# Triffid, Blobs, and Fungaloid Expansion

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [April 3, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720 "2014-04-03T23:25:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 18\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Goombah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Goombah](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Goombah)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/41 "2014-04-10T13:08:00Z")

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In fairness to Sturgeon, he thinks that adding this to the game would be pointless because he thinks that nobody plays the base-building game as is, from what I understand. I don’t think he’s right either, but let’ not mischaracterize his point of view, either.

That said, yes. This is the kind of thing that would improve the base building game, though I think there’s a long ways to go before something like this is even feasible to add.

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**Author:** ![Belteshazzar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Belteshazzar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Belteshazzar)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/42 "2014-04-11T04:16:36Z")

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Have been a proponent of this sort of ‘expanding alienation threat’ for months. I even think that survivor settlements/territories could use a modified system similar to this to model setting up encampments, defenses, clearing hazards, farming/managing resources and

As to this creeping difficulty ramp having little/no promised loot at the moment. Cataclysm is only passingly a Roguelike, yet not a Dungeon Crawler. There is no need to justify a hazard’s existence by adding reward a la ‘the treasure chest behind the orc.’ Instead thwarting, or at least surviving, the hazard is itself the point.

The primary reasoning for mobile bases and an ever expanding map is NOT to supply a limitless amount of freshly unlooted towns and easily accessible resources, but because the starting locale runs out of fun challenges (and it was simpler and faster to generate new landscape as a stopgap measure than code complex behaviors.) Thus migratory challenges (such as hordes) and invasive challenges (such as expanding threats) are increasingly proposed and introduced.

Indeed may I point out that if the the progressive cataclysm were properly pre-modeled on newly generated zones there would be LESS reason to live as a nomad, as those areas would not have benefited from the player stopping, culling and pruning away hostile forces.

As time progresses distant towns would ideally be overrun with highly evolved mutants and established xenofauna, be picked clean of resources by now deceased or distant scavengers (human or otherwise), have been blasted to ruination, or be protected under the neo-feudal auspices of the local survivors (who don’t take kindly to strangers nabbing their fuel and rations.)

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**Author:** ![halberdsturgeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@halberdsturgeon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/halberdsturgeon)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/43 "2014-04-11T22:31:17Z")

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> [@Goombah](#):
>
> In fairness to Sturgeon, he thinks that adding this to the game would be pointless because he thinks that nobody plays the base-building game as is, from what I understand. I don’t think he’s right either, but let’ not mischaracterize his point of view, either.

My main objection was actually with this being billed as a way to balance the fact that you can survive indefinitely in a forest by eating weeds. Turning a boring, unrewarding playstyle into a dangerous, unrewarding playstyle is not the way to encourage players to experiment with it. But don’t be afraid to mischaracterise my argument, it’s more or less par for the course around here.

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**Author:** ![infectedmochi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/infectedmochi/32/206_2.png) [@infectedmochi](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/infectedmochi)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 8:26am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/44 "2014-04-12T08:26:51Z")

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Hah, you started to sound just like Inadequate. Strange how this all worked out.

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**Author:** ![halberdsturgeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@halberdsturgeon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/halberdsturgeon)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/45 "2014-04-12T23:56:21Z")

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Lay off the insults. -GlyphGryph

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/46 "2014-04-13T01:02:33Z")

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> [@halberdsturgeon](#):
>
> It wasn’t more than a month ago that I still had a healthy respect for this game’s community. Didn’t take long for thin-skinned developers and their mob of fawning sycophants to erode that. I wonder how many Inadequates it’ll take before it occurs to anyone that this place has become quite toxic in itself.

You are always free to leave. Nobody is forcing you to stay here and play the game or post in the forum. 😛

That said one of the biggest complaints presented by the community currently is this: “there are no lategame challenges”. The goal of spreading things isn’t to make it impossible to live in the forest, nor is it to “counter” the fact that you can do so. It’s to give late-game players (most of which can smash through lighter challenges without breaking a sweat) something for them to do that continues to keep the game interesting after the first week. The “reward” in this case is the fact that the player gets an area that becomes safer for humanity, and is more possible to survive in. This isn’t like many rougelikes, where you will be handed greater loot just because the difficulty ramps up. The reward here is in overall ease of survival, not in any given, tangible thing.

