A very humble submission by the standards I've seen just glancing over the recent threads, but hopefully a somewhat creative one none the less. I call it the Trachidat. ( http://i.imgur.com/iVgLK.png For full-size!) If you're not the one for humour, please excuse the rambly scrawlings I call notes. :v Scanner: "A shell seemingly made literally from the hardest substances on the planet, it'll take more than a can opener to pry this one open. Radioactive glow at every seam make this an unsettling plan however." [The Short] Turtle-like in appearance. [Obviously] Size varies from individual to individual, some as small as a foot long, others up to at least two dozen. Prominent features include the three sets of eyes, two sets of nostrils, and pairs of lung-like protrusions on the back. It's shell and other solid structures are comprised of whatever it eats, and hence it often will seek crystals, tough metals, and other hard, or even radioactive materials. [These materials would most likely be part of the loot when/if it is killed!] Will not attack unless provoked or barred from a necessary meal. Fires mortar-like balls of explosive sludge from it's mouth as an attack, mostly in self defense. Will of course hide in it's shell in harsh cases. [Such as when attacked close up or sharply surprised.] Often stays in sub-surface caves but will surface in rare cases, or if food sources are abundant on the surface. [Crystal outcroppings and the sort.] It doesn't hate you, you're just being mean to it! [The Long] A turtle-like creature comprised of radioactive, crystalline and metallic materials, which by nature is not directly hostile except in territorial confrontations, and otherwise can even be tamed if you're careful enough with it! But don't get it angry, or it'll try to spit bio-engineered balls of explosive radioactive waste at you! These will live anywhere that there is material to consume that it is normally made out of, and will even be attracted to such materials used in your own bases! They can be a neusance, or a downright danger if you unwittingly try to shoo them off with too much force, or they will become aggressive. However you can overwhelm them and cause them to clam up into their nigh impenetrable shell, and haul them off somewhere else! Bodily features will note a mostly smooth shell with either crystal or metallic composure, a pill-like head with three sets of beady eyes - two sets smaller than the third, four nostrils at the peak, horizontally opening into very sharp jaws needed for breaking apart crystals and the sort. Legs follow a sturdy cylindrical design for stability, but can bend in ways that allow climbing. Four openings at the back give way to liquid filled tissue that expands and contracts with breathing, further expanding when preparing to fire a 'bomb' - and along with the open mouth, are quite a weak spot when not hunkered down for protection. The whole creature doesn't stand more than a couple feet tall on all fours. [The Ideal] Essentially what I wanted was a peaceful creature that actually poses a serious threat if attacked, looking scary when threatened to boot, without losing ground of what we can relate to seeing back home. Edit: Added a possible scanner description, changed size and added material/related salvage details.
Cool looking concept. I like it's defensive mode too, does that just reduce damage or make it invulnerable? Also, for some reason it's look makes me think it's a much bigger creature than described... if it were huge in size I could imagine smaller creatures like the penguins making a small fortress or cannon tower on it's back
Essentially, only the insides [through the mouth/eyes] and the organic parts on the back can be 'damaged' by anything that isn't strong enough to break through the material it's made out of. Since the game will be based on co-op, I'm hinging on the idea that one person could draw it's attention while another shoots at the fleshy parts on the back. Solo just means you gotta be good aim and have good reflexes though, as it would flinch if shot in the mouth while trying to fire an explosive. As far as size, well, considering what it's made out of varies, perhaps so does it's size. And of course, 'elders' of sorts aren't exactly out of the question. Depending on the type of AI and physics systems going into this game, who knows, maybe said penguins could come along and try to build onto it in such a way. It'd certainly be slow-moving enough for it. :]
So could this possibly be like a miniboss or rare spawn maybe? It seems like it won't be easy to kill even if its attacks aren't all that threatening, not to mention it may drop some pretty nice stuff on death. Also, what kind of biome does it live in? Hopefully this doesn't look too much like it's copying you, I just read this thread for the first time.
