Player-driven building creation (still with storyline)

[Ars Nova]

Start off with an event for Founders. Founders log on to an orbital space station, and when there are a certain number of players / after a certain time, the station drops the initial construction unit for the starting building. Then the players drop in, and have to defend the unit and collect construction resources. (basically, there would be an enemy base nearby, which we have to take over and loot for materials.)
Then, once the building is complete, it deploys the Founder's Wall.
After that, new players are allowed to join the game, starting inside the newly constructed building.
As we explore new areas, the main building sends a construction team to set up the new buildings, and we have to defend them, and provide materials.
Player/Army bases built wherever(?) they want.

 

[Thunderstrike]

A space station testing ground with some basic "simulated" AI enemies, abilities and multiplayer would be pretty interesting for a prototype location before terraforming and everything is added. Dunno if that would be an efficient use of resources though.

 

[Ars Nova]

Well, we don't have to "actually" have a space station to start in, they could join a "lobby" which is just a flat area on the ground of the planet, (with invisible barriers stopping people from going too far/getting a head start exploring), and then at the right time, there's a cinematic of the interstellar transport/orbital space station getting into position, and we all glide into the starting area to fight of the Tsihu and demolish their base to build ours. We are the Founders, and story-wise, we would be the initial team sent to the planet, and are already trained, and as such don't need to go through a 'tutorial', and we set up the starting base, (F.O.B. ???) where new players/non-founders go through the tutorial, the "Combat-Ready Exam".
Since the starting people are Founders, we would assume they know how to operate the Omniframes, having presumably played in the Alpha/Closed Beta.

 

[TankHunter678]

I think the Space Station/Ship idea could work. Reason being is that the assets used could be reused as a tutorial area and as an alternative Fast Travel option between bubbles via Drop Pod or shuttle. Also treat the tutorial as a "refresher course" since the player character would be treated as having been in cold sleep during the transit and could use the exercise to work the kinks out.

 

[ApisLove]

I like that. Returning from cold sleep. New players are bound to be sluggish, so a tutorial could be played off as something normal that people go through.

 

[Vladplaya]

Although really cool sounding, one time events like that, only for limited player base, is a colossal waste of everything.

Unless they will create them in such way that they can reuse the same events over and over again, I rather them spend their time and resources on something that will be used by everyone and on daily bases.

 

[EvilKitten]

I would imagine that the first and most important base set up on EM-8ER, before any other buildings or structures are built would be the construction of a Space Elevator. The station at the end of the elevator would be a prime location for all players to begin their ember journey, with a giant window looking down at the planet. They can set up their character, perhaps do some fast "intro to game mechanics" runthrough, join a faction if that ever becomes a thing, and then descend the elevator to the planets surface. Welcome to EM-8ER.

The space aspect of EM-8ER development might be military run by whatever human government exists in the Crixa universe. The military would run the station and the immediate vicininity around the base of the Elevator. Everything outside of that would be up to corporate development. Particularly to get players hooked it would be interesting if they had the chance to pass through a military command center where the top brass are keeping tabs on the Tsihu situation, various personnel could be talking about them, to give the players some backstory/lore about what is going on prior to landfall.

Because none of the conversation is being directed at the character, players who don't care about lore or story, or who have already gone through the station before can simply keep walking on. Others who are new and interested in the story can stop and listen. This adds some player agency as to whether to skip some of the "intro" or not. It's not just a "press spacebar to skip" it's literally built into the environment.

 

[Ars Nova]

Although really cool sounding, one time events like that, only for limited player base, is a colossal waste of everything.

Unless they will create them in such way that they can reuse the same events over and over again, I rather them spend their time and resources on something that will be used by everyone and on daily bases.

If the "space station" isn't an asset, and just a cinematic, and the 'lobby' is the actual ground on the map, and they are simply restricting players to an area temporarily while they wait for 30 mins or something, then the only 'waste' would be a cinematic... which would basically be part of the planet lore... and therefore not wasted if it is posted somewhere as advertising... like, say, on the Steam page...

