This is purely a thought experiment.
My hope is that these discussions will lead to ideas that can be developed in Elite: Dangerous to make it a better game.
With Frontier's and Braben's blessing, suppose a new Elite, Elite: Universe, can be user funded, fleshed out, and developed. What would you want to see in this new game?
I will give what I think should be in this new game. You can comment on my vision, or you can create your own.
Remember, this is purely a thought experiment.
From the ground up Elite: Universe is designed to be an MMO, client/server simulation. I name it simulation because it will be more that than a game.
Space Legs is a must. The focus will be on the commander and their experience. You are nothing but a frail human being, and a first person experience, being able to hurt, loose, and reduced to the tiniest, insignificant gnat compared to the vastness and deadly space.
I know some argue that in Elite: Dangerous you can do everything from your ship, but the CMDR is missing out on the vast experiences to be had walking around the station, interacting with people and NPC, and avoiding cut-throat assassins sent to claim pounds of flesh because of a mission you failed or abandoned.
You should still be able to do all the basic things from your ship, though, like getting missions, ordering ship layouts, or refueling. These things should not be instant and proper animation needs to be added to show these things happening.
While your ship is being serviced and loaded, you should have the ability to walk about the station, hear the sounds, smell the smells, and perhaps pickup on a tip. Or that damn snitch that's always telling your business to any pirate's ready ear! And have the ability to confront the snitch on what they told the pirate, then dispose of the snitch and find another way to complete your mission.
In the shadier parts of the station, you should be able to procure some quality OnionHead and take a break from reality for a while.
If you're feeling frisky, you could either go to a bar and have a few drinks. Maybe you'll hear a good space tale or two. Or go to a club and dance the night away. You might find a nice Irish lass that would be able to fly with you a bit for fame, fortune, or... other things. :-D
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In the effort to create an emergent game, a proper particle system must be implemented. Ships are no longer immutable objects with modules. They will be made out of material. Yes, we will go down to the atomic level, but won't have to model each and every atom. There will be groups of atoms referenced as a single object, and all the atoms that make up this single object will act and interact as if in real life. The object can be split into two objects, for example, when it takes damage and breaks into separate objects. They can be put back together using methods of smelting and molding, etc.
Yes, I know this will be a complex system, but the simplicity of modeling individual atoms in a group known as objects can create complex interactions that are unforeseen by the original intent, and lead to emergent behavior.
In this way a CMDR can tinker with their frame shift drive, or their power-plant to eek out that much more power or efficiency from their FSD by trying different configurations, material, etc. There are so many permutations in this that not even the devs could predict what would happen. Nothing might happen, slight or significant improvements can be made, or the FSD can blow up mid-jump, and where would that leave the CMDR? Depending on the interaction of space and objects will determine the CMDR's fate.
---
NPC's need real AI. There is so much potential in the user base! I'm pretty sure there are AI researchers out there that would love to put their foot in a system like this! Imagine an NPC that can interact with a CMDR and remain indistinguishable from any other CMDR!
---
The universe must be alive and changing. There should be no magic processes. It should be a simulation, and CMDR's and NPC's merely actors in this universe.
---
Well, this is just an introduction of what I think Elite: Universe would be. It is a massive undertaking. The first person to mention Star Citizen, except for just now, will be forced to wash their mouth out with soap! lol
The user base is amazing, and with the proper management, coordination, and partitioning I'm sure we could pull this off.
What's your two cents?
My hope is that these discussions will lead to ideas that can be developed in Elite: Dangerous to make it a better game.
With Frontier's and Braben's blessing, suppose a new Elite, Elite: Universe, can be user funded, fleshed out, and developed. What would you want to see in this new game?
I will give what I think should be in this new game. You can comment on my vision, or you can create your own.
Remember, this is purely a thought experiment.
From the ground up Elite: Universe is designed to be an MMO, client/server simulation. I name it simulation because it will be more that than a game.
Space Legs is a must. The focus will be on the commander and their experience. You are nothing but a frail human being, and a first person experience, being able to hurt, loose, and reduced to the tiniest, insignificant gnat compared to the vastness and deadly space.
I know some argue that in Elite: Dangerous you can do everything from your ship, but the CMDR is missing out on the vast experiences to be had walking around the station, interacting with people and NPC, and avoiding cut-throat assassins sent to claim pounds of flesh because of a mission you failed or abandoned.
You should still be able to do all the basic things from your ship, though, like getting missions, ordering ship layouts, or refueling. These things should not be instant and proper animation needs to be added to show these things happening.
While your ship is being serviced and loaded, you should have the ability to walk about the station, hear the sounds, smell the smells, and perhaps pickup on a tip. Or that damn snitch that's always telling your business to any pirate's ready ear! And have the ability to confront the snitch on what they told the pirate, then dispose of the snitch and find another way to complete your mission.
In the shadier parts of the station, you should be able to procure some quality OnionHead and take a break from reality for a while.
If you're feeling frisky, you could either go to a bar and have a few drinks. Maybe you'll hear a good space tale or two. Or go to a club and dance the night away. You might find a nice Irish lass that would be able to fly with you a bit for fame, fortune, or... other things. :-D
-------
In the effort to create an emergent game, a proper particle system must be implemented. Ships are no longer immutable objects with modules. They will be made out of material. Yes, we will go down to the atomic level, but won't have to model each and every atom. There will be groups of atoms referenced as a single object, and all the atoms that make up this single object will act and interact as if in real life. The object can be split into two objects, for example, when it takes damage and breaks into separate objects. They can be put back together using methods of smelting and molding, etc.
Yes, I know this will be a complex system, but the simplicity of modeling individual atoms in a group known as objects can create complex interactions that are unforeseen by the original intent, and lead to emergent behavior.
In this way a CMDR can tinker with their frame shift drive, or their power-plant to eek out that much more power or efficiency from their FSD by trying different configurations, material, etc. There are so many permutations in this that not even the devs could predict what would happen. Nothing might happen, slight or significant improvements can be made, or the FSD can blow up mid-jump, and where would that leave the CMDR? Depending on the interaction of space and objects will determine the CMDR's fate.
---
NPC's need real AI. There is so much potential in the user base! I'm pretty sure there are AI researchers out there that would love to put their foot in a system like this! Imagine an NPC that can interact with a CMDR and remain indistinguishable from any other CMDR!
---
The universe must be alive and changing. There should be no magic processes. It should be a simulation, and CMDR's and NPC's merely actors in this universe.
---
Well, this is just an introduction of what I think Elite: Universe would be. It is a massive undertaking. The first person to mention Star Citizen, except for just now, will be forced to wash their mouth out with soap! lol
The user base is amazing, and with the proper management, coordination, and partitioning I'm sure we could pull this off.
What's your two cents?
