I have an idea for a computer game

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Starglider
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Starglider »

Sarevok wrote:They are so universally shitty even a simple improvement like enemies with non infinite guns who have to smartly conserve and scavenge ammo would be hailed as revolutionary by the hype industry.
That isn't hard to implement as a minor addition to the existing state machine; (some) bots in deathmatch games have had this since at least Q3 arena. The reason it isn't done is that in 99% of cases it wouldn't add anything to the player experience, and in many cases it would actively detract from it (either directly or due to increased scope for bugs).

The three major places I would want to use better AI in gaming are smarter procedural content generation (particularly maps and quests), more flexible dialog systems for RPGs (as in Facade, which no one seems to have followed up on), and proper goal-based action generation for NPCs in sandbox games (e.g. Fallout 3). Not coincidentally I would try and tackle all of those if I made a game based on my company's AI IP. There's always scope for improving high-end play in strategy games, but that isn't a quantum leap in capability or tick-box marketing feature the way those three would be.
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The Romulan Republic
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Vastatosaurus Rex wrote: Here's an idea to address that: make the Human units (especially the siege weapons, navy, and cavalry) more expensive as a disadvantage. That way, they have a slower time building up a big army than the Sraaks, giving the Sraaks an advantage if they choose to rush. Catapults and galleys could also be slower-moving and less maneuverable than their Sraak and Kokong equivalents.
That might work, though it sounds like most battles would be decided rather quickly- either the Sraak pull off a successful rush and win, or they don't and lose.
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Artemas
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Artemas »

The Romulan Republic wrote:
Vastatosaurus Rex wrote: Here's an idea to address that: make the Human units (especially the siege weapons, navy, and cavalry) more expensive as a disadvantage. That way, they have a slower time building up a big army than the Sraaks, giving the Sraaks an advantage if they choose to rush. Catapults and galleys could also be slower-moving and less maneuverable than their Sraak and Kokong equivalents.
That might work, though it sounds like most battles would be decided rather quickly- either the Sraak pull off a successful rush and win, or they don't and lose.

A better solution would be to just give them their own cavalry/siege/whatever analogues. Raptors as cavalry, perhaps slower but with a higher attack. Giant Apatosauri (?) as siege platforms, with dozens of small swarming dinos manning, uh, stuff. Akin to the mumakil from Lord of the Rings. Make this faction a species-based caste system. Give them more and a wider variety of dinos. Maybe they are the only ones to have flying creatures. Maybe they can convert the existing, previously docile, dino population into pawns, forcing the humans into fortified camps, where every foray is a potential fight for survival.

Maybe these dinosaurs can kill an gnat from 50 yards. With Mind Bullets.
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Artemas wrote: A better solution would be to just give them their own cavalry/siege/whatever analogues. Raptors as cavalry, perhaps slower but with a higher attack. Giant Apatosauri (?) as siege platforms, with dozens of small swarming dinos manning, uh, stuff.
The raptor cavalry is a nice idea, but the Giant Apatosauri siege platforms would seem to fall a little outside the technological level of the rest of the faction.
Make this faction a species-based caste system. Give them more and a wider variety of dinos. Maybe they are the only ones to have flying creatures.


Love the idea of flyers.
Maybe they can convert the existing, previously docile, dino population into pawns, forcing the humans into fortified camps, where every foray is a potential fight for survival.
They actually have this already if I understand the OP correctly. Their shamans can convert wild animals. This was almost the only major advantage they had initially over the humans.
Maybe these dinosaurs can kill an gnat from 50 yards. With Mind Bullets.
:mrgreen:
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by RRoan »

Starglider wrote:Oh and also on the list is the nuclear weapon targeteering simulation game I promised Shep I'd make some day. The main reason I am not enthused about that one is the fact that the set of potential players would consist of about 30% of the HPCA board, 20% of HAB, and no one else. :)
I know some people who definitely would play it. I'd just have to tell them about it. :P
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Vastatosaurus Rex »

Here's another idea for an RTS game, one I hope comes across as more innovative than the one in the OP. The idea is rooted in the observation that almost every RTS game currently out has you play as a preset civilization with certain bonuses and weaknesses. What if, instead of having to choose from a number of civilizations with predetermined gameplay styles, you were given a degree of choice as to your civilization's strengths and weaknesses as you played the game. You would develop the culture of your civilization as you played.

