The Creeping - Part 1: Concepts

posted on June 30th, 2009, 7:56 pm

But what do you do when you want to stop the breeding, for example, if you have enough ships for an attack and everything else is okay? If you run out of "ressources" this is the end for your campaign. Constant production of eggs will force you to always watch your breeders so that you are not able to do coordinated attacks because you have to focus on your base.

Not good.

posted on June 30th, 2009, 7:57 pm

once a Breeder has consumed a seed its genetic information morphes, so the process is not reversible and it can no longer consume other seeds. however, a Breeder may halt evolution for a bit (a few ingame minutes probably) without eating something (consuming resources) but basically.. once you have a Breeder you have to take care of it until the bitter end.

Of course we can think of a Breeder being consumed by the swarm again. The Noxter dont favor canibalism, but Breeders are not expected to be sentient or intelligent, so they act more like tools and.. well.. might be consumed if the swarm is running low in food. Basically every Noxter would sacrifice itself to save its mother.

From the current point of development the Noxter will use the same resources as all other races - dilithium and tritanium - but wont use supply at all, as Noxter are supplied by the swarm and dont need spare parts or romulan ale Mining however will be different, as the Noxter use bacteria to synthesize bio-tech metals. That will also define the look of the Noxter. Unlike Beta 2 they will look less dark, with white or silver and semi-transparent parts. Other elements like purple or orange will be there of course, too

posted on June 30th, 2009, 7:59 pm

Yes, that is definitely a problem... any attack on your resources would be end game then (if you are a decent player, usually you are always using your resources to the maximum).  Hopefully there would be a "terminate" breeder option if that were the case. Call it euthanasia  :ermm:

I guess Optec just semi-answered those questions though 

awww, just dilithium and tritanium...

posted on June 30th, 2009, 8:06 pm

So, because you use the term seed, does that mean they are plant based, not animal, or orginism based?

posted on June 30th, 2009, 8:10 pm

I think he meant "seed" as in genetic seed (aka, egg/sperm: seed for genetic life)

posted on June 30th, 2009, 8:19 pm

As defence base could be an organism, that produces constantly "torpedos" until a limit, so you have a fast fire rate at the beginning of a fight and later a decreased rate of fire, because the ammunition has to be "produced", so you have a defence like romulan ships, but greater range (long or arty), same thing for some ships to get long-range support.

If food=special energy is implemented, then a battle consumes more food/second as "normal" operation (e.g. every shot costs some foodpoints).

[Sheva]

posted on June 30th, 2009, 8:26 pm

Last edited by Sheva on June 30th, 2009, 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

So, and what do I do with the eggs that will come out when I dont know what to do with them?

For example:
I have my base ready and want to attack an enemy player. Sure, I may suffer losses, but that would'nt be THAT problem, because you always suffer losses in combat. So I attack and in my base there are already defenders. I fly with my fleet to the enemy, try to destroy it or will be defeated.

Now I have my eggs and my defense force left in the basement, so I tell all the eggs: Build yourself to ne next attack wave.

This is not bad, sure. It helps you to engage the enemy at the frontline and on the other hand you will get eggs so that you can build fast a new attack group, if failed. But, what if you win and you have more than just one enemy base? Then your base will flood over with eggs and you dont know what to do with them.

I usally fly with my scouts and one or two destroyers around the univers to spot enemy ships. When I found them, a task force will engage.

And when I dont find one, then... erm... what do I do then?

Well, you may put per auto-control your eggs on the defense station so the eggs may be "thrown" like torpedos on the enemy and will explode by hitting them. But then we may have an unlimited amount of eggs so the problem is not solved. In a "peacful" universe, the Noxter will die out because of the breeders, right?

posted on June 30th, 2009, 8:34 pm

Well, It you use my Idea, thy just sit there and defend their selves, until they are used, or matured.

posted on June 30th, 2009, 9:10 pm

I favoured the term "seed", cause Noxter don't use sexual reproduction. Most genetic information contained in seeds is assembled by the Mother (or a similar entity) and not mixed with the genetic information of the Breeder or another Noxter. On the other hand, a Noxter usually is not described by a single set of DNA (like us humans), but different organs of Noxter may have their information coded in different genetic blueprints. Most Noxter are a small bio-system of their own.
So the capsule containing basic proteins and information (basically a virus that triggers the Breeders metamorphosis) fits more to the term seed as know from plants then to an egg, capsule just sounded.. strange somehow.
The Noxter are not plant-based.. Hm.. a bit insectoid perhaps.. or mollusc

posted on June 30th, 2009, 9:12 pm

Ohhh yes. This is awsome news! I really love the out of the box thinking here. The most appealing thing to me is that they are no ships and stations - they are unique life forms that live in space. This is new, this is unique, it's brilliant. Can't wait to see more! there are so many possibilities. Do you need a biologist with some good ideas?

[ewm90]

posted on June 30th, 2009, 9:16 pm

Last edited by ewm90 on June 30th, 2009, 11:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I cant wait to see what you come up with. I think you guys have a bright future. I love the last few patches.


I see no senesced animation with barry white playing in the background?

I favoured the term "seed", cause Noxter don't use sexual reproduction. Most genetic information contained in seeds is assembled by the Mother (or a similar entity) and not mixed with the genetic information of the Breeder or another Noxter. On the other hand, a Noxter usually is not described by a single set of DNA (like us humans), but different organs of Noxter may have their information coded in different genetic blueprints. Most Noxter are a small bio-system of their own.
So the capsule containing basic proteins and information (basically a virus that triggers the Breeders metamorphosis) fits more to the term seed as know from plants then to an egg, capsule just sounded.. strange somehow.
The Noxter are not plant-based.. Hm.. a bit insectoid perhaps.. or mollusc

[Anonymous]

posted on June 30th, 2009, 11:25 pm

Last edited by Anonymous on June 30th, 2009, 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

@ Optec

Very interesting concept, but I have some questions for you. How will the noxter and borg match up? The Borg have the ability to assimilate other species, but the noxter will have the ability to consume the hulls of other vessles. I am assuming that the noxter will have some sort of natural immunity to assimilation, or perhaps a resistance built up over time. This would be like species 8472. Am I on the right track?

Additionally, since these are organic creatures, will their ships (organisms) be classified as destroyers or battleships? Will unique weapon abilities such as "double damage to battleships" effect them at all?

posted on July 1st, 2009, 12:19 am

Dear creators of the Noxter.... you are my heroes. 

posted on July 1st, 2009, 2:56 am

Out of curiousity, for those of us who are new to the game and the Fleetops community, and weren't around for the older versions (Armada 1, Beta 1, Beta 2... ), could anyone provide a link to a primer on the Fleetops universe...i.e. exactly the background and context the devs intended, how much liberty they intend to take with canon, what the storyline is, etc.

I think if a document of that "vision" is posted somewhere, all the arguing over where to take this mod may stop and the community can unite behind one vision. 

posted on July 1st, 2009, 3:39 am

I'm on the fence about the whole Noxter idea. I don't really care for the adding of a new race for the sake of adding a new race, when an existing one would do (species 8472?)

Personally, I'd much prefer seeing new avatars for the existing races and further balancing changes. I realize this new race is pretty far in the future of the mod, but it's not something I'm terribly excited about.