A Lego game involving all the original space factions (say, up to Explorien) in the quest to acheive power through sheer numbers, resources, and science.
ShadowDancerWhen I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie."London, UK
[QUOTE=Seafroggys;188418]....in the quest to acheive power through sheer numbers, resources, and science.[/QUOTE]
And cake! Dont forget the cake!
Okay cool! I'm guessing we should start with an original IP? Once we make our first game and get on the radar, then we look to getting involved in existing IPs like Star Wars and Battlestar, right? Those are the two universes I am really most interested in, but I understand that we can just go around violating copyright and the such.
I'd say start with new story for a couple reasons. First less canon to deal with, easier to create unique ship classes, capabilities and write a multi-thread story line. Second, to me it is just more interesting then leveraging some existing stories and it makes it easier to try things that have never been done before (for which the space sim area is fertile ground).
That said, not using an existing universe presents it's own set of challenges. You have to start from scratch, building up enough depth to creating a compelling story. In addition, that universe needs to be pervasive and consistent, things have to happen for a reason and be reasonable in happening.
It sounds like there are some exciting concepts here...
I have to say I'm not big on story. It shouldn't be random objectives that go nowhere like in Spore, but it shouldn't be heavily story driven like, Wing Commander IV (which I loved btw, don't get me wrong, I'd just rather see a flight sim that's NOT like that).
Another thing is the dynamic campaign system that Starshatter had (or Red Baron II/3D, for that matter). Now that was brilliant. Of course Starshatter was broken, but that's besides the point.
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
Fun fact of the day: Starshatter was the one-man creation of a member of Firstones. :)
In order to render a star system to scale special considerations need to be made. Graphics cards simply are not designed to handle such drastic differences in scale. So I had to add some code to make it work.
This is a simple prototype of the Earth going around the (red?!) Sun. The Moon should be there too, but that went missing.
First you will need the [URL="http://www.panda3d.org/download.php?runtime"]Panda3D runtime[/URL] (Linux, Mac, and Windows).
Then download the [URL="http://croxis.net/prototype.p3d"]game file[/URL].
Code can be viewed [URL="http://www.panda3d.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=57706"]here[/URL].
Ok, I just saw a fly-by of an Earth-like sphere... and a red dot. Are there any controls that allow me to move about? I get almost 400 fps on the black window. :D
No movement yet. First I am going to simulate gravity so your object will be attached to the Earth and you will need to keep in orbit of it.
The simulation is set to 365.25x of real time, so the Earth will come around again after watching it for 24 hours. Any faster the Earth will just zoom on by so fast you cant even see it. That red dot is the Sun to scale from Earth's orbit.
In high school I wrote the outline (and the first 8 or so chapters) of a war in the mid 22nd century that was centered around Earth but involved solar system fleet operations as well. I don't know if you're going for a more military-centric approach but that may be a good backdrop, as it involves just our solar system (which you seem to be developing) and could involve some good fleet strategies (and fighter combat).
Despite having a hard time getting into X3, I enjoy it alot. And freelancer is a lot of fun but kind of out dated. And I have some of my own ideas. It would be a lot of fun if it was multiplayer too......
You are positioned outside the Earth/Moon system in line with the sun, so both bodies are blocking the sun. What you are seeing is the Moon, then after a few minutes the Earth.
However now you might find additional directions.....
Now that I got a new version up sitting at 526 lines of code with a starscape (helps when piloting) and fixed engine controls I've decided to post my perfect space sim.
For a while I've had two cool thoughts in the back of my mind. One was an elite/privateer type game but set in a not quite as distant future. I also had a separate idea for a Civilization based MUD/MUSH/MOO. The basis of that idea was that instead of the players acting as an omnipotent leader they play as the citizens of their civilization. Their actions determine the course of how their civilizations develop. From size, to tech, to infrastructure, to military capacity. I fired up X3 to try to get in again after another sad session in the chatroom where we lamented on none existent Freelancer2, multiplayer X3, Nexus2, ITF. As I was collecting my first energy cell shipment it clicked together in my head. Then I set forth to try and combine the best of them all.
The long term aspiration is that when the universe starts humanity is just getting its space legs and as the game progresses it becomes space opera fare. At the beginning going to the moon is a good 5 minute trip so much of the initial action will be in Earth orbit and, after a good chunk of game time, interstellar travel and aliens.
Organizations are the driving factors in the universe. These can be nations, corporations, etc. This is governed by a commander-like AI which will plan and attempt to implement goals to improve their wealth and power which will filter down as missions. Agents, which are players and NPCs, can join/freelance/defy organizations and shape the universe.
One of the coolest features with Into the Fire was that when the player went back in time, their actions altered the "present". The actions of the agents and how the organizations plans play out will alter the development of the universe. Will a strong military by one nation lead to a more unified solar system, or will high piracy and high expansion lead to many independent colonies? Will small, advanced fighters keep combat small scale or will an organization develop a successful super capital ships fleet and the others will respond in kind? Will a safe universe and lots of trade lead to highly populated space lanes? What will be the means for FTL, warpdrive, hyperspace, or will both be invented and used?
Multiplayer. I am not going for a MMO but I am thinking on the scale of freelance - 64-258ish people, or by yourself. I want a game universe I can invest in, like X3, but can also enjoy with other people.
