[Idea] New Creeper type "Machine Creeper" Nanite Swarm

[Geeknificent]

Background:
The "Machine Creeper" is a nanite swarm invented by humans sometime after the age of the ticon empire (or after arc eternal) in order to more effectively combat the creeper.
The people that invented this wanted something that would out-think the creeper at every turn and actively adapt to overcome any adaptations the creeper made.
The problem, however is that the machine creeper quickly turned on its creators and started assimilating any humans and any human technology it came in contact with.

The Machine Creeper's logic is that it is protecting humanity by absorbing them because once absorbed, their knowledge, ideas, hopes, and aspirations live on inside of it and therefore thinks this is the only way to "Protect" humanity.
So Effectively The Machine creeper is everything humanity once was, plus the desire to destroy the creeper once and for all.

Typical behaviors and what might be expected:
In a typical scenario where you might be flung into a 3-way battle with the normal creeper and this "machine creeper" you might see the machine creeper using any anti-creeper you place by relocating it into the normal creeper.
For its use of anti-creeper its important to note that it doesn't need anti-creeper to combat the creeper, it just uses it if its available.
In this case the Machine creeper works as a double edged sword because you can use it to help you fight the creeper if you give it anti-creeper to use.
You might see it "Stealing" your structures and placing them down near the creeper.
You might see it collecting the mass of its nanite swarm in specific locations as "Command nodes".
You might see it spreading in an extremely direct manner such as creating "pathways" like you might see in circuitry.
But the machine creeper is always going to creep both towards you and the normal creeper. It wants to keep you "Safe" but it has to assimilate you to do that.
The machine creeper may also have the ability to create its own "structures" to combat the creeper though it probably doesn't use them as much since its Nanites are it's primary method of combating the creeper.
Any structures the machine creeper makes will not be used against the human factions as it's goal towards humans is to "assimilate" not destroy. Edit: These structures can include weapons such as mortars and turrets.

How does the machine creeper work exactly?
It functions similarly to digitalis to a degree. The nanites are able to "deconstruct" available materials to create more nanites. In this case it is able to somewhat turn normal creeper into nanites. but the creeper is actively trying to combat this as well.
The problem for the creeper is the machine creeper can adapt just as fast as it can, so typically there can be cases where the normal creeper and the machine creeper enter a "Stalemate".
Especially since one of the ways the creeper works is by throwing more creeper at the situation.

Granted I realize this may be difficult to implement but it would be interesting to use.

[herobattle530]

Sounds very interesting. Sort of like a Sleeper from CW3, except it's its own faction. Of course, the real test will be actually putting it in the game. And the Lore of course. Though that could be explained away by saying "It got destroyed and the creeper finally assimilated it, thus leading to the sleeper in CW3." Still, sounds pretty cool.

Edit: Also, might need to have it make weapons by itself. Maybe once it assimilates one of your weapons, it gains the ability to manufacture it by itself. Reason is due to the creeper having blobs, air-sacs, spores, striders, the pink super-tough creeper, and whatever else Virgil adds to their arsenal. Or it could be the usual, gains more tech over time, but it can assimilate one of your weapons for an early unlock. Ex. tech goes Cannon-->Mortar-->Sniper-->Missile. If it gets one of your snipers somehow, then either that will count for an unlock and later be skipped, or it will count as a bonus with the time to unlock the next weapon still the same.  This is all very ambitious, but one can dream right?

[Geeknificent]

Sounds very interesting. Sort of like a Sleeper from CW3, except it's its own faction. Of course, the real test will be actually putting it in the game. And the Lore of course. Though that could be explained away by saying "It got destroyed and the creeper finally assimilated it, thus leading to the sleeper in CW3." Still, sounds pretty cool.

Actually this is after CW3 hence stating that it was created sometime after the age of the Ticon empire. Or more accurately after skarsard abraxsis fought the creeper with lia.
Then again I hadnt really brought the "Sleeper" into consideration. plus the idea here is that the creeper has not or is unable to assmiliate the machine creeper because the machine creeper adapts just as fast as the creeper does.

[herobattle530]

Sounds very interesting. Sort of like a Sleeper from CW3, except it's its own faction. Of course, the real test will be actually putting it in the game. And the Lore of course. Though that could be explained away by saying "It got destroyed and the creeper finally assimilated it, thus leading to the sleeper in CW3." Still, sounds pretty cool.

