Idea: offline analogue of EVE Online with full generation of everything. What do you think?

Question

Web development

In more detail:
- type of game: space cruiser simulator, RPG, strategy
- for starters, the engine can be extremely simple: 2d top view ala Rangers, perhaps a turn-based game ala Heroes.
- at the disposal of the ship ala Star Trek, in which each element in itself, and not the ship - is a single whole, including the entire crew - independent individuals with their own indicators, skills, character, inclinations, etc.
- when installing the game, the entire universe is generated - quite large in size (several large sectors, divided into smaller subsystems with their own solar systems), 1-2% of the planets are inhabited.
- if the level of development of the population is higher than primates - contact with 20-100 inhabitants is possible when landing on the planet, which also have all the signs of living people.
- each planet has many indicators: development, economy, cohesion of land holdings, fossil resources, hostility of the population, etc.
— trade routes are established between some planets
— there are races and types of ships (pirates) that are hostile to everyone else
— there are many spaceships, also inhabited by humanoids, with their own goals and current tasks
— with each turn or after a certain time, a factor interferes with the game "good luck", changing something from an unknown side.
- the game will not have a specific guaranteed denouement. As an option: several endings and several initial main tasks (which may not be completed in the event of certain events)
- the game will seriously differ from all offline ones due to the “luck” factor, individual “live” units that affect the course of events and absence a constant linear plot or the ability to describe the passage of the game.
I hope that I have described as much as possible for understanding. By the way, the online option is also possible, in this case the universe will be initially populated by bots, which will gradually be replaced by players, i.e. the world will not seem deserted even at the very beginning of the game.
From me: scripting, story development, design (not final graphics), variation brainstorming, testing, quest development. Unfortunately, it can't do much more.
— Yes, I am aware of the complexity of creating such a game. This is a dream that has been going on for over 10 years.
UPDATE
First you need a minimal engine:
- a space with a starry background, which has some dimensions, it can be moved with the mouse, zoomed in / out with the wheel
- for starters, two planets
- 1 ship flying from one planet to another, gradually decreasing and melting when approached ( transparency)
- 1 player's ship, by right-clicking on the playing field, you can send it to this point.
…
1. after installation, the whole world is sequentially generated: galaxies/stars/planets/races/level of development/technologies/inhabitants of the planet/ships/ship personnel/weapons/engines/small parts (etc.)
2. generation of relations between races /trade routes/military deployments/personalities, etc.
3. generation of the character's history and the current situation in the world based on the generated world
- 4. start the game: show the intro, the situation in the world and the history of the character (which is also generated / or make it possible to customize, later)
5. start the game: show the map of the universe, zoom in to the current point, show the game screen and the player's ship
6. top right is the minimap, below are the main game and ship control buttons
7. When you click on a planet/ship, you can get basic information about them, when you right click, you can attack/follow the ship or land on the planet.
...
If we talk about offline ...
- Database with tables: galaxies / stars / planets / races, etc.
- graphics / sound / keys settings - ini-file configurator
- main game module: launch, splash screen, world display
- world generation module (used after installation, if the player wants to give up or after losing)
- save-file - rewritable, one piece. autosave
Additional modules:
- as an option, a system for selecting, saving and caching queries in the database
- random number generator (long step-by-step during the flight from one area to another AND / OR slower based on time intervals), layout and selection of future events (with separate degrees of probability) to gradually change the balance in the game, for example: building a new ship, the death of one of the characters / ships / races / planets, an incident on a ship / planet, a military clash of ships, an attack on a planet, capitulation and union of alliances, equipment breakdowns on ships, as well as all kinds of space anomalies / aliens, etc.
— combat system
— trading
— landing on the planet
— quests
…
UPDATE 2
If you have free time and you like this idea, I will be very happy.
Otherwise, please write what you think about: the complexity of creation, the version of the engine or the language in which to write it, criticism, the demand for this game, etc.
The project first needs:
- programmers
- designers and artists (first of all)

Answer 1

Can cows be robbed?

Answer 2

There is already a series of games X. I haven't played EVE much, but people say X3 is like offline EVE.
You can google for "X3: Terran conflict".

Answer 3

if you were a customer and came to us with this and a suitcase of money, you would still be sent.
make it right. detailed TK and the developers themselves will be pulled. ask a tester to test a pencil and you will understand how raw your idea is, and even good games died due to minor flaws and lack of balance.

Answer 4

Actually, the idea is brilliant.
Games are the future.
I think about it too. I remember the game was like Elite on the ZX. So I didn’t play it, but I read the story. (captured my young mind)
Ready to help with ideas.

Answer 5

Well, what you are ready to take on is strictly more time and effort than what programmers should do.
I think the game is too complicated - therefore it will not be popular. for the end user, it will be playable only after he completely understands, and this is for a long time.
In general, I have not seen the massively popular online space RPGs. The niche is free. The thought is good. Good luck.
I don't have time so I can't help.

Answer 6

I thought about a similar project, just yesterday, although the idea itself is already 5 years old :) The only thing is that now I have become a seasoned programmer and architect and I understand how difficult and long (years) it all is in the implementation of a small team. Especially with regards to the graphic part.
To begin with, I plan to do basic things with "schematic" 2D graphics, top view, i.e. without textures and clear models. The simplest action to make a release as soon as possible. But again, drawing all these geometric figures yourself is quite stressful. I think we need an artist who would do this.

Answer 7

Having read Bessonov, I also wanted something like that, with the arrangement of my own base on the planet and randomly generated quests from different factions.
The problem is that a team is really needed here, and it is desirable that they do this on an ongoing basis, and not as a hobby, otherwise it will all stall very quickly.

