This World is Ours

[Squid Empire]

 

 

*Concept title and image are subject to change

 

 

Introduction

General overview

 

 

Real time strategy games have been successfully crossed with first-person shooters before. Minecraft introduced the world to a first person sandbox format. Both these genres skirt the edges of a large, ancient genre: city-building. City building games are very high-scale oriented, with the player managing very high-level instructions and tasks. However, a smaller scale city-builder, mixed with familiar first-person survival elements (Rust, Seven Days to Die, Life is Feudal, Minecraft etc.) is a viable game. This mix would present the player with a game both allowing macro city-building style gameplay, and micro-style architecture and survival aspects.

 

 

 

Disclaimer

Please read

 

 

This is less of a project or a serious attempt at a game at the moment and more a concept. Energy and circumstance permitting I'll spend some time on this beyond drawing or writing, but at the time of writing this I don't consider an implementation likely at any realistic time.

 

This document makes frequent references to many real time strategy (RTS), city-building, and first person games. Some examples include:

• Minecraft
• Rust
• Age of Empires series
• Sim City series
• Anno series
• City-Building series by sierra (Rome, Pharaoh)
• Tropico series

Disclaimer for Synaesthesia

 

 

Don't hate me!

 

 

 

 

 

Concepts

Collection of all concept images and content

 

 

 

Core Concept

Regarding the purpose and direction of the game

 

 

Blending a city-builder with first person gameplay requires that both original game styles are simplified. In order to achieve this, the survival elements of the game will be reduced, and the city-building scope will be turned down. The game can be expected to contain these features to be considered functional:

1. A world is available for the player, featuring terrain and natural features
2. The player can move around and interact with the world in first person
3. There are resources that can be collected by the player
4. These resources can be 'crafted' by the player to create new materials
5. Using these materials a player can 'build' structures which for 'settlements'
6. These structures have purposes
7. NPC citizens come under the players command in relation to settlements
8. These NPC citizens can be instructed to perform resource collection, crafting, or building
9. There are other AI citizens and settlements not player controlled for the player to interact with
10. Using weapons the player or the player's citizens can attack and destroy other citizens or structures

The specifics of these elements will be discussed below.

 

 

 

Setting & Style

The theme and art style to be used

 

 

Generally there are a few concepts to consider. The limitation on style are not final but help in determining the theme. For example; it's best to choose a fantasy or Sci-Fi theme, as then gameplay elements like healing devices or town interfaces can be explained via magic or technology. The following themes are considered possible, in order of most to least considered.

 

1. Squid's Dieselpunk
   Squid's own personal style used when doodling or daydreaming. Lacks a definite time period, but could be hesitantly placed in the 30's. This style is assumed from henceforth in the document. Squid's Dieselpunk would have the player as arriving on a scarcely colonised new continent, with a rucksack full of provisions. The setting includes motor vehicles (most notably transport trucks and autobikes), electricity, simple industrial architecture, diesel motors (all over the place), firearms, dirty industry, pipes, cables and dim lights everywhere, vacuum tube electronics, a warm pallet, and alternative future technology.
2. Hard science fiction
   Arriving on a newly colonised planet, the player is provided only with what they brought on their spaceship journey. This setting allows the most manipulation of environment and resources as the alien world can contain all sorts of inventive items. The 'hard' in the science fiction means there would be an emphasis on keeping the setting scientifically valid. This setting would include modern efficient space architecture, vehicles (space buggies and transports), firearms, high-powered industry, LEDs and lasers, touchscreen devices, flexible tubes with white gas in them, a blue and white pallet and realistic future technology.
3. Hard colonial fantasy
   This setting would be considered traditional in city building games. The player is a new colonist in the 17th or 18th century arriving in the New World. This setting requires extensive work in environments and NPCs in order to keep them at least semi-authentic, and doesn't allow much leeway in explaining gameplay elements 'in-world'. Hard colonial fantasy would include only horses as vehicles, authentic colonial architecture, melee weapons augmented by some firearms, low-level workshop industry, torches, smelly peasants, barrels, rickety wooden structures, an earthy pallet, and semi-realistic colonial technology.
4. Soft colonial science fiction
   This setting would take place on another planet, taking the advantages Hard Science Fiction provides there, and use a neo-colonial theme - gaining the traditional nod from Hard Colonial Fantasy. The player would be a new colonist on a planet recently claimed by some intergalactic empire, providing a colonial theme. The setting would include a style meant to look like a futuristic take on the 17th century, with metal instead of wood. There would be simple vehicles (like an automated transport), firearms and melee weapons, moderate level industry, space barrels, space peasants, a other-worldly pallet, and science fiction 'worn world' technology (like Star Wars or Blade Runner).

 

 

 

Environment

Environmental concepts - from implementation models to aesthetic goals

 

 

When considering the method for creating a world there are two major camps. Either a Minecraft style procedurally generated map, or a selection of prebuilt maps, such as in Tropico 4. In a most idealistic version of this game, a procedural map would be used that generates beautiful natural terrain with no errors. However, to remain grounded a better suggestion for this project would be a prebuilt map. The suggestion is to create a series of large, carefully crafted maps with differences in terrain and geography between them. While it's true that the player can expect the same world twice, by making the worlds large (e.g. 32km square) and spawning the player in a random location the feeling of familiarity can be slowed. To further keep these maps fresh, some basic generation could be used - such as scrambling the exact position of trees in an area designated as a forest, or changing the locations and layouts of pre-made towns.

The maps would include a few variations of each type specified. For example a fews maps would include most terrain types (deserts etc), there would be a few snow only maps, a few grassland maps, a few mountainous maps, and so on. Keeping the maps pre-built means that the style used on the maps can be controlled to a greater degree, and the mappers can work to keep the style consistent.

 

Another method that could be used would be a similar generator to those in Age of Empires' random map. This would mean the player could pick a map type ('snow', 'desert', 'grassland' etc.) and the game would generate this type of world based on some specific algorithms. A 'river' map might always contain one large river, while a inland sea map includes a large ocean in the centre. While this method allows for a nice degree of controlled randomisation, it has some downfalls. For example, the level of detail in the map suffers greatly (unless a gratuitous amount of time is spent on generation code for small prop grasses and rocks). Furthermore, any generation code would put a great burden on the programming team, and isn't really necessary for this project.

 

City building games give a view of the total land available to the player at all times. This is a bit of a problem for this game, as the survival aspects require that the player has to spend time scouting their surroundings themselves. The simple solution is that the mayor view in game can only be activated within the confides of the players town. If the player wishes to build a remote logging cabin they can do so in first person mode.

 

Terrain Types

A variety of terrains will be included in order to give the player variation in vistas and exploration, and to allow the collection of varied natural resources. Ideally, these terrains will be implemented in a realistic way - with cold climates gradually giving way to warm - but some maps might subvert this. Each terrain type considered is listed below along with design goals and concepts.

• Grassland
  This should be a common type, consisting of lush tall grasses on rolling hills, with occasional clumps of trees.
• Forest
  Another common terrain type, consisting of shrubs and bushes on the ground (bare dirt and rocks in-between) with large trees clumped together. The density of the forest can vary highly, as can the tree type.
• Riverland
  Low lying ground, consisting of either pebbles or mud with sparse shrubs and grasses growing between.This will sit either side of slow rivers or in empty river beds.
• Rocky plains
  Similar to grassland as above,but with less grass and ith clumps of boulders and rocks. The rocks should be crumbly and mossy. This is found at higher elevations.
• Tundra
  Higher or colder still then rocky plains is tundra, where there is very low bristly plants with small ponds and rocks. The plant life should be autumn coloured.
• Mountain
  Above the tree line, only rocks and snow. There might be some occasional small shrubs, and there is plenty of moss on rocks.
• Desert
  A vast sandy emptiness. Occasional oasis and palm trees.
• Rocky desert
  Think Colorado or Utah in America. This is a desert characterised by large monolithic rock structures in rustic red colours. The ground is a mix of sand and rock and there might be fast flowing meltwater rivers, but no vegetation.
• Scrubland / bush
  Very flat, dull land, consisting of weak sandy soil spotted with gnarled shrubs with occasional trees.
• Volcanic
  Large swathes of black rock with boulders and other structures. Smoking vents dot the surface, and there might be hot springs. No vegetation.
• Shoreline
  Low sandy beach connected to a body of water. There are thin grasses clumped towards the land side.
• Lake
  A calm body of water fed by rivers. The lake's colour is lighter then an ocean.
• Ocean
  Massive body of cold salty water.
• Swamp / mangrove
  Very low lying, waterlogged terrain. Features a thick forest of droopy, dark coloured trees.

