[Idea] Evolutionary Game start/ Reload
Posted: Mon, 30. Apr 18, 18:04
Games where you build your empire - be it trading emprie like in X, or some civilization (Civ games, Stellaris, Total war series, etc), or a City (Sim City, City Skylines etc), or similar, have the fundamental problem, that when they are played for a while there simply is no challenge to overcome anymore and no reason to continue playing. The game is already "won", you have near infinite ressources, every enemy that may exist only does so because the time consuming mop-up was not completed yet. All that remains is continue mop-up (military games), or do accomplish whatever you set as your own goal (build 1 million stations in the same sector) - which is just a question of time and endurance rather than interesting gameplay.
This is where players tend to get bored and fatigued (some rather soon, some later, some never). Starting a new savegame would be a way to "solve" this, but then all you worked for is lost and gone - it has no impact on your new universe - and (to me) it always feels like i wasted my time. Additionally, a new game from scratch is always identical, because everything is reset.
What if instead of starting a new game from scratch you could choose to enter into the role of one of your employees? You are now the employee, and the megacorp or pirate clan or whatever you accomplished in your "old" game continues to live on under AI control, developing further (or declining) dynamically due to natural ingame events - and the entire universe keeps on existing like it did in the old game.
Could start as freight pilot, could start as captain of a frigate, as station manager, as fighter patrol pilot... Selection options for the circumstances of the start could greatly influence how it plays.
Do you continue to serve the <old player faction> or are you leaving the <old player faction>, and if so - what are the circumstances? Voluntary/ Honorable discharge, treachery (stealing a ship by a pilot, or trying to take control over a station by a manager), ... stuff like that.
It would also set up what assets you own - as pilot of a trade ship you might have to earn the money with your current ship to pay the <old player faction> back, or buy another cheap ship before you are free.
This would be really interesting change from the usual "New Game" - wipe, if the nature of the universe will really be as dynamic as they announced. Of course it requires a little bit of AI management logic to keep some of the old faction from completely falling apart immediately after the player lets go of it.
This is also really interesting as a reload option.
Every time the player sees the reload screen because of death he could be given the option to either reload an old save (unless dead is dead mode) or choose start a "new game" in this evolutionary way.
Dead is dead players and roleplayers would certainly find this really interesting, as well as those people who quickly lose interest once they recognize they have attained "unlimited power". It also makes every evolutionary game start completely unique every time due to the dynamic nature.
This is where players tend to get bored and fatigued (some rather soon, some later, some never). Starting a new savegame would be a way to "solve" this, but then all you worked for is lost and gone - it has no impact on your new universe - and (to me) it always feels like i wasted my time. Additionally, a new game from scratch is always identical, because everything is reset.
What if instead of starting a new game from scratch you could choose to enter into the role of one of your employees? You are now the employee, and the megacorp or pirate clan or whatever you accomplished in your "old" game continues to live on under AI control, developing further (or declining) dynamically due to natural ingame events - and the entire universe keeps on existing like it did in the old game.
Could start as freight pilot, could start as captain of a frigate, as station manager, as fighter patrol pilot... Selection options for the circumstances of the start could greatly influence how it plays.
Do you continue to serve the <old player faction> or are you leaving the <old player faction>, and if so - what are the circumstances? Voluntary/ Honorable discharge, treachery (stealing a ship by a pilot, or trying to take control over a station by a manager), ... stuff like that.
It would also set up what assets you own - as pilot of a trade ship you might have to earn the money with your current ship to pay the <old player faction> back, or buy another cheap ship before you are free.
This would be really interesting change from the usual "New Game" - wipe, if the nature of the universe will really be as dynamic as they announced. Of course it requires a little bit of AI management logic to keep some of the old faction from completely falling apart immediately after the player lets go of it.
This is also really interesting as a reload option.
Every time the player sees the reload screen because of death he could be given the option to either reload an old save (unless dead is dead mode) or choose start a "new game" in this evolutionary way.
Dead is dead players and roleplayers would certainly find this really interesting, as well as those people who quickly lose interest once they recognize they have attained "unlimited power". It also makes every evolutionary game start completely unique every time due to the dynamic nature.