Actually this is after CW3 hence stating that it was created sometime after the age of the Ticon empire. Or more accurately after skarsard abraxsis fought the creeper with lia.
Then again I hadnt really brought the "Sleeper" into consideration. plus the idea here is that the creeper has not or is unable to assmiliate the machine creeper because the machine creeper adapts just as fast as the creeper does.

1. Edited my initial reply for extra information.
2. As for the timeline, I don't know when this game takes place. I'm just trying to connect the machine creeper to the CW3 Sleeper because I like that theory.  Of course, the lore can change at any time before it's official (or un-officially official depending on whether this is in the base game or another custom game mode). You're the "creator" of this idea, so make whatever backstory you want.

[TDplay]

Sounds like a cool idea, would certainly add another layer of depth to the game. How would we hold it off though? Would we need entirely new weapons? Or maybe we cleverly route the Creeper between us and the Machine?

[Geeknificent]

@TDplay
I was thinking that current weapons would be able to hold the machine creeper back with limited effectiveness, the repulsion field generator from CW3 would help to hold it back and then with new "artifacts" such as EMP and tesla weapons to deal with the machine creeper more effectively later on as electronics don't like excess voltage.

I hadn't considered using the normal creeper as a weapon against the machine creeper. Though I suppose this is possible because in this scenario you could use either as a double edged sword. The machine creeper to hold off the normal creeper or the normal creeper to hold of the machine creeper. But the machine creeper will use normal anti-creeper if its available to combat the creeper as well you could expect the Machine creeper to take any anti-creeper you make and immediately drag it across the battlefield and disperse it into the normal creeper as if it were making "Pipes"

As for using normal creeper to combat the machine creeper, I'd assume using teraformers and repulsers would aide to direct the normal creeper into the machine creeper.

[TDplay]

How about a similar variant as well, which you manufacture. It costs Machine Creeper (I know, going beserk here) and created with a Nanite Hacker. You put the hacker near the Machine Creeper and it will use the Machine Creeper to make Hacked Machine Creeper, or if you've destroyed the Machine Creeper it could have a Nanite Factory somewhere in it that allows it to multiply. With no nanites to deliver it material, a Nanite Hacker can also be placed near this to convert it to your side, then you deliver it AC.

Each method has a downside though - if the Machine Creeper exists, it will try to destroy the Hacker, so you need to defend the Hacker. If you're using the Factory, you need to deliver AC.

The Hacker will make Hacked Machine Creeper and put it in your network, to be used by Nanite-based devices such as the Nanite Fountain. This will put Hacked Machine Creeper into the world. It will usually flow around being rather useless, and also being destroyed by the Creeper and Machine Creeper, but you can use a special menu to do things like making the HMC attracted to a certain area if they are within a certain radius (to make mounds to hold off the Creeper or to make bottlenecks), to make it carry AC to a certain area (to carry AC to the front lines) or to create an arrow it will go down.

[Geeknificent]

How about a similar variant as well, which you manufacture. It costs Machine Creeper (I know, going beserk here) and created with a Nanite Hacker. You put the hacker near the Machine Creeper and it will use the Machine Creeper to make Hacked Machine Creeper, or if you've destroyed the Machine Creeper it could have a Nanite Factory somewhere in it that allows it to multiply. With no nanites to deliver it material, a Nanite Hacker can also be placed near this to convert it to your side, then you deliver it AC.

Each method has a downside though - if the Machine Creeper exists, it will try to destroy the Hacker, so you need to defend the Hacker. If you're using the Factory, you need to deliver AC.

The Hacker will make Hacked Machine Creeper and put it in your network, to be used by Nanite-based devices such as the Nanite Fountain. This will put Hacked Machine Creeper into the world. It will usually flow around being rather useless, and also being destroyed by the Creeper and Machine Creeper, but you can use a special menu to do things like making the HMC attracted to a certain area if they are within a certain radius (to make mounds to hold off the Creeper or to make bottlenecks), to make it carry AC to a certain area (to carry AC to the front lines) or to create an arrow it will go down.

A Nanite Hacker eh? Maybe as a "Titan" Artifact in the late game? Maybe a "Click and drag" Tool to move the hacked machine creeper around.

[TDplay]

A Nanite Hacker eh? Maybe as a "Titan" Artifact in the late game? Maybe a "Click and drag" Tool to move the hacked machine creeper around.

My thoughts exactly. Like a controllable inert creeper that can be used to make walls, or carry AC. Maybe even strengthen player units!