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**Author:** ![Blackopsman9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Blackopsman9999](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Blackopsman9999)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/47 "2014-04-13T01:19:01Z")

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Is there a gameplay reason for it spread then? If it is for lategame characters add a confined thing they can do, if it is meant to be there for other characters, give a reason for it other than more fucking cars.

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**Author:** ![halberdsturgeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@halberdsturgeon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/halberdsturgeon)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/48 "2014-04-13T05:52:12Z")

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> [@i2amroy](#):
>
> [quote=“halberdsturgeon, post:45, topic:5720”]It wasn’t more than a month ago that I still had a healthy respect for this game’s community. Didn’t take long for thin-skinned developers and their mob of fawning sycophants to erode that. I wonder how many Inadequates it’ll take before it occurs to anyone that this place has become quite toxic in itself.

You are always free to leave. Nobody is forcing you to stay here and play the game or post in the forum. :P[/quote]

It’s like watching a train wreck at this point.

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**Author:** ![burgerpro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@burgerpro](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/burgerpro)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 6:01am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/49 "2014-04-13T06:01:40Z")

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> [@Blaze](#):
>
> Give Triffids, Blobs, and Fungaloids the ability to expand. As they spread out, it gets harder to move around, limits resources in the area, and gives an incentive to build bases.

Actually no. If something like that happened the best way to survive would be to get a car and drive around snatching stuff before it gets surrounded and swarmed by various monsters. Since in your plan there is no limit to how far they expand and any place on the map will eventually become triffid/blob/fungaloid infested. If you decide to create a base it will just get surrounded, cut off escape routes and with no outside supplies you will eventually die. If you get a car you will have to move fast enough to generate the fresh chunks of map which are still free from the expanding menace. But that’s hardly different from how normal people play now - they get a car and move around snatching stuff instead of sitting alone in the forest and wondering why doesn’t anything happen there.

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 6:48am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/50 "2014-04-13T06:48:04Z")

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> [@Blackopsman9999](#):
>
> Is there a gameplay reason for it spread then? If it is for lategame characters add a confined thing they can do, if it is meant to be there for other characters, give a reason for it other than more fucking cars.

1. Lore states that they expand, and that’s always been a part of their flavor.
2. It leads to new, interesting areas. Walking through a fungal infested town, for example, where all the houses have been covered in fungus.
3. New supply sources. Marloss berries, for example, can only be found in fungal infested areas. Eventually we’d like for there to basically be a whole new ecosystem linked with the respective things, one that the player can either set out to destroy and purge (thus allowing the old squirrels and other animals back in) or one that they can eventually learn to live with.

In a nutshell gameplay-wise it comes down to offering the player a choice, they can either fight the new ecosystem and possibly die to it in an attempt to push it back, they can learn to live in harmony with the new ecosystem, harvesting it’s unique resources, or they can run from it, searching out new, uninfected areas. This will then be further exemplified by certain mutation and quest paths, which might allow you to actually befriend the fungus, triffids, denizens, or NPC’s in the fight against the others. It’s definitely not something that should be being viewed as a “take this risk and get this reward” thing, but rather in a “Con’s/Pro’s of A vs. B vs. C vs. D”.

Story wise it comes down to a logical extension and passage of time in the current world. The triffids, fungaloids, and nether creatures are here to stay, and just because their incursions into the world are small right now doesn’t mean they will stay that way forever. All of them are going to be working on their footholds, and will be attempting to solidify and grow them as time passes.

> [@burgerpro](#):
>
> If you get a car you will have to move fast enough to generate the fresh chunks of map which are still free from the expanding menace. But that’s hardly different from how normal people play now - they get a car and move around snatching stuff instead of sitting alone in the forest and wondering why doesn’t anything happen there.

