Oh, and it's rather long, so if you're the kind like me who has a short attention span, there's always Duke Nukem Forever.
Had this idea at work today.
Isn't it a little odd in Moo2 that the age you set the galaxy has no impact on the selection of races or the galaxy history? For those who have not played Moo2, at game setup you can chose the age of your galaxy, whether it is a new galaxy full of bright blue stars and mineral rich planets, to an old galaxy with big red stars and organic rich planets, to something in between. In all three cases, the game storyline stays the same, with the same derelics, artifacts and races to play against.
While listening to Star Control 2 music, a thought came in my head. Wouldn't it be interesting if the age of the galaxy not only determined the types of stars and mineral content, but the very races you could play with / against? Instead of having a starting point where history and story ends where the game begins, could we have an option where the story continues into later ages - where you could actually play the 'ancient' races so often spoken by your historians. Storylines could intersect. An ancient race that you played as has now split into two different races. Humans, once emotional and courageous, have become Kangishans who are cold and calculated.
Here is an example. I've used some Star Control 2 race names to make reference to their 'ages'.
History2 billion years. The first Age.
- Only one race has existed before the first age races, the "Precursors".
- Alien artifacts are rare because all that is left are precursor artifacts.
- The artifacts that you can find are few, but they give you the most benefit.
Galaxy
- The galaxy has more blue stars and nebulas.
- The galaxy has less black holes, singularities, neutron stars, etc.
- No Splinter colonies exist.
- There are precious few sub-light races (natives) to find.
- Greater concentration of mineral rich planets.
- There isn't any 'funny stuff' going around like weird diseases, strange space monsters, fickle star lanes, raids, etc...
Specials
- One special planet known as 'Orion' where the precursors used to live.
- No "Blasted" (glassed) worlds to discover.
- Special victory condition "Transcendance into enery"
Races
5 different races to play.
- Ur-Quan
- Meal-Num
- GG
- Taalo
- Arreelooaleea
Feel
- The general 'feel' of the game is that everything is new and barely untouched. I'm thinking the League of Sentien Races (Star Control 2 history)
- One of the "Native" races could be our pre-human ancestors, as read by one of the Taalo reports.
- Music is more 'New Age' is this era.
History3 billion years old. The second Age.
- The five ancient races existed, including the precursors.
- The ancients of the first age existed and left artifacts, as well as some sparse precursor artifacts.
Galaxy
- The galaxy is balanced. Average dispersal of stars and nebulas.
- The galaxy has an average amount of black holes, singularities, neutron stars, etc.
- Splinter colonies exist.
- Average number of sub-light races.
- Average concentration of mineral and organic rich planets.
- The galaxy has a fair amount of strange items and relics to discover.
- You must suffer raids from one of the ancient races.
Specials
- One special planet known as 'Orion' where the precursors used to live.
- Two homeworlds of the ancients exist.
- Some blasted worlds exist, which were two of the ancient races homeworlds.
- One of the ancient races attack the galaxy through another portal.
Technology
- A few 'high level' technologies that could be researched as ancients are unavailable. Instead, they can be discovered much like the antarean technologies were discovered in Moo2.
- Special victory condition "Defeat the Ur-Quan".
Races
8 Different races to play.
- Humans
- Mrrnhrrm
- Ur-Quan (Cast off)
- Arreelooaleea
- Spathi
- Chenjensu
- Mycon
- Illwrath
Feel
- The general 'feel' of the game is that the galaxy has some history to it - it is the average setting.
- The music is modern sounding.
History4 Billion years old. The final age.
- There was a cleansing period. A second age race conquered and subjugated all other races... then vanished.
(IE: Slave shielded worlds in SC2).
- Two other second age races have been blasted into non-existence.
Galaxy
- The galaxy is old. There are many red stars, and few nebulas.
- The galaxy has a lot of black holes, neutron stars, binary stars, and empty space.
- Many splinter colonies
- Many sub-light races
- The planets are more 'organic' rich though fossil fuels, sediments, etc.
- The galaxy has a large amount of items, derelicts and relics to discover.
- You suffer raids from one of the ancient races, as well as strange space monsters.
Specials
- Orion no longer exists. Instead there are several disperesed ghost worlds.
- No ancient age homeworlds exist.
- A lot of blasted worlds exist. Player must piece together a puzzle.
- A large amount of space monsters (turns out it is one of the 'modern races', like the mycon)
- A lot of extra 'stuff' to go around and blow up, like ancient sentry drones, space monsters, etc..
- Starlanes are fickle.. Many hidden lanes.
Races
9 different races to play.
- Humans
- Spathi
- Chenjensu
- Illwrath
- Kangisha (modified humans)
- Taalo (returned)
- Orz
- Druuge
- Irg (the singular thought entity - a 'fart' of the transcended GG).
Feel
- The General 'feel' of the game is that the galaxy is something of a proverbial junkyard / mausoleum.
- The music is dark and gothic. Some themes could be slightly remixed from their earlier age precursors.
- Special vicotry condition "Return of the precursors".
* * * *
Total # of races... 15
- Ur-Quan
- Meal-Num
- GG
- Taalo
- Arreelooaleea
- Humans
- Mrrnhrrm
- Spathi
- Chenjensu
- Mycon
- Illwrath
- Kangisha (modified humans)
- Orz
- Druuge
- Mjb (the singular thought entity).
The same amount Moo3 had. Granted, the number could be expanded or reduced.
I think it could be interesting as it could add an immersive element not seen in your traditional 4x games. One could start at the 'modern' age as humans, playing the game and learning the strange history behind the galaxy. Then jump ahead 1 billion years to play as one of the ancients... Then, next game, you play 2 billion years later to discover that your 'oh-so-mighty' humans are no longer the pariahs they used to be, who have transformed into the now Kangisha. And all through this, there is a common storyline the player can discover as by playing the different races from their perspectives.