Detailed Ideas on the Wraith
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 3:47 pm
Greetings my fellows. I've become increasingly convinced that the Wraith could make a solid 5th race in this game. It's probably just wishful thinking and no doubt there are technical problems that I cnanot fathom at this time with implementing a new race, but that doesn't stop a guy dreaming and scheming, right?
Anyway, it's not the first time that the phrase "Add the Wraith" has cropped up on here, so I've tried rather hard to make this thread something different. It's not a plea to [i]add the Wraith, but designs on how to include the Wraith, which I think would be far more useful (and persuassive) than a few pages of people saying that the Wraith should or should not be included.
So, away I go...[/i]
The Wraith
Racial Bonuses – Powerful Warriors, The Culling
Powerful Warriors - All Wraith units have 1.5 times the power of a standard unit. Thus, if we assume an Offensive Away Team has a power of 1, and an Offensive NID Agent a power of 2, a Wraith Warrior will have a power of 1.5 and a Wraith Elite Guard will have a power of 3.
Designer’s Note – This reflects the regenerative powers of the Wraith, and the general strength that they display. It can also represent the vampiric powers of the Wraith – we can assume that in combat the Wraith will drain it’s victims and as such last longer, etc. I considered some sort of special attack option or technology for vampirism, but ideas such as reduced casualties are already the domain of the Replicators.
The Culling – Naquadah stolen by the Wraith during a successful attack is multiplied by 1.25. Note, this can allow the Wraith to steal more Naquadah than the defender technically possesses, since it is not just Naquadah that is being stolen.
Designer’s Note – The Wraith harvest populations for feeding. They are a truly predatory race. It is how they survive, and they are exceedingly efficient at it. It would seem obvious that the Wraith get a lot more out of a successful culling than say, the Goa’uld get from a successful invasion of a rival’s world. On a gameplay level, this will give the Wraith all the incentive they need to actually attack, rather than sit back and run an economy as other races sometimes seem content to do. This has to be a good thing, right? This might sound similar to the Tau’ri bonus, but the important difference here is that the Tau’ri bonus helps them get past the enemy’s defences – the Wraith bonus helps them once they have won the battle themselves. I think that’s a big enough difference so as not to tread on those little Tau’ri toes.
Unit Summary
Attack Units – Wraith Warrior
Attack Super Units – Wraith Elite Guard
Attack Mercenaries – Wraith Adolescent
Defence Units – Wraith Defender
Defence Super Units – Wraith Hive Guardian
Defence Mercenaries – Semi-dormant Wraith
Infiltration Units – Wraith Marauder
Untrained Units – Wraith Workers
Untrained Mercenaries – Hibernating Wraith
Designer’s Note – Simple names here, if anyone has any better ideas please do suggest them.
Attack Weapons
Name: Combat Blade, Strength: 12, Price: 1,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Staff, Strength: 24, Price: 2,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Rifle, Strength: 36, Price: 3,000 Naquadah
Name: Toxin Injector, Strength: 72, Price: 5,000 Naquadah
Name: Field Commander, Strength: 200, Price: 12,500 Naquadah
Name: Assault Cadre, Strength: 700, Price: 45,000 Naquadah
Name: Wraith Dart, Strength: 2,800, Price: 170,000 Naquadah
Defence Weapons
Name: Combat Blade, Strength: 12, Price: 1,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Staff, Strength: 24, Price: 2,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Rifle, Strength: 36, Price: 3,000 Naquadah
Name: Frenzied Hive Guards, Strength: 72, Price: 5,000 Naquadah
Name: Chameleonic Hive Guards, Strength: 180, Price: 11,000 Naquadah
Name: Focused Laser Cannon, Strength: 600, Price: 40,000 Naquadah
Name: Ultra High Intensity Culling Beam, Strength: 2,400, Price: 145,000 Naquadah
Designer's Note - If you compare the higher-end Attack and Defence weapons for the Wraith then you see that they are marginally better equipped for Attack rather than Defence. This is more to further encourage the Wraith player to be aggressive and attack as often as possible, since he stands to get a lot more from attacking than cowering behind his defences. The differences between Attack and Defence powers are no-where near as severe as those of the Asgard and Tau’ri though, to reflect the Wraith’s technological ability and the fact that attacking the Wraith really isn’t that easy.
