The Viscons - Non-Newtonian Fluid Enemies

How practical this would be to code I'm not sure but oh well!

• Newtonian fluids do not change their viscosity when a force is applied, for example water.
• Non-newtonian fluids dochange their viscosity when a force is applied.
  • Shear thickening (dilatant) fluids become more viscous (thicker).
  • Shear thinning (pseudoplastic) fluids become less viscous (thinner).

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The following consists of all the current knowledge that the Intergalactic Space Federation possesses about the species known as the Viscon​

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Pronunciation [Vy - Con, Vai - Con]​

The Basics​

Their basic form is similar to the look of ferro-fluid. A faceless mass with a glossy jet black colour covering the whole of their bodies (or as doable as this would be in pixel art). Their actual shape depends on their type, as discussed later on. (However they would work extremely well with the procedural generation system as their shape could easily be adapted to generate different variations).​

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The 'liquid' that makes up their body is extremely toxic and corrosive. Do not attempt to handle it without proper equipment as doing so can result in serious burns and/or death.​

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Habits​

Viscons are mostly passive solitary creatures who prefer to hunt and live alone, avoiding other members of their species if at all possible. They usually seem to lack any kind of focus and seem content to slowly wander the landscape, ignoring other creatures unless they need to feed. Their ability to simply 'absorb' their food through their body and quickly digest it inside themselves means that they can feed on just about anything they find, be it vegetation, animals or unlucky adventurers.​

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Mating season is an entirely different story however, and hundreds of them can congregate in one area for one day a year. Unfortunately their uncaring nature also makes them particularly poor mothers, abandoning their young hours after they have been born and forcing them to fend for themselves right from the beginning. If more than one Viscon is born at the same time they have been known to work together to survive, however they will part ways at the earliest opportunity.​

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Their usual slow pace of life doesn't stop them being quick and excellent fighters however, and when necessary they are very capable of defending themselves. Therefore taking one on in battle is no easy task, and it is advised that it be avoided where at all possible. In the event that you find yourself in a fight that you cannot avoid, some tips on tactics to use if you will discussed in due course.​

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Anatomy​

Not much is known about their internal structure (or lack thereof) but they seem to be made entirely of just one 'liquid' tissue. This tissue seems to regulate all their necessary life processes with ease however, so it is an important area of research that may eventually lead to some interesting leaps forward in science.​

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Viscon senses also still remain a mystery, as they do not appear to possess any obvious nose, eyes or mouth. It is thought that their whole body may act as a 'receptor' to picks up vibrations, light and particles and build up a picture of the world around them. However it works it is extremely sensitive and they can pick up on minuscule changes in sounds or smells.​

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On rare occasions they have also been known to spontaneously split without warning to form two new viscons, however little is known about how or why this process occurs. It can however be the result of attacking a viscon so adventurers are warned when taking on a Viscon in battle.​

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Location​

Their particularly hardy persona and their unique structure makes them excellent survivors, so there aren't many biomes that they are unable to survive in. This has allowed them to spread all over the universe, being a particularly common site on planets with lower light levels, or longer day/night cycles, which seem to suit their slow pace of life more than some other environments. They can however quite easily adapt to no night whatsoever, or extreme temperature variations.​

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On a side note, their bodies can however be affected by direct contact with very harsh elements such as fire and large electric shocks.​

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Viscons as Pets​

If captured at an early age, and raised with the love and attention that any pet deserves, they can surprisingly make extremely caring and obedient pets. This exposure to humanoid contact from an early age seems to bring forth an unnatural loyalty, causing them to become extremely protective of their owners. This makes them excellent in both combat and as guard animals. Burglars are no match for a fully grown Viscon.​

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Varieties​

The two currently known types of are the Pseudo viscon and the Dilatant viscon, which will be discussed below:​

Pseudo Viscons​

Pseudo Viscons have a solid body structure (compared to their Dilatant relatives anyway), but they lose this structure when a force is applied. The viscosity of their bodies can just about support legs to move around on, and occasionally arms, but they change shape over time and so can vary enormously. Their tendency to leave a trail of liquid behind them as they move means that their size can also vary greatly, however their liquid will regenerate over time.

