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Lord Ash
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« on: July 11, 2008, 10:27:17 AM » |
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I mentioned this on the IRC channel last night, and thought I'd go ahead and start a thread for it. This is an as yet untitled collaborative mecha game, similar to the Front Mission series. A Turn Based Strategy game, with many Mechs.The idea is to all work together, to create a game, and to have a standing project to work on. It will provide a cohesive project for artist to practice their skills, and coders to work together. It will also give us a great game to play. As this is a Collaborative effort, intended for the community, I am proposing a Committee of Directors, henceforth to be known as 'the Board'. I'm going to play chairman for a bit until things get settled. I'm not trying to sound pretentious, I just know that projects need direction or end up in chaos. This is a good chance for me to learn some things about managing a project. Once things are running smoothly, I will hand over the reins to 'the Board'. There is a lot of ground to cover, a lot. I'm going to briefly go over the basic points of involvement, and where I see things going. First, a legal note. This is a Collaborative Project, and I don't want anyone to own it, or take it from the community. That said, I'm proposing an involvement based open-source, open-content license. That means if you contribute, you get all the included stuff, code music meshes etc. This leaves a lot of room for someone to make a mesh, then just release a copy of our work. A clause could be worded to prevent that, I think it will need to be discussed, it's up to the group really. The main purpose behind this project, is to learn and practice skills. Beyond that, to create a fun game. I have a lot of ideas, but I want to leave things open for others to contribute. I'm going to focus on what I do best, creating rich settings and rules, but I want help with that too. Breaking down the game into Sections we get: I'll tackle each one in turn, as best I can. Each section will end up with a Director (from 'the Board') to oversee its implementation. Code: Im weakest at code myself, but I can cover th basic areas that will need done. A board to move pieces on. An AI to fight against. Menus. 3D rendering engine to see everything. Music Routines. Weapon and battle logic. (the rules) Network Play (optional) bout as basic as it gets. I am sure Im missing some things and I will be revising this as time goes by. Art: Art will be 3D models of Mecha, or Mecha parts, or people or other vehicles, and Textures to go on them, and some levels to fight on. thats about it. Music. Some Songs Some Sound FX. Rules. Rules will cover how pieces move, how damage is dealt, what skills people have etc. It will take a lot of work to stay balanced. Im planning not only on rules for in game, but for faction and item creation out of game as well. More Rules
So we need to start with the rules we as designers will follow in creating our content.
First Rule: No Uber Tech that outclasses everything else.
Second Rule: No Nukes. No Omega Cannons,No auto matic-insta-kill weapons.....(yet?)
Now Mechs and Pilots are slightly different in terms of attributes, but both are easy to figure out.
Mecha Attributes
this is pretty core to the game, these have to work. I want to keep it simple.
Overall Attributes
Movement--easy enough to understand, how far the thing can move
Power--Out put of the engine, will influence what parts can be equipped, how far it can move, damage in melee, et, etc, neat upgrades like, 'high-tensile myomers' will alter this.
Armor--simply, how well armored the thing is, this maybe should be per part, though I was thinking this as an overall number
Class--what class of mech, recon, assault, support, sniper, or even wheeled tank, infantry power armor, construction mech, etc. will be useful for team balancing and macroing, while not wanting to restrict the player from designing mecha, it does prevent, or help prevent min/maxing. Also allows for other 'types' of vehicles as stated, Type could be another name for this.
Per Part Attributes
HP or AP - hit or armor Points. when reduced to zero, the part is destroyed. In battletech, you have both outer armor points, and inner structure points, I think this should be simplified.
Type -- arm, leg, body, and possibly head, some types might have different attributes associated with them.
Weapon Mounts -- this detrmines what and how many weapons or modules can be attached to the Mech.
Im sure there is more than these, and I havent gotten into ranges yet, but its a start.
Pilot Attributes
a big decision needs to be made over whether this is a natiral ability based system, or a skill and training based system.
Reaction Speed- overall piloting modifier
Intelligence - how many skills can be learned, levels of skills, targeting and calculation modifier
Stamina ? -- how tough the pilot is, in falls, cockpit hits, feedback damage etc.
or
Piloting Skill - overall piloting
Gunnery (or targeting for each weapon type) ability to hit target
Computer Use using the computer
possibly combining these.
Ultimately, we need to know, how far the mech can move, how much damage it can take, and what weapons it has to deal damage with.
_____________________________________________________Setting. I'm proposing a generic world, somewhere in the universe. That has mecha, and some kind of space travel. Maybe some aliens, maybe not. But definitely mecha, and unstable politics. Its open to some degree, and I'll be fleshing this out considerably. Im thinking a small system, with a planet or two, and a several factions. You guys will be able to create factions as well. Factions in terms of design, will be keeping groups of mecha looking the same etc.
Fleshing out the World
Ok, from the IRC, and whatnot, I am going to make the setting as such:
First, we are going to use Eras or Ages, that parallels our development, we are in the Alpha Stage, so it gets an era, in Beta, a new era, etc etc. this will allow us a couple of things, to start simple, and build up, to keep thing flexible, and to incorporate things into the story easier. It also keeps us from getting overwhelmed with a ton of stuff to make all at once.