 

[13umbleBee]

Although really cool sounding, one time events like that, only for limited player base, is a colossal waste of everything.

Unless they will create them in such way that they can reuse the same events over and over again, I rather them spend their time and resources on something that will be used by everyone and on daily bases.

As much as I loved the idea of a founder's event. I have to say that I agree with Vlad's comment.

This is similar to Blizzard's original approach to Top tiered raids where only a small select of the player base ever saw the encounter, that the dev's put so much effort into.

If it was somehow reusable, as part of the new players induction. Then it might be worth putting time towards it.

Love the idea tho.. I could picture it in my head as I read it and I think it would be an amazing way for ALL of us founders/backers to kick start the game. But in the end, I have to be practical about it.

13B

 

[Beemann]

This is similar to Blizzard's original approach to Top tiered raids where only a small select of the player base ever saw the encounter, that the dev's put so much effort into.

You mean the thing that happened before WoW's playerbase dropped so hard that Blizzard stopped reporting it?

Events are actually an exceedingly important part of having an online game with any sense of narrative. However I'd suggest making the triggers for such events hidden, and not mention them all in patch notes

For instance. Maybe there's some giant Tsihu ship. Its appearance is only triggered when X number of large Tsihu structures are destroyed. To combat this, people need to construct a special platform with a BFG on it to shoot it down. You now have players responsible for getting the resources needed, the people who crafted the parts, the people who defended the platform, and whoever presses the big red button that shoots the ship down all involved in the process. Maybe there's even a little plaque afterwards that goes "these cool guys saved us from getting bombed by a hugeass battleship"

It IS reusable, but it shouldn't be reused often.

You can have other scenarios like this too. Someone finds a new rare fuel source, someone accidentally creates or unleashes a giant mutant/mechanical basekiller, etc.

In a game entirely based around dynamic events and player-driven base expansion, big events can change things up, promote exploration, and provide a sense of narrative structure without leaning on shitty questlines

 

[13umbleBee]

You mean the thing that happened before WoW's playerbase dropped so hard that Blizzard stopped reporting it?

LOL.. yea that

 

[Vladplaya]

If the "space station" isn't an asset, and just a cinematic, and the 'lobby' is the actual ground on the map, and they are simply restricting players to an area temporarily while they wait for 30 mins or something, then the only 'waste' would be a cinematic... which would basically be part of the planet lore... and therefore not wasted if it is posted somewhere as advertising... like, say, on the Steam page...

The cinematic will probably end up been the most expensive part of the whole deal. Someone has to model the assets, texture them, animate, create sounds, spend time assembling it all together and then do the post production touch up.
I rather them actually do that all for the game so we can be in the station and drop from it when we start the game, or discover and move to new planets. That would be really sweet for sure, because it's cool and it would be a reusable mechanic. And even then, this is like far future if the game takes off and they have time and money to work on something that luxurious.

 

[EvilKitten]

The cinematic will probably end up been the most expensive part of the whole deal. Someone has to model the assets, texture them, animate, create sounds, spend time assembling it all together and then do the post production touch up.
I rather them actually do that all for the game so we can be in the station and drop from it when we start the game, or discover and move to new planets. That would be really sweet for sure, because it's cool and it would be a reusable mechanic. And even then, this is like far future if the game takes off and they have time and money to work on something that luxurious.

That's why I suggested the intro be reusable assets with the intro being the player either ordered to do things or background chatter that you can stop and listen to. I still think that the player base would be a good source to pull from for random chatter noise and some single lines of comments from general NPC's (and probably most players would do it for free).

 

[Ars Nova]

But... we COULD be as efficient as possible... or we could launch the game with a BANG!

 

[TankHunter678]

But... we COULD be as efficient as possible... or we could launch the game with a BANG!

And then cry because that bang meant so much had to be cut to make it happen and people leave, resulting in even less funding for content expansions.