Map Types

Below is a list of map types considered. Each type should have at least two variations in the final product. Note that the names used here are descriptions not concepts for names in the product.

• Bavarian
  Mainly: forests, grassland, rocky plains, tundra
• Alps
  Mainly: forests (taiga),tundra, mountain
• Tableland
  Mainly: rocky desert, grassland
• Amazon
  Mainly: forest (jungle), riverland, mountain, swamp / mangrove
• South Island
  Mainly: Forest, rocky plains, volcanic, mountain, shoreline, ocean
• Lapland
  Mainly: Forest, riverland, shoreline, lakes, tundra
• New Holland
  Mainly: Grassland, scrubland/bush, desert, rocky desert, shoreline

Further below there is a section for resources, which includes how they are generated in the world.

 

 

 

Player

Player character concepts

 

 

Considering the player character brings up some interesting possibilities. The easiest way to manage the character would be to have them as an unchangeable, mute figure who chops wood and never tires. However, some level of character customisation would be welcome, especially as most games that are in a similar vein already feature this silent gorilla. The simplest customisation method would be to allow the player to name their character and choose a skin or body to represent them. Going further, the player character could have a backstory or profession chosen by the player - and this background affects their skills and how they play. Going even further then this, the player character could become more like a hero from an RPG game; they could have stats and levels, abilities and needs. In the interests of simplicity, it is suggested that this last step is not gone to, and instead the player character is affected only by the initial background choices the player makes.

 

A suggested player creation form:

1. Player name
2. Player gender
3. Player profession
4. Reason to be here

Name and gender are self explanatory. Name would affect things like save file allocation and UI messages. Gender would affect the model chosen to represent the player.

A player's profession would represent what their character is trained in. This would allow for some in-game bonuses or disadvantages. A player's 'reason to be here' asks why they came to the in game New World, and would affect what items they begin with.

 

Professions

• ​Mercenary
  A soldier of fortune, this player gets a bonus to damage dealt and reduced damage received, even by their citizens. However their buildings take longer to build and cost more.
• Explorer
  This player has been to the corners of the globe, and receives faster movement speed and crafting, as well as automatic healing. However they take more damage and they harvest less food.
• Engineer
  There isn't much this player hasn't taken apart and rebuilt, they get faster building times and more efficient factories. Their individual resource gathering is very slow though.
• Frontiersman
  This player lived in the wilds with wolves for thirty years and so all food they harvest (even by their workers) is increased and they are invisible to hostile animals. Their buildings have less health and build slower however.
• Professional
  Having four degrees from prestigious universities, this players knows the secrets of trade, all buying prices are decreased and selling increased. However hostile animals deal more damage to them and they do less damage in general.

Reasons

• For fortune or glory
  Spawns with: a knife, ropes, food supplies, a tent, and good clothes
• To begin again
  Spawns with: bricks, planks, tools, a cart, decent clothes, a modest sum of money, and food supplies
• To conquer
  Spawns with: a revolver, ammunition, food supplies, and armour
• By accident
  Spawns with: nothing! Only some basic clothes and a few coins.

Note that all players spawn with a rucksack (to serve as inventory),a hatchet (to use as a tool), a map (to give a minimap of places been to), and a survey tool (to be used to map a locations fertilities or resources) by default

 

 

 

Resources

List and concepts for resources, their collection and use

 

 

Personally, I love games where there is an absolute abundance of resources. I've tried to be realistic in my number of resources here, but I will include more if I can.

 

An important element of the game will be collecting resources to build and upgrade the players settlements. At first this will be done 'by hand' in first person mode, but once a town is built it will be handled automatically by NPC citizens. Materials can be harvested from a variety of natural locations, and these can then be processed or crafted into further materials. In addition, some materials can be bought or sold with traders.

 

Finding natural resources

To create most resources the player must first collect natural resources. Doing so is a simple process of having the right tool and using it in the right area. To collect logs for example, the player hits a tree (which will naturally spawn in areas with a chance to re-spawn on stumps-that cannot be removed) using a hatchet until it breaks apart. To collect various sands or soils the player can 'dig' using a shovel as long as they are standing on solid ground.

Minerals are a little more complex. To collect iron or coal the player may hit an exposed vein with a pickaxe to collect iron or coal. This may be done endlessly, but collects at a slowish rate. An exposed vein will be apparent as either a rusty red band on grey rock or a black line on rock. To collect greater quantities the player must construct a mine above a vein (see below for construction details). To do this the player uses their survey tool.

 

Using the tool will give the player an indication of the fertilities in their surroundings. It works in first person but it far more useful in mayor mode, where it can be activated by a button on the UI.

 

It would appear like this

(place-holder image from Tropico 3)

 

With different coloured squares on the grid to represent different mineral availabilities.

 

A similar overlay will be used when determining crop fertilities.

For simplicities sake, crop fertilities will come only in the groupings of the crops themselves; that being fruit, vegetable, spice, grain, cotton, tobacco. Ideally there would be different crop requirements for all classes, but to remain feasible only those listed will be used. Crop fertilities will be shown using the same survey tool as above, when tuned to their type. For instance looking for 'fruit' fertility would provide an overlay showing the relative fertility of the soil to grow fruits.

 

Crop requirements:

• Fruit:
  Low or moderate elevation, high levels of rain, moderate to hot temperature
  Normal tolerance
  
• Vegetables:
  Moderate or high elevation, moderate levels of rain, moderate to low temperature
  Normal tolerance
  
• Spice:
  Low or moderate elevation, low levels of rain, moderate to hot temperature
  Low tolerance (must always flow)
  
• Grain:
  Low or moderate elevation, moderate levels of rain, moderate temperature
  High tolerance
  
• Cotton:
  Any elevation, moderate levels of rain, moderate to low temperatures
  High tolerance
  
• Tobacco:
  Moderate or high elevation, low levels of rain, moderate temperatures
  Normal tolerance
  

 

It would look more like this:

(place-holder image from Tropico 4)

With red to green being the scale of how well the land is suited to grow the crop.

Once an area has been decided upon, the player must build a farm and use it to plant the seeds they wish to plant. The farm can then be used by the player's citizens or by the player themselves. See the buildings section for more information.

 

Lists of Resources:

 

Note that the creation methods given below are for the player character. To see how to create these materials automatically, see the construction section.

 

 

 

 

Natural Resources

Things that are found or collected straight from the world

 

 

• Logs
  Found by cutting down trees (the resource comes as logs scattered when the tree is destroyed)
  
• Leaves
  Found on the ground in forests or by cutting down trees
  
• Mulch / Compost
  Found by digging in swamps or by processing leaves, grains, vegetables, or fruits
  
• Fruit
  Apple, orange, peach, banana, coconut, berries
  Found on various plants or trees, collected by hitting to break them off
  
• Vegetables
  Carrot, potato, pumpkin, cocoa bean, corn, lettuce
  Found when various plants are destroyed
  
• Spice
  Found by breaking a spice plant
  
• Grains
  Wheat, barely, sugar
  Found by breaking certain plants
  
• Stone
  Found by mining on any exposed stone surface or via any mine
  
• Minerals
  Coal, iron, gold, gems
  Found by mining exposed ore deposits (only for coal or iron) or by mines placed over deposits
  
• Clay
  Found by digging near rivers or lakes
  
• Water
  Found by collecting water with a bucket near a lake or river
  
• Oil
  Found by placing an oil well over a deposit
  
• Fish
  Found by fishing in lakes, rivers, or the ocean
  
• Cotton
  Found by hitting a cotton plant
  
• Tobacco
  Found by breaking a tobacco plant
  
• Soil
  Found by digging in most places
  
• Sand
  Found by digging on sand
  
• Ash
  Found by digging on volcanic grounds or in burnt areas
  
• Gravel
  Found by digging in rivers, beaches, or lake shores
  

 

 

 

Processed materials

Things that are made by processing (using a reaction or simple action like cutting) other materials

 

 

