Design your dream game

[Adagio]

Sava, I love your idea

[The diplomat]

Re: Re: Design your dream game

Originally posted by Grumbold
My second 'must have' game is near future space activities. I would like to play a game where you explore how humanity could set up space stations, asteroid mining operations, terraform mars and so on, based on genuine science and practical economics. The culmination could be successfully launching a viable colony ship to a habitable planet around another star. It would be fun if there were unusual events too, so games could play out a bit more like Alien Legacy if you chose.

There was a game similar to what you describe. It was called "Outpost". it involved colonizing another planet but it had a lot of simulation elements to it. The developper even boasted that it was based on real NASA data.

I used to play it. It was "realistic" and sometimes way too hard to play. The game focused entirely on building your colony so there was no combat or aliens which made the game quite boring IMO.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Adagio
Why do you say "be careful what you wish for"?

Open ended

some people didn't like Morrowind. I liked it, but not as much as other RPG's.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Sava
My ideal game would be based on the Grand Theft Auto series. I would build off of the success of GTA: San Andreas. At minimum, I'd like to see 5 major cities, plus countryside areas, maybe a desert setting, and a mountain/forest setting. This game would be on PC since consoles suck. And I'd like to see, in addition to the normal single player campaigns of the GTA series, a massive online multiplayer game mode. In this mode, you can play either as a criminal, or a law enforcement agent, stopping other players from committing crimes. You could be a cop patrolling the streets in a cop car, or maybe an FBI agent busting big time crooks. Or, as a criminal, you commit crimes (random) or work for a criminal organization, working your way up to the top.

I'd like to see the ability to recruit other players into an organization, or create your own. Part of the missions would be major crimes, or even getting into wars with other organizations.

sounds like it could be a good mmorpg. I'm surprised they haven't done this already. Possibly because the programmers are mostly programmers for consoles. I don't like mmorpg's, but it could be interesting to enforce the law. Who doesn't want to be judge, jury, and executioner? .

And there would be less criticism of the game because you could play as the good side as well as the bad side.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by General Ludd


I always thought test of time was basically an ugly graphics mod for Civ2. The only instance of multiple maps I remember was the the "cloud map" in the fnatasy scenario, that I thought was pretty cool. I might have to go back and try out some of the other scenario...

there are three scens that come with the game that have multiple maps. There Civ2 extended, where you play to the end of Civ2 , build a spaceship, and get an alpha centauri map (lousy scen, even if you arent spoiled by SMAC) a sci fi game with 4 maps - Funestis, the platforms above funestis, Nona, and Naumachia. You start on Funestis, and as you develop tech you open up new maps, giving you greater resource access. And theres teh Fantasy game, with a cloud world, undersea world, and underground world, as well as surface - each race has advantages in one world.

The time travel scenario was done by the Microprose designers, but was released via the internet. its called Time threat Paradox - its about the coolest thing ever done with TOT. Find it at the Cradle of Civilization site.

[Odin]

Originally posted by General Ludd


Explain this further if you can, that's a pretty vague description

(Toilet training darloks? )



As a MMORPG, NWNesque server based game, or as a single player campaign?

As I see, if you made a MMORPG out of it you could represent it to it's best potential, but the players aren't going to live up to it, and there will be next to no roleplaying within a year (if there's even any to start with).

If you make it a single player game, it would be hard to make use of the entire universe, even across multiple campaigns.

If you make it a server-based multiplayer game, there would presumably be a large modding community that they could take advantage of the entire universe provided to them - but in only small pieces at a time, and it still would not live up to the potential of a MMORPG.

The MoO-like game would has less ephasis on war and more emphasis on things like the economy, diplomacy, politics, etc. Basically a futuristic nation simulator.

The D&D would be a MMORPG, and don't be so pessimistic, Ultima Online was successful for years.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Odin



The MoO-like game would has less ephasis on war and more emphasis on things like the economy, diplomacy, politics, etc. Basically a futuristic nation simulator.

I'm with you on that. My ideal sci-fi game game would be focused on political maneuvering and intrigue above everything else.

Computers don't handle politics very well, though.

[Kuciwalker]

That's what they want you to think.

