Design Philosophy - Machine Traits and mechanics

[LuxArdens]

Machine archetype needs special traits of course. A big problem with the whole idea of intelligent machines however, is that they'd most likely outperform organics on every level by an almost sickening amount. For obvious game-play reasons, it's no fun to have machines with +10000% research modifiers, and for roleplaying-reasons it's no fun having them only have a +10% modifier either, so some sort of compromise or out-of-the-box solution needs to be made.

Standard compromise (similar to 1.7 situation):

• Top-level synths are equal to "hyperintelligent" organics, with the handwaving that any advantage in memory and speed is outdone by lack of creativity.

Out-of-the-box solution 1:

• make Machines extremely over-specialized. They get less trait picks, but better trait modifiers. So, they're either very good at mining or good at fighting, but not both.

Out-of-the-box solution 2: pending

[LuxArdens]

Started making the Machine traits more extreme, and exclusive to each other.

Will add a proper traitreg mechanism once they have too many traits for the Vanilla system.

Serendipitous event: found out you can add prerequisites to traits. Specifically, a tech requisite, which is immensely useful and will allow for a new, layered genemodding/robomodding structure, as well as many, many other potential applications.

[LuxArdens]

Machine trait tiers:

0. Starting traits. Very wide selection for RP design purposes. Few extreme penalties / crippling overspec
1. Game start traits. Extremely narrow selection of basic modifications to robot frames, mostly limited to mechanical adj
2. Advanced robomods. Require expensive techs to be researched before they can be applied. Can adjust things like internal processors et cetera
3. Ascension-level robomods. Require robomod AP. Allow for some wickedly powerful stuff just like genemodding and psionic AP

[LuxArdens]

Vanilla traits reworked into new starting traits. Rebalanced. Added some new fancy starting traits like War Machines. Next commencing tech lockdown for these. Then add early game traits.

[TvoEx]

You do fast work Lux, almost Too fast, wont be long before they suspect you of being a synth.

[LuxArdens]

You do fast work Lux, almost Too fast, wont be long before they suspect you of being a synth.

As a fellow squishy organic, I reject all such accusations. My logic quantum core is just as slow as that of other humans and I am definitely not an ancient precursor synth that's been wandering the Earth aimlessly.

In other news: I saw your new trait. I got a vague idea of what it's supposed to be, but maybe you can elaborate. And do you want an icon for it?

[TvoEx]

I can whip up an icon no problem, was doing some balance testing before release is even considered.

Anyways the idea is what if you had an entire society of people that are more of the DIY sort, doing things quick and dirty with what they got instead of expensive specialty manufacturing.

Give a man some scrap steel and a welder and they can turn it into a spaceship.

[LuxArdens]

Affirmative.

what if you had an entire society of people that are more of the DIY sort, doing things quick and dirty with what they got instead of expensive specialty manufacturing.

As an engineer I'd say they'd never even get to space to begin with, but we have a Retarded trait as well, so whatever right.

Merged 4 former robotraits concerning build cost and build speed into 4 new ones that are based on "complexity" of machine frame instead. Added a MORE DAKKA trait as well. Need another DAKKA trait for EVEN MORE DAKKA.

[LuxArdens]

Machine Tier system completely done. Organics can now edit their robots into harvesters with some basic tech, whereas for Machine empires, it takes some more advanced tech to mod themselves into harvesters (because they are synths, not simple robots). Both get add-on traits fairly quickly.

Robot trait point system is now based on complexity and expense of robot frame, which may initially be counter-intuitive to players used to the Organic traits, but the idea should become clear as they toy with it.

Most types of Robotraits have been split into Robot and Machine versions, with some even split further into Synth and Robot/Droid versions, to avoid messed up modifiers and to avoid locking simple robomodding behind end-game techs.

G.E.T.H. and Grey Goo trait added as well. Should make for some fairly unique gameplay.