What did MindWorms feed on before Humans?

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Author Topic:   What did MindWorms feed on before Humans?

GreasyPig posted 02-11-99 03:02 PM ET
Any ideas? You have to have prey to have preditors....
GreasyPig
futRtrubL posted 02-11-99 03:44 PM ET
Any cancerous growths or like we have bacteria that live in us and sometimes become a problem so the body fights back, so too Planet may have creatures not connected to the hive mind and have to be culled at times.
Cyberduck posted 02-11-99 04:27 PM ET
I sort of took it that the worms weren't so much eating humans as they were attacking humans. Kind of like if you intrude on a grizzly bears home, it'll tear you up, but it's normal diet is fish and stuff. (okay, crude example, but you get the idea...)
The DirectorGeneral posted 02-11-99 04:50 PM ET
The impression I have is that the mindworms target anomalous thought patterns. Going with the "Planet dreams" analogy, perhaps the mindworms are the things that clean up after Planet's BAD dreams?
A. Longinus Aurelius,
Director-General
Utrecht posted 02-11-99 05:21 PM ET
Actually, they were attacking humans and laying "eggs" in them. Stating that the human brain was "nutrient dense"
NotLikeTea posted 02-11-99 08:51 PM ET
From the demo, the worms are likened to the white blood cells in our body, repelling invasion, not hunting.
Perhaps the worms weren't even around before the humans landed, or at least not in any real numbers...
Zoetrope posted 02-12-99 02:05 AM ET
Although AFAIK they're not significant in the game (they should be, Brian!), native animal life, such as birds and insects, are mentioned occasionally.
Since the mindworms are stated to attack anything that has a mind (and you know that includes each other, because they attack your domesticated mindworms too), those birds and insects are also worm food.
Hmm, I don't recall mention of ground-dwelling animals. Perhaps life quickly learnt to fly to escape the worms?
If fish are in the sea, then sea worms have ample food, and probably infest the ocean in large numbers, unless the sea fungus is rare.
GreasyPig posted 02-12-99 11:21 AM ET
Exactly... They feed and breed. Well, before we juicy humans came along what did they eat?
The white cell theroy is correct but isn't complete. I mean even if your not sick, Your body is ALWAYS and constantly fighting off bacteria and other infectections. Its a fact here on Earth (I know what your going to say) that you need more prey to support a few preditors.
I was just hopeing to see more life forms (with brains). From the text these worms ATTACK humans and go for the brain to lay eggs. What brains did they eat before (other native life forms). But where are they.
Don't get me wrong. This doesn't destroy the game and I'm not REALLY complaining. But the inclusion of more native species in my opinion would have kicked "suspended belief" up one notch.
GreasyPig
I love this game.
SupaCow posted 02-13-99 01:21 PM ET
This reminds me of that movie Star Ship Troopers where the alien bugs were very specialized for killing humans.
I was wondering how they evolved into a super man killing race and with the different races co-inciding... highly unlikely and once again you see the Brain Suckin' Bug that is in so many sci fi thrillers
Evolution is governed by chance, accident, and imperfections: the offspring of 2 animals are a little different than their parents and may just have a longer neck or sharper claws so they survive where others die nd give off more offspring with the more or less of the flaw that orrigianally gave the first offspring the advantage
My point: mind worms would have never evolved just as Brain Bugs would have been completely irradicated long before they developed psychic abilities or cannon-blossoms or whatever
throught the cource of history it is a constant that the more highly specified and dependant on another race you are the easier it is to destroy you.
(ie. remember those 'dinosaures'? heheheheh
Got soo good at hunting a certain kind of animal, when that animal dissapeared they were quickly elliminated. While the smaller, more diverse mammals lived on to someday destroy their home planet and have to flee 40 light years to a distant planet and fight worms that for all practical purposes would never have evolved)
-Supa
Michael G posted 02-15-99 12:37 AM ET
Easy! They eat the Xenofungus!
Comstr posted 02-15-99 12:50 AM ET
Well I have a theory, but it's a bit of a spolier (?in a stragey game?)....so if you havn't finished the game or read the txt files (guess which one I did) you may not what to know this...

I warned you.
At the end of the game as you approch transenduce, you find out every 100 million years or so, the planet reaches sentiance by itself! Only one problem- this invloves killing off all the other life forms. Guess what Mind worms do . By the time the planet has relised whats its done, it's too late and it loses it's ability to think soon and goes back to dreaming. That is, until humans arrive...

