Racial Trait Disadvantages

Fyron · #1 January 18th, 2004, 11:36 AM

I've always thought that SE4 could use many more advanced racial traits that are penalties rather than bonuses (you get points back for taking them). P&N, Adamant and a few other mods have some good ones, but not quite enough. What ideas do you have for good disadvantage traits that would not require everyone not taking the disadvantage trait to take a 0 point "advantage" trait that leaves them being normal in that area? For example, you could have a trait that makes space yards take 2x as long to build. This would give a SY with 20k minerals build cost. But, the problem is you still have the regular available, so it has to be taken away, made only allowable by a racial trait that normal races have to take. This would get needlessly complex if there are a lot of such traits.

Narratio · #2 January 18th, 2004, 12:23 PM

Must agree with you. In particular the areas of Temporal / Organic / Crystaline / Religious racial traits. For some minor character disadvantages you can get a huge line of special techs and still have access to the rest of the techs.

When I play with a race that I've taken the Organic Tech attribute on I try and not develop the physical stuff. But it's hard. As you say, there should be a way, if you select one of the 4 specials, of being unable to research other lines. Or at least having the costs of such research and deployment increase.

[ January 18, 2004, 10:25: Message edited by: Narratio ]

Captain Kwok · #3 January 18th, 2004, 05:51 PM

Instead of creating whole new lines of techs for each racial trait - focus on weapons and bonus facilities that match their trait and expect characteristics. For example, an Organic race might need to extract lots of organics, but instead of creating a whole new line of Organics Farms, create racial bonus facilities that greatly increase the output of the basic facilities.

Make normal weapons weaker than any racial trait weapon (i.e. leave them for neutral races etc) and you won't need to restrict them because most of them just won't be worth it unless a racial trait has a particular weakness etc.

Cipher7071 · #4 January 18th, 2004, 07:25 PM

Fyron...might there be a way to handle the technical problem by slipping a boolean flag or two into the code somewhere?

(I understand this would probably have to wait for SEV)

tesco samoa · #5 January 18th, 2004, 08:05 PM

you know what i would like as well for racial traits...

The ability to select more than one atmosphere breathing type or even colony type from the get go....

AMF · #6 January 18th, 2004, 08:10 PM

I would like to see limits on what certain traits, like Organic, religious, etc... force upon you as part and parcel of getting their advantages.

So, when you select "organic" then the regular
physical stuff should be verboten. When you select religious, maybe you can't take advanced military science or the hard sciences, or something...

Quote:

Originally posted by tesco samoa:
you know what i would like as well for racial traits...

The ability to select more than one atmosphere breathing type or even colony type from the get go....