• Glass
  Created by smelting 2 units of sand or 1 unit of ash in a furnace
  
• ​Powdered Stone
  Created by processing 1 unit of gravel or 2 units of stone in a Grinding Machine
  
• Cement
  Created by mixing 1 unit of powdered stone with 1 unit of water and either 2 units of clay or 1 unit of ash in a Mixing Tank
  
• Metal
  Steel, gold
  Created by smelting 5 unit of either iron of gold and 1 unit of coal in a furnace (produces 5)
  
• Flour
  Created by processing 1 unit of wheat in a Grinding Machine
  
• Powdered spices
  Created by processing 1 unit of spice in a Grinding Machine
  
• Tobacco product
  Created by processing 1 unit of tobacco in a Grinding Machine
  
• Seeds
  Vegetable seeds (for each type), fruit seeds (for each type), tobacco seeds, cotton seeds, spice seeds, grain seeds (for each type)
  Created by processing 1 unit of vegetable, fruit, tobacco, cotton, spice or grain (produces 10)
  
• Diesel
  Created by processing 1 unit of oil in a Chemical Workstation

 

 

 

Crafted materials

Things that are made by crafting (using some fine assembly) materials together

 

 

• Bricks
  Created by smelting 2 units of sand and 1 unit of clay in a Furnace (produces 5)
  
• Cloth
  Created by processing 1 unit of cotton at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Cigarette
  Created by processing 5 unit of tobacco product and 1 unit of leaves at a Fine Tools Workbench (produces 5)
  
• Alcohol
  Rum, beer, vodka
  Rum: created by processing 3 units of sugar and 2 units of water in a Chemical Workstation
  Beer: created by processing 1 unit of sugar, 2 units of barley, and 1 unit of water in a Chemical Workstation
  Vodka: created by processing 2 units of potato and 3 units of water in a Chemical Workstation
  
• Chocolate
  Created by processing 1 unit of cocoa bean and 2 units of sugar in a Kitchen
  
• Planks
  Created by processing 1 unit of logs at a Machining station (produces 3)
  
• Bread
  Created by processing 1 unit of flour and 1 unit of water in a Kitchen
  
• Tools
  Pickaxe, axe, hoe, repair tools
  Produced by processing 1 unit of planks and 3 unit of steel at a Machining Station
  
• Wires
  Produced by processing either 3 units of steel or 1 unit of gold at a Machining Station (produces 10)
  
• Glass products
  Produced by smelting 1 unit of glass in a Furnace (produces 3)
  
• Machine parts
  Produced by processing 2 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Vehicle parts
  Created by processing 2 units of steel and 3 units of machine parts at a Machining Station
  
• Electronics
  Created by processing 5 units of wires, 1 glass product, and 1 steel at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Electric Lights
  Created by processing 1 unit of glass product, 3 units of electronics, and 1 unit of wire at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Neon tube
  Created by processing 2 units of glass product with 1 unit of neon gas* at a Machining Station
  
• Weapons
  Knife, revolver, rifle, automatic rifle, flame thrower
  Knife: created by processing 4 units of steel and 1 unit of water at a Furnace
  Revolver: created by processing 3 units of steel, 1 unit of wood, and 1 unit of machine parts at a Fine Tools Workbench
  Rifle: created by processing 5 units of steel, 2 units of wood, and 2 units of machine parts at a Fine Tools Workbench
  Automatic rifle: created by processing 7 units of steel, 2 units of wood, 3 units of machine parts, and 1 unit of electric lights at a Fine Tools Workbench
  Flame Thrower: created by processing 8 units of steel, 5 units of machine parts, 4 units of electronics, and 12 units of diesel at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Ammunition
  Bullet, flame thrower fuel
  Bullet: created by processing 10 unit of steel and 1 unit of gunpowder at a Fine Tools Workbench (produces 30)
  Flame thrower fuel: created by mixing 5 units of diesel and 2 units of water in a Chemical Workstation (produces 100)
  
• Gemstone
  Created by processing 3 unit of gems, 1 unit of water, and 1 unit of gravel in a Grinding Machine (produces 2)
  
• Jewellery
  Created by crafting 1 unit of gemstone with 2 units of gold at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Clothes
  Created by processing 5 units of cloth at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Armour
  Created by processing 1 unit of clothes, 2 units of cloth, and 3 units of steel at a Fine Tools Workbench
  
• Wheelbarrow
  Created by processing 1 unit of vehicle parts with 5 units of steel
  
• Autobike
  Created by processing 8 units of steel, 5 units of vehicle parts, 4 units of cloth, 4 units of electronics, and 2 units of electric lights at a Garage
  
• Transport Truck
  Created by processing 30 units of steel, 22 units of vehicle parts, 20 units of cloth, 9 units of electronics, and 6 units of electric lights at a Garage

 

 

 

Import only materials*

Things that can only be gained by imports

 

 

• Book
• Gunpowder
• Neon gas
• Rope
• Tent
• Cart
• Dye

 

 

 

Building modules

Things that can be placed in the world, especially for building settlements

 

For all following room, each are a 4x4m room that can be created with either 25 planks and 2 steel, 10 bricks and 5 cement, or 30 steel, each giving a different style

Below each room are building modules specific to that type that can only be placed within those rooms.

 

A brief description of each module is provided.

• Housing room
  • Fireplace
    Increases the occupant's happiness
    Created with 4 units of coal and either 8 units of steel or 4 units of bricks and 1 unit of cement at a Machining Station
  • Bed
    Allows the occupant to sleep
    Created with 3 units of planks and 5 units of cloth at a machining station
    
  • Chest
    Decreases how often the occupant needs to resupply their home, can be used to store items
    Created with 4 units of planks at a machining station
    
  • Kitchen
    Increases the occupant's happiness, reduces how often they need to resupply
    Created with 3 units of steel, 3 units of glass products, and 2 units of electronics at a Machining Station
    
  • Bookshelf
    Increases the occupant's happiness
    Created with 2 units of books and 1 unit of planks at a Machining Station
    
  • Table
    Increases the occupant's happiness
    Created with 3 units of wood and 1 unit of steel at a Machining Station
    
  • Television set
    Increases the occupant's happiness
    Requires electricity
    Created with 4 units of electronics, 5 units of planks, 1 unit of glass, and 1 unit of neon tubes at a Fine tools workbench
    
• Commercial / public room
  • Mayor's desk
    When placed, specifies the town hall and allows Mayor View
    Created with 4 units of planks and 1 unit of alcohol at a Machining station
  • Safe
    Can be used to store items
    Created with 8 units or steel and 2 units of machine parts at a Fine tools workbench
    
  • Shop counter
    Allows NPC's to work at the shop
    Created with 2 units of planks and 2 units of glass at a Machining station
    
  • Storage shelf
    Created with 4 units of planks and 1 unit of steel at a Machining station
    
  • Neon sign
    Displays the name of the building it is attached to
    Requires electricity
    Created with 4 units of neon tubes at a Fine tools workbench
    
  • Settlement trade centre
    When placed, specifies the trade centre of the settlement
    Created with 4 units of planks and a safe a Machining station
    
  • Mainframe
    Supports terminals or business offices in the room it is placed in
    Requires electricity
    Created with 40 units of wires, 20 units of electronics, 10 units of electric lights, 5 units of glass products, and 3 units of steel at a Fine tools workbench
    
  • Terminal
    Can only be placed in a room with a usable Mainframe
    Requires electricity
    Created with 10 units of electronics, 5 units of wires, 4 units of steel, 2 units of planks 2 units of electric lights, and 1 unit of glass at a Fine tools workbench
    
  • Business office
    Allows NPC's to work at an office - can only be placed in a room with a usable Mainframe
    Requires electricity
    Created with 12 units of planks, 1 unit of electric lights and a terminal at a Machining station
    
  • Surgery
    Restores the player to full health on use
    Created with 12 units of planks, 10 units of cloth, 4 units of electronics, 4 units of alcohol, and 2 units of electric lights at a Machining station
    
• Industrial room
  • Tool Store
    Grants the player tools if they don't have any and there are some in the town stockpile
    Created with 2 units of wood and 2 units of steel at a Machining station
  • Furnace
    Used in crafting
    Created with 10 units of coal and either 4 units of stone or 12 units of clay at a Machining station
    
  • Grinding machine
    Used in crafting
    Requires an engine
    ​Created with 6 units of steel and 2 units of machine parts at a Machining station
    
