Jump to content

Design Meeting report #1


Karamel
 Share

Recommended Posts

Yesterday we met to talk about the general gameplay design of 0 A.D.

We, that is scythewhirler, DarcReaver, niektb and myself, an autoproclammed design comitee (thus most of the team is aware of it) that I invited after this thread http://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=20038. We are not dictatoring how things should be, but try to stick to what 0 A.D. is, refering to the design documents and looking at what is said on the forum (and IRC).

So we first met to agree of what describes 0 A.D. for further common works.

Relying upon this http://trac.wildfiregames.com/wiki/0AD_The_Vision, we diverged about a lot of points from the current state, about capturing, micro and macro, formations.... Then we agreed this:

0 A.D. is a history-driven game that focuses on planning battles and settlements for a good economy. A game should last around 20 to 45 minutes. You start off with a small garrison and expand. While the game progresses you start creating an metropolis. That means more population, more resource spots and of course more soldiers, and more different types of upgrades.

This surely doesn't say all and may seems just a rephrasing of the design document. It is our starting point for further discussions and decisions.

The next meeting will happen on next Sunday. We will discuss each point of the desciptions and act more details for each then and see if the game fits it or what should be modified to get it.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What we mostly did is laying a general foundation about what 0 A.D. is (or should be) based on the design doc. We didn't step into details yet.

We certainly shared nice thoughts and ideas but pushed that aside for later discussion (as we should have a base first)

With that general idea in mind we're going to work out the details in that idea (again based on the design doc).

Edited by niektb
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What we mostly did is laying a general foundation about what 0 A.D. is (or should be) based on the design doc. We didn't step into details yet.

With that general idea in mind we're going to work out the details in that idea (again based on the design doc).

Is there any log ? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 20 to 45 minutes part kind of puts me off...

A game with such level of detail should be savoured like the finest of meals, not devoured as if it was fast food :P

Would you consider adding a second game-mode (Empire Building?) where the game takes between 40 to 90 minutes?

Then people could have time to develop more cities other than a huge metropolis and epic fights could ensue where one defeat in open battle doesn't mean total destruction, since even if that leads to the loss of your best city, you'll have places to retreat and try to claw your way back to victory...

In short, a mode where (grand?) strategy is as important as tactics :)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course the game time depends on your opponents. But be aware that the main concept of 0 A.D. is built around cities, not empires. The game-mode you suggest would be more something for a campaign idea (with a large strategic map like in Total War?)

Also, currently 0 A.D. heavily relies on multiplayer games. For most people 1.5 hours is too long to spend on 1 match (especially since we can't save and rehost it later at the moment).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course the game time depends on your opponents. But be aware that the main concept of 0 A.D. is built around cities, not empires. The game-mode you suggest would be more something for a campaign idea (with a large strategic map like in Total War?)

Also, currently 0 A.D. heavily relies on multiplayer games. For most people 1.5 hours is too long to spend on 1 match (especially since we can't save and rehost it later at the moment).

Yes, it would be more like a short campaign. The inspiration is more Empire Earth, which has a nice concept of "territories" with different resources which you had to dominate in order to exploit it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, it would be more like a short campaign. The inspiration is more Empire Earth, which has a nice concept of "territories" with different resources which you had to dominate in order to exploit it...

Reminds me of Company of Heroes and Dawn of War. Capturing neutral territories on the map automatically gave you certain resources and additional pop cap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...