Unit classes

First draft of the unit class diagram is complete!

I’ve attached both the dia source and png, pdf and svg output 🙂

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The Concept Of Classes, Genetic Mods, Etc.

In the Colonial world, our (as yet) unnamed species (that’s like a tagline isn’t it?) does not evolve, or any of the regular terms. Instead, their genes are made to be modified, and the King and Queen have conscious control of this ability. From the start of the game, you will find three classes, Reproducers, Warriors, and Workers. During the early stages (possibly before you leave the first level), you will meet the fourth main class, Drones. From these basic classes, many other classes will appear later.

In Level 5 (levels will also be renamed to something more exotic) you will meet: the Soldier class, Gatherer Precursor class and War Drones. You your workers will gain an Attack Stance (stances will be explained in detail in a later post), which gives them increased attack ability, and a more brain power. The workers will also be able to harvest water aphids (these will be renamed) that produce a substance similar to honeydew. Below, I’ll give a greater description of some of the new classes:

Soldier Class:

The first class to introduce armour. They are similar to Warriors, but have more speed, attack, and hitpoints. They can also reproduce when upgraded, use auras, and learn ranged attacks using rocks as projectiles. Soldiers are the Precursor class for Raiders, Assassins and Predators.

Gatherer Precursor Class:

These are a branch of the Drones. They have slightly increased brain power, a weak ranged attack, and high hitpoints, but totally lack armour and are slow moving. They can carry large amounts of plant based food, water, and liquid building materials. The main Gatherer form is the precursor of a number of later classes, including an Artillery Class, an Acid Class, and a Floater Class.

War Drones:

The War Drone is an upgrade of the standard Drone. Between Gatherers and regular Drones, the entire Drone form is permanently split into specialized classes and forms. War Drones have armour, less than Soldiers, increased attack, long legs, increased speed, increased brain power and multiple stances, including a powerful Attack Stance. They can act as Raiders due to their speed, but lack a ranged attack, and cannot fly. With their increased abilities however, they also have an increased food requirement, and need to feed more often. Upgrading them withing their form can decrease these requirements, but until later Levels, they will need to give up hitpoints for a while to decrease their food requirements.

This post will either be updated or I’ll post another one with an actual breakdown of the Classes, and some initial designs. 3D models will show up when I get the time =).

The Soldier Class

An modification of the warrior class.

The Raider Class

Low hitpoint, medium attack creatures, with high brain power, and a stealth option. They have varying defense levels, and are designed to be quick and deadly. Used to raid enemy camps, capture herds, and destroy key structures to gain prestige among rival colonies.

They are only available after the soldier class has been created, and during a raid the colony must work hard to support them, as they are high energy units. Most raiders are food units, with no swimming ability, but some raiders can fly.

Introducing: Drones!

Drones will be one of the most important units in colonial. Low on brain power, but high on attack and hitpoints to start, Drones will be a good addition to Warriors, as they will be able to defend the colony from attack, while more important units are saved, and possibly upgraded in the background. Drones will be produced from eggs like other units, but will cost less to produce. However, they will need to eat more than normal, so to compensate you will probably need to keep your Drones actively attacking enemies (predators and rivals), which they can possibly feed on, until they are upgraded.

 

In level 6, Drones will begin to introduce some new branches to their class, including the Gatherer and War Drone. They will go from being simple mindless attackers, to being slightly smarter, much more developed, and possibly even more advanced than other units in the future. War Drones will especially be interesting to work on.

 

Another fascinating thing to note about Drones, is that the King can produce them as well as the Queen. First he will need to eat a large amount of food, enabling him to incubate the eggs internally, and then he will gather a limited amount of eggs and carry them until he they are ready to hatch. When the King needs extra backup, you can then instruct him to produce an army of Drones, or eventually, War Drones and Super Drones. The King cannot produce gatherers though, as he would also need to provide them with the extra nourishment they need (Gatherer classes will be huge creatures).