Factorio Forums

I read FFF: https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-169

Suggestion: Biter spawners grow "creep" around them. Empowering biters and making it harder for player to fight in such environment.
+ cant build structures on the "creep".

This image should suffice:
Original suggestion:
Additional ideas from discussion:

This is very Similar to my idea so i will respond here rather than making a new thread:

How about a new biter 'structure' that can sometimes spawn in creep bases.
It makes an area that cannot be built on around the creep base
Size of the AOE increases with evolution level
After destruction the AOE dissipates
AOE can be visually represented EG darkened terrain


Adds a new aspect to taking out bases. You can still turret creep them but first you must attack the base and destroy the structure.


This way you need to actually actively engage in combat yourself, and if the new combat options makes it more engaging and viable, why would you choose to turret creep, after all at this point you will still have to engage in the combat so why not just go all out for combat?

Alien creep could spread after some evolution factor value, e.g. 50%. The radius could be dependent on the evolution factor.
Creep could creep towards player structures and destroy them. Like acid or something.

I think creep could be removed using flamethrower. And mobile flamethrower device for creep/alien removal like a tank with flamethrowers.

Oh yes I think this is good idea.

I was thinking along similar lines but wanted to keep the suggestion short and simple, im glad there are others who think along similar lines.
Not sure how process intensive the creep growth/tracking would be on a global scale (seems analogue to pollution spread but simpler); I like the thought that it would grow further out (difficulty setting on map gen?), being able to "cut" it with a flamethrower etc.

Unique "heart" structure of a spawner colony that grows this "creep bed" for everything else - and then we have potential for some interesting procedurally generated spawner colonies, but that already seems like a completely separate suggestion thread.

The evolution factor is a great idea as well. Think of an organism that reacts with white blood cells only when it is attacked. A unique structure (organism) could lay dormant until a threat is detected (pollution reaching the organism seems simpler to code - analogous to biter gathering and attacking, just...different). Once the "growth" is detected by radars, the player would require some action (making full turtling less effective).


EDIT:
I'll get my MS paint skills out and draft some other sketches for the OP.

Additional ideas:
+ Spawner colony slowly dies if the heart is destroyed (allowing faster colony destruction in endgame).
this would require hearts to be defended so one would not simply run past them and snipe them.
potentially improving the usefulness of often neglected weapons (vulnerability to explosive ordinance(?)).

Just to clarify-is creep needed for other 'buildings' like spawners and such?

Also, neat idea- worms could grow without creep in the direction of the pollution, in advance of the creep. This also implies a new turret building-one that is stronger, but dependent on creep.(Also, artillery variants of such).

Another neat idea-another, more nomadic species of alien that feeds on creep, but is repulsed by pollution("Grazers"?). A low-pollution("eco") player could breed and manipulate these for 'passive' biter defense, using them to eat away at creep without using fire or other indiscriminate, high pollution methods.