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IS EXPANSIVE TOO EXPANSIVE?
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TheGreatDirector
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CloseI want to make a space rpg, one where you can roam several planets and asteroids with each having their own towns and dungeons. However I've come to wonder just how large I should make the universe this game takes place in. Is too large just unnecessary or is it needed for a genre of this type?
Itaju
89
Depends on the time you can put in your project and the detail of said towns and dungeons.
I better have 3 planets with 3 awesome towns and dungeons each than 1000 crappy ones.
I better have 3 planets with 3 awesome towns and dungeons each than 1000 crappy ones.
CyberDagger
10
Or put one central hub town and one dungeon, maybe two if you really want to push it. If you're going to be visiting planets, the planets are the towns, in a sense. That's how Bioware did it with their space games, and nobody complained that you could only explore a small subsection of the planets.
Sigrosa
0
It largely depends on the travel system too. Players generally hate down-time so if you spread out content alot, and it takes too much time to get places they will eventually get bored.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Clearly you should map all two hundred million square miles of each planet, anything less is an artistic compromise
Actually for something like this it would probably be better to have a Space Port or your Space Ship or something as a hub where all you can buy things (that changes there stock as the game progresses or you can exchange certain materials so they can be manufactured or something). It makes more sense especially if there’s a possibility of exploring any planets or moons without any sentient life on them.
Unless of course you’re going for a Star Ocean type vibe in which case the more traditional way is fine.
Unless of course you’re going for a Star Ocean type vibe in which case the more traditional way is fine.
I say start small first, figure out how much detail you want towns and dungeons to be (with the time you want to give to the project) and set a reasonable number. Then once you have your goal done or close to done, you can assess how much more you want to add in. Maybe it was easy for you to get what you wanted done so you can then add more, or maybe you'll learn it was a nightmare and getting more expansive is a bad idea.
Either way I say just start it off small and see how things develop and then go from there.
Either way I say just start it off small and see how things develop and then go from there.
Milennin
2060
Make travel points between towns / dungeons, like when leaving a place have a map pop-up asking where you want to go next. Then show a short cutscene for travelling.
author=LockeZ
Clearly you should map all two hundred million square miles of each planet, anything less is an artistic compromise
This.
Obviously, trying to create detailed and complex environments for more than a few worlds is going to be a tremendous amount of work, so what I propose you do, if you want to feature a universe the player can explore, is to have randomly generated stat-based planets.
For example, the player could come across a Class J planet (a gas giant in Trek lingo), which has certain materials the player can harvest. This essentially turns entire planets into treasure chests, but it is thematically appropriate.
Alternatively, you could use a script to create random dungeons for certain planets, with some random treasures and encounters. Simple things like this would add a great deal to the 'scope' of the gameplay.
For example, the player could come across a Class J planet (a gas giant in Trek lingo), which has certain materials the player can harvest. This essentially turns entire planets into treasure chests, but it is thematically appropriate.
Alternatively, you could use a script to create random dungeons for certain planets, with some random treasures and encounters. Simple things like this would add a great deal to the 'scope' of the gameplay.
There's always this chance of resuming the whole planet, or setting, in a few keypoints, and showing THIS to the player. Also, another good factor is that, if you're fleshing out several different planets, they aren't sole units. They are affected by outside influences. As such, planets of Solar System X are prone to behaviour Y, geology Z, culture A, etc.
Planets are subjective to the envoirment (?) around them. As such, it is nice to portray this.
I... I lost my thoughts while writing it. I was going to rewrite it and make it all more clearer but it all disappeared. @_@
But just keep in mind: Planets are not solitary units. Use them to compose the larger picture that is the universe, and, more importantly, your game's setting.
Planets are subjective to the envoirment (?) around them. As such, it is nice to portray this.
I... I lost my thoughts while writing it. I was going to rewrite it and make it all more clearer but it all disappeared. @_@
But just keep in mind: Planets are not solitary units. Use them to compose the larger picture that is the universe, and, more importantly, your game's setting.
LOLninja
35
I think a good first question to ask yourself is what space experience you want to go for, and then design the space of the galaxy accordingly. I also believe that depending on the travel system, long travels can be interesting.
Mass Effect 2/3 is pretty much instant-warp to the destination of your choice. The galaxy is big, but the traveling itself was near-effortless. Personally I preferred the bit of aimless wandering in ME1 on the planet. I've also once played a space game where it seemed you could fly your ship in one direction forever, and occasionally fly past a new planet or meteor. It gave a strong sense of desolation... which could be part of the space experience you want.
I can also imagine that the space between two destinations can be riddled with challenges, such as gravity pulls of large planets, meteorite storms, hostile space pirates... which is a more action-oriented approach to the same space between destinations. I imagine this space to be as big as the designed challenges on the road require it.
Mass Effect 2/3 is pretty much instant-warp to the destination of your choice. The galaxy is big, but the traveling itself was near-effortless. Personally I preferred the bit of aimless wandering in ME1 on the planet. I've also once played a space game where it seemed you could fly your ship in one direction forever, and occasionally fly past a new planet or meteor. It gave a strong sense of desolation... which could be part of the space experience you want.
I can also imagine that the space between two destinations can be riddled with challenges, such as gravity pulls of large planets, meteorite storms, hostile space pirates... which is a more action-oriented approach to the same space between destinations. I imagine this space to be as big as the designed challenges on the road require it.
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