Fractal Softworks Forum
Other => Discussions => Topic started by: mahks on December 16, 2013, 09:45:01 PM
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Why would I create yet another 4X Space game?
Because all 4X I have played had poor AI and a lack of strategic & diplomatic scope.
I define strategy as the following :
Planning : This is a time element thing. Games usually permit a player to react fairly quickly to an unexpected situation. Fast reaction time eliminates the need for planning.
Logistics : Dealing with the logistics must not be onerous, but its effect has to be there so it affects decisions. This aspect can present many strategic opportunities, like cutting lines of supply, interdicting re-enforcements and the need for intelligence regarding it.
Intelligence : Lack of information can really add a lot of intrigue to a game. For this, fog of war is a must and it has to be persistent (what I mean is, if you have no assets at a location, you have little, none or old info about it).
Manoeuvre : Major & minor battles, feints, diversions, supply & trade disruption, siege, retreat, looting and scouting all add to strategic scope. Many games seem to devolve into placing the majority of assets in one big fleet and going on a rampage. Basically a FPS and about as far from the type of strategy I am talking about as you can get.
All these aspects of strategy are available in other genres, but rarely in a 4X.
As for the AI issue, I think breathing humans are the best opponents.
So here is my answer to that :
Game overview :- 4X space game
- Browser based, only runs in Firefox & Chrome
- Closed Beta status
- Basic 2d graphics
- Strong focus on grand strategy & diplomacy
- No action, not a RTS & no tactical control
- Role play possible
- 100% Free & No advertising
Here are some screen shots & reasons why this 4X may be different :
(https://i.postimg.cc/dVnzJS8X/snip-map5.png)
The manoeuvre element is the fleet. Fleets move between stars by an instantaneous jump, but then must wait while the jump engine re-charges. This slows down the pace of the game, giving you time to plan. It creates the feel of a turn based game, even though it is a persistent universe.
(http://www.starlords3k.com/images/misc/snip_2000.png)
Fleet movement may be automated.
- Patrol routes may be created to look for enemies.
- Gathering routes take minerals to stars with a refinery. This works kind of like railway tycoon.
- Other routes may be configured to move new ships to the front, return the battle weary for R & R, etc.
(https://i.postimg.cc/xTvw4dq9/snip-2000.png)
There is an emphasis on diplomacy.
Much effort has gone into creating organic "situations" that evolve into diplomatic crisis. These come about from conflict between several realms of influence. These being political relationships, trade, military actions, resource access and a feudal hierarchy.
(https://i.postimg.cc/zGqsZ1RK/snip-2020.png)
Trade is encouraged by a mechanism whereby the number of types of minerals governs the efficiency of your refineries and thus your limits to production of assets.
Since only a few mineral types are found locally you must trade with other areas to gain more mineral types.
(https://i.postimg.cc/sgRPmDdp/snip-2019-02.png)
The game is not played in "binges" (hours in a session) but in short play sessions. Think of a normal 4X that has its play session sliced into bits. This is by design, so that those with real lives may fit it into a busy schedule (or a fanatic gamer can play a session between all those other games) allowing them to play a deep, involving game even though "they have no time". Several people have interpreted this to mean it is a tick based game, it is not. Once your realm has grown, there is always things that need to be done, it is just not all time sensitive.
Fog of war is constant. If you have no ship or spy at a star you do not know what is there, you only know what was there last time you visited. This permits a "cat & mouse" situation, where cunning can win out.
Building assets takes a long time. This creates pressure to plan, as you cannot react immediately to a new threat by "popping out" fleets of new ships at a moments notice. You can build & assign additional builders to speed up a project, but there is cost there as well.
(https://i.postimg.cc/V60TBf3Q/snip-2040.png)
A large selection of technologies are available that affect all aspects of the game. There is no "tech tree" you just research the areas you want an advantage in. you may choose to be mediocre in all or focus on a few that complement your overall strategic direction.
(https://i.postimg.cc/HLxFn4zL/snip-2050.png)
There is a robust economic model that provides many ways to gain income and many ways to lose it. Taxation, tribute, piracy, export contracts, asset support, salaries are some of the factors.
(https://i.postimg.cc/KcTrmXxp/budget-2019-10.png)
In the beginning you manage all aspects, but as your empire grows you can do less micro-management and automate repetitive tasks.
(https://i.postimg.cc/3wcVv4fF/snip-2061.png)
There is a whole game within the game in regards to spies. Covert agents may conduct espionage, sabotage, incite labour or student unrest and incite rebellions. They can embezzle, slander and assassinate as well.
The game progresses though stages; exploration, buildup, contact and then the core game play begins with diplomacy, trade & conflict.
There is a play through of a typical 1st session on the website. Note this video has the old graphics and the colonising bit is out of date. The game begins slowly as you are mostly exploring and colonising, so the video may be a bit boring. Any suggestions on how to present a "cerebral" game and not make the presentation boring? This slow start is intentional as the game is complex and is designed so that a new player is not overwhelmed and has time to get his bearings.
http://www.starlords3k.com (http://www.starlords3k.com)
We need a few more play testers, pm me if interested.
All feedback is welcome.
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sounds ambitious, hope you aren't biting off more than you can chew :)
maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to load any of your pictures or your link
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sounds ambitious, hope you aren't biting off more than you can chew :)
I all ready bit and chewed it. All the above is implemented and running.
Or were you referring to something else?
maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to load any of your pictures or your link
Not sure why that would be they are valid links. Work for me.
Anyone confirm there is / not problem with the images / link?
