The Space Project From: ericsum@aol.com (EricSum) Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 00:00:00 +0000 Hello all, I have been programming on a PBEM game and have got most of the basics worked out. Now I need to know what people are looking for in a space opera style game. Here is what I have so far: The game is based in a large galaxy of approximately 10,000 star systems. Each star system has the possibility of having one or more planets. Players can navigate directly from one star system to the next as long as they have the jump engine capability to do so. There are currently three engine sizes which allow jumps of up to 1, 3, and 5, star systems per "hop". Players start off with one ship, lightly armed and armored with a small crew. Players can add stuff to and from their ships as they see fit if they have the money and the hull space to support it. Players can own more than one ship, and each ship can be moved independantly of each other. Each ship has a captain that gains experience as he explores and participates in battles. The captain is tied to the ship (no transferring of captains between ships). The more experienced the captain, the better the ship navigates and participates in battle. Players can buy and sell goods from bases on planets or orbittal outposts. Players can also build bases and outposts when they have the money. Planets and systems are not individually mapped like they are in BSE, they are merely objects that exist. For instance if you are in a system you can immediately issue an ORBIT order to place your ship in orbit around whatever planet you choose without having to navigate to the planet. I found this aspect of BSE to be extremely tedious (particularly when you take into account BSE's price per turn). Planets can have any number of bases on them and systems can have any number of outposts on them. Bases and outposts can be attacked, captured, or destroyed. Of course bases will have defensive and offensive options available to them. Now the big issue of course is the combat system. Here is what I had envisioned, please comment on it as you see fit. Each ship can have a set of Standing Orders controlling how they behave in a hostile situation. They can be set to attack a specific ship, a specific base, immediately attempt to withdraw from battle, defend a specific ship or base, or defend any and all ships/bases owned by player X. Once battle begins long range weapons fire and fighter craft are launched. Next, medium range weapons (if any) are fired and if fighters from both sides are present then they dogfight. Finally, close combat begins with all weapons blazing. Fighters set to attack a specific ship will do so once any escort fighters for that ship are destroyed, otherwise fighters will attack random enemy ships and their escorts. Close combat continues until all ships of one side are destroyed, crippled, or have retreated. On the next turn, the victorious side can attempt to capture ships that have been crippled by sending boarding parties on board. If a ship is successfully captured it becomes the property of the capturing player (of course). Development of the game is coming along quite nicely. I intend for the game to be heavy on diplomacy and player interaction much like Olympia is, but also want it to be a viable option for someone who just wants to explore and trade alone. There will be a market economy that players can participate in of course. Items on Planet X might be in heavy demand on Planet Y so players can establish trade routes and whatnot. I also intend to add some other space objects as well, such as asteroid fields, black holes, and warp tunnels. If you have any comments, suggestions, or ideas please let me know. The game is still in its infancy and many things can still be added to make the game more enjoyable. Thanks, Eric Up