Thargoid Worlds

[Cholmondely]

With the current work by Wildeblood and Pleb it makes sense to ask what we would expect to find at a Thargoid World!


1) Vanilla game requirements.

Vanilla Oolite insists on adding in a planet, a Dockable Station, a star, and a rock hermit, together with a scattering of asteroids.

Cim was able to dispense with the station in SOTL Altmap, and Wildeblood tells me that the station could also be a dockable ship/carrier. Presumably the RH is similarly dispensable.


2) Types of Thargoid World

Three come to my mind: (i) Thargoid "Homeworlds", (ii) Thargoid "colony worlds" (originally empty), (iii) conquered "colony worlds" (originally settled by others - and with remnants of their settlement - eg. Killer Wolf's Wreck).

I would expect only conquered colony worlds to have our current array of Rock Hermit models.



There may well be useful stuff tucked away inside the more complex missions of which I know nothing (Cataclysm, Xeptatl's Sword etc.).

[Cholmondely]

Having asked the question, the following answers come to mind:

- Thargoid warships (we already have a good selection of these)
- Thargoid trading ships
- Thargoid stations (unless they only use space ports on the planet surface!)
- Thargoid Rock Hermits

[Pleb]

I always imagined Thargoids to live in hives, bit like bees or wasps. Do they even have planets? Do they just live in big 'structures' in space?

[Cholmondely]

I always imagined Thargoids to live in hives, bit like bees or wasps. Do they even have planets? Do they just live in big 'structures' in space?

So what do you think of Killer Wolf's "Wasps" oxp? Does that do it for you?

[Killer Wolf]

there was stuff in the Dark Wheel/original docs that came w/ the game that said they lived in hives, i believe like towering termite mounds. presumably they were on a planet, maybe the ship are similar inside.

[Wildeblood]

"Guard your shyness, human arts graduate goat!"

1) Vanilla game requirements.

Vanilla Oolite insists on adding in a planet, a Dockable Station, a star, and a rock hermit, together with a scattering of asteroids.

Your ability to focus my words through the lens of your preconceptions never ceases to delight.

I thought I was quite clear: without a populator function you get exactly four objects, (TESTED:) one star, one main planet, one main station and the player ship. Why would you expect a rock hermit and an asteroid field for free? Having said that, the station will almost immediately launch a patrol, presumably to investigate, "Where is everyone?" or "Who stole our buoys?"

But I thought we were discussing uninhabited systems. For Thargoid systems, my instinct would be (UNTESTED:) to set the repopulator to interstellarSpaceWillRepopulate and see what happens. [Oh, yeah. That seems to work.]

I always imagined Thargoids to live in hives, bit like bees or wasps. Do they even have planets? Do they just live in big 'structures' in space?

I always assumed they were like the movies Alien and Aliens. That they over-ran human colonies and did unspeakable things to their victims. (And, do we all agree the movies should have stopped at two?)

Anyway, https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/File: ... difier.oxz

[phkb]

And, do we all agree the movies should have stopped at two

Yes. A thousand times yes.

[another_commander]

Hard agree also from this side here.

[Pleb]

And, do we all agree the movies should have stopped at two

There was more than two?

Everything can be removed from a system through scripting, so creating uninhabited systems is easy. But, if the player doesn't have a fuel scoop (and there's no star), then they are liable to get stuck. And, unlike exploring in E:D and running out of fuel, you can't call upon a fuel rat to come and save you (although that could also be scripted in).

But the main thing is you need a reason to explore. For some just the exploring is reason enough, the journey of discovery and what not. But, some kind of reward system would help as well.

[Wildeblood]

I need help with a Thargoid-occupied main station.

1. How do I prevent the main station launching police patrols?

2. The market: I think everything should be thwarted except a prisoner-exchange - you bring in an "alien item"/captured Thargoid, they sell an equivalent number of their slaves (Galcop citizens desperately awaiting rescue). Thoughts on this, anyone?

[LittleBear]

I think having:

Code: Select all

        max_police = 0;
        has_patrol_ships = no;

in shipdata will stop a station launching patrols.

[Redspear]

And, do we all agree the movies should have stopped at two

Yes. A thousand times yes.

Well, I get it, the subsequent quality was 'variable' at best (I had such high hopes for Prometheus) but the second film boxed it all pretty much into a corner IMHO.

They changed the life cycle and stripped it of some of it's terror.
'How do we kill it?' 'You just aim and press this button'.

First was horror, second was action and both were very, very good. A more significsant difference for me however was that the first left room for much more, with so many unanswered questions, whilst the second one didn't. I think that all of the subsequent films have suffered from that.

[Wildeblood]

And, do we all agree the movies should have stopped at two?

Yes. A thousand times yes.

Well, I get it, the subsequent quality was 'variable' at best (I had such high hopes for Prometheus) but the second film boxed it all pretty much into a corner IMHO.

They changed the life cycle and stripped it of some of it's terror.
'How do we kill it?' 'You just aim and press this button'.

First was horror, second was action and both were very, very good. A more significsant difference for me however was that the first left room for much more, with so many unanswered questions, whilst the second one didn't. I think that all of the subsequent films have suffered from that.

That's a long-winded way of saying, "Yes."

But, I didn't come back (just) to insult people. Version 0.2 expects to have Killer Wolf's KWwreck) available, to set as the main (and only) station.

https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/File: ... difier.oxz

It still requires (Are you paying attention, Cholly?) at least a shipdata-overrides file and a market script. (Obtained from Someone Else, who is not me.)

[Redspear]

That's a long-winded way of saying, "Yes."

Long winded, certainly. Did I manage to actually say anything? Not sure that I did

[cbr]

Here a clip from the Digibitter, saying resurrection had enjoyable moments...