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Catching up to this. That Bentusi stage was glorious. Just those impassioned arguments were swaying me.
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Mar 17, 2015 20:42
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berryjon posted:HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 20:54
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WFGuy posted:It really is a weird disconnect at this point that the Beast is demonstrated to be this hideously effective subverting influence, and at the barest minimum a week's gone past in-universe (it should really be weeks, but I guess maybe everyone's just been running on pure caffeine for a while now), yet it's somehow never made the jump to an inhabited planet (e.g. Hiigara, as mentioned before). I could see how it might not be too fussed about a planet from a tactical perspective, since planet-based life doesn't give it the ships it needs to move around, but it's not like it would take it much effort to send an infected colony ship or something to bombard a planet or two with Beast missiles. My best guess is that they don't go after planets because if they focused on planets getting infected then they've got to tie up how they get cleansed I guess. And as mentioned before, what would they get out of it? I imagine most of the ships are made in space and are not aerodynamic, so building ships on the planet to launch doesn't seem very handy. I imagine population/biomass density has something to do with it. There's a lot of people tightly packed on the ships. I imagine that lets the biomass effectively spread across the ship and hook into essential systems quickly. I'm imagining something like a submarine, where people are in very close quarters constantly. On a planet, who knows how tightly packed it is? You might get a whole city, sure, but unless it's a planet that's one big city I don't imagine it'd necessarily spread across the entire planet. The beast also transmits from ship to ship via a charged plasma beam that coats a ship.  Would a city be conductive of this charged plasma? Would it require significantly more charged plasma to infect? Would the fact that there's an atmosphere interfere with the charged plasma? Am I a huge nerd? The answer to one of these questions is yes.
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Mar 17, 2015 22:54
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Zudrag posted:My best guess is that they don't go after planets because if they focused on planets getting infected then they've got to tie up how they get cleansed I guess. Who's to say the Beast wouldn't be able to convert non-mechanical matter into mechanical parts, or else use biomatter in high proportion or even exclusively? All we really know is that the virus is able to infect 100% of every ship it's encountered and integrate it into a singular entity. Why would that stop it from infecting 100% of a planet?
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Mar 17, 2015 23:04
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Probably it would take more time and effort than the beast is willing to put in for something of limited strategic value when there's all these parts running around in space. It's a nightmare scenario for the Hiigatans, though.
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Mar 17, 2015 23:24
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Who's to say the Beast wouldn't be able to convert non-mechanical matter into mechanical parts, or else use biomatter in high proportion or even exclusively? All we really know is that the virus is able to infect 100% of every ship it's encountered and integrate it into a singular entity. Why would that stop it from infecting 100% of a planet? The issue, I think, is the time involved. While eating a ship might take around five to ten seconds, just long enough for you to select and double-tap the scuttle key, the biggest ship the beast can effectively instantly subvert would be, roughly guessing, around the size of a football field in length and width. Even the Naggarok itself took enough time from exposure to complete subversion for the crew to sabotage the engines and communication suite, even if their efforts were rendered ultimately futile due to a combination of their own redundant engineering dispatching an infected distress beacon and, as seen in the game, the efforts of the Taidaan Imperialist Moron contingent. So, hypothetically, let's say that the Beast does decide to turn a planet into snack food. Assuming geometric growth, but access to enough biomass simply by consuming grass, trees, and even dirt, with a doubling of the infection point every 30 seconds or therabouts, it would still be a significant amount of time for an infection to spread enough to be a proper threat, instead of simply a lethal trap for the dumb people poking it with sticks. As for what's stopping the Beast from infecting planets? Well, I think what's mounted on the Kuun-Lan might offer a clue as to proper deterrent.
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Mar 17, 2015 23:35
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Sel Nar posted:The issue, I think, is the time involved. While eating a ship might take around five to ten seconds, just long enough for you to select and double-tap the scuttle key, the biggest ship the beast can effectively instantly subvert would be, roughly guessing, around the size of a football field in length and width. Even the Naggarok itself took enough time from exposure to complete subversion for the crew to sabotage the engines and communication suite, even if their efforts were rendered ultimately futile due to a combination of their own redundant engineering dispatching an infected distress beacon and, as seen in the game, the efforts of the Taidaan Imperialist Moron contingent. The reason it's not infecting planets is explained in a throwaway line about halfway in: the infection began in a sector without inhabitable planets and so far it's been contained in that area. The Homeworld series seems to go by the assumption that proper life-bearing planets are few and far between, hence The Homeworld being such a big deal. As it is, all the Beast really needs to do is subvert the orbital defenses and then drop a few cruise missiles on strategic locations across the globe.