A few shapes that Pseudo Viscons can assume:​

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Attacks

• Hop
  • Smaller varieties can attempt to hop onto your back, burning you in the process.
• Splash
  • Larger varieties that have developed arms can slam these limbs into your body, causing a large splash of corrosive liquid as they do.
• Slam
  • They throw themselves at you, dealing damage as they liquefy and then reform behind you. It is advised you keep your mouth firmly shut.
• Split
  • Occasionally when struck with a melee weapon, two new Viscons will be formed as a result of one being split in half.

Combat Tactics
Ineffective Attacks (ie don't use these)

• Physical Attacks:
  • Melee
    • When struck with a melee weapon they liquify around it and the attack passes right through them.
  • Ranged (eg bullets)
    • They again liquify around the bullets allowing it to pass harmlessly through them.

Effective Attacks (ie use these)

• Energy based weapons (Laser/energy base firearms and melee weapons)
  • These cause damage even if they pass right through.
• Explosives (eg rocket launchers and grenades)
  • The strength of the explosions causes large chunks of 'liquid' to be lost from their bodies.
• Status effects
  • Fire - Burns away at their bodies
  • Ice - Freezes them and allows melee attacks to have an effect
  • Acid - Dissolves portions of their body
  • Electricity - Disrupts their structure causing them to eventually liquefy entirely

Upon death they liquify and soak away into the ground.

Dilatant Viscons​

The polar opposite of their Pseudo relatives, these more closely resemble slimes or other gel like enemies (as I don't think a completely liquid enemy could really function as any kind of effective adversary). They lack any kind of effective limbs and have to 'slide' to move around. They are also much less varied and mostly look almost identical.

The most common form of a Dilatant Viscon:​

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Idle Animation​

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Attacks

• Pummel
  • They send out multiple projections from their body to pummel you with.
• Engulf
  • They try to absorb your whole body and solidify around you, burning and suffocating you as you struggle to escape before proceeding to digest you.
• Skewer
  • They throw themselves at you with the hope of impaling you on a crudely formed spike.

Combat Tactics
Ineffective Attacks (ie don't use these)

• Physical Attacks:
  • Melee
    • The thickening of their bodies can either cause your attacks to bounce off or result in them solidifying around your weapon and trapping it inside.
    • They can then pummel you while you fight to free your weapon.
  • Ranged (eg bullets)
    • These can again either bounce off (dangerous) or be harmlessly absorbed.
• Explosives
  • These have little effect as the blow is completely reflected by their sharp increase in viscosity.

Effective Attacks (ie use these)

• Energy based weapons (Laser/energy base firearms and melee weapons)
  • These cause damage even if they bounce off or are trapped inside
• Status effects
  • Fire - Burns away at their bodies
  • Ice - Freezes them and allows melee attacks to have an effect
  • Acid - Dissolves portions of their body
  • Electricity - Disrupts their structure causing them to eventually solidify

Upon death they solidify and crumble away.

Drops​

1/7 Psuedo Viscons - Psuedofluid​

1/7 Dilatant Viscons - Dilatant Fluid​

1/100 for both - Viscon Mask (Vanity item) - Great for parties or Halloween fancy dress.​

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Due to their distinct lack of material, there is very little than can be collected if you ever manage to defeat a Viscon. Occasionally they may drop items that they have absorbed from other (less fortunate) adventurers, but been unable to digest yet. If you are lucky there may also be some salvagable fluid left behind. This can be extremely valuable if you possess a sufficient knowledge of crafting, and some potential uses for this will be discussed below.​

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Liquid Items​

A careful mixture of Dilatant fluid and other solid materials can create a material that hardens on impact. This canbe used to create extremely effective armour and weapons.​

