Post Heretic ideas

[dvlenk6]

Post 'em if you got 'em.

1) Get a crew.
-Opens up the chance to have precise display modes. I.e. a Radar man.
-Fine tune power use. I.E. boost shield output, more power to weapons, etc. An engineering dept.
- Navigational displays. Navigator.
- and so on.

2) Switch ships.
-Lots of people talk about that. Entering Post Heretic would be a good place for that to happen.

3) Alien Refit
- Bigger, better, badder; but at the bottom of the Post Heretic power scale.
- Put some serious danger back into the game w/ whole new equipment scale.

4) New areas for Rank improvements. I like having Ranks
- There is historical precedence for rank having meaning in alien (terrestrial) societies. A Colonel was not treated the same in a POW camp as a private or even a sgt; diplomats were often ranking military personelle, etc.
- New organizations with chances to gain rank and percs.

What will happen to the Pre Heretic Transcendence economy?
-Does it just disappear entirely?
-Is there a Post Heretic economy at all?
-Is it related to the Pre Heretic economy at all?

[Fossaman]

I'm all for a colony of stranded human colonists being located in the first post-heretic system. I don't think the Iocrym would be so likely to refit you, would they now?

Jury-rigged alien equipment would be highly entertaining.

[Stormhawk]

I want to see Kytryn Corporation, I love their weapons. The plasma blaster is beautiful. Maybe somebody can install the Iocrymn weapons

[Salvagebot 1.0]

"Ring 2 Jumpdrive"

Do away with the phrase "Transspace Jumpdrive" and incorporate a "Ring System". A "Ring 1 Jumpdrive" takes you to the original Eridani-Heretic ring of gates, but to hit "Ring 2" you'd need a "Ring 2" drive.
This will allow players to keep their jumpdrives without their being able to jump to wherever they want in the new systems within the first 30 seconds of game play.

"The Badlands"

This would go for several systems after you pass the Iocrym where there's nothing, no support, as the humans were in quarantine in some deserted corner of the galaxy and once you pass the Iocrym blockade you'd better have a solar collector or two ...
After you've gone several systems in you start seeing a few sparse signs of life, an ice farm here or a mining operation there, a few scattered pirate bases. You wouldn't really be on the "frontier", more like the boondocks. As an escapee from a prison system you'd expect to find yourself emerging into something like a worthless dump.
The purpose of "The Badlands" would be to reinforce the eerie sense that you are in a place you don't belong and where no human has been for centuries and possibly drive home the malevolence of the Iocrym in isolating humans so far from the rest of civilization.

"Human? What's That, Some Kind of Fertilizer?"

Depending on how long humans were isolated, many aliens might not even know you were an escapee until the Iocrym got the word out, as they wouldn't have even heard of humans, or hearing centuries of nightmare stories of ferocious, bestial humans wouldn't recognize you as one. ("You're human? No way! Where are your poison claws and 10-inch fangs?")
The Iocrym themselves might not even give 2 cents about escaped humans, as they might've forgotten they even quarantined you in the first place, their automated blockading battleship just something left in place and eventually forgotten.
"You're a what from where? Oh, we did? Hmm, well, your tough luck I guess, but I've never heard of a 'human quarantine', so as far as I'm concerned the past is the past."
At some point the Iocrym bureaucracy could catch up with what's happened and all the Iocrym go hostile on you.

"War Zone"

You emerge from Heretic into chaos and carnage, as Iocrym battleships exchange disintegration pods and thermonuclear salvos with some generic "greater threat" we'll call the "Brain-Eating Reavers".
You'd better have saved a couple of kitten pods.

[(name here)]

reception party: domina sent some heriodules to pick you up, but they pissed off the incryom and are in a running fight with Orcus heriodules.

[F50]

Here's what I think:

You have escaped Heretic to face a couple nasty alien turrets (of no sovereign and well beyond your capability to destroy even with lamplighter or the QAC). The rest of the system is populated by a stargate (with more turret guards), a sung outpost, an ares outpost, a ringer outpost, and a couple small alien outposts. Each human civilization is looking for alien allies and allying yourself with a human civilization determines your alien affiliations. Each human civilization also desires the player as an ally. You don't have to be bound to the human factions if you prefer to deal with the three (rock-paper-scissors) alien civilizations directly.

The Sung: high-tech scientists capable of advancing *human* technology and are the most capable of handing it to the aliens. Because they are slavers, they desire aliens other than their ally (because they will be supplied by them and supported by them) for experiments.
The Ares: They have been pushed because the CW is dealing with them. Desperate.
The Ringers: the high-tech folks interested in integrating alien tech and allying themselves with aliens.

