[Baron Munchausen]

Yes, I certainly agree that both 'natural' plagues and various 'bio weapons' (there should be more than one type) should affect different races differently. Each species needs a 'genetic code' as part of its definition. It could be something fairly simple like a 4 digit hexadecimal number, with each digit standing for a degree of similarity. The first digit could be for the 'type' of life chemistry, like carbon vs. silicon vs. some other wild ideas that SciFi has come up with like energy beings or whatever. The second digit could be a general 'class' thing like reptilian or mammilian or plant or whatever, and the third would be a species level code, leaving the fourth for very subtle differences betwen related species like Vulcan/Romulan.

Then your plague/bio-weapon could have a code of its own marking what life forms it affects and how virulent it is. Some weapons would affect only species that exactly match its code, some would affect any that match up to the 'species' code, and a few (very advanced) would match anything in the 'class' code. Would you want bio-weapons that could kill any and all of a given 'life form' (carbon, silicon, etc)? I wouldn't but I suppose some people would, so the game could allow it and people could mod to their taste as with so many other things in the SE universe.

As for 'types' of bio-weapons, you could have 'poisons' that are described as either chemical or biological that destroy immediately upon use but don't continue from turn to turn or linger after the population is gone, and you could have 'plagues' that are contagious and actually linger after the victims are gone, making the place unliveable for whatever they infect for years of game time.

Edit: Oh yes, plagues should travel between planets unless you implement quarantine which is the same as your planet being blockaded! All trade stops and whatever the planet produces is not available to your empire.

[ May 08, 2004, 03:08: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]