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Mar 17, 2015 23:46
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:The reason it's not infecting planets is explained in a throwaway line about halfway in: the infection began in a sector without inhabitable planets and so far it's been contained in that area. The Homeworld series seems to go by the assumption that proper life-bearing planets are few and far between, hence The Homeworld being such a big deal. I'm not so sure about that; at the very least, the Taiidan research planet was close enough for the Somtaaw to reach, and shortly before that they ran into a fleet running from a planet that went super-nova; Hiigara should also be fairly close as well. That's at least three planets right there, and probably even more space stations/mining facilities, like what the Pirates and Imperialists had that the Khun-Lan came accross. Personally, I'd bet mostly on the planetary defense/lack of bio-mechanical density argument, as well as the fact that the Beast would have to create something that could actually assault and capture planets, as the ships that have thus far been subverted would be poorly suited for such a task. In other words, the Beast would need to build or subvert (as you suggested) planetary assault selves before it could even try to infect a planet, and that's a lot of time/resources lost, neither of which the Beast has enough of at the present time. The Beast would probably suggest something a bit more horrific: the people of each planet build things and then send them up to space, along with a certain number of people up to be infected; in exchange, the Beast doesn't wipe out the planet from Orbit Kharak style. This way, the Beast acquires "renewable resources", the people on the planet get to live until they run out of poo poo to give the Beast, and the Beast has plenty of time to figure out how best to infect a planet.
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Mar 18, 2015 00:10
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Who says the Taiidan research planet was habitable? All it needed to be was well-hidden. And planets in star systems that have gone nova tend to be a little less than pleasant to live on.
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Mar 18, 2015 00:32
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Pretty sure the animatic cutscene for the research planet showed it was a snow-blasted hellhole.
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Mar 18, 2015 00:42
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Neurion posted:Pretty sure the animatic cutscene for the research planet showed it was a snow-blasted hellhole. I thought it was sand-blasted myself. Matches up with the view you get of it from the mission. Could be either or really.
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Mar 18, 2015 00:45
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Could be yellow snow.
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Mar 18, 2015 01:35
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Dabir posted:Could be yellow snow. We... hunger... Wait, what is- the entire planet!? Really!? We hunger... elsewhere...
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Mar 18, 2015 05:02
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If Beast was to harvest planets, why would it necessarily need people? Why not send up ships full of Hicows, himonkeys and stuff? It's still biomatter. It's not like the Beast feeds on minds and souls. Hell, it would only need to capture the Mothership dock and an orbital farm.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:33
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Part of this, guys, is that the Beast is not a mindless monster. It is an intelligent monster. It doesn't go for targets it can't take, it sets traps, utilizes the specialties of its ~parts~ to devastating effect. It thinks, it hungers, and it's patient.
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Mar 18, 2015 06:46
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JcDent posted:It's not like the Beast feeds on minds and souls. It... kinda does. It clearly absorbs knowledge and memory from the Parts it consumes.
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Mar 18, 2015 09:19
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I imagine an ideal world for the beast is where it controls all space and demands every planet give away parts at a set rate. Beastifying a planet means it won't produce any more parts and the beast probably is smart enough to play the long game.
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Mar 18, 2015 10:07
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One could also assume that the Beast has no interest in turning people into biocircuitry, when all it can connect to is drywall and household electronics.
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Mar 18, 2015 11:26
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THE BAR posted:One could also assume that the Beast has no interest in turning people into biocircuitry, when all it can connect to is drywall and household electronics. The beastified washing machine demands more dirty laundry, PARTS, more laundry!
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Mar 18, 2015 13:23
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PurpleXVI posted:The beastified washing machine demands more dirty laundry, PARTS, more laundry! We Hunggerr for your linens. Why do YOU deny us thisssssssss.
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Mar 18, 2015 17:12
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The Beast can clearly create new electronic components when it absorbs a manufacturing facility (and that's setting aside ship building). I really don't see what's essentially "the Thing meets the Borg" having trouble creating its own parts out of whatever it might find.
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Mar 18, 2015 17:24
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Kurieg posted:We Hunggerr for your linens. Why do YOU deny us thisssssssss.