Answer 8

Mb look in this direction Homeworld 2 complex 7.4.4?

Answer 9

And who is stopping you from using the Ur-Quan Masters engine? Or is it such a national idea - to go your own way, like STALKER and LadaRacing?

Answer 10

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend reading Computer Game Design and Architecture by Andrew Rollings and Dave Morris. It covers both organizational issues when creating large game projects, and technical aspects. A very useful and insightful book. And, I think, it will save you from many rakes, in the embodiment of your dreams.
Good luck.

Answer 11

Elite III has been the ideal for me all my life, in many aspects no one has been able to surpass it in 15 years. Now, if someone could make her analogue, but with modern graphics and with the continuation of her ideas ...

Answer 12

In general, in order not to reinvent the wheel, isn't it easier to take the engine from ooelite? There, it seems that even normal shaders are almost screwed on the 3rd openGL

Answer 13

And I also want to insert a couple of cents about the world. Completely tired of "cosmos" with simplified hydrodynamic physics. From artificial restrictions on the maximum speed, a very important feeling of the infinity of space is lost, it turns into some kind of scenery in the background, this is a very serious sin of the X series. Moreover, in almost all space simulators, space is static! The maximum planets rotate around their axis, but they do not rotate around the star, the asteroid belts just hang, and the asteroids in them simply sway. While in the Elite everything was spinning, everything was moving, if for some reason you had to travel between planets without an autopilot, then you had to accurately calculate acceleration and deceleration, as well as the path that the planet manages to go through. All this creates a sense of presence no worse than beautiful special effects. The main thing is that all this worked on a 486 processor. Now it is possible to make space much more alive. And in the case of an offline simulator, you can even easily implement some relativistic effects! (it will not be possible to simulate any time effects in the online simulator).
Alas, after Elite III, I have not seen a single game with a living universe and at least some kind of sane physics. Then they began to make some arcade games either with an emphasis on the economy or with an emphasis on battles.

Answer 14

I think you are describing Dwarf Fortress in space... I would buy it :)

Answer 15

Don't get so caught up in game mechanics.
You decide what is important, otherwise the dream will remain a dream.
A strategy game can't be a first-person real-time game - you just don't have enough focus on a big empire. If you want to build an effective hierarchy, then this is politics, economics, and models of individuals who should have a career that determines their characteristics, and mechanisms for the struggle for power and interaction with each other. Will you generate facial expressions too? For one engine, the spread is between uqm, oolite and steam. And also strangers with their logic, economy and politics. And generating quests that should be non-dead ends. And all this should be in playable balance. Do not rob all the "corows", at least determine priorities.

Answer 16

IMHO the idea is good, but even with simple graphics it is too difficult to make such a huge world.
Although it's definitely worth a try.
As for the engine, I think we need to take something simpler, something like pygame.

Answer 17

As for me, you should look for like-minded people here www.elite-games.ru
Well, in fact, from the well-known free 3D engines: crystal space and blender. I also saw a very beautiful space engine that is being developed by an enthusiast, but unfortunately I can’t find a link :( I like the idea of ​​​​the project itself, but you need to be able to maintain a balance between the capabilities of the game and its complexity. And
if you don’t find like-minded people, then if I were you, I would sit down and write a very detailed description of the game you conceived, come up with a world (races, etc.), write a plot and try to offer it to various foreign game studios like nival , gsk etc.
Good luck to you! If you manage to make your dream come true, do not forget to brag on Habré;)

Answer 18

“I played X3, it's not quite right. Much is missing.
There are no surprises, non-humanoid aliens, dangers of space, generation of the whole world from scratch, attacks on planets ... and most importantly - the ship is a single whole and there is no concept of a crew.
13i, December 27, 2010 at 10:07 am”
I also think that what you described is most reminiscent of x3.
There are crews for large ships (several captains), there are ship components, for example, small fighters on board, shields. You can’t break the windshield separately, yes, but I think it will come to that.
If you want to make a beautiful game then x3, if you want to make a smart game then Distant Worlds.
Perhaps the second one is even closer. Try to ask for the development team. There, the ship is really an integral part of its parts and it is possible to break the habitation module separately (or the third laser). There really are dangers of space (lightning, nebulae, black holes), there are non-humanoid forms of aliens, there are pirates, planets with technologies not developed to the level of space flights. Trade routes, indicators on the planets, there is no end, luck (in terms of revolutions, rebellions, the appearance of pirates, finding secrets), building a green laser requires argon and steel, namely, and not some virtual resources. No argon - break off with a laser. The whole world is being generated, troops are landing on the planets, you can contact with undeveloped life forms. In general, so far I have not found any discrepancies with your concept.
In general, download and play *smiley*

Answer 19

Oh, there are hundreds of such topics on gamedev.ru. The enthusiasm of the "team" will disappear in two weeks, I'm not talking about bringing it to something playable. But dreaming is not harmful.

Answer 20

You will make such a game for more than one year and not the fact that you will finish it. Start with Indy first, gain experience, and then move on to big games.

Answer 21

If “live” control is planned during flights, battles, aiming at a target (keyboard, joystick), and not poking with the mouse as in EVE and acceleration and not maximum speed when flying in circumplanetary space, then I will gladly try to help))

Answer 22

Ideas are worth nothing. Implementation is priceless!

Answer 23

Excuse me, but do you have any knowledge in the field of coding or other necessary for the implementation of the project? Just, you know, we have a similar dream: D I would like to help, or just somehow support the idea.

Answer 24

The description is very similar to No Man's Sky .