More Realistic Ruins

[Taera]

I think that the Ancient Ruins feature should be completely redone. Techs should be more exotic, more useful and less powerful than they are with a rare "conventional" tech.
How about this: break all ruin techs into level1, level2 and level3 to research which you'd have to research appropiate Archeology research project?
I think that multiple tech-field requiements do work in SEIV.

EDIT: edited to make more sense

[ November 23, 2002, 06:14: Message edited by: Taera ]

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Taera:
How about this: break all ruin techs into level1, level2 and level3 to research which you'd have to research appropiate Archeology research project?
I think that multiple tech-field requiements do work in SEIV.

EDIT: edited to make more sense

A very good idea, require that you have an Archeology Theoretical Reasearch before you got ruins tech is a good idea. The AI could be hard coded to only research that tech if it saw ruins it could reach quickly.

Under the heading of random ideas, how about getting ruins tech some way other than colonizing. Say if your ship had some sensors (perhaps researched under Applied Archeology I), and stayed in orbit and got the tech over a time period of 5 turns or so. The ruins would remain, and someone else could get them -- unless you colonized, then they'd still be lost.

Instead of rushing to and maybe fighting over ruins, we would always be fighting over ruins

[ November 23, 2002, 13:09: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Taera]

it would be interesting that whoever controls the ruins controls the tech. You lose the planet, you lose the tech. And they gain it.
Interesting.
In this case it should be unique tech only.

[KirbyEF]

What about planet based "artifacts". You control the planet you have that ablity or special facility (ancient weapon, processing plant, gateway, research points bonus, etc.).

What about negative effects (find a reactor that makes the sun in the system goes supernova, a plague outbreak, turns the system into a nebula/storm etc.). You can stop most of these negative ruins by applying research to stop the bad effect.

Maybe when you find a ruins you find an ancient race that is upset that you woke them up or distrubed them. That race should be a Non-Player race that will attack anyone, but of course the race that finds it will probably be closest.

KirbyEF

[Desdinova]

i think you can simulate planet based artifacts in the map editor. just give the planet special abilities. that way nothing to learn or create and if you lose the planet you lose the benefits.

[ November 23, 2002, 19:23: Message edited by: desdinova ]

[Erax]

The way I see it... ruins should give you a 'stepping stone' tech which would then allow you to research some unique tech. Just because you found a Massive Shield Depleter in a ruin doesn't mean you can start manufacturing them right away. You should receive a 'massive depleter tech' which opens up component research techs which, if researched, allow you to use the unique tech.

Most 'empty' ruins should still give you some research points - you always learn something from them, although it may have no immediate practical use.

[Desdinova]

how about instead of the ruins giving you components or facilities have it give you access to new tech areas. the areas might gives just slightly better components and facilities than everyone else has or lead down the road to new techs no one else would have access to. you would still have to research everything to get the benefits.

edit: Erax beat me to this idea. hehehe

[ November 23, 2002, 19:31: Message edited by: desdinova ]