Here's a quick Q&A brought to you by friend TomParis.
TomParis:
I could help you to work out some of the future elements of the game, but I need to understand some of the basic direction you had in mind. In my opinion, since the game isn’t a simple 3D shooter, so you need to have enough complexity to keep players interested. It has to be interesting and challenging to explore and discover new resources, to collect and store those resources, to use the resources to build new components or ships, and then to consume those items for some advantage to keep a constant demand to find and build more.
Q: Will each player progress based on game ‘experience’? A players level could open up the ability to find or build different things, artifacts can play into that progression, where certain artifacts are required to build new advances.
A player XP system is an absolute must and will probably be there a week after beta. This would auto improve the ship speed, turn speed, and hull. It's important to note that it would follow the player from ship to ship, be able to build up quickly, and disappear when the player dies.
Q: What’s your basic concept for the game economy? How many Aluminum and Ice make up one fuel? Is fuel going to be about 50 credits? This will set the basic value of ores and even stations. If Fuel is $50, and one of each ore is required, that makes Aluminum and Ice worth no more than $20 each, as there has to be some level of profit.
From a developer standpoint, i'm taking a "Keep it Simple Stupid" approach to the economy and placing it completely in the player's hands. Maybe in extreme cases will the "Alliance" intervene -- they're simply too far from this part of space to do anything.
Q: How complex of an overall system are you looking for? (A couple of levels of Weapons & Shields, or various levels including Targeting Sensors, Power Reactors, Cargo Bay capacity, etc.)
Ship Parts was in development and halted so I could work on the ESG Plugin. But in essence I do feel the need for players to have the ability to mix and match, and upgrade ship components. I just don't want it to be a core part of the game. The core part of the game should be exploration and settlement.
Q: How easily can ships and stations be destroyed? This will tie back into the economy, as the cost to repair or replace them needs to be achievable. I understand that you want a certain level of combat, but losing a station that costs $6M to replace can be a big disappointment if I can’t earn that back.
I certainly don't want player stations to be too easy to destroy, but I do want a easy way for players to defend them, even when they're offline. For now, toggle on your "Email Alert\" setting in the Account Manager, they will be turned off by default.
Q: Care to share any insight?
I hadn't had a real vacation an about 2 years. So it's nice to come back refreshed and ready make a game that'll turn some heads. Recently, a lot of development has gone into the creation of the ESG Plugin. It's sole purpose is to communicate with the server efficiently and improve PVP. (No more stutter). So combat looks wicked awesome. I tried to kill two birds with one stone and get the Odin Super Carrier complete. That is the project for January, implementing that monster of a ship and toggling on Jump Drives.
I hope that this all sheds some more light, feel free to get into contact with me directly if you have more questions, ore better yet, have an idea of how I can make this game better.
Thanks!
Edward Melville (Taurian)
The Alpha Company
