Play as the Neinzul

[PokerChen]

Grey Goo is actually a very solid C&C style RTS. Of the best RTSs in later years. Botched by poor performance and poor marketing, unfortunately.

Absolutely. The multiplayer community never reached critical mass, as far as I could tell from the outside.

The central unit, and the entire infrastructure being centred around the mother goo idea is one that would be lore-wise compatible with the Neinzul, at least be what we know about them. The way Grey Goo enforces different base building for each race is also something that I think could be further explored.

[kasnavada]

I liked the grey goo mechanisms in it. Other factions, I found really bland. Just a matter of taste possibly...

[Mánagarmr]

I liked the grey goo mechanisms in it. Other factions, I found really bland. Just a matter of taste possibly...

Humans had the interesting artillery mines, the teleportation and FoF walls to their credit. I never liked Beta. Shroud is just 100% weird, but awesome.

[kasnavada]

Impossibility to build secondary bases easily due to the connector thingy kind of killed the faction for me.

[Mánagarmr]

Impossibility to build secondary bases easily due to the connector thingy kind of killed the faction for me.

With their stupid defensive buildings and overpowered shields that was kind of the point. You wouldn't need to. It was a defining trait of the faction. If one does not like that then well...yeah, you won't like the faction ^^

[Cinth]

So I'm leaning into a combination of Goo-Zerg with Protoss air gameplay.

[kasnavada]

I think this thread needs an inside man to bring out the complete lore of the neinzul into the open.

[Cinth]

I think this thread needs an inside man to bring out the complete lore of the neinzul into the open.

      

[Aklyon]

I think this thread needs an inside man to bring out the complete lore of the neinzul into the open.

      

Tell usssssss.

[kasnavada]

I think this thread needs an inside man to bring out the complete lore of the neinzul into the open.

      

[Cinth]

[Vyndicu]

I had some idea. You know the nebula champion scenario has some neinzul factions in them right?

Lets assume that they somehow survive up to AI War 2 era. They manage to still stay completely nomadic and never truly "settle down" anywhere at all.

Instead most of your neinzul infrastructure will be entirely mobile (flagship/mothership is slated to be mobile anyway so might as well expand on that). Defensive structure (turret/regen chamber/fortress and the likes) will still be stationary so they are not completely helpless if AI decide to skip your fleet.

There will still be a few other supporting (especially energy/fuel) infrastructure that do not move with your other mobile infrastructure.

Grey Goo faction was entirely too heavily on mobile for my taste. I would like to see more of Hierarchy style from Universe at War.

For those who don't know. They had a different play style where their own factories are essentially multi-role giant walker that could build and deploy unit while moving. Those same walker also could further specalized into battlefortress role with more armor/weapon and/or specialized into making more units. Since we are moving away from modular with clunky module GUI lets explore other option that doesn't involve modules.


Perhaps we could just have different kind of carriers that focus on different style of fighting. Neinzul starship will be swarm-less copycat of AI hybrid from AI war classic built solely for fighting. Neinzul carriers (one carrier spawn blitz neinzul, different carrier spawn neinzul fighter, etc...) would spawn squads of neinzul to fight as per AI war classic enclave/combat carrier. Lets treat all ship construction within something of a huge cousin of Neinzul enclave ship. The neinzul ship construction will be treat as an organic process and can't be speed up but if cornered they can spawn lot of squad on demand.

Sadly many video game don't do the concept of being entirely nomadic very well. So I am willing to wait a bit longer before we see it happens.

[tadrinth]

You know, I wonder how much of a 'neinzul' feel you could get by having a candy tech unlock that converts a unit into a Youngling version, something like:
* 90% cost reduction
* massively increased speed
* slight reduction in stats
* self-attritions in 3 mins

Then if you start as Neinzul, all your fleetships have that candy tech unlock applied.  Some kind of bonus to mobile space docks might be appropriate also.   

I like drone spawners, but this might be easier to implement and balance. 

[Sestren]

You know, I wonder how much of a 'neinzul' feel you could get by having a candy tech unlock that converts a unit into a Youngling version, something like:
* 90% cost reduction
* massively increased speed
* slight reduction in stats
* self-attritions in 3 mins

Then if you start as Neinzul, all your fleetships have that candy tech unlock applied.  Some kind of bonus to mobile space docks might be appropriate also.   

I like drone spawners, but this might be easier to implement and balance. 

I can see a usability problem with that. The other candy techs don't have a downside. If you unlock hardening and then later decide 'that really wasn't all that helpful' aside from being out the K, your ships aren't negatively impacted in any way. If you buy this and then decide it isn't a good fit for your strategy, that shipclass is stuck with it and your best bet is to reload.

It could definitely work for starting as neinzul and could probably be done entirely via data. Define a new tech, define new versions of all the fleetships that get the tech by default, define a race that gets those ships, done. Be a good proof of concept.

[Tridus]

Yeah that sounds like it's something moddable.

I'd also never use it. I HATE that short self attrition. It annoys me to no end.