Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate Evolution design

xerout

Hey Scorch...what sci-fi shows/movies inspire you guys the most when making Jumpgate design changes?

Sorry Jump...I just couldn't resist:

X

xerout

Oh man....I got nailed fast! Well done Jump.

Xerout

Scorch

Really this is a question for the artists when it comes to visuals but certainly lots of us our fans of the new Battlestar TV series. I'll ask them and see what they say.

Nohbody

Just as long as the nBSG inspiration is only about the visuals, and not the storyline...

I don't want "Jumpgate: The Soap Opera".

dailatron

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nohbody

Just as long as the nBSG inspiration is only about the visuals, and not the storyline...

I don't want "Jumpgate: The Soap Opera".

Hell it already feels like that sometimes.

alphabet · 03:51 PM

Where to begin..

Since most gamers are not educated in game development, they must rely on personal experience that they attained by not only playing one game, but by their experience with playing all games. It is from this view point that I will submit my inspiration on what Jumpgate should consider when it comes to design.

Gamers are first attracted to a game by its genre. Jumpgate is a space MMO. So anyone that has a facination with space, be it real like ISS or fiction like Star Wars is going to be attracted to the game.

Next comes graphics and sound. If a game looks like it was made in the early 80s or sounds like Space Invaders or Pong. No modern gamer is going to look at it, no matter how good the gameplay might be.

Next is gameplay. The game has to play well, meaning no combersome key presses or unnecessary hurdles to clear in order to play the game on par with other players.

I think from what we have been given so far, that those three things are addressed in the new version of Jumpgate. There is, however, some things that need to be addressed before I, a vet, would come back to Jumpgate.

The game needs to have a base storyline that is not dependant on the playerbase. The storyline should be evolving and neverending. Meaning there is always something, storywise to discover. Look to any fantasy game, like WoW for instance. The story is always evolving, there is always something to learn. Most all of the intrigues, story arcs and alliances were player driven in the old Jumpgate. When the players left, so did the stories and underlying excitement. There was nothing left to do, because the game never really supported making you do something in the first place.

Lets face it, the current mission system in Jumpgate is a joke and after your first or second mission you are bored out of your wits. "Photograph anomoly in sector yadda, yadda, yadda." Boring. Instead of a mission system, look to more of a questing system, with chained quests and unique rewards or insights into the story of jumpgate. Missions need to be diverse, interesting, and fun with NPC interaction.

Bring factionalism back. EP2 with its player owned stations that could be erected anywhere, killed factionalism. A dedicated factionalist squad could never clear the pirates or enemy faction out of their space because the enemy would just run to a POS and log, then emerge a few hours later to reek havoc again. A better idea would have been to only allow PoS at faction station sectors or unreg, but thats water under the bridge.

Foster community not individualism; the faction stations is where everyone met and talked, which developed a sense of community. When people logged in/out of thier own stations, the faction stations became ghost towns and ruined a large part of the social environment.

Polycrewing. Create ships that have more than one position that can filled by a friend. Like a sol bomber that has a tailgunner position, stations that have defense turrents or a capital ship that have several gun positions that can be filled by real people. Planetside and WWIIOL have this, why cant jumpgate?

Gravitational affects of spacial bodies. Put simply, stars, quasars, roids, etc. should have a gravitational effect on your ship. Get too close and they pull you in.. Mining ships could have an antigrave to dissapate these effects. This would give another dimension to PvP engagements.

Damagable systems with both first person and second person visible effects. Example: One of my engines is hit, i should see warning lights and feel reduced power, anyone else sees my engine as disabled. This could be incorporated into any type of ship system (radar, firecontrol, power, etc., etc.).

Power management anyone? I would like to be able to adjust my power between guns/shields/engines. Almost every space game in the last 10 years has had this option, I would like it for Jumpgate too.

Sector claiming and becon tuning are redundant. Get rid of one of them and give the rewards of one to the other.