Player infrastructure. In X3 you can build stations and hire pilots to fly your ships to trade, defend, or attack. I want the possibility to be the same. Be it as a small, successful freelance trader who has their own small hub midway between the earth and the moon, to a player running an energy cartel with massive solar power stations in tight orbit around the sun, to a sovereign pirate nation on Europa raiding the Jovian mining operations, I want to give players the chance to lead it if they choose to.
Very ambitious I know. Got to dream big though, right? :D
Can you find the files p3dcore.log, p3dplugin.log, p3dsession.log and send them to me so I can determine the problem? The locations are listed here: [URL]http://www.panda3d.org/wiki/index.php/The_runtime_Panda3D_directory[/URL]
Something you might want to consider would be approaching development of this from another angle. Perhaps creating an engine from scratch to do everything is not particularly the best idea. Instead, what about creating a community-driven project where a couple of casual developers could be brought onboard to adapt or modify an existing engine? Not a mod proper, but certainly worth aiming for. Numerous options exist (hell, could the Orbiter engine ever be made multi-player friendly?), but most remain un-tapped for this genre.
I don't think the options are as numerous as you think. I know of only two space sims that have available sources, Freelancer 2 and Allegiance. To do what I would like to do would require such an overhaul that they would be watered down to basic 3d engine anyways. However if you know of anything better suited to the task I would love to hear it.
Also, I am not making it from scratch. Panda3d is the engine I am using.
Comments
And cake! Dont forget the cake!
Okay cool! I'm guessing we should start with an original IP? Once we make our first game and get on the radar, then we look to getting involved in existing IPs like Star Wars and Battlestar, right? Those are the two universes I am really most interested in, but I understand that we can just go around violating copyright and the such.
That said, not using an existing universe presents it's own set of challenges. You have to start from scratch, building up enough depth to creating a compelling story. In addition, that universe needs to be pervasive and consistent, things have to happen for a reason and be reasonable in happening.
It sounds like there are some exciting concepts here...
Jake
Another thing is the dynamic campaign system that Starshatter had (or Red Baron II/3D, for that matter). Now that was brilliant. Of course Starshatter was broken, but that's besides the point.
In order to render a star system to scale special considerations need to be made. Graphics cards simply are not designed to handle such drastic differences in scale. So I had to add some code to make it work.
This is a simple prototype of the Earth going around the (red?!) Sun. The Moon should be there too, but that went missing.
First you will need the [URL="http://www.panda3d.org/download.php?runtime"]Panda3D runtime[/URL] (Linux, Mac, and Windows).
Then download the [URL="http://croxis.net/prototype.p3d"]game file[/URL].
Code can be viewed [URL="http://www.panda3d.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=57706"]here[/URL].
I will also try and embed it into the post too.
The simulation is set to 365.25x of real time, so the Earth will come around again after watching it for 24 hours. Any faster the Earth will just zoom on by so fast you cant even see it. That red dot is the Sun to scale from Earth's orbit.
I did get a chance to see Mercury and the new Sun. Nice job. :)
However now you might find additional directions.....
Now that I got a new version up sitting at 526 lines of code with a starscape (helps when piloting) and fixed engine controls I've decided to post my perfect space sim.
For a while I've had two cool thoughts in the back of my mind. One was an elite/privateer type game but set in a not quite as distant future. I also had a separate idea for a Civilization based MUD/MUSH/MOO. The basis of that idea was that instead of the players acting as an omnipotent leader they play as the citizens of their civilization. Their actions determine the course of how their civilizations develop. From size, to tech, to infrastructure, to military capacity. I fired up X3 to try to get in again after another sad session in the chatroom where we lamented on none existent Freelancer2, multiplayer X3, Nexus2, ITF. As I was collecting my first energy cell shipment it clicked together in my head. Then I set forth to try and combine the best of them all.
The long term aspiration is that when the universe starts humanity is just getting its space legs and as the game progresses it becomes space opera fare. At the beginning going to the moon is a good 5 minute trip so much of the initial action will be in Earth orbit and, after a good chunk of game time, interstellar travel and aliens.
Organizations are the driving factors in the universe. These can be nations, corporations, etc. This is governed by a commander-like AI which will plan and attempt to implement goals to improve their wealth and power which will filter down as missions. Agents, which are players and NPCs, can join/freelance/defy organizations and shape the universe.
One of the coolest features with Into the Fire was that when the player went back in time, their actions altered the "present". The actions of the agents and how the organizations plans play out will alter the development of the universe. Will a strong military by one nation lead to a more unified solar system, or will high piracy and high expansion lead to many independent colonies? Will small, advanced fighters keep combat small scale or will an organization develop a successful super capital ships fleet and the others will respond in kind? Will a safe universe and lots of trade lead to highly populated space lanes? What will be the means for FTL, warpdrive, hyperspace, or will both be invented and used?
Multiplayer. I am not going for a MMO but I am thinking on the scale of freelance - 64-258ish people, or by yourself. I want a game universe I can invest in, like X3, but can also enjoy with other people.
Player infrastructure. In X3 you can build stations and hire pilots to fly your ships to trade, defend, or attack. I want the possibility to be the same. Be it as a small, successful freelance trader who has their own small hub midway between the earth and the moon, to a player running an energy cartel with massive solar power stations in tight orbit around the sun, to a sovereign pirate nation on Europa raiding the Jovian mining operations, I want to give players the chance to lead it if they choose to.
Very ambitious I know. Got to dream big though, right? :D
Sounds exactly like the sort of game I'd like tho!
Also, I am not making it from scratch. Panda3d is the engine I am using.