Istvan's Update:
Well it's 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... what are we
fightin' for . . . ?
Since I keep finding myself tempted to
talk about my plans for the warfare system in the official forums, I've decided to provide
in my next columns for Darkspace Dispatch a broad picture of what is forthcoming. I make
no representation that this description will be complete or thorough, since new wrinkles
are surfacing all the time as I work. Please don't take this as gospel, or promises: I'd
just like to shed some light for everyone on the moving target that is the work in
progress. I'm also working on a couple of "pie-in-the-sky" ideas that I won't
even describe. They'll either become part of the system or I'll decide they are impossible
to implement and stop wasting time on them.
The whole point of the planned factional warfare system is to provide a method by which
the game itself can create direction and goals for PvP conflicts. Every few months on the
US server, players have organized the popular "Weekend of War" events. Many
people have told me these are some of the most fun events they've participated in, even if
they normally avoid PvP action. The WoW events have inspired me to remember that the
original developers wrote Jumpgate as a combat spaceflight game. WoW has also shown me
that everyday gameplay in Jumpgate hasn't come very close to the game's potential. I want
to take the kind of directed PvP we see in the WoW events, make it a more routine part of
the game, and give Jumpgate more of the excitement that the original team intended.
To do this, I've started adjusting (breaking and rebuilding) many familiar parts of the
game. I've either already made, or am still planning to make, changes to important things
like how bounties work, how PR comes and goes, how insurance is paid, and what our
infamous Tags mean. Insurance and Tag changes will be substantial, with a Military Tag
intended to focus factionalist PvP, and a separation of insurance systems for the Civilian
and Military players. To make the warfare different from the same old Jumpgate we're all
used to, we're also going to need several major features that we don't have yet.
Perhaps the largest "hidden" system I'm adding is the creation of a new kind of
"political rating" mechanism that expresses the attitude of each faction toward
the others. Building the data structure was easy enough, but tying the changing standings
into situations that involve the players is the real work. This information will be
referenced, and changed, every time a PvP kill happens, and every time a player completes
a mission for any faction, just to name two regular events. Getting this linked to those
sliders on JOSSH that never seemed to move is a related project. I've already decoupled
the sliders from their old code, but haven't added the new piece for them to attach to
yet. This creation of tangible, interfaction relationships will be provided as a tool for
the Events GMs on both servers, and is a first step toward making the factions themselves
a little more "real", something I have always felt the game needs.
I think it's important to point out that I don't expect the factions to be in a constant
state of war once this system is set up. In fact, "war" is probably a lousy term
to use in the first place, except that it's handy and short. What I think we'll have at
the end of the process is a system that results in fairly frequent, but fairly brief,
factional skirmishes, in which interested players can participate meaningfully and other
players can avoid.
When the back-end systems are functional, and I'm finished with preparatory changes to
other parts of the game, it will be time to add the real interesting bits. I will be
implementing this material gradually over the course of months, but please believe me when
I say that I'm working as rapidly as I can to bring these major new features into the
game. I'm still doing what I call "enabling" changes, things that have to happen
before I can add more visible pieces. I'm very eager to commence work on the tangible
parts of warfare, and I'll outline several major pieces of the planned system in my next
column, including Building Damage, Territorial Conflict, the Military Flight Registry, and
Privateering.
|