The Teratons have neither the maneuverability nor the relational skills necessary to become a force. The Ranx are too far behind the ares. The CW are too busy with the Ares in human space.

Several heavily-shielded ships may gate in at the beginning to construct the other human bases right when you arrive (or shortly after).

[Fossaman]

Hmm...fun idea that's a little off the beaten track here:

The hyperglyph rod was damaged in the battle, and it damages the stargate's programming. It malfunctions and throws you to a completely different part of space. No Iocrym (yet) but there are a whole mess of new, alien species. You'll still be significantly coreward, to keep things shorter.

[Lord Trogg]

@F50
How would the ares, ringers, and sung have gotten past the Heretic system, no one else before the player have ever defeated the Iocrym command ship and repaired the stargate. I suppose the terratons may be on both sides but most likely the ones on the other side would be different due to the seperation of hundreds of years or however long ago the iocrym blocked off hte post heretic space from humans.

[OddBob]

I am in favor of no humans past the gate. I am also in favor of no humans following you. Maybe you have broken the quarantine but you didn't exactly broadcast it and it may be immediately reinstated. How are you Transcending the boundaries of your humanity by being one in the crowd?

I think it would be very cool to meet maybe one or two humans in alien bars or somewhere who escaped via other means. Buy them a drink (or some fuel, who knows what's in that alien space grog) and they'll tell you about how they suffered a gate malfunction or hijacked an alien ship or flew slower than light in suspended animation or whatever.

I also am fond of somewhere, at some point in the game, facing a few systems with no inhabitants (although not necessarily no hazards). It's odd, but Elysium always feels different - it's quiet. Even though the game is fairly quiet in non battle situations anyway generally I end up in Elysium straight from a raging battle, and the sudden silence always makes me feel very.....reverent. I'd like to explore more systems like it, perhaps with some neat clues about aliens (more Tan Ru Dorem, please).

[dvlenk6]

...I don't think the Iocrym would be so likely to refit you, would they now?...

Who said anything about Iocrym?
Why would Iocrym be the first thing you encounter on the other side of Heretic gate?
Are the Iocrym enemies of humanity?
What was the purpose of the quarantine to begin with?

[Cardinal]

At the beginning of the game you start near a Sisters of Domina station and the Starton Drydock which serves somewhat as a base of operations early on.

I think the first post Heretic system should have a benign (?) alien station that can give you clues, rumours and information about the new systems. They might offer you a stack of post-Heretic money for you strange, alien ship... Perhaps you could acquire a mission there where you are required to find a rumoured-to-exist human station.

I like the idea of a ship upgrade once you reach the new system. Something really advanced and imaginative, and one of three ships to choose from, mirroring the start of the game. These are my ideas...



The Bioship: Equivalent to the Sapphire Yacht, but has the equivalent of 4 solar panels built into it (This is useful, but bear in mind that it might take forever to fuel your alien reactor to capacity) and perhaps some "rock eating" capability (mining capacity, spits corrosive acid which more or less identical to the plasma miner)

Kytryn Frigate: Equivalent of the Wolfen, but very - Very - quick, has regenerating capabilities and a built-in quantum computer with a basic attack continually available.

TARDIS (or dimensional-folding ship): Equivalent of the Freighter. Has a 400ton cargo hold capacity which when filled up, doesn't affect its turning speed. Has a jump-drive as standard (might be too powerful, but thats just an idea). Don't call it the TARDIS though

[Dorne]

I believe that the early game should not start like trascendence on the bang.

Since you are going into the unknown, exploration may sound like a good idea. No humans past heretic is a good point, as you are the first to enter.

To further the plot, add ruins of old ships that display historic video messages.

There should be no enemies besides Iocrym automated scouts (who won't report you btw). Consider them the equivalent of a Centauri raider on steroids.

A Domina Sanctum is a good idea, as Domina communicates with more than just humans. The alien species will no doubt distrust you but will aid you because Domina enlightens them.

Replace stargates with warp links.

Enable stargates to choose destination, like anacreon.

[Fossaman]

Replace stargates with warp links.

Why? The aliens built the dang things, why wouldn't they use them? Assuming, of course, they don't just have uber-jumpdrives that let them go wherever they wish.

[Betelgeuse]

hmm that would be interesting jump drives that go to different systems depending on where you are in the system

but anyway as long as you don't get to keep anything from pre heritic I will be happy

[Fossaman]

but anyway as long as you don't get to keep anything from pre heritic I will be happy

What exactly do you mean by this? I'm slightly confused. Do you mean pre-heretic systems, or equipment and ship? I would hope that new damage types, weapons, armor, shields, etc. would make the pre-heretic equipment obsolete pretty fast anyway.