Introduction and Ideas

[Satoral]

Hello, I am Satoral!

After many years of observing the development of 0AD without participation, I decided to register at this forum to discuss about several topics concerning the game and the engine with you.

First and foremost, I would like to say that the time of my registration is no coincidence. As I am a long-term fan of The Undying Nephalim and his magnificent work, it was just a matter of time that I sign up here. The second reason is the hiatus of the development of Delenda Est and the following discussion about the vision and the future of 0AD.

Before I share my ideas and suggestions with you, I would like to mention that 0AD is one of the very few open source games, which already possess AAA quality and my respect for all developers who worked on Pyrogenesis and 0AD is tremendous.

As far as I know the biggest issue for the future of 0AD is the low popularity and the small number of developers. Considering the premise that if the popularity is increasing, the number of potential new developers is increasing as well, we should think about how to increase the popularity. My suggestions are an attempt to achieve this goal.

My suggestion for the long-term perspective is to make 0AD more versatile for new types of gameplay, so it would be possible to implement these two types:

1. MOBA - The most popular multiplayer games in the current world of gaming. DotA was the most popular mod in the gaming industry and 100 million people are playing LoL per month according to an estimation of September 2016. As there is no MOBA which is open source, there would be the greatest potential.

2. Stealth-oriented RTS - Commandos and Desperados showed the great potential of these games, but they are terribly outdated and no one carried this genre in the present age. There are still modders for Commandos, but they are limited to the boundaries of their engine. In this case, 0AD could revive a whole genre.

My suggestion for the medium-term perspective is addressed to the community. In my opinion, it is very important to focus on the quality of a few mods instead of making many mods. When I look into the modification section, I see countless abandoned mods with great ideas and most of them are not even playable in A22. The community should unite to make two or three mods which are presentable for the audience. Here are some exemplary ideas for such mods:

1. A continuation of Delenda Est - It combined interesting new factions with gameplay and balancing changes. In my opinion, Delenda Est was the best mod for 0AD so far and a perfect alternative for the vanilla game.

2. A mod which covers the 19th/20th/21st century - As I saw in the modification section, there were already attempts to realize modifications with this scenario. I am sure that a mod in the style of Sudden Strike or Blitzkrieg could attract a lot of new players.

3. A unified balancing mod - The whole community should work on a balancing mod and find a suitable consensus for this issue in a democratic way. A good competition of the best ideas and steady progress in the right direction would be profitable for everyone.

My suggestion for the short-term perspective is to run a crowdfunding campaign. The collected money could be used to hire a programmer for certain tasks concerning the engine and the game. An update of the technical design documentation would be helpful as well to lower the difficulty for new developers to find an entry point.

Finally, I would like to summarize my view on the current state of 0AD in a few words:

In my opinion, 0AD is a very good game with a relatively polished engine, but despite that fact, it is too unspectacular to agglomerate more players. Fortunately, 0AD seems to be a decent basis and furthermore, there are many talented people in this forum, who are able to build on that foundation, therefore I am optimistic about the future of 0AD.

I am looking forward to interesting discussions with you!

PS: Excuse me for merging my introduction and my ideas for the future of 0AD in one thread, but I don't want to divide these, as my thoughts about these topics are more or less coherent. Feel free to move this thread in another section, if it is the wrong one.

[Lion.Kanzen]

1} nope, it will  take time like make a new game. moba is popular but is more popular hero shooters. are genres that change by time.

2- never play that game.

3-we are doing that. check our mod section or check game play test forum.

4-we did that, doesn't work. 

 

[Grugnas]

40 minutes ago, Satoral said:

1. MOBA - The most popular multiplayer games in the current world of gaming. DotA was the most popular mod in the gaming industry and 100 million people are playing LoL per month according to an estimation of September 2016. As there is no MOBA which is open source, there would be the greatest potential.

a Moba-like game is somewhat i thought a lot yesterday night and it is something that i really wish to see to come to life!

2. Stealth-oriented RTS - Commandos and Desperados showed the great potential of these games, but they are terribly outdated and no one carried this genre in the present age. There are still modders for Commandos, but they are limited to the boundaries of their engine. In this case, 0AD could revive a whole genre.

Still can't understand how such games like Commandos series dorpped their popularity long the years..

