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Research and Development game Mechanic


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So - file this under future “maybe” game mechanics.

 

Proposed mechanic - players spend in game money on research this purchases a research “unit”

Each “unit” equals a chance to develop a new technology. Game play balance - how much should they cost, how many should you be allowed to purchase. Blah, Blah, Blah, Something, something, balanced game play.

 

 Then when Novaquark develops and introduces to the game a new tech or element etc - a drawing takes place and the winner becomes the developer of the tech.

 

For example when star gates are introduced - some player becomes the “discoverer”  - they can then sell it - use it only themselves or choose to keep it hidden. Only for a certain period of time - then it becomes public domain.

 

Another variation of this would be discovery of lost alien tech being introduced in a similar way.

 

Another possible way to adjust game play balance of this mechanic would be to have multiple people become the developer. Or have the lost tech found in multiple locations.

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I would say differently. Whilst I do believe that when a new element comes out we should have to research it, I would prefer it if the players were actually involved in the discovery.

 

For example, for using an IP Drive (warp) we first need to make a stable warp bubble, which uses some variables (mass or volume of the ship) to come up with a field range and power that we need to match. Get it wrong, and it might not work, or explode. The players won't know what the exact conversion is, so they will need to experiment and theorise to come up with an approximate. (Basically, even if we know how to build it, we don't know how to use it). There could be multiple warp fuels that have different parameter values for effective use, but since we are not told this, we might only assume there is one warp fuel (since one fuel may use different parameters than another).

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I just don't like the idea of building some random unit and suddenly I get a new tech

 

I would very much appreciate it if the devs go for an exploration route as jacobean described. 

It's way more fun for everyone to discover this new mineral deposit and those new plants all over the place - only No one has a clue what to do with them. 

 

But I guess for such a system to work you first need a game, skills, and a general idea of what is possible ingame before you can add such a thing

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The skill system is how new elements could be introduced into the game. It takes time to learn a new skill, so it won't be instantaneous, and the skill would allow a player to be able to create a blueprint for that element. 

 

But during that "learning time", explorers might find some blueprints by, well, exploring.

 

That said, maybe as a later expansion, a research station element could be added that can extract/discover technology (blueprint) from artefacts found through exploration, rather than having exploration give blueprints directly.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd rather have the skill system gently influence tech advancement rather than directly unlock new elements/blueprints.  Tech advancement could be a true system of discovery.  Crafters could experiment with different ores/materials/fuels to discover new ones.  Explorers might discover mysterious ancient or abandoned constructs that give clues as to what might be possible for players to build.  New features could be released without explicit announcement and instead revealed through clues in the environment.  Even destruction could have some chance to create and drop scraps of advanced materials that can be examined.  Or certain weaponry when used on certain materials could yield strange effects that are repeatable and spark the beginning of a race to find the cause and reap the potential benefits.  Tech advancement could be just around the corner for every type of gameplay.

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I'm with KlatuSatori. for me, improving perks doing certain actions like build, craft and gather to learn better tiers or/and side perks, sounds very addictive.

as all it sounds a finite system too, but with a nice balanced experience needed could be not too op vs new players.

 

Stop NWO!

Salut!

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22 hours ago, ClanGDHNeo_O said:

I'm with KlatuSatori. for me, improving perks doing certain actions like build, craft and gather to learn better tiers or/and side perks, sounds very addictive.

as all it sounds a finite system too, but with a nice balanced experience needed could be not too op vs new players.

 

Stop NWO!

Salut!

I think a distinction needs to be made between tech advancement and skill training.  Skill training is character specific and will be time based.  It will unlock certain abilities and/or provide small % improvements in a character's performance of those abilities.  It will be a lot like the skill training system in Eve.  This has been NQ's plan since the early days and hasn't changed as far as I'm aware.  

 

Tech advancement is the discovery of new elements and materials which have the potential to shake up the status quo.  For example in the first couple of months, the discovery of an engine that can make it possible for ships to reach space.  This is something that everyone will eventually benefit from.  New tech will start out being available to a select few, but then more organisations will unconver the secret, some will sell it on for a profit, and eventually it will be become the norm, so that any new player might have access to it in their first week.  This kind of tech advancement, I believe is vaguely planned, but the exact mechanisms are not, as far as I know.

 

Tech advancement is a far more interesting aspect of the game than skill training (i.e. levelling up) if you ask me.

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