[GeoModder]

Originally posted by quantum_mechani
Are we talking about the same Uplift War? Space combat (IMO) was never a big part of the series. What seemed interesting from a game perspective was navigating the millenniums old galactic bureaucracy. A bit like Emperor of the Fading suns, only the government would not be as feudal. Also having the option of researching from the Galactic Library vs. researching on your own would be fun choice. And of course the fight to find new client species for your race to uplift...

Yes, we're talking about the same universe. Including all the things you mentioned would be cool and give an almost endless supply of mission possibilities on space war, diplomaty, scouting out and so on (the civilisation is billions of years old for something eh?).

I had it more on the warfare side as it comes in the second and third book of the series, that's all.

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
How's the game? I saw it in a store, but I had no idea how good (or bad) it is.

Oh, I'm more or less addicted so can't be really objective about it. If your computer is on the better side of the graphic card department you'll be hooked to your screen for sure. I love the story they're bringing in the campaign, it goes rather deep IMO. There's a difficulty level for everyone, from the hard core gamer to the more casual one and multiplayer can be reeeeally brutal but also satisfying.

It's modders paradise as well, but one need some experience/knowledge in programming and scripting to make a good mod or mission.

With the retail now out in the States there's new life coming in again.

[Grumbold]

Re: Re: Re: Design your dream game

Originally posted by The diplomat


There was a game similar to what you describe. It was called "Outpost". it involved colonizing another planet but it had a lot of simulation elements to it. The developper even boasted that it was based on real NASA data.

I used to play it. It was "realistic" and sometimes way too hard to play. The game focused entirely on building your colony so there was no combat or aliens which made the game quite boring IMO.

I know the game you mean but lets face it, it was a POS. There may have been real NASA data involved in the estimated composition of the potential colony worlds but the colony building and tech was made up rubbish. Planets ran out of metals far too quickly and you had to rely on recycled "universal goo" that could magically replace any material you were short of.

I want to start from lower down anyway: launching satellites for profit to finance a zero G lab etc. Heading off to the stars would be the climax, not the starting point. There were a couple of games made along these lines (one about the shuttle) but they were both back in the days of EGA graphics. I'd put my idea closer spiritually to Buzz Aldrins Race into Space than Outpost.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by General Ludd



I'm with you on that. My ideal sci-fi game game would be focused on political maneuvering and intrigue above everything else.

Computers don't handle politics very well, though.

In a dream game they do.

[The diplomat]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Design your dream game

Originally posted by Grumbold
I know the game you mean but lets face it, it was a POS. There may have been real NASA data involved in the estimated composition of the potential colony worlds but the colony building and tech was made up rubbish. Planets ran out of metals far too quickly and you had to rely on recycled "universal goo" that could magically replace any material you were short of.

I agree Outpost was a crappy game. Heck, 80% of the time, I couldn't even get past turn 5. I'd land on a planet and I couldn't build anything. On turn 5, I'd get the message that all my colonists died.

[The diplomat]

I think my dream game would be a geopolitical sim where players would be a head of state of a country and would have to make tough diplomacy and political decisions to try to avoid all out war.

There was a game that was similar to what I am describing. It was called Middle East Conflict Simulator. The game is pretty old, the graphics were non-existent. And the outcomes were extremelly frustrating.

My version would let you play as almost any nation. You would see a full 3D map of the world and there would be lots of cut scenes representing news reports when a major event happens. It would differ from games like Superpower in the sense that it would not focus as much on micromanagement. The player would be presented with the latest events and would have to choose from several multiple choice options to decide how to respond to the event. Diplomacy would be the most important aspect of the game. You could engage in detailed discussions with other leaders, and negotiate very detailed treaties. Diplomacy would have a lot of dialogue so it would feel like a conversation. Think SMAC style diplomacy but much much more complex. Players could choose their tone of voice and could threaten or beg for things.

The winner would be the player who most improves his nations economic and geopolitical standing in the world. So, the game would measure your economy, territory, military size, political stability etc when the player starts and when the player retires, and would calculate who made the most gain.

[Asmodean]

What does the MMO in MMORPG stand for?

Asmodean

[DrSpike]

Massively Multiplayer Online.