  • Machining station
    Used in crafting
    ​Created with 12 units of planks (first time only)
    Created with 6 units of planks and 2 units of machine parts at a Machining station
    
  • Fine tools workbench
    Used in crafting
    ​Created with 6 units of planks, 4 units of machine parts, and 2 units of glass products at a Machining station
    
  • Chemical workstation
    Used in crafting
    ​Created with 4 units of steel and 4 units of glass products at a Fine tools workbench
    
  • Mixing tank
    Used in crafting
    Requires an engine
    ​Created with 12 units of steel and 2 units of glass products at a Machining station
    
  • Diesel engine
    Used to power machinery
    Requires diesel to operate
    Created with 10 units of machine parts and 8 units of steel at a Machining station
    
  • Garage
    Used to construct vehicles, takes up an entire (4x4) room
    Requires an engine
    Created with 20 units of steel, 6 units of diesel, 4 units of repair tools, and 1 unit of cloth at a Machining station
    
  • Water pump
    Provides water
    Requires an engine
    Created with 12 units of steel, 4 units of cloth, and 2 units of machine parts at a Machining station
    
• Storage room
  Used to created storage buildings
  Created with 8 units of wood, 2 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Military room
  • Armoury
    Restocks the player's ammunition (if the town stockpile has enough)
    Created with 18 units of steel at a Machining station
  • Communications array
    Requires electricity
    Allows the player to see hostile units near the settlement lit up in Mayor Mode
    Created with 18 units of wires, 6 units of electronics, and 4 units of steel at a Fine tool workbench
    
  • Mounted gun
    Powerful weapon with long range that can't be moved
    Created with 18 units of steel, 10 units of wood, 6 units of machine parts, and 2 units of electric lights at a Machining station
    
    

Generic building modules

These are exterior features for outside rooms

• Road
  Used by NPC vehicles, increase travel speed
  Created with 2 units of cement and 4 units of gravel
• Mound
  Used to raise the land to a certain height; en mass it flattens the terrain
  Created with either 5 units of soil or 5 units of sand
  
• Farmland
  Used to grow crops from seeds
  Created with 5 units of mulch/compost
  
• Power line
  Shares electricity between connected buildings - automatically connects to buildings within a 3 block radius or power lines within a 5 block radius (as long as the direct path is clear)
  Requires electricity
  Created with 10 units of wires, 3 units of logs, and 1 units of electronics at a Machining station
  
• Diesel generator
  Produces electricity enough for 12 electronic components
  Requires diesel to operate
  Created with 10 units of machine parts, 10 units of wires, 8 units of steel, and 2 units of electronics at a Machining station
  
• Mine shaft
  Requires electricity
  Allows up to 5 NPCs to enter and mine minerals and stone based on the abundance of these materials where the shaft is placed
  Created with 35 units of planks, 18 units of steel, 12 units of logs, and 4 units of electric lights in Mayor Mode only
  
• Oil well
  Allows up to 4 NPCs to enter and extract oil based on the abundance of oil where the well is placed
  Created with 12 units of steel, and 10 units of machine parts in Mayor Mode only
  
• Door
  Allows entry and exit from a building. Must be placed on a building's wall
  Created with 4 units of planks, 1 unit of steel at a Machining station
  
• Window
  Must be placed on a building's wall
  Created with 2 units of planks, and 4 units of glass at a Machining station
  
• Stairs
  Wood, brick, metal
  Used to reach higher level of buildings. Can only be placed on exteriors.
  Created with either 10 units of planks and 1 unit of steel, 6 units of bricks and 2 of cement, or 15 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Balcony
  Wood, brick, metal
  An extension of a building's floor on the exterior. Can only be placed on exterior walls of building (or their corners).
  Created with either 8 units of planks and 1 unit of steel, 5 units of bricks and 2 of cement, or 12 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Scaffolding
  Wood, brick, metal
  A 1 block construct that spans a level but is empty. Can be built on top of.
  Created with either 14 units of planks and 1 unit of steel, 9 units of bricks and 2 of cement, or 20 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Railing
  Wood, brick, metal
  A 4x0.5 wall that prevents people falling off high places or going where you don't want them. Can be placed on the edge of a grid (see construction).
  Created with either 4 units of planks, 2 units of bricks and 1 of cement, or 6 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Fence
  A chain-link fence to prevent entry to an area. Can be placed on the edge of a grid (see construction).
  Created with 10 units of steel at a Machining station
  
• Exterior lighting fixture
  A light that can be placed on a power-line or on an exterior wall (the building must be powered)
  Requires electricity
  Created with 5 units of wires, 2 units of steel, and 1 unit of electric lights at a Fine tools workbench
  
• Garden bed
  A garden bed that grows flowers or bushes
  Created with 4 units of planks, 4 units of mulch/compost, and 3 units of leaves
  
• Fountain
  A water fountain
  Created with 12 units of water, 6 units of stone, and 4 units of cement in Mayor Mode only
  
• Banner
  A hanging banner that can be placed either on a power-line or on an exterior wall
  Created with 12 units of cloth and 2 units of dye at a Fine tools workbench
  
• Sign
  A sign that displays the name of the building it is placed on, or a custom message if placed elsewhere
  Created with 4 units of planks and 1 unit of dye at a Fine tools workbench
  

 

 

 

 

Construction

Concepts relating to building things

 

 

 

Quick notes

• buildings that require fuel to run (generators, engines, and furnaces) take this directly from the town stockpile
• A 'Block' is a 4x4x4m cube
• When a new building is created, a door is added for free
• focus on building upward not outward

 

Buildings:

Following is a list of buildings that can be set

 

 

Housing:

These are buildings that allow more citizens to live in a settlement. They also server as shelter for defenceless citizens, and as resupply points. Citizens in their downtime can bring goods back to their house, and can then return to their homes to resupply instead of a shop. Houses can also be upgraded by adding more furniture from the housing building parts. Note that if a couple of citizens become married they live in the same house/bed.

• Home
  A standard home for a citizen, this building provides good comfort
  Built with at least 3 blocks, and a bed
  
• Apartment
  A different home for citizens, this building provides less happiness for the inhabitants then a Home, but allows up to 3 citizens per 2 blocks to live in it
  Built with at least 3 blocks and up to 2 beds for every 3 blocks (minimum two)
  

Commercial / public
These buildings generally employ citizens and provide a wide variety of services for a settlement.

• Town hall
  This building defines a settlement, and features the desk allowing the player to enter Mayor Mode. It is used by the player as a HQ where they can run their town, and requires no citizens to work there.
  Built with at least 4 blocks and a Mayor's desk
  
• Trade centre
  Having a trade centre allows the settlement to trade with various companies to sell and buy goods. It employs 4 commercial workers (2 per shift).
  Built with at least 2 blocks and a Settlement Trade Centre
  
• General shop
  General shops provide citizens with a place to purchase goods to restock their homes. These goods are taken out of the settlement stockpile. It employs 2 commercial workers (1 per shift).
  Built with at least 2 blocks, a shop counter, storage shelf, and a safe
  
• Diner
  A diner is a place where citizens can go to eat, which also increases their happiness while there by a factor based on how many others are also there (If it's just one citizen there is no effect). Each table inside the building can service 3 citizens, so the more tables the more people can sit and higher the happiness bonus that can be granted. It will only function when supplied with food, and employs 6 commercial workers (3 per shift).
  Built with at least 4 blocks, a shop counter, a fireplace, a kitchen, and at least 2 tables (at most 6).
  
• Bar
  A bar is like a diner but instead serves drinks. It will only function while supplied with alcohol and employs 4 commercial workers (2 per shift).
  Built with at least 3 blocks, a shop counter, and at least 2 tables (at most 4).
  
• Computing station
  Requires Electricity
  A computing station is a public computer access room to allow citizens to utilise computers in their downtime. Citizens using it gain extra happiness, and every time one is used the settlement gains a slight income bonus.
  Built with at least 2 blocks, a mainframe, and at least 1 terminal (maximum 4).
  
