TC ideas

post and discuss

Okay, so I will occasionally have the odd idea for a tidbit that might be good for a TC. As I have no time or inclination to program one myself, they fall by the wayside of long-forgotten memory. I'm assuming I'm not the only one, so after the fifteen-millionth time, I decided I'd make an open topic for people to share their ideas, be they races, universes, creative physics, or twists on the game engine. Who knows, others may use them, and even if they don't, it's still fun to put your ideas out there for others to see.

As a general rule, anything you post here should be free for anyone to use, unless you say otherwise. Developers, asking permission/informing/crediting people for their ideas is still good manners. Even if you are making a TC and using your ideas, you're welcome to brag about your plans here too.

Feel free to comment on others' ideas, too. Going off topic and discussing theirs is fine.

I'll start: what about making IFF decoders significantly more expensive, i.e. only for higher-end ships? You can even do an entire radar package; have basic radar have serious interference problems, and a very expensive density/IFF/interference clearer package. Perhaps it's even a military secret! Might be a little frustrating to the player at first, but they'd get used to it, and it would make the upgrade all the sweeter.

I just thought yesterday that it might be interesting to have a plug-in where all, or almost all, weapons fire sideways. It might change combat dynamics interestingly, although I don't know whether or not the AI would handle it well.

The AI doesn't have a clue what to do with side-firing weapons/broad side weaponry, I've found.

Perhaps a proper full storyline in a single star system. Say a system where hyperdrive technology has been lost and STL is the norm. (STL meaning slower then light)

That would be interesting, especially since ship energy could be used solely for weapons and other things. The only downside is the limit of 16 spöbs per system. In this case, 16 spöbs would be all that TC could have. Not to mention the fact only the top four could be selected with the number keys.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just a bit limited. However, it would make sense since it's in only one system to have a limited amount of stellar objects. It's an ingenious idea and I'd love to see someone make it.

QUOTE (of doom @ Mar 3 2010, 08:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps a proper full storyline in a single star system.

I did once see a plug-in that was set entirely in our solar system — but it redefined the meaning of a sÿst resource to represent just the area around one particular planet, so the game dynamics weren't really changed radically. On the other hand, it did mean that moons were a lot more common than they usually are.

I read a while back someone was planning a TC to have it emulate a flight sim game... or was it a flight combat game...? Anyway, they didn't go into specifics that I saw, but I realized it's entirely plausible. You could make all the ships simply be jet fighters, every system background could be green for grass or blue for ocean depending on where that 'system' was on planet Earth. spöbs would be airfields, maybe even aircraft carriers in the ocean.

Anyway, anyone know if that TC is still in the works? If it's not, I'd like to see someone attempt it.

Oooh... I like the one-starsystem idea. It would be interesting. You could also use the "advance the clock while flying" mechanic listed in Cool Nova Hacks. It would allow for ship speed to play a bigger factor. If you wanted, you could make afterburners play a bigger part, though that wouldn't be necessary.

You know, you could use a Nebula to allow the map feature to show the layout of the "universe"

I wonder if you would be able to link wormholes within the system.

QUOTE (darthkev @ Mar 4 2010, 10:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I read a while back someone was planning a TC to have it emulate a flight sim game... or was it a flight combat game...?

There was also Caribbean , which was to be set on the sea (complete with sailing ships, islands, and the rest) during the 16th or 17th century.

You can totally link wormholes within one system. In HOTS, I've put in a system called the 'Hellzone'. It's filled with wormholes that all link to one another with only a few leading out of the system to other wormholes. To make it more confusing, every one of them exerts incredibly strong gravity so it's almost impossible to get out of the system unless you travel the wormholes.

In my TC, 3000, there's one minor mission on a single storyline where someone invents mining drones (with artificial intelligence) to eliminate a pesky asteroid belt.
If you pass all the missions, it works wonderfully.
If you fail one mission, and then the next one from the mission branch that begins from the one you fail, the universe is plagued by AI "pirates". (They don't loot your ship- they kill you outright. And destroy entire planets, refining them into various ores and metals)

Also, I'm reminded of a plug for EVO that I was on a production team for, that was going to try to replicate WWII in EVO.
(Complete with fighters, carriers, naval ships, and U-boats (that cloaked except when firing weapons)
For the background, we were going to use ridiculously large "star" images to paint the background blue.

I was in charge of graphics... I only got three finished before the project was abandoned-
1 US Carrier, 1 fighter, and the escape pod (it was a floating raft!)

Don't have the graphics anymore, so don't ask. :

QUOTE (darthkev @ Mar 4 2010, 07:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can totally link wormholes within one system. In HOTS, I've put in a system called the 'Hellzone'. It's filled with wormholes that all link to one another with only a few leading out of the system to other wormholes. To make it more confusing, every one of them exerts incredibly strong gravity so it's almost impossible to get out of the system unless you travel the wormholes.

That would be an incredible trap to stick in a TC with the inclusion of a one-way system link.

Agreed. It's a pity 1-way links don't work anymore

Although, it may allow for quick interstellar travel, so if you REALLY need to get there in a hurry, you can hop into a wormhole and brave the Hellzone. I like it.

I really like the hellzone idea - especially if it's a sort of wormhole nexus, with deadly stellars or other hazards. You can allow for a ridiculously ludicrous trade route that would be otherwise impossible without it. There could be a mini mission string sending in probes to attempt to map out hellzone, giving the player directions for safe paths through it.

This post has been edited by n64mon : 05 March 2010 - 12:26 AM

Why not use a junk that's bought on one side of the universe, sold on the other, and decays so rapidly that there'd be nothing left by the time you went from A to B? That way the "hellzone" would be a necessary thing to brave.

I'm thinking something like the blackhole from the SNES Starfox game would be the best adaption of the Hellzone; lots of junk floating around, lots of harmful stuff, and only one or two ways out.

This post has been edited by JacaByte : 06 March 2010 - 05:23 PM

I just had another idea for a TC. I'm already working on one, though, so this idea is up for grabs if anyone wants to try it: an Ares TC. Yeah, I know adam_0, prophile, and several others are already working on porting Ares to OSX, but I've recently realized it can be done with the Nova Engine as well. It could take several dozen missions and cröns, but it could work.

Not to say the Xsera Team should stop working. I'm just putting the idea out there.