My suggestion for the medium-term perspective is addressed to the community. In my opinion, it is very important to focus on the quality of a few mods instead of making many mods. When I look into the modification section, I see countless abandoned mods with great ideas and most of them are not even playable in A22. The community should unite to make two or three mods which are presentable for the audience. Here are some exemplary ideas for such mods:

1. A continuation of Delenda Est - It combined interesting new factions with gameplay and balancing changes. In my opinion, Delenda Est was the best mod for 0AD so far and a perfect alternative for the vanilla game.

2. A mod which covers the 19th/20th/21st century - As I saw in the modification section, there were already attempts to realize modifications with this scenario. I am sure that a mod in the style of Sudden Strike or Blitzkrieg could attract a lot of new players.

3. A unified balancing mod - The whole community should work on a balancing mod and find a suitable consensus for this issue in a democratic way. A good competition of the best ideas and steady progress in the right direction would be profitable for everyone.

Meh! balance is a thorny tabù >:P

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

The moba isn't bad idea even we can do a hybrid,  I  have a dream too. can be nice implement before a CBA mode. but that's ideas must be implemented after release.(1.0)

[SirPope]

Main thing I liked about delenda was the paired upgrades (storehouse, blacksmith, market). The blacksmith allowed a bit more specific focus. It should still contain some 'general boosts' but I think it did that. I also liked the cost reduction technologies that they had. I really liked the increases to unit health as well. I think it was 5% than 10% and it was paired with training time (or cost)? Idk, I have svn installed and can't check this stuff atm.

For 0ad as it is now: The age 2 techs for the civic center are a bit bare. More techs could be added. A pair of reduced building/tech cost and more building heath/reduced build time. The ability to build storehouses in neutral territories would be amazingly useful. I wouldn't have to waste wood just to expand my territory so I can place a storehouse next to the darn trees. Delenda shouldn't replace what we have now, the ideas of it and some civs could be added to it though. I think someone is uncoupling a few of the civs for 0ad extended?

The AI can easily be adjusted to check for the techs. If it increases build/train time: it's a bad tech. If it increases cost: it's bad. If it reduces either one of those, it's good. If the good out ways the bad. It's good. I haven't check the current researchManager so I'm not sure if it even needs to be edited/added-to like delenda did.

[sphyrth]

Welcome to the Asylum Satoral!

Regarding Mods:
1. Everybody loves Delenda Est - It's just not getting much support. I find it paradoxical.
2. 19th Century Mods - Quite inactive, but it's only waiting to be implemented on other mods.
3. Unified Balance Mod - Vox Populi

[Satoral]

On 11/13/2017 at 3:35 PM, Lion.Kanzen said:

4-we did that, doesn't work. 

I wouldn't say that 33K and over 1000 donors are a failure. The minimum goal (40K) was missed, but the numbers are not bad at all. This campaign ended four years ago and I think that it would be the right time to try it again.

On 11/13/2017 at 4:36 PM, Lion.Kanzen said:

The moba isn't bad idea even we can do a hybrid,  I  have a dream too. can be nice implement before a CBA mode. but that's ideas must be implemented after release.(1.0)

I think that the developers should build the foundations for a MOBA gameplay in reasonable steps before the big release. A good start would be the implementation of a level system with experience points.

11 hours ago, sphyrth said:

3. Unified Balance Mod - Vox Populi

Yes, this mod comes very close to my idea. I hope the developers implement some suggestions of Vox Populi in the future, even though my favorite balancing mod is Monkey Wrench.

[Sundiata]

2 hours ago, Satoral said:

I wouldn't say that 33K and over 1000 donors are a failure. The minimum goal (40K) was missed, but the numbers are not bad at all. This campaign ended four years ago and I think that it would be the right time to try it again.

That's what I think... Because it "didn't" work the first time doesn't mean it won't work the second try around... The secret is a really slick promotional video, of top quality, to showcase the true potential of 0AD, and the direction we want to go.

 

On 11/13/2017 at 3:27 PM, Satoral said:

As far as I know the biggest issue for the future of 0AD is the low popularity and the small number of developers. Considering the premise that if the popularity is increasing, the number of potential new developers is increasing as well, we should think about how to increase the popularity. My suggestions are an attempt to achieve this goal.

This is a pivotal point...