• Business
  Requires Electricity
  A business is a great way to employ many citizens and earn extra money for a settlement. Businesses earn a constant stream of money based on their work mode, which can be altered in Mayor mode at any time - but changing the work mode makes the business produce nothing for two shifts. Each business employs 10 commercial workers (5 per shift).
  Work modes:

1. Advertising company: income based on the number of citizens living in the settlement, citizens consume more of all goods
2. Banking: income based on how poor the settlement is, trade prices are lowered
3. Administration: income is high and flat, lowers the happiness of all those working there

Built with at least 6 blocks, 4 business offices, and a mainframe.

• Doctor's office
  A doctors office heals any citizens that visit it. This is especially useful for soldier citizens. It employs 4 commercial workers (2 per shift).
  Built with at least 3 blocks and a surgery.
  
• Storage building
  Storage rooms are places where the couriers can deposit goods. When deposited to a storage room, the goods will sit on the floor for a time until they are 'stored' after which they'll enter the settlement stockpile. If a storage room is full of good waiting to be stored then no more can be placed there.
  Built with at least 1 block and 1 storage room (must always be 1:1 so a room of size 4 must have 4 storage rooms in it).

Industrial:

• Lumber mill
  This building is a hub for lumberjacks, it produces planks. It should be built near trees. Employs 6 lumberjacks (3 per shift).
  Built 1 block and a tool store.
  
• Fishery
  This building is a hub for fishermen that produces fish. It is better to build it near the water. Employs 6 fishermen (3 per shift).
  Built with 2 blocks, a storage room, and a tool store.
  
• Landscape depot
  This building is a hub for shovelmen. It should be built near where they are to be working. The building can be set to what material is to be collected: mulch, clay, sand, soil, ash or gravel. It employs 6 shovelmen (3 per shift).
  Built with 2 blocks, a tool store, and a storage room.
  
• Brickworks
  This factory produces bricks as long as it is supplied with clay and sand. It employs 8 industrial workers (4 per shift).
  Built with 4 blocks, a furnace and a mixing tank
  
• Cotton mill
  Requires Fuel
  This factory produces either clothes, cloth or both from cotton. It employs 10 workers (5 per shift).
  Built with 6 blocks, 4 fine tools workbenches, and an engine.
  
• Cement factory
  Requires Fuel
  A cement factory produces cement from powdered stone and either sand or ash. It employs 6 workers (3 per shift).
  Built with 3 blocks, a mixing tank, a water pump, and an engine.
  
• Glassworks
  This factory produces either glass, glass products, or neon tubes from sand or ash. It employs 6 industrial workers (3 per shift).
  Built with 3 blocks, a furnace, and a fine tools workbench.
  
• Foundry
  This factory produces either steel, gold, or either (based on availability) from ores and coal. It employs 8 workers (4 per shift).
  Built with 4 blocks and 2 furnaces.
  
• Furniture shop
  Requires Fuel
  A furniture shop further processes planks into wood products. It can be set to produce a repeating patter of 4 items consisting of chests, beds, bookshelves, tables, shop counters, storage shelves, doors, windows, stairs, balconies, railing, scaffolding, or gardenbeds (as long as materials are available). It employs 6 workers (3 per shift).
  Built with 4 blocks, 2 machining stations, a engine, and a fine tools workbench.
  
• Refinery
  Requires Fuel
  This important factory automatically refines any oil in the town stockpile into diesel. It employs 10 industrial workers (5 per shift).
  Built with 6 blocks, 3 chemical workstations, 2 mixing tanks, and an engine.
  
• Processing mill
  Requires Fuel
  A generic factory that can be specified to perform a number of tasks. It can be set to produce either flour, tobacco product, powdered spice, powdered stone, or gemstones as long as the raw materials are available. It employs 4 workers (2 per shift).
  Built with 3 blocks, a grinding machine, and an engine.
  
• Bakery
  A shop to produce bread and chocolate as long as the raw materials are available. It employs 4 workers (2 per shift).
  Built with 4 blocks, a water pump, a furnace, and a kitchen.
  
• Brewery / Distillery
  Requires Fuel
  This factory produces a specified alcohol (or can be set to produce from whatever is available) from the raw materials. It can produce beer, rum, or vodka. It employs 6 workers (3 per shift).
  Built with 5 blocks, a chemical workstation, a water pump, two mixing tanks, and an engine.
  
• Machine shop
  Requires Fuel
  A generic factory to produce complex metal goods. It can be set to produce a repeating patter of 4 items consisting of tools, wires, machine parts, weapons, ammunition, vehicle parts, safes, or fences (as long as materials are available). It employs 8 workers (4 per shift).
  Built with 6 blocks, 4 machining stations, and an engine.
  
• Electrical Engineering
  Requires Electricity
  A factory to produce electronic goods. It can be set to produce a repeating patter of four items consisting of electronics, electronic lights, television sets, mainframes, terminals, communication arrays, power lines, and diesel generators. It employs 6 workers (3 per shift).
  Built with 4 blocks and two fine tools workbenches.
  
• Garage
  Requires Electricity
  This factory creates vehicles when told to. It can produce either wheelbarrows, autobikes, or transport trucks. It employs 6 workers (3 per shift).
  Built with 4 blocks and a garage.
  
• Fine goods production
  Requires Electricity
  This factory can be set to produce some luxury goods. It can either produce jewellery or cigarettes. It employs 4 workers (2 per shift).
  Built with 3 blocks, a safe, and a fine tools workbench.
  

Miltary:

• Turret
  Requires Electricity
  This building automatically fires on hostile units in its range. It employs 2 soldiers (1 per shift).
  Built with 1 block and a mounted gun.
  
• Outpost
  This building is used by soldiers to restock their weapons and ammunition and allows more soldiers to be hired. It employs up to 8 soldiers and require 4 minimum (2 per shift).
  Built with 3 blocks and an armoury
  
• Redoubt
  Requires Electricity
  This building combines the functions of an outpost and turret, and allows many soldiers to be hired. It employs up to 40 soldiers, with 10 minimum (5 per shift).
  It is built with 6 blocks, 4 mounted guns, 2 armouries, and a communications array.

 

 

 

 

 

Destruction

Concepts relating to destroying things

 

 

 

 

NPCs

Theoretical implementation models and behaviour patterns as well as general concepts for AI characters

 

 

 

 

An NPC is an AI controlled character. In this game they will be central to establishing settlements and growing them. NPC's will be found in the world and will be 'hired' by the player to work in their settlement. There are a few ways this could work.

1. NPC's appear on the outskirts of the player's town and walk towards it, waiting at the town hall, as long as there are homes for them to live in. The player can hire them or dismiss them.
2. NPC's travel along the pre-made roads on the map, and the player must either build near roads, build their own connected roads, or wait on roads to contact NPC's to hire.
3. NPC's are 'requested' at the town by using some resource (money?) and will arrive soon thereafter

Regardless, all npc's require a home to live in (see buildings), and will also require resources. An NPC's happiness indicates their willingness to continue living in the player's settlement. Happiness can be raised in a variety of ways, the most important being food, clothes, and work. As long as these three conditions are met the NPC will remain in the settlement. The happiness can be raised higher by giving them better supplies or homes. Higher happiness results in faster production and overall effectiveness of the NPC.

 

By existing as a citizen, an npc will consume food and clothes. If they are available (stored in the town stockpile), citizens will also consume cigarettes, alcohol, jewellery and chocolate. Each citizen would have hidden statistics relating to their satisfaction regarding each of these resources. If this statistic remains above a threshold, it will provide benefits to the citizen's happiness, and if below it will have a detrimental effect. For example, if a citizen has their need for food satisfied well (above say 80%) they would gain extra happiness, whereas if their food fell below 40% they would lose their happiness. As a citizen exists these stats will automatically drop over time (simulating hunger for example) requiring the citizen to 'refill' their stats by visiting a shop or their home and collecting more.

 

Citizens can marry other citizens if the two spend a certain amount of time together in various activities (such as a bar or at work). A married couple behave as normal except that they will share a house/bed and spend their downtime together if able. Becoming married gives a permanent boost to happiness for both parties but if either dies or leaves the other will suffer a bigger penalty.