Siege Technology
Level: 1
Name: Dart Swarms
Effect: +45% Attack Bonus
Cost: 60,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Wraith Cruiser Assault
Effect: +90% Attack Bonus
Cost: 180,000 Naquadah
Defence Fortifications
Level: 1
Name: Dormant Hive
Effect: +25% Defence Bonus
Cost: 60,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Awakened Hive
Effect: +50% Defence Bonus
Cost: 180,000 Naquadah
Covert Technology
Level: 1
Name: Prey-seeker Probes
Effect: +5% Covert Bonus
Cost: 60,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Wraith Computer Virus
Effect: +15% Covert Bonus
Cost: 180,000 Naquadah
Mercenary Recruitment Technology
As game standard.
Unique Racial Technology
Level: 1
Name: Strengthened Transporter Beams
Effect: “The Culling” bonus is increased to 1.3
Cost: 150,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Increased Matter Storage
Effect: “The Culling” bonus is increased to 1.35
Cost: 300,000 Naquadah
Level: 3
Name: Advanced Matter Re-integration Systems
Effect: “The Culling” bonus is increased to 1.4
Cost: 600,000 Naquadah
Designer's Note - Once again the power is centred on Attack power. If you think this is too high, let me know. Defence and Covert are pretty standard I think – any tweaking suggestions are welcome. Mercenary tech I will leave as it is. The real star here is the Unique Race Technology – I wanted something special and powerful, but not overly complicated. Therefore, the idea is that the Wraith can further increase the excess Naquadah (in practice bodies) they steal on a successful attack. Once again, it really encourages the Wraith player to take the initiative and go on the offensive.
Any and all comments are welcome, save for cries of "We don't need the Wraith!". Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, Vosk.
Anyway, it's not the first time that the phrase "Add the Wraith" has cropped up on here, so I've tried rather hard to make this thread something different. It's not a plea to [i]add the Wraith, but designs on how to include the Wraith, which I think would be far more useful (and persuassive) than a few pages of people saying that the Wraith should or should not be included.
So, away I go...[/i]
The Wraith
Racial Bonuses – Powerful Warriors, The Culling
Powerful Warriors - All Wraith units have 1.5 times the power of a standard unit. Thus, if we assume an Offensive Away Team has a power of 1, and an Offensive NID Agent a power of 2, a Wraith Warrior will have a power of 1.5 and a Wraith Elite Guard will have a power of 3.
Designer’s Note – This reflects the regenerative powers of the Wraith, and the general strength that they display. It can also represent the vampiric powers of the Wraith – we can assume that in combat the Wraith will drain it’s victims and as such last longer, etc. I considered some sort of special attack option or technology for vampirism, but ideas such as reduced casualties are already the domain of the Replicators.
The Culling – Naquadah stolen by the Wraith during a successful attack is multiplied by 1.25. Note, this can allow the Wraith to steal more Naquadah than the defender technically possesses, since it is not just Naquadah that is being stolen.
Designer’s Note – The Wraith harvest populations for feeding. They are a truly predatory race. It is how they survive, and they are exceedingly efficient at it. It would seem obvious that the Wraith get a lot more out of a successful culling than say, the Goa’uld get from a successful invasion of a rival’s world. On a gameplay level, this will give the Wraith all the incentive they need to actually attack, rather than sit back and run an economy as other races sometimes seem content to do. This has to be a good thing, right? This might sound similar to the Tau’ri bonus, but the important difference here is that the Tau’ri bonus helps them get past the enemy’s defences – the Wraith bonus helps them once they have won the battle themselves. I think that’s a big enough difference so as not to tread on those little Tau’ri toes.
