Body Size Issue

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Dameon
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Body Size Issue

Post by Dameon » Tue Mar 30, 2004 6:42 pm

OK, so I have finally gotten on top of my BS2 body size, mainly because now when I move into BS1 squares they have 5000 plants and it allows me to settle in for a while and hunt instead of having to constantly move. So, lesson learned; going for BS2 is a bad idea until we are at least 8 cycles in, minimum. That also regrettably means getting BP isn't going to be easy either, so I do think the BS cost should be increases (or the BP decreased) at least a bit to reflect that.

The main issue I want to address here though is higher body sizes. I have talked this over with Korexus in particular, but right now it is totally unfeasible to get any BS higher than 2. With BS2, it'd be great if you could find BS2 plants, BUT you can still use BS1 plants to feed yourself and be moderately efficient about it if you wait until you can find some maxed out squares.

Now, if I go to BS3, then I am guessing eating BS1 plants probably isn't going to cut it. And, even if it was, I am also guessing I'm going to get another inedible plant color, likely of size BS1, if I mutated to BS3. So, that would automatically result in over half of the map being comprised of plants that are either inedible to me, or extremely inefficient to eat. And, if by some freak chance, the inedible plant color for my BS3 mutation was either blue or grey, I would be completely screwed. Even if I decided to go omin/carnivore to hunt other species, they have defenses, and I doubt saturation from eating other species is going to be comprable to eating the practically unlimited resource of BS1 plants.

The solution to all of these potential problems is simple; change green plants from BS1 to BS2. That opens up quite a few more squares for a BS3 species to feed on, and makes life a lot easier. Right now, going BS3 is very, very risky with the current setup. Even with this suggestion that Kor and I have, BS4 would still be extremely risky, but BS3 becomes at least feasible and not borderline suicidal. Making green plants BS2 isn't really going to hurt starting species either, because with three plant colors at BS1 almost half the map would still be of BS1, all three colors of which are edible to BS1 species, which is pretty good. In the long term, if you want to make the "big herbivores" species at all viable, or even the "big omnivores" for the matter, there needs to be a fair amount more of BS2 plants available than currently exist, even in a game without the refresh bug.
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Post by Strider » Tue Mar 30, 2004 8:32 pm

I think there is one thing you're forgetting here, Dameon. If I understand it correctly, at higher body sizes, you are less likely to move due to predators. Things will have to be a lot bigger to eat you, therefore, you will be able to sit and feed in a square a lot longer. True, you'll strip those squares faster, but you also won't have to move very far for your next feed either, because you'll be able to eat everything.

The way I see it, BS=2 is a lot more risky than BS=3 based on these factors.

But, then again, I could be wrong... :P
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Post by Dameon » Tue Mar 30, 2004 9:47 pm

No, things can be the same size as you and eat you if they want to. In any case, Al has agreed to raise green plants to BS2, so it's all good now. 8)
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korexus
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Post by korexus » Tue Mar 30, 2004 10:22 pm

I think Strider's point is that if you get to say, Body Size 3, then although you have to eat more any Body Size 2 meat eaters gain nothing from hunting you so may well move on somewhere else.

You just have to balance the protection against the costs...


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