Hence any chance to get big animals gets destroyed every 100 million years.
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Author	Topic: What did MindWorms feed on before Humans?
GreasyPig	posted 02-11-99 03:02 PM ET Any ideas? You have to have prey to have preditors.... GreasyPig
futRtrubL	posted 02-11-99 03:44 PM ET Any cancerous growths or like we have bacteria that live in us and sometimes become a problem so the body fights back, so too Planet may have creatures not connected to the hive mind and have to be culled at times.
Cyberduck	posted 02-11-99 04:27 PM ET I sort of took it that the worms weren't so much eating humans as they were attacking humans. Kind of like if you intrude on a grizzly bears home, it'll tear you up, but it's normal diet is fish and stuff. (okay, crude example, but you get the idea...)
The DirectorGeneral	posted 02-11-99 04:50 PM ET The impression I have is that the mindworms target anomalous thought patterns. Going with the "Planet dreams" analogy, perhaps the mindworms are the things that clean up after Planet's BAD dreams? A. Longinus Aurelius, Director-General
Utrecht	posted 02-11-99 05:21 PM ET Actually, they were attacking humans and laying "eggs" in them. Stating that the human brain was "nutrient dense"
NotLikeTea	posted 02-11-99 08:51 PM ET From the demo, the worms are likened to the white blood cells in our body, repelling invasion, not hunting. Perhaps the worms weren't even around before the humans landed, or at least not in any real numbers...
Zoetrope	posted 02-12-99 02:05 AM ET Although AFAIK they're not significant in the game (they should be, Brian!), native animal life, such as birds and insects, are mentioned occasionally. Since the mindworms are stated to attack anything that has a mind (and you know that includes each other, because they attack your domesticated mindworms too), those birds and insects are also worm food. Hmm, I don't recall mention of ground-dwelling animals. Perhaps life quickly learnt to fly to escape the worms? If fish are in the sea, then sea worms have ample food, and probably infest the ocean in large numbers, unless the sea fungus is rare.
GreasyPig	posted 02-12-99 11:21 AM ET Exactly... They feed and breed. Well, before we juicy humans came along what did they eat? The white cell theroy is correct but isn't complete. I mean even if your not sick, Your body is ALWAYS and constantly fighting off bacteria and other infectections. Its a fact here on Earth (I know what your going to say) that you need more prey to support a few preditors. I was just hopeing to see more life forms (with brains). From the text these worms ATTACK humans and go for the brain to lay eggs. What brains did they eat before (other native life forms). But where are they. Don't get me wrong. This doesn't destroy the game and I'm not REALLY complaining. But the inclusion of more native species in my opinion would have kicked "suspended belief" up one notch. GreasyPig I love this game.
SupaCow	posted 02-13-99 01:21 PM ET This reminds me of that movie Star Ship Troopers where the alien bugs were very specialized for killing humans. I was wondering how they evolved into a super man killing race and with the different races co-inciding... highly unlikely and once again you see the Brain Suckin' Bug that is in so many sci fi thrillers Evolution is governed by chance, accident, and imperfections: the offspring of 2 animals are a little different than their parents and may just have a longer neck or sharper claws so they survive where others die nd give off more offspring with the more or less of the flaw that orrigianally gave the first offspring the advantage My point: mind worms would have never evolved just as Brain Bugs would have been completely irradicated long before they developed psychic abilities or cannon-blossoms or whatever throught the cource of history it is a constant that the more highly specified and dependant on another race you are the easier it is to destroy you. (ie. remember those 'dinosaures'? heheheheh Got soo good at hunting a certain kind of animal, when that animal dissapeared they were quickly elliminated. While the smaller, more diverse mammals lived on to someday destroy their home planet and have to flee 40 light years to a distant planet and fight worms that for all practical purposes would never have evolved) -Supa
Michael G	posted 02-15-99 12:37 AM ET Easy! They eat the Xenofungus!
Comstr	posted 02-15-99 12:50 AM ET Well I have a theory, but it's a bit of a spolier (?in a stragey game?)....so if you havn't finished the game or read the txt files (guess which one I did) you may not what to know this... I warned you. At the end of the game as you approch transenduce, you find out every 100 million years or so, the planet reaches sentiance by itself! Only one problem- this invloves killing off all the other life forms. Guess what Mind worms do . By the time the planet has relised whats its done, it's too late and it loses it's ability to think soon and goes back to dreaming. That is, until humans arrive... Hence any chance to get big animals gets destroyed every 100 million years.