Rare Materials and Their Application

I was thinking about something Brad recently said "For example, with this system we could have all kinds of rare and interesting things that can effectively only be built once." I love the general idea of this but in the example Brad gave he talked about getting plans for a Diamond Golem that can only be completed if you have a Star Diamond. I don't particularly mind having several pre-designed plans which makes perfect sense for buildings and some units. However, what I would also like to see on the unit side is for some of these rare minerals to have inherent qualities that could be transferred into anything with varying effects.

So for example let's say the Star Diamond was such a mineral and would give 10 defense / armor to anything it was used to construct. Now the player has a choice should I go ahead and create this cool Diamond Golem or a unique shield, helmet, chestplate, greaves, gauntlets, etc. That to me seems a lot more fun because of all the possible things I would now be able to do.

If you look at the big picture Brad said that players could put several different materials into building a unit and I for one would like to put several rare materials into building a player designed unit. I don't know if there would need to be some kind of limit or restrictions with the unit creation process en regards to rare materials but damn would it be awesome to have these options in elemental. Assuming they aren't already in.

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

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Philocthetes

Join Date 10/2003

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The way I read Brad's journal was that the options you want are in, and the unit design process will essentially restrict itself because in any given game there will be some kind of diminishing-returns boundary when it comes to whipping up super-units.

When it comes to objects like the Star Diamond, I'd like to see some that are essentially single-purpose (essential to a unique construction or a very high-end spell), while others will have multiple applications like you describe. Sort of the Star Diamond vs. a star diamond. If you have a star diamond, you can build a Diamond Golem. If you have the Star Diamond, you can use (along with a boatload of mana and maybe a dash of essence) it to perform a ritual that transforms your capital's city walls to diamond.

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Honestly I like both ways. Finding rare (but not unique) reagents to make useful or interesting things out of with multiple choices, and the potential to find rare, one-of-a-kind artifacts that have a game-impacting usages, like "I summon the Star Diamon."

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Hmm, if your capital walls are turned to diamond (and it was that expensive and rare to get it) then I would expect that Diamond wall to have Turrets of Diamond Cannons, with regenerating diamond ammo, that shoot out super-heated Diamond Shards into your approaching opponents. You could have solid shot Diamond shards (long range, massive damage, small area), or hollow shot diamond shards (medium range, medium damage, massive area) ... and be either the ONLY or the BEST type of cannons/(wall defense turrets) in the game.

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Lol. *sorry the diamond wall is funny*

But seriously i like choices on what to do with it and maybe the possibility of being able to design some super units etc.

or make artifacts/armor with certain special stuff.

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