Unit Summary
Attack Units – Wraith Warrior
Attack Super Units – Wraith Elite Guard
Attack Mercenaries – Wraith Adolescent
Defence Units – Wraith Defender
Defence Super Units – Wraith Hive Guardian
Defence Mercenaries – Semi-dormant Wraith
Infiltration Units – Wraith Marauder
Untrained Units – Wraith Workers
Untrained Mercenaries – Hibernating Wraith
Designer’s Note – Simple names here, if anyone has any better ideas please do suggest them.
Attack Weapons
Name: Combat Blade, Strength: 12, Price: 1,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Staff, Strength: 24, Price: 2,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Rifle, Strength: 36, Price: 3,000 Naquadah
Name: Toxin Injector, Strength: 72, Price: 5,000 Naquadah
Name: Field Commander, Strength: 200, Price: 12,500 Naquadah
Name: Assault Cadre, Strength: 700, Price: 45,000 Naquadah
Name: Wraith Dart, Strength: 2,800, Price: 170,000 Naquadah
Defence Weapons
Name: Combat Blade, Strength: 12, Price: 1,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Staff, Strength: 24, Price: 2,000 Naquadah
Name: Stunner Rifle, Strength: 36, Price: 3,000 Naquadah
Name: Frenzied Hive Guards, Strength: 72, Price: 5,000 Naquadah
Name: Chameleonic Hive Guards, Strength: 180, Price: 11,000 Naquadah
Name: Focused Laser Cannon, Strength: 600, Price: 40,000 Naquadah
Name: Ultra High Intensity Culling Beam, Strength: 2,400, Price: 145,000 Naquadah
Designer's Note - If you compare the higher-end Attack and Defence weapons for the Wraith then you see that they are marginally better equipped for Attack rather than Defence. This is more to further encourage the Wraith player to be aggressive and attack as often as possible, since he stands to get a lot more from attacking than cowering behind his defences. The differences between Attack and Defence powers are no-where near as severe as those of the Asgard and Tau’ri though, to reflect the Wraith’s technological ability and the fact that attacking the Wraith really isn’t that easy.
Siege Technology
Level: 1
Name: Dart Swarms
Effect: +45% Attack Bonus
Cost: 60,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Wraith Cruiser Assault
Effect: +90% Attack Bonus
Cost: 180,000 Naquadah
Defence Fortifications
Level: 1
Name: Dormant Hive
Effect: +25% Defence Bonus
Cost: 60,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Awakened Hive
Effect: +50% Defence Bonus
Cost: 180,000 Naquadah
Covert Technology
Level: 1
Name: Prey-seeker Probes
Effect: +5% Covert Bonus
Cost: 60,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Wraith Computer Virus
Effect: +15% Covert Bonus
Cost: 180,000 Naquadah
Mercenary Recruitment Technology
As game standard.
Unique Racial Technology
Level: 1
Name: Strengthened Transporter Beams
Effect: “The Culling” bonus is increased to 1.3
Cost: 150,000 Naquadah
Level: 2
Name: Increased Matter Storage
Effect: “The Culling” bonus is increased to 1.35
Cost: 300,000 Naquadah
Level: 3
Name: Advanced Matter Re-integration Systems
Effect: “The Culling” bonus is increased to 1.4
Cost: 600,000 Naquadah
Designer's Note - Once again the power is centred on Attack power. If you think this is too high, let me know. Defence and Covert are pretty standard I think – any tweaking suggestions are welcome. Mercenary tech I will leave as it is. The real star here is the Unique Race Technology – I wanted something special and powerful, but not overly complicated. Therefore, the idea is that the Wraith can further increase the excess Naquadah (in practice bodies) they steal on a successful attack. Once again, it really encourages the Wraith player to take the initiative and go on the offensive.
Any and all comments are welcome, save for cries of "We don't need the Wraith!". Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, Vosk.
