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Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 3:06 pm
Posts: 9684
Location: Montréal, QC, Canada
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(nealhunt @ Jun. 12 2007,15:29)
QUOTE The Nid special rules are gradually becoming a hydra of "if/then" statements. ?Fixing problems by simplifying rules is the gold standard so I think the list should be approached in that manner.
I totally agree that simplification of special rules should be a primary goal.
Swarm Coherency: ?Make coherency apply all the time, with the exact same rules. ?That will both simplify the rules and tone down the Nid flexibility - no out of coherency assaults, no non-synapse activations.
If Synapse coherency applies "all the time" that means any swarm that has lost its Synapse creatures will be removed after any move, as it will be impossible for them to have coherency with non-existent Synapse creatures. ?
I am actually for this, but, if I recall correctly, other people felt that it was too brutal on the Nids to lose a whole swarm due to lucky overwatch or sniping. ?It also means that an assaulted Synapse-less swarm will immediately be out of formation if them make any kind of counter-charge.
Unstoppable: ?I'm still conflicted over what to do with this.
Working on this.
Synpase (x): ?I'm conflicted on this as well. ?Megaswarms are definitely a problem and this addresses it, but it just seems terribly inelegant. ?Megaformations are self-limiting with other armies because regardless of size they remain vulnerable to clipping assaults. ?If we can find a smooth way to introduce legitimate drawbacks to megaswarms (like the Mindless-after lost assault), that would be preferable to an arbitrary limit.
I'd prefer "limitless" swarms as well, but you've shown them to be a definite problem. ?Perhaps Synapse creatures having to remain within 5cm of each other could help that, but a Hive Tyrant could still support a *massive* swarm on its own.
Regeneration: ?This should be a special ability put on units rather than a generic "all WEs regenerate" in order to allow things like Heirodules and Trygons to regenerate or not based on balance issues determined by playtest.
This has already been done in the latest release.
Spawning: ?I don't think it's worth messing with the -1 per synapse creature. ?If the "synpase" system works, there is a clearly defined penalty for losing Synapse creatures so it's not necessary. ?Better to keep the mods to the minimum necessary for the mechanic to work.
Without the "Synapse (x)" rule, what penalty is there for losing Synapse creatures? ?I also like the "-1 per" included for future lists that might have other groupings of Synapse creatures.
Mycetic spores: ?One thing that I haven't seen discussed in detail would be moving them to the Synapse points. ?They are, after all, effectively upgrades to the Synapse creatures. ?With that approach they could stay relatively cheap with respect to points cost because those points would be coming out of a limited pool of precious points. ?Just an idea at this point, not a recommendation.
I proposed this *LONG* ago, it made the most sense to me, but it was disliked. ?They are certainly *not* a Brood creature, so I don't think they belong there. ?The only reason I do like them as Brood, is that in the Phase III Attack army, it allows them to be "Common".
The one glaring exception is the 'Dules, which are more than 20 points per spawning point. ?I have a feeling the problem all along has been that the cost/spawn point is dramatically out of line with all the other units. ?That would certainly explain the multiple playtesters who have stated they seemed too easy to spawn. ?Instead of tweaking both price and brood points, perhaps the thing to do is to overhaul the brood points to use the same standard as the rest of the broods. ?At 125 points, that would be Brood (8) at a minimum, (9) if you round up.
I think these guys are still a work-in-progress, without Regen, perhaps 125 points will be fine and then an appropriate spawning cost can be assigned to them.
One issue that should be addressed is a Hold action while in the enemy ZoC - not strictly a Nid issue as it can happen with any 0cm move unit.
Wouldn't they be forced to take a move, and then not move anywhere?
Nodes (not a special rule, but they use an awful lot of them): ?Still not sure about these, either. ?There are many potential approaches to limiting them - no teleport in enemy half, no teleport at all for GSN, reducing to a single Node type, Mindless and so on. ?I suspect that a successful approach will require consideration of several of those factors.
Still much to tinker with Nodes as well. ?I like them as obvious Tyranid "infection" of the area? still, there's work to be done with them.
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