My project

[-fedexer-]

Well as of right now i don't even have a name for the game, i guess that'll come to me at some point. Anyway as i had said earlier i would create a thread to post some of my game idea concepts and get peoples input and cristicism on them, and maybe even some help filling in the blanks based on your experiences playing and developing pbbgs.

I am posting my ideas on evernote, this is because i can use it on the go to jot down my ideas via my phone as they come to me to get further worked on later.

So without further delay, i give you: http://www.evernote.com/pub/fedexer/-fedexer-dev

Please feel free to work through what very little i have so far ^^, i am very interested in everyones comments as this is my first time ever trying to develop a pbbg.

[Chris]

Whoa... You do have a problem (but considering how my design process looked like during the last competition I'm in no position to badmouth anyone)

First, drop this note software. Put everything in one file instead. And post it on forum (if you know someone else will read it on fourm it put additional pressure to write in a meaningful way). This kind of software is deceiving you, it makes you feel like you are making it organised way, but you don't. If you were to put it all in one txt file you would notice how completely random it is.


Anyway, I will post my design (I do like desigining games I won't be coding myself ), feel free to steal from it as much as you want

Map: There are several galaxies (when/how created?), each consists of 8-20 planets (1 planet = 1 player).
Time: Each hour resources are collected and production occurs. Each day a new global event is generated. Every 3 days galactic offices are distributed among players depending on their political standing.
Buildings can be erected at will for a price, built instantly.
Production mines produce resources, farms produce food, labs produce research points, factories produce ships (exact production is selected first and continued until orders are changed or there is shortage of resources)
War I: Planetary Control you can send ships over an orbit of a planet (how?) it requires fuel. If you have most ships over a planet then you get 20% of its production.
War II: Planetary Combat if you share ships with another player over a planet you can launch an attack. Combat occurs and you both lose ships. You both get "combat fame" which is connected to the certain planet only (winner gets more). You can not attack another player who has more combat fame OR you can attack but you get negative combat bonus.
Politics players can also produce Politicians. They can be sent to certain planets or to galactic senate. The player with most politician on a planet gets combat bonus, also their combat fame is considered +100% (the second best player gets +50% bonus). The politicians sent to galactic senate count for offices distribution which occurs every 3 days. The top X most senat politians players get 1-3 offices (economy/combat bonuses), all senator politicians get discarded every 3 days.
Victory After 6 months the round ends, planetary networth (buildings+ships) MULTIPLIED by number of offices determine the final score.

[Nox]

@Chris:
I understand your point but in this particular case I don't think it's random, I think it's ok.
I'm not sure your method is sutable for larger documents, I wouldn't want to break my mousewheel (well...it's broken, but that was not the point )

@-fedexer-:
I'll focus more on the actual contect, despite it's rather too brief now.

The division into galaxies and planets is imho rather irrelevant if you don't add how it will affect the game (it can be part of the design even if it doesn't affect anything, because details make the feeling as saying goes, but this is too basic for it).

As for the classes:
1) In other thread Chris stated that it's not good to present player with an option that would affect his whole game right at the beginning when he doesn't know anything about the class nor the game. This point is imho valid mostly in games where you don't have restarts.
2) Define how significant the classes will be and how much resources you'll put into creating them... if it's plain +3% bonus to something that it would imho rather be worth some temporal policy the player can choose and switch throughout the game, maybe even not worth the effort at all.
3) If you make your classes more detailed and significant, make sure they are all appealing, it would be bad to spend time making Sapper class when it will be played by 3% of players => that is of course - if you can make Sapper class not just balance-wise, but also design&description-wise and ability-wise just as appealing then you're of course free to make such classes and it would even be great and original

You're right, be careful with number of resources, that comes hand in hand with how your game is designed and for which target audience it aims.
There are games with 1-2 resources and it's fine, if you have combat-oriented game, I would be careful.
This issue is imho the lesser the more specific role your resources play, but again, not too much of them

Looking forward to progress

[Chris]

I wouldn't want to break my mousewheel (well...it's broken, but that was not the point )

...Nox, you are a genius, being able to break mousewheel requires a lot of ... I do not know a lot of what but you have it for sure

The division into galaxies and planets is imho rather irrelevant if you don't add how it will affect the game

Good point. And since I'm in a lazy mode today and want to avoid coding and doing real work I will post another design

Each planet has 5 colony slots and 5 outpost slots. Each player can have 1 colony (at the beginning it is a colonisation ship orbiting in space and can be moved to any planet with free colony slot anytime) and 5 outposts. New planets are auto generated when players register in a quantity that assure 25% more colony slots than needed (which also means that outpost slots will be always scarce).