You can bet that one of our goals will be to eventually generate areas that have already been infected, regardless of if the player has been there or not. Ideally the player should be able to build a base and fight the encroaching intruders, learn to live in peace with them (be that on the road or at a base) or run from them to seek out new, uninfected areas. All should be valid playstyles, and the idea of playing a survivor kitted out in full body coverage harvesting edible bits of fungus from an infected area should be just as valid as a mad max-type survivor roaming the world in their 18-wheeled death mobile.

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**Author:** ![Goombah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Goombah](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Goombah)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 8:40am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/51 "2014-04-13T08:40:37Z")

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> [@halberdsturgeon](#):
>
> [quote=“i2amroy, post:46, topic:5720”][quote=“halberdsturgeon, post:45, topic:5720”]It wasn’t more than a month ago that I still had a healthy respect for this game’s community. Didn’t take long for thin-skinned developers and their mob of fawning sycophants to erode that. I wonder how many Inadequates it’ll take before it occurs to anyone that this place has become quite toxic in itself.

You are always free to leave. Nobody is forcing you to stay here and play the game or post in the forum. :P[/quote]

It’s like watching a train wreck at this point.[/quote]

Oh brother.

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**Author:** ![Blackopsman9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Blackopsman9999](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Blackopsman9999)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 8:59am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/52 "2014-04-13T08:59:09Z")

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I am not talking about lore, I care not for lore, I play games for mechanics.

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/53 "2014-04-13T16:47:34Z")

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> [@i2amroy](#):
>
> In a nutshell gameplay-wise it comes down to offering the player a choice, they can either fight the new ecosystem and possibly die to it in an attempt to push it back, they can learn to live in harmony with the new ecosystem, harvesting it’s unique resources, or they can run from it, searching out new, uninfected areas. This will then be further exemplified by certain mutation and quest paths, which might allow you to actually befriend the fungus, triffids, denizens, or NPC’s in the fight against the others. It’s definitely not something that should be being viewed as a “take this risk and get this reward” thing, but rather in a “Con’s/Pro’s of A vs. B vs. C vs. D”.

Please bother to actually read the post before just dismissing it.

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/54 "2014-04-13T17:18:11Z")

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Polt twist, HS is Inad.

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**Author:** ![We\_are\_Alpharius48](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@We\_are\_Alpharius48](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/We_are_Alpharius48)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/55 "2020-10-23T11:44:36Z")

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I’m not going to lie when I say I only recently started playing cataclysm but if you got access to half of his proposed plant turrets by finding seeds when crushing tiffids hearts/ other such themed defenses from fungaloids, or blobs I could see it being an interesting premise.

Like if you got a couple spitters and maybe one or two of those literal Impaler’s from (Starcraft 2 zerg expansion) you could probably defend your base from anything.

Kind of disappointed we didn’t see some kind of pitcher plant considered for a new trap for them but that’s my own opinion. (It would open up like a trap and attempt to consume enemies before closing like a “planked” pit for a day or two.)

Yes it would take longer to fortify your base with stationary Flora / fauna but if they were decent enough in combat it might be worth it/ maybe even get some pseudo NPCs out of it. (Similar to zombie slave)

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**Author:** ![Mantar](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/mantar/32/42_2.png) [@Mantar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Mantar)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/56 "2020-10-23T16:49:08Z")

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Dude, this thread’s seven years old.

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**Author:** ![We\_are\_Alpharius48](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@We\_are\_Alpharius48](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/We_are_Alpharius48)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/57 "2020-10-23T19:47:16Z")

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Still worth talking about/ certain plant based turrets would be interesting

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**Author:** ![Dialo.Malison](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/dialo.malison/32/7220_2.png) [@Dialo.Malison](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Dialo.Malison)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/triffid-blobs-and-fungaloid-expansion/5720/58 "2020-10-24T05:29:45Z")

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Then start a new thread instead of necroing a very old thread.

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