Updates on the new version’s design and progress
Archive for December 2008
Beta 6 introduces an optional system of stock markets which, while usually being beneficial as they increase revenues, also happen to create a small risk of economic depression. A planet’s stock market normally affects only the output of industrial factories - however, some laws allow the planet’s base income to be indexed on its value (of course, this is a “use at your own risk” situation :))
The previous posts in the series explained the basic elements of distance and trajectory computations in the Legacy Worlds Beta 6 universe; this final post about travel and distances puts these elements together, explaining how and when they apply.
Indeed, while players will get the final say about their fleets’ trajectories, some details remain to be explained. In addition, many other elements of the game use the travel rules (e.g. mining operations or trade); in these cases, the various computations are applied behind the scenes, without any intervention from the player.
Continue reading ‘Travel and distances (5/5): putting it all together’ »
The previous posts in this series discussed generalities, stellar systems and special objects such as nebulae. The last element that needs to be considered to describe travel in the Legacy Worlds universe is actual interstellar travel.
Because of the structure of the universe in the new version, it is impossible to describe interstellar travel as simply as it was in Beta 5. It is impossible to fly through some of the map’s areas, while Beta 5 made sure that it was always possible to get from one point to another without passing through something that wasn’t reachable. In addition, the new version will allow players to use waypoints when determining a fleet’s trajectory; because that is possible, it is only logical that the game can propose optimal trajectories to the player. Finally, a lot of computations depend on the distance between two points - these computations should always use the best possible route.
Continue reading ‘Travel and distances (4/5): interstellar travel’ »
While the first post discussed generalities and the second post discussed travel and distances within stellar systems, this third post about travel and in-game distances will describes the structures associated with other, “special” objects which can be found in one of the universe’s layers - namely black holes, nebulae and supergates.
Continue reading ‘Travel and distances (3/5) : special objects’ »