Next Soldak game (game 8)

[Shadow]

This is still pretty unofficial, as in I could change direction still, but I'm pretty sure our next game is going to be kind of a hybrid between Din's Curse and a game like Terraria or Starbound. Since it will be similar to Din's Curse and take place in the same universe, it will feel somewhat familiar. However, it might at the same time be our biggest departure from the typical Soldak game, especially since it will most likely have a camera perspective change.

Some of the things that I want to carry over from Din's Curse:
* Fantasy action RPG (classes, skills, levels, attributes, etc)
* Dynamic, evolving, living world (quests, town attacks, monsters leveling, traps, hazards, clans?, etc)
* Protect the town from all of the dangers below

Some new things from Terraria/Starbound like games:
* Mine, destroy, and/or place every block of the world
* Much more extensible crafting system where you can craft most (or all?) items in the game
* Build structures for you and your NPCs
* Probably a 2d side view (even though everything likely to be 3d models)
* More exciting movement (basically like a platform game)

I already have a good working design for what I want to do, but of course it will greatly change shape as we progress further. As Helmuth von Moltke said: No game design survives contact with playtesting. Well at least he said something like that.

As always comments are welcome and encouraged!

[Destro*]

Super excited! Can't wait! Thanks for sharing your thoughts

I actually play Minecraft pretty hardcore and run a Minecraft community where I make custom mods in java. Hearing that you're going in this direction, honestly, it's almost scary how exciting it is. I've always been a fan of the 2D variants and other block-building games. So good!

[narnach]

This sounds exciting. The Soldak-style living world brought to a different genre would be nice for the Terraria-style genre.

[ScrObot]

Does new game type mean new engine?

[SirReptile]

I'd love to see a mashup of your game mechanics like this.

When I play Drox 2, I always wish I could join my marines when they board enemy ships or assist in the civil wars I've started. So one possibility would be to use the existing Drox engine (with all its diplomatic AI and space travel) but then transition the player to a Starbound-style 2D format when boarding enemy ships or landing on a planet.

Imagine if orbiting a planet changed the system map to a planet map, using the same oval shape, but with a planetary surface background instead of a star background. And instead of planets dotting the map like in a typical Drox system, you have cities or other points of interest, and each one of those cities/POIs is a different, procedurally generated Starbound-like 2D map if you decide to land there. It'd be amazing to watch or participate in a civil war as it spreads from one POI to another (with or without your direct intervention).

Or, if that scale is a bit too ambitious, perhaps a single procgen map for each planet, with settlements on that single landscape, but with a similar dynamic living world that's influenced by galactic and planetary political changes.

This would also open a lot of storytelling possibilities, since NPCs in a planet's cities or at starbases could offer you quests that would entail traveling to other planets, fighting bosses, contacting other NPCs, etc. It would add a personal touch to the grand scale of the questing in Drox right now.

Add the Din RPG mechanics into the mix of other Soldak mechanics, and the player will have a highly varied and enjoyable experience.

And perhaps most importantly, it'd be an experience they can't get from Terraria or Starbound, which they're pretty likely to already own.

One final suggestion, and I don't mean it as a criticism even though it may come off as one: Please consider naming your game something that hints at its mechanics. I've encountered some folks who didn't take a closer look at Din's Curse or Drox Operative before I told them about it, since they didn't know who Din was or what a Drox Operative would be. "Terraria" and "Starbound" both give players a hint as to the game's mechanics (like changing the terrain or exploring the stars, respectively). Word of mouth only travels so far, so consider a name that more closely relates to at least one of the central game mechanics.

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by ScrObot

Does new game type mean new engine?

This is already going to be a fairly big risk. Unfortunately, we don't have the financial resources to take on the risk of a new engine at the same time.

[oux]

Oh yeas! Look into the future to play it! However!

Originally Posted by Shadow

* Fantasy action RPG (classes, skills, levels, attributes, etc)

I don't really like RPG system from soldak games, it's kind of rigid...

Originally Posted by Shadow

* More exciting movement (basically like a platform game)

A platforming? I don't think this is a good idea.

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by oux

A platforming? I don't think this is a good idea.

The movement might be like a platformer, but it's not like it is going to have jump puzzles that you have to time perfectly.

[Jorlen]

This is an interesting concept! I for one am definitely excited about it.

Did you have anything else in mind for game 8, other than this? I'm asking out of curiosity only, of course, and I understand if you'd rather not discuss it here.

[Bluddy]

I assume you'll keep the general quest structure intact. One thing I've thought about is that one variable that's missing in all the previous games is how much time is left for a quest. For example, in Drox, if I can see that a quest is about to be over one way or another (even if the roll will just determine that the quest remains as is as an option), I can prioritize much better. That kind of information helps the player decide what to do next, increasing player agency.

The timer doesn't even have to be displayed directly: it can use fuzzy terms like 'no pressure', 'imminent', etc.