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Post by FiziKx on Jun 20, 2016 10:02:39 GMT -5
(( Forewarning! This game is NOT anywhere near close to being ready. Don't expect it to be ready in a month, or even in a year--even though it may well be available by then, too. While it is very possible that this game will be ready in due time, it is also very possible that it will never be quite ready for a wide release, as this was an experiment with Bubble from the start! While I believe that this game will in fact be completed and smoothly playable using this framework, there is a good possibility that something will go wrong that makes the whole thing crumble when a billion people try to play it at once. I am investing a lot of time in making this game happen, but I am taking a large risk in doing so. I would very much like you to join me in making this game a reality, but you following along, offering suggestions, and etc. will be you taking the same kind of risk that I am. Enjoy the development process with me, and let's see if we can make this game happen, like I strongly believe we can. If you are fine with the fact that we are at a very early stage of development, and that this whole project could fail miserably, read on! ))
Hi, all. First of all, I'd like to thank you for joining me on this little adventure. We're going to have a great time with this game in time, so be sure to stick around.
Epoch is the working title for a PBBRPG that will be similar to Cantr and FTO. The title is named that because it is in my original vision for the game for there to be much more of an emphasis on technology, tech-progression, and general society building throughout the progression of time than in these other games. The game is set to start in the Stone Age, and through the efforts of players, move forward throughout time and into the future. Along the way (between the eras), there will be large projects that will act as sort of 'Eureka!' breakthroughs into the next era. This final technology breakthrough will be an 'epoch' in the history of the game and these characters--thus, the name of the game.
These fancy features aren't expected for awhile, though. To start, I'm simply crafting a role-playing experience that is a bit more basic. There will be traveling, resource gathering (with resource depletion, believe it or not!), items, speaking, dynamic renaming, notes, some skills, an inventory system, character aging, fighting, hunting, crafting, and any other basic thing. Many of these features are actually already complete and in the development version of the game.
I am unsure as to whether or not I will include some things such as magic and divine influence. I'm thinking that I might sneak them into the game and make it very unlikely to chance upon such things, much less learn how to harness their powers. Your characters may only hear legends about such things, and you as a player may never be sure whether or not they really exist in game. We will see.
The game is going to be in English and only in English--at least for a very, very long time. I may also need to charge a small monthly subscription fee (around $5) to keep the game up and running, as I am a poor college student and this stuff costs money. Any donations would also gladly be accepted, be it in monetary or time form. If you are interested in donating your precious time and energy into making this game happen, I am looking for two people to join my 'World-Building Department', the equivalent of a Programming Department for some other games. I will also always be looking for suggestions for things that we should add to the game.
That's the general overview of everything. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them here in this thread.
Edit (6/23): Here are some screenshots of what I have so far (the UI design/look will be improved more eventually. Also note that this is not a mockup; everything is fully functional here):
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Post by iavatus on Jun 20, 2016 10:39:56 GMT -5
Having watched and heard and read quite a bit of the designing, I'm glad to see every step along that's being taken.
Looking forward to getting stuck in, and creating some fun stories with people.
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rebma
New Member
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Post by rebma on Jun 21, 2016 9:39:08 GMT -5
Right on. Can't wait to see where this goes.
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Post by FiziKx on Jun 21, 2016 11:28:06 GMT -5
Glad to have both of you on board!
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Post by maebius on Jun 21, 2016 13:28:20 GMT -5
Excellent idea! I'll be following this with interest. I tried to make a little PHP game similar to cantr/FTO/MUDs once, with different languages for the races (it scrambled the text input when posting to each character's eventlog based on race, but Emotes were as-written to encourage RP), and resource depletion, but it failed to collect enough players to thrive, so I quit. It is a fun challenge, and I can't wait to see where this leads!
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Post by FiziKx on Jun 23, 2016 15:45:18 GMT -5
I uploaded some screenshots to the original post in this thread. Take a look at them for a sneak preview of this game's skeleton!
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Post by Jake on Jun 23, 2016 18:43:47 GMT -5
Not sure I like the idea of you charging a subscription fee in the future. Surely donations would suffice? Hosting shouldn't be more than $10 a month and a domain name - which doesn't seem to be active - couldn't be more than $1 a month. Charging $5 from, say, 100 players is just greedy.