Create an ingame system for politics, not only for guilds, but for the factions as well where guild and faction political standings can be viewed by an ingame menu. Factions should be run with an elected playerbase that holds office for a few months and makes factional dicisions on the players behalf. This would allow players to decide their factions goals and stance toward other factions. Political ratings would play into not only risk, but also market prices and missions as well. Honestly, the faction meter on jossh has always been a joke. Similar to the weather panels. Let the players run the faction and make it mean something.

Thats about all I can think of off the top of my head.

Just my 0.02, but what do I know.

Alphabet
SOLRAIN Optimus
Foundation of the Trust
Saraths Rage
Order of Fenris (awarded twice)
Full Shards
Adamantine Supernova
and a Dead Fish

alphabet

Okay, I lied, I will probably come back without all those things listed. But it will be real hard to stay without them. Oh I also want to apologize to the community for throwing my epeen around. But I am pretty passionate about Jumpgate and I want to see it succeed.

So Scorch, any chance any of those things I mentioned will make it into the game?

xerout

Alphabet, we definitely think alike.

Xerout

Ambrosius

Time for Therapy.

Aphelion

I always hated alphabet because I would fly on the SN TS once in a while and nobody could seem to get "aph" and "alph" straight. For that, he is KOS forever.

I miss SN, that TS was one of the raunchiest evah!

alphabet

who... what... where...

Karash

I would love to see a "Bladerunner" sort of RP culture (not neo-noir styling).

TRI Pilots On Duty
On Duty:	30
In Flight:	19
Solrain:	4
Octavius:	11
Quantar:	15
TRI:	0

Category	Pilot	Score
Kills	Algore	2,732
Kill Ratio*	_KROM_	470.000 %
Bounty Collected	Killntime	402,838,097
Munitions Accuracy*	Psycho	85.915 %
Projectile Accuracy*	BADDAL	99.275 %
Total Conflux Kills	vorlon31	148,434
Experience	Adi564	100,000,000
Mission Success Ratio*	Arkady	100 %
Insurance Rating*	Knork	10 %
Net Worth	McPlowed	c22,481,114,628
Duty Hours	RedDwarf	16,801.6
*minimum requirements to qualify


	xerout Cadet Pilot Name: Xerout Joystick: sidewinder Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: USA Posts: 99	Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate Evolution design Hey Scorch...what sci-fi shows/movies inspire you guys the most when making Jumpgate design changes? Sorry Jump...I just couldn't resist: X


	xerout Cadet Pilot Name: Xerout Joystick: sidewinder Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: USA Posts: 99	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate design Oh man....I got nailed fast! Well done Jump. Xerout


	Scorch Jumpgate Developer Pilot Name: GM_Scorch Join Date: May 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 141	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate design Really this is a question for the artists when it comes to visuals but certainly lots of us our fans of the new Battlestar TV series. I'll ask them and see what they say.


	Nohbody Kalralahr, The Drakhai Pilot Name: Nohbody Joystick: TM Top Gun Fox2 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Taylors, SC, USA Posts: 380	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate design Just as long as the nBSG inspiration is only about the visuals, and not the storyline... I don't want "Jumpgate: The Soap Opera".
		__________________ Just another nohbody professional statwh0r3


