Localized Fauna Spawn Dampening

[SilverAgeFan]

The recent reveal of a couple lore creatures has gotten me thinking about the imminent fauna system.

I really hope that Schine gives us some sort of Bio-inhibitor computer (and modules to determine the radius of its effect) to locally inhibit any spontaneous mob spawning.

I think about the number of Minecraft maps that are dotted with homely fields of torches, just to fend back the dark. Then I look at the awesomeness current Starmade players are showcasing in places like the interior design thread, where darkness is a readily employed design tool. I'd hate to see this (or any other unanticipated design tool) becoming impossible if we need to tailor our ships and bases to prevent unwanted mob spawning.

Looking forward, before the problem arises, please consider releasing fauna with the tools to limit their spawning so we can flexibly create localized zones of "civilization."

 

[starhaiden]

I hope most mobs only spawn on terrain or in space.

 

[Billazilla]

A biological inhibitor? I'd opt for a couple o' turrets. :D pew pew!

 

[Bench]

Fauna spawning won't be like mob spawning in Minecraft, it won't be based off light-levels alone.

Rest assured, you won't have random fauna spawning inside your ship.

 

[Groovrider]

Fauna spawning won't be like mob spawning in Minecraft, it won't be based off light-levels alone.

Rest assured, you won't have random fauna spawning inside your ship.

"Spunkmier? Is that you?...ARGGHHHHGHGGH"

 

[Aynslei]

A simple option would be to not allow spawning on any entity that has shields. Though I am sure they have ideas on this.

 

[IronDusk33]

One thing I do want to see is have dangerous aliens possibly invade ships. An example would be if you docked at a derelict station that's infected with spiders, a spider could then climb into your ship, and lay eggs in some lower levels, and viola, Alien Isolation in Starmade.

 

[Bench]

One thing I do want to see is have dangerous aliens possibly invade ships. An example would be if you docked at a derelict station that's infected with spiders, a spider could then climb into your ship, and lay eggs in some lower levels, and viola, Alien Isolation in Starmade.

That's quite a cool idea, maybe not necessarily the egg thing or if so it'd have to be thought out, but the invasion thing is a nice touch to derelict stations for sure.

 

[IronDusk33]

That's quite a cool idea, maybe not necessarily the egg thing or if so it'd have to be thought out, but the invasion thing is a nice touch to derelict stations for sure.

The reason I thought of eggs is because they would be what caused the spiders (or whatever creature has infected your ship) to continue to spawn on your ship. Once the eggs are removed, the aliens would stop spawning, and your ship would go back to normal.

 

[Bench]

The reason I thought of eggs is because they would be what caused the spiders (or whatever creature has infected your ship) to continue to spawn on your ship. Once the eggs are removed, the aliens would stop spawning, and your ship would go back to normal.

If we were to add in a mechanic like that it'd probably go.
• Player accidentally lets a creature (in this case, spider) onto your ship.
• Over time the spider will lay eggs.
• Each egg contains a new spider.
• Destroying an egg won't hatch a spider as it's not gestated completely yet.

 

[IronDusk33]

If we were to add in a mechanic like that it'd probably go.
• Player accidentally lets a creature (in this case, spider) onto your ship.
• Over time the spider will lay eggs.
• Each egg contains a new spider.
• Destroying an egg won't hatch a spider as it's not gestated completely yet.

Additionally, the spiders could possibly attempt to destroy some basic hull and system blocks, to make room for more eggs, eventually to the point where the ship would be unusable. And if they infect a very large ship it could take a long time to find them, and possibly allow the aliens to infect other stations and ships. I'm cackling to myself just thinking about it, if this was implemented it would be amazing, adding a whole other dangerous side of exploring stations, a very large new dynamic to the creatures, and could possibly cause some genuine scares.

 

[Bench]

Additionally, the spiders could possibly attempt to destroy some basic hull and system blocks, to make room for more eggs, eventually to the point where the ship would be unusable. And if they infect a very large ship it could take a long time to find them, and possibly allow the aliens to infect other stations and ships. I'm cackling to myself just thinking about it, if this was implemented it would be amazing, adding a whole other dangerous side of exploring stations, a very large new dynamic to the creatures, and could possibly cause some genuine scares.

There's plans for other fauna that have the ability to do damage to your ship when you encounter them, I think for a starting point spiders should just slowly multiply, without really dealing damage to your ship. Any RPG game starts you off against spiders so they should be relatively easy to deal with.

 

[kiraen]

Hull and armor shouldn't be damaged. Blast doors too. You'll want to leave a contained space for them to grow and breed in. And something to dock on to. :p

But anything else, alien food.

How fast they breed and eat, that is another question entirely. One computer may be enough to sustain a dozen spiders for a week. Or one logic block might be a light snack for a single BEM.

 

[starhaiden]

Some people might use infected ships for sabotage. By purposely infecting a ship and pushing it to the desired target.

 

[aceface]

A biological inhibitor? I'd opt for a couple o' turrets. :D pew pew!

lol this

 

[starhaiden]

Could we have fauna that is immune to energy weapons.

 

[jstenholt]

This thread got amazing very quickly. All of this sounds amazing. I want to take a shuttle to a derelict, I want to have to kill baddies all over that derelict in search of loot. I want to return to my shuttle and fly back to my ship with an unexpected passenger. That passenger should then begin to stalk about my ship, prowling for NPCs to consume. I want the infestation to be so bad that I'm left drifting and have to retake my ship deck by deck. UGH. The fantasy I just had in my mind was amazing.

 

[starhaiden]

I want some fauna to be able to take over ship cores and I also want a fauna that makes so it's bad not to have a interior.

 

[kiraen]

a fauna that makes so it's bad not to have a interior.

Energy Leeches. They infect and feed off of power capacitors, if you can't get to them and kill them your max power suffers big time. Especially when they start to breed. Without the necessary access tubes you'll need a shipyard to deconstruct and rebuild your entire ship.

 

[Parameter]

I'm all for things that burrow through ships. It encourages more RP-esque ship design, with engineering access to remote systems.

Imagine walking through your cruiser and seeing a hole in the corner of a hallway, with some green ichor decals spread around. Investigating, you see a small, spiraling tunnel into the guts of your ships, shadowy movement barely perceptible in the depths. You turn on your flashlight, and you see sets of red eyes blink as something squirms off deeper into your ship.

Running ship sensors (Core rebuild mode) you see a hodge-podge track of systems missing in a slowly expanding network of tunnels. Unfortunately, your sensors can't pick up any reading on what is actually causing this mess.

Your ship's power has already been cut in one area, and the number of tunneling things seems to be multiplying. With anti-biologic fields (damage pulse turrets) or engineering access tunnels, you might could go slow the problem. Now it's a mad race back to a station in your slowly crumbling ship. Will your power reactors survive long enough to charge your jump drives? Can you get past that pirate station with weakening shields and weapon systems? You see a tunnel slowly creeping towards your bridge. Can you protect your ship's critical computers from whatever is causing this mess?

It's going to be a long night.