Work-in-progress: please do not distribute. This document is constantly being updated. The intention is for this one file to hold 100% of the documentation required for the entire game development project. As such it will never stop changing.
Become part of an epic adventure in an ever-growing universe, complete with high-tech quests, enemy factions, and explosive space battles. Meet new people, explore new planets, or build a powerful trade empire for profit. Players explore the solar system, build a giant space fortress, and enjoy sci-fi espionage role-playing in a high-tech near-future universe that is always changing. Orangeview Universe is free to play.
See also The Story, Appendix, Philosophy, Genre, Script, Milestones, Quests, Lore, Game Website.
The player is caught up in a futuristic cold war between four corporate factions. Each faction seems law-abiding, but behind the scenes each is gripped in a desperate battle for power that involves espionage, assassination, and massive space battles. The player becomes a free-agent: a new independent faction in the interplantary struggle for money and power set in the Solar System of the near future.
Orangeview Universe presents a vision of the near future with an emphasis on realism in terms of technology and cultural shifts over time. There is a focus on high-tech, stealth, intel, assassination, border disputes, arms manufacturing, homeland security, and espionage between giant corporations. Tired sci-fi clichés are avoided by presenting a realistic future in which there are no magical teleporters, no English-speaking aliens, and no mention of the space-time-continuum. Players experience an adventure of galactic proportions in a universe that feels fresh.
In this game universe there exists a human society very similar to our own. The Politics and Economy of Earth are still imperfect. Society still experiences strife. There are still poor, there are still wars, and there are still criminals. In fact, there are a lot of criminals. The technological advancements of a thousand years of science have enabled humanity to reach beyond the confines of our home planet. The Moon and Mars have been populated, and Travel between planets is common. Amongst the rapid growth and prosperity, competing factions secretly fight a cold war against each other behind the iron curtain of an interplanetary Black Market.
Several game design philosophies have been explicitly defined in order to set up the feel of the game. Expressing them in this document helps to define the actual ruleset for the universe, in terms of specifics like what a player can and cannot do, the prices of items, the style of the quests, the rules of battle, and the outcomes of player actions. Because these philosophies have a major effect on the end-user experience and are fundamental to the design of the gameplay, they end up having a significant effect on everything from the actual algorithms used in the source code to the plot itself.
To begin with, The first impression must be positive. Therefore, avoid Avoid login or signup forms by using an Automatic login system and make sure there is No 'grind' (repetetive low level training) to bore newcomers. To keep players hooked for a long period of time, No action goes unrewarded. Nobody wants to visit an empty world, so make sure the universe is Always growing by encouraging User-created content. The use of a Unique ratings system means The cream rises to the top which ensures that the game's art quality and Replayability is good. Hackers and cheaters are not rewarded for their effort because no matter what you do You can't ruin someone else's fun. Because You can't wreck your own game by accident, you get to enjoy the Freedom to Play how you like.
The game will give immediate instant gratification to the user. The first thing a user has to do with the game is have fun. Installation must be a no-brainer. 3d card settings and initialization must be hidden, automatic, and fast. Login forms, legalese and account setup are delayed until after the player has been able to get a taste of the game in action. Hit them with the best content immediately.
A technique that can be used to increase the quality of the first impression is for the artists to create the first-seen content LAST in the project schedule. The hypothesis is that this will be their best work. The final mission to be programmed (and sculpted) will be the Introduction. This way, the best content comes first, because the learning curve will have been allowed to take effect. Once the final months of development come, the tools, art, and scripting components will be in place to showcase the most impressive and complex gameplay as well as the best looking art. The final hour of work should be on the first second of the game.
Why inhibit the success of your online game by hiding it behind login screens, sign up forms, scary personal information requests, license agreements and downloads? If you do, 90% of the surfing public will go to another web site instead of doing the "work" required to play your game. It may be that flash intro screens, user agreements and tedious forms give a bad first impression and turn off potential users before they ever get to try a game. An analogy is the 'pressure-free' or 'haggle-free' sales force at a car dealership - people feel more comfortable to kick the tires if they can do so at a whim without having to go through the sales pitch.
So don't make the first impression feel like work. No entrance screens that delay the instant gratification. No signup forms to force typing and password remembering. Simply put players into the game world as their first impression of the game. This encourages users to try out the game by giving them instant gratification for free without the unpleasantness and tedium of filling out complicated forms.
The hypothesis is that because of this design decision, a larger percentage of website visitors will actually end up playing the game in the first place.
Each client is assigned a unique ID on the first run. Once typed, the user's login info is stored to local disk for automatic logins the next time the game is run: the name is stored in plaintext and his password is stored as a md5 hash. Upon game startup if the account file exists, the server is queried to get a session key (the server's microtime md5) which is ADDED to the typed password and md5'd and transmitted. The server knows the password and checks that his public key matches that combo. If NO account file exists, the signup process begins. If they type an EXISTING account and password, then they must have re-installed: no problem, load the savegame and recreate the missing account file. With this public-key encryption design, a network packet sniffer cannot guess a user's password, and you only have to login once, the first time. The user's password is never stored ANYWHERE, locally or on the server - just the public and one-way-encrypted md5 hash of it is. The key sent by the game server as a sessionID is the current login's public key + the md5 of the pw, and sessions expire over time. Any time you LOG OUT, you will need to log in again, but you generally only need to do this to switch accounts if you run more than one character (which many people will and that is permitted).
Even when the server is empty and nobody else is logged in, the game world feels "alive" because the lingering effects of other human players are visible everywhere. Because players "build" the universe, other players see and interact with each other's creations. One player builds a space station, and another uses that space station as a "level" in an infinitely growing video game. By providing a ratings vote after each battle, content created by the users is sorted to put a focus on the best quality content. Players get to enrich the universe, which provides a creative outlet and the opportunity to affect the entire style, politics, economy, and plot of the ever-growing persistent game universe.
All levels are designed to be replayable - either to earn more materials, experience, or to best a high score. All missions given by NPCs are actually JOBS, not one-time affairs. You can return to an employer and get another similar quest with a similar payment. The universe constantly evolves, and each time you play the game you can see something new. Every time you play, your experience changes: you get more powerful, your defenses are larger, your ship is faster, you are more experienced, you travelled farther. Return again and again to a location you like and 'harvest' what materials or upgrades you can for as long as you wish. You never get to the 'end' nor can you 'finish' the game.
