LegacyWorlds Beta 6

Because the current development model for Beta 6, which consists in brainstorming and writing everything down, is not going anywhere soon, I think it’s time I get to work on implementing at least some of it.

The new development model is based on milestones; each milestone is a step towards Beta 6. Progress will be slow, and the first few milestones will definitely be disappointing in terms of game play, but at least it will be… well, something. It will allow parts of the game code to be written – and tested.

Since the game rules are not 100% defined, it is impossible at this stage to list all milestones. However, quite a few of them can be fully described at this point. This is what this post is about.

Milestone 1 – Engine basics and account management

Release date: 2010-06-01

The first milestone consists in writing the core of the game engine. This include the game server, which manages all data and is responsible for computations, and a very basic web interface. However, because this cannot be done without something to run in the engine, milestone 1 will include a basic, Beta 4-like game.

• All computations will be performed every minute – there will be no hour/battle/whatever ticks.
• Planets will be based on the usual military/industrial factories and turrets system, but construction and destruction will take time; happiness and population growth will use Beta 4′s computations.
• Fleets will consist in 4 types of ships, all of them being Hyperspace-capable, and fleet movement computations will be based on Beta 5′s. Battles will use a very simple computation to compute damage each minute, and the need for specific ships to take planets will be removed.
• Research, money management, private messages, alliances, enemy lists and universe structure will be mostly identical to Beta 4′s. There will be no rankings, forums, trusted allies system, marketplace, protection system or beacons.
• The interface will be based on XML and XSLT; it will not include any dynamic feature like the Beta 5 interface. However, a very basic bug reporting tool will be provided.
• Accounts will not be imported from Beta 5 – the game will require a separate registration. This is because account management needs to be tested.
• The administration interface will include planet name management, the banhammer interface and a game-wise PM spam sending tool.

Milestone 2 – Planet infrastructure and population

Release date: 2010-08-01

Milestone 2 will add Beta 6-like planet infrastructure and population management.

• Buildings will become separate entities which can be managed individually. They will need maintenance and employees. Attacks on planets will damage them.
• Planets will include two characteristics, their size and their environment type. In addition, pollution management will be added, which implies the need for recycling/cleaning buildings.
• Population growth will use formulas from Beta 6 – this implies the need for healthcare buildings. Happiness computation will not be based on Beta 6′s, it will simply use employment ratios and security levels. Population-related characteristics will not be immediately visible, but rather based on the census bureau line of buildings.
• GA ships will be back in this version; their production will require using a part of the planet’s population. Taking a planet will be made possible through a comparison between the target planet’s security levels (based on turrets and ground army power) and the ships’ ground army power and accompanying fleet strength.
• Research will keep the same Beta 4-like system. However, research points will be produced in accordance with Beta 6 formulas. The following research “lines” will be included: ships, healthcare, factories, census bureau, recycling, turrets and ground army power.

Milestone 3 – Research system and ship designs

Release date: 2010-10-01

Milestone 3 will introduce the basics for the Beta 6 research system and replace the four existing ship types with customisable designs.

• The research system will be back to a graph-like structure and use Beta 6 rules in terms of giving priorities to technologies being researched. In addition, special items on planets will grant access to additional technologies. However, completely optional technologies (as in Beta 5′s research system) will not be used, and technology trading will not be possible.
• Ships will be customisable, with a few default designs included. The design requirements will be simplified in order to limit the amount of parts required. However, they will use the “rock-paper-scissors” types of weaponry (beams, missiles and mass drivers) and defences (shields, point defence and armour, respectively). Battle computations will be updated accordingly.
• The actual list of technologies will include all previous “level-based” techs but add interdependencies. The “ships” lines will be replaced by a few ship element types.

Milestone 4 – Resources, economy and location-based research

Release date: 2010-12-01

Milestone 4 will introduce the new economic system, resources management, new items on the map and research based on the proximity of these items.

• Asteroid belts and gas giants will be added to the map; they will have no effect on fleet movements.
• Resource extraction will be added to the game. Mining buildings and remote mining spaceports will be added in order to extract resources from planets and other map items.
• Economy will be modified in order to follow Beta 6′s principles.
  • The main “account” will be severely limited, and taking planets from an enemy will result in the acquisition of some of the owner’s resources.
  • Money donations between players will depend on the availability of some buildings, and a tax will be added – this tax will decrease with the amount and type of banking buildings available.
  • Short-term savings accounts, loans and long-term savings accounts will be provided by higher levels of banking buildings.

Milestone 5 – Universe structure

Release date: 2011-02-01

Milestone 5 will consist in a major overhaul of the structure of the universe, and corresponding changes made to fleet movement and battle computations.

• The new structure includes:
  • a cluster-based map, using supergates to navigate between clusters;
  • the return of nebulae, which can be used to mine various resources;
  • black holes, which strongly limit the speed of ships passing by;
  • changes to star systems, including the addition of a buffer zone (the Oort cloud), and a higher variability in star system contents.
• Fleet movements will return to the hyperspace vs. normal space dichotomy. However, it will still be possible for a fleet that isn’t capable of hyperspace travel to move between star systems, albeit at a very low speed. Hyperspace stand-by will not be included in this version.
• Space around planets will be divided into zones, and weapons will have different ranges, making battles a bit more complicated.

Beyond milestone 5

Quite a lot of work will remain after milestone 5. Different species of planet inhabitants will still need to be added, empire management will still be very basic, empire alignment will still be missing… With the release of each milestone, a new milestone specification will be posted.