 

[Ars Nova]

And then cry because that bang meant so much had to be cut to make it happen and people leave, resulting in even less funding for content expansions.

Dude. I can't even...
Look, I am a programmer, and I know how much work would go into this. You could *literally* knock this over in a couple of hours. Especially because THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE MADE EXTRA IS THE INSIDE OF A SPACE STATION. LIKE ONE ROOM. THEN YOU RIG A COUPLE OF CHARACTERS. Oh, wait, YOU DONT HAVE TO. Because you can use the same assets you would use for player characters. And let's face it, if you don't have those, you don't have a game.
Next step: Animate the characters, give them a voice-over, and film inside UE4. Not hard, seeing as you already have all the pieces. It's *almost* like UE4 was made for this. Last step, is populate a base on the ground with mobs, because at this stage you have already built the planet's map. Then you drop the players in and let them play.
Now, tell me... what EXACTLY is being 'cut' for this?
And... you expect the crowdfunding to cover content expansion? You don't want to see, say, an alpha, closed beta, and open beta, with a working game, BEFORE you get more content?

 

[Henvar]

Stopped reading after "event for founders".

 

[TankHunter678]

Dude. I can't even...
Look, I am a programmer, and I know how much work would go into this. You could *literally* knock this over in a couple of hours. Especially because THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE MADE EXTRA IS THE INSIDE OF A SPACE STATION. LIKE ONE ROOM. THEN YOU RIG A COUPLE OF CHARACTERS. Oh, wait, YOU DONT HAVE TO. Because you can use the same assets you would use for player characters. And let's face it, if you don't have those, you don't have a game.
Next step: Animate the characters, give them a voice-over, and film inside UE4. Not hard, seeing as you already have all the pieces. It's *almost* like UE4 was made for this. Last step, is populate a base on the ground with mobs, because at this stage you have already built the planet's map. Then you drop the players in and let them play.
Now, tell me... what EXACTLY is being 'cut' for this?
And... you expect the crowdfunding to cover content expansion? You don't want to see, say, an alpha, closed beta, and open beta, with a working game, BEFORE you get more content?

Because founders would expect "the drop" to be a full on cinematic, not a loading screen and then you are on the ground. The space station room would also need a view of the planet before the drop.

And you are speaking just from the programming side and not taking into account that art assets are the most expensive part of the project. Any art assets made need to be of the reusable kind, or are something everyone is going to see NOT just the founders. Otherwise its a waste of money that could have gone into content development for the alpha and closed/open beta stages and causes people to leave when we needed them the most for funding.

Art is expensive, programming is cheap even if it would be slow with a small group.

 

[Ars Nova]

Because founders would expect "the drop" to be a full on cinematic, not a loading screen and then you are on the ground. The space station room would also need a view of the planet before the drop.

And you are speaking just from the programming side and not taking into account that art assets are the most expensive part of the project. Any art assets made need to be of the reusable kind, or are something everyone is going to see NOT just the founders. Otherwise its a waste of money that could have gone into content development for the alpha and closed/open beta stages and causes people to leave when we needed them the most for funding.

Art is expensive, programming is cheap even if it would be slow with a small group.

First of all, as i have already stated, THEY COULD JUST USE THE ART ASSETS THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE/HAVE ALREADY MADE FOR THE GAME. The inside of a space ship might as well be a room in a building.

Second of all, the drop would NOT be a cinematic, they would spawn with glider pads, or from a dropship that follows a preset trajectory, things that will likely happen for missions and raids and stuff, like they did in FireFall. Ergo, part of the gameplay, no extra assets required.

Lastly, the "view of the planet" for the cinematic could literally just be a stationary image, as they could *easily* be imagined as being in geostationary orbit. Because that's what you do when you want to land in a specific spot easily.

 

[Silv3r Shadow]

I'd like to see some kind of guild centre where guids hang out near spawn area. Can present guild banners with top, random and newly created guilds, etc.