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Mar 18, 2015 18:04
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anilEhilated posted:We really need more Beastified home appliances. Cue the tech war between Westinghouse and General Elerughgh over AC and BC.
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Mar 18, 2015 18:26
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:The Beast can clearly create new electronic components when it absorbs a manufacturing facility (and that's setting aside ship building). I really don't see what's essentially "the Thing meets the Borg" having trouble creating its own parts out of whatever it might find. Most manufacturing of the kind the Beast cares about that would let it continue spreading exists in orbit already in this setting, so there's not much on planet surfaces that it would care about. On the other hand, presumably the massive amount of biomass it would have access to on the surface on a planet would give it a massive boost in intelligence, so...
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Mar 18, 2015 18:38
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Not necessarily. We've already seen that it doesn't communicate instantaneously with all of its parts. A planet, while a massive source of biomass, is also incredibly spread out: its unlikely that it thinks faster than light, and more likely that it goes at the speed of regular neurons. Ships are smaller and denser, which means they're much easier to operate as a single mind. On a planet, meanwhile, it would think slow. And all the parts on a planet would be incredibly vulnerable to a Kharak-style bomb. In space, not only is it much more efficient, it is also much safer, and it has access to all the resources it needs anyway. Taking over planets can wait until it wears down the Hiigaran and Taiidan fleets, after which it can do so at its leisure.
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Mar 18, 2015 20:00
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anilEhilated posted:We really need more Beastified home appliances. Don't do it, Beast. Don't assimilate that toaster. Sometimes, bread is better.
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Mar 18, 2015 22:53
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GOTTA STAY FAI posted:Don't do it, Beast. Don't assimilate that toaster. And now I am visualizing a Somtaaw toaster that can cleanse itself of Beast infection via plasma (which it also uses to cook the toast REAL fast). Actually the idea of Hiigaran appliance design is hilarious/disturbing to contemplate; just what designs could they come up considering the ships we've seen?
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Mar 19, 2015 02:37
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For a start, the toaster would be markedly different from The Divine Toaster by using doors and trays and being vertical for all it means.
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Mar 19, 2015 02:45
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So you guys are saying that Beast and Taiidan Empire are allies because Beast couldn't assimilate Taiidani mothership?
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Mar 19, 2015 10:21
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This is the end.
I just wish the ending credits were longer so I could decompress my thoughts a bit more.
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Mar 20, 2015 20:54
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berryjon posted:This is the end. Before I watch the video, I just want to say that I love the Babylon 5 reference. Edit: I used Leeches to destroy the two emitters, not MCVs. Torrannor fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Mar 20, 2015 |
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Mar 20, 2015 21:16
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berryjon posted:This is the end. Kiith Somtaaw Warship KUUN-LAN 
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Mar 20, 2015 21:28
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John Liver posted:A secret project under the codename "Nomad Moon." I knew it. A fully armed and operational battle station.
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Mar 20, 2015 21:52
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Another great LP
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Mar 20, 2015 22:01
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My mistake during the mission, thought that the Nomad moon was a perfect target for the siege cannon. Turns out it is able to repulse it, and returned to my ship with the destruction of my fleet.
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Mar 20, 2015 22:10
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Torrannor posted:Edit: I used Leeches to destroy the two emitters, not MCVs.  Although that would be boring, and this option is more... visceral.
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Mar 20, 2015 22:24
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berryjon posted:
It also caused the deaths of... what, 30 pilots? At least? You monster.
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Mar 20, 2015 22:35
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There's a friendly carrier on this map at the start of the mission. Once, I managed to save it. After a while, I thought to send workers after it to heal it. They had a bit of trouble with that, because it had decided it wanted nothing to do with this battle and left the map via the bottom boundary. They couldn't reach it. It also had two or three of its own fighters perpetually trying to dock with it.
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Mar 20, 2015 22:40
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benzine posted:My mistake during the mission, thought that the Nomad moon was a perfect target for the siege cannon. Turns out it is able to repulse it, and returned to my ship with the destruction of my fleet.
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Mar 20, 2015 22:53
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Man I just love Somtaaw. "What the hell was that strange energy shockwave from that giant battlestation?!" "No idea, but our engineers think they can put it on our dreadnought!" And the upgrade is a small dome.
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Mar 20, 2015 23:00
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