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Liquid Armour Set​

Head - 5 Dilatant Fluid​

Chest - 10 Dilatant Fluid​

Legs - 8 Dilatant Fluid​

Feet - 5 Dilatant Fluid​

Shield - 8 Dilatant Fluid​

(+ whatever other reagents they use in the game to make armour )​

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Idle Animation:​

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Liquid Bullets​

Depends on bullet type but 2 Dilatant Fluid per stack of 50 regular sized bullets​

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Psuedofluid Explosives​

A miracle of modern science, a precise mixture of Pseudofluid and status effect causing solutions results in powerful explosives, which can even be incorporated into something as small as a bullet. They are initially solid but upon explosion the inside liquefies and spreads over a wide area. This drastically increases safety for the user over liquid filled explosives.​

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Grenades & rockets - 1 pseudofluid per item​

Bullets - 2 pseudofluid per stack of 50​

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(Each would then require one acid/fire/electrical/ice item + whatever other reagents would be required to make normal explosives in-game.)​

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High Impact Boots Upgrade​

By refining and mixing reagents from both kinds of Viscon you can create an extremely effective shock absorber, that reduces fall damage or even negates it entirely. It easily attaches to the bottom of whatever other footwear you are wearing.​

Boots upgrade - 10 Dilatant Fluid & 10 Pseudofluid​

(+ whatever other crafting reagents are required ingame)​

Variations
Viscons have very rarely been known to absorb other normally harmful or inert materials into their bodies, and this can result in a drastic change in their structure. These varieties can be extremely dangerous, and may also be resistant to certain status effects.

• Lava - Results in a more orangey hue to their body and makes them hot to the touch. Extremely dangerous.
• Blood - Results in a more red hue to their body. This is usually the result of a Viscon surviving to an extremely old age, or a diet made up of solely living creatures. Great care should be taken with these as they are likely tougher than their younger brethren.

The Intergalactic Space Federation strives to bring you the most reliable and up-to-date information about everything in the universe and we bring you new and exciting updates the moment they are discovered. We hope you enjoyed this educational leaflet and please feel free to send us any feedback on your experience.

~Fin~​

(Ideally I would like the structure of their bodies to change and lose chunks as you did damage. However this would be extremely difficult to make work with pixel art and probably wouldn't be worth the effort. Would be pretty cool nonetheless.

This could also really use some proper pictures or sprites, but alas my art skills aren't exactly fantastic, especially when designing something from scratch. If anyone would be willing to help please let me know! I already have a vague idea for a boss concept, and maybe another variety so let me know what you think )

 

Major update and restructure

 

This is AMAZING!!!! I love all of this.

 

I can tell you've put thought into this and that you thought well about strategy needing to be incorporated while killing these.

I'm not exactly the best pixel-pusher, but I think I know a way I can modify something I've made to make it look decent. Do you want it to have the shape of a slime??

 

Yeah I wanted to make sure I made it as 'realistic and believable' (in game terms) as possible. I'll hopefully still update it further and add more stuff as and when if people like it

That would be amazing if you could muddle something up. Yeah the Dilatant one looks vaguely slime-ish in my mind, or as close as. Unless you have any better ideas!I still can't really decide on what they should look like anyway hehe. Anything is better than nothing It's severely lacking without any pictures and I'm worried it's too wall of textish Doesn't help that formatting is a bitch to get to work on here too!

 

I'm working on just getting the base images. I'll post it on here with a background and everything.

After that, I'll make an attempt at getting an animation of it getting pieces knocked off.

 

Updated with a few pictures I made to make it bit more lively!

 

I love this idea!

P.S. The pictures look nice!

 

It is ok, although the ideas you provided as to the appearance are not very realistic (Good, just not realistic).
They should look more like "muk" from Pokemon in my opinion, the idea of non-newtonian fluids is that they are liquid when no force is applied and solid when it is, therefore they should be in a liquid state (like "muk") when idle and perhaps in a chase (since they are running or whatever) they could develop vague appendages since force is being applied via movement.

But this is just me being pessimistic.

 

(I don't think it was you I was speaking too in the non-newtonian blocks thread was it?) But did you read the box at the start? I think you're getting confused between the phrases non-newtonian liquids and shear thickening.

