Unofficial Inquiry -- What super abilities would you like to see?

I might as well be the first to post my ideas.

1. Super Influencer

The civilization can culture flip planets more easily. This race only needs half as much influence to flip planets (2.00+ instead of 4.00+), and all planets that may flip is 50% more likely to do so. Inaddition, this race can buy planets from other races at discount prices.

2. Super Dictator (or maybe political animal)

Any race with this super ability never losses elections. They always manage to find ways to win or maintain power regardless of the "official" results.

3. Swift Invaders

Any race with this super ability invades so quickly, significant amount of the defending population are caught with their pants down and are unable to help defend. About 25% percent of the planet's population are left out of the fight. This is inaddition to whatever invasion tactics are used.

4. Super Talented

Any race with this super ability gains additional points to select abilities such as economics, or creativity. 5 to 10 additional points should work fine.

5. Technological Copycats (could use a better name)

This civilization can research techs faster than the other races, but only if another race has finished researching it already. Any other tech is researched at normal speeds. Inaddition, it can buy techs at a discount rate.

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I can't think of any more at this time.

Super Cultivator - Civ adds +1 tile to each planet for each terraforming tech researched (for a total of +3 tiles to all planets with all three techs)

Super Defender - Civ gets to triple its soldiering score when attacked. +25% defense bonus to ships.

Super Explorer - Civ gets +speed/+range and +sensor

Super Capital - Civ get a PQ24+ homeworld

IMHO, the specials should not be traits that can be duplicated by granting extra points at race creation; that doesn't make them very special. The specials should be unique and personality-defining.

Super Intimidator -- Ships count are considered four times as powerful for the purpose of determining military strength. Is "intimidator" even a word? Who cares?

Super Dupers -- Can attack an opponent while masquerading as a different race. A unique and expensive hull component, perhaps, eg. spores.

Super Pacifist -- While at peace, the race's tax revenues are doubled.

Super Guerrillas -- When this race's planets are conquered, they have a 50% chance of expelling the invaders and reverting to this race's control, diminishing by 12.5% for each subsequent turn.

Super Scouts -- Tiny and small ships are invisible to other races while not moving or attacking.

Super Explorer - All ships come with the ability to pick up anomalies, and their sensor range is far greater than usual.

Super Economist - Can build galatic trade centers which not only provide a larger than normal influence and economic bonus, but also give a small morale boost as well. Furthermore, when this player's population's approval manages to stay at 100% for a set amount of time, the amount of taxes collect will increase by half.

Super Politico - Can hold two political parties in power at the same time with no penalty whatsoever.

I have been thinking about this for a while, and in fact have a text document that I've been using to accumulate ideas. I still have more to add, but here's what I have so far. A few are similar to idea already mentions, but not many. I agree as well that they should not be able to be duplicated by spending points.

1. Super Researcher--Every 5 population on a planet produces an extra point of research, cost free

2. Super Agrarian--Farms are 20% more effective and have a 10% bonus to morale

3. Super Pacifist--Can more easily negotiate peace treaties between species. Can also get piece with enemies slightly more easily.

4. Super Devoted--Alignment-related components and buildings are slightly cheaper. Relations with races of the same alignment become closer, although other alignments become more hostile. Colonies are less likely to flip over to enemies.

5. Super Explorer--Anomolies get better results, and sometime unusually good ones not findable by others. There is also a chance that any ship with sensors within this civilization's boarders will discover a new anomoly.

6. Super Artistic--Revenue from tourism is much higher. Other civilzation's colonies have a higher chance of flipping

7. Super Repulsive--Other civilzations are MUCH more likely to grant demands to get rid of this one. They will become unavailable after every contact. Some enemy soldiers during ground assaults will also lose their nerve and flee in terror.

8. Super Philantrophic--Giving things to other civilizations results in a small morale boost. How long it lasts is dependant on the value of the gift.

9. Super Engineer--Star bases have a larger area of effect.

10. Super Pirates--a percentage of all trade going through their territory ends up going to them. This does not effect trade going to or from them.

11. Super Vigilant--Enemy agents on your planets will sometimes die without the need of a neutralizing agent

Do let me know what you like and don't like or what can or should be changed.

Could you explain number 7 more? It doesn't make much sense.

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Anyhow, my number 6

6. Super Necromancers

This civilization doesn't consider bringing the dead back to life to be ethnically wrong. In fact, they even encourage it, finding it an effective method for aquiring a mindless labour force, or an army that doesn't worry about dying. As a result, all production expenses (military and social) is cut in half. Also they can produce a special invasion module that doesn't require population to form an effective fighting force.

Super Necromancers seems WAY overpowered though.

Anyway, the idea behind Super Repulsive is that the race looks so horrifying that no one can stand to see them. In diplomacy, you know you can ask other races for things? If your race has this trait, then they are much more likely to give you whatever you want, just to get rid of you. After this, though, the ambassador will always become unavailable, so you'd better be careful what you ask for, because you won't get another chance for a while.