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Post by FiziKx on Jun 23, 2016 19:17:19 GMT -5
The issue is that I'm using something called Bubble, which is a visual programming language and framework solution that costs more than regular old hosting would cost. Donations might get the job done just fine, but as this thing grows, it may become more of an issue. If it got to the point where we had 100 active players, having $5 from each every month would allow me to secure Bubble's best plan, which would probably provide a smooth and unlimited player experience with such a server load. There are a lot of uncertainties with this project, but I'm just pushing forward and seeing what happens. Trust me, I won't be charging people anything if I can get away with it.
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Post by chemosh on Jun 23, 2016 19:20:20 GMT -5
Server rental for Cantr seems to be about 100 US and there is according to the statistics screen 464 players. Given costs don't go down that much from the number of players it seems it will cost a lot more than 10 dollars (You seem to be using hosting costs from the SiteWizard. That cost is for the hosting of a basic commercial site). We are talking about an online game where you need to track health, tiredness, equipment, location, project timings, resource depletion, variables I don't know about and either real or near real time chatter (as well a storage of that chatter). All that is a lot more intensive than just a simple forum or pictures of something for sale as they change a lot. I obviously don't know how much though beyond comparing it to Cantr though. There is also the consideration of programming time, which is probably not inconsequential. I would say 5 dollars a month is probably too much for the current product from the screen shots shown and I worry about the sustainability of the game with a barrier to entry but I wouldn't call it greedy.
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Post by FiziKx on Jun 23, 2016 19:31:25 GMT -5
Don't worry, Chemosh. The state of the game as it is right now is nowhere near what it will be like when/if I need to start charging or begging for donations.
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Post by Jake on Jun 23, 2016 21:34:39 GMT -5
Wait, so this thing isn't even programmed? You're using a point-and-click tool?
How will you get community help to build it, or when you face a limitation of Bubble how will you resolve it?
That's pretty worrying.
Not just that but I read the Bubble FAQ and you can't customise the code, and you can't export it.
This project is doomed from the architecture up. You'll get 90% of the way and then fail thanks to poor architecture. You should have programmed this.
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Post by FiziKx on Jun 23, 2016 21:54:32 GMT -5
To start, Jake, I just want to say that I invited all of you to join in on the project--you don't have to be here if you don't want to be.
Now, to address your concerns.
The game is programmed, through Bubble, just not with code. All of the behind-the-scenes logic is completely put together by me, and I have put a lot of time into it already... getting exactly the results that I desired, to every last detail. As of right now, there is a very playable base game that is similar to FTO in very, very many ways--just without much varied content (that will easily be able to be added in).
Bubble is also a very good tool for collaboration, as it was made with that in mind. People without knowledge of a programming knowledge will actually be able to be a part of our programming department, if they -thoroughly- learn how to use Bubble.
This thing is done entirely without a programming language, yes, though Bubble is perfectly sufficient to build something like this--you'll see, if you stick with it. If I didn't say what I am using to create this and you played the game in its current state, you would never be able to know that it was built in a visual, workflow-based programming tool like Bubble. However, be my guest if you'd rather leave, as this is primarily an experiment in Bubble and secondarily an experiment in game creation. I understand that you may not be interested in following this kind of project.
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Post by iavatus on Jun 24, 2016 7:13:56 GMT -5
Loving the look, and how it's progressing. Nothing I like more, then seeing an idea go from an idea, to completion, so thanks for taking the time to put together bits that show the current progress. I do hope that continues, cause it's great to have a solid feel for what I'm going to be playing in the future
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rebma
New Member
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Post by rebma on Jun 24, 2016 14:31:41 GMT -5
Loving those screenshots. It seems a little confusing to me, but on the whole actually looks like it might have less of a beginners learning curve than our dear Cantr, for example.
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Post by marian on Jun 25, 2016 10:18:36 GMT -5
Wow! This has come a long way since that glorified chat room. Screenshots are lovely and it looks sooo much more intuitive and welcoming than Cantr or FTO.
A subscription fee is a good thing. A subscription fee, in fact, is one of my personal requirements for ever putting in the time to play a game like this again. A fee turns players from Lilliputians into paying customers with rights and at least a small expectation of professionalism, and always leaves the option open to protest bad behavior with their wallets.
IIRC, at one point you mentioned there wouldn't be infinite resources, and that characters wouldn't live forever? Both excellent, much needed changes that will avoid so much of the stagnation of Cantr.
Any plans you're willing to share on the size of the world map yet?
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