When creating a custom race the direct you can terraform isn't tied to the biophobic trait but somthing else, (i think the faction type trait). This obviously means you can have biophobic but can'ty terraform to sterile, and equally you could have non-biophobic and be unable t terraform to fertile.

Yeah, the reverse terraformation is tied to the "Continuum Sculptors" faction affinity.

Salterius wrote:

Yeah, the reverse terraformation is tied to the "Continuum Sculptors" faction affinity.

Cheers for confiriming it. IMO it eitheir needs to be tied to the biophobic trait or the biophobic trait needs to be folded, (no pun intended), into the continum sculptors.

The reason they are separated is because the terraforming is strictly a Riftborn lore thing, but many races can be biophobic

It's kinda make sense though, why would you prefer fertile planets if you are biophobic and vice versa. "Continuum Sculptors" should be limited to Singularities.

I've long argued that the faction editor needs some work.  The riftborn traits and affinities are a particularly egregious failing.  You essentially can't use their features separately without seriously crippling your creation, severely limiting what custom factions can do.  I hold out some faint glimmer of hope that this new "polish" team may have it within their scope to do some tinkering...

Daynen wrote:

I hold out some faint glimmer of hope that this new "polish" team may have it within their scope to do some tinkering...

Don't hold your breath too long, the polish team is focused on bugs right now, I doubt custom factions balance is a huge priority ATM.

To be fair, bugs are a priority. 

Mods could probably be applied to costs in the faction editor more easily than to some bugs - continuum sculptors is a particularly poignant example in that area, as well. 

To fix this one:
Maybe just have a buyable trait "inverse terraforming"?

UnLimiTeD wrote:

To be fair, bugs are a priority. 

Mods could probably be applied to costs in the faction editor more easily than to some bugs - continuum sculptors is a particularly poignant example in that area, as well. 

To fix this one:
Maybe just have a buyable trait "inverse terraforming"?

Basically break down the visual/gameplay affinities into their component parts so we can actually play around with them, yeah.

Daynen wrote:

UnLimiTeD wrote:

To be fair, bugs are a priority. 

Mods could probably be applied to costs in the faction editor more easily than to some bugs - continuum sculptors is a particularly poignant example in that area, as well. 

To fix this one:
Maybe just have a buyable trait "inverse terraforming"?

Basically break down the visual/gameplay affinities into their component parts so we can actually play around with them, yeah.

I disagree with breaking them apart into components but rather identifying what each Gameplay Affinity does and listing it in the Custom Faction Editor for players to see. Continuum Sculptors flips the Colonization and Terraforming trees, a unique Gameplay Affinity that truly highlights and takes advantage of the Biophobic faction trait. However, what would help a ton in making Continuum Sculptors a real viable Gameplay Affinity is to take the buildable population trait from the Riftborn Visual Affinity and assign it to its Gameplay Affinity. This would offset the lack of starting Food from the Colony Base as your major population won't require it and must be built instead. Meaning any Visual Affinity could be used with Continuum Sculptors since you'd start on Sterile worlds and would be building your population(hence manufacturing Horatio would be a unique experience). It'd also mean that you can have the Riftborn perk of being able to colonize multiple outposts at the same time since outposts are independent from one another and rely on production rather than food to grow into a colony(making Tinkers and Thinkers I from Pulsos even stronger).

The only thing the Visual Affinity should have is the Quest Line, Heroes, Ship Hulls, Unique Ship Modules and Unique Improvements/Tech Upgrades(like United Empire's buff to Xeno Anthropology). Anything else should be applied to the Gameplay Affinity or to a specific Faction Trait.

As for the Biophobic trait, people use it outside of offsetting the Sterile planet malus for Continuum Sculptors. One obvious application is towards Slave Driver factions. I mean sure Autocracy can be a failsafe backup but dealing with that -10 malus per enslaved population can be a real pain in the ass. Yet with Biophobic... you basically offset it so long as Slaves are on Sterile worlds.

That would just stop people from having buildable pops without also having continuum sculptors, which reduces a players options instead of increasing them. Besides certainly looking weird in fluff. That the food/industry of a colony base is not tied to that is certainly questionable, though.