Hello all,
In the following I will just throw some ideas as a gameplay style which is a little bit different than right now:
The game begins on the outside map which is maybe a little bit bigger than the actual ones. Beginning only with a young queen shortly after her nuptial flight, she is ready to establish her colony. The next step would be to find a suitable place for the nest which is safe and give the colony good starting conditions. Since the queen would prefer already existing holes several options are available on the map. Also tradeoffs could be thinkable, choosing a riskier spot which however would have a much more beneficial position as long as the queen manages to survive. Some of the options could also be strategic like a small valley between rocks where the nest is not reachable from every side. Not all nests could provide the same room, which would mean that at some point the colony needs to move out to find a new nest. This would be pretty interesting, since it means to carry all the brood and food to the new nest. During that long supply lines need to be established and guarded since other predators would surely take their share. And finally the queen must also move and if she would die it means the colony would also die.
To make it a little more strategic the underground map and the outside should also correlate as it would be interesting to dig more than one entrance. This would have benefits for the ants since some of the trails would be shorter and they would not be exposed unnecessarily, however it means also to cover and guard two entrances. The evolution of the nest should also not stop at that point. As the dimensions of the nest changes and it should be easier to move the queen and the brood to new rooms adjusting the layout. But not only the ants are changing this layout, especially for earth nests rain is always dangerous, which can result in collapsing tunnels. Then the ants must adjust fast, since such events not only disturbs many supply lines but also could result in a new nest opening which needs to be closed. The most unlucky outcome would be the need to find a new nest which again would mean a relocation of the whole colony.
However, ants are not only shaping the underworld. Many of them have a direct impact to nature. Some of them relocate aphids in order to have them closer to the nest or the possibility that their population spreads through other plants. Some spread seeds all around which will then grow to new plants given them also more seeds.
I will continue to write if I have additional ideas about the concept! Just wanted to give another perspective which could make the game a little bit more strategic and make the builders of us content.
Cheers,
Sav
In the following I will just throw some ideas as a gameplay style which is a little bit different than right now:
The game begins on the outside map which is maybe a little bit bigger than the actual ones. Beginning only with a young queen shortly after her nuptial flight, she is ready to establish her colony. The next step would be to find a suitable place for the nest which is safe and give the colony good starting conditions. Since the queen would prefer already existing holes several options are available on the map. Also tradeoffs could be thinkable, choosing a riskier spot which however would have a much more beneficial position as long as the queen manages to survive. Some of the options could also be strategic like a small valley between rocks where the nest is not reachable from every side. Not all nests could provide the same room, which would mean that at some point the colony needs to move out to find a new nest. This would be pretty interesting, since it means to carry all the brood and food to the new nest. During that long supply lines need to be established and guarded since other predators would surely take their share. And finally the queen must also move and if she would die it means the colony would also die.
To make it a little more strategic the underground map and the outside should also correlate as it would be interesting to dig more than one entrance. This would have benefits for the ants since some of the trails would be shorter and they would not be exposed unnecessarily, however it means also to cover and guard two entrances. The evolution of the nest should also not stop at that point. As the dimensions of the nest changes and it should be easier to move the queen and the brood to new rooms adjusting the layout. But not only the ants are changing this layout, especially for earth nests rain is always dangerous, which can result in collapsing tunnels. Then the ants must adjust fast, since such events not only disturbs many supply lines but also could result in a new nest opening which needs to be closed. The most unlucky outcome would be the need to find a new nest which again would mean a relocation of the whole colony.
However, ants are not only shaping the underworld. Many of them have a direct impact to nature. Some of them relocate aphids in order to have them closer to the nest or the possibility that their population spreads through other plants. Some spread seeds all around which will then grow to new plants given them also more seeds.
I will continue to write if I have additional ideas about the concept! Just wanted to give another perspective which could make the game a little bit more strategic and make the builders of us content.
Cheers,
Sav