Colony can be moved to any unoccupied planet (for a price, so they can not change planets all the time, but still they can change it if needed).
A player can have only one outpost on one planet, also colony and outpost can not coexist (in short only one base per planet per player).

Resources. Each planet has 2 of 12 resources. If you have a colony or mining outpost you have that resource. You can arrange trade with up to 5 players, you can select one resource that player has as if you had it (the other player does not lose the resource).

Industrial goods. Your colony can produce 1-3 industrial goods of your choice of 12 total. You can trade with up to 2 players FROM YOUR PLANET (it is considered if you had capability to produce that industrial good, exactly like with resources). In addition if you have the most merchants on a planet you have all industrial good types produced by all colonies on that planet. If you have 2-nd most merchants you can select 3 industrial good produced by any other colony. You can also trade with 1 player FROM ANY PLANET.

Economy. Your economy/production efficiency is increased by 5% for each different resource and industrial good you have access to (the max is 12+12 * 5%).


Combat:
- Colony can never be attacked, but it can be blocaded which results in -10% to production.
- Outpost can always be attacked and destroyed.
- You can decide to pay tribute to another player (the other player is not allowed to refuse, autoaccept) that has an outpost on the same planet. If you do so you give 5% of your colony production to that player, also that player can not attack this outpost and 50% of troops stationed on the protector's outpost will add to your outpost's defence (if both players pay tribute to themseleves then only 25% of their troops adds to other player's defence).
- If your outpost is eradicated then 80% of troops are evacuated to the colony.
- If you won against an oupost you have an option to take it over or rize to the ground.

Systems:
Planets are divided into systems consisting of around 10 planets. A player that has a colony on any planet of that system is considered citizen of that system.
- If player that does not have a colony on that system try to attack anyone on the system then total fleet strength of ALL players of both systems is compared. Only if the attacker's system fleet total is bigger than defending system the attack can be launched.
- Each system has a governor which is elected by all citizens. The governor can select 1 industrial good to be widely available to all citizens of that system (not outposts, only colonies).
- Each system has 10 admirals (players appointed by governor). Admirals can see all incoming attacks from other systems. Any admiral can raise temporarily defensive strength of the system's fleets (for next 15 minutes), but it can be done only 5 times a day.

[dsheroh]

@Chris:
I understand your point but in this particular case I don't think it's random, I think it's ok.
I'm not sure your method is sutable for larger documents, I wouldn't want to break my mousewheel (well...it's broken, but that was not the point )

Bah!  The single file containing the notes for my current game project is 1,557 lines (I generally work with it in vim, but OpenOffice calls it 27 pages) of things to be added - I delete sections as I finish coding them - and I don't even have a mousewheel.

A player can have only one outpost on one planet, also colony and outpost can not coexist (in short only one base per planet per player).
...
- If your outpost is eradicated then 80% of troops are evacuated to the colony.

Minor glitch there...  If the outpost is eradicated, 80% of troops are evacuated to which colony, given that players can't have a colony and an outpost on the same planet?

[Chris]

Bah!  The single file containing the notes for my current game project is 1,557 lines (I generally work with it in vim, but OpenOffice calls it 27 pages) of things to be added - I delete sections as I finish coding them - and I don't even have a mousewheel.

Yes, I had such huge docs too. One reached even 5 full pages, I never finished that one of course

Buy yourself a mousewheel, these are not pricy and definitely should cost less than a mouse

A player can have only one outpost on one planet, also colony and outpost can not coexist (in short only one base per planet per player).
...
- If your outpost is eradicated then 80% of troops are evacuated to the colony.

Minor glitch there...  If the outpost is eradicated, 80% of troops are evacuated to which colony, given that players can't have a colony and an outpost on the same planet?

Each player has exactly 1 colony. No more, no less.

[-fedexer-]

sorry i've gone so long without replying, i've been busy with school as of late and practicing for some tests i had coming up. Anyway i found your comments very informative and useful for that matter, it would definetly seem i need to lose the evernote technique then, as it had such a negative reaction :p Very interesting ideas btw guys, it kinda got playing on my mind, not sure i may try changing my original concept to include some of these ideas if you don't mind, definetly don't think i've seen many games with the colony concept and such

I need to find myself some time to get ideas down and a solid concept written up, even if it all just starts of rather patchy :s