Shear thickening liquids are generally liquidy, but thicken when a force is applied (like custard). Shear thinning liquids on the other hand are more sticky and thick to begin with and become thinner when a force is applied (like how ketchup comes out of a bottle a lot more easily when you shake it up and squeeze it). Therefore the slimelike ones are based on the shear thickening principle, and thicken when hit, (I just made them look like a slime because it was easier to draw and I personally don't really like the way Muk looks, even if it is more 'realistic') and the psuedo ones are based on the shear thinning principle, so become less viscous when hit.

That being said I think I did use a bit of creative liberty when designing them otherwise they'd just be boring lifeless blobs Nearly all of my post wouldn't work out in real life, like if you hit custard with a sword it would most definitely still cut through it hehe. I also thought it was complicated enough as it was without having to add the fact that they'd change consistency and shape as they moved faster. I just took the basic principles and expanded on them rather than being entirely realistic, which I think is ok under the circumstances!

 

Re-arranged and updated a tiny bit

 

This. Is. AWESOME! I really want this to be in-game now! Did you enter this into that monster contest? I feel like it would have won if not be a runner-up!

Three things I noticed that kind of contradicts themselves:

It doesn't make sense (to me at least) that they can live in almost any condition yet the effects of Fire , Ice , Acid , and Electricity seem to have effects that can hurt or even render them immobile. Not to mention that they can absorb lava when Fire burns them. I just thought I would point those things out since you said you wanted it to be realistic.
Other than that, DO WANT!

[Edit] I changed the color coding of Fire to red since yellow was already used for electricity and it was bothering me when using it in my post

 

Thanks a lot for properly reading everything! Nah I didn't get the chance because I didn't find out about the contest until after it had finished The other entries were also all amazing though so don't think I'd have stood a chance anyway! Especially with my lack of decent pictures hehe.

I get where you're coming from, and I guess it doesn't really make a lot of sense. I'll attempt to explain my reasoning anyway however!

I was more going with the angle that you could find them on most planet types, as they aren't fussy about the amount of light, or temperature, or anything else much. I did however not want them to be completely resistant to nearly every attack, so they kind of needed to be vulnerable to something. Therefore direct contact with elements such as fire or electricity doesn't agree with them, like a flame-thrower or a huge electric shock. They could still survive on lava planets or ice planets or planets with static electricity etc, but you aren't going to usually find them swimming around in pools of lava or surviving frozen inside an iceberg.

As for the variations, I made the point that they'd be a very rare occurrence! Like say, humans can very rarely survive things that should have definitely killed them, like falling out of a plane without a parachute, yet occasionally people survive. I was kind of going for this idea, in that usually they'd just be killed by the lava but rarely, for some unknown reason, it was incorporated into their body instead.

Basically, I'll play my 'bogus nonsensical science card' to explain everything

Oh and I changed fire to a more sensible colour, which I swear is what I made it in the first place.....


EDIT: Reworded a little bit and fixed my appalling grammar that I just noticed.... That's what you get for continuously changing and updating things!

 

I've seen some with very little pictures be Runner Up so if anything you'd be Runner Up but you never know if they care about pictures or not. Sorry that you missed it, though. Hopefully they will have another.

Ah, I see. Swimming around in pools of lava is exactly what I pictures the Viscons to be doing which didn't make sense to me but I see what you mean. The can be near it but not in direct contact with it.

That makes sense, too! It's almost like the evolution/mutation we have in real life. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Now if only we could adapt from falling without a parachute

 

Oh well! Hopefully I can think of a something to enter into the next contest

Yeah so they could move around on the ice, or the hot rocks etc just about, but not actually submerge themselves in lava and acid and things.

Humans growing wings is the only next logical step

 

We need these, so we can make jam for our toast ingame.

 

I think it is a well thought out idea and am impressed at how much work you put and are putting into your idea keep up the good work!

 

Oh god, if this isn't put in-game I swear I will roast Tiy alive.

 

-Bump-

 

This sounds awesome!