 

NPC jobs/tasks:

Every employer in this game will have a minimum requirement of two employees. This is so that the business can work 24/7 with citizens taking 12 hour shifts. In their downtime citizens will wander around the town, buy supplies, or visit their homes to sleep or relax. When a shift changes, citizens will simply abandon their current task, meaning that fishermen might never make it to the water, so care should be taken by the player to keep resource buildings near their resources. The majority of citizens will fit into either the 'Industrial Worker' or 'Commercial Worker' categories. All other categories are:

• Lumberjack
• Fisherman
• Shovelman
• Courier
• Miner
• Oil driller
• Farmer
• Industrial worker
• Commercial worker
• Soldier

Information on special NPC's

Couriers:

Couriers are very important to the player's settlement. While some goods are simply available wherever needed (like tools) many have to be moved manually. For example, lumber cut down in a lumberjack mill must be carried to the town stockpile in order to be usable. Courier NPC's automatically carry out these orders. Whenever a building has goods it needs moved, it sends a request to the 'courier stack', which is placed on top of the stack. Couriers take tasks from the bottom of the stack and complete them, removing them from the stack. A courier can work faster with a wheelbarrow (by increasing their movement speed - they always carry all goods stored in a run) and can work very fast over long distances using a transport truck. Couriers in transport trucks work differently from normal couriers in their they take the longest distance request from the stack each time. They will not complete courier tasks that are under 8 cube's worth of distance (32m).

 

Couriers do not have a employment building, and instead the number of couriers desired can be specified in Mayor Mode.

 

Soldiers:

Soldiers are NPC's tasks with combat duties. They can be moved around by the player in mayor mode, or asked to follow them in first person mode. Soldiers can be equipped with any weapon a player can, and will not use ammunition when using their weapons.

 

Regular citizens will not automatically become soldiers. Instead the player must specify the number of soldiers they'd like the town to have in Mayor Mode. The number of soldiers possible is a factor of the number of outposts and redoubts the settlement has. Each outpost owned requires 4 soldiers to be hired to maintain, but allows an extra 4 to be hired in addition. The redoubt requires 10 soldiers to function, but can employ an extra 30.

 

Scripts:

I don't claim to know anything about how to code AI behaviours, but below is my best guess at how this would be done.

 

Each NPC would sit within a hierarchy of parent and child types. For example, a Lumberjack NPC's hierarchy might look like this:

 

Global NPC

\/

Hired NPC (living in settlement)

\/

Employed NPC

\/

Lumberjack NPC

As per normal conventions behaviour specified in higher tiers would override that in lower. For example, a 'Global NPC' might be instructed to run away from danger, whereas a 'Soldier NPC' would override this action with fighting the danger instead.

 

Each level of NPC behaviour would feature a variety of 'scripts' to be run in various situations. There would be a main script within each level of hierarchy that checks for new calls to other scripts and runs them accordingly. Here is a an example 'Lumberjack NPC' script list:

 

GLOBAL NPC:

• Global Main -> calls and checks global npc scripts
• Head to settlement -> tasks the npc to move to the nearest player settlement
• In danger -> tasks the npc to escape the danger
• Hired -> makes this npc a hired npc
• Fired -> removes all subclasses from this npc

HIRED NPC:

• Hired Main -> calls and checks hired npc scripts
• Set home -> identifies a series of cubes on the map to be this npc's home
• Shop -> tasks the npc to go to the nearest shop to buy supplies
• Needs -> tasks the npc to fulfil their needs as best they can with their supplies
• In danger -> (overridden) tasks the npc to return to their home to escape danger
• Return home -> tasks the npc to return to their home
• Employed -> makes this npc an employed npc
• Sacked -> removes employed and lower subclasses from this npc

EMPLOYED NPC:

• Employed Main -> calls and checks employed npc scripts
• Set job -> identifies a series of cubes on the map to be this npc's workplace. Also sets this npc to be the specified lower subtype (lumberjack in this case)
• Head to work -> tasks the npc to go to their workplace

LUMBERJACK NPC:

• Lumberjack main -> calls and checks lumberjack npc scripts
• Chop tree -> tasks the npc to look for the nearest tree and proceed to cut it down
• Collect wood -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace with the collected wood
• Replace tool -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace to receive an axe

Scripts for other job types:

 

 

FISHERMAN NPC:

• Fisherman main
• Fish -> tasks npc to go to the nearest shoreline or river and proceed to fish
• Collect fish -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace with the collected fish

SHOVELMAN NPC:

• Shovelman main
• Shovel -> tasks npc to begin shovelling nearest specified (mulch, clay, sand, soil, ash, gravel) patch
• Collect -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace with the collected earth
• Replace tool -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace to receive a shovel

COURIER NPC:

• Courier main
• Begin task -> tasks the npc to begin a courier task from the top of the stack
• Complete task -> updates the courier stack
• Replace tool -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace to receive a wheelbarrow
• Replace vehicle -> tasks the npc to return to the workplace to receive a transport truck

MINER NPC:

• Miner main
• Enter mine -> makes the npc 'enter' the mine
• Exit mine -> 'makes the npc 'exit' the mine
• Replace tool -> tasks the npc to receive a pickaxe

OIL DRILLER NPC:

• Oil driller main
• Replace tool -> tasks the npc to receive a repair tool

FARMER NPC:

• Farmer main
• Sow -> tasks the npc to use the specified seeds to plant a crop
• Reap -> tasks the npc to collect all the crops in the farm
• Replace tool -> tasks the npc to receive a hoe

INDUSTRIAL WORKER NPC:

• Industrial worker main

COMMERCIAL WORKER NPC:

• Commercial worker main

SOLDIER NPC:

• Soldier main
• In danger -> (overridden) fight back at the danger using weapons
• Replace weapon -> tasks the soldier to receive either a knife, revolver, rifle, automatic rifle, or a flamethrower
• Replace clothes -> tasks the soldier to receive armoured clothes
• Patrol -> tasks the soldier to walk around the outskirts of the settlement
• Stand ground-> tasks the soldier to stay in the current location
• Follow player -> tasks the soldier to follow the player
• Respond -> tasks the soldier to move to a location

 

 

 

 

 

 

Settlements

Concepts relating to the management of settlements

 

 

Trade:

Trade should be an important element of the game - if the player chooses to play it that way. Trade is a key feature of many city-building games, and helps differentiate this game from other survival sandbox games, while also making the world more alive. Trade will be conducted purely through money, with the player being either able to buy or sell goods. To trade with a trader, the player can either approach them in first person mode, or set up a trade agreement in a settlement via mayor mode.

 

Basic trading:

 

Trade agreement:

 

Trade partners:

Here is a list of available trade partners and what they will trade:

• West & Smith Frontier Outfitters
  • Buys: Wheelbarrows, armour, seeds (all types)
  • Sells: Tent, carts, dye, ropes, tools (all types), clothes
• Jackson Goods
  • Buys: Jewellery, cigarettes, alcohol, gold, spice
  • Sells: Books, gemstones, tobacco product
• Poundstone Contractors
  • Buys: clay, steel, wood, building blocks (all types)
  • Sells: Bricks, sand, dirt, cement
• GTM Incorporated
  • Buys: wires, glass, electronic components, electronic lights
  • Sells: Neon, terminal, mainframe
• Armlock Munitions
  • Buys: Oil, steel, machine parts, diesel
  • Sells: Gunpowder, weapons (all types), ammunition (all types), armour
• Goldsun Wholesale
  • Buys: chocolate, powdered spices, fruit, vegetables, mulch
  • Sells: bread, fish, flour, grains (all types)

 

 

 

Gameplay Icing

Additional gameplay features and concepts

 

 

 

 

Audio

Regarding music and sound design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Information

Information not contained above

 

 

 

 

[DeviousDave]

If your going to go Diesel punk you should include a modified version of that Mining steam punk Mech I'm positive I remember you posting ages back (either that or I'm getting my awesome posters mixed up again)

 

Either way good luck with this.

[danpaul88]

What engine are you going to build this on?

 

Are structures going to be pre-fab'd (and potentially you could add new pre-fabs with mods) or self-build a-la minecraft? pre-fab would probably be easier if you want to give buildings functions and whatnot.

[Squid Empire]

If your going to go Diesel punk you should include a modified version of that Mining steam punk Mech I'm positive I remember you posting ages back (either that or I'm getting my awesome posters mixed up again)

 

Either way good luck with this.

 

[sketchfab]8a4d54f6946a45018f3494a4e40e7430[/sketchfab]

Bipedal Extraction Rig by Squid Empire on Sketchfab

This one here! I'd like to keep vehicles simple for now, but if I get the conditions to add this you bet I will

 

What engine are you going to build this on?

