Expanding wheel of habitability

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

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Zireael
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#16 Post by Zireael »

unjashfan wrote:
I'd blame that on the many major features we haven't added yet, instead of the low number of planet types.
Agreed. Zireael mentioned that there are few specials in the game. Perhaps instead of adding more content, we could expand on stuff that's already in the game. Here's one idea inspired by current exoplanet search efforts: We now know there are a huge variety of planets like hot Jupiters, eccentric Jupiters, and their Neptune-sized counterparts. How about adding gas giant only specials and/or species? These might produce stuff that planets wouldn't usually be able to produce, or have certain special effects that affect the rest of the planets in the system. Maybe something like: Eccentric Jupiter - This planet has an eccentric orbit around its star. Its strong gravitational influence disrupts the orbits of the planets in the same system. Planets in the same system will have infrastructure reduced by 10 and supply reduced by 1. Something like this might also encourage players to use planetary starlane drive more often.
I love the idea!

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Sloth
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#17 Post by Sloth »

unjashfan wrote:Here's one idea inspired by current exoplanet search efforts: We now know there are a huge variety of planets like hot Jupiters, eccentric Jupiters, and their Neptune-sized counterparts. How about adding gas giant only specials and/or species? These might produce stuff that planets wouldn't usually be able to produce, or have certain special effects that affect the rest of the planets in the system. Maybe something like: Eccentric Jupiter - This planet has an eccentric orbit around its star. Its strong gravitational influence disrupts the orbits of the planets in the same system. Planets in the same system will have infrastructure reduced by 10 and supply reduced by 1. Something like this might also encourage players to use planetary starlane drive more often.
There are two very good ideas here that i want to support:

1. Distinguishing "normal" Gas Giants (like Jupiter) and Frozen Giants (like Neptun). This distinction won't matter in the early game as they are all uninhabitable (this is good because it won't add any complexety for new players), but could make a difference in the later game when certain techs have been researched. For a start GGG's on Frozen Giants could generate a smaller bonus.

2. Specials on Gas Giants and Asteroid Belts. There is lots of potential to make a system memorable/special. unjashfan's idea of a Gas Giant reducing supply of all planets in the system by one would have a minimal play effect, but is very flavorful and easy to imagine. An Asteroid Belt could be pestering all planets with meteoroids, etc.
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eleazar
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#18 Post by eleazar »

Sloth wrote:There are two very good ideas here that i want to support:
Sounds fine to me, but i believe #1 can't be accomplished with scripting alone.

Zireael
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#19 Post by Zireael »

Ok, if #1 is hard to achieve, #2 alone would do a lot for making the game more interesting.

EDIT: Hey, what about creating a "Frozen" special for gas giants in the meantime?

Zireael
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#20 Post by Zireael »

I see what you are saying about "Demon" planets... essentially an EP that is very rare and not on the Terraforming wheel

perhaps "Exotic (Species)" as a Special

So A species withe the "Exotic" EP can only survive on planets with the "Exotic (Species)" Special.... and No Other species can survive there.

It wouldn't be a main position on the EP though. It would be say "Exotic Degrath" Special on a Desert world.
(and Degrath would have the Exotic pick.. locking them onto their HW, until they developed the Terraforming tech to pollute other worlds)
Yes, that is what I had in mind.

Nycidian
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#21 Post by Nycidian »

Just wanted to note that Ice giants are not frozen Gas Giants they actually are a different type of planet. Gas giants are made up of 90% hydrogen while Ice Giants are comprised of about 20% hydrogen and a great deal of heavier materials in a supercritical fluid state.

See reference here

Also of note is the fact that planets that massive can't "freeze" the reason Ice Giants are called Ice Giants is because the primary material they are made of are normally ices but on these planets there is far to much pressure for them to exists in a frozen state.

Keep in mind the most massive Gas Giants are on the cusp of being stars, the bigger a planet gets the more self generated heat it has and at the size of Ice giants there's far to much heat and pressure for anything to be frozen.



Not sure it matters but there's some info for you :)

wheals
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#22 Post by wheals »

Nycidian wrote:Just wanted to note that Ice giants are not frozen Gas Giants they actually are a different type of planet. Gas giants are made up of 90% hydrogen while Ice Giants are comprised of about 20% hydrogen and a great deal of heavier materials in a supercritical fluid state.

See reference here

Also of note is the fact that planets that massive can't "freeze" the reason Ice Giants are called Ice Giants is because the primary material they are made of are normally ices but on these planets there is far to much pressure for them to exists in a frozen state.

Keep in mind the most massive Gas Giants are on the cusp of being stars, the bigger a planet gets the more self generated heat it has and at the size of Ice giants there's far to much heat and pressure for anything to be frozen.



Not sure it matters but there's some info for you :)
Good points, but for gameplay purposes they're basically the same in that a) you can't colonize them, since there's no stable surface and b) they're very large (although ice giants are smaller).
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em3
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#23 Post by em3 »

Still, I believe that making ice giants a new uninhabitable planet type that provides different opportunities and resources than GG might be more interesting than just adding a special. :|
https://github.com/mmoderau
[...] for Man has earned his right to hold this planet against all comers, by virtue of occasionally producing someone totally batshit insane. - Randall Munroe, title text to xkcd #556

wheals
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#24 Post by wheals »

em3 wrote:Still, I believe that making ice giants a new uninhabitable planet type that provides different opportunities and resources than GG might be more interesting than just adding a special. :|
I agree, but the wheel of habitability can't be changed by adding new planet types through scripts; all values are hard-coded. Until one of the programmers volunteers, an ice special would be an interim measure.
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Bigjoe5
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#25 Post by Bigjoe5 »

wheals wrote:
em3 wrote:Still, I believe that making ice giants a new uninhabitable planet type that provides different opportunities and resources than GG might be more interesting than just adding a special. :|
I agree, but the wheel of habitability can't be changed by adding new planet types through scripts; all values are hard-coded. Until one of the programmers volunteers, an ice special would be an interim measure.
To nitpick, gas giants and asteroids aren't technically on the "wheel", but yeah, what you say is otherwise true.
Warning: Antarans in dimensional portal are closer than they appear.

Zireael
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Re: Expanding wheel of habitability

#26 Post by Zireael »

wheals wrote:
em3 wrote:Still, I believe that making ice giants a new uninhabitable planet type that provides different opportunities and resources than GG might be more interesting than just adding a special. :|
I agree, but the wheel of habitability can't be changed by adding new planet types through scripts; all values are hard-coded. Until one of the programmers volunteers, an ice special would be an interim measure.
Moar specials would make the game more interesting without making much more work for the programmers...

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