Being a beginner is just as fun as being a high-level character. The universe is open to you from the start - no blocked off sections - no long boring grinds to get through before you get to the good stuff. The good stuff is there from the very start. You can have just as spectacular things happen to you in your first hour of playing as in your thousandth. It is just as fun to be a noob as it is to be a hardcore, play-all-day elite player. If you are not hardcore you are still able to win fights, because each player gets to choose who to fight. Go against a massive space station, and you stand to gain plenty but will most likely fail. Go against an easy foe, and you will gain very little. If you ARE hardcore, and play every day, then your empire will indeed grow quickly - but without ruining the fun of those don't play as much.
Every minute you spend playing benefits your character and makes you more powerful and successful. You never waste time or stop benefitting from playing. In terms of maximizing sheer hours of entertainment, rewarding more play makes sense as long as the game can still be fair for those who "have a life" and only play one hour a week. Balancing combat by budget makes it possible for low level players to play with high level players and vice versa - you are always a competitor. You are never a useless noob worthy only of killing rats alone while you hear tales of glorious and heroic battles that you get to enjoy after a hundred hours of 'the grind'.
Don't feel like destruction? Then relax and build your own space fortress, conquer puzzling missions and quests, uncover plotlines and intel, create a vast trade empire and build the wealth you need to upgrade your ship, or simply unleash your creativity and create a beautiful castle in the sky or a death star complete with a trench and turret guns. Put on some music and play with our building blocks.
Go ahead and attack everyone you see - destroy everything in sight if you so please. In 'your reality' a space station is left a glowing pile of scrap metal. Over the course of an hour, it slowly repairs itself, ready to be attacked again. In somebody else's 'reality' they only see the station undamaged, until they too decide to attack. When somebody destroys 'your' space station, they are doing so only in their current space-time continuum - yours is left untouched. If the attacker fails, you get to reap profit from a job well done. This will mean that you WANT other players to attack your fortress in space - they can't ruin your fun. Attacking players will instead ADD to the fun.
Make a huge mistake and all that happens is that it is of little help. If your cat jumps on the keyboard, you cannot suddenly lose everything. If you get utterly destroyed in a massive battle you will not lose all your possessions when you die. You can lose any number of battles and your account will not be ruined nor will you be penalized. You cannot accidentally press the wrong button and lose all that you have worked so hard to gain. You will remember your successes more than your mistakes. You will spend more time winning than losing. You won't have to repeat yourself a million times when you get to a hard part.
Fighting hackers is a continual process just like fighting virus attacks. There is always a new cheat that requires full-time staff members to detect and combat. We can't afford the server bandwidth to marshall every single missile flying through the virtual universe. Therefore we (shockingly) trust the client and simply don't care if they cheat because the game is carefully designed in such a way that You can't ruin someone else's fun. If a cheater wants to open a hundred browser windows and run ten accounts at the same time in order to 'feed off' his multiple personalities, then go ahead! If that sounds like fun to you then have fun, that's what games are designed for in the first place. If a hacker wants to trick the game engine by hex-editing a .dll file, then go ahead and waste your day thinking like a calculator - it won't hurt anyone but you and would be a lot of work.
Because we cannot trust the clients to send valid data, the server verifies all battle and purchase submissions for validity. Anything a player transmits to the server is considered a 'request' not an update. The server can deny purchases or battle results, and all client data such as money and stats are stored on the server. For example, when construction materials are purchsed, the server checks to see if that player has enough budget (as stored on the server db) and keeps tracks of how much money was spent.
When a battle begins, the server records a timestamp to compare to the time the battle ends. The timespan of the battle helps detect the most obvious cheaters: Given a maximum amount of damage per second (assuming the player never misses), if results are higher than that the results are most likely hacked. If it would take 1000 shots to destroy a station, and each shot takes one second, the minimum amount of time the battle could take is 1000 seconds. To further makle cheating unprofitable, the player can only sway a battle results by 33% either way - the AI is deterministic in terms of casualties on each side. This way, if a cheater reports destroying an enemy that he simply could not possibly destroy, then the results are considered hacks as well. This design decision has a major impact on play: there are battles you cannot possibly win, no matter how perfect your aim is. Furthermore, the results of battles are somewhat predetermined - a small force against a big force will always lose, but that 33% margin of excellence for the player can sway the tide just enough to be able to beat an opponent that outnumbers him by only a small amount. This forces players to fight opponents of similar strength.
When a battle result is posted and verified, the server rewards the player with income, materials, and awards. How much a player is rewarded depends upon the difficulty level of the battle. This is meant to match opponents with similar budgets and skill levels against each other. This kind of game mechanic also encourages high level players to avoid beating up on low level players because of the the diminishing returns from less challenging battles. To make a lot of profit, fight opponents that are slightly more powerful than you.
Nothing a player does is ever 'useless'. Some strategically poor decisions are very ineffective, but even if a very powerful player takes on an easy target, they will never get zero experience, just very little. The game never beats you down. Play well and you earn money, material and experience quickly. Get your grandma to sign up and play and she won't feel like anything she does results in failure, even if she has no idea what she's doing. You can't 'wreck' your game.
The game is a sandbox. You are never 'on a rail'. There are never 'blocked off sections'. You never have to backtrack to get a key to open a door. You do not have to train endlessly before something is 'unlocked'. You are not forced to do any particular mission at any time. You can do missions in any order. You can abandon and restart missions. You can replay completed missions again for profit - like a job. If you just want to float around in space sightseeing - enjoy. If you are most interested in the storyline, then focus on the missions. If you just want to go on a crazy death-or-glory suicide mission and attempt to destroy the entire galaxy with no regard to the consequences - have fun. If you die, you are not punished in any way. You do not suddenly lose all you possessions, you cannot wreck your own game by accident.
The universe is always growing because the objective of the game is to build it! This adds infinite complexity and continual evolution to the game universe, and lets users feel empowered to truly affect the persistent world. Players feel like they have left a lasting mark on the universe, and their creations persist beyond the time they were playing with them.
User-created content is a great concept, but other persistent worlds that have tried this are filled with low quality content. To avoid this, the highest quality content is placed front-and-center through the use of continual polling of user satisfaction - like a constant focus group that involves every player in the game. Each battle ends with a ratings dialog where players rate the ART and the FUN of the level they just played.