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The images work fine for me while the link asks that I use firefox, which is something I don't have. Will the site be chrome friendly at some point?
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I'm looking into getting Chrome working.
Was just enlightened on the huge market share Chrome now has!
If I can get it to work without a massive rewrite, I will.
pm me if you want to be contacted if/when it is done.
Or just download Firefox for the time being (very quick install)
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Seems Chrome has issues with iframe & visibility ... a hidden iframe isn't.
Tried to change to using display rather than visibility, got all swapped, then realized why I used visibility in the first place! Arrrgghh.
Display collapses the dimensions of an object, visibility does not. So you can't use display:none and refer to things like clientWidth or scrollTo.
Unless I am missing something? Looks like Chrome is not ready yet.
Will try to get the homepage render in Chrome anyway.
Does anyone actually develop using Chrome? If so what tools do they use? The native dev-tools and firebug-lite seem pretty lame.
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works now for some reason... must've missed an update or something...
Now that I see it, yeah, looks impressive ;D
gonna give it a shot and feedback. Thanks for this, too. Just when I run out of games to play
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gonna give it a shot
Did you try it? What do you think so far?
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heh, a bit complicated for my liking
kinda threw myself at it for a few hours, then gave up :P
probably nothing against your game, I'm just not great with 4x/grand strategy games
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Awesome =)
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Update :
2 new options now available :
- Design your own ships
- Negotiate treaties with Independent stars (NPCs)
Now 98% working in Chrome, just some issues with canvas.
Graphics marginally improved, I updated the images in post # 1
Tutorial re-done, simplified, got rid of the videos, now text pop-up based. Could use some new blood to test the tutorial...
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Running under chrome 100% now
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I might be dropping in after 12th November. 4X isn't my thing TBH tho.
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If you like diplomacy and strategy, you can ignore the 4X bit and enjoy! :D
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The tutorial has been axed in favour of in-game hint panels.
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Dude this looks awesome! I'm gonna bookmark it and come back when I have time.
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@Vlitzen, did you ever give it a try?
What di you think?
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The episode "Cave Mercatura Furta" has begun.
New game features:
- UTS Delivery Service : Send resources to remote stars and territories.
- Sector Markets : Resource trade via UTS.
- New ship components :
- Engineer Unit : Required to capture transponders.
- Supply Dock : Reduces support by 50% for system ships. - Checklist : Programmable reminders.
- Jumpgate Agreement : Required for foreign jumpgate use.
- Join Route Option : For new ship builds.
- Dragable Map : The map is now dragable!
Sample of Economic Report :
(http://www.starlords3k.com/images/misc/snip_2019_01.PNG)
The new Sector Market :
(http://www.starlords3k.com/images/misc/snip_2019_02.png)
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The episode "Mercatus Volgus Ubivis" has begun.
New game features:
Dogfights : Takes place during short range combat by fightercraft
Thrusters, Generators and Ion Cannons : Only usable on Fighters & Interceptors
Civil Markets : Similar to black markets but deal in legal goods
Luxuries : Demand now based solely on each star, rather than realm
Civil Defence Fleets : Replace tribute ship building. CDF's build automatically based on habitat level
Monuments : May now be dedicated to science, fertility, productivity or shipping. This results in bonus output
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Very cool that you're still plugging away at this.
I must admit this is more "strategic" than I generally like to play (I always felt Master of Orion 2 hit the perfect spot between "newbie friendly" and "actual strategy game") but I can see how this is a really fun game for people who like these kinds of games :)
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The game can be played by in varied ways.
You can ignore much of the complexity and play it as just a building game.
The current base is heavily biased toward trade play and I have added more trade options to give them more scope.
We actually need more combat oriented players.
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The episode "Partes Facere Totam" will begin on September 11th 2020.
If you have never played and wish to join in, please begin the training game now so you can join the above game with some knowledge of the mechanics.
New game features:
New Structures :
- Crafter : Crafts components
- Power Station : Higher level structures now require power
- Slave Market : Provides workers, but increases rebel activity
- Training Base : Increases experience of ships at the star
Components : A new asset type- May be used to reduce costs of building structures, modules and ships
- Should provide a comparative advantage to lords that invest in their research
Misc :
- Tradebases have been removed in favour of the more universal "Sector Markets"
- Lords may now enrol officials for extra training at foreign academies
- Shipyards, assemblers and academies may now be dedicated to a single output, reducing time and costs
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The episode "Novus Contractus Artis" has begun.
New game features:
- Civil goods markets replaced by "Goods Contracts".
- Support costs for ships reduced.
- Convoy type fleet removed, replaced with Supply Base type.
- New comm channel consolidates intel from foreign realms.
- Imperial fleets no longer garrison guild stars.
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The episode "Novus Contractus Artis" has begun.
New game features:
- Dossier of known intel for each opponent.
- Imperial stars may now delay/search fleets.
- Goods contracts for independent stars.
- Dilemmas at more stars.
- New agent operations :
- Cause service worker strikes
- Cause increase in piracy.
www.starlords3k.com (http://www.starlords3k.com)
Also fixed the links in the original post (seems they require https)
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The episode "Invenire Vermis Foraminis" will begin soon.
If you wish to participate, join the training game now to learn the basics.
New game features:
- Ships may now be retrofitted to another design.
- You may now change your victory path at any time.
- New diplomatic options: subsidy transfer, supply and repair agreements.
- Agent operations now have more depth.
www.StarLords3K.com (http://www.StarLords3K.com)
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Bookmarked this for future reference. Not sure when I'm going to get to try it.