cedar galleon
Johnny mentioned earlier that there were internal discussions about mini-games within IL:Z, and I wanted to put this forward as a general idea.
Supply Runs
Short Quest (60-120s) within IL:Z, possible rewards could be something like a 30s-60s speedup on whatever structure a supply run is completed for.
A supply run would be an auto-runner type mini-game, with possible obstacles in the way of the playable character (could be a cart, or a drone etc.) that the player must move left + right or potentially jump(hover? 😮 )/duck to avoid. I'm picturing M0z4rt hauling a bundle of crates as the character.
An interesting integration with the current IL:Z structure could be a difference in speed or obstacles based on whether a path exists between the Nexus and the building a supply run is for.
Supply runs could be randomly generated for any production structure with active production.
Ex. Supply the Solon Dredge.
Player spawns at the Nexus, completes (or fails) the autorunner to the Solon Dredge, sections not joined by a path are "off-road" and have additional obstacles.
This could be a fun way to pass time in IL:Z while waiting for production to finish, and could provide a reasonably moderate (though ideally randomized) way to speed up structures. It would also provide incentive for logical connectivity of paths, which is aesthetically pleasing compared to currently.
Possible downsides:
Metagaming - Player only runs a single active production facility, and the speedup is too high.
Nexus too close to Structure - Extremely short runs would not be desirable, it's possible a randomized course not based on the player's IL:Z map would be more balanced.
Not really looking for this to be formally proposed, mostly just spitballing the idea, because minigames within IL:Z sound interesting, especially if they integrate into the existing game. Things like this could keep players in-game for longer or more frequent sessions, which is generally desirable.
Reference: Temple Run