Low-quality content is kept out of the spotlight and the highest-quality content becomes the most widely visited. High quality content also earns the highest rewards, further driving the expansion of the universe in a controlled manner that hides any 'unfinished art wastelands'.
The game rewards content creators to make even more original, fun, or well-polished works of virtual architecture. Since the players provide the content, the universe grows with each new player, which gives the game unique replayability and a life of its own.
The game points out the best content and hides the worst. It directs traffic and helps to stave off boredom by giving users shortcuts to find exactly the type of experience that they desire. The highest rated maps get the most play. The most challenging maps become legends, and finding the best stuff is always easy. This all happens through the use of a Unique ratings system in which every player of the game is constantly polled regarding their satisfaction levels and the game universe changes to reflect the ratings of the users in it.
Joe downloads the installer and runs it. He doesn't read anything and just clicks the [next] button until the process is over. Joe clicks the START menu and runs Orangeview Universe for the first time.
Immediately he sees a 3d galactic vista, complete with stars, a planet, an asteroid field, and a massive space station. Ships fly by the camera and ambient sounds fade in gently. If he already has an account, he logs in automatically and is back where he left off. Otherwise, the first mission begins automatically. No user input is required: he is put straight into the action.
CONTINUOUS ZOOM OUT SHOT: 1s. Fade from black » 2s. www.orangeview.net » 3s. is a decal on shiny metal » 4s. that is part of a a turret » 5s. on a MECHA » 6s. that is standing ona MASSIVE space station » 7s. that is in an asteroid belt » 8s. with fighters flying by » 9s. near the atmosphere of a huge planet » 10s. a floating signboard: Orangeview Universe. If new user, start mission 1, otherwise load game.
MUSIC: 1s. from peaceful deep space » 2s. a gradual, subtle, volume swell from silence to » 3s. Symphonic fade-in excitement builder sound effects, » 4s. a low frequency swell » 5s. that grows to a powerup squeal and the bass increases » 6s. to a rumbling FEEL THE POWER sound effect » 7s. and then come back to quiet ambient space » 8s. with ship flyby sound effects as the fighters go by, » 9s. as the LOGO finally comes into view, » 10s. after which there is only looping space ambience.
(the only other upgrade to this shot: animation, as each new piece rockets into place like a stack of building blocks creating the props, constructing the scene as we zoom out, sort of saying to the user: don't you wish YOU could build something like this? Well you CAN and this is actually an AI player constructing this scene with an infinite budget!)
Suddenly a massive police ship flies into the center of the view, and a comm message comes in: "Welcome to the Security Bureau. My name is Director Maxwell, and I'm in charge of new recruits. You have been assigned to the investigative wing of Mars Orbital Station pending the results of your final battle simulation. Please choose a handle:".
Joe types in a new name for his character: "Darth Cheeseburger". If that character already exists in the server, the message "that handle is already in use. Please choose another" is repeated until a unique name is found.
The Police Cruiser uses a tractor beam to slowly pull Joe into a bright hangar. The Security Bureau comm continues. "Welcome Darth Cheeseburger. With the insurgency in the asteroid belt, illegal drifter colonies, and shipping lane piracy these days, we are glad you have come to help bring law to the solar system. Please choose a secret password. Be sure to write down your handle and your password, as they are encrypted in such a way that we are unable to remind you if you forget".
Joe types in a password, *******.
The Security Bureau comm continues. "Please report to section gamma for your final battle simulation. Based on your previous test results, we are sure you will pass with flying colours". An interior door opens revealing a long passageway.
Suddenly the station rocks and an explosion is heard. Red lights go on and sirens begin to blare. The comm flickers back on, but with static on the display. "The station in under attack! Your test will have to wait, you are the only ship ready to launch immediately. Get out there immediately and provide defensive support!".
Joe has begun the game, and is in direct control of his fighter. If he does not fly immediately forward and out of the hangar, the comm helps him out: "You are in control of your fighter ship now. Use the arrow keys, the mouse, or WASD to steer your ship. Quickly, exit the hangar and defend Mars Orbital Station!"
Joe presses the up arrow key and the ship moves forward as expected. He wiggles the mouse around the get a feel for the controls as the ship floats back outside. He cannot hurt himself here, any movement will eventually get him out of the hangar unscathed.
The hangar explodes at the last second but Joe makes it. The explosion is coded to only go off after the player makes it out. The comm continues: "Well done. But there has been a change of plans. This attack appears to be a diversion - our security forces have engaged the attackers but there is an unauthorised escape pod attempting to sneak out unnoticed. We believe one of our scientists has been kidnapped and is aboard that pod along with an unknown number of captors. Your orders are to attack that escape pod, take out it's guns, board it, take out any kidnappers, and bring back the scientist".
The RADAR system flickers on for the first time, and in the top right corner the radar clearly displays the escape pod. A target reticle on the center of the screen also shows the pod in plain view. It appears to already be damaged and is leaving a highly visible trail of smoke. Joe's fighter is already pointed straight at it, and Joe soon catches up.
Now within attack range, the only available target is auto-highlighted: the escape pod's turrets. The comm continues: "press space bar to take out those guns!". Joe hesitates for a moment, watching the ship in front of him speed towards the south pole of Mars, as Mars Orbital Station continues to defend itself off in the distance. Pressing the space bar, a missile destroys the enemy guns.
The escape pod is disabled. The comm gets a new message from the escape pod itself. The message is from the scientist, Professor Sam Jenkins, who sits beside the pilot of the escape pod, Sven Ashbury. "We surrender! Please don't kill us! I just want to escape the Security Bureau - they think because they own my work they also own me. But I want my freedom back! The Security Bureau are not just the hand of law around here. There is more to them than meets the eye. My husband and I are scientists who want to defect to work with another company. Join us! We are going to work for Sol Mining, LLC. They pay much better than the Security Bureau because they you have to play by the same rules.
The comm from the Security Bureau interrupts the message: "Orders Updated: eliminate Professor Black - she does not have the security clearence to leave Mars Orbital Station. Do this for us and I will personally give you an A+ on your final exam as well as class one security clearance at your new job in the investigative wing".
