Game length limit?

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MatGB
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Game length limit?

#1 Post by MatGB »

Every so often, we get feedback from players that show the game lagging/hanging at stupidly high levels when it's gone on for a fairly long time, most recent being this.

It's very hard to test this sort of thing as a player as, even if I really really try, I can't seem to stop myself from winning far before turn 500. The Experimentors used to turn up as a late game challenge strictly at turn 200, now it's set to vary by galaxy size but even on much larger galaxies they're out and about before turn 400.

Given how hard it is to test for very late game problems, let alone solve them, and there's no effective way I/we can balance the game for that very long length (which I consider excessive but I know others won't) is it worth considering implementing a game length limit of some sort?

Perhaps tie it in to galaxy size and have a warning that you need a really high spec machine to play a large galaxy through to completion?

(it could be done in game via some scripts, sort of, if unconquered by turn X, the Experimentor Outpost will turn itself into a Black Hole Collapser that hits the entire galaxy or something)
Mat Bowles

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Geoff the Medio
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Re: Game length limit?

#2 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Inevitably if a game ending / universe destroying end state were added, people would ask about how to turn it off and play endlessly as a simulation... But sure, some extra later-game "motivation" for players to win / finish could be added...

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MatGB
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Re: Game length limit?

#3 Post by MatGB »

Geoff the Medio wrote:Inevitably if a game ending / universe destroying end state were added, people would ask about how to turn it off and play endlessly as a simulation...
Agreed, inevitable, but my motivation for suggesting it is to make it more explicitly clear that it's not designed or tested as such—I don't really view it as a problem that the game hangs/crashes as much as it does in the thread I linked, ideally it could/would be solveable, but the best solution to that is for players to learn to win quicker or start a new game.

However, if the project objective is to support that length of game (is it/should it be?) then we need to put more effort into testing/solving late game lag/hanging than we currently have been. I don't test for that length of game, I certainly don't balance for it, but if players, especially newer players, think that's the norm/expected then it'll be perceived as a problem/bug when really it's just playing outside the design remit.
But sure, some extra later-game "motivation" for players to win / finish could be added...
Cool, beefing up the end game Experimentor threat (not their initial critters) could be part of that, and I suspect we'd need something for if they're not in the game as well.
Mat Bowles

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Geoff the Medio
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Re: Game length limit?

#4 Post by Geoff the Medio »

MatGB wrote:
But sure, some extra later-game "motivation" for players to win / finish could be added...
Cool, beefing up the end game Experimentor threat (not their initial critters) could be part of that, and I suspect we'd need something for if they're not in the game as well.
Perhaps they have some goal when leaving their home system? Perhaps if there are a few other systems, recognizable to players or not, that if they arrive in, they will colonize and construct new stuff similar to their initial homeworld. Perhaps if they do that 3 times in the right systems, the universe is destroyed?

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Krikkitone
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Re: Game length limit?

#5 Post by Krikkitone »

Geoff the Medio wrote:
MatGB wrote:
But sure, some extra later-game "motivation" for players to win / finish could be added...
Cool, beefing up the end game Experimentor threat (not their initial critters) could be part of that, and I suspect we'd need something for if they're not in the game as well.
Perhaps they have some goal when leaving their home system? Perhaps if there are a few other systems, recognizable to players or not, that if they arrive in, they will colonize and construct new stuff similar to their initial homeworld. Perhaps if they do that 3 times in the right systems, the universe is destroyed?
You could just allow Experimenters to 'simplify the map'
Starting in turn X, they could start coming in and deleting planets/stars (after winning a successful battle)
Possibly even have it triggered by lag+ near winning situation

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