 

Are structures going to be pre-fab'd (and potentially you could add new pre-fabs with mods) or self-build a-la minecraft? pre-fab would probably be easier if you want to give buildings functions and whatnot.

 

I can't really comment on the engine, but I'll take any suggestions. If I had to make a prediction I might hazard Unity 5.

 

There is a scale of building pre-fabrication I suppose from Minecraft style lego blocks to Age of Empires style pre-built buildings. Ideally, I would lean towards the method used in Rust, but perhaps with even simpler options. A player could place a 4mx4m room using the material they like, and then add things like doors, windows, ladders etc onto the walls. Room could be placed next to each other to make larger rooms. To make a room functional, you would add some certain objects. For example, to make a home you might add a bed and a cupboard to a room of at least 8mx8m floorspace (2 'units). A crushing plant for a mine might need 16mx16m, a diesel generator, a control module, an industrial device, and a storage module. These devices would be crafted by the player and placed down in first person or via 'mayor mode'.

 

However to keep things simple, the method of simply placing pre-built structures could work. Perhaps if you went this route you could have player made content included - with a steam workshop sort of thing for buildings (as Dave suggested previously).

[Squid Empire]

Resource concepts mostly done. If anyone has any suggestion on how to lay it out I'd be very grateful - it's pretty hard to look at at the moment...

 

Sketchup image concepts are in the works too

[Raptor29aa]

Interesting Concept...

I am cautious with how much input I give to a game in drafting phase considering I am still grasping the concept.

Yet I was wondering about the NPC spawning dynamic.

Are the NPCs found around the map? (generated with map/spawn timer locations) Or are they in a town/ship/village structure? (spawn in single/multi structure location) Or are they summoned? (like bought for a price or crafted/machined or called in from off map)

[Squid Empire]

Interesting Concept...

I am cautious with how much input I give to a game in drafting phase considering I am still grasping the concept.

Yet I was wondering about the NPC spawning dynamic.

Are the NPCs found around the map? (generated with map/spawn timer locations) Or are they in a town/ship/village structure? (spawn in single/multi structure location) Or are they summoned? (like bought for a price or crafted/machined or called in from off map)

 

Thanks for the interest! This is actually when I want the most feedback, as nothing is set in stone yet we can work out how everything fits together easiest at this stage.

As for NPC's I have this idea. Once a settlement is founded, and a house is built, an NPC will spawn somewhere out of line of sight around your town. They will walk to your town and stand around at the town hall building. You can then either accept them as a new citizen in Mayor mode or first person, or dismiss them. After another 5 minuets another citizen would turn up if you dismissed them.

Alternatively, there would be pre-made roads criss-crossing the map. Occasional NPC's would spawn on the road and travel around on it. You could then build your town near a road, or hook one of your roads up to one, and ask any NPC's you find on it to join you.

 

The pre-requisite for having a new citizen would be for your town to have a free home for them to move into. If they're get too unhappy (from lack of food, clothing etc.) they'll leave the town on their own accord.

 

 

Miner NPC concept image

 

 

 

 

I was thinking some more about actual gameplay and maybe I should change some things. In my plan I've mentioned having other AI settlements that exist around the world for the player to trade with or attack. This sounds pretty difficult to manage unless they're just pre-built and run according to simple scripts, but then there's hardly any point in them. So what do NPC settlements offer the game?

1. A feeling of a populated world
2. A place to gain rare resources (through trade)
3. A challenge (to attack/invade or defend against)

While the first of these is a bit difficult to replace, the second and third elements could be replaced with dangerous animals. Perhaps oil or other resources can only be harvested from some sort of creature, that is very dangerous to take down. My immediate though was a sort of gigantic sky whale that floats above everything. They could be moderately rare creatures that float around the map, and hate smoke - so they attack player buildings. They'd take a lot of weapons to take down but might offer great rewards, like rare resources. Also, it'd be damn cool to be standing around in your draughty, creaking, 4 story high wooden apartment in the dead of night, only to hear the distant echoy bellow of a dreaded skywhale echo around the fjord.

 

I'd rather not entirely remove AI settlements, but they could be simplified to villages made of pre-built specific buildings that never expand.

[Squid Empire]

 

Here is the concept for the rifle. It's semi-auto and shoots very accurate over long range. I know the heat sink is silly but I like the way it looks... at least it won't ever get hot enough to burn your hands!

 

Sorry for lots of pictures, I'm pretty happy with it though

 

View in dodgy 3D:

https://skfb.ly/EOBN

 

More:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Squid Empire]

I'd like to pose the question of music. I have some ideas but some input would be cool.

Firstly I expect there to be two separate musical types present; there'd be music for exploring or just being outside, and music for settlements. I'd imagine the music would be triggered occasionally, first-person style, rather then constantly playing in city-building style.

 

I'd hope it was handled like it was in Skyrim where the music is appropriate and enters subtly rather then in like in Minecraft where bizarre loud chords suddenly jar all over the place.

 

Here are my ideas:

Exterior music (natural landscapes):

• Strings (lots)
• General orchestra stuff with brass and strings
• Simple, quiet, abstract/atmospheric percussion (this might be confusing though... mix with strings?)
• Smooth lounge/big band music (period style)
• Male choir with soft backing (might be overly dramatic lol)

Settlement music:

• Upbeat orchestra
• Period music (jazz, big band, etc.)
• Strings and brass

Hopefully I can licence some period music, or find some royalty free. This would be useful for things like the television sets in citizen houses anyway.

 

 

Edit: another question

 

I've started on the pistol concept and I want to base it off the gun on the left. However I don't really like the wimpy grip so I've got some pictures merging it with something more appropriate. Which version do you like best?

[Squid Empire]

Here it is

 

 

 

I attempted a render:

 

 

 

 

 

[Squid Empire]

Concept art for citizens:

 

 

I've recently heard that Source 2 is coming out soon and that it'll be free to use for creating new content. Maybe that would be an option to consider for this? Has anyone got any experience on Source engine / anything they know about it they'd want to share?

[Squid Empire]

I've done concept arts for all natural resources as they'd appear when placed in world (excluding minerals)

 

 

 

[DeviousDave]

Looks awesome

 

Keep them coming!

[Squid Empire]

Looks awesome

 

Keep them coming!

 

Thanks Dave

 

Here's the last weapon concept (besides knife) to be done, the automatic rifle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AZ-Stalker]

Wow, you're really into all of this Squid. I love your enthusiasm and sense of conviction around getting an idea out of your head and into a visual form. Keep up with exploring your ideas, it's starting to shape up nicely.

[moonsense715]

That's not a concept, that's a complete model. You actually seem to be good at modeling, I don't know why you badged yourself as concept artist and never tried to fully walk the modeler's path.

[Squid Empire]

Wow, you're really into all of this Squid. I love your enthusiasm and sense of conviction around getting an idea out of your head and into a visual form. Keep up with exploring your ideas, it's starting to shape up nicely.

 

Thanks! That's the plan, I often work in bursts and if I can get all the planning done in the next few weeks I'll be good footing from then.

 

That's not a concept, that's a complete model. You actually seem to be good at modeling, I don't know why you badged yourself as concept artist and never tried to fully walk the modeler's path.

 

I'm sure our modellers could point out myriad problems with my model. I'm decent at working in 3D - putting shapes together and the like, but have no idea about things like materials or optimising. And besides sketchup is easy! Anyone can be great at making things in it. However I do eventually plan on learning how to make real models at some point - especially If I'm going to be working on my game alone most of the time.

 

 

 

I need to make a large 'gameplay' concept showing what a town might look like, but other then that are there any requests for which parts I should focus on? More civilian concepts? Landspaces? GUI? Anything else?

[Squid Empire]

All right I have an important decision. There's a scale when it comes from buildings that goes from Lego (or Minecraft) style building blocks on one end to Age of Empires style buildings on the other. In my concept so far I've tried to stick to the centre leaning towards the Lego side (with building blocks that can be added together to make special buildings), but I've been increasingly thinking that it might make more sense to go with the city-building style of placing down entire buildings in one go.

 

I've put work on city concepts on hold until I can get this sorted out.