Joe is faced with a choice that is presented in a GUI. "You need to choose a Faction. You can change Factions at any time in the future if you get a better offer. You have a choice to make: 1) Follow orders from the Security Bureau and kill an innocent scientist? 2) Become a fugitive from the law and join the black market?" Joe bites his nails for a while and chooses option 2. He joins Sol Mining LLC as his Faction and receives the reward for the 'first' quest - bring the scientist alive to Phobos to meet a new employer.
Either option will accomplish the same thing, just from either The Security Bureau OR Sol Mining LLC. The chosen employer welcomes them to the Faction, and offers them a simple job. If he instead chooses option 1) Joe blows up the escape pod as the doctor pleads for her life. He is congratulated by one of the two factions as the ship heads back for either Mars Orbital Station or Icarus Station on Phobos.
The game now starts in earnest, and the universe is open to free exploration. In the current sector are a trading post, a wormhole, and the headquarters of that Faction. In other sectors there might also be another player's space station. All are clickable.
Clicking a trading post will open up a shop GUI with ship upgrades and constrcution materials to buy and sell. You have enough starting money for one ship upgrade - either better speed, sheilds or guns. Many better upgrades are greyed out because they are too expensive. The trading post is also buying and selling contruction materials for use in space station constrcution in youe home sector. If Joe tries to buy materials, he is informed that first he must have control of a sector. To get his own sector in which to build a space station or trading post, he simply has to complete the first mission from his new faction. If it was for the Security Bureau, the game server creates a new sector near Mars Orbital Station and adds links to nearby sectors. If the first mission was for Sol Mining LLC, his home sector is located in the asteroid belt amongst the drifter colonies.
Clicking on the wormhole opens a GUI with other sectors that can be travelled to: 5 nearby sectors, 5 distant sectors, the 10 highest rated for FUN, the 10 highest rated for FUN, and a random 'I feel lucky' warp. If Joe already has his own sector, a button to instantly warp back home is present.
Clicking the Faction headquarters, the comm channel opens with the leader welcoming you into the fold and giving you a mission: deliver a package. Reward: your own sector to build in, plus a new employer from the same faction at the target location.
Any completed missions become "jobs" that can be repeated as often as you like, for profit, experience or just plain fun. Generally a mission will open up another mission giver NPC, broadening the spectrum of available missions.
If you are in a sector containing another another player's home base, their stats are listed with the option to attack. If they are part of the same faction as you, you are warned that if you are destroyed they will find out your identity and you would lose a small amount of faction prestige points, but another faction will be happy about this. You always have a prestige rank at all known factions, and battles affect them slowly. Get too low a negative number and that faction will not want to do business with you anymore, but another will consider you a hero. Generally getting caught for friendly fire means you lose 1/10th the faction prestige you would gain if you had won against an enemy faction, so attacking friendly forces is not a big deal.
All battles are always rewarded positively, just some more so than others. If you decide to attack another player's space station, you use your fighter ship to destroy it to harvest raw materials and get experience. If you fail, that player earns a small amount of material. At the end of the battle you are asked to rate that creation: ART and FUN from 1 to 10. These results affect wormhole warp choices. The most 'fun' or 'beautiful' creations are the top choices at wormholes, which help to ensure that players experience the best content most often.
If Joe warps to his own personal 'home' sector, he can build by using up any materials in his holds to make arbitrarily placed prefabs. Starting from a base hull that was purchased with cash, materials can be build in any box shape: flat panels, cubes, or rectangles. You can choose any dimension for the structure, but the greater its volume the more expensive it is to construct.
Different materials serve different purposes: hull plating of varying strengths can take a lot of damage before being destroyed, but are so expensive it is best to buy very flat sheets of it. Others, like solar panels which generate enegery with other modules expend, or biodomes which provide food for the crew, are optional but help grow a station. All material types have different classes - from cheap and weak to expensive and powerful. Some materials only come in a certain shape and size, like turret guns, fighter hangars, comm antannae or shield generators.
The construction part of the game is like playing with building blocks - you purchase material and sculpt your base as you see fit. By spending a small amount of money you can move or rotate existing structures, or cash in ones you don't want (at a loss) for the raw materials again. You earn money and raw materials by destroying other player's creations.
Joe continues to do missions for experience and to earn more money. He often attacks other player's stations for experience and materials, which he buys and sells using trading posts. He collects the resources he needs to build a bigger and better space station in his home sector.
Every time Joe logs in, the universe is bigger, he has more items, his ship gets more powerful, and he is able to take on harder and harder enemies. He holds ten jobs with two factions, and soon builds his own trading post that buys rare raw materials from other players that he uses to fortify his own station. His home sector contains a massive space station that is so popular and highly rated that hundreds of other players enjoy it on a daily basis, earning him both more profit and positive feedback from his peers.
Only the first two missions must come in any particular order. After that, the player gets new quests given to them by NPCs when they talk to them, and can replay quests as often as they like, in any sequence. Quests are treated like jobs, where each quest giver is an employer who offers a reward to the player for a job well done. Most quests will have two competing sides, an ethical dilemma, or an agonizing decision. For example, mission one for either the Security Bureau or Sol Mining LLC involves the scientist Professor Sam Jenkins who is attempting to switch employers. One side wants her captured while the other side wants you to help her escape. Players must choose a big cash reward now or to attempt foolish heroics and become wanted by the police for aiding and abetting a wanted criminal. The choice affects which faction is the player's first employer in the game. After a while, players will have multiple employers and can choose their own destiny, or even switch sides.
Introduction
A movie sequence that presents the player with the look and feel
of the game. A fly-by of massive space station, a space battle,
and the title sequence and credits are played. The player gets
to choose a name and password, and the game begins.
Tutorial
The player is aboard a transport ship, being congratulated for
graduating from training. Director Maxwell welcomes players to the
Security Bureau, until suddenly Mars Orbital Station is attacked.
Players will learn how to move in space and interact with NPCs.
Save the scientist / Capture the defector
Faced with an eithical dilemma, the player is forced to join one
of two enemy factions. By saving the professor, the first mission
will be for Sol Mining LLC. By capturing the professor,
the first mission will be for the Security Bureau.
Deliver the data / Infiltrate the enemy
Depending on the outcome of the previous mission, the player will
either be asked by Sol Mining LLC to deliver contraband data rods
to a hidden base in the Asteroid Belt, or the player will be asked
to become a double agent working for the Security Bureau.
