Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length

 
Advanced search

1411275 Posts in 69323 Topics- by 58380 Members - Latest Member: bob1029

March 28, 2024, 05:15:40 AM

Need hosting? Check out Digital Ocean
(more details in this thread)
TIGSource ForumsDeveloperDesignSome Musings on Space Games (On Foot vs In ships)
Pages: [1]
Print
Author Topic: Some Musings on Space Games (On Foot vs In ships)  (Read 891 times)
Jesk77
Level 0
**



View Profile
« on: June 10, 2015, 08:29:53 PM »

Sort of Devblog I wrote for my game, the Light of Dark Stars, but it's not really a Devblog. Though I'd post it where there's more of an audience. Check out my project on IndieDB if you get the chance (The Light of Dark Stars)

One of my big problems with the Space Game genre concerns the divide between the on foot and the in space experience. Mass Effect, one of my favorite Sci-Fi space games, absolutely nails the on foot experience. So does KOTOR, so do a slew of Star Wars games, and so do a ton of other games I'm sure I'm missing. I'd even venture to say that Starbound does a pretty good job of it. On other side, tons of games nail the In Space side. Homeworld and Gratuitous Space Battles have their vivid visuals, and the horde of 4X games that followed MOO2 have the empire building side of things down pat (For some variety, Google the fantastic CK2 Mod Crisis of the Confederation). Star Control, Starflight, and their descendants have the star captain angle pretty much figured out, though there hasn't really been a solid new entry on this front in awhile (I'm told Starpoint Gemini is the next one, but I haven't played it. I guess there's always EVE, Elite, and the X series. Also, Freelancer ). The only game I've seen that really comes close to allowing the player to be a badass space Space Captain who can actually set foot on a planet is the Space Rangers series, but even this is accomplished via a Choose Your Own Adventure interface. The only game that I've played that gives the player a presence both in their ship and on foot is Sid Meier's Pirates, though it's set in a different era (swap out galleons for Star Cruisers and swords for Lightsabers and you're good), and there is the upcoming crowdfunded juggernaut called Star Citizen fast on the way. Who knows how that will turn out - I, for one, hope it turns out to be everything it aspires to be. What really gets me is that there isn't really any game that offers you the same chance to be an awesome character on space and on foot.

Picard was famous for the maneuver named after him, but he also led innumerable away teams. Luke Skywalker faced down Darth Vader in a sword fight, but he also blew up the Death Star while piloting a stunt fighter (and who could forget the pilot who made the Kessel Run in less than 12 Parsecs?).Throughout fiction there are plenty of characters who both commanded and served. Why then, are there so few games that offer a marriage of these two experiences?

The tech is there - using procedural generation, it is quite possible to generate a universe full of interesting planets (See: Starbound, many others). Is it because people are afraid of conflicting gameplay modes? Games like XCOM and Pirates have shown that the two modes can coexist.

Here is how the system will work in The Light of Dark Stars (though not in time for the first Alpha):

A random number (close to 100) of interesting planets will be generated

A random number of these planets will have interesting locations generated on them. These will represent locations that the entire Galaxy knows about, for example, the Red Waterfalls of Delta Thuban 137 and the Golden Plains of Kappa Kalanthes 519. The rest of the worlds will have blank locations that only become active a) when the player decides to explore them or b) when made accessible by AI or by quest. Perhaps your rival, the Baron Kul Kru-Xal, goes to ground somewhere in the Golden Hearth Sector and you have to track him down, or an ancient artifact is unearthed by unwitting farmers on the Galactic Rim. These will be places you can visit and explore on foot. These generated sites are stored and can be accessed during later adventures or conflicts. Some places might also fit in to established Galactic History, and monuments and wreckage from past battles might still be visible. War, however, is violent, and when planets are inevitably smashed into space dust, all their locations vanish with them.

This system also allows for one off instances - the eponymous Dark Stars, for example, or maybe a brief example to some of star clusters that orbit the Milky Way. These segments offer chances at high adventure and, of course, better loot.
Logged

DanglinBob
Level 0
***



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2015, 12:22:10 PM »

I think the problem is (and Star Citizen is trying to solve) is making one type of game is hard enough, but combining the two is more than doubling the work (because you have to keep things consistent and that means restraining the design in unique and unexpected ways).

As we can see by Star Citizen, that is EXPENSIVE - and risky. That game could end up sucking, quite frankly. Time will tell.
Logged
Jesk77
Level 0
**



View Profile
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2015, 05:24:18 PM »

I think the problem is (and Star Citizen is trying to solve) is making one type of game is hard enough, but combining the two is more than doubling the work (because you have to keep things consistent and that means restraining the design in unique and unexpected ways).

As we can see by Star Citizen, that is EXPENSIVE - and risky. That game could end up sucking, quite frankly. Time will tell.

There plenty of games that have multiple modes of gameplay - the issue is focus. XCOM has the strategic and tactical layers and works very well, but then there are games like Battlecruiser that try to do way too much.
Logged

Pages: [1]
Print
Jump to:  

Theme orange-lt created by panic