Exobots
Posted: Wed May 08, 2019 9:18 am
OK, this is a question that I have been meaning to ask for a long time, but I suppose I know it will involve a lot of game rework so maybe I haven't asked before because...ah you know. But it still kinda bugs me so I will finally ask it.
Exobots, from their name I would assume, are robots specifically built to operate on alien worlds. So why do I need to research certain Biological adaptation techs to get them to be useful on pretty much any alien world? Why do I need Symbiotic Biology to get them to be able to inhabit Asteroids for example? Asteroids are airless rocks floating in space. They have no biology to speak of let alone any that would benefit a robot.
My suggestion for a complete rework of Exobots would be something like the following.
A) Exobots have no preferred Planetary Suitability. They operate the same on any planet. They are purpose built to operate on the planet they are built on.
B) Exobot colonies are established one of two ways.
1) You can build an Exobot Colony ship. When it arrives it places one Exobot on the selected planet.
2) You can build one from an existing Outpost. The Exobot colony is more expensive and takes longer than a normal species colony.
C) Exobot populations do not grow on their own. The initial Exobot colony either contains an Exobot manufacturing facility and/or you could build more Exobot Colony ships and send them to existing Exobot Colonies. To grow more Exobot populations you queue an Exobot Pop work order on the planet you want to add more Exobots to.
This means you don't get free Exobots like you do a normal Species. Each Exobot Population will cost you Production Points.
Additional suggestions are that Exobots are 200% Industry and produce no Research. How much an Exobot Pop would cost would need to be balanced to reflect this.
Any more thoughts?
Exobots, from their name I would assume, are robots specifically built to operate on alien worlds. So why do I need to research certain Biological adaptation techs to get them to be useful on pretty much any alien world? Why do I need Symbiotic Biology to get them to be able to inhabit Asteroids for example? Asteroids are airless rocks floating in space. They have no biology to speak of let alone any that would benefit a robot.
My suggestion for a complete rework of Exobots would be something like the following.
A) Exobots have no preferred Planetary Suitability. They operate the same on any planet. They are purpose built to operate on the planet they are built on.
B) Exobot colonies are established one of two ways.
1) You can build an Exobot Colony ship. When it arrives it places one Exobot on the selected planet.
2) You can build one from an existing Outpost. The Exobot colony is more expensive and takes longer than a normal species colony.
C) Exobot populations do not grow on their own. The initial Exobot colony either contains an Exobot manufacturing facility and/or you could build more Exobot Colony ships and send them to existing Exobot Colonies. To grow more Exobot populations you queue an Exobot Pop work order on the planet you want to add more Exobots to.
This means you don't get free Exobots like you do a normal Species. Each Exobot Population will cost you Production Points.
Additional suggestions are that Exobots are 200% Industry and produce no Research. How much an Exobot Pop would cost would need to be balanced to reflect this.
Any more thoughts?