Gun Runner / Sabotage Run
Players will go an a battle run in fighter ships. Flying amongst
asteroids, they will either fight for the survival or the peril of
the shipment of arms, depending on the side they choose. Sol Mining LLC
wants the shipment delivered, the Security Bureau wants it destroyed.
The secret is that the arms were sold by the Security Bureau and that
this is a double-cross; a declaration of war.
Mining Expedition / Enemy Mine
Sol Mining LLC wants the player to mine construction materials and
learn to salvage materials from the remenants of derelict ships.
The Security Bureau wants the player to plant explosives in the
mine to cut off the resources of the enemy.
Build a ship / Get a promotion
The materials collected in the previous mission are given to the
player by Sol Mining LLC in order to construct a basic ship that
will belong to the player. If the player is working for the Security
Bureau, materials are presented as an award that comes along with
a promotion to field investigator. Players learn how to build,
repair, upgrade, and dismantle their ships.
Destroy Sol / Destroy the Bureau
The war has begun: the player is asked to either destroy the base of
operations of Sol Mining LLC (Icarus Station on Phobos) or
the Security Bureau headquearters (Mars Orbital Station). The epic
space battle climaxes with the near destruction of both sides. Both
factions are left fragmented and crippled. The player is fired
from either job, but now own a ship, materials, money, weapons,
and the right to set up their own faction anywhere in the universe.
At this point the 'intro' is over and the universe opens up into
a free-for-all of player-created content. Players make new missions,
players create new ships, enact huge battles, attack one another,
and generally try to co-exist in a crowded universe. Players will
generally either become warlords through constant battle,
or own trade empires built through buying and selling materials.
The project is designed to grow slowly. First, the only two professions are to work for the Secutiry Bureau as a field investigator or to become a black-market gun runner for Sol Mining LLC. After that, players will want to build their fortune by collecting materials (battles and ming) or buying and selling. The selling component presents another profession: players can collect materials by ming or battles and sell them to other players who are more interested in construction, or to trade for rare ship upgrades.
Players love to see skill bars, experience points, powers, inventory, SOMETHING that gets better as a result of their actions. This positive feedback is essential to make players believe that what they do in the game world is 'worth' doing, because the game 'notices' them. A pat on the back. The acknowledgement alone is more important than the reward itself. Stats will be tracked that give visual feedback to players regarding their progress, and progression will allow players to make choices in how to 'spend' the rewards. XP (experience points) can be spent to increase skills and buy ship upgrades, special powers, and additional goodies. A further set of stats is kept: high scores of all kinds that are presented as a 'trophe room', where badges, medals, trophes, plaques, ribbons and pins are displayed. Miniature versions are presented beside player names in the 3d world (they will look like military 'stripes' or bars - more skilled players will have more impressive icons.
Heavy Weapons Skill - 1 xp per successful hit in battle. Pilot Starcraft Skill - 1 xp per AU travelled without collisions Security Systems Skill - 1 xp per door opened, turret dismantled Salvage Skill - 1 xp per unit of material salvaged Mining Skill - 1 xp per unit of material mined Military Tactics Skill - 1 xp per battle won Repair Skill - 1 xp per battle lost =) Engineering Skill - 1 xp per construction built
Each skill has a 'web' that an icon moves along with experience. Along the way the path can split, forcing the player to make either/or decisions about which special skills or upgrades that they wish to progress towards.
1. Earth Orbit
2. Moon Orbit
3. Mars Orbit
4. Phobos
5. Asteroid Field
6. Space
Proof of concept tech demo executable with realtime openGL 3d graphics, mouse or keyboard input, mp3 music, wav sound effects, texture shader engine, spaceship movement physics, collision detection, GUI system, particle system, AI engine, and Universe multithreaded download functionality.
Application requests user login and connects to www.orangeview.net and downloads user data.
Players can build a space station, fortress or trading post by purchasing various ship upgrades, buildings and modules. Player's creations are saved on www.orangeview.net for download by other players as part of the actual level architecture shared by all.
Vending machines or trading posts that have an inventory of construction materials for sale to players for use in their own creations. Ability to sell unneeded parts for credit towards desired modules.
Players can attack and destroy any creation by any player including himself. The battle will result in eperience points, and possible buildings, ship upgrades and materials. Destroyed ships are only destroyed in that particular player's reality, and "grow" back after about an hour.
After a battle, the game asks for a ratings vote that judges the quality of the ART and FUN-FACTOR of that particular space station, and results are saved to a ratings database on the web server.
Wormhole generators that download mysql generated lists of availble levels sorted by name, type, owner, faction, value, art rating, fun rating. Ability to select any level and instantly do battle with it.
Sector One neutral zone with tutorial
Release version for live play and infinite revisionism.
Auto-update exe/dll/art downloader.
PHP admin control panel for server.
PHP stats pages.
Shouts and MotD.
Player currently Universe php script.
Peer-to-peer chat network code.
Friend list and Ignore list.
Favorite locations list.
Bulletin board.
Player-owned trading posts.
Secure player-to-player trading.
Supply-and-demand economy engine.
Station-to-station furrball battles with AI fighters.
Multiplayer - cooperative battle, p2p pvp!
Mini screenshot thumbnail uploads for maps
Map object tweaking: move, delete, add more
Experience points
Skills
Security Bureau map
Customs and Cargo map
Sol Mining LLC map
NPCs
Quests
Inventory
Clues
Radar
Quest log
Paypal Donations dll and php
Special Donation items
Police AI fleets
Pirate AI fleets
Entropy
Portals: top 10, regular sector links, ifeellucky, query portal
Building materials trading
Mecha AI turrets with legs
Mecha control for FPS
All items, buildings, weapons, inventory can be "Named"
All stuff can be coloured
Decorations: decals!
Minigame: Moonball!
Moonball rankings, bettings, earnings, prizes, tourneys
pvp rankings, tourneys
Player Factions for guild/clan/team/group management
Faction vs Faction multibattle war campaign
RSS news feed
the server sends data in rss-like html
oopButton tooptip hover when in help mode - everything could have a good tooltip
"Become part of an epic adventure in an ever-growing universe, complete with high-tech quests, enemy factions, and explosive space battles. Meet new people, explore new planets, or build a powerful trade empire for profit. Players explore the solar system, build a giant space fortress, and enjoy sci-fi espionage role-playing in a high-tech near-future universe that is always changing."
Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Security Bureau
"Welcome to the Security Bureau. My name is Director Maxwell, and I'm in charge of new recruits. You have been assigned to the investigative wing of Mars Orbital Station pending the results of your final battle simulation."
The Police Cruiser uses a tractor beam to slowly pull your ship into a bright hangar. The Security Bureau comm continues. "With the insurgency in the asteroid belt, illegal drifter colonies, and shipping lane piracy these days, we are glad you have come to help bring law to the solar system."
"Please report to section gamma for your final battle simulation. Based on your previous test results, we are sure you will pass with flying colours". An interior door opens revealing a long passageway.
The room is a giant auditorium. Your fellow classmates sit at attention at long steel tables. You take a seat as a tall man with a slow walk approaches the front of the room and prepares to make a speech to the 75 members of your graduating class.
The man sits down. He looks at us across the polycarbon table at a room full of young faces. "Gentlemen, welcome. You have all finished the exams. You are free to go. Further instructions will be sent to your quarters."
You look around at the other students. They wear expressions of interest, excitement, and even trepidation. You can feel none of that. Your path was set 3 years ago. The Bureau will be your home. These others are still not decided. They have yet to make their choices. For them, they are waiting to see how well they rank on the exams and what aptitudes the directors tell them they have before they will decide. Some of the poor bastards will live their whole lives without making that decision. You pity those ones if they ever have to work with you.
There are only two entities in the galaxy that can give you legitimacy. You chose the Security Bureau.
The general law of the land is upheld by the Security Bureau. We inspect and respond to calls from every location save the moon.
Our only inherent detriment is that we are becoming interplanetary and we have a monopoly on law enforcement. The area that we must police is so large, some parts are definitely feeling like the wild west of old. The upshot is that the Bureau gets there too little and too late for most of the calls. The impact that we have is more of a deterrent in heavily populated areas. But still, we try. And occasionally, we nail those unfortunate enough to become, shall we say, indiscreet.
Customs and Cargo is the other organization that claims a jurisdiction. C and C are solely concerned with collecting duty, inspecting ships and foiling terrorists. But all of this activity is only for the moon. The rest of the known galaxy falls to us.
The hallways flow past your shoulders at a steady pace. The new boots are comfortable and not noticeably too large. Even though they have space for a few extra gadgets, which you hope to earn the right to wield shortly. Your jacket looks a little big, but the extra large shoulder pads of the latest fad help to balance the look and hide the space for any additional rounds of ammo you might one day be issued, including the special electronics silencers that come standard. They don't do much for humans, but they can take out any electronics if they can tap just one cable of the system. At least, that was the theory as told by the Bureau quartermaster.
You reach your cubicle and am just relaxing when the call comes in over the intercom, "Report to Director Maxwell's office at 7am tomorrow morning." Perhaps the final exam didn't go that badly then, you muse. Ah, well. You had better make sure that you don't need to return here to collect anything. You turn to the task of getting your clothes and manuals. With a little slick packing you can fit everything you need into a small duffle.
The room you enter is larger than you would have thought. There are a great many students here. Your hopes dim a bit as you realize that this is not a special call but only a standard handing out of the grades.
At 0700 a brusque looking woman opens the door of Director Maxwell's office. She is Director Lara Maxwell herself and is the dean of the Bureau's training center. Your name is called along with two other names, "Sanchez Manuel, John Aster, Jan Torano, please come with me." We enter the director's office.
Her office is a picture of power. You study it well, as you have aspiration yourself. No one has yet accused you of making up your name, but you have your suspicions that they know anyways.
Maxwell offers us a seat in her soft-spoken assured manner. "I have good news for each of you. In your domains of expertise, you are the best this year has to offer. Each year we pick the best to form a team. This is a reward, as you can rely on others who are the best in their areas. Now, you three can kill the usual first few years of routine drudgery and accept some of the better assignments right away. We have investigated you and are happy to offer this chance. You have been selected to work together. Jan Torano, your piloting skills are better than any recruit previously tested. Your tests showed many signs of a certain luck that shows itself many times to be, perhaps, better than luck. John Aster, your technical skills are very thorough and perhaps a bit too hopeful as it goes against the pessimism of what is possible these days. Sanchez Manuel, we have seen people with better aim than you, however, on the assassination attempts, the entire time, your galvanic skin tests and other stress levels showed amazing control. You will be known as copper team. You are the new recruits that will hopefully move up to replace the bronze, silver, and even gold teams which are the best we have to offer. You will encounter some jealousy from others, but you will need to overcome this without creating enemies to be effective in your new work. Tomorrow, please report to our investigative division. Your income will double. Please be on time and choose your assignments wisely. Report at 0600 to Director Johnson."
Well, you mused, this certainly could speed up your advancement. No, this had just sped up your advancement. You look at your new team members, especially at John. Director Maxwell had implied he was an optimist. You better triple check his planning. The last optimist you were partnered with almost cost you a hand.
Just as the director was dismissing us, the entire station gave a gigantic shudder. We looked at each other and then at Director Maxwell. The director asked us to remain for a minute, then she became very busy communicating with officers.
"There has been an attack on the station. Please report to emergency shuttle dock A."
Just as we were leaving she said "Wait, please report to copper team's lockers, then to command deck 5."
Without asking for particulars, we head out. We beeline it to Copper Headquarters.
There is a guard waiting. The martial arts professor is at the locker room. He tells us to get a move on and then supervises our outfitting.
In the locker are a small duffel and ceramic armour for you. You don't see what the other two are given as you are busy changing. You strap the armour on overtop of your "special" fashion clothes. You do get a few laughs, as you don't have a fashion sense. Well, some of us are endowed with other gifts.
We are told that this is the first attack on the station in 5 years. Our mission will be to intercept a space shuttle. Instructor Black, the hand-to-hand expert escorts us to command deck 5.