	alphabet Member Pilot Name: alphabet Joystick: Saitek X52 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 191	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate Evolution design Where to begin.. Since most gamers are not educated in game development, they must rely on personal experience that they attained by not only playing one game, but by their experience with playing all games. It is from this view point that I will submit my inspiration on what Jumpgate should consider when it comes to design. Gamers are first attracted to a game by its genre. Jumpgate is a space MMO. So anyone that has a facination with space, be it real like ISS or fiction like Star Wars is going to be attracted to the game. Next comes graphics and sound. If a game looks like it was made in the early 80s or sounds like Space Invaders or Pong. No modern gamer is going to look at it, no matter how good the gameplay might be. Next is gameplay. The game has to play well, meaning no combersome key presses or unnecessary hurdles to clear in order to play the game on par with other players. I think from what we have been given so far, that those three things are addressed in the new version of Jumpgate. There is, however, some things that need to be addressed before I, a vet, would come back to Jumpgate. The game needs to have a base storyline that is not dependant on the playerbase. The storyline should be evolving and neverending. Meaning there is always something, storywise to discover. Look to any fantasy game, like WoW for instance. The story is always evolving, there is always something to learn. Most all of the intrigues, story arcs and alliances were player driven in the old Jumpgate. When the players left, so did the stories and underlying excitement. There was nothing left to do, because the game never really supported making you do something in the first place. Lets face it, the current mission system in Jumpgate is a joke and after your first or second mission you are bored out of your wits. "Photograph anomoly in sector yadda, yadda, yadda." Boring. Instead of a mission system, look to more of a questing system, with chained quests and unique rewards or insights into the story of jumpgate. Missions need to be diverse, interesting, and fun with NPC interaction. Bring factionalism back. EP2 with its player owned stations that could be erected anywhere, killed factionalism. A dedicated factionalist squad could never clear the pirates or enemy faction out of their space because the enemy would just run to a POS and log, then emerge a few hours later to reek havoc again. A better idea would have been to only allow PoS at faction station sectors or unreg, but thats water under the bridge. Foster community not individualism; the faction stations is where everyone met and talked, which developed a sense of community. When people logged in/out of thier own stations, the faction stations became ghost towns and ruined a large part of the social environment. Polycrewing. Create ships that have more than one position that can filled by a friend. Like a sol bomber that has a tailgunner position, stations that have defense turrents or a capital ship that have several gun positions that can be filled by real people. Planetside and WWIIOL have this, why cant jumpgate? Gravitational affects of spacial bodies. Put simply, stars, quasars, roids, etc. should have a gravitational effect on your ship. Get too close and they pull you in.. Mining ships could have an antigrave to dissapate these effects. This would give another dimension to PvP engagements. Damagable systems with both first person and second person visible effects. Example: One of my engines is hit, i should see warning lights and feel reduced power, anyone else sees my engine as disabled. This could be incorporated into any type of ship system (radar, firecontrol, power, etc., etc.). Power management anyone? I would like to be able to adjust my power between guns/shields/engines. Almost every space game in the last 10 years has had this option, I would like it for Jumpgate too. Sector claiming and becon tuning are redundant. Get rid of one of them and give the rewards of one to the other. Create an ingame system for politics, not only for guilds, but for the factions as well where guild and faction political standings can be viewed by an ingame menu. Factions should be run with an elected playerbase that holds office for a few months and makes factional dicisions on the players behalf. This would allow players to decide their factions goals and stance toward other factions. Political ratings would play into not only risk, but also market prices and missions as well. Honestly, the faction meter on jossh has always been a joke. Similar to the weather panels. Let the players run the faction and make it mean something. Thats about all I can think of off the top of my head. Just my 0.02, but what do I know. Alphabet SOLRAIN Optimus Foundation of the Trust Saraths Rage Order of Fenris (awarded twice) Full Shards Adamantine Supernova and a Dead Fish
		__________________ Sol Navy Forums http://www.gameslapper.com/newslapper/index.php Last edited by alphabet; 06-24-2007 at 03:51 PM.


	Ambrosius Member Pilot Name: Ambrosius Faction: Quantar Joystick: MS FF2 Join Date: May 2004 Location: The Stone Temple Posts: 1,644	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate Evolution design Time for Therapy.


	Aphelion Member Pilot Name: Aphelion Joystick: MS FF1 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Ring View Posts: 315	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate Evolution design I always hated alphabet because I would fly on the SN TS once in a while and nobody could seem to get "aph" and "alph" straight. For that, he is KOS forever. I miss SN, that TS was one of the raunchiest evah!
		__________________


	Karash Member Pilot Name: Karash Faction: Octavius Joystick: Saitek x52 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Eve Online Posts: 396	Re: Question for Scortch on inspiration for Jumpgate Evolution design I would love to see a "Bladerunner" sort of RP culture (not neo-noir styling).