I think the part about enemy troops fleeing in terror is pretty simple to understand.

Just to make it a little more powerful, you could give them 2x an anomalies' normal yield. Good for colony rush when your economy is about to go belly-up and you find a nice cache of money!

Super Miners:
-These guys can mine asteroids three times faster than normal. If the have a mining 3 tech and they are mining a new base, the uphrade is even faster.
-Their mining bases don't flip.
-They also have have a VERY small influence bonus on them to stay loyal and influence other bases to their side. (around 1 IP for level 1 base and 2IP for level 2 and so on)
-Enemy bases also flip twice as easy
-Mining yield is twice as great.
-They have a string starbase modules to boost the asteroid mining as well.
-A unique mining tech that goes upt to a level 5 base. Level 5's would have a small amount of weapons mounted on them. (If you are rich enough, you can add alot of weapons and defenses. They're rocks in space, they don't have to worry about space) They would also have a more powerful influence (6 IP tops)
-Finally(For asteroids), they can route a single asteroid to one world depending on what level it is. EX: Level 4's can route to 4 worlds.
-Mining starbase resources are doubled.

Tell me what you think of these guys. Overpowered or underpowered?

Perhaps. The Korath get spore ships that automatically conquor planets, so free troops will most likely be weaker since there are no garentees of victory. Also, its not like the zombies will do much without a population to supervise them, so a recently conquored should get a starting population of 1 mil like the Korath, thus making them easily re-conquored... for a time.

Perhaps they should get a special planetary structure that provides a bonus population of zombies for planetary defense. Maybe it should be called a crypt, or necropolis, or something, with various levels of upgrades.

As for a discount to production, maybe 75% would work better than 50%. These are still ideas after all.

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It appears to be a bit over powered with too many features. You might wish to compare it with the Super Traders super ability.



To make things less messy, here is my suggestion.

-Start with all mining techs.
-Can finish making asteriod mining bases in less time.
-Get an additional 2 asteriod fields at the start of the game.
-Asteriod mining yield is twice that of other races.

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Here is more of my ideas.

7. Super Salvager

This civilization has a talent for finding stuff worth salvaging. After any battle that this civilization is involved in, and wins, it collects an amount of salvage worth a 1/100 of the total value of all ships destroyed. The money gained is then added to the civ treasury.

8. Super Popular

For some reason, few people can hate this civ. It could be their dashing good looks, their super cuteness, or the fact that they always seem to know what presents to give to the local warlord's wife for their wedding anniversary. Regardless of the reasons, they get on better terms with the other races quicker, and are slower to become hated. They also should get bonuse income from tourism since everyone should like visiting their space.

9. Super Accountants

For some mysterous reason, the money from the other civilizations tend to end up in this civ bank accounts. This civ is out to prove to the galaxy that you can kill with billions of paper cuts (bills, tax forms, and other stuff). About 5% of the total income of other civilization ends up in this civs treasury.

Super Philosopher: A race with super philosopher is capable of changing their ethical alignment at any time for a price. (perhaps they could also start out with Xeno Ethics set to their default alignment)

Super Production: A race with Super Production can basically set their production slider to over 100%, or perhaps has a higher threshold so that 100% means more. Either way, they are capable of higher output at higher cost.

Super Conquerer: When capturing an enemy planet(whether by gift, invasion, or influence)a race with Super Conquerer keeps all buildings on that planet, even if they do not have the technologies for those buildings. (This ability would only work in Twilight of the Arnor)

Super Mercenary: This race gets a higher value for trading ships or military technologies to others, and gains a diplomacy bonus with that race when they do so(with a maximum bonus, similar to "we appreciate your past help" only valued less.

Super Terror: All races suffer diplomacy penalties as long as a race with Super Terror is in the game, making alliances harder and wars more frequent.

Super Traditionalist: A race with Super Traditionalist can upgrade ships for less money than other races, and a Super Traditionalist's ships gain experience faster than other race's ships.

Like that one, would be good if you like so see lots of wars. Lol, getting the good guys to fight eachother would be awesome.  

Super Engineer: Ship maintainance is cut by HALF (or by a quarter, either or)

Super Lawbreaker/Weasle: Can break UP regulations from time to time.

Suuper Shrinker: Miniaturization techs are cheaper(researched faster) and have +5% mini. for each mini. tech researched.

Super Medics: +5% to population growth, +2% to every pop growth tech researched, lose slightly less people to Galactic Plague.

Super Aces: All small and tiny-sized warships will appear twice as powerful as they really are, and cost 25% less to buy.

Super Fanatics: 11% soldiering bonus when invading race with an alignment other than yours, foriegn influence needs to be 6 times your planet's influence to flip it.

Couple random ideas.