Alpha Stage :=: Age of Mystery
this is history, our engine will be barely working, our mechs will be simple things to test the engine, etc. This is before the mega-corp, before the global wars, before space exploration is predominate. Mechs will probably be Archtypes, as much as anything. Very loose rules and such. Most things from this era will be low quality.
In terms of Setting, the world is still young, it is a time like the roaring twenties, or the Atom Age. Some Mecha may be Steam tech, or Atom tech. Scientists are experimenting, but lack major funding. Mecha are 'new' and fairly low power. In many cases, they used as entertainment, such as in Arenas. The game still consists of just one World, that is just called 'the World' by most. Mecha from this Era look like basic primitives stuck together. Some are just painted solid colors. This is an innocent time. Things are not expected to be grand, as mecha are a novelty at this point, culturally, and in terms of us, this game is still an experiment. The core focus is on getting things to work. On basics, Cool stuff like nuero-helmets and negative-Ion canons have to wait. Bullets n Rockets for now. Simple.
Early Beta Stage :=: Age of War
A great war has befallen the World, this is when many common mech are put in mass production.This is a many sided war. Several Countries band together to form the 'Eastern Coalition', on another continent, the 'Covenant of the West' seek unity, in the south, the 'Southern Alliance' brings a half dozen island countries together with a small continent. There are also several smaller groups that exist, vying for power in a chaotic world. This is where we will be for awhile, until most rules and systems are worked out. It allows a lot of room to create things and the start of factions. I think this will generate a good amount of content, over several months. I have tried to leave it very open to interpretation. This is good place to really tinker with mechanics and getting rules balanced. At this time the engine should work, and a scripting system should be in place, to allow campaigns or scenarios. If it never gets past here, we still made a game.
Late Beta :=: Age of Invention
As the war draws to an end, or possibly has ended, many new technologies emerge. We get space travel, at least basic stuff, and the second planet in the system is found. This is where we get a lot of cool new stuff. Once the bugs have been worked out, we can experiment with cool modules, like different piloting systems and splash damage. Till now, most of what has been built, has been to get things working, this is when we start introducing things that break those systems, and balance them. In game, most countries are war torn, and propaganda is high to encourage new growth. The pecking order of the world is established, and the corporations that create the best technologies, will ensure their place in the next era. this is a 'golden age'. Resources are scare, so mass production is low, and the focus is on optimizing the small groups of mecha. This is when we really see custom mecha, with several eras of things to draw from.
1.0 release :=: Modern Era
This is where things will stand when the game is 'done'. The Magacorp ans Governments are established. The new planet is at war over land and control, smaller countries on the main planet are popping up left and right trying to get an tract of land or domination. Mercenary groups are are at an all time high, fighting these battles on both worlds for money and fame. This is the game. Everything till now has been building this. This is what we 'release' to the public. this is done. Factions created by developers in the last Era are well established. The other Eras are history, and will exist only as movies or a few scenarios for reference. Added into all of this, is the long range detection of an approaching alien ship, from a nearby star system. Perhaps advance forces have already arrived. This Era will be built out of the others that have come before it, created by our creating.
From now on, I will only focus on the currently developing Era, that means we are now in "The Age of Mystery". All development will be focused on its goals. I will write up a detailed list of what that actually means in a day or two, after people have had time to discuss it.
Im doing this to make things go smoother. It breaks the project into 'chunks'. This alpha era is mostly on, getting a simple display working, with things moving, and shooting. Not much else, not large region maps, just basic play, not even settings or a title screen, meshes wont need detailed textures, not close ups for specials or critical. Just getting a board that moves pieces. Again, ill write up a small list of exactly what needs to exist here. I could really use some help from a coder on making that section list.
Anyway, I also have done my best to create a basic framework of the world, and leave things open for others to design. Im trying to guide, not order, this is all open to debate. And you guys get to fill in the blanks, for the most part, with your ideas on what this game should be. Im just laying out ideas, you guys, th group, get to decide on whats what.
Well enough for now, I'll make a post at the bottom of the thread addressing your questions so far.
Please discuss, its not something Im going to make on my own. I really want input, but please refrain from the simple sounds good and cool posts. I want a mod to monitor this, an help me keep it professional. I want to have fun, but please don't post off-topic or add posts frivolously. Please contribute, but make it a contribution. I look forward to working with you gentlemen.  Current Needed Roles: Director of Code --someone who knows about code, and assigning programming asks Director of Art --someone who knows about art and assigning art tasks Director of Rules --Someone who knows rule mechanics and game balancing Director of Music
-- Im nominating The_Doctor for this, one week to challenge that, if you have a good reason, Ive heard he is pretty good around here, a kind of authority. Duties will be making music, and making sure submitted tracks sound good, working with other musicians to make their tracks sound good, and generally making sure things are in the right format, etc.Please apply if you fit the bill, or have done this before. Im actually rather tired, but I will be in over the next few days, adding what I can. A lot of work to do, but I think we could have a playable demo before the end of summer. At least by the end of the year, its up to you guys. Comments and Suggestions are welcome. |
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« Last Edit: July 14, 2008, 03:05:51 AM by ash »
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