Sunday, May 12, 2013

Scrin playstyle and overview

With the next release of the mod one of the bigger changes with our work going forward is the overview.  Basically this is a small description of what we're going after with a faction and how it stands out against the other forces in the game.  The Scrin as always stand out as a unique force that will play different than any other force while appealing to that type of player that simply wish's to be the nastiest thing out there and the biggest target when playing online.

Scrin Overview and Playstyle -

The Scrin are one of the most feared intergalactic and inter-dimensional forces in the known universe.  They are like locus, sending swarms out into space to seed and harvest planets for their own war efforts.  They are in the middle of a war with the Invid that has lasted for over 1000 years and has no end in sight and because of this they have evolved to be a very efficient and cautious force, developing techniques that will always help tip the balance into their favor in a fair fight.

Scrin bases are always protected by a Mothership.  These Motherships are very powerful, able to attack from a great range and produce more than enough power to keep a Scrin base up and running in normal situations.  Harvesting fields that have Accelerators in them also have special Iconic Capitol Ships that protect the fields from enemy attacks making forces that focus on harassing the Scrin Economy a very difficult proposition.

Scrin forces have evolved over time to take advantage of their enemy and to modify an enemy force on both a biological and technological level to make the Scrin force stronger.  What this means is as a Scrin force engages an enemy they start to corrupt the enemy, either by using the raw materials of an enemies force to build their own force up or by gaining information about how the enemy technology works and gaining the ability to make perverse, corrupted versions of the enemy technology to use against them.  When an enemy is killed by a Scrin unit and that Scrin unit is using a Conversion Beam to kill the enemy then there is a chance to turn the enemy into a Scrin unit.  For example when a Scrin Corruptor kills a GDI Infnatry Squad there is a 10% chance that that squad will turn into a Desintegrator Squad.  When that same Corruptor kills a Predator Tank that tank has a chance to be converted and turned into a Devourer Tank.  This allows the Scrin force to gain power while engaging the enemy and forces the enemy to fight smart, not sending small squads out to be sacrificed.  When fighting the Scrin you ever go for the kill or go home.  As another example if the Scrin Corrupter kill a GDI unit and spawn one of their forces in they also gain the ability to build Scrin Mammoth Tanks.  These tanks look like GDI Mammoth Tanks but are graphically different and have some obvious changes done to them making them look like a perverse alien knock off, firing Lance's instead of Rail Cannons and having Energy Shields instead of Secondary Plate Armor.  

Finally the ultimate goal of any Scrin player will be to build a Rift Generator.  Once a Rift Generator is built a count down will begin.  At the end of the countdown the map will be covered in a large time-shift rift that will do many things.  Scrin forces will gain a 200% speed and attack rate increase, enemy structures will lose 50% of their structural integrity, and enemy units will lose 50% of their vision and movement speed for 3 minutes.  This will be the time to strike as a Scrin Player as the enemy, no matter how well they had built up their defenses, will be at their weakest at this point.

With the Scrin the players have the chance to play a force unlike anything else in the CNC universe.  The Scrin are the bad guys, they are a serious force with serious power and are a threat unlike any other in the game.  However they are a force that must engage to truly flourish.  By hiding in a base and trying to play defensively the Scrin force will stagnate and ultimately fail.  

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any new updates? Still looking forward to this!

Alan said...

There is some new information on the moddb page it looks like there may be a O3 release soon *fingers crossed*

http://www.moddb.com/mods/xenoforce-reborn

Also Azusa you may want to check the AI on Wrecktropolis the EF AI doesn't seem to be working

Anonymous said...

greatly anticipating next release. best mod i've played for tib wars