NPR starting size?

[Rich.h (OP)]

I have yet to meet a standard npr race in any game, so I do not know how the mechanics work on npr generation. I realise that if I discover a system and the npr check succeeds then the game will create a trans newtonian empire in that system. But what determines their starting settings?

What population size will they start off from and tech levels etc? Do they simply start off with exactly the same homeworld setup that my own empire did from the game generation screen?

[Erik L]

The later in the game it is, the more advanced the NPR will be.

Assume that an NPR has the same tech you do at start. Or at least the same RP. Twenty years into the game, another NPR is generated. That NPR will not start at the base RP, but at RP + (time x some factor).

[Rich.h (OP)]

Ok and what sort of size do they generate as? Will I come across a super advanced npr in 200 years that is living with 500m on one planet? or is there a formula for that also?

[NihilRex]

Same as with RP.  The later in the game, the bigger they are.  Also, the more instant starting ships they have.

[Steve Walmsley]

Population size of NPRs is linked to the population size of player races. So if you start with ten times more population the average NPR will be ten times larger. As your population grows during a game, the population of any newly created NPRs will be larger as well

[Rich.h (OP)]

Thanks for the help there, does this have any sort of variable attatched? So is there a range of for instance the number of colonies & ships an npr will have when I discover them? or do they simply copy the numbers from my empire at the time of discovery? I could see it being a little boring if every new npr I find happens to have the exact number of colonies/ships/techs I have, instead of my empire being taken as a sort of average and the npr's being random within a range of the average.

[Steve Walmsley]

Thanks for the help there, does this have any sort of variable attatched? So is there a range of for instance the number of colonies & ships an npr will have when I discover them? or do they simply copy the numbers from my empire at the time of discovery? I could see it being a little boring if every new npr I find happens to have the exact number of colonies/ships/techs I have, instead of my empire being taken as a sort of average and the npr's being random within a range of the average.

The average NPR will be of similar size but there is a wide range of possible sizes.

[Rich.h (OP)]

Ah excellent so is it just size that has a variable or could I also possibly come across everything from a tiny super advanced raced to a huge race that has only just hit trans newtonian?

[sloanjh]

Ah excellent so is it just size that has a variable or could I also possibly come across everything from a tiny super advanced raced to a huge race that has only just hit trans newtonian?

In life, all things are possible

I think this line of questioning is beginning to move into "spoiler" territory.  Part of the fun for a lot of people in Aurora is the uncertainty of just what they're going to encounter out there - this is one of the reasons that the monster races are around and that we try to keep discussion of their capabilities out of the public (outside "spoilers" board) discussion.

Please let us know if you want a moderator to move this thread or this part of the thread into spoilers....

John

[Rich.h (OP)]

I may have phrased the question badly if it is coming across as asking for spoiler information. I'm just wondering if the game allows for any and all variations of size and technology level for generated npr races that I discover? Or does it tend to create all npr races to be comparable to my own empire?

Ideally I am hoping the former is the case as the notion of finding any and all possible variations is what makes exploring fun.

[PSI]

I don't know if there are any variations, but on the New Game screen, you can adjust the "difficulty value" of NPRs, with a lower value being easier and a higher value being harder.
So with a difficulty value of 80%, NPRs would generally be around 4/5ths of your size.

[sloanjh]

I may have phrased the question badly if it is coming across as asking for spoiler information. I'm just wondering if the game allows for any and all variations of size and technology level for generated npr races that I discover? Or does it tend to create all npr races to be comparable to my own empire?

Ideally I am hoping the former is the case as the notion of finding any and all possible variations is what makes exploring fun.

You should assume anything could happen.  If someone told you it couldn't, that would take away part of the "[that's] what makes exploring fun" for anyone who read the post.  This feeling of anticipation is especially fun when you first encounter the spoiler races (especially if you haven't heard details about them from reading the boards) - there's nothing like poking your nose into a system where you don't know just what might bite it off.

As others have said, however, you can expect NPRs to get tougher as game time goes on, and to be tougher if you start yourself with a bigger (read tougher) empire. 

John

[Rich.h (OP)]

Thanks that's the answer I was hoping for.