For example, by selecting which technologies or tech trees you would research, you could choose which weapons your units would be more proficient at. Perhaps you live in an open grassland or desert and therefore want to focus on upgrades for your archers, since your habitat allows shooting from a distance. On the other hand, if you start off in a thick forest or jungle, where ranged weapons are less practical, you could make your melee units the more proficient ones instead. You would therefore have the ability to choose which unit types were your best during the gameplay, rather than starting off with a pre-created civilization that had strong archers, strong cavalry, or what not.

Perhaps you would be able to customize your economic strengths and weaknesses as well. Maybe you want a civilization that's better at gathering gold, or maybe one that can build farms on less fertile ground.

You could also determine whether your civilization would be technologically primitive or advanced. Obviously going the advanced route, in traditional RTS style, would give you certain advantages, but what if there were also pluses to staying primitive? Choosing to be nomadic, and therefore gain the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct your buildings, could give you greater mobility. In fact, being primitive would give all of your units superior mobility, because they wouldn't be burdened with heavy metal armor and weapons. Of course, going primitive would require you to use different battle tactics than going advanced. If you chose to be primitive, you'd probably rely on guerrilla tactics a lot more than you would if you chose to be hi-tech.

In summary, I'm describing a game where you could customize your civilization during gameplay instead of choosing from pre-created civilizations. You develop your civ as you go along. Could this work?
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Samuel »

They have that in Empire Earth. You can choose a basic civilization or customize your bonuses (with the second being more flexible, but with less overall benefits).
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Vastatosaurus Rex »

Samuel wrote:They have that in Empire Earth. You can choose a basic civilization or customize your bonuses (with the second being more flexible, but with less overall benefits).
Really? I recall that you could create your own civilization before playing the game, but I was thinking more along the lines of choosing your bonuses while playing the game, therefore allowing you to adjust your culture to the game environment.
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Samuel »

Vastatosaurus Rex wrote:
Samuel wrote:They have that in Empire Earth. You can choose a basic civilization or customize your bonuses (with the second being more flexible, but with less overall benefits).
Really? I recall that you could create your own civilization before playing the game, but I was thinking more along the lines of choosing your bonuses while playing the game, therefore allowing you to adjust your culture to the game environment.
Custom civilizations can be designed at any time during the game. I don't remember if the bonuses all have to be selected at once or not, but you don't have to choose immediately (or at all).
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Re: I have an idea for a computer game

Post by Redleader34 »

Shinn Langley Soryu wrote:Setting aside my knee-jerk hostility (I obviously wasn't thinking clearly when I wrote up that initial rant) and actually reading that article, some of the things suggested there would actually go well with a war game...provided they were implemented properly, of course.

For instance, suggestion #3, or the "Fog of Bullshit" as David Wong so eloquently put it, might go well with an open-ended game where intelligence-gathering is important, but it'd be a one-trick pony unless you take the effort to program your game engine to randomize the scenario with every playthrough; it'd be pretty easy to cut through that fog if you know exactly where the fortresses and the aspirin factories are and can distinguish between them every single time, after all. Suggestion #12 (units that go rogue and engage in illicit activities, try to frag you, and/or desert if left to their own devices) might be worth something if you want a game with a focus on unit morale, but it can easily devolve into dating sim-style relationship meter micromanagement where you spend more time babying your squaddies to keep them on the straight and narrow than actually accomplishing your objectives.

Hell, the whole public relations angle as a whole is actually quite intriguing, but it would probably just be bastardized into a BioWare-style "sliding scale of saint versus mass murderer" karma meter if it were to be used as an actual game mechanic; everything else (the congressional hearings, the celebrity interviews, the pundits, et cetera) would just be cutscenes that play depending on where you lie on that scale.

His suggestions pretty much feel like Shadow President's system where if you fuck up enough, you can be kicked out.
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