Armageddon-like endings?

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 6:32:59 PM

I suggested this in an earlier post, but is there any possibility for events near the end-game to become climactic Armageddon-like experiences? For example, near the end of the game, an extremely powerful alien race enters the edge of the galaxy that is hell-bent on genocide. They are so numerous and/or powerful, that it requires a common alliance with all of the other races to defeat them.

I thought it might be interesting to have events like this so that the near-end game, where you reach near the apex of your power, it doesn't end with a whimper but with a bang. Perhaps you can have ominous clues sprinkled in during the game that portent to the future as well. It think it would be cool to have a "Game of Thrones" kind of feel to it, where factions scheme and go to war against each other, while an ominous and mysterious threat waits to pounce on them all.

Raptor

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Raptor

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1 700g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 6:38:09 PM

That would mean to create another race from scratch, and then more work into integrating it + additional work messing with the diplomacy conditions... Sounds more plausible for an expansion than to get it in at this advanced stage of development of the game.

VIPSharidann

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VIPSharidann

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16 500g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 7:00:23 PM

Not so sure about that one. Would mean to create another faction from scratch which would only intervene in the end game and be really tough... And frankly, out of the blue like that.... It amounts to sheer bad luck... and I am not sure it works out with the story line we got so far... Unless the Endless come back, but that would be surprising.

Would remind me a bit too much of Moo2 and the antarians frankly, albeit only at the end of game and not at beginning

MODNosferatiel

Informer

"God's in his heaven, all's right with the world." Nerv Motto, Neon Genesis Evangelion

MODNosferatiel

Informer

47 300g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 7:08:49 PM

Sharidann wrote:
[...]Would remind me a bit too much of Moo2 and the antarians frankly, albeit only at the end of game and not at beginning

I was always eager to get a chance to capture an antaran ship... Frankly, they never were very horrible to begin with.

However, isn't that more something for the modders or an addon? It is an interesting scenario, but if you play the game again and again (and I hope many will do so), then this repeated big bang would grow boresome.

Also it isn't compatible with multiple victory conditions, since saving the universe is pretty much the only thing you've got left to do...

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 7:17:38 PM

Okay, here’s another idea for an Armageddon-like ending.

A bodysnatcher-like race (e.g. like the “Goa-uld” in Stargate or John Carpenter’s The Thing), manages to seize several worlds from every race at once (except robotic races, perhaps), and continues to spread. The bodysnatchers have the benefit of gaining every technological advance from every race, giving them a strategic advantage. Again, defeating this foe requires an alliance between all races as well as some good strategic thinking.

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 7:42:35 PM

Raptor wrote:
That would mean to create another race from scratch, and then more work into integrating it + additional work messing with the diplomacy conditions... Sounds more plausible for an expansion than to get it in at this advanced stage of development of the game.

Perhaps there are ways to simplify such a race’s integration so it won’t be a lot of work. The race could be like the MOO2 Antarans or GCII Dreadlords, where they don’t bother engaging in diplomacy, trade and research. And instead of conquering and occupying worlds, they simply nuke it to glass and leave harvesting stations to suck up its natural resources. As a result, they don’t have to do much in terms of ground assault and colony management logistics. As for ships, they would build new ones in factories within “Death Star”-like motherships or orbital space docks.

reynanuy

Newcomer

reynanuy

Newcomer

13 years ago

Mar 30, 2012, 8:35:58 PM

Definitively a good idea, but it would be even better to have some kind of faction based warfare; with some ancient and powerful species as their leaders. In short I would love to have the option to answer the call of the Shadows, the Vorlons or even better to side against them both; like it happened on B5. That would be a much more fun dynamic to explore, with diplomatic alliances and tech shifts happening as species picked a side or not. The key would be to get right the philosophy and tactics of both sides, so the conflict has meaning in the grand scheme of things. Think of it as a galactic cold war, that gets hotter and hotter the more you approach the end game.

maceman

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maceman

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200g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 31, 2012, 1:52:36 AM

I say the endless make a surprise return.

Proceed to bomb everyone back to the stone age. Or perhaps, better yet, instruct all the Dust that pervades the galaxy (sentient remember just dormant) to activate in a randomly selected way. Kinda like alternate endings to a movie.

Maybe it takes over all machinery, maybe key leader's minds, maybe they select the most powerful race and attack/Allie w them, etc etc

Better not to know the end game ahead of time I think.

MODVieuxChat

Chameleon

Truth is a chameleon. Herbert

MODVieuxChat

Chameleon

25 400g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 31, 2012, 6:05:41 AM

maceman wrote:
Better not to know the end game ahead of time I think.

This. It would be anti-climatic to know that each and every game you'll face the return of endless/return of very bad guys/return of whatever.

MODNosferatiel

Informer

"God's in his heaven, all's right with the world." Nerv Motto, Neon Genesis Evangelion

MODNosferatiel

Informer

47 300g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 31, 2012, 8:40:57 AM

maceman wrote:
I say the endless make a surprise return.

[...]

Better not to know the end game ahead of time I think.

Sorry, but this is still the same ending in different variations, each time.

VieuxChat wrote:
This. It would be anti-climatic to know that each and every game you'll face the return of endless/return of very bad guys/return of whatever.

I can only second that. This could be an interesting alternate scenario, to be tagged on from the start, but not every campaign should end this way, every damn time.

maceman

Newcomer

maceman

Newcomer

200g2g pts

13 years ago

Mar 31, 2012, 10:04:16 AM

Ok maybe Dust destroys all weaponry...

forcing all nations to send a representative to the Grand Council where they will share universal love and sing Kumbaya in 8 part harmony?

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

Stretchycheese

Newcomer

13 years ago

Apr 3, 2012, 6:26:49 PM

Here's another possible apocalyptic scenario.

One of the races, with evil and megalomaniacal intent, discovers some alien artifact technology that allows them to create a devestating biological weapon. By introduction through saboteurs, the other races become devestated by plagues, reducing their populations by proportions, causing chaos, and sometimes wiping out whole colonies. The race that introduced the weapon soon after begins conquering its neighbours. The beleaguered races must come together to defeat the menace that introduced the plague in order to find a cure and avoid being exterminated/conquered.

Alternatively, the aggressor race could have introduced a powerful computer virus, wiping out most if not all the other races' military capabilities, forcing them to start from scratch and/or produce under tough constraints.

Tristrim

Newcomer

Tristrim

Newcomer

13 years ago

Apr 4, 2012, 6:37:15 AM

I personally always liked trying to fight the big bad guys of a universe. The endless coming back and kicking my butt sounds like a good idea. This kind of system adds another layer of cool depth. Someone said the antarians from moo2 but another good example is grand menaces from sots1. A example would be the locusts which eat a worlds resources then replicate themselves getting ever stronger.

Raptor

Newcomer