 

Here's a quick comparison:

 

Building blocks:

1. Allows customisation of how the settlement looks
2. Lets the player create unorthodox buildings
3. Matches well with survival aspects
4. Increases NPC coding workload to deal with weird buildings
5. Decreases detail in the buildings (unless there's hundreds of blocks to choose from - which won't be happening)
6. Could become tedious when building many of the same sort of building

Buildings:

1. Gives detailed, pre-designed buildings
2. Allows settlements to be built faster
3. Greatly simplifies NPC AI- the doors and other objects will always be in certain areas
4. Matches well with city-building aspects
5. Greatly decreases the players ability to customise their town (maybe compensate with different styles of buildings? Colours? Upgrades? Decals? Gardens?)
6. Reduces the skill involved in creating an efficient town
7. I'll say it again because it's the main issue; greatly reduces the players creative ability in game

[Squid Empire]

Lumberjacks:

 

[Squid Empire]

Fishermen

 

 

Also shovelmen (and shovelwomen)

 

[moonsense715]

The women's anatomy is getting better with each drawing. Well at least the legs as that's what I didn't like first, as they were the same as males'.

[Squid Empire]

The women's anatomy is getting better with each drawing. Well at least the legs as that's what I didn't like first, as they were the same as males'.

 

Haha thanks - I don't think I get enough practise normally so this has been good for me! So far they've all ended up looking pretty similar because I've been pretty much drawing them all off the same base, but I'll try to inject more difference henceforth.

[Squid Empire]

I have a few large decisions still floating around my head.

Firstly, alarmingly I still haven't sorted out the actual game goal. It's simple enough to say it's a city-building survival game, but by combining those two we'd have to cut the goals for either back massively. While a city-building or RTS game can have hundreds of units and buildings all buzzing around - they're very basic when looks at up close. In a first person game, the characters will all need animations, high resolutions textures, complex AI - and the buildings will need interiors, detailing, effects and so on. From a performance standpoint, a first-person city builder must be scaled back dramatically. I would imagine a limit of a hundred or so citizens on a powerful computers, probably with an ideal number around the 50s. To this end, the 'goal' of city building games - to build the largest, most efficient city, doesn't really apply to this one.
In a survival game the goal depends on how the game is played. In a single-player Minecraft game an end game could either be after the player has constructed whatever it was they wanted to build, or has 'won' by stockpiling massive supplies of the best equipment, with automated farms and fortifications. On an on-line survival game, like rust, the goal is often to have the best possible gear and base in order to defeat all other players. My game concept doesn't really have any need to build enormous bases or stockpile weapons to fight.

 

So it seems I need to work on the goal of the game. I've had some ideas.

1. Focus on running a settlement - make building it harder, make the citizens require more resources, have upgrades, hard to build things, difficult goals to work towards essentially.
2. Focus on the roleplaying - have citizens give random quests, have a storyline or series of large quests, put effort into the players items and gear so they can work to get better stuff
3. Focus on the survival - have the environment be hostile, make it a real challenge to build even a small town, making it a goal to have a big town full of healthy people
4. Focus on the citizens - give the player more control over their population, the citizens can be trained, taught or talked to, make it a bit like the sims
5. Focus on combat - add some really tough enemies, enemy bases, invasions and the like

On top of that I've been working on a list of citizen names, just for fun.

 

Male first names

 

 

Alan

Andrew

Bud

Dean

Don

Edward

Erik

Frank

George

Giacomo

Gunter

Hans

Henrik

Hercule

Immanuel

Jean

Joel

Jörn

Klaus

Lief

Marco

Mark

Nathan

Petri

Pierre

Richard

Roland

Tero

Thomas

Timothy

Titus

Wilhelm

Willem

 

 

 

Female first names

 

 

Abigale

Aiiki

Alexa

Annabelle

Annabeth

Bethany

Bianca

Bridget

Caarmela

Elizabeth

Erica

Evita

Helga

Isabella

Joan

Juliet

Laila

Mary

Natalie

Natascha

Nicole

Sarah

Teri

 

 

 

Surnames

 

 

Adams

Baker

Brookcane

Brunel

Byron

Caine

DeWitt

Erikson

Fontaine

Garibaldi

Giamba

Isambard

McKent

McTrent

Northborough

O'Leary

O'Neilson

Olafson

Paxtan

Roukari

Ryan

Smith

Stenson

Stent

Tenson

Tennant

VanMark

Wearworth

Wentworth

 

 

[Squid Empire]

Here's the courier

 

 

I spent a bit longer on this one, it's fun to start to add in the really obvious dieselpunk elements

 

edit:

And here's the miner!

 

[NaokiP]

It's been a while now since you showed it, but I see some Valkyria Chronicles HMG infulences in that assault rifle, haha.

[Squid Empire]

It's been a while now since you showed it, but I see some Valkyria Chronicles HMG infulences in that assault rifle, haha.

 

I've never played that game, but I suppose it's a good sign to have my work compared to it!

 

 

 

Here's the oil driller.

 

[AZ-Stalker]

Do you intend on doing something like a compilation picture where we can see most, if not all of these character designs in one place... like a not-so-angry mob? You could just paste them all in if they're already on single layers and make a wallpaper or something out of it. Just a thought.

Also, I like the miner's heavier equpiment setup. That would look pretty decent as a steampunk thing if you combined that with say the oil driller outfits.

[Squid Empire]

Do you intend on doing something like a compilation picture where we can see most, if not all of these character designs in one place... like a not-so-angry mob? You could just paste them all in if they're already on single layers and make a wallpaper or something out of it. Just a thought.

 

Also, I like the miner's heavier equpiment setup. That would look pretty decent as a steampunk thing if you combined that with say the oil driller outfits.

 

Sure, why not

Thanks for the feedback on the miners gear! I want the tone of this game to be leaning or edging towards heavy industrial. It's going to be mainly light industry (like the lumberjacks or fishermen) but there should be hints everywhere that it could tip at any moment - like the heavy miners. That said, I also want a sort of frontier look to it as well, so I worked a bit to make the uniforms a little 'unpolished' so that they haven't been streamlined - again, hence the miner's cumbersome equipment, or the courier's accoutrements.

 

 

 

 

As for the info I wanted to post yesterday, here's a dump of my thoughts.

I've been thinking about narrowing down the environmental scope of the game. Perhaps setting it in a specific region. My ideas lean towards a Scandinavian/Bavarian style with mountains, snow, and autumn forests, vast grasslands and windy plains. Most of the terrain styles I listed in my main post would be kept, with only ones like the desert cut. A bonus of this is that Scandinavian people are stereotyped as very quiet and stoic, so it'd be within limits (and fun!) to have the NPC's stand in dramatic places and silently look out over the landscapes at sunset. Plus, it might freak out the player!

 

Another idea I had was to have the citizens have pre-selected random ethnic backgrounds. Depending on their background they might speak a different language in their interactions. I'd imagine that would cause players to interact more with npc's that speak their language, which might be fun for forming 'favourite citizens'.

 

In the building blocks Vs pre-made buildings debate, I pretty sure I'm going to end up going with pre-made, with some simple building blocks that can be added on (like balconies, stairs, empty rooms, and the like). This should maintain the advantages of both systems.

 

In terms of town customisation, I was thinking more about having various little touches for the player to control. Things like a town colour or a coat-of-arms (they can make one from pre-chosen elements). If your people are happy, they'll display the colours proudly from their homes, if they're sad, you might see graffiti covering up your coat-of-arms.

 

Speaking of customisation, I have a final dilemma with the soldier npcs. I haven't yet determined whether their role will be chiefly as a guard or police for the city, a soldier who fights wars, or an adventurer who explores with the player. They're hopefully going to do all three of these things, but all three call for very different uniform designs (or do they?). Should I:

1. Create one soldier npc that has a combination of design features from the three types
2. Create three different types of soldier, with the player choosing 1 type as their town's version (either as only an aesthetic change or involving their effectiveness at their roles)
3. Create three different types of soldier, each being able to be trained and deployed separately
4. Have all soldiers equal in stats, but have player customisation on what their soldiers look like (helmet, armour, colour etc)
5. Something else?

[Squid Empire]

It's been a while.

 

Farmer:

 

Industrial worker:

 

Commercial worker

 

Now the only NPC left is the dreaded soldier ;_;

[Squid Empire]

Here's the long awaited concept of an in-game town too!

Sort of... it's more an idea of what a town might look like then what one should look like.

 

 

It was a very fun picture to draw, and took a long time