There are many students there mostly getting into escape pods. We take an elevator drive down to Director Maxwell. She asks if we are ready, commends us for our alacrity and informs us that our orders have changed slightly. She tells us that, "A junior scientist is aboard the shuttle and we doubt it is under her control. She has probably been forced into this, but we know not whether she is currently alone. Go and bring Professor Jenkins back even at the cost of the shuttle itself. We do not currently register any other lifeforms on the shuttle, but we can't know for sure, so be careful. Rendezvous at docking station A on Mars."
We quickly jump into the only shuttle available for our use. It is a model that Jan is intimate with as it was out training shuttle. We quickly assume out places. You at the weapon and shield array. John at the engine. Jan at the helm.
We quickly launch and begin tracking toward the South pole of Mars trying to overtake the renegade shuttle.
We plan our attack on the way. John begins scanning the shuttle to see if perhaps there are more people on board than just Sam. He confirms by some arcane calculation based upon fuel consumption of the other shuttle that there is an extra 220 pounds of weight on board.
Our plan is for Jan to fly in with a surprise manoeuvre and let you take a shot at the other shuttle's far gun. As we make gun range you squeeze off an early shot and blow off the near gun. Jan tries to barrel roll over the top. The roll was not quite successful, and so you missed your second shot. After a quick realignment you manage to eliminate the other one. With their teeth pulled you relax, knowing our shuttle is safe.
Jan swings in behind allowing you to disable their engine with a nice little shot up the aft. A quick realignment and John opens up their hull with the portal punch.
As the metal heats up and begins to flow we hear angry voices emanating from the other ship.
Hmmm, 220 pounds. You had better go in fast or you might get double teamed. You are unsure if that weight is distributed over more than one individual. With the metal still hot from the punch, you launch through with an arm up in front of your head.
You can barely see inside: the air is filled with a choking black smoke and most of the lights are out. As you enter, a large thug swings at you with a stun baton. Your body armour protects you by absorbing the energy of his attack. You let him do this twice before putting him down with your stun gun. One shot sends him flying backwards into the control panel, crumpling to the ground.
John comes through and we begin our search for the missing junior scientist. John is working at the door of the holding cell. It appears to have some sort of code locking it. The security door access panel has a grid of circuits that John figures out need to be placed in specific positions to complete the circuit. You locate search the cabin and find three available flight suits while John cracks the code.
The shuttle is breaking up, and begins to spiral uncontrollably toward the atmosphere of Mars. If we don't get out of here within 4 minutes we will burn up on reentry. Finally the door access is granted and the holding cell opens to reveal Professor Jenkins, unconscious in the holding pen.
We hastily exit the shuttle after John determines where the ship was headed. The ship was headed for Damacles Station, on the Southern tip of Mars.
Jan takes control of our ship and detaches from the crippled shuttle as it plummets toward the planet. We have succeeded in stopping the kidnapper who now lies unconscious by our feet.
Professor Jenkins is soon brought back to consciousness. We interrogate her with great effectiveness, proud to be using our newly learned field training. It takes only a few short minutes before her story starts to break down. The voices we heard shouting while we were boarding, the fact that the kidnapper was alone and barely armed, and the fact that she was obviously concerned for his welfare all pointed toward her lie. She was not kidnapped, the truth is that she and her lover Sven, (Private Ashbury) were recruited by Sol Mining LLC on the condition that Jenkins share her top-secret research regarding cold fusion propulsion engines. She has been exposed as a defector - and more importantly, she was planning to sell proprietary research that belongs to the Security Bureau. Sam exclaims in desperation: "Join us! Sol Mining LLC has resources that the Security Bureau dreams of, and pays accordingly".
We radio back to Director Maxwell and report on our success: "Target is dirty". The encrypted text-only radio channel lies silent for a few moments until new orders arrive. Our orders are terse: "Pursue all leads. Eliminate target".
An argument between the three of us ensues - do we kill Professor Jenkins now? If not now, when, if at all? Can we trust the professor? Can we trust Sol Mining? Can we even trust our orders? The bureau owns her research, but do they own her? Who are we to question orders? Do we use her to bring us to her planned rendezvous? What do we do with Private Ashbury? How far do we pursue these leads? Could we infiltrate their organization before our cover is blown?
Looking back at a distant Mars Orbital Station, we see that it is still being bombarded by the diversionary forces that attacked the station when before we left.
A message arrives for you. It is from Director Johnson: We need you to infiltrate an enemy faction. The target is called Sol Mining LLC and they operate a mining facility on Phobos. We suspect that contraband shipments are being made to the asteroid belt drifter colonies. This is illegal because of trade sanctions that have been placed upon the asteroid belt due to repeated attacks upon our ships. Sol Mining LLC is more like a band of pirates than legitimate business owners. But of course, they don't see it that way. Pretend to join forces with them and gain their trust. Just don't kill anyone. Discretion is the key. I've set up a meeting between you and one of our other double agents who already has a friend on the inside. He can hook you up with a job. Your ultimate target is their leader, but I don't expect you to gain his trust immediately. Contact me when you succeed in gaining their trust and I will give you further instructions. Good luck.
Suddenly the station rocks and an explosion is heard. Red lights go on and sirens begin to blare. The comm flickers back on, but with static on the display. "The station in under attack! Your test will have to wait, you are the only ship ready to launch immediately. Get out there immediately and provide defensive support!".
The hangar explodes at the last second but you make it. The explosion is coded to only go off after the player makes it out. The comm continues: "Well done. But there has been a change of plans. This attack appears to be a diversion - our security forces have engaged the attackers but there is an unauthorized escape pod attempting to sneak out unnoticed. We believe one of our scientists has been kidnapped and is aboard that pod along with an unknown number of captors. Your orders are to attack that escape pod, take out it's guns, board it, take out any kidnappers, and bring back the scientist".
The RADAR system flickers on for the first time, and in the top right corner the radar clearly displays the escape pod. A target reticle on the center of the screen also shows the pod in plain view. It appears to already be damaged and is leaving a highly visible trail of smoke. Your fighter is already pointed straight at it, and your soon catches up.
Now within attack range, the only available target is auto-highlighted: the escape pod's turrets. The comm continues: "press space bar to take out those guns!". You hesitate for a moment, watching the ship in front of him speed towards the south pole of Mars, as Mars Orbital Station continues to defend itself off in the distance. Pressing the space bar, a missile destroys the enemy guns.
