new game options

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

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Moriarty
Dyson Forest
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new game options

#1 Post by Moriarty »

I'm not sure what the present concensus is, or if there even is one (havn't yet seen anything in the posts i've read), but here's a suggestion on game creation.

First a example. MOO3, allowed you to create a game with the very minimum of options:
Number of races, customise your own race, and also set the size of the universe. Oh and difficulty (not that that worked :) )
That's just about it.

For freeOrion i would suggest a rather more 'varied' gamestyle.
Basically allow the user to customise almost everything about the game that can be made into a variable.
i.e.
Number of stars (an actual number, not just 'small, medium, large'
max/min number of planets each star system may have.
Speed of warp/move around at start of game
smalled & largest types of ship
buildings enabled/disabled (assuming they're included in the first place :) )
etc, etc, etc.

Basically everything that is a hard-coded variable make into a user-selected variable at the start of the game.
Of course you could also make a few 'pre-defined' game types (for the peeps who want a 'simple, normal game'.

The reason i suggest this is re-playability.
If a game has only a few options for different play styles, then no-matter how many times u play it, u'll generally always win the same way.
However with the availability of such vars, then each game could be *_completely_* different.

I'm a dev for an online browser-based game, and we have lots of such options. They are only available to the game's admin (games last about a few weeks apiece). In total there are about 70+ different variables that can be set on a per-game basis, and some can be changed in-game too.
In total there are around 1e+ 142 (That's 1 with 142 0's on the end!!!!) different possible game configurations. True most of them will be the same, but i estimate there can be several hundred significantly different game types from all of those options.

It's pretty clear from reading these forums that just about everyone wants different things from the game.
Personally, i'd like a minimum micromanaging, strategic game, with tactical space combat, and automated ground combat.
I'm sure there are only a few other's with such aspirations.

But with the above system, we can all have pretty much what we want.

Moriarty

tsev
Space Kraken
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#2 Post by tsev »

The plan is to make as many things as possible be user-configurable. I'm not sure yet what all will be an option, but you will find that even in its current state, many things are configurable via XML configuration file. This includes the UI colors, screen resolution, etc. Ultimately, most all game objects will be created from XML data, so you will literally be able to configure almost everything the way you want.
FreeOrion Programmer

snakechia
Space Floater
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#3 Post by snakechia »

my only real desire, which is different from the other Orion games, is that we can choose which races are in the game. That includes doubles of any race...none of a particular race..etc.

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utilae
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#4 Post by utilae »

Yes, that would be cool.

There should be options, as you would expect.

And advanced options, with like heaps of options to play with. But nothing too complex (like having all spreadsheets in Moo3 accessable within the game, that would be too much).

Kosslowski
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#5 Post by Kosslowski »

snakechia wrote:my only real desire, which is different from the other Orion games, is that we can choose which races are in the game. That includes doubles of any race...none of a particular race..etc.
I would like to have the choice whether a galaxy setting is specified by me or randomized, so that there is some surprise. Regarding the choice of your species you could not take into account the galaxy settings if they are randomized. Especially in multiplayer games this could be interesting, since players would not be tempted to take the species "best" suited for this setting (assuming the races are not perfectly balanced).

Moriarty
Dyson Forest
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#6 Post by Moriarty »

To clarify a bit more, i envisage starting a game as something like this:

you click the 'start new game' button.
You select the race you want to play and do all the customising stuff.
click 'next', and get a page that lists basic game options (like small, medium large uni, and other basic things (similar to what the previous moos list).
And someone on the page there's a link to "Advanced Options".
Clicking on it will take you to a page with lots of different options in (like the ones i stated in my original thread).


Using the above method, peeps could customise the game quickly and easily without having to write a mod for each time they want to play it (mods still allow for more detailed customisation (like add/removing/renaming technologies)).

Ablaze
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#7 Post by Ablaze »

More options !e+ 150 (That's a "More options" with 150 exclamation points on the end!!!)
Time flies like the wind, fruit flies like bananas.

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skdiw
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#8 Post by skdiw »

I'm with Ablaze here; I think FO should have at least 9e+999999 parameters; that way, we can spend 99999 hours, get back all sore, and eyes all red before we finish generate/regenerate a map with a rich planet next to our home, and then play for 9 hours before spend another 99999999 hours generating the next game because we didn't like the first.
:mrgreen:

iamrobk
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#9 Post by iamrobk »

Lol I definately support of the idea of LOTS of options.

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Krikkitone
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#10 Post by Krikkitone »

Lots of options is good, especially with Random for any 'balanced' type option (since some options can easily unbalance the game they might not be good to have a 'Random' value for... but maybe just list all options for which 'testing at other values has not been done' on one side of the advanced menu)

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