Kalesin wrote:As I like to show ideas with pictures, and now I have no time, I put "fan-art" I did a while, while I am designing ideas.
I have read very good ideas here.
Fantastic!!
Kalesin wrote:As I like to show ideas with pictures, and now I have no time, I put "fan-art" I did a while, while I am designing ideas.
I have read very good ideas here.
This is a great idea, but I have a twist. Why not have the U.S. and the Soviets/USSR compete for partners for the 'race into space'? The U.S. and Russia can try and influence other nations space programs to join with them. You get influence points for missions that were successful, and points deducted for failures. Then as time goes forward, the 2 major powers can try and compete for other space agencies when they ramp up, like the ESA, or JAXA (and the list of space agencies is quite large). The costs for a moon and/or a manned mission to Mars is quite large, so you'll need other nations to join you to help offset the cost for these missions. Then maybe to throw in as another player, or maybe only as a computer opponent the PRC agency.EleSigma wrote:If competition mode is continued into part 2 and 3. I was thinking that instead of it being completely linear like the USSR vs. US, the sides could expand to East vs. West, with the East composing of USSR/Russia, China, India missions and the West composing of U.S., EU and Japanese missions. There could also be joint missions that would give equal prestige to both sides and maybe also provide some political bonuses.
Also will the Soviets/Russians have the option to pursue either a shuttle or stick to rockets? It would also be interesting if the U.S. also had that option, imagine a game where neither side used shuttles and just kept using rockets to lift craft and cargo into orbit.
Indeed, yes, the idea is that if you're playing as NASA you can gain support from other agencies, such as ESA and JAXA. If you're the soviets, you can partner with China. The bit I need to decide is the goal of the race for the post-Apollo era (i.e., what do you need to do in order to beat your opponent). In the first part of the game, the goal was clear: get to the Moon first. But for the second part I find it a bit more difficult. One possible end goal can be to build a self-sustainable agency, which starts with government support in the beginning and then it starts building up an infrastructure that provides services to the private sector (research/manufacturing for private companies, space tourism, etc) in order to achieve self-sufficiency.EleSigma wrote:If competition mode is continued into part 2 and 3. I was thinking that instead of it being completely linear like the USSR vs. US, the sides could expand to East vs. West, with the East composing of USSR/Russia, China, India missions and the West composing of U.S., EU and Japanese missions. There could also be joint missions that would give equal prestige to both sides and maybe also provide some political bonuses.
Yes, from a gameplay point of view we'll definitely need to find a good reason for the players to go for the Space Shuttle route. I believe this will be tied up to the political dimension of the game, where assembling the station by using the Space Shuttle might be more expensive but, at the same time, it can produce higher prestige or technology that can be used in SSTO vehicles.EleSigma wrote:Also will the Soviets/Russians have the option to pursue either a shuttle or stick to rockets? It would also be interesting if the U.S. also had that option, imagine a game where neither side used shuttles and just kept using rockets to lift craft and cargo into orbit.
The shuttle could give a massive short term prestige boost at the expense of costs for repairs and maintenance. So if you're confident and good with funds then you could build the shuttle, putting you ahead of the competition and then try to balance funding and keep that prestige up to stay on top. Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.Nacho84 wrote: Yes, from a gameplay point of view we'll definitely need to find a good reason for the players to go for the Space Shuttle route. I believe this will be tied up to the political dimension of the game, where assembling the station by using the Space Shuttle might be more expensive but, at the same time, it can produce higher prestige or technology that can be used in SSTO vehicles.
Thank you all again for your input!
Cheers,
Sorry, what do you mean by "losing part 2" in this context? Is there any reason why not pursuing the shuttle would mean you lose in the second episode?EleSigma wrote:Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.
I mean that if you didn't pursue the shuttle and the opponent did then they could get a large prestige advantage over you. You would have to play catch up. By "losing part 2" I mean you might hit the end date with less prestige than the opponent but when you continue the game in part 3 you could make a comeback.Nacho84 wrote:Sorry, what do you mean by "losing part 2" in this context? Is there any reason why not pursuing the shuttle would mean you lose in the second episode?EleSigma wrote:Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.
Cheers,
Do you meant something like Kalesin showed us?Nacho84 wrote:
I'm happy to learn that many of your comments match the direction we would like to give to SPM (more flexibility when planning missions [...]
Cheers,
That would be fantastic!Kalesin wrote:
Gotcha, yes. So basically what you suggest is make part 2 a "race for prestige"? Will prestige be the way to measure the factions' performance against each other?EleSigma wrote:I mean that if you didn't pursue the shuttle and the opponent did then they could get a large prestige advantage over you. You would have to play catch up. By "losing part 2" I mean you might hit the end date with less prestige than the opponent but when you continue the game in part 3 you could make a comeback.Nacho84 wrote:Sorry, what do you mean by "losing part 2" in this context? Is there any reason why not pursuing the shuttle would mean you lose in the second episode?EleSigma wrote:Or you could (as the U.S. or Soviets) choose not to use the shuttle and be an underdog, possibly losing part 2, but maybe succeed in the long run (part 3) but still being at a disadvantage due to the research and technology you would be missing out from not researching the shuttle.
Cheers,
Though if you landed on the moon first in part 1 and didn't pursue the shuttle in part 2 you probably wouldn't be in such a dire position.
Yes, we certainly want to move away from this "mission configuration" structure we have at the moment: it doesn't give the players enough freedom and, from a development point of view, adding a new mission configuration to an existing program is a very involved process (we need to modify the database spreadsheet, write a mission data script, a mission animation script, etc). A very involved processclem59285 wrote:
Do you meant something like Kalesin showed us?
That would be fantastic!
Exactly! Sorry I didn't word it well. Part 2 would be a race for prestige rather than there being a major defining victory condition like in part 1 and part 3.Nacho84 wrote: Gotcha, yes. So basically what you suggest is make part 2 a "race for prestige"? Will prestige be the way to measure the factions' performance against each other?
Cheers,
Launch first module for an ISSNacho84 wrote:EleSigma wrote:The bit I need to decide is the goal of the race for the post-Apollo era (i.e., what do you need to do in order to beat your opponent).