Expedition v0.1.7 released!

[Slash]

@yodhe: Let's see what emerges! I'm not very pretentious about communicating a cultural viewpoint using the game, but I guess something will impregnate, and a game that teaches is worth a lot.

My main concern is producing a fun and challenging game though, and being a roguelike it will rely on lots of native groups (a.k.a. "monsters") being slaughtered by the expedition in order to become more powerful and rich (trading and coexisting being alternate possibilities)

About the alternative timelines: sounds pretty neat, introducing different scenarios which modify the geopolitical landscape of the new world... they could also introduce different technology improvement (for example adding Marine Chronometers to the ships, cannons, special sails). Also, the idea is that conquering the world won't be easy, with lots of powerful tribes in your way (comparable to a non-smallpox scenario)

I am also thinking on adding some landmark historical cities on the Europe map, mainly for fun

[Slash]

Also, the Aubrey-Maturin series look like a must-read

[Nolithius]

As yodhe mentioned, I too would like to see alternate options for interacting with the natives. For example, different groups such as the Mayans, Aztec, Inca, and Taino natives may be located in different areas, may be more/less likely to be hostile, and may have different resources to trade.

I would also like to see the integration of such groups into colonies, with different groups having different strengths or character classes. For example, the Mayans may have more Warriors, and the Aztec more Engineers (off the cuff, needs a bit more research

You encounter a group of Aztec natives. {a}ttack, {b}arter, {r}ecruit

Looks great so far! I would personally like to see more screen-space used for the main game view, and also the ability to fast-travel by the sea to already known locations (the quality of the crew on fast travel would determine the likelihood of negative/positive random events).

Cheers!

Ebyan "Nolithius" Alvarez-Buylla
http://www.nolithius.com

[Slash]

Yeah.... the "natives" part really lacks a lot as for the current version. those ideas sounds nice!

I thought a lot about "fast-travel" (with the rationale of the "empty blue room of nothingness and bore"), but went against it and instead try to: a. make sea travel more interesting b. you can use this "brain-idle" time to think your strategy. If implemented, it would be too risky to lose your expedition just because of a random roll of unluck.

Also, what do people think about implementing battles in a zoomed in map?

[yodhe]

As far as sea travel you could have a "mythic-historical" thing going on.
Apart from pirate ships (or maybe you want to liberate some ship on your way!), and other nations navies, you could also have sea monsters and beasts to battle...
Magical mystical islands, that rise up out of the ocean and vanish..
Even Atlantis to find...
The Bermuda triangle to navigate.
Would be really important to model a "wind system", so players have to find the "trade" routes, and go with the flow, and not get caught in the doldrums.

Mutinies would be very important too, more than one captain/officer went overboard on a long voyage.
Fog that stop you seeing anything, and if you hit land you damage you ship.
Storm that blow you off course would be good.
Also there are a string of small island between america and europe on various routes, which became as important trading stations as both continents themselves. Canary islands etc. In terms of the map, they would be more prominant than their real geophysical size.
Also remember that it was a time of speculation etc, and in the months between journeys prices of commodities can change etc, as well as the relative wealth of nations, or their need for quick cash due to wars etc. At these trading posts you could perhaps find out rumours of Europe and the New world.
It shouldn't be about "killing off expeditions", but shaping the strategies of the players to make a rewarding game, where they get rewarded for adapting to new situations.

[Nolithius]

Slashie,

You should still make sea travel more interesting, but allow the player to opt out of it, delegating the risk to the ships' captains. Further, you may want to allow for several fleets or groups rather than just one, that way you can control some manually and let the others run their course by means of fast travel.

I fear that, no matter how interesting it becomes, it will still be very tedious to travel to and fro the same exact locations dozens/hundreds of times.

Since the game is turn-based, you can choose to have "brain-idle" time at any point. If you look at Mass Effect 2's probe/mining system, it is somewhat fun to do once or twice, but after a dozen times you wonder if, with all of the fancy technology on the ship, sweeping a mouse back and forward can't be automated! It really felt like a chore after a while.

Anno 1404 - Dawn of Discovery, for example, allows you to automate your trade routes after you have discovered/settled a location. For Expedition, though, I would suggest something a bit simpler: being able to give one-off instructions to ships/fleets for fast travel, rather than setting up condition-based waypoints as in Anno.

I'm not too crazy about the more fantasy/mythical approach that yodhe brings up, since I'm certain there is enough richness in this period to have no need of supplementing the theme. However, some sort of wind system or currents is definitely a must in a game where sailing is a major part.

Esc should exit menus/shops as Space already does. I would also like to be able to start the game with preset expedition loadouts, rather than having to go to the stores every single time!

Finally, in the main menu, you may want to hide or gray out the "Resume Expedition" option if there are no resumable expeditions.

That's it for now! Very excited to see how the game develops.

Ebyan "Nolithius" Alvarez-Buylla
http://www.nolithius.com

[jim]

Also, the Aubrey-Maturin series look like a must-read

It really is. I do not generally read war novels or sea novels, but this series is genuinely amazing. O'Brian is just some kind of strange genius - he apparently published his first novel when he was 12. The series will expand your knowledge of sea travel, sea "life", ship maintenance, and various disciplines of the natural philosophy during the late 1700s-early 1800s, even if you already know a great deal about any of the given subjects (which I do not.) Aside from the books being an immensely enjoyable reading experience, I truly believe that checking out the series will a) make designing Expedition more enjoyable for you, and b) allow you to create a better product in the long run.

[Slash]

I will try to fetch and read them!

Also, i'm open to your suggestions to make ship travel more interesting. thanks!

[Cymon]

Needs graphics? Tolerate text? Who are you to defile this sacred place with such talk? Your fireproof pantaloons will not spare you the terror of my jaws, heretic!

Fireproof pantaloons. heh.

[Slash]

Advancement: It's working now

[Slash]

Some discussion here: http://slashie.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?1277.last