lot closer. Now, I dunno about you, but that sounds fairly significant. Like, ruin-some-other-poor-bastard's-day significant.

As for the Imperial ship-thingy, Imperial ships are supposed to be lethal compared to any the players can build for quite a while. Just imagine, what if that thing rolled you a pair of Imperial cruisers? Or battleships? Granted, they can only be two places at once, but those two are capable of reaming Hades of of the backside of anyone you aim them at.

Just my two cents.

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