So I'm realizing I put piles of ideas and such in the wiki without actually confirming an overall direction for the game. So I thought I'd throw a few items in a thread here, answers & discussion will help in presenting the future to others as well (be it other projects or new contributors). So here's a quick list (mostly linked to the stuff already on the http://wiki.movingblocks.net/Blockmania/MajorConcepts page) to confirm our direction:
1) Finite materials - thinking this is a given as so much other stuff depends on it. Not discounting free-build switches or modes, but for the core game I'm thinking you get what you mine / find / trade for and that's it. So a focus on resource gathering
2) Finite inventory - somewhat goes with the above. I'm thinking less inventory space than MC (no stacking massive piles of huge blocks of rock), but still a solid bit more than what you'd realistically expect a humanoid to carry
3) Rarity of materials - some stuff will be harder to find than other stuff, and some materials might not even be in the mix in some chunks or even biomes (encourages travel / spreading influence / trade in multiplayer)
4) Task-specific workshops - to give purpose to having more than a single workbench that can do just about everything. Encourages actually putting functional objects in the different rooms of your giant skull-castle. Ties somewhat to the idea of a "tech tree" or ladder that you climb over time.
5) Survival - both staying alive against hostiles and the environment (food, protection, etc - brings in farming, equipment, and so on). Adds immersion to the world
6) Minions - core game angle to differentiate from others, and a major hook-in for the DwarfFortress / DungeonKeeper part of the overall inspiration. I don't know of any one MC-like that has done minions yet (FortressCraft mentioned it, but hasn't done it, and people have been crying for a multiplayer-DF for years)
* Hooks in with finite resources as minions can be used to harvest stuff (minions harvest slower, but there are more of them)
* Hooks in with finite inventory as minions can be used to haul stuff (minions carry less, but there are more of them)
* Hooks in with rarity as you can cover more ground with minions
* Hooks in with workshops (including residences) to use up more space and material
* Hooks in with survival as some minions can help fight and consume resources themselves
- adds plenty of complexity (especially in multiplayer) but I'd like to think it worth it
7) Sub-blocks - this would be neat and tie into building custom blocks (more workshops!), plus could be used for extra shininess via physics. Can we commit to this being a fundamental goal for the engine? Not looking at heavy physics detail (yet!)
8) Designating blocks - blueprinting, defining rooms, sub-blocking, etc (supporting ability for other features)
The online AI class I'm taking is making me want to code pathfinding for minions already, but need actual minions to pathfind for first!
1) Finite materials - thinking this is a given as so much other stuff depends on it. Not discounting free-build switches or modes, but for the core game I'm thinking you get what you mine / find / trade for and that's it. So a focus on resource gathering
2) Finite inventory - somewhat goes with the above. I'm thinking less inventory space than MC (no stacking massive piles of huge blocks of rock), but still a solid bit more than what you'd realistically expect a humanoid to carry
3) Rarity of materials - some stuff will be harder to find than other stuff, and some materials might not even be in the mix in some chunks or even biomes (encourages travel / spreading influence / trade in multiplayer)
4) Task-specific workshops - to give purpose to having more than a single workbench that can do just about everything. Encourages actually putting functional objects in the different rooms of your giant skull-castle. Ties somewhat to the idea of a "tech tree" or ladder that you climb over time.
5) Survival - both staying alive against hostiles and the environment (food, protection, etc - brings in farming, equipment, and so on). Adds immersion to the world
6) Minions - core game angle to differentiate from others, and a major hook-in for the DwarfFortress / DungeonKeeper part of the overall inspiration. I don't know of any one MC-like that has done minions yet (FortressCraft mentioned it, but hasn't done it, and people have been crying for a multiplayer-DF for years)
* Hooks in with finite resources as minions can be used to harvest stuff (minions harvest slower, but there are more of them)
* Hooks in with finite inventory as minions can be used to haul stuff (minions carry less, but there are more of them)
* Hooks in with rarity as you can cover more ground with minions
* Hooks in with workshops (including residences) to use up more space and material
* Hooks in with survival as some minions can help fight and consume resources themselves
- adds plenty of complexity (especially in multiplayer) but I'd like to think it worth it
7) Sub-blocks - this would be neat and tie into building custom blocks (more workshops!), plus could be used for extra shininess via physics. Can we commit to this being a fundamental goal for the engine? Not looking at heavy physics detail (yet!)
8) Designating blocks - blueprinting, defining rooms, sub-blocking, etc (supporting ability for other features)
The online AI class I'm taking is making me want to code pathfinding for minions already, but need actual minions to pathfind for first!