A few thoughts

[jedidia]

Hi all, I just bought the game two days ago, after finding the Demo quite interesting.

After giving it a bit of a spin, I'd like to express my thoughts about it here:

For the most, the game seems excellent. Its features beat any other product from the genre that is out there, and no other games offer you that much stuff to do. It also is a lot harder than I expected after my 90 minutes of Demo-Time, which is good. Combat is challenging as it should be, and the credits earned by it are earned indeed.

However, there is ONE thing that started to bug me rather seriously: Factions. Allthough I find the Idea of different factions in different systems quite intriguing and like the challenge of having to establish yourself in every system you travel to, the factions lack face. You cannot tell what they do. Of course, Energy companies are producing energy, Navies are patroling, Rebels rebelling, pirates pirating and miners mining, But a bit more politics would give the game world something to connect with the player. Why are the rebels rebelling? Who do I want to take a stand for, other than the highest bider? Are the Rebels in some systems fanatics or are they trying to get rid of an opressing gouvernement?

I think a bit of polish could ad a lot of atmosphere, making the game world more believable and adding a great deal of immersion.

Another drawback, though on my list not quite so important, is that contracts are very short... Some high-payed contracts that would take you half an hour to complete would be rather nice. Like multiple waypoint patrols, deliveries to distant systems or bountyhunts that lets you search for clues on the whereabouts of the target. Stuff like that.

apart from that , the game is good work, especially regarding the fact that it's a one-man show, and I'll enjoy it a lot.

[Vice]

Thanks for the comments and feedback. Good points and I've put some things on my concept list as a result.

I think a bit of polish could ad a lot of atmosphere, making the game world more believable and adding a great deal of immersion.

Agreed. However, one thing I do want to avoid is taking the game too far in the story direction. Evochron never really has been a narrative or story based space-sim, it is much more of a technical space-sim and that is intentional. The game is designed to focus on the gameplay of building reputation, wealth, skill, and ship capabilities... not telling stories, simulating characters/actors, or presenting political narratives. One of the things I dislike about some space-sims is their requirement for narrative involvement, requiring the player to follow strict gameplay guidelines in order to meet the limitations of a plot. It can also often include role limitations (something I'm really against). Having to predefine my character before I even start the game is restrictive and an unnecessary limitation to me. I want to be able to determine my role in the game by what I do in the game's universe, not be limited to the confines of parameters I'm forced to work within because of a story or character. And I want to be able to change my role when I want to, again by what I do in the game in a freeform manner without character or story limitations.

Story telling can be great and can certainly be an involving element of gameplay (especially in games that are designed to do just that), but I chose a different route for this game intentionally. However, including a better back story for each system and its factions would likely make the player's involvement more immersive to some. More below:

However, there is ONE thing that started to bug me rather seriously: Factions. Allthough I find the Idea of different factions in different systems quite intriguing and like the challenge of having to establish yourself in every system you travel to, the factions lack face. You cannot tell what they do. Of course, Energy companies are producing energy, Navies are patroling, Rebels rebelling, pirates pirating and miners mining, But a bit more politics would give the game world something to connect with the player. Why are the rebels rebelling? Who do I want to take a stand for, other than the highest bider? Are the Rebels in some systems fanatics or are they trying to get rid of an opressing gouvernement?

It is something I may look into adding at some point (one form or another). The freeform design somewhat limits static applications of conditions/political situations. Introducing political situations for every faction in every system might be like trying to write a novel combined with the challenge of then trying to tie it into a freeform game (with numerous systems) somehow. Kind of tricky when the entire system is based on values and conditions rather than static events. But it is something I have considered and I think it's something I can expand on. Perhaps more involving news events and headlines might help expand faction actions and involvement in each system.

I'm just presenting some ideas, but maybe another option might be some kind of optional PDA screen (or a clickable option in the news console) that can open when you arrive at a system which provides some back story information on the local factions and conditions of the system. Much like the system descriptions in the strategy guide, but plugged directly into the game.

Another drawback, though on my list not quite so important, is that contracts are very short... Some high-payed contracts that would take you half an hour to complete would be rather nice. Like multiple waypoint patrols, deliveries to distant systems or bountyhunts that lets you search for clues on the whereabouts of the target. Stuff like that.

Some of what you mention is available in the form of personal planning and strategy. You can establish your own goals to complete that pay much better than in-sector contracts, which can include long distance travel and exploration. The difference is, you set up those objectives on your own via the freeform gameplay options rather than having the option set up for you (that is, instead of being told what to do for ok money, you have the freedom to set up your own objectives for much better money). You don't have to limit yourself just to contracts. You can complete many new and different objectives on your own terms. This game rewards players who 'think outside of the box' and go beyond the standard operations of gameplay. Contracts are just one way to earn money in the game with known factors. Things get more interesting when you take risks on your own and formulate your own objective strategies.

With that being said, stay tuned. New options are coming.

[jedidia]

The freeform design somewhat limits static applications of conditions/political situations. Introducing political situations for every faction in every system might be like trying to write a novel combined with the challenge of then trying to tie it into a freeform game (with numerous systems) somehow.

I perfectly understand this. I'm a pretty fond freeform gamer and I'm working on a bit of a game myself (well, it's majorly an Orbiter-addon that won't get finished in some years, if ever... ) and thus have spent quite some time pondering the problem. Some Ideas I have involve factions pursuing a purpose and actually giving them the possibility to accomplish them, establishing kind of a "Meta-Game". even then, proper feedback to the player so he knows what's going on is important and giving the player the possibility to actually get part of (i.e. having the A.I. consider player actions in it's planing) is a conceptual nightmare, and it probably would take Evochron a step too far.

An expanded News-section sounds like a very good Idea for starters.

However, including a better back story for each system and its factions would likely make the player's involvement more immersive to some.

Browsing the strategy guide, I actually found some background to the different systems. Having this information in-game might allready be of help (of course, ALT-tabing is not much work, but at some occasions I get messed up grafics afterwards. Plus, it is awfully close to the major spoilers, and my hand is prone to slip... )

I'm Pretty sure you know good ol' Elite:Frontiers and FFE, their system-overview screen was quite nice.

"Ownership" comes to mind too. I might be wrong since I didn't play that much, but there seems to be no way to determine what faction is dominant in a system.



[Edited on 11-3-2008 by jedidia]