🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <32701E...@bfwa.com>,
Bruce F. Webster <bweb...@bfwa.com> wrote:
>Scott Le Grand wrote:
>> 
>> Bruce F. Webster wrote:
>> >
>> 
>> > Probably more than y'all wanted to know, but there it is. 
>> > ...thanks again for the kind words.  ..bruce..
>> 
>> Thanks for yet another reminder why I constantly fight the
>> battle against Texture-Mapped 3D fighting Hell...
>> 
>> Scott Le Grand
>> Head Coder
>> 4Play
>> "It's the gameplay, stupid..."
>
>I must confess that I get a real kick out of the modern SFX in games. I
>just about wept the first time I booted up The Hive, remembering what
>the Apple II graphics in SunDog were like, and I told someone recently
>that when I want to get in touch with my inner child, I boot up DOOM. 

So do I :)

>That said, I haven't come across much out today that holds my attention
>for any length of time. It is, of course, an easy cliche, and one common
>in many fields, to pooh-pooh flashy technical advances and yearn for
>'true art'...but that doesn't make it less true. 
>
>_That_ said, the gameplay in SunDog had some major flaws (IMHO). It took
>too long to complete the game, with too much repetition, and there
>wasn't much in the way of plot or non-player characters--all things I
>wanted to fix in Old Scores to Settle. But what I think hooked people on
>SunDog--in spite of those flaws--was that Wayne and I wanted to build a
>pocket universe that one person could kick around in. We wanted to avoid
>what Wayne termed "railroad games" that kept you on a track from start
>to finish. 

I agree with the repetition, but I didn't mind too much since the game
kept my attention so well. I did a lot of repetitious things to get lots
of money so I wouldn't have to worry about it later... the most lucrative
of which was buying control nodes on Jondd and selling them in bars on
Woremed for a really large profit. It took a while, but after I had done
it a few times, I had enough money to finish the game. The other way (and
more cathartic) was to buy a scattergun and a shield and sit in the street
waiting for hapless muggers to blast. 

>There are, of course, many games out that offer complex, rich universes
>where you populate worlds, negotiate with other governments, and wage
>vast wars. Ours was one person, wandering around, fending off muggers
>and pirates, patching up critical systems, buying illegal components in
>bars to customize your ship, and trying to keep some cash in the bank. I
>think in retrospect that this is why folks still think of SunDog
>fondly--there was a personal dimension and a freedom that were
>appealing. 

I think you've got it there- it's the same reason why people still yearn
for Elite and Ulima IV... for most of the game you are just one small
inhabitant of a complex world... and you have the choice to do whatever
you feel like. Especially in Elite, where you could be anything from a
space merchant to an asteroid miner to a pirate- it was up to you.

>Come to think of it, it's probably just as well there aren't many games
>like that around--my personal and professional life would probably be
>ruined. :-) But don't let that stop any one from trying. ..bruce..

Well, I have been developing an idea for the perfect 'life-ruining' game
(and I mean that in a good way) for some time. I'm not a programmer, but I
hope that some programmer will see my idea and have a go at it...

I define the game in terms of other games in the past, for ease of
understanding, and because I liked their features. The first obvious combo
is one of Elite/Sundog style. Elite had a larger universe than Sundog, and
I liked the options. However, in Elite, you really weren't a person- you
were your ship. I want the flight engine of Elite (or even Frontier:Elite
II) and the complex universe of FEII, with the personal view of Sundog.
I'd like to leave my ship at space stations and wander into bars and
places like that. Make better deals than you could get on the open
market...
I also liked the ability to buy new ships with different capacities and
specialties in FEII. The ship component aspect of Sundog was brilliant. We
need to keep that. Differnt ships should use the same components but in
different amounts and configurations.
The choices of lifestyle should be open to several possibilities like in
Elite and FEII and Sundog. It would be nice to have a couple of larger
quests like there is the one in Sundog, and some smaller quicker ones like
in FEII and to a lesser extent Elite, just to keep things interesting. 
The problem with Elite and FEII is that once you have the best ship
bristling with weapons and more money than you could ever spend, there's
nothing to do. So I suggest a new level to the game, where you would have
the ability (with a sufficiently obscene amount of cash) to buy a space
station and hire traders (or pirates) to do the flying for you while you
administrate, with the eventual goal of this section of the game being
economic control of the planet or the system... then perhaps even a switch
to a conquering phase as you buy armies and attack the powers that be (or
am I getting way too ambitious?)

Anyhow, it sounds like the perfect game to me :) I'd never play anything
else...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Josh Carpman            | Atheist / Furry / Artist / Foxboro Engineer
Paracelsus on FurryMUCK | Rice University BSChE '94
rac...@neosoft.com     | *** DARE TO BE TRUE *** M.A. '90
----------------------------------------------------------------------
        UNWANTED EMAIL SOLICITATION SUBJECT TO 500 DOLLAR FINE