Odd Game Idea, Just test balooning it

Inverse Icarus · August 31, 2002, 03:21

At my college there's a club called "The Omega Worlds Project", which houses a bunch of groups that create computer games. The main point of the club is to teach people about game programming, and another important (upperclassmen) focus is the invention of an advanced AI.

anyway, i digress. The president of the club said all members would have the ability to propose a game to work on in groups. He gave us some guidelines (2d engine, etc) and we all went home.

I immediately thought of a TBS game (i've had the idea for a while), and i just thought of a radical idea that i probably wont impliment because it's just crazy. I thought I'd share it with you for a laugh or something. hell, some of you might find it interesting.

Anyway, I' was writing about the concept of migration of people in my game when i thought, "hey, what if you couldnt build settlers, what if the people just migrated out of your city borders and when they reached far enough away a new city was created"?

it makes a bit more sense if you get to know the workings of my game (or the plans of them), i use "regions" rather than cities, but it is quite interesting to think of.

imagine it this way. a region is a city's cultural borders, the city inside is just an "industrial center". the population is not just in the "industrial center", but rather scatted thorughout every tile in the region. "industrial complexes" or "cities" would be areas of high population. anyway, at the beginning of each turn, the population can "migrate" (whether it be within it's own region, into another of your regions, into an ENEMY region, or into an EMPTY region, making it part of your own). When i thought of that last one i thought maybe the settler was obsolete. maybe the "expeditions" of the populus themselves would eventually become large enough to split the region in 2.

but then i realized how much fun that takes out of the game

. i take pride in my city placement. i use them for strategy, etc. the settler wont die.

cool idea though, eh?

DRoseDARs · August 31, 2002, 04:02

To me, on the surface at least, it seems like a more realistic representation of how Humans have always developed new 'regions,' beyond simple reasons of a particular feature of a given location (re:a resource or a natural harbour).

Perhaps if you incorporate some rules (permited behaviour) and restrictions (prohibiting behaviour) for the colonists/settlers/people/whatever's appropriate to follow in their migration, you could control where they expand to, while still maintaining a natural patern of growth (there has always been such control of said patterns, just a matter of the degree and reasons for colonization). Rules like: Industrial Center Here or Restrictions like: Do Not Expand Into This Tile. "Simple" codes of behaviour like that.

alva · August 31, 2002, 07:30

I allways thought that there was room to implement certain concepts of games like say: ceasar3 or simcity.
The trouble is wether it will work in-game.
As you say , placing your cities is part of the fun.

I for one surely like the concept, now how to realise/implement it?

notyoueither · August 31, 2002, 14:22

Not a bad plan.

Also, the concept of settlers would not entirely be lost if the government (you) could build out posts towards which some of your citizens would migrate on their own.

Kind like the way the original colonies in the Americas grew by attracting more and more people from the Old World.

Sovereign · August 31, 2002, 15:07

Interesting idea UberKrux.

Or you could try and design a Super-Killer AI, make it as hard as a human player for Civ 3!

Inverse Icarus · August 31, 2002, 15:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Sovereign
Interesting idea UberKrux.

Or you could try and design a Super-Killer AI, make it as hard as a human player for Civ 3!

that's on my list of things to do

wonder how long that'll take :P

Inverse Icarus · August 31, 2002, 15:54

As it stands right now, i'm going to use migration in every sense except for "EMPTY" land. People can migrate into different regions whether they be yours or your enemies.

this is sort of what i proposed to replace culture flipping a while back, but more abstracted to my game

i'm going to keep settlers in. I'm not sure how i plan to make the borders expand yet (culture? venturing migrants?), but it will all come in to play.

thanks for your insight

Sean · September 1, 2002, 00:29

Its an interesting idea for sure, and I do not mean to disparage it...but I suspect if this was implemented it would drive traditional civ players mad, as cities were built in what they consider to be "sub-optimal". Of course the realism, and surprise factor make the idea very intrigueing indeed.

notyoueither · September 1, 2002, 00:33

The interesting thing is that cities would evolve(?) where they make sense (where the food and other attractions are).

I think it would be a very interesting added dimension to the game if you could stake out borders with colonies and out posts and then had to rely on 'the people' to migrate as best suits them.