The escape pod is disabled. The comm gets a new message from the escape pod itself. The message is from the scientist, Professor Sam Jenkins, who sits beside the pilot of the escape pod, Sven Ashbury. "We surrender! Please don't kill us! I just want to escape the Security Bureau - they think because they own my work they also own me. But I want my freedom back! The Security Bureau are not just the hand of law around here. There is more to them than meets the eye. My husband and I are scientists who want to defect to work with another company. Join us! We are going to work for Sol Mining, LLC. They pay much better than the Security Bureau because they you have to play by the same rules."
The comm from the Security Bureau interrupts the message: "Orders Updated: eliminate Professor Black - she does not have the security clearance to leave Mars Orbital Station. Do this for us and I will personally give you an A+ on your final exam as well as class one security clearance at your new job in the investigative wing".
You have a choice to make: 1) Follow orders from the Security Bureau and kill an innocent scientist? 2) Become a fugitive from the law and join the black market?
Chapter 2 - Meeting Sol
Covered in fine dust, the landing pad is marred with scorches and the impact craters of a dozen shuttle landings. Your ship slows to an abrupt stop. You have landed at Icarus Station on the southern hemisphere of Mars. Far away from the bustling colony of New Rio, Icarus Station is alone in a vast sea of rock.
Professor Jenkins, holding her arm in pain, grimaces and looks up at you. "We're here. If you come with me and Sven we'll introduce you to everyone. Grab your bags and follow me outside."
The bright light outside becons. Taking one last glimpse at the shuttle interior, you take note of the blood on the wall and wonder if Sven is harboring any ill will towards you for recent events. Remembering his surprising strength, you reach with relief for your stun baton and make last minute checks of your environment suit. It all checks out - your breathing apparatus has been working perfectly for hours now.
You hop down a short ladder and hear the crunch of your boots on the Martian soil. Compared to the exquisitely immaculate corridors of Mars Orbital Station, now far overhead but plainly visible as a thin black stripe along the horizon, the run-down buildings of Icarus Station look downright ghetto.
"Harsh environment like this doesn't afford much opportunity for decoration," mutters Sven as he too emerges from the shuttle, closing the airlock door and taking note of his surroundings. As if almost reading your mind, he seems to be offering excuses. As if he wanted to make a better first impression.
Glad to have some legroom, you look towards Jenkins as she starts out towards the largest building. You notice two armed guards ready to greet you at the front entrance of what must be an insurgent base in disguise.
She is eager to recruit you - in her view you are AWOL from the Security Bureau on Mars Orbital Station. With a smile Sven accompanies her to greet the guards. You stand uncomfortably for a moment as they exchange hushed talk with the guards. You are given clearance and you enter the rusty, heavily armored bunker in the company of your new friends. They call themselves Sol Mining. But the mining operation is clearly a front for something else.
Jenkins, Sven and the two guards walk you up a flight of industrial-looking metal stairs, and over a catwalk. Below you is a ship hangar - and on the lower level you can see two battle tanks that are under heavy repair. A security door looms ahead, and you approach it with trepidation.
Your mission is to infiltrate this band of law breakers and find their leader. Befriend him any way you can and become a double agent. Contact Mars Orbital only once you have earned their trust. You have recently been given a promotion by Director Maxwell back on the station. Your new friends don't know it, but you are hardly the trainee you've made yourself out to be. You new post is as an operative with the Investigative Branch of the Security Bureau.
This is your first mission.
Taking a deep breath, you brace yourself for the meeting you are about to have. To have made it this far your new allies must either be stupid, trusting, or hiding something. Either this is a trap or you're actually pulling this off.
A bright light above the door buzzes as everyone waits in silence. The door opens slowly and without a sound. Inside you are surprised to see not a uniformed officer in a military command post, but some haphazardly strewn couches, a pingipong table, and a greasy, black haired man eating spaghetti. His fingers seem impossibly long, and his skin is a deep olive. Seated at the table with him are four girls, ranging in age from a toddler to a gawky pre-teen. They glance at you with fear in their eyes.
You only now realize that there is blood on your environment suit.
After washing a mouthful of pasta down with a quick sip of red wine, the olive-skinned man stands and reaches out his hand in a friendly manner. "Byron Lane. I guess you're the new guy. Welcome to Icarus Station. These are my daughters Olivia, Vanessa, Cynthia and Tabitha."
You see Professor Jenkins and her companion Sven removing their environment suits and you do the same. Once your helmet is off, the kids at the table seem to loosen up immediately. They quietly resume their dinner self-consciously, staring down at their plates and each other. You're not sure if they like you or not. Jenkins sits herself at the table and starts to talk with the girls, who obviously know her well and listen with excitement and interest as she begins telling the story of how you got here. Byron seems to want nothing more to do with the formalities and resumes his dinner. Sven becons you to follow him into another room nearby, where it looks like you will be given a room to stay in.
Relived that your hidden agenda is still a secret, you follow Sven into what looks like your old dorm room in university. That was ten years ago. How far you've come - to go from physics student, to a paramilitary tactical engineer, to now a secret operative sent to infiltrate a rival corporation.
Sven looks around in disgust at the dark room. "Well, this is it for the time being. My room's a hell of a lot nicer - its just downstairs near the kitchen. Every morning at nine we get together and plan the day's business. There's talk of a new shipment going out, so you and me will probably be working together."
You wonder for a moment about the repercussions of your fight earlier.
"Back there in the shuttle I seriously thought you were gonna kill me. And all for quitting my bloody job. You'd think those bastards at the Security Bureau consider people a corporate asset they can own". He cracks a thin smile and leaves you to unpack and get acquainted with your meager surroundings. A cot, a closet, a bathroom with a musty shower and a bar fridge. Makes your bureau digs look like a palace.
Back on Mars Orbital Station, Director Maxwell had described Sol Mining as a paramilitary faction of pirates and drug dealers. "Bent on the destruction of an orderly society" was the phrase he used. From what you've seen so far, the people here seem both more human and a lot less organized than you'd imagined.
That said, guerilla tactics in space don't need big money, they just need the right timing. Everyone these days is looking for a competitive advantage, and the Security Bureau represents the law around here. For the most part, Mars and the moons and asteroids nearby are more or less the new wild west. Recently there have been pirate raids on shuttle convoys. The security bureau blames these guys. Somehow you doubt that